Tweet Test 110208-2119

I am writing this to test the integration between Twitter and this blog which is public o Charleswmoore.org or .us

Twitter

My son has been using Twitter so I signed up for an account too.  It is a micro-blogging type of application.  You get 140 characters per post.  I have been trying to figure out if I want to integrate it into my blog(s) or have my Twitter posts put into the blogs.  It seems there are ways to do both.  For now I will just keep them separate – my Twitter name is csjmoore.  I have the Twitter restricted to approved accounts only and am following two people and two people are following me.  Now I have to find some more followers and followee’s.

Updates

Several Days Late!

November 2nd, 2008

Ok, so you know the cradle is broken from the last blogline.  That night I drove home.  However, to fill the previous afternoon, I located a lumber yard that had a supply of 2″x12″x16′ white oak rough sawn boards in Charlotte, MI.

Next morning I saddled up the old truck and hooked up the kayak trailer.  I headed for Charlotte and the lumber yard.  I arrived about 10:00 and we selected a good, mostly clear piece of 2×12 white oak.  We then ripped it into a 2″x6″x16′ and cut to length of 174 inches.  I loaded both pieces of the lumber on the trailer and headed for Saugatuck.  Price for the lumber was $71.00.

I went direct to Saugatuck by navigating with Streets & Trips running on my computer.  I was on mostly tarmac roads except for a few miles on a gravel road and I only went through one town of consequence – Niles, MI – where I got a McDonalds #1.  I arrived in Saugatuck about 1400 hrs local time and unloaded the wood and the bolts I purchased at our local Trustworthy Hardware (about $52).  I then unloaded some items from the boat and headed for the Indiana home.

So far, I have not heard from Tower Marine as to the disposition of the cradle fix.  I called once but no one returned my call.

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Crash, Bang – What was that? REPEATED

October 22nd, 2008

Last night was my last night on Inspiration until next spring.  There was a North wind and the temperature was 35 degrees F.  In the morning the frost on the boat was very heavy.  I awoke about 6:40 AM, ate breakfast and put everything on the dock that I wanted to take home this trip.  The truck & trailer with my new 16.5 kayak was stored in the heated building so it was nice to put the things away in the vehicle.

The Saqugatuck Marine people arrived at o730 and we started.  By 1100 hrs it was out and ready for power washing.  I use VC17 so the washing was a snap and the moved it into the heated storage building to a temporary position.

As they were removing the dolly’s and putting the corner boxes there was a very loud bang and one of the wood supports for my cradle broke.  Luckily there was a box under both corners and no trauma resulted.  However, where do you find a 2″x6″x14′ solid oak board to replace the broken one?  I called around and located a rough cut 2×12x14′ board we can rip into two pieces.  Now I have to get up early and run to Charlotte, MI buy the lumber and then deliver it to the marina.  I figure this is cheaper than the solution that they would come up with.  The board is $62 ripped so the price is not too bad per board ft (about $0.50 per bd ft).  The high $ item will be gasoline running around and labor to install the board as it is inside one of their facilities and employees have to do the work at $75 per hour.

I’ll let you know tomorrow what transpires.  Oh yes,  I have to stop by the local hardware and get new bolts, nuts , washers and some 2′ all thread 1/2″ rod (in case we have to make a custom something).

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End of the Season

October 20th, 2008

Tomorrow I will travel to Saugatuck and over-night on Inspiration for the last time this season.  She is to be hauled first thing on Wednesday morning.  In between all this goings on I have to get the oil changed.  I’ll let the engine cool down for an hour or so before extracting the old oil.  Actually, I probably would not even need to change it as there is about 10 hours on the engine this season.  However, I will change it so it will be crystal clear for spring.

On the 19th we removed all the bedding and cleaned out the refridgerator.  Also, we dismounted the dingy and colapssed the davits.  The dingy is upsided down on the fore deck – we moved it with the topping lift halyard and switched over to the jib halyard as it moved from aft to forward – and all went nicely.  When we left the marina the car was totally full of “things”.

On the way back to Indiana we took a long detour to Grand Rapids to look at a kayak (a Perception Shadow).  It was a little tight for me with the size 11 shoes but SAM said it fit the size 9’s OK.  Anyway we put a down payment on it and I will return tomorrow to pick it up.  It is a pretty clean 16.5′ sea kayak.  We will see how SAM handles it as it is narrow and has a shallow V bottom – it will be tippy.  Several other pieces of gear will come with it but they are mostly worthless to us.

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Beautiful Closing Weekend

October 11th, 2008

I came up to the boat on Wednesday and installed the Remote Panel for the PathMaker 200 combiner.  Now I will not have to manually switch from start battery to Both for charging.  When on Shore Power the combiner is activated so all 5 batteries are in parallel.  If the combined battery voltage drops below 13.1 VDC the combiner seperates ths start and house batteries.  When the boat engine starts the alternator will bring the batteries up past 13 .4 VDC and the combiner connets the house and start batteries.  If you are using a wind generator and/or solar panels and the battery voltage goes above 15.0 VDC the combiner also kicks out seperating the hosue and start batteries.  I bought it off of eBay for a very low price with Remote Indicator.

Today I awaited SAM’s arrival but vehicle trouble resulted in a wasted day.  Tomorrow we will take the sails down for the season.  We will probably come up on the weekends until haul out but will have to motor only.

We too a long beach walk with friends and then went to dinner.  Weather was perfect and seas almost perfectly flat but there was no wind .  Not one sailboat was out.

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Crash, Bang – What was that!

Last night was my last night on Inspiration until next spring.  There was a North wind and the temperature was 35 degrees F.  In the morning the frost on the boat was very heavy.  I awoke about 6:40 AM, ate breakfast and put everything on the dock that I wanted to take home this trip.  The truck & trailer with my new 16.5 kayak was stored in the heated building so it was nice to put the things away in the vehicle.

The Saqugatuck Marine people arrived at o730 and we started.  By 1100 hrs it was out and ready for power washing.  I use VC17 so the washing was a snap and the moved it into the heated storage building to a temporary position.

As they were removing the dolly’s and putting the corner boxes there was a very loud bang and one of the wood supports for my cradle broke.  Luckily there was a box under both corners and no trauma resulted.  However, where do you find a 2″x6″x14′ solid oak board to replace the broken one?  I called around and located a rough cut 2×12x14′ board we can rip into two pieces.  Now I have to get up early and run to Charlotte, MI buy the lumber and then deliver it to the marina.  I figure this is cheaper than the solution that they would come up with.  The board is $62 ripped so the price is not too bad per board ft (about $0.50 per bd ft).  The high $ item will be gasoline running around and labor to install the board as it is inside one of their facilities and employees have to do the work at $75 per hour.

I’ll let you know tomorrow what transpires.  Oh yes,  I have to stop by the local hardware and get new bolts, nuts , washers and some 2′ all thread 1/2″ rod (in case we have to make a custom something).

What? Where did the day go?

It started out with the fact that I, CWM, actully slept until 0930 this morning!  I can count late sleeping with both hands and toes.  Anyway, it felt good. 

About 10:00 I was finished with breakfast, coffee and emails.  Then came the serious stuff – Stock Market, Banks, Bonds and other investment issues.  Man, the market was up again and going through the roof.  SAM and I had discussions about the serious nature of the economy and international buy-in’s.  My main worry was where did our $10K go from Wachovia?  Everyone is getting bailed out and Wells Fargo is offering $00.10 on the dollar from a stock that we paid $50 (aprox) for?  They spend $700 billion of my tax dollars to bail the banks and $25 billion to bail the automotive industry and just where is Wachovia?  They are in the tanks and defunct and I MAY get $7 per share of the 200 shares I had.  Who makes out on this one?  Wells Fargo that is who!  WF is my main bank and has been for 30+ years – they pay me diddly for my saved money and now they steal my stock.  Something is not quite right here.  But, what do you do about it?  Capitulate, give the $ to the rising very upper middle class and rich.  Screw the middle class they were getting too powerful anyway – to think a democracy could run itself without the ariostoracy and Wall Street.  As we said in the 60’s “the times they are a coming”.

 Anyway, I put a buy in for GM at $6.50 just to support the good old USA.  I think I will buy some Ford tomorrow AM for the same reason.  The last of the icons.  I guess I will go down in a blaze of glory and patriotism.  Then, since they have all my retirement $ (via 401K that let the companies off the hook), I will have blown my personal cash from the last 5 years.  Roll the dice – make or break – and I bet craps comes up.  So much for the workers of this country, we are done for and buried – the Irish, Scottish, Germans, Scandinavians and last but not least the English.  The new ones can come only from China, India, Mexico and Eastern block areas. 

I think Capitalism has failed.  Greed does really have bounds.  The bounds are the peoples of the Earth who will stand only for so much and then the changes start taking place.  What we are seeing is the start of the change.  Where will it lead? 

The details do not matter but the macro-essence must surely point to a social world where work exists for the pleasure of the people and and not the nations, states, corporations and multi-nationals.  Only in this way can we protect our fragile environment, provide fulfillment to our billions of people and migrate away from greed.

This period will be the tribulation and we are entering it now.  Whether one looks at it from the macro or micro point of view we have looked at the enemy, seen the enemy and the enemy is integrated within us.  Now  we need to undertake to identify the false Prophets.

Week 42: Allergies

I have been having a bout with allergies.  when I was younger it took the form of runny nose, bloodshot eyes and occasional congestion.  As an older person the symptoms are less of the aforementioned and more of the hives and congestion.  The past three weeks have been the worst all summer.  I guess this is because of the fact I am in PL more and less on the boat.  Near water and farther north my symptoms become less.

This past week I added the remote indicator panel for the combiner.  It fit quite nicely but I bunged up the face a bit when I tried to lever it just a little to plumb.  When I did this the face cover plastic piece seperaded from the flat black base layer and I now have a translucent piece in the lower left corner.  I have been thinking of super glue with low viscosity to sort of run in between the two layers and then squeezing for just the few seconds for the bond to take place.  I just could not stand the disappointment this week.  I was on the boat 4 days this week.

Sunday we took the sails off and they are safely stored in the building.  Next week I think we will take the truck and bring the Cetol back home to do the boarding ladder and the other necessary touch ups on the removable wood items.  There are getting to be more and more winter work items.

It was warm Sunday and it seems everyone was in a bad temper state so it was not really a pleasant afternoon.  In spite of all this SAM did manage to paint the Cetol Gloss coat fon the bow sprit and it looks nice.

We left for PL about 6 to 6:30 and ran into a wreck on I-94 and then a super long 5 mph slow down just after that.  We exited at milemarker 85 and headed cross country with the aid of my trusty computer and the USB GPS.  Even so the 2.5 hr trip took 4 and we were dog tired when we arrived home.

Today, Monday, I mowed the lawn, replaced some light bulbs in the hangar, had a TSA association  meeting.  I had just. time for a 15 minute nap.  Hopefully, the leaves will start to come down so we can get that chore over with for the season.  Then it is time to snuggle in for the winter.

This week 41

After church Sunday we went kayaking Long Lake and down the Pigeon Crick with Fred & Karen.  We had a good time but the weather turned cloudy about half way down Long Lake.  The complete trip was just us as no one else was out.  It was beautiful.

Monday and Tuesday were rainy and I was chained to the house.  By Wednesday I was ready to go to the boat.  I arrived about 1800 EST and cooked dinner.  My allergies seem to have re-appeared and I itched and had some hives.  I went to get some Bynedryl and that helped a little.

Thursday I installed the remote Pathmaker Combiner indicator.  I had just sufficient lenght to complete the project.  After working, I went to Radio Shack for a Budd Box.  On the way back I bought a roasted chicken.  There is plenty for tomorrow night.

Friday was a sleeping late and just tracing wires then documenting for posterity on Visio.

Week 39 Weekend

Saturday was the Chile cook-off for the TH Yacht Club.  SAM made a white Chile chowder with a lot of Cumin.  It had a real nice after taste, was not too spicy and was mild.  We did not win but I thought ours was the best.  After dinner we went to the laundry to wash the sleeping bags and pillow cases of the boat and then SAM crashed. I went to the boathouse for a shower and did some quick Internet searches and wen to bed too.  The whole day was beautiful and perfect temperatures.

Sunday came upon us with gloomy skies, cool temperatures and a moderate north wind in the harbor.  I went out with a sailing friend in his boat and SAM went to Saugatuck with a friend.  Seas we 1-3′ and about 10 MPH – the Seaward 23 was in seventh heaven and plodded along at 4 Kt or above pointing high into the wind.  We sailed for about 2 -3 hours and then came back to meet up with the rest of the troupe.

Tonight we cleaned out the freezer and had the last of the sausage with fried potatoes covered with cheese.  Just what my cardiologist loves to see.  The dishes are now done and being allowed to drip dry.  I will now depart to dry them and put them away.  Have a good night.

Past few weeks update

The past few weeks from the last post have been spent mostly on the boat.  The several day exception is when Ike came rolling thorough and almost directly overhead.  On sailor said he could see the remnants of the “eye”.  I trust his judgement as he has 60K sea miles and has survived a couple of open sea hurricanes.  On my return the boat was dry inside and this made me happy.

I spent a couple of weeks making and installing a total of about 100 teak plugs for the cabin top deck.  I can do 15 per day if I hurry but average 10 per day.  The process involves popping out the old plug  has been sanded to about 1/32″ thick, countersinking the existing Flathead screw hole to a 1/8″ depth and installing a 1/8″ shorter stainless steel screw and gluing in a 1/2″ long plug.  Later when the glue is dry, I use a fine and flexible back saw made by Stanley to cut the plug almost flush with the deck.  If needed I sand it shorter.  All this can be done production line style if rain is not in the immediate future.

Fred B spent last Th, Fri, Sat & Sun on the boat and we had a good time.  We were supposed to go on a 4 day cruise but at the last minute a potential buyer showed up on Saturday and we had to cancel the trip as it would take too long.  The days on the boat seem to pass quickly and I am enjoying the freedom of retirement.  I may get bored this winter though but there is winter boat work to do too.

A day on the Lake

We departed about 11:00 for a stint on LM near Saugatuck.  The winds were westerly about 12 to 17 knots.  We first went north towards Holland and then successfully tacked and headed south past Mt. Baldy.  After a couple of hours SAM started feeling sick so I gybed and headed for the harbor entrance.  Opps, not in time and the fishes received some more food.

 We were docked and fixing a late lunch about 1500 hrs.  Then SAM took a long nap and myself a shorter one.  We then made the ship shipshape.  By then it was time for dinner and then we showered and I am writing this.

Thus go the days – the sailing season is almost over we have about 4 weekends then it is time to take the boat out for the winter.