Color Your World: 20 Desert Sand

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Captain Jill

For Jennifer’s Color Your World challenge, todays color is ‘desert sand‘. Another color I had to look up online. Here it is for reference.

Here’s my photo. I took it a couple of months ago. I was on an African safari. I spent a few days on Zanzibar. This is a photo of the Old Fort there in Stonetown. It was really a pretty cool place. People had set up little stalls around the walls. They sold all kinds of crafts. Inside was full of shops and bars. There was a big arena too. There were some guys practicing their break dancing, they were pretty entertaining. It was an interesting place to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

Heart of the Sea

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Captain Jill

I took a little break and went to the movies yesterday. I’ve been wanting to see the movie “In the Heart of the Sea” since I first saw the commercials for it a couple of months ago.

I’d read the book (by Nathaniel Philbrick) a couple of years ago. I LOVED it. It’s a fantastic sea story (which I always love).The movie tells the story of the Nantucket whale ship “Essex”. “In the Heart of the Sea” showcased adventure, suspense and even horror mixed in with the wonderful descriptions of the sailing ship and life on the sea 100 years ago. Then there was the whole Moby Dick thing. The whaling and the incredible idea that there might be a whale out for vengeance!

I admit, I don’t remember much about the book ‘Moby Dick‘. We all read it in high school. I had no idea it was based on a true story. I don’t remember being all that impressed with the book. I’m pretty sure the ending was not the same as in this movie, (if it had been I’m sure I would have remembered it better)! Like a lot of those ‘classics’ we had to read in high school, I remember thinking “what the hell’s so great about this book?”.

They did a good job with the film. It wasn’t as good as Philbricks’ book (movies almost never are). Still, it was good.

It started right off by following the Chief Mate, Owen Chase (played by Chris Hemsworth), leaving his pregnant wife behind and heading into town for his next assignment. He’d been promised a captains position on his next voyage and was pretty ticked off when he found out he got screwed out of it in a case of ‘office politics’. I hadn’t realized they were even doing that way back then. 😉

Captain Pollard (Benjamin Walker) gets the job instead, simply because he comes from an old time, respectable family.

This creates a situation on board between the Master and Mate where they are constantly butting heads and is NOT good for the ship (it never is)! The tension between the 2 characters is evident throughout the entire movie. They could have done more to show the interaction with the rest of the crew, but the focus was on these 2 men (and the whale).

The movie, directed by Ron Howard, uses the story device in which Herman Melville (working on his book Moby Dick) is interviewing Thomas Nickerson, who went to sea as a young boy on that disastrous voyage. Nickerson is ashamed by what he did to survive and has never spoken to anyone about it. His wife finally convinces him to speak to Melville in exchange for much needed funds.

It works as a way to tell the story. You can still see the effects the incident had on Nickerson, even all these years later. It was well done, not disturbing the story too much with the returns to the scenes of the late night story telling over drinks.

I really enjoyed the movie. I loved all the scenes of the everyday work aboard the ship. I yelled at the captain that he was an idiot to sail into the storm like he did. I was thrilled to see the whales and caught up in the chase when the boats were launched. I cried when the ship was lost. (I’m glad it was dark in the theater). 😉

I suppose todays environmentalists would be cheering for the whale the whole time, but I found myself wavering. Sometimes I felt like I imagined the whale felt. Angry at men for destroying so much innocent beauty. Coming to murder my family for money! Sometimes I felt like the men. Just out to make a living, to survive however they could. This was a survival story in the end. On both sides.

I’m glad we discovered petroleum oil, or we WOULD have wiped out all of the whales. OK, I have been working in the oilfield the last few years (so maybe I’m prejudiced), but I wonder what would have happened if we had NOT found an alternative to whale oil. Would we still have been able to progress? Or would we have gone back to the ‘dark ages’ when everything stopped when the sun went down? Yeah, even tho we have a few oil spills, I’m still glad we have petroleum. The whales are recovering now.

Veterans Day

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Captain Jill

Today is Veterans Day, at least in the USA. I think in lots of other countries, they celebrate Armistice Day instead. It seems to be basically the same holiday.

To remember those who served in the armed services.

I noticed quite a few special things going on today for military people. Lots of restaurants giving out free meals to veterans, free drinks in the bars, special sales in stores, even parades in some places.

That’s nice, I thought. I also thought it would be nice if the Merchant Marines were included in these things. I know in the USA we also have to swear an oath before we get our documents.

We don’t usually sign on for only 4 years either. I’ve had my ticket since I got my AB limited in 1979 or so. If I was in the Navy or US Coast Guard, I would be retired by now with some nice benefits and of course, have a special day (today).

I wonder why we’re never remembered for OUR services?

One reason is probably because we’re never mentioned in school or media. Most people have no idea about the Merchant Marine. Who we are, what we do, what are we there for?

I know we have Maritime Day in May, but it’s not like it’s a holiday or anything and almost nobody even knows about it.

Things have changed a lot in the last 50 years. People have forgotten how much the Merchant Marine has always been important to their lives (and still is- check out the book Ninety Percent of Everything).

It would be nice if people would have at least a thought for us today. Maybe remember we had more casualties than any of the other services. We lost so many ships (and men), something like 1500 American ships! That is not even taking into account all those lost from other countries!

Maybe think about all the hell mariners went through to deliver the arms, men, materials, to the fighting forces overseas. Some of them had their ships shot out from under them 2, 3 times and they still returned to sail again. One guy (Harold Harper) had his ship torpedoed 6 times! Another lost his ship 10 times! And they still came back for more. Yet, the Merchant Marine still gets almost no recognition. 🙁

The Maritime Executive Magazine has a nice article today. They’re one of the few places I’ve seen any mention of the Merchant Marines role and relationship to Veterans Day. I thank them for it and will hope they get a widespread readership. I hope you’ll check out their link (and the other ones I’ve made today).

Hope you all had a good holiday. I appreciate all the people who tried so hard to do what they thought was right.

US Merchant Marine flag

Book: The Gathering Wind

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Captain Jill

It’s been a quiet couple of days around here. I’ve been reveling in the fact that I finally found some time to just CHILL!

I wrote yesterday that I didn’t do anything except take my daily walk and cook dinner. Today I got a little bit more done. I did the laundry. 😉

I’ve been reading a good book and thought some of you might like it too. It’s called The Gathering Wind, by Gregory A. Freeman.

It’s all about the tall ship Bounty, (the replica of the one they had the mutiny on). 😉

The Gathering Storm tells the story of the ship, her captain (Robin Walbridge) and crew and how they wound up sinking in the middle of ‘Superstorm Sandy’.

It’s a pretty wild story, especially the heroic attempts by the crew to save their ship and the amazing efforts of the US Coast Guard to save the crew.

It’s a great read, a real page turner. Even tho I knew how it would turn out, it still kept me interested til the end. As a sailor, I kept wondering WHY would they do that? Head out to sea with a hurricane approaching?

The book doesn’t really give a clear answer to that question. It did have a section on the investigation of the sinking, but I would have liked more. I have my own opinion and it mostly has to do with money.

So many of these disasters at sea probably never would have happened if there was a REAL concern for safety, but ‘time is money’ and it gets harder and harder for a seafarer to find employment where the idea of safety is more than just a façade for the insurance companies!

Just a couple of weeks ago, the El Faro went down with all hands, another 33 lives. Lost in another hurricane.

Will the investigation for the El Faro come to the same conclusion? That it was all the captains fault? That only his ‘reckless decision’ was to blame?

Do you really think the captain of the El Faro (or the Bounty) would have taken the risks he did if there were no pressure from the office to ‘make the schedule’? I sure as hell don’t!

With all the new rules and regulations coming out of the IMO and various governmental bodies, I keep wondering when will they get down to the root cause of all this? The people in the OFFICE who run these ships! THEY are the ones who really make the decisions these days, the poor old captain is nothing but a scapegoat for when things go wrong!

There is only so much a captain and crew can do out there! Without the help and support of our employers, we can only do so much! Sailing around a hurricane (or through pirates, or any other extraordinarily dangerous place), is NOT something we should be doing just to save the company a few bucks!

I’m still waiting to see the day when the IMO does something that actually helps the MARINER! Putting at least SOME of the responsibility on those who really make the decisions, and off of the captain who is now only a figurehead would go a long way in fixing a lot of issues out here!

For further discussions of these incidents among the mariners who hang out on Gcaptain, (professional and otherwise), check out these links:

http://www.gcaptain.com/forum/professional-mariner-forum/10134-hms-bounty-hurricane-sandy.html

http://www.gcaptain.com/forum/maritime-news/17656-sea-star-el-faro.html

Arrrgh- I Missed It!

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Captain Jill

Aye, I’ve been so busy here on this old ship, I totally forgot that yesterday (Sept 19th) was International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yaaar, I be stuck here on this old ship, but I still could have had some fun with the whole pirate thing. Yeah, even here.

Of course, it would have been a hell of a lot more fun to be off. There are parties all over the world to celebrate and for sure I would have been in attendance!

Next year, I’ll be sure to remember next year.

Carl Miller – Right to travel without a license plate

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Captain Jill

I agree with this guy in principle. We should NOT be forced to get a license plate. I have argued against being forced to get a drivers license in order to use the roads I have PAID for, the car I BOUGHT, the gas I PAID for. There is NO justification under constitutional law for the state (or any other government agent) to FORCE me to submit, to BEG their permission to travel freely!
I was BORN with the INALIENABLE RIGHT to TRAVEL. FREELY! That means I can move along a public road or any other public space without interference as long as I am not bothering anyone else. That goes for the airways too! The TSA and all its bullshit security theater is a HUGE violation of my rights and IS totally unconstitutional in every way! Where’s the warrant? Where’s the probable cause? What right do those government thugs in uniforms have to restrict you in ANY way in YOUR RIGHT to travel? The answer is NONE! They have STOLEN your rights from you!

Symbol: Plimsoll Line

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Captain Jill

I decided to join in on the Daily Posts challenge: Symbol. I thought about the waterline one immediately. I think if you haven’t spent a lot of time around ships, you might not know what this one means, even if you see it around you all the time.

This symbol for the ships waterline is called the Plimsoll line, after Samuel Plimsoll. It’s also called the international load line since its function is to inform as to the maximum level a ship can be loaded safely. To put it simply, if it’s underwater, the ship is overloaded and therefore unsafe to sail!

If you look at a ship, you should see this symbol midships (about halfway between the bow and stern). All commercial ships should have this prominently marked on their hull. The ‘deck line’ marks where the main deck level is located. The ‘A’ and ‘B’ on either side of the circle refers to the ‘class society’. In this case the American Bureau of Shipping. It could say LR (Lloyds Register) or BV (Bureau Veritas) or otherwise classed. These are the people who actually figure out exactly where the marks should be placed.

The markings to the right of the circle refer to the type (fresh, brackish or salt) and temperature of the water the ship is floating in. The density of the water changes according to these variables and so the ship will float higher or lower in the water when she sails in different conditions. And so the ship can be loaded with more or less cargo.

The Plimsoll line has saved thousands of lives since Mr Plimsoll first started working to stop overloaded vessels from heading to sea (with subsequent losses of ships and sailors). Plimsoll fought hard to stop the ‘coffin ships’ from sailing and spent years trying to enact legislation to protect the people who worked at sea. Here’s a bit from A Cheer For Plimsoll written and sung by Fred Albert in 1876

So a cheer for Samuel Plimsoll and let your voices blend
In praise of one who surely has proved the sailors’ friend
Our tars upon the ocean he struggles to defend
Success to Samuel Plimsoll for he’s the sailors’ friend.

There was a time when greed and crime did cruelly prevail
and rotten ships were sent on trips to founder in the gale
When worthless cargoes well-insured would to the bottom go.
And sailors’ lives were sacrificed that men might wealthy grow.

For many a boat that scarce could float was sent to dar the wave
’til Plimsoll wrote his book of notes our seamen’s lives to save
His enemies then tried to prove that pictures false he drew
but with English pluck to his task he stuck, a task he deemed so true.

It wasn’t until the loss of the SS London in 1866, with the loss of over 200 lives, that Parliament started paying attention to Plimsolls’ simple solution. In 1876, the UK made the load line marking mandatory, but it took until 1930 for any international agreement to come about.

The Plimsoll line has made shipping much safer, at least for the ships that follow its direction. It’s a simple enough thing that anyone can take a look and see if the ship is overloaded or safe to sail. But it looks to me like greed (on the part of shippers) and fear for their jobs (on the part of the mariners) keeps overloaded and unsafe ships sailing the worlds oceans. I think from plenty of news items, (like this, this, and this, etc), that people around the world are still not taking advantage of this hard earned knowledge.

Sunday Stills: White

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Captain Jill

I found a new challenge in my reader today. It’s Ed’s Sunday Stills. There are some really nice photos by people participating. Here’s my entry. 🙂 I actually posted this picture before, I took it when I was sailing as captain of a tuna boat out in the South Pacific.

Norms Thursday Doors

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Captain Jill

Norm does a photo challenge on ‘doors‘ every Thursday. I like to get into these things when I can. Here’s a photo I took while wandering around Seoul Korea with the Travel Writing group last spring. I walked all around town for hours. It’s a very safe and interesting place, the people are friendly and easy to talk to. They’re very happy to practice their English with you! 🙂

Remembering the Importance of Seafarers

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Captain Jill

Remembering the Importance of Seafarers.

June 25th has been declared by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) as the International Day of the Seafarer. Yes, I’m a little late with this post, but I hope you’ll read it and think about it anyway. I’m at sea at the moment. All of the people who work as seafarers spend most of their lives at sea and aren’t always able to keep up with the rest of the world.

I’m very fortunate that I’ve worked my way up to a position where I have some options. I refuse to work on any vessel any more that doesn’t allow me internet access (it works here at least sometimes). You’d be surprised how many companies don’t think that’s important!

I’m one of the few lucky ones. I work in a very competitive area and my wages are much higher than most. I remember my deck crew on the tuna boat asking my why they didn’t earn American wages since they were working on an American boat. The only (true) answer I could give them was Continue reading →

The Truth About “Organic” And “Certification”

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Captain Jill

Sad that so many people STILL believe the lie that the government is there to help them. If that was EVER true, it sure as hell is not any more!

Sunday Stills: Multiple Flowers

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Captain Jill

I found a new challenge in my reader today. It’s Ed’s Sunday Stills. There are some really nice photos by people participating. Here’s my entry. 🙂

I took it in Korea when I was there for a weeklong class in travel writing and photography. I stayed over on my own for a couple of extra weeks and spent the time exploring from Incheon down to Geoji. It was a very interesting and friendly place. Sorry it was also a very sad time (ferry sank the day before I left home). I’d like to go back again when people are back to normal and not in mourning.

Ships Rigs: Schooner

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Captain Jill

I wrote an earlier post about how sailing ships are rigged. I figured I would start with the biggest and most unusual to see today, and work my way down to the more common types you’ll see around you every day.

So the first post was about a ‘ship’ rig. Today’s post will be about a ‘schooner’ rig. I mentioned before that sailing ships rigs are first classified by how the sails are set. Either fore-and-aft or square rigged. A ‘ship’ is set with square rigged sails, a ‘schooner’ is set with fore-and-aft rigged sails.

I saw a nice one in the news the other day. The Juan Sebastian de Elcano was in Pensacola a couple of weeks ago and was open for tours by the locals. She’s in Charleston now. Check it out if you can. Here’s a picture of her. She’s a real beauty!

She’s got 4 masts, all rigged fore-and-aft and also square rigged on the foremast. So technically, she’s a brig-schooner. Or she could be called a topsail schooner. Whatever you call her, she’s a beautiful ship and I imagine must be a dream to sail on. 🙂

She’s very similar to the Ariadne. The ship I was privileged to sail on during my younger days. The difference is that the Ariadne was a little smaller, only had 3 masts and didn’t have the square sails. I actually got to go to high school aboard the Ariadne and the brigantine Phoenix! I was SO lucky! That experience definitely changed my life for the better. Here’s a picture of her.

The Ariadne was a true schooner. She had 3 masts, all fore-and-aft rigged. The Juan Sebastian de Elcano is a brig-schooner which means she has square sails on her fore mast. There are all kinds of variations to the main 2 types of sail plans (fore-and-aft or square rigged). There are ships, schooner, brigs, brigantines, barques, barquentines, in the larger class of vessels and then a few more in the smaller class. I’ll write more about them later. 🙂

Surprise!

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Captain Jill

I was online last night trying to remember what kind of beer they had in Kiribati for an article I’ve been working on. I wanted to write a little bit about when I was working on the tuna boat out there. I googled Kiribati beer and up popped this blog post https://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Kiribati/Tarawa/blog-429394.html

I was reading the post, checking out the pictures and what a surprise, I realized she was writing about me!

I should probably write more about my time on the tuna boat. I did really enjoy it and especially loved visiting all those out of the way islands. I do hope I can go back to doing that kind of sailing again. Where it’s an adventure, not just a paycheck.

World Oceans Day

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Captain Jill

World Oceans Day is coming up on Monday (June 8). This years theme is ‘healthy oceans, healthy planet’. It really is just common sense. The oceans cover over 70% of the earth. We all ultimately rely on the ocean for our own health and well being. It’s important to take care of it, if only for our own good. Monday will be a day to remember all the reasons we should respect and care for the oceans, it’s a day to celebrate and get involved too.

The oceans are a major source of food for people (and animals): fish, shellfish, seaweed, plankton, krill, etc. They also help to regulate the climate and keep some of the Northern areas warm in the winter and Southern places cooler in the summer (N hemisphere). The oceans are also extremely important for connecting people around the world. In the USA, 90% of our trade is by sea.

A lot of people make their living directly from the sea like I do. I’ve worked on the water from the time I was a kid. Fishing, recreation (cruising), and transporting cargo from one place to another (a ship is much more efficient than any other form of transport). Now, I work in the offshore oil fields, exploring for and extracting resources from the sea bottom.

If you live near the ocean, like I do, you already know how important it is for your ‘soul’, your mental health, your attitude. I can sit by the sea, listen and watch the waves roll in and it immediately calms me. I like to swim, snorkel, sail, SCUBA dive, surf (not very well), fish, and any other activity that gets me out on the water. 😉

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to think about how you benefit from it and what life would be like without a healthy ocean. Check out a few of the links. Get involved in some of the events if you can. If you can’t get out to any of the events on Monday, remember it doesn’t have to stop on Monday!

There are plenty of things you can do every day to help make things better. Even simple things like talking to people about World Oceans Day, disposing of your trash properly, using as little plastic as possible, not letting balloons fly away loose, etc. It all helps. 🙂 PS- none of the pictures in this post are mine, I got them all of the internet.

Ed’s Sunday Stills: Circles

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Captain Jill

Here’s an entry I made for Cee’s Sunday Stills: Circles. I just found out I should have made it for Ed’s Sunday Stills. I took these photos at the Maritime Museum in Houston. A couple of old time navigational instruments. Thank goodness we don’t have to fiddle around with this kind of stuff anymore. 😉

Sunday Stills: Circles

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Captain Jill

Here’s an entry for Cee’s Sunday Stills: Circles. I took these photos at the Maritime Museum in Houston. A couple of old time navigational instruments. Thank goodness we don’t have to fiddle around with this kind of stuff anymore. 😉

Dear Leader

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Captain Jill

If your government (local or national) accomplishes one thing this year, what would you like that to be?

That is the topic of the day from the Daily Post.

Oh boy, that is a good one for me! I had to think about it for awhile since there are SO many things I would like the government to do, or really NOT to do.

Here are just a few of the things I would LOVE to see them do: end the drug war, repeal the (misnamed) Patriot act, repeal the NDAA, abolish the TSA, abolish the NSA, bring our military back to the states and stop using them to interfere with other sovereign nations, stop the government from giving special favors Continue reading →

Forward Thinking Police Chief Refuses to Treat Addicts as Criminals, Naturally He’s Being Attacked

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Captain Jill

I support any policeman who knows his ACTUAL duty. Which is to protect the rights of the people, NOT to enforce the laws. Those laws may be (and in this case, in ALL cases of victimless crimes) unjust and wrong. I salute this guy. He deserves the support of every American who’s sick to death of having our rights stripped away from us.

Ships Rigs

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Captain Jill

I got some feedback that my recent posts on square riggers have been appreciated. 🙂 I think some people would like to learn more about the different types of sailing ships, so I’ll go ahead and try to explain at least a few of the more common types around. I’ll start out with the ‘ship’ rig and if you like it I’ll continue on with some of the others. 🙂

There aren’t many of ANY type of sailing ships any more. It’s hard for them to compete when everyone wants immediate gratification now a days. There are still a few around, they’re mostly being used for educational purposes (which they are fantastic for), or for cruise vacations. I do know of a couple that are trying to make a go of sail cargo operations again, but they’re in a tough spot and trying to find a niche market. Here’s a link to a post I wrote a while ago, and here’s another link to a more recent list by Sailing Dog.

The main way to categorize sailing vessels is whether they’re rigged fore-and-aft (the sail is rigged along the centerline of the vessel) or square rigged (the sail is rigged to lie across the centerline of the vessel). A sailing “ship” is one with at least 3 masts, and all masts are rigged with square sails. They will probably also have fore-and-aft sails set between the masts and on the bow.

A full rigged ship is a beautiful sight to see. They were the largest and some of the fastest ships around during the age of sail. Check out this video for a little history of some of the ships of the Flying P Line. The Peking is still afloat and is lying at the South Street Seaport in New York City. I spent a few hours exploring there a while back. Too bad she’s no longer sailing. 🙁

The Sorlandet is an example of one of these ships that is still sailing about. She’s used as a sail training vessel and it’s possible to get aboard if you want to spend the time (and money) to learn. 🙂

The Royal Clipper is one of a few newbuilt vessels. She was built in modern times as a cruise vessel for Star Clippers. You can sign on and take a cruise any time you want. I’m planning to do it myself soon.

So, that should give you a pretty good idea of what a sailing “ship” is. If you like this kind of thing, please check out the links and some of the other websites they lead to. Let me know what you think. 🙂

Songs of the Sea: Farewell Shanty

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Captain Jill

My recent post (re-blogged from Indian Rocks Bridge) about climbing aloft on the Sorlandet got me thinking of those beautiful square riggers. I found this video yesterday. I love the pictures! Such beautiful ships!! It’s a traditional song but has recently been ‘discovered’ (at least according to some of the musical forums). Here’s a shanty to listen to the next time you’re getting underway. 😉

Farewell Shanty

It’s time to go now Haul away your anchor (x2) ‘Tis our sailing time

Get some sail upon her Haul away your halyards (x2) ‘Tis our sailing time

Get her on her course now Haul away your foresheets (x2) ‘Tis our sailing time

Waves are surging under Haul away down-channel (x2) On the evening tide

When my days are over Haul away for Heaven (x2) God be by my side (x2)

PS- the Statsraad Lehmkuhl is another of the ships the Oceanics School chartered for our sailtraining. I missed this one too. 🙁 I got to sail the Ariadne and the brigantine Phoenix. They were all beautiful ships but not quite the same experience as to sail a full rigged ship.

Maybe I’ll do a couple of posts explaining the different ship types (sail plans). Would you like that? In the meantime, here’s a link to a site one of my classmates put online about our school. If you look closely, you can see me in some of the photos. Yeah, I still look pretty much the same. 🙂

111 Feet Up–Climbing the Main Mast of a Fully-Rigged Tall Ship … at 9 Knots

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Captain Jill

I got this post from Gcaptain a while ago and was going to post on my blog about it. Indian Rocks Bridge beat me to it, so I’ll just re-blog. 🙂

PS: Indian Rocks bridge (not the blogger, but the actual bridge) is located very close to where I lived when we first moved to FL. I spent a lot of time at the shipyard there working on our schooner the Island Girl.

On another note, the Oceanics School (where I went to high school) used the Sorlandet for their school ship after I graduated. SO sorry I missed it!

PS- looks like this post got messed up pretty bad by the move, I just reset the links so now you can see what I was talking about again. Sorry. 🙁

Sunset Section 215

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Captain Jill

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the Senate let the domestic spy program (part of the most bogusly named PATRIOT act) where they collect ALL of YOUR phone records, internet records, etc sunset. I hope to hell the congress will get together and just let it die! Do NOT replace it with the so-called “Freedom Act” (another falsely named bill). These laws are completely unconstitutional and totally unjustified. On top of that they’re just plain wrong. Didn’t we used to hate NAZI Germany and Soviet Russia for treating their people this way? It was wrong when they did it and it is JUST AS WRONG now when WE do it!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe for 1 New York second that the fact that the government is not allowed by law to spy on any American citizen without a valid warrant will stop them from continuing to spy on whoever the hell they want, whenever they damn well feel like it, and warrants be damned!

It has ALWAYS been against the law! The Constitution is still the supreme law of the land and no matter what happens, we should NEVER, EVER trade away our freedoms. I’m not sure about Rand Paul, but he’s most definitely on the right side on this issue. I thank him for his filibuster efforts, I think he did some good.

Sad to say, but most of ‘our leaders’ were slavering over the possibilities after 9-11. They jumped on that disaster like it was manna from heaven! They got everything they’d been asking for- asking for decades! And the people and even most of our congressmen were wise to their game. They refused to violate their oath of office and let their fears overcome their common sense and violate the rights of every American.

People now are getting so used to this state of affairs, like it’s just normal, it’s no big deal. People bring up that stupid old argument , “well, if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about”. I call a BIG LOUD BULLSHIT on that tired old excuse! It IS a big deal!

If you don’t think there’s anything wrong with spying on your friends, family and neighbors, digging into every little detail of their lives, then I say there’s something seriously wrong with YOU!

I think it’s LONG past time we all say enough of this BS! Give us back our rights and give them back NOW! The government has NO reason to spy on anyone if they can’t find enough ‘evidence’ to convince a court to give them a warrant to do it. Especially considering that almost all courts are just rubber stamps these days.

Let the spying programs sunset, let the ENTIRE PATRIOT Act expire! Get rid of the NDAA, the NSA and the TSA while we’re at it. We would ALL be a whole lot better off. We need to stop letting our FEAR rule (and ruin) our lives!

Norms Thursday Doors

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Captain Jill

Norm does a photo challenge on ‘doors’ every Thursday. I like to get into these things when I can.

Here’s a pretty blue door. I took this picture last year while I was in Aberdeen for the Freefall Lifeboat Course. It was in an area of town called Footdee, where they moved all the fishermen years ago. This picture is of one of the fishermen’s sheds, where they work on their nets, etc.

Maritime Day 2015

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Captain Jill

Another Memorial Day weekend has passed. I’m not much for holidays. I did go up to Galveston for the National Maritime Day Commemoration Ceremony last week. It’s pretty sad to say it, but I probably would have forgotten it myself if I hadn’t gotten a couple of reminders from friends.

Galveston Coast Guard keepers of the flags

Since I am a merchant marine and have been almost my whole life, I feel like I should at least remember this day and the reason for it. Everyone else celebrates Memorial Day for the ‘armed’ services and forgets about all the Merchant Marine has done for the country (and still does, EVERY DAY).

Galveston had their celebration on Thursday, even though the official day is on May 22.

I was going to try and get there early enough to help man a ‘water table’ for the kids coming up to see all the ships, but it took longer than I expected to take care of my property tax protest in Angleton. I would have liked to take a tour myself, the General Rudder from Texas A&M was dockside, the Elissa was right next door, there were a couple of other ships/boats around and also the Ocean Star oil rig.

By the time I got there, the actual ceremony was about to start. Continue reading →

Norms Thursday Doors

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Captain Jill

Norm does a photo challenge on ‘doors’ every Thursday. I like to get into these things when I can.

Here’s my ‘door’ picture for this week. I took it outside the ‘Little Hollywood Land” Movie Set Museum in Kanab, Utah.

I had taken a trip to Las Vegas for the Freedom Fest a couple of years ago and when it was finished, I rented a car and drove up to do some sightseeing. I went to Grand Canyon (North Rim), Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

I had a great time wandering around, hiking through the gorgeous scenery and finding quirky little places like this to stop. 🙂

Old Film Photos

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Captain Jill

I’m asking for advice here. I was out today getting those photos from the other day developed. I figured while I was at it, I would take some of my old film in to get it digitized.

I brought in 6 rolls of (already developed) film, type Kodak Advantix 400 25 exposure “one time use camera film cassette”. The store (Walgreens) told me they could only get the film to come out of 1 of the reels and so they couldn’t do anything with the other 5.

Here’s one of a market in Turkey

Does anyone know of any tricks, techniques, gizmos, etc. to get this film out of their canisters so it can be digitized? Or maybe you know of some other store that would be better at it than Walgreens?

I already asked if I could just break open the film reels myself, but they didn’t seem to think they would be able to do anything with the film then. For some reason I’m not clear on, it has to stay on the reel, in the canister.

Any clues would be appreciated! Thanks!

Songs of the Sea: Shark Attack

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Captain Jill

I thought this was about sharks, you know, the kind that swim in the sea. But actually, it’s about a different kind of shark. The kind that lives on land. The kind we REALLY need to worry about.

I never heard this group (Wailing Souls) before, but I love this song. I really love reggae music anyway, and this song has lyrics worth paying attention to. The video reminded me of a great book I read a few years ago.

It’s called Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. Anyone who’s interested in what’s going on in the world today will get a real education if they read it. I thought it was a great book and should be taught in all our schools (but of course that will NEVER happen!).

I know most of you absolutely HATE it when I start going off on politics and my philosophy of liberty and freedom for all. But I’m hoping it’s a short enough video you might just take a look.

Let me know what you think. Of the music. And the video (the political one- the one by Perkins!) 😉

Shark Attack- Wailing Soul

When you hear this ya one Wailing Soul you know fe true
yeah man
When you hear this ya one ya Wailing Soul you no fe joke (repeat)

Better stop this cultural diffusion
Spreading fear & confusion
Playing cloak & dagger wars
Losing what you fighting for