I’m definitely with her on the sunscreen! I’m only half Irish (other half Italian) but red-headed with freckles and I ALWAYS get sunburned. 🙁
Irish Icon Alternatives to Replace the Shamrock
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Lose weight
I can do all those things for everything EXCEPT losing weight. I don’t know why dieting is the only thing I can’t get to work. Maybe just because it’s FOREVER. It only took me 35 years to get my unlimited masters license. It’s already been 40+ years I’ve been trying to lose weight and I STILL can’t manage it. I think those same things are the keys to weight loss too.
Historic Michigan Tugboat Sinks At Dock
Historic Michigan Tugboat Sinks At Dock | Working Harbor Committee.
I got news of this in an email this morning. What a sad loss for owner Jim Bradley and the people of Michigan.
The former US Army Corps of Engineers tug ‘Wilhelm Baum’ sank at the dock Sunday (2/23/14). No explanation has been found yet. 🙁
Sad to say, I know EXACTLY how Mr Bradley feels.
My father bought a boat when I was growing up. The ‘Island Girl’ was a beautiful antique staysail schooner. She was originally built in Detroit in 1910. She was 72′ LOA, built with a wooden hull. My father fiberglassed her in the late 70s, trying to give her a few more years of life. I remember spending a lot of time helping. 🙂
We spent a LOT of time on that old boat over the years. My father – Capt Bill- sailed her around Florida from the late 60s til I finally convinced him to bring her over to Texas in the late 90’s.
He originally bought ‘Island Girl’ in Miami, sailed her up to Madeira Beach where we grew up. Took her down to the Keys and up the East Coast a bit. Then back down to the Keys and up to Bradenton for a few years before finally bringing her to Galveston and then Freeport, Texas. Sad to say, my father wasn’t able to sail her much after that.
Soon after he managed to get the ‘Island Girl’ to Galveston he got the bad news. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. They gave him just a few months to live.
After he died, he left the boat to me and I did my best to take care of her. Sorry to say I just wasn’t able to. I was still working offshore and really didn’t have either the time or the money to do it. It costs a LOT to keep any boat in shape and an 80+ year old wooden sailboat costs more than most.
We did get to sail it a few times out of Freeport. Eventually our luck ran out and I was awakened with a phone call from the dockmaster. The ‘Island Girl’ was on the bottom. She looked just like the ‘Wilhelm Baum’ in the linked video. 🙁
I was so sad I was actually sick. We’ve had that boat in our family for over 45 years and it was such a big part of my life. I was just so sad. 🙁
To this day, I don’t really know what happened. I have my theories, but it was nothing obvious like burst through-hull fittings or any leaks in the hull. I would really like to know what happened to finally do her in but I’ll probably never know.
I did re-float the boat. Immediately. We pickled the engine and she started right back up- no problemo! It was a Perkins 4 cylinder diesel. We did get to sail her a few more times. We had to keep the sails below the owls nest in the main mast. 😉
Schooner ‘Island Girl’
I actually managed to sell her. I didn’t really want to but I had to just admit that I would NEVER be able to find the time or the money I would need to spend to do what I wanted with her.
I heard later that she sank again. I STILL don’t know what happened to her. The new owner had her moved to Mammoth Lake where there is a dive center. At least someone is still getting use and enjoyment out of that old beauty. I’m glad for that at least.
I wonder if they will ever figure out what happened to the ‘Wilhelm Baum’? I’d like to know if it was the same thing that happened to the ‘Island Girl’.
Ready for this jellyfish? Giant species found down under
Ready for this jellyfish? Giant species found down under.
Today’s Creature Feature is this story from Tasmania. It’s a couple of weeks late, but hopefully it’s still interesting.
I love the description of these jellyfish as ‘snotty’. What would you do if you were walking down the beach and came upon a 5 foot long glob of ‘snot’? 😉
I’d probably do the same thing as the kid that found it! 🙂
I think it’s cool that the scientists are still finding things this big that they haven’t really had the chance to study yet.
Video: Capt Kirk and the Enterprise Meet Miley Cyrus
I have to admit, I’m not really into Miley Cyrus. I didn’t even really know who she was til this whole big media circus about her escapades at the MTV music awards.
So far, I’ve seen her on Saturday Night Live and now this great clip showing on utube using old film from Star Trek. Someone posted it on my Facebook page and I just cracked up laughing.
I love the reactions of the crew. Captain Kirk, Scotty, Spock and Uhura, Chekov finally lost it. OMG, funny!!! The guy who made this video got it down PERFECT!
I’ve never heard of ‘twerking’ before the awards. OK, I’m way past 30, so I know I must be out of touch with what’s going on, but I have learned to use google. 😉
Apparently this is some kind of new dance fad. I don’t think I’m missing much, but during my googling this morning, I discovered that there is an event called the UK Twerking Championships in London. I watched the highlight video. Let me tell you, it’s hilarious!
I’ve always enjoyed watching people dance. All kinds of dance. This twerking is something else. I would have a hard time keeping a straight face in that place. I wonder what they do to people who bust a gut laughing? They looked like they really were pretty serious. WTF???
I even found online lessons. In case you’re interested, here’s one. Enjoy! 😉
A Word A Week Photography Challenge: Violet
orchids
Yes, it’s late, but I decided to go ahead and post my entries for the Word a Week Photography Challenge. It’s only a couple of weeks late. 😉
Here’s the link to the original post from Suellewellyn at a Word in Your Ear blog. People have some nice photos they’ve entered there.
I’ve got a few flowers, a pretty little fish, some fanciful lights, a motorcycle and rider (or not), a cute little witch, a couple of playful green and purple/violet leprechauns from last St Patrick Day parade, and finish it up with some more colorful flowers…
orchids
more orchids
I would have posted more photos but for some reason I’ve been having a HELL of a time uploading photos. I’ve had to shrink them down to a much smaller size than previously. I don’t know if my computer has a bug or if it’s something going on with WordPress. Anyone else having issues the last couple of days?
The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to it. Since it’s time sensitive, I really should have put it up earlier, but things have been very busy lately. So, here it is..
The Houston Museum of Fine Arts is having an exhibition of Impressionist Artists. It is already ongoing and will only last until March 23, 2014. The link to the article will give you all the information as far as location, artists represented, etc.
I was up there at the museum the last time I was home. I thought about going to that exhibition, but I was running short on time and I didn’t want to waste my money. The Houston Museum is FREE on Thursdays (which was when I was there). I figured I would look around at what I could for free with what little time I had.
There is a nice sculpture garden outside. I took a bunch of pictures but I don’t know what happened and they all disappeared off my camera! Luckily, the rest of the pictures I took that day were still on my memory card and I was able to get them onto my computer.
I’ll put a couple of them here just to wet your whistle. I’ll put some more up in a gallery once I get them ready.
I have a little bit of a weird taste in art. Here are a couple of my favorites I found at the MFA…
Takahiro Kondo- Dimension Box
1903 eggshell porcelain, decorated by H.G.A. Huyvenaar
a monster by Antonio Berni
plasticine on wood by Grupo Mondongo
That skull was almost the last thing I saw at the museum that day. They had it down in the basement and I almost missed it. It REALLY impressed me. My photos don’t do it justice.
Every inch of it is made up of small figures and items fitted together to make the whole. It’s VERY detailed if you look closely. It was made by Grupo Mondongo. I had no idea the name means ‘tripe’. Thanks Wikipedia. 😉
I wish I knew Spanish better, all the links I can find about them are in Spanish. I definitely want to find out more about them and see more of their work. 🙂
Excellente!
Slaughterhouse Said to Process “Horrifying” Number of Whale Sharks Annually
Slaughterhouse Said to Process “Horrifying” Number of Whale Sharks Annually.
Well, here it is again already: Wild Wednesday (Creature Feature). I’ve been so busy, I haven’t really had time to keep up with things here as much as I’d like to. I’m working nights (1800-0600) and for some reason that schedule just really keeps me messed up. I’m always SO tired. 🙁
I saw this article and thought it would make a good one to post here. First of all because I’ve always really liked these giant fish. They’re so big, but they never bother anybody. They grow up to about 40-45 feet long and yet they only eat plankton. They’re one of the longest lived sharks, they can live up to 100 years!
I’ve always wanted to do a trip where I could swim, snorkel or SCUBA with them. I think that would be something really special. I see the pictures of people doing it and it just looks fantastic. They are just awesome! 🙂
I hate to think of people just catching these fish and slaughtering them willy-nilly, even though they are endangered. Most sharks and rays are now on the endangered species list. 🙁
I know a lot of people probably think: ‘good riddance’, but sharks and rays are actually beautiful creatures and are very well adapted to their environments. There are over 470 species of sharks and rays.
They live in every ocean, from the surface to the depths. They’ve been around for over 420 million years! There are some very interesting stories about sharks (I loved Jaws). They have interesting lives.
They have interesting history with people around the world. The Hawaiians were just one people who worshiped a shark god. People do seem fascinated with sharks.
Maybe it’s because they can (and sometimes do) eat us? 😉
They’re one of the very few animals that we ever feel even slightly threatened by anymore. Although there were only 4.3 on average unprovoked fatalities from shark attacks worldwide (2001-2006).
Hopefully that fact will quell some fear and we won’t allow the indiscriminate killing to continue. It’s estimated that over 100 million sharks are killed EVERY YEAR!
Sharks serve a purpose in this world. Just like every other living thing on this planet. They deserve to have a place here just as much as we do and we really ought to stop killing off every other thing around us just because we can.
One of these days those kinds of actions WILL come back to bite us.
Maybe with shark teeth. 😉
Learning to take the plunge…REALLY???
I found this to be a very inspirational post. I want to get away from here SO bad and I KNOW it’s only my fears holding me back. A little push from the Culture Monk helped push me just a little bit further down the road. 🙂
Darkest Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze
Darkest Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze Recipe | Epicurious.com.
Just in time for Valentines Day (in case you’re a late starter, like I am). 😉
I got this recipe in my email from Epicurious.com. It looked perfect for a sweet treat for a sweetie. 😉
Chocolate and wine, together, umm…
Video: Dolphin Asks Diver for Help
I’d like to be able to do more this week, but my schedule is just not allowing me much time to spend on the computer. Hopefully, things will improve soon. 🙂
I can’t believe it’s already been a week! For the second of my creature feature posts, for ‘Wild Wednesday’, I’ll put up this video I saw online last week. I just had to say awwww… the cute factor is pretty high up there.
I’ve always loved dolphins. That was my choice to come back as, if I ever got reincarnated. I’d love to be a dolphin! Every time I see them out at sea, they always bring a smile to my face.
They have a reputation for being helpful to sailors. It’s nice to see a favor returned. 🙂
How To Travel The World For Free
Budget Travel Vacation Ideas: How To Travel The World For Free | Budget Travel.
I absolutely LOVE to travel. I go somewhere other than home every chance I get. I originally went to sea for the promise of travel to exotic ports in foreign countries.
Even tho I almost never get to go anywhere other than Fourchon Louisiana anymore, I still hold out hope that someday soon I’ll find another job on a vessel going somewhere interesting.
So I read this article with high hopes for something new and actually do-able. I’ve heard of a lot of these ideas before, but it’s nice to see them all in one place. I’m not especially interested in a full time job in another country, but I wouldn’t mind having something to do.
Get a job?
I’ve heard of the worldwide workers on organic farms (WWOOF) before, and wondered how much work it actually entails and how hard it would be. I’ve never really gone very far with researching it yet. It does sound interesting and a great way to learn new skills and really get involved with things in a new location.
I’ve also heard of house-sitting and have subscribed to Caretakers for a few years now. I’ve seen a few great looking opportunities there but so far, none of them have fit in with my schedule. I’m still hoping to arrange something with them.
Be a bum?
I’ve also heard of couchsurfing and love the idea. I would love to meet other travelers from around the world and have been planning to sign up. My only issue is that my schedule is so unpredictable that I don’t know how I can make it work.
Save your points?
Travel hacking is another way to get around for ‘free’, but to me, this one seems to take a LOT of work. You need to spend a lot of time and effort to score points with your credit cards. I do try to maximize my credit card points, but it’s important that you can pay off your balance every month or you’ll get screwed by the money you wind up paying in high interest costs.
Be a teacher?
Teaching English in a foreign country is another option I have looked into previously. When my old ship the Performer was still working overseas, I was very seriously considering it.
I’m still thinking about it, but I haven’t made any moves towards DOING it. I think I would like to take the TEFL course somewhere first and have the schools help in finding a position. The main reason I haven’t done it yet is basically that I’m spoiled. I don’t want to get tied down in a foreign country and totally dependent on that job!
I want OPTIONS! What happens if I sign on to teach at a school and it turns out that I just can’t stand it? The living conditions suck? Or they don’t follow through in some other way on promises made? If I have no cash in the bank or if my visa is tied to a particular school, then I am basically stuck with it. I don’t want to be in that position. SO, I am still putting off doing anything constructive.
Teaching overseas does sound like a really good option for someone who already has some teaching experience.
Volunteer your talents?
Volunteering abroad sounds like a great idea. I would be much better motivated to do this if most of the opportunities didn’t cost so much. Some of the volunteer opportunities I’ve seen cost thousands of dollars in ‘program costs’. Of course that is ON TOP OF whatever value your time and effort is worth.
I’m not sure how they can call this ‘free’ traveling. I haven’t seen most of the places they mention in this article, so there probably are some very affordable ways to travel this way. I’ll have to be sure to look into this further. 🙂
Make a trade?
House swapping sounds like a great idea. I’d like to do this, but I wonder who in their right mind would want to trade houses with me? I live in Lake Jackson, Texas. There is not really a whole lot there to see or do. I live 50 miles South of Houston, which I suppose SOME people would like to see, but the only thing in Lake Jackson is a lot of chemical plants. 🙁
Yeah, I am exaggerating (slightly), but my relatives all thought I was NUTS to move here from Florida. I gave up the beautiful beaches and clean, clear water to move to Texas, where our beaches are brown instead of white, and the Gulf is brown instead of blue, from all the mud washing down from the rivers.
I moved there to go to school. I stay there because even tho our beaches are not as pretty as the ones in Florida, we can still enjoy them fully! We don’t have the restrictions that Florida does. We can fish, camp, drive on, drink on, smoke on, play on, overnight on our beaches without the crowds and hassles and rules and regulations that Floridians have to put up with now.
I guess it’s not really that bad here. It’s quiet and there’s plenty to do once you spend some time and get to know people. People are friendly and helpful. We get together to play cards or have a BBQ. The beach is decent and the fishing is pretty good. The bays are great for kayaking and bird watching. There are all the usual small town events, kids baseball games, county fairs, etc.
I wonder if anyone from a foreign country would be interested in spending 2 weeks or more doing that kind of thing? Anybody on here interested in a house swap? 😉
Bermuda Triangle
Loved this photo. Thanks to SFox for posting it again on his blog.
Video: Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Work On A Livestock Carrier?
gCaptain Maritime & Offshore News | Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Work On A Livestock Carrier?.
Ocean Drover
This is an interesting video (click the link). I got it in my email from gcaptain the other day. It’s just a short clip of the Master and the Chief Mate of the livestock carrier Ocean Drover explaining what it’s like to work on a ship like that.
What I thought was especially interesting was that both the Master and the Chief Mate were women. I was pleasantly surprised to see that. Especially since they were both Italian (and young).
I didn’t know that Italy had many women mariners. It’s a major accomplishment for anyone in any country to work your way up to that level. I was happy to see that these women made it. 🙂
I am REALLY hoping that the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006) is not going to reverse all the progress we (women) have made over the last 50 years. I am already seeing some effects out here that make me wary.
The law of unintended consequences is raising it’s head again (IMHO). The last few ships I have been on have had issues with space. They constantly seem to run out of rooms.
I don’t know if it’s just poor planning or if they REALLY need all these people onboard, (we have almost 200 on here at the moment), but it seems they’re always having to finagle to get people a room onboard. They are trying hard to keep males and females separated. They also try hard to keep people working opposite tours in the same rooms so you’re not in there at the same time. Last hitch I had to move rooms 3 times in the space of 3 weeks!
The way this relates to the MLC 2006 is that apparently (I haven’t read the whole thing yet), there is a new rule that women and men can NOT share the same room! In the past, we have been able to share the same room (we are usually never in there at the same time), tho they usually did that as a last resort. We work on opposite schedules, so we never see each other.
Someone at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) seems to think that is a problem, so they fixed it. Problem now is that there just is not room onboard to keep dedicated female rooms. SO, to solve that issue (since there are still more men working offshore than women), they just send the women home.
This is the same excuse they used to use all the time back in the old days. Back then, it just was not true. They could have put us in any room and we just could have shared it with the men. Which is exactly what we used to do, IF we could manage to get onboard at all.
It was never really a problem for me personally (sharing rooms), tho I do have to comment that I have heard a lot of stories that make me just roll my eyes. I can’t believe some of the things some women have actually SUED over!! They have made it a HUGE big deal for any maritime company to hire ANY female (again!)!
I really wish people would just get their shit together and learn to treat each other with respect (men and women). Women who choose to work in the maritime industry need to learn how to deal with a little off-color language and grow a thick skin. It is not like working in an office building on the beach, and it should NOT be expected to be!
I’m sure I’ll be castigated by the politically correct nit-pickers of the world (thankfully most of them are still limited to the USA so I can still hope to escape them), but I am really getting sick of them ruining my (and ANY womans) chances of actually enjoying the lifestyle I have chosen for myself!
Now, the MLC has made male/female sharing a room (ever) against the law and so it is not going to happen any more. I can see a lot of women having a much harder time getting jobs in the maritime industry (again) because of this new rule. 🙁
So, instead of helping women, they hurt us (BADLY) instead!
I REALLY wish governments would just get out of the way and let us do our jobs!
Maritime Monday: Movies About Submarines, Part 5; Immersione Rapida!
Check the date on the link above. Yeah, I’m really late! I am having a really hard time keeping up with my emails lately and this is one I finally got around to. I thought some of you might still find it interesting, so I’ll go ahead and post it now.
Gcaptain continues its series of maritime movies, this weeks round-up is all about submarines. I have to admit, I don’t remember the last one. Were there were already 4 others about submarines? Or just 4 maritime movie posts. I find it hard to believe there are THAT many movies just about submarines.
But I do remember posting at least one with submarines. I remember spending a while trying to find a recording of that classic song about the submarine races. I did find a couple of versions, but not the one I was thinking about. The one I was looking for was something I heard while listening to the Dr Demento Radio Show a LONG time ago.
It cracked me up! That show was great entertainment. I used to like to stay up all night and sleep late. Listening to music and reading til all hours of the night. That was when I was a lot younger and didn’t really have anything important I had to do. Things have changed. I can’t even stay awake that late anymore. 😉
This batch of movies looks like it would make a good all nighter. Too bad I can’t hang with that kind of thing anymore. Cook up a bunch of popcorn and turn on the DVD. 😉
Of course, they’re pretty much all war movies. But at least a few of them concentrate on the drama of the personal choices of the people involved. For instance, “Submarine Attack” (Torpedo Zone) is about a sub commander who sinks a ship and then picks up the survivors. Now he has to decide what to do with them.
Kind of like what happens now when a merchant captain picks up a bunch of refugees. It used to be simple, take them with you to your next port and drop them off, no worries. NOT any more!
The shoreside officials have made that simple thing SO difficult. It’s a very hard decision for a ship master to make now a days if he sees a raft full of refugees. Pick them up and deal with the mess? Or just sail on and take the easy way out?
It has ALWAYS been the tradition to help another vessel in distress, but the shoreside people are making it very hard on mariners to continue that automatic response. There have even been reports of ship masters forcing stowaways overboard. Pretty much leave them to die. All because of the trouble the ship will be in when they get to port!
It’s really pretty sad. The officials have made it SO hard to do the right thing.
Back to the movie review…
Submarine Attack sounds like it would probably be my favorite. I haven’t actually seen any of these movies yet, but I do love old movies and anything maritime. 😉
One other I would like to see is the one based on the true story of the USS Tang. “Submarine Command” looks like an interesting story. The story of the commander and his crew during WWII who wound up sinking a total of 33 ships. A record for American submarines.
The movie concentrates on the guilt the commander feels for the death of his gunner who died when the commander ordered the sub to dive during an enemy attack. Yes, he saved his ship and his crew, but he still felt guilty.
The last one I’ll mention here is another one based on a true story. “Trapped in a Submarine” (aka “Men Like These“), is the story of the HMS Poseidon (P99), a British sub that was hit and sunk by a cargo ship. Some of the crew managed to escape the sinking submarine and reach the surface. It sounds like a good story and something I would like.
Check the link to the original movie review from Monkey Fist. If you’re not watching the Superbowl, give some of these a try. 🙂
Zero to Hero- Day 30: Think Big Picture
Well, sad to say, this is the last day of the Zero to Hero Challenge. It HAS been a challenge. I’m not really computer literate and it’s taken me some real effort to figure out how to do some of the things they suggested.
Todays assignment is to…
Extend your brand, think about a bigger strategic plan for promoting your online presence, and set a goal for the next 30 days.
I’m not sure exactly what they mean by “extend your brand”, how to do that or how to ‘promote my online presence’ more than what I’m already doing. I’ve linked my blog to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr already. I’m also on Pinterest.
I don’t think I really want to put a direct link to my blog on my Linkedin account, although I do mention in my profile (at the bottom) that I am the creator of this blog. I am a little concerned that my political ‘rants’ will cost me some job opportunities.
I would like to be able to freely promote my blog on there since I have a LOT of contacts on Linkedin. That site is focused much more on work and business than any of the other websites I’m on and I’m trying to keep my posts on there businesslike.
I am not at all happy that employers are looking into what you do on your time off and I am in TOTAL disagreement with that, but it is what it is. I am still working for others, so I do have to take that into account. Yes, self-censorship. I hate it, but I would hate it more living out the rest of my life as a bag lady living in the streets and eating catfood. 🙁
So, that’s what I’m doing to ‘promote my online presence’. Does anyone have any other suggestions? If so, please leave a comment and let me know what you think I should do.
As for my goals for the next 30 days…
I do plan to start a weekly series I’m calling the ‘creature feature’. I’ll post about interesting animals in the news or that I come across that I think others might like to learn more about. I’ll start it next Wednesday and will probably concentrate on marine animals, but will probably branch out and cover everything. 🙂
I’ll be committing to posting at least 1-2 times a week. I’ll probably be able to do more, but with my schedule I never know where I’ll be or if I’ll have decent internet access. So, I’ll just promise the minimum. That way I won’t disappoint anyone by breaking my promise.
I’m also hoping to increase my readership and ‘followers’. I went from just over 200 (I think it was 202) to 242 followers of my blog in the month of January! It would be fantastic if I could keep increasing my readership at that rate! Actually, I would be happy to have ANY increase, but the more the merrier. 🙂
I really do love sharing some of my personal experiences along with all the interesting stuff I come across online. I love meeting new people and hearing about what they’re doing with their lives too. I hope I can continue to keep in touch with people through my blog and my ‘online presence’.
Here’s to the rest of the Zero to Hero bloggers, nice to meet you, and well wishes for the future. 🙂
Zero to Hero- Day 29: Editorial Calendar
Todays assignment for the Zero to Hero Challenge is to create an Editorial Calendar.
I’ve actually been thinking of doing that for awhile (tho not in those terms). I was thinking about doing a weekly ‘Creature Feature’ showcasing some kind of cool animal. I love to go to the zoo (and aquarium, and even insectarium) and I have lots of beautiful pictures.
I thought it might also be interesting to post about the amazing things that live in the ocean. Everything from whales and walrus to the smallest zooplankton. I might even branch out to things that used to live in the ocean. Or things we used to think lived in the ocean. 😉
I’ve always been interested in animals. I used to read entire encyclopedia sets describing wildlife from all over the world.
When I was younger I was going to be a doctor, (my fathers parents were both pharmacists), until I decided I just don’t really like people all that much. 😉 Then I was going to be a vet instead. 🙂
Those plans all got derailed when I went away to school on the sailing ship and decided I wanted to be a ship captain instead! 😉
I do still love nature and all aspects of it. Plants, animals, weather, the ocean, space. It’s all so interesting. A lot of it is really beautiful too. Even things you wouldn’t think of. Try looking at things in a good microscope. Almost everything in nature has that beauty.
So, I’ll be posting a weekly ‘Creature Feature’ on Wednesdays from now on. Maybe later, I’ll add some other regular features.
For now, that’s all the time I have to be sure I can get to it. I’ll continue to post as I have been. Whenever I find something interesting. I’ll try to join in on a challenge every so often. I’ll keep on posting Maritime Monday when I can keep up with it. Same with the music, food, photos, movies, books, politics, maritime, travel, drinks, etc.
Anybody have any suggestions for the first post? Something special you’d like to hear from me about?
Zero to Hero- Day 26: Mining for Ideas
Here we are at Day 26 in the Zero to Hero challenge. Almost over. 🙂
Todays assignment is to look back through your past published posts…
What have you been most proud of? What are the common threads? Which have been most popular? Create and save at least two draft posts with ideas that come from those.
I’ve spent a little time doing that and I have to say personally I’m most proud of my political posts. That is the subject I get most passionate about in my writing. I am a very strong believer in individual liberty and it really gets me going to see how we are throwing it away here in the US. That doesn’t seem to be what attracts my readers (so far). 😉
From looking at my stats it seems that other than my home page/archives (which could mean anything) and my about page (glad people are interested in who I am and why I’m doing this), my all time favorite post is the one about the apple pie crockpot moonshine.
Maybe I need to post more ways to make home made booze? 😉
After that one, the maritime posts are getting a lot of attention. That’s great, since that’s what I do for a living and I love it. I think it’s a great lifestyle and only wish that I could sail foreign again.
Of course, that has everything to do with politics here.
Next most traffic getting area is photography. I’m happy to see that. I love to take pictures everywhere I go and it’s nice to see that other people like my pictures too.
Looks like next is everything to do with writing/blogging/zero to hero. I think that must be partly because of the concentration on checking out others blogs and commenting during the event. I hope some of those people will stick around. 😉
I haven’t done much about traveling here yet. I hope to do more on that. My recent posts on New Orleans got some interest. I do love to travel and I think it’s cool to be able to connect and compare notes. 🙂
Recommendations on food, books, music, things to do, things of interest is another area that people seem to like. I have got away from posting much of that kind of thing since I’ve been busy and the Zero to Hero posts are pretty much all I’ve been able to get done for the day.
I hope I’ll be able to get caught up at some point and get back to posting more good stuff on here, but I’ll be going back to work soon and who knows what the internet situation will be out there this time. 😉
Looks like I need to just keep on keepin on! 😉 My followers have been increasing slowly but steadily.
I passed the 200 mark of actual BLOG followers right after New Years and today I’m up to 233 (the rest are mostly Facebook friends who don’t necessarily ever look at my blog)! I only started this in mid- August 2013.
Of course I’d like to get millions, but hopefully it’ll work something like the rice on the chessboard. 🙂
A Word A Week Challenge: Undulate
I’ve been busy with the Zero to Hero Challenge lately so I haven’t had much time to do any other posts, but today I didn’t post anything for the Zero to Hero challenge.
I just did the assignment, which was to visit other participants (and comment) in the event I joined on Day 22.
So today I am posting a few photos for the Word a Week Challenge from A Word In Your Ear’s blog. The word of the week is ‘undulate’. Here’s the definition:
1. to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion; display a smooth rising-and-falling or side-to-side alternation of movement: The flag undulates in the breeze.
2. to have a wavy form or surface; bend with successive curves in alternate directions.
3. (of a sound) to rise and fall in pitch: the wail of a siren undulating in the distance.
verb (used with object), un·du·lat·ed, un·du·lat·ing. 4. to cause to move in waves.
5. to give a wavy form to.
I really like this one, so I am going to add some pictures for a couple of the definitions…
The flowing, wavelike forms of these flowers.
The sinuous movements of the octopus and anemone.
The intricate, fluid movements and undulating music of the Balinese dancers.
These stunning, sunning, sinuous snakes.
Snaky scenery by the sea shore. 😉
And (last one) the flag rippling in the breeze.
Zero to Hero- Day 23: Roundup Ready
Todays assignment for the Zero to Hero challenge is to ‘Publish a roundup post that links to posts on at least three other blogs, and tell us why you love the posts — and why we should read ‘em.’
Indian Rocks Bridge–
First New Species of River Dolphin Discovered in a Century– I really liked this because I really like dolphins! All kinds of dolphins!
I think it’s a hopeful sign that we can still discover a new species of an animal this large in this day and age when we seem to have already explored so much of the Earth.
I also liked it because I have been seeing posts about the annual Japanese dolphin slaughter and that always makes me feel bad whenever I’m reminded of it. Angry, sad, frustrated that I can’t put a stop to it.
Yeah, they need to eat, yeah they have their traditions, but personally I would like to see them come up with a substitute to replace this one. 🙁
That There England-
How Much Time Do Your Countrymen Spend on Books?– This one caught my interest since I am a total bibliophile! 🙂 I read voraciously. I read constantly. I read everything I can get my hands on!
I know I am unusual for an American. I already knew that many Americans don’t read much if at all. I have a lot of friends who almost never read anything. Personally I think that’s sad, but they don’t seem to think they’re missing anything.
What really surprised me about the post (neat map!) was how much time some of the other countries spend on reading. It really surprised me to see Egypt and Saudi Arabia as high up as they are. I wonder if they are only reading religious books like the Koran, or are they really opening themselves to all the other worlds reading can do for you?
The other interesting thing about this post was that it breaks down the reading by types of books. How many people read ‘love stories’ for example. How many men? How many women? It also breaks down by age. Very interesting. 😉
June Steward’s Blog-
Spectacular Images of Decaying Ships– I was browsing through my reader and was really just caught by the beautiful photography. For some reason, I have always had an interest with old things. History. Ruins. Abandoned, empty places. Haunted? Haunting, for sure. I’m not usually very imaginative but they always make me wonder/imagine what happened?
This post combined a few of my interests: ships, ruins(shipwrecks), travel, photography, art, history.
I hate to see these beautiful old ships just abandoned. They were beautiful afloat while they were working and I think they are still beautiful even when they are old, wrecked and abandoned like these.
I’ve actually been to visit the wreck of the Peter Iredale (the last photo) and took tons of pictures (as always). But that was before digital so I don’t have any of mine to share of that particular wreck. I do have a few of some other ships tho I don’t know their names or history.
Someday I’d love to travel to the places where those other wrecks lie.
So, those were my 3 choices for the days assignment. What do you think about them? I think it might be interesting to do a post like this as a monthly feature. Make a post featuring 3-5 of my favorite posts I saw during the last month? Or maybe sticking to a more focused theme, like 3 favorite photography posts, or favorite videos, or recipes, etc. Which would you prefer and why?
Cannibal Rat-Infested Ghost Ship Headed For The UK?
Cannibal Rat-Infested Ghost Ship Headed For The UK? | Broken News Daily – Yahoo Screen.
DaDum…DaDum…
DaDum…DaDum…
It’s the Lyubov Orlova, ex-Russian cruise ship, back in the news again. Has she sunk, or hasn’t she? The news agencies seem to want to drum up some business with these stories of scary, deadly-disease-carrying cannibal rats running rampant over the UK and then Europe. OMG!
Sounds like the start of a cool new horror flick! I would definitely watch it. 😉
Here’s a link to an interesting video report from Yahoo and Broken News Daily…
http://screen.yahoo.com/broken-news-daily/rat-infested-ghost-ship-headed-224503964.html
Zero to Hero-Day 22: Share Your World
Todays assignment for the Zero to Hero Challenge is to join in on another blog event or challenge. I looked through the link in the assignment to the Blog Event Listings and saw a few I was interested in.
Maybe I’ll get back to some of them later when I have more time.
I decided to do the Share Your World Challenge. It seemed interesting and fairly quick and easy. Each week Cee asks 4 questions for you to answer “about you or the area of the world you live in.” Sounds like fun. 🙂
So, here are her questions and my answers for Week 3…
- In what do you find the simplest of joys? I can find joy in a lot of ways, for example: enjoying a good book, good music, good food, good friends, watching a beautiful sunrise/sunset, watching the waves roll by on the ocean, watching the birds run around on the beach or the squirrels in my backyard, learning something new, being creative doing something like drawing/painting or playing the piano, solving a crossword puzzle, hiking through beautiful scenery, seeing the plants/seasons change. Yeah, lots of things. 🙂
- Jello or Pudding? And what is your favorite flavor? I prefer jello. Pretty much any flavor as long as it’s made with vodka! 😉 yummy jello shots!! 🙂
- Is there a language you would like to learn? I would like to learn Spanish better because I live in Texas and there are a lot of people here who speak it (just not to me). I took it for a year in college but since then, I haven’t been able to find anyone to practice with and I’m losing my ability to speak it. I would like to travel some more in Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries and it would be so much better to be able to really talk to the people I meet there. I would like to learn Mandarin since I really love traveling in Asia and I would like to go back to China and learn more about the people and the country. I would like to learn Russian since I learned a little bit when I was in high school and spent some time there. I thought the country was beautiful and with all that has happened since then, I would like to go back and spend some time talking to the people that I was not allowed to meet back then. I would like to learn Tagalog (one of the main Philippino languages) because I almost always wind up with at least some Pilippinos on the ships I sail on. I would like to be able to communicate better and learn more about them and their country. I would like to learn Korean since I used to work on a Korean fishing vessel and every time I tried to say something in Korean to the crew, they would break up in hysterics. I would like to find out just what was so funny. 😉
- Do you prefer juice or fruit? It depends. I like juice better because it’s so convenient. Quick and easy, goes down nice and cold. I like fruit because it takes longer to eat and fills me up better. Here’s the link to Cee’s Share Your World Writing Challenge- 2014- Week 3
Zero to Hero- Day 21: Let the World Know
Gallery
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Todays assignment for the Zero to Hero Challenge is to ‘publish a post inspired by your post from Day 19, and publicize it on one or more of your social networks.” I actually did 2 posts for the challenge for … Continue reading
Zero to Hero- Day 20: Pass on the Pages
Gallery
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Todays assignment for the Zero to Hero Challenge is to add a new page. Since I just added one a couple of days ago and it took me a loooong time to put it all together, I think I’ll take … Continue reading
Zero to Hero- Day 19: Some Short Snips
Quote
What light is to the eyes – what air is to the lungs – what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.
Robert Green IngersollIf you want total security, go to prison. There you’re fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking… is freedom.
Dwight D. EisenhowerIs freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else.
Epictetus
The Beauty Behind the Fibonacci Sequence
this is a really cool video showing how math works in the real world. yeah, I know, most people think math is really hard and really boring. But it’s really not 😉
Zero to Hero- Day 18: Socializing
The assignment for the Zero to Hero Challenge for Day 18 is to ‘explore one or more social networks’.
Link the account to your blog and ‘create a strategy for how you’ll use it’. I have no idea what to do with that. Strategy??? WTH? I’m just fumbling along here…
OK, I have the little share buttons beneath every post so if anyone really likes something and would like to share it, there’s an easy way to do it. (hint, hint!!) 😉
I already have accounts at Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr and they are linked to this blog. You can see the feeds for them along the right side and the bottom of my home page.
The Facebook one just shows people who’ve liked my JP Friedman page instead of the actual feed. I don’t know why it only does that. I still haven’t figured out how to get the Facebook feed to work on here but maybe it’s better to just leave it the way it is.
My blog posts do show up on my Facebook page (most of the time). I do get some comments there, tho it surprises me I don’t get more. 😉
I have a LOT more interesting stuff showing up on my Facebook and Twitter feeds from all kinds of interesting people! I love to go on Facebook and catch up with all my old friends and sometimes I meet new friends through them, or even people who just happen to join in a discussion.
I think it’s a fantastic invention (social media) to keep people informed and interacting with each other, physical location is no barrier.
I post a lot of things to Facebook and Twitter when I don’t have much time to comment personally but still think something is interesting enough to pass along and I think people might get a kick out of it.
I also have accounts at Tumblr and Pinterest and they are also linked here (at least I see things from this blog showing up on my Tumblr feed).
I do also have a Linkedin account but I try to keep that one more focused on work and professional type things. I occasionally share something from my blog there but I’m more concerned about that site potentially harming my job prospects.
More and more places are checking out your online presence both before and during your employment there. I totally disagree with this practice! grrrrr!
I think it is completely wrong that your employer has anything to say about what you do on YOUR time! They pay you for a certain amount of work, they do NOT own you! They do NOT own one more second of your life than that time you are working for them and that they pay you for!
It’s bad enough that most of us are working for somebody else and can’t really do what we would prefer to be doing with our limited time here on this planet. It’s a real shame that our employers want to limit us even more than they already do. 🙁
My Linkedin account is actually where I have the most contacts and some great conversations. According to them, I have a few million people in my ‘network’. 🙂 Too bad I have to (self) censor myself on there in fear for my present and future employment prospects. It’s a real shame!
Zero to Hero-Day (16)- 17: Focusing on Formatting
Oh well, I still haven’t come up with anything to say about the assignment for Day 16 (prompt: reputation). So I never did write a post on the subject.
Reading the assignment for Day 17, I have already looked at quite a few of other Zero to Hero participants and commented on some of their posts. I really enjoyed reading some of the very different takes on that one subject. It sure brings to the forefront the beauty of blogging, that even tho we are all here and all doing pretty much the same thing, there is still SO much variety! 🙂
OK, since I didn’t do a post on the prompt, I am going to write a post today about something else. 😉
And, to follow along with the challenge, I will use 2 (or more) of the suggested formatting tools (“block quotes, preformatting, or an ordered or unordered list”).
I'm not really sure what is meant by 'preformatting'. So I guess I'll just write a little bit til I can see what happens. Here we go. It doesn't really seem to do much of anything. Changes the font and looks like it cuts off the space I can write in a little bit. Also makes a black space around my writing while I have the 'preformatted' box checked.
OK, so that’s that. I learned something new. 🙂
Since today is a holiday here in the US, it’s Martin Luther King Jr Day, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes of his. Also using the ‘blockquotes’ formatting tool.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I really like all 3 of those quotes. I have always been a fierce believer in freedom in all its forms and hold the fact that our governments entire purpose is to uphold individual liberty as our greatest accomplishment here in the USA.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,…
Declaration of Independence
I am SO sad to see what has been happening here in the last few years.
What happened to all those people who were around back when Martin Luther King Jr was out protesting against the wrongs of society? Why aren’t those people STILL trying???
Things have surely NOT been fixed! Obama is NOT the answer.
I was pretty young back in the 60’s when Martin Luther King Jr was around in person, but I read a lot. I read a lot of history and politics and social studies, etc. I think people were trying to create a more free, more just, more peaceful and prosperous society.
WTF happened??? The people who were protesting back then are the ones in power now. People like the Clintons for instance. They grew up and now they are the ones upholding all the same old crap they used to fight so hard against! 🙁
Things like…
- the War on (some) Drugs
- (Unjust) Foreign Wars
- Big Government
- Big Business
- The SYSTEM
It makes me sad to see how many people just don’t get any of the things I try to bring to their attention. Things like why it’s so bad that we have given up our freedom and liberty for the TSA, NSA, NDAA, PATRIOT ACT, FACTA, etc, etc, etc. Never-ending big government information gathering and CONTROL of every tiny little aspect of life here in this ONCE free country.
I just don’t understand how a once free people (and we were SO much more free even when I was a kid) can give up so much and not even seem to care. Most people I talk to think it’s somehow a GOOD thing.
Have they never read or seen George Orwells 1984? or Animal Farm? Or any of the numerous other books describing how power ALWAYS corrupts? Or how lack of privacy (spy programs) turns society into a dreary, bleak, isolated, sad, destructive, sick mess that eventually sucks dry every bit of human decency, compassion and creativity?
I wonder what will it take? What will have to happen for people to WAKE UP and take back THEIR lives and their freedoms? I sure don’t know but I hope with all my heart and soul it will happen soon, before we have to go through another total collapse of civilization.
We ARE all in the same boat together. We only have one planet (unless we can hurry the hell up and get ourselves to Mars PDQ)! It’s a global civilization now and for better or worse, we do all influence each other now in numerous ways. I hope I can be a force on the side of peace and freedom.
I hope this blog can help. 🙂
Zero to Hero- Day 14-15: Bloggers Choice!
Still working on catching up here on the Zero to Hero Challenge. 😉
For the Day 14 assignment, I did a little of everything they suggested, just not all at one time or one one day. I did some commenting. I did some looking around the Reader. I read the post on developing your blogging voice. I spent a little time looking at the comments on the Zero to Hero threads. AND I posted (see the previous post on day 13).
For the Day 15 assignment, I played around a while with the various fonts. I thought there would be more of them. I really didn’t see anything there that I liked enough to change the one I have. Especially considering that I would have to pay to change what I have. I’m still not at the point where I really want to pay for anything extra here.
So far, I’m just learning. This challenge is really helpful. I’m getting a lot out of the daily tasks and looking at what other people attempting the challenge are doing. I might want to do more to customize my blog later, but for now I’m pretty happy with the way it looks.
I’m still trying to figure out how to work the widgets to do what I’d like better! Hoping there will be more on that later on. 😉
There is SO much I can do here. I only need more TIME to blog! 😉
Zero to Hero- Day 13: Building a Better Blogroll
Catching up again. 🙂
I’ve been home the last few days but SO busy! I’ve been spending a lot of time in Houston this week. It started out Monday morning when I went for a meeting about work.
Went back again for a Dr appt. I had to get my lap band filled (been putting it off WAY too long). Spent the rest of the day at the Museum of Fine Arts (it’s FREE on Thursdays). Went to a happy hour sponsored by the Houston USMMAAA (Kings Point Alumni). Spent the night so I didn’t have to drive all the way home. 😉
Spent the next day at the zoo and then a Liberty Forum sponsored by the King Street Patriots. They had a great lineup moderated by Ben Swann, including past LP Presidential candidate (and now Honorary Chairman of the Our America Initiative) Gary Johnson and his VP running mate Judge Gray.
I was very encouraged to see the great response to Kathy Glass who is running for Texas Governor! Gary Johnson also got a standing ovation. It always makes me happy to see people who actually support true liberty and not just give it lip service! 🙂
Went back up to Houston Saturday morning to spend all afternoon with my sponsor for a training event. More on that later…
And that’s only the stuff I did in Houston this week! Not counting the local stuff!! 😉
So, now you know why I haven’t been keeping up very well with the Zero to Hero Challenge this week.
I did take a look at this one (day 13) a couple of days ago and fiddled around with it when I could. I already had a couple of different ways to see some of the blogs I like on my home page.
I had a widget I called “More Good Stuff” that showed the gravatars of some of the blogs I follow on the right side bar. I also had an area in the bottom center of my home page with links to websites and blogs I like. There was a blogroll there too.
I also already had a links page (tho I admit I don’t have much on it yet).
So all I have done (so far) for todays challenge was to increase the number of blogs I followed that was shown from 20 to 50. I also added a couple more to the links on my home page.
One I added was the Jack Tar Magazine. I really like to check out all the things they’re doing over there. It’s a great resource for the maritime community and I LOVE their focus on the larger sailing vessels and all the maritime culture and traditions.
Another one I added was the Texas Music Scene. I rarely watch TV, but I do try to watch Saturday Night Live when I’m home. After that’s over, the Texas Music Scene show hosted by (9 time Grammy winner) Ray Benson comes on. I really enjoy learning about great new music and bands I may have never heard of before.
Another one I added was the Lightly Braised Turnip. I checked it out when someone posted on my Facebook page about the giant squid that washed up on a beach in California. I liked the way they reported the story and decided to keep them on my list of sites to ‘follow’. I say it that way since I haven’t yet found a specific follow button on their site yet and I just go check them out every so often.
I’ll be trying to catch up with more of the Zero to Hero Challenge tonight. 🙂