Occasional thoughts and deeds of an Engineer
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  • Pendelton

    Posted on October 17th, 2011 cwmoore No comments

    We picked up the table an chairs from Karon and headed towards Pendelton without our GPS but as we got closer I became a bit apprehensive as to which exit we should take.  After a quick address program the trusty navigator told us to take a route that was new to us but we took it and arrived safely at B’Unique shoppe.  We were met by Ingo and quickly transitioned to the new abode where we unloaded the table and chairs.  We put them in the kitchen and quickly made use of them as B & I cooked us some lunch of steak, salad and SAM’s real apple pie made last night.  Mumm, good.  SAM’s applesauce was real good too.  Too bad it had just a bit of Cinnamon and B could not partake of much.  The grandkids were in rare form also: D seemed to take exception to my sunglasses and A was the usual bundle of energy laced with some intelligent words.

    A has his own computer and I noticed it had no virus  scanner so I undertook to add one and check the machine as well.  Admin had a password and after some calling and time I logged in and added everything then did the scan – no viruses.  Later A & I went for a bike ride down to the school.  School was in session so we could not go to the playground but we had a good jaunt just the same.  It was a good day.

  • Inside out

    Posted on October 14th, 2011 cwmoore No comments

    I am sitting here at my work desk looking out at the bright colored leaves, what is left of them that is, and the overcast skies with north winds blowing steadily about 10 knots.  The leaves are falling now and we blew off the top yard two days ago when there was a good westerly breeze and the leaves were crispy dry.  They rattled the unique sound only dead dry leaves can make as we blew them over the hill into the still green floor of the woods.

    This morning I am contemplating whether to mow the lake level part of the property one more time or to put on the vacuum fitting on the mower deck and fire up the vacuum motor.  I still have not decided what to do but I will probably pull the vacuum outside and fire up the engine so I am not disappointed when I really need it in a few days.

    I have whiled away the from the time I arose to now cruising around Facebook.  I had a chat with an old colleague from Holland who is now living in the south of France.  In France they get telephone, TV, Internet all for 34 Euros per month and that includes free local and long distance to most countries around the world.  I pay way more than that just for Internet.  Bummer – I am going to have to cut back on my connectivity some time soon.  That may mean the smartphone has to go and we will have to share a cellular phone too.

    I drove to Detroit to interview with a company called Integral Blue for some part time work in the ITS industry, well actually any wireless type work would do, and it seemed like some work would be forthcoming.  I would like to average about 10 hours per week and have a lot of that be home based.  I priced myself to be attractive for this type of arrangement.  We shall see.  Moore later……….

  • Last voyage for the year

    Posted on October 9th, 2011 cwmoore No comments

    We made our last trip out to Lake Michigan for this season (and year).  The day was calm winds and seas but sunshine galore with good temperatures.  After going out, and with engine warm, I changed oil and filter.  I used Yanmar 15W 40 again this year.

    Later in the evening I met a guy, by the name of Larry, at the dock with a Bayliner 36.  The interior was large, sumptuous  and nicely arranged for two people.   He was interesting to talk with.  He does some chartering and sometimes needs crew so I told him to count me in for some of the future trips.

    SAM did some Cetol work that needed to be finished.  Tomorrow we put on a coat of clear and we should be finished for a while.

  • At last sunshine!

    Posted on October 1st, 2011 cwmoore No comments

    We spent the final week of Spetember with overcast skies, lots of rain and a pesky upper level low that just would not move from the south end of Lake Michigan.  Part of that time we were on the boat and part of the time at home.  The boat part was memorable because of the storm force winds of the past three days,boring days onboard and difficulty of getting from the boat to shore without getting real wet.  The winds hit 40 knots with a steady blow of about 26kt as they veered clockedwise around from the SW to N over a 18 hr period.  All the lines on the boat were tested and I added a few more to be on the safe side to redundant cleats.  We got to use the generator as shorepower failed due to trees falling across powerlines.

    While we were at home I helped replace part of the roof at the church in between rainstorms and the group of guys had a good time eating the meals the ladies prepared.  We got caught up on the bills and mowed the lawn because the lower level needed it pretty badly.  Also cleaned some the areas of the lower building and organized some of the back part as well.  I made a couple of plates for the boat out of teak so that the chain rode would not abraid the caprail teak brightwork.

    We are still planning on pulling the boat near the end of October if we still have her.  Some guy in Washington state has been showing interest.  If it does not sell we are pulling her from the market as I feel the price is too low right now and the interest has not been overwhelming at that price and going lower is out of the question.  Moore later!