No jokes. No photos. Maybe a teaser or two. Mostly just a status report.
For me, computer access has been scarce since Randy got home from his South American voyage. He's been writing full time all summer. Even though he'll only be teaching part time this coming academic year, and writing the rest of the time, I should be able to get at the computer more then. In the meantime---
Tomorrow morning I leave for a week-long quilting retreat with Sandi Cummings at Lake Tahoe. Sandi's aesthetic is as close to mine as anyone I know and she's a great teacher. I've been doing so much beadwork for so long now, it will be good for my making-stuff juices to get back to fiber for awhile. I'll get home just in time to do a load or two of laundry and we head out to Hilo, Hawaii (the Big Island) for almost 2 weeks in a rented vacation house on the Island's southeastern shore. The house has both a jacuzzi bathtub and a hot tub on the lanai. I intend to come back looking exactly like a prune. I also plan on getting a lot of bead stitching accomplished while Randy writes. Of course we'll be exploring, too--especially the volcanoes. I can hardly wait to get back there!
I haven't yet written about the Ghost in the Garage. She's been there a couple months now. Actually, these days the Ghost spends relatively little time in the garage. She's mostly in the house. She's small and very cute.
Nor have I written about my new adventure as an experimental drug guinea pig. A very interesting experience which is also turning out to be quite beneficial for me. Such a deal. Who would have known?
So, with those little teasers, I leave you for at least the next week. I'll be gone from you, faithful readers, but you're never far from my mind and heart. As Tim Gunn would say, "Carry on. Make it work."
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Other Side of Commercial Airflight
The following are accounts of some interesting exchanges between airline pilots and control towers around the world, which were never heard by passengers.
That's probably a good thing!
=========
Pilot: "Albuquerque Center, this is United 372. I have an engine that just went out and I need to land. No panic, but I need a runway that's close to my present location."
Tower: "United 372, this is Albuquerque Center. You are cleared to land at [name of Town I have never heard of] Airport immediately."
Pilot: (Who had obviously never heard of Town either) "Hey, I'm not talking some crop duster airport here, Albuquerque Center."
Tower: "United 372, that runway is 6,700 feet long. Is THAT going to be enough for you, or do you want me to send someone up to help you land?"
=========
Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
=========
Center: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
Center: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"
=========
From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"
=========
O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, eastbound.
United 239: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got the little Fokker in sight."
=========
A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight.
While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?"
Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."
=========
A DC-10 had come in a little hot, and thus had an exceedingly long roll-out after touching down.
San Jose Tower noted: "American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the runway, if you are able. If you are not able, take the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights, and return to the airport."
=========
There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down.
"Ah," the fighter pilot remarked. "The dreaded seven-engine approach."
=========
Taxiing down the tarmac, a DC-10 abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What, exactly, was the problem?"
"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the flight attendant. "It took us a while to find a new pilot."
=========
A Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown Voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."
=========
Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff. Contact Departure on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way, after we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that report from Eastern 702?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern... we've already notified our caterers."
=========
One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the active runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee.
Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane. Did you make it all by yourself?"
The Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with a real zinger: "I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like yours and I'll have enough parts for another one."
=========
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt. Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark -- and I didn't land."
=========
While taxiing at London's Gatwick Airport, the crew of a U.S. Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727.
An irate female ground controller lashed out at the U.S. Air crew, screaming: "U.S. Air 2771, where the hell are you going? I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!"
Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to ! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, U.S. Air 2771?"
"Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded.
Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of U.S. Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit around Gatwick was definitely running high.
Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"
=========
And another, totally off-topic, quip:
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
That's probably a good thing!
=========
Pilot: "Albuquerque Center, this is United 372. I have an engine that just went out and I need to land. No panic, but I need a runway that's close to my present location."
Tower: "United 372, this is Albuquerque Center. You are cleared to land at [name of Town I have never heard of] Airport immediately."
Pilot: (Who had obviously never heard of Town either) "Hey, I'm not talking some crop duster airport here, Albuquerque Center."
Tower: "United 372, that runway is 6,700 feet long. Is THAT going to be enough for you, or do you want me to send someone up to help you land?"
=========
Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"
=========
Center: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
Center: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"
=========
From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"
=========
O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, eastbound.
United 239: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got the little Fokker in sight."
=========
A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight.
While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?"
Student: "When I was number one for takeoff."
=========
A DC-10 had come in a little hot, and thus had an exceedingly long roll-out after touching down.
San Jose Tower noted: "American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the runway, if you are able. If you are not able, take the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights, and return to the airport."
=========
There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down.
"Ah," the fighter pilot remarked. "The dreaded seven-engine approach."
=========
Taxiing down the tarmac, a DC-10 abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What, exactly, was the problem?"
"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the flight attendant. "It took us a while to find a new pilot."
=========
A Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown Voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."
=========
Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff. Contact Departure on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way, after we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that report from Eastern 702?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern... we've already notified our caterers."
=========
One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the active runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee.
Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane. Did you make it all by yourself?"
The Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with a real zinger: "I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like yours and I'll have enough parts for another one."
=========
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt. Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark -- and I didn't land."
=========
While taxiing at London's Gatwick Airport, the crew of a U.S. Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727.
An irate female ground controller lashed out at the U.S. Air crew, screaming: "U.S. Air 2771, where the hell are you going? I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!"
Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to ! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, U.S. Air 2771?"
"Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded.
Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of U.S. Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit around Gatwick was definitely running high.
Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"
=========
And another, totally off-topic, quip:
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Words of Wisdom
Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, "Lillian, you should have remained a virgin."
-- Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)
I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.
-- Mark Twain
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible.
-- George Burns
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
-- Victor Borge
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
-- Mark Twain
I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
-- Alex Levine
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
-- Spike Milligan
Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.
-- Joe Namath
We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
-- Will Rogers
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
-- Winston Churchill
By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he's too old to go anywhere.
-- Billy Crystal
The cardiologist's diet: if it tastes good, spit it out.
-- Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)
I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.
-- Mark Twain
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible.
-- George Burns
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
-- Victor Borge
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
-- Mark Twain
I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
-- Alex Levine
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
-- Spike Milligan
Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.
-- Joe Namath
We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
-- Will Rogers
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
-- Winston Churchill
By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he's too old to go anywhere.
-- Billy Crystal
The cardiologist's diet: if it tastes good, spit it out.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Joke of the Day
Mildred was a 93-year-old woman who was particularly despondent over the recent death of her husband Earl. She decided that she would just kill herself and join him in death. Thinking that it would be best to get it over with quickly, she took out Earl's old Army pistol and made the decision to shoot herself in the heart since it was so badly broken in the first place. Not wanting to miss the vital organ and become a vegetable and burden to someone, she called her doctor's office to inquire as to just exactly where the heart would be. "On a woman," the doctor said, "your heart would be just below your left breast." Later that night, Mildred was admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound to her left knee.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
New Drugs for Women
(I want some of these!)
DAMNITOL
Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours.
EMPTYNESTROGEN
Suppository that eliminates melancholy and loneliness by reminding you of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.
ST. MOMMA'S WORT
Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to two days.
PEPTOBIMBO
Liquid silicone drink for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and prevents conception.
DUMBEROL
When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music, cowboys, and pickup trucks.
FLIPITOR
Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.
MENICILLIN
Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lethal lines as, "You make me want to be a better person."
BUYAGRA
Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency, duration, and credit limit of spending spree.
JACKASSPIRIN
Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary, phone number, or to lift the toilet seat.
ANTI-TALKSIDENT
A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers in elevators.
NAGAMENT
When administered to a boyfriend or husband, provides the same irritation level as nagging him.
DAMNITOL
Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours.
EMPTYNESTROGEN
Suppository that eliminates melancholy and loneliness by reminding you of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.
ST. MOMMA'S WORT
Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to two days.
PEPTOBIMBO
Liquid silicone drink for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and prevents conception.
DUMBEROL
When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music, cowboys, and pickup trucks.
FLIPITOR
Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.
MENICILLIN
Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lethal lines as, "You make me want to be a better person."
BUYAGRA
Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency, duration, and credit limit of spending spree.
JACKASSPIRIN
Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary, phone number, or to lift the toilet seat.
ANTI-TALKSIDENT
A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers in elevators.
NAGAMENT
When administered to a boyfriend or husband, provides the same irritation level as nagging him.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Dumb Jokes of the Day
She was Soooooooo Blonde...
* She thought a quarterback was a refund.
* She thought General Motors was in the army.
* She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats.
* She thought Boyz II Men was a day care center.
* At the bottom of an application where it says "Sign here:" she wrote "Sagittarius."
She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She took the ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
* She sent a fax with a stamp on it.
* Under "education" on her job application, she put "Hooked On Phonics."
She was Sooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She tripped over a cordless phone.
* She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice can because it said "Concentrate."
* She told me to meet her at the corner of "WALK" and "DON'T WALK."
* She tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.
She was Soooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She studied for a blood test.
* She sold the car for gas money.
* When she missed bus #44 she took bus #22 twice instead.
* When she went to the airport and saw a sign that said, "Airport Left," she turned around and went home.
She Was Sooooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* When she heard that 90% of all accidents occur around the home, she moved.
* If she spoke her mind, she'd be speechless.
* She thought that she could not use her AM radio in the evening.
* She had a shirt that said "TGIF," which she thought stood for "This Goes In Front."
* She thinks Taco Bell is the MEXICAN PHONE COMPANY.
* She thought a quarterback was a refund.
* She thought General Motors was in the army.
* She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats.
* She thought Boyz II Men was a day care center.
* At the bottom of an application where it says "Sign here:" she wrote "Sagittarius."
She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She took the ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
* She sent a fax with a stamp on it.
* Under "education" on her job application, she put "Hooked On Phonics."
She was Sooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She tripped over a cordless phone.
* She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice can because it said "Concentrate."
* She told me to meet her at the corner of "WALK" and "DON'T WALK."
* She tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.
She was Soooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She studied for a blood test.
* She sold the car for gas money.
* When she missed bus #44 she took bus #22 twice instead.
* When she went to the airport and saw a sign that said, "Airport Left," she turned around and went home.
She Was Sooooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* When she heard that 90% of all accidents occur around the home, she moved.
* If she spoke her mind, she'd be speechless.
* She thought that she could not use her AM radio in the evening.
* She had a shirt that said "TGIF," which she thought stood for "This Goes In Front."
* She thinks Taco Bell is the MEXICAN PHONE COMPANY.
Monday, July 31, 2006
TOP 10 THOUGHTS FOR THE MOMENT
# 10 - Life is sexually transmitted.
# 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
# 8 - Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see one without an erection, make him a sandwich.
# 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
# 6 - Some people are like a Slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
# 5 - Health freaks are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
# 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
# 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you 50 dollars and a substantial tax cut save you 50 cents?
# 2 - In the 60s, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR THE MOMENT: We know exactly where any untaxed car is located among the millions of cars in the US, but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the DMV in charge of immigration.
# 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
# 8 - Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see one without an erection, make him a sandwich.
# 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
# 6 - Some people are like a Slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
# 5 - Health freaks are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
# 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
# 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you 50 dollars and a substantial tax cut save you 50 cents?
# 2 - In the 60s, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR THE MOMENT: We know exactly where any untaxed car is located among the millions of cars in the US, but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the DMV in charge of immigration.
House Rules for Our Pets
Here are the House Rules we have posted for our 7 cats. You might find them useful at your house, too.
These rules are to be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.
Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and
having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!
To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and...
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children
These rules are to be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.
Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and
having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!
To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and...
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
10 Reasons Why God Created Eve
10. God worried that Adam would be lost in the Garden of Eden because he wouldn't ask for directions.
9. God knew that someday Adam would need someone to hand him the TV remote. (Parenthetically, it has been noted that men don't want to see what's ON TV; they want to see WHAT ELSE is on.)
8. God knew that Adam would never make a doctor's appointment.
7. God knew that when Adam's fig leaf wore out, he would never buy a new one for himself.
6. God knew that Adam would not remember to take out the garbage.
5. God wanted man to be fruitful and multiply, but he knew Adam would never be able to handle labor pains and childbirth.
4. As "keeper of the garden," Adam would need help in finding his tools.
3. Adam needed someone to blame for the Apple Incident, and for anything else that was really his fault.
2. As the Bible says: "It is not good for man to be alone."
1. And the No.1 reason of all [Tada, drum roll, fanfare, etc.]: God stepped back, looked at Adam, and declared: "I can do better than that."
9. God knew that someday Adam would need someone to hand him the TV remote. (Parenthetically, it has been noted that men don't want to see what's ON TV; they want to see WHAT ELSE is on.)
8. God knew that Adam would never make a doctor's appointment.
7. God knew that when Adam's fig leaf wore out, he would never buy a new one for himself.
6. God knew that Adam would not remember to take out the garbage.
5. God wanted man to be fruitful and multiply, but he knew Adam would never be able to handle labor pains and childbirth.
4. As "keeper of the garden," Adam would need help in finding his tools.
3. Adam needed someone to blame for the Apple Incident, and for anything else that was really his fault.
2. As the Bible says: "It is not good for man to be alone."
1. And the No.1 reason of all [Tada, drum roll, fanfare, etc.]: God stepped back, looked at Adam, and declared: "I can do better than that."
Monday, June 26, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/26/06 (#48)
"Looks like my last email, since you'll be heading up to Bezerkeley tomorrow.
"Still hanging off Catalina at 4:30. We've finished the going in circles part, but some cadets also have to go through a drill of launching the fast boat, driving around, and then of catching the crane line to get the boat hoisted back aboard. That's still going on, but I imagine we'll be getting underway before dark. A fairly slow puttering up the coast since we have more than enough time to get to SF by Wednesday morning. I think we pick up a bay pilot just outside the Golden Gate about 6 a.m. and hope to tie up by around 8. Don't know our anticipated speed, but probably passing Morro Rock about breakfast time. Maybe they could just drop us off.
"Gave my last final this afternoon, and hope to finish grading it by dinner time. Then will only have to add up the scores and get grades assigned. Tomorrow will be packing and cleaning up, although that really shouldn't take too long.
"Graduation went off fine last night, although it was pretty windy. Afterwards, the students were allowed to play music and dance on the patio deck until 2100. That's 9 p.m. for you land lubbers. Although I think some might have used the time more productively studying for my final!
"I think that's going to wrap it up from TSGB. See you Wednesday morning!"
"Still hanging off Catalina at 4:30. We've finished the going in circles part, but some cadets also have to go through a drill of launching the fast boat, driving around, and then of catching the crane line to get the boat hoisted back aboard. That's still going on, but I imagine we'll be getting underway before dark. A fairly slow puttering up the coast since we have more than enough time to get to SF by Wednesday morning. I think we pick up a bay pilot just outside the Golden Gate about 6 a.m. and hope to tie up by around 8. Don't know our anticipated speed, but probably passing Morro Rock about breakfast time. Maybe they could just drop us off.
"Gave my last final this afternoon, and hope to finish grading it by dinner time. Then will only have to add up the scores and get grades assigned. Tomorrow will be packing and cleaning up, although that really shouldn't take too long.
"Graduation went off fine last night, although it was pretty windy. Afterwards, the students were allowed to play music and dance on the patio deck until 2100. That's 9 p.m. for you land lubbers. Although I think some might have used the time more productively studying for my final!
"I think that's going to wrap it up from TSGB. See you Wednesday morning!"
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/25/06 (#47)
"Arrived off Catalina about 9:30. We drove pretty much the entire length, coming up the east side (the LA side), then turned back to roughly the middle of the island (north of Avalon, south of Two Harbors) where we've been going in circles since as cadets practice rubber docking. Hazy sun (can't see the mainland), and even a few sprinkles before lunch from a little summer monsoon moisture.
"As we were heading up the island, a group of about 10 jet skis blasting their way from Long Beach to Avalon cut right under the bow of the ship. It looked like a couple came within 10 yards. The ship twice blew the 'I'm preparing to run you down' alarm on the big horn (5 short blasts), but the skidiots (how's that for a new word!) weren't impressed. Otherwise, quite a
bit of small boat traffic, this being a summer Sunday, but the others have managed to keep their distance.
"I've learned from the officers what they call 'the law of gross tonnage.' That's a euphemism for 'might makes right.' We're a hell of a lot bigger than you, and we ain't stopping.
"Cadets by the dozen (and a few faculty) lined the rails with cell phones this morning as we came within range of the cell-phone antennas at Avalon. It was quite a sight.
"Two finals down, one to go on Monday. The girl with the 'gentleman's D' in oceanography did, as anticipated, fail astronomy. An exam score truly beyond the pale, literally no better than random guessing on 90 multiple choice and a whopping 3 out of 10 points on two short answer questions. I've rarely seen a more honestly earned F. Wouldn't you love to be the fly on the wall when she reports home to Mom and Dad?
"Stacy didn't rescheduled her slide show, so I and half the Cal Poly students (who were taking my astronomy exam) missed it. Many of them, though, are in her Cultural Anthropology class and have heard quite a bit about it.
"Graduation tonight, at 6:30, for the 'class of one.' Wind has been picking up, so I'll have to bundle up warmly to sit out on the patio deck for awhile. Otherwise, trying to push my way through a couple of chapters of editing, although I have no great enthusiasm."
"As we were heading up the island, a group of about 10 jet skis blasting their way from Long Beach to Avalon cut right under the bow of the ship. It looked like a couple came within 10 yards. The ship twice blew the 'I'm preparing to run you down' alarm on the big horn (5 short blasts), but the skidiots (how's that for a new word!) weren't impressed. Otherwise, quite a
bit of small boat traffic, this being a summer Sunday, but the others have managed to keep their distance.
"I've learned from the officers what they call 'the law of gross tonnage.' That's a euphemism for 'might makes right.' We're a hell of a lot bigger than you, and we ain't stopping.
"Cadets by the dozen (and a few faculty) lined the rails with cell phones this morning as we came within range of the cell-phone antennas at Avalon. It was quite a sight.
"Two finals down, one to go on Monday. The girl with the 'gentleman's D' in oceanography did, as anticipated, fail astronomy. An exam score truly beyond the pale, literally no better than random guessing on 90 multiple choice and a whopping 3 out of 10 points on two short answer questions. I've rarely seen a more honestly earned F. Wouldn't you love to be the fly on the wall when she reports home to Mom and Dad?
"Stacy didn't rescheduled her slide show, so I and half the Cal Poly students (who were taking my astronomy exam) missed it. Many of them, though, are in her Cultural Anthropology class and have heard quite a bit about it.
"Graduation tonight, at 6:30, for the 'class of one.' Wind has been picking up, so I'll have to bundle up warmly to sit out on the patio deck for awhile. Otherwise, trying to push my way through a couple of chapters of editing, although I have no great enthusiasm."
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/24/06 (#46)
"Still windy and cool. Foggy most of the day, with only occasional blue holes, but it has cleared late this afternoon. We should cross the border back into the U.S. about 3 a.m. and arrive off Catalina about 8 a.m. for a day-and-a-half of various cadet training exercises. Life will go on as normal for the rest of us.
"Gave my oceanography final this morning. My Bataan Death March speech after the second midterm apparently had an affect on one of the two girls who were my main targets. She pulled together a much improved performance and ended up with a C. But the other was pretty much unchanged. I gave her a 'gentleman's D,' although she really should have failed. But I'm anticipating she'll fail astronomy, coming up right after dinner.
"Stacy is giving a slide show tonight about her anthropological field work with a mostly hunter-gatherer tribe in the jungles of Bolivia. She had scheduled it for 7, but we'll be in the midst of the astronomy final. I asked her to reschedule for 8. I haven't yet seen today's Bear's Tale (usually comes out right before dinner) to see if she did, but I hope so. I've heard various tales over dinner, but it would be nice to get a coherent presentation with pictures.
"Not much other news. Spent the afternoon grading and finishing the book review I'm writing. Should be able to get back to 2e revisions tomorrow. Off to dinner now, so that I'll be well fed for the astronomy exam."
"Gave my oceanography final this morning. My Bataan Death March speech after the second midterm apparently had an affect on one of the two girls who were my main targets. She pulled together a much improved performance and ended up with a C. But the other was pretty much unchanged. I gave her a 'gentleman's D,' although she really should have failed. But I'm anticipating she'll fail astronomy, coming up right after dinner.
"Stacy is giving a slide show tonight about her anthropological field work with a mostly hunter-gatherer tribe in the jungles of Bolivia. She had scheduled it for 7, but we'll be in the midst of the astronomy final. I asked her to reschedule for 8. I haven't yet seen today's Bear's Tale (usually comes out right before dinner) to see if she did, but I hope so. I've heard various tales over dinner, but it would be nice to get a coherent presentation with pictures.
"Not much other news. Spent the afternoon grading and finishing the book review I'm writing. Should be able to get back to 2e revisions tomorrow. Off to dinner now, so that I'll be well fed for the astronomy exam."
Friday, June 23, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/23/06 (#45)
"One more class to go tonight, astronomy, and that wraps up classes. First final is 9 a.m. tomorrow! No rest for the weary.
"We're definitely back into the north Pacific. Those calm tropical seas with gentle breezes are behind us. 20 mph winds are kicking up white caps and rough seas. And since we're heading straight into the wind at about 12 mph, the apparent wind on deck is over 30 mph. Invigorating! Will probably be like this the rest of the trip. Had some marine-layer clouds and fog this morning, cleared this afternoon with a temp of about 65. It's not bad out if you can stand behind something to block the wind a bit, but the rougher seas make it hard to spot any wildlife. Our booby escort, which was pretty constant throughout the tropics, has abandoned us.
"Speaking of boobies, we've usually had 3 or 4 around. Two nights ago, right at sunset, we were surrounded by a flock of 50 or 60 brown boobies. It was like we were the giant 'mother booby,' and they are all just flying along with us, some on one side, some on the other. And we passed through a school of dolphin to complete the picture.
"Otherwise, not much to report today. Wrapping up chores, grading, trying to finish a book review I agreed to write last summer."
"We're definitely back into the north Pacific. Those calm tropical seas with gentle breezes are behind us. 20 mph winds are kicking up white caps and rough seas. And since we're heading straight into the wind at about 12 mph, the apparent wind on deck is over 30 mph. Invigorating! Will probably be like this the rest of the trip. Had some marine-layer clouds and fog this morning, cleared this afternoon with a temp of about 65. It's not bad out if you can stand behind something to block the wind a bit, but the rougher seas make it hard to spot any wildlife. Our booby escort, which was pretty constant throughout the tropics, has abandoned us.
"Speaking of boobies, we've usually had 3 or 4 around. Two nights ago, right at sunset, we were surrounded by a flock of 50 or 60 brown boobies. It was like we were the giant 'mother booby,' and they are all just flying along with us, some on one side, some on the other. And we passed through a school of dolphin to complete the picture.
"Otherwise, not much to report today. Wrapping up chores, grading, trying to finish a book review I agreed to write last summer."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/22/06 (#44)
"Rounded Baja about noon today, as expected, although about 50 miles offshore so nothing to see. It was 90 degrees Tuesday, 82 yesterday, and down to 70 this afternoon. I think we'll all be back into sweatshirts by tomorrow.
"Lee's party went off well. Either he truly was surprised, or he faked it well. Now we're planning graduation for Sunday. Any graduating seniors missed the Cal Poly graduation, so they've traditionally had a little ceremony on board. Only, this year we have but a single graduating student. He's both the valedictorian of his class and, in CMA jargon, the anchor man. But tradition must be fulfilled, so the ceremony will go on with this singular guest of honor. The senior officers will be there in uniform, there'll be a color guard, a few short speeches, and a reception to follow. All Sunday evening as we're going in circles around Catalina. As a Cal Poly faculty I'll be seated on the 'platform,' but I managed to weasel out of having to say or do anything.
"Tomorrow is the last day of classes. I'm right on schedule in astronomy, actually a half-day ahead in oceanography, so we'll only meet for 30 minutes, and could use another couple of days in energy. Oh well. Two exams on Saturday, one on Monday. But at least I've graded all my energy essays, in a marathon grading session yesterday afternoon and this morning.
"Have to go make sure my astronomy slides are together for tonight, then off to dinner."
"Lee's party went off well. Either he truly was surprised, or he faked it well. Now we're planning graduation for Sunday. Any graduating seniors missed the Cal Poly graduation, so they've traditionally had a little ceremony on board. Only, this year we have but a single graduating student. He's both the valedictorian of his class and, in CMA jargon, the anchor man. But tradition must be fulfilled, so the ceremony will go on with this singular guest of honor. The senior officers will be there in uniform, there'll be a color guard, a few short speeches, and a reception to follow. All Sunday evening as we're going in circles around Catalina. As a Cal Poly faculty I'll be seated on the 'platform,' but I managed to weasel out of having to say or do anything.
"Tomorrow is the last day of classes. I'm right on schedule in astronomy, actually a half-day ahead in oceanography, so we'll only meet for 30 minutes, and could use another couple of days in energy. Oh well. Two exams on Saturday, one on Monday. But at least I've graded all my energy essays, in a marathon grading session yesterday afternoon and this morning.
"Have to go make sure my astronomy slides are together for tonight, then off to dinner."
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Tips for Dealing With Daily Stresses
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp. Some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp. Some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/21/06 (#43)
"Students in my energy class turned in their essays today, so I'm in the throes of grading. A mixed bag, as usual.
"The students are having a surprise 'retirement party' for Lee Parker after dinner tonight. He's unaware - that is, if all has gone well and no one has slipped up. The captain is going to page him over the PA system: 'Professor Parker, please report to the patio on the 03 deck.' I cancelled astronomy so that this can happen. Just added on a few extra minutes to other nights to make up. I don't usually go the full hour in astronomy anyway, so that was no big deal.
"Had a nice thunderstorm with lightning and booming about 4 a.m. But I wasn't interested enough to really wake up and see it. Sun was out when I got up at 6:30. This is probably our last hot day. We'll round the tip of Baja by noon tomorrow, then we'll start to get into cooler water. Satellite photos show the marine layer extending almost to the tip of Baja. In fact, I just noticed, on my way down to the computer room, some puffy 'pre fog' type clouds developing this afternoon.
"We have a 2-star admiral on board. He joined us in Costa Rica. Actually, a retired admiral. As I understand it, he now does 'consulting' work, including for MARAD - Marine Administration - the governmental agency that actually owns the ship. His job - for which I presume he's well paid - is to act as an 'observer.' That seems to consist mostly of sitting on the bridge kibitzing with officers and cadets on watch. Apparently he does this every couple of years since most of the officers already knew him. After we arrive in Vallejo, he flies to Hawaii to 'observe' some ship that the Navy is re-commissioning. Tough life for retired admirals. But he's a jovial sort and is entertaining at dinner. Anyway, having an admiral aboard requires certain naval protocol. Apparently we will be flying his flag when we enter San Francisco Bay. (Admirals are called 'flag rank,' and ships carrying an admiral flies their special flag to denote their presence aboard.) All government ships, such as Coast Guard, are supposed to see his flag and 'dip' their flag - although I don't really know what that means - in deference. Of course, we'd have to then dip our flag in the very unlike event that we pass a ship with a 3 or 4 star admiral. It should be entertaining."
"The students are having a surprise 'retirement party' for Lee Parker after dinner tonight. He's unaware - that is, if all has gone well and no one has slipped up. The captain is going to page him over the PA system: 'Professor Parker, please report to the patio on the 03 deck.' I cancelled astronomy so that this can happen. Just added on a few extra minutes to other nights to make up. I don't usually go the full hour in astronomy anyway, so that was no big deal.
"Had a nice thunderstorm with lightning and booming about 4 a.m. But I wasn't interested enough to really wake up and see it. Sun was out when I got up at 6:30. This is probably our last hot day. We'll round the tip of Baja by noon tomorrow, then we'll start to get into cooler water. Satellite photos show the marine layer extending almost to the tip of Baja. In fact, I just noticed, on my way down to the computer room, some puffy 'pre fog' type clouds developing this afternoon.
"We have a 2-star admiral on board. He joined us in Costa Rica. Actually, a retired admiral. As I understand it, he now does 'consulting' work, including for MARAD - Marine Administration - the governmental agency that actually owns the ship. His job - for which I presume he's well paid - is to act as an 'observer.' That seems to consist mostly of sitting on the bridge kibitzing with officers and cadets on watch. Apparently he does this every couple of years since most of the officers already knew him. After we arrive in Vallejo, he flies to Hawaii to 'observe' some ship that the Navy is re-commissioning. Tough life for retired admirals. But he's a jovial sort and is entertaining at dinner. Anyway, having an admiral aboard requires certain naval protocol. Apparently we will be flying his flag when we enter San Francisco Bay. (Admirals are called 'flag rank,' and ships carrying an admiral flies their special flag to denote their presence aboard.) All government ships, such as Coast Guard, are supposed to see his flag and 'dip' their flag - although I don't really know what that means - in deference. Of course, we'd have to then dip our flag in the very unlike event that we pass a ship with a 3 or 4 star admiral. It should be entertaining."
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/20/06 (#42)
"Pretty dull today. Passed Acapulco this morning, but we're well offshore and not seeing any land. Still hot and sunny (for a couple more days until we round the tip of Baja), but didn't see anything especially interesting. Perhaps a couple of dolphin in the distance. Even our boobie escort seems to have left us.
"Don't want to make you nervous, but they've turned off the GPS on the bridge and the cadets have been piloting by dead reckoning since we left Costa Rica. Locating our position by celestial navigation and plotting our course on charts. They do get to use the ship's chronometers for assistance with determining longitude. (Remember Harrison's clocks in the 'Longitude' book and PBS special?) And they do still have the radar on, which I think would help us avoid running into anything as large as Mexico. But the Captain doesn't seem worried, so I presume they're doing OK.
"Otherwise, I'm finishing up preparations for the last classes, writing a final exam for my energy class (the other two were already written), grading, and doing the same dull end-of-quarter chores I would have done at home. But at least I can look at my window at the sea!"
"Don't want to make you nervous, but they've turned off the GPS on the bridge and the cadets have been piloting by dead reckoning since we left Costa Rica. Locating our position by celestial navigation and plotting our course on charts. They do get to use the ship's chronometers for assistance with determining longitude. (Remember Harrison's clocks in the 'Longitude' book and PBS special?) And they do still have the radar on, which I think would help us avoid running into anything as large as Mexico. But the Captain doesn't seem worried, so I presume they're doing OK.
"Otherwise, I'm finishing up preparations for the last classes, writing a final exam for my energy class (the other two were already written), grading, and doing the same dull end-of-quarter chores I would have done at home. But at least I can look at my window at the sea!"
Monday, June 19, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/19/06 (#41)
"Not a hint of a breeze this morning, so the ocean was glassy calm. You could see anything moving on the surface from miles away. And that was mostly turtles. I saw 7 or 8 in the space of 15 minutes, and the morning watch on the bridge (8 to 12) reported counting over 70. Fewer this afternoon, although I did see one with a bird riding on it. And I didn't see any at all late this afternoon when I was out for about 10 minutes. The turtles are all just slowly paddling along on the surface with the top of their shell out of the water. (That's where the bird was.) I'd judge most to be about a foot in diameter. Right alongside the ship I did see one turtle underwater heading straight down. Apparently we got too close to him, and he signaled 'Dive! Dive! Dive!' But ones 50 yards away were oblivious to our passing.
"This afternoon was the 'Mesoamerican Ballgame.' Stacy's Cultural Anthropology class did a re-enactment of a mesoamerican ballgame, complete with priests, royalty, two virgins who were sacrificed, and two teams of 4 who played the game in two 7-minute halves. It was warriors against slaves, and - in keeping with tradition - the captain of the losing team was killed. It was a close-fought contest, tied 2-2 late in the game, but the warriors pulled out a last minute score to win 3-2. I'm sorry to say I had bet our house and three children on the slaves. We'll have to live on the streets for awhile, and the children will be sold into slavery. But, on the bright side, we won't have to feed them anymore.
"The virgin sacrifice was nicely done. The two virgins were led out and laid on cots. A priestess bent over each one to cut out her heart. As each priestess bent over, she reached under the cot and pulled out a ketchup-soaked apple to hold up in the air!
"The games concluded - for the living - with traditional refreshments of lemonade and ice cream.
"Otherwise, just another Monday. Trying to wrap up classes and homework. I've got essays due in one class on Wednesday, have to write a final activity for another class, and exams start on Saturday. "
"This afternoon was the 'Mesoamerican Ballgame.' Stacy's Cultural Anthropology class did a re-enactment of a mesoamerican ballgame, complete with priests, royalty, two virgins who were sacrificed, and two teams of 4 who played the game in two 7-minute halves. It was warriors against slaves, and - in keeping with tradition - the captain of the losing team was killed. It was a close-fought contest, tied 2-2 late in the game, but the warriors pulled out a last minute score to win 3-2. I'm sorry to say I had bet our house and three children on the slaves. We'll have to live on the streets for awhile, and the children will be sold into slavery. But, on the bright side, we won't have to feed them anymore.
"The virgin sacrifice was nicely done. The two virgins were led out and laid on cots. A priestess bent over each one to cut out her heart. As each priestess bent over, she reached under the cot and pulled out a ketchup-soaked apple to hold up in the air!
"The games concluded - for the living - with traditional refreshments of lemonade and ice cream.
"Otherwise, just another Monday. Trying to wrap up classes and homework. I've got essays due in one class on Wednesday, have to write a final activity for another class, and exams start on Saturday. "
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/18/06 (#40)
"Started sunny, then some thundershowers in late morning, then cleared for the Sinbad Games. Each of the cadet divisions, with Cal Poly students added in here and there, participated in various contests. Such as the hawser toss. Hawsers are the really big (and really heavy) ropes they use to tie up a ship to the dock. Participants had to try tossing the loop at the end of the hawser over a horn about 8 feet away. Most couldn't throw it that far, much less hit the horn. Then there was 'line tossing,' both for distance and for accuracy. Accuracy required trying to get the weight on the end of the line into a large bucket about 50 feet away.
"Especially popular was the bosun's chair relay. One of the ship's cranes held a pulley about 20 feet above the deck with a rope over it. Each student in a team of 4 had to tie one end of the rope around themselves in a double-loop fashion called a bosun's chair. One loop goes around the waist, the other under the butt so that you can sit on that loop and get hoisted. (This is how sailors were hoisted up the mast in days of yore to do rigging.) Once roped up, another student hoisted them up and they had to touch the pulley at the top. One all Cal Poly group of 4 did quite well. I think they were shown how to tie the rope a couple of days ago and had been practicing. A couple of CMA cadet teams failed because one or more team member couldn't manage to get themselves tied up correctly.
"But the most popular - at least for us spectators - was the 'leaky pipe.' The ship's engineers had rigged up the most horrid looking conglomeration of pipes that had holes in them, missing gaskets, missing plugs, missing bolts, etc. And it was all hooked up to the fire hose, which runs at 100 psi pressure. When they opened the value, water came spraying out absolutely everywhere in a huge geyser. Teams of 5 had 10 minutes to try to patch as many holes as possible - all while the water is spraying everywhere. And this is salt water, mind you, although the team members did wear goggles. They were scored by how much they could raise the pressure at the end of the pipe, which was less than 10 psi at the beginning due to all the holes. Some teams made absolutely no progress in 10 minutes, but one team, while not patching all the leaks, managed to get it sealed up enough to get the pressure up to 60 psi. One team had two Cal Poly women who had never seen a pipe wrench or a hose clamp. I gave them some quick 'Plumbing 101' coaching, but it wasn't enough. Theirs was one of the least successful teams.
"But a good time was had by all, and the games were followed by a barbeque on the fantail. Ribs this time, although not as good as the ribs at our first barbeque back in early May
"Mom managed to get my birthday dessert out for lunch today. It wasn't actually chocolate mousse, but a black-and-white cake with a rather mousse-like frosting. Quite tasty. I suspect there's some left in the ward room, and I'm going to go check after finishing this email.
"I've got to get some end-of-quarter course materials together. Just 5 days of classes left, through Friday, then final exams on Saturday and next Monday."
"Especially popular was the bosun's chair relay. One of the ship's cranes held a pulley about 20 feet above the deck with a rope over it. Each student in a team of 4 had to tie one end of the rope around themselves in a double-loop fashion called a bosun's chair. One loop goes around the waist, the other under the butt so that you can sit on that loop and get hoisted. (This is how sailors were hoisted up the mast in days of yore to do rigging.) Once roped up, another student hoisted them up and they had to touch the pulley at the top. One all Cal Poly group of 4 did quite well. I think they were shown how to tie the rope a couple of days ago and had been practicing. A couple of CMA cadet teams failed because one or more team member couldn't manage to get themselves tied up correctly.
"But the most popular - at least for us spectators - was the 'leaky pipe.' The ship's engineers had rigged up the most horrid looking conglomeration of pipes that had holes in them, missing gaskets, missing plugs, missing bolts, etc. And it was all hooked up to the fire hose, which runs at 100 psi pressure. When they opened the value, water came spraying out absolutely everywhere in a huge geyser. Teams of 5 had 10 minutes to try to patch as many holes as possible - all while the water is spraying everywhere. And this is salt water, mind you, although the team members did wear goggles. They were scored by how much they could raise the pressure at the end of the pipe, which was less than 10 psi at the beginning due to all the holes. Some teams made absolutely no progress in 10 minutes, but one team, while not patching all the leaks, managed to get it sealed up enough to get the pressure up to 60 psi. One team had two Cal Poly women who had never seen a pipe wrench or a hose clamp. I gave them some quick 'Plumbing 101' coaching, but it wasn't enough. Theirs was one of the least successful teams.
"But a good time was had by all, and the games were followed by a barbeque on the fantail. Ribs this time, although not as good as the ribs at our first barbeque back in early May
"Mom managed to get my birthday dessert out for lunch today. It wasn't actually chocolate mousse, but a black-and-white cake with a rather mousse-like frosting. Quite tasty. I suspect there's some left in the ward room, and I'm going to go check after finishing this email.
"I've got to get some end-of-quarter course materials together. Just 5 days of classes left, through Friday, then final exams on Saturday and next Monday."
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/17/06 (#39)
HAPPY 56th BIRTHDAY TO SEAMAN KNIGHT!!
"Thanks for the birthday wishes. I don't think the ship's server had managed email for 2 or 3 days, so it suddenly burped about about 6 emails from you this morning, including your most recent from Friday night.
"Nothing eventful. But apparently I'll have to wait for my birthday dessert. The ship's baker is a Sri Lankan lady that everyone on the ship, faculty and students both, call Mom. I don't even recall her real name. Mom churns out desserts like they're going out of style. I'll tell you more about Mom later. Mom also seems to have a list of the birthdays of all faculty and staff, she has a mind like a steel trap for remembering everyone's favorite dessert, and she tends to make special desserts on people's birthday and put a little card beside it on the dessert table in the wardroom.
"Although I say Hello to Mom when I see her, I've only ever really chatted with her once, and that was going to shore in the launch all the way back in Mexico. It was noisy, there were several people talking, but she casually asked me what my favorite dessert was. Not having time to give it much thought, the first thing that came to mind was 'chocolate mousse.' We all got off the launch and went our way. I'm not even sure Mom knew what my name was.
"Well, there we are having lunch today when the ship's nurse comes over and asks, 'Is today your birthday?' After acknowledging it to be so, she says 'I've sent Mom to bed, she wasn't feeling well. She said to tell you that she hasn't finished your chocolate mousse, but that she'll have it done as soon as she's feeling better.'
"Wow!
"Hopes for good birthday-night star viewing a little later. We haven't seen stars, other than tiny little patches through the clouds, since leaving Chile. But tonight is a near-perfect conjunction of Mars and Saturn (i.e., they'll be so perfectly lined up as to almost seem one planet), so that will be a nice birthday treat.
"I had a 'breakthrough' yesterday on an issue I'd been struggling with for several days, and have spent every free moment today writing it up. I want to circulate this document to a few people for comment as soon as I get back, and I'll then polish it up and publish it if they don't entirely shoot my idea down. Not to mention using the idea in the second edition.
"Tomorrow is another BBQ day on the fantail. Should be sunny and hot. Tomorrow is also the 'Sinbad Games,' but I'll write more about them after seeing them. Contests of brute-force nautical skills among teams of students. I think.
"Off to dinner and then astronomy."
"Thanks for the birthday wishes. I don't think the ship's server had managed email for 2 or 3 days, so it suddenly burped about about 6 emails from you this morning, including your most recent from Friday night.
"Nothing eventful. But apparently I'll have to wait for my birthday dessert. The ship's baker is a Sri Lankan lady that everyone on the ship, faculty and students both, call Mom. I don't even recall her real name. Mom churns out desserts like they're going out of style. I'll tell you more about Mom later. Mom also seems to have a list of the birthdays of all faculty and staff, she has a mind like a steel trap for remembering everyone's favorite dessert, and she tends to make special desserts on people's birthday and put a little card beside it on the dessert table in the wardroom.
"Although I say Hello to Mom when I see her, I've only ever really chatted with her once, and that was going to shore in the launch all the way back in Mexico. It was noisy, there were several people talking, but she casually asked me what my favorite dessert was. Not having time to give it much thought, the first thing that came to mind was 'chocolate mousse.' We all got off the launch and went our way. I'm not even sure Mom knew what my name was.
"Well, there we are having lunch today when the ship's nurse comes over and asks, 'Is today your birthday?' After acknowledging it to be so, she says 'I've sent Mom to bed, she wasn't feeling well. She said to tell you that she hasn't finished your chocolate mousse, but that she'll have it done as soon as she's feeling better.'
"Wow!
"Hopes for good birthday-night star viewing a little later. We haven't seen stars, other than tiny little patches through the clouds, since leaving Chile. But tonight is a near-perfect conjunction of Mars and Saturn (i.e., they'll be so perfectly lined up as to almost seem one planet), so that will be a nice birthday treat.
"I had a 'breakthrough' yesterday on an issue I'd been struggling with for several days, and have spent every free moment today writing it up. I want to circulate this document to a few people for comment as soon as I get back, and I'll then polish it up and publish it if they don't entirely shoot my idea down. Not to mention using the idea in the second edition.
"Tomorrow is another BBQ day on the fantail. Should be sunny and hot. Tomorrow is also the 'Sinbad Games,' but I'll write more about them after seeing them. Contests of brute-force nautical skills among teams of students. I think.
"Off to dinner and then astronomy."
Friday, June 16, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/16/06 (#38)
"The last Costa Rican island is disappearing behind us, so no more sight of land until we reach Catalina Island in about 8 days. Well, possibly we'll see the tip of Baja in the distance in a few days, depending on how close we come and whether it's daylight. We were just preparing to 'cast off lines' when I went to class at 8:00 this morning, and had left Golfito a few miles
behind when I came out at 9:00. Lots of big thunderheads over the coast during the day, but sunny and hot out where we've been.
"Had a nice dinner of sauted jumbo shrimp last night, my favorite oxymoron, then walked back to the ship in a warm light drizzle. It must have rained harder during the night, judging by the puddles this morning. The ship's purser called me at 6:00 a.m. because I hadn't turned in my port pass, and they had to collect all port passes before departure. This was the only port where we were issued a special pass (our Golden Bear ID card was sufficient everywhere else), so I didn't know I had to turn it back in.
"Various individuals reported seeing monkeys, toucans, macaws, and parrots in Costa Rica, but ants and lizards (one with a beautiful blue irridescent tail) were the best I could manage. And one wolf spider and one small snake hiding in a bromyliad (sp?). And the guide on yesterday's hike found a poison dart frog for us. They're very small, about the size of a fingernail.
"All in all, this little corner of Costa Rica was a pleasant, but remote, place. The people were very nice.
"Now everyone's hunkered down for the last week-and-a-day of classes. Classes go through next Friday, then next Saturday and the following Monday will be final exam days. I'm giving back 2 midterms today on which the scores are dreadful. Both classes are getting my doom and gloom speach about how their parents aren't paying big bucks for them to come on cruise only to end up on academic probation. So (for some) they've got a week left to get their act together and pull out a passing grade. I suspect my popularity rating just dropped a big notch. Oh well.
"OK, an hour until dinner. I['m] struggling with a 'revision issue.' Maybe I can figure out how I want to deal with it by dinner time."
behind when I came out at 9:00. Lots of big thunderheads over the coast during the day, but sunny and hot out where we've been.
"Had a nice dinner of sauted jumbo shrimp last night, my favorite oxymoron, then walked back to the ship in a warm light drizzle. It must have rained harder during the night, judging by the puddles this morning. The ship's purser called me at 6:00 a.m. because I hadn't turned in my port pass, and they had to collect all port passes before departure. This was the only port where we were issued a special pass (our Golden Bear ID card was sufficient everywhere else), so I didn't know I had to turn it back in.
"Various individuals reported seeing monkeys, toucans, macaws, and parrots in Costa Rica, but ants and lizards (one with a beautiful blue irridescent tail) were the best I could manage. And one wolf spider and one small snake hiding in a bromyliad (sp?). And the guide on yesterday's hike found a poison dart frog for us. They're very small, about the size of a fingernail.
"All in all, this little corner of Costa Rica was a pleasant, but remote, place. The people were very nice.
"Now everyone's hunkered down for the last week-and-a-day of classes. Classes go through next Friday, then next Saturday and the following Monday will be final exam days. I'm giving back 2 midterms today on which the scores are dreadful. Both classes are getting my doom and gloom speach about how their parents aren't paying big bucks for them to come on cruise only to end up on academic probation. So (for some) they've got a week left to get their act together and pull out a passing grade. I suspect my popularity rating just dropped a big notch. Oh well.
"OK, an hour until dinner. I['m] struggling with a 'revision issue.' Maybe I can figure out how I want to deal with it by dinner time."
Keeping Up With Randy
For those readers who are keeping up with Randy's messages, his "lost" email from Monday, June 12 finally arrived this morning, Friday, June 16. I've added it to my existing June 12 post to keep his entries in order, more or less. You can read it there.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/15/06 (#37)
"Thursday evening in Golfito.
"I just learned today that my Monday email didn´t get sent. That's where you would have learned about my cold (all better now) and various factoids about Costa Rica. My error - I mistyped your email address - but no clue why it took 3 days to inform me that it couldn't be sent.
"There's only one email place here in Golfito (plus another I heard about much farther away). I didn´t make it 'into town' yesterday. Hiked in the morning, then it was pouring rain in the afternoon. I sent an email about the hike via ship's email, for whenever that gets delivered.
"Today's rain forest field trip with Lee's class went off well. A group of 22. They bused us to an ecolodge about an hour away. Looked like they had about 10 cabins, nowhere near as plush as Chan Chich. There we divided into two groups and their English speaking guides took us on about a 2-and-a-half hour hike. Pretty steep trails, and muddy, but fairly interesting.
"The rumor of an extra day here, which you'll eventually read about in yesterday's email, proved to be unfounded. We'll be departing at 8 a.m. tomorrow for the longest sea-leg of the trip. I understand it's customary to spend a couple of days doing 'rubber docking' near Catalina.
"I'm going to wrap this up rather quickly because I'm down to my last 500 colones, and that doesn't buy too much internet time. ... I'm going to wander off for dinner (they take dollars there, so I'm OK), then back to the ship."
"I just learned today that my Monday email didn´t get sent. That's where you would have learned about my cold (all better now) and various factoids about Costa Rica. My error - I mistyped your email address - but no clue why it took 3 days to inform me that it couldn't be sent.
"There's only one email place here in Golfito (plus another I heard about much farther away). I didn´t make it 'into town' yesterday. Hiked in the morning, then it was pouring rain in the afternoon. I sent an email about the hike via ship's email, for whenever that gets delivered.
"Today's rain forest field trip with Lee's class went off well. A group of 22. They bused us to an ecolodge about an hour away. Looked like they had about 10 cabins, nowhere near as plush as Chan Chich. There we divided into two groups and their English speaking guides took us on about a 2-and-a-half hour hike. Pretty steep trails, and muddy, but fairly interesting.
"The rumor of an extra day here, which you'll eventually read about in yesterday's email, proved to be unfounded. We'll be departing at 8 a.m. tomorrow for the longest sea-leg of the trip. I understand it's customary to spend a couple of days doing 'rubber docking' near Catalina.
"I'm going to wrap this up rather quickly because I'm down to my last 500 colones, and that doesn't buy too much internet time. ... I'm going to wander off for dinner (they take dollars there, so I'm OK), then back to the ship."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/14/06 (#36)
"Did a morning rain forest hike up to the ridgeline behind Golfito. Quite pleasant - if you don't mind slogging up steep and slippery trails in heat, 100% humidity, and not a hint of a breeze under the canopy. My clothes were absolutely soaked with sweat when I got back. Saw birds, a bat, leafcutter ants, and lots of lizards, but no monkeys or sloths or anything fancy. A few people have reported seeing macaws and toucans around, but I haven't.
"Hung around ship this afternoon, then it started pouring rain in the later afternoon. So eating dinner in the wardroom looked pretty good.
"Tomorrow morning is a rain forest tour that Lee has arranged for his class, and I'm going along. It's being done through an ecotourism lodge nearby, but I don't know any more than that.
"There are rumors that we're going to be staying here through the day on Friday, rather than leaving Friday morning, to accomodate some high-level visitors from San Jose, the capital. But so far they're rumors only, nothing that's been confirmed."
"Hung around ship this afternoon, then it started pouring rain in the later afternoon. So eating dinner in the wardroom looked pretty good.
"Tomorrow morning is a rain forest tour that Lee has arranged for his class, and I'm going along. It's being done through an ecotourism lodge nearby, but I don't know any more than that.
"There are rumors that we're going to be staying here through the day on Friday, rather than leaving Friday morning, to accomodate some high-level visitors from San Jose, the capital. But so far they're rumors only, nothing that's been confirmed."
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/13/06 (#35)
From Golfito, Costa Rica---
"OK, maybe it´s 500 people here, rather than 300, but that´s probably about it. Stretched out thinly over a mile or so of the bayfront. Very, very poor. Houses are almost all corrugated metal or thrown together from scrap wood. Lots of dogs and lots of small children. I´m not sure hardly anyone works. This was the shipping port for United Fruit to ship bananas, but they pulled out about a decade ago and I suspect that was the demise of an already shaky economy. The main businesses seem to be seedy bars, and in a town this small I´ve seen two Alcoholicos Anonisimos.
"But despite the poverty, I don´t sense the desparation of a ghetto. People are friendly and say Hola on the street, the kids and dogs all seem to be having a good time, and life goes on.
"Had a pleasant lunch at what may be the only place in town that qualfies as a 'cafe.' It´s connected with a little marina that runs sportsfishing charters. That is THE big business here now. Apparently Golfo Dolce is a really big place for swordfish and sailfish and whatnot. Chartering a boat and a captain is something like $1000 a day, but that´s small change for the guys who are heavily into sportfishing. There are a few other eateries around, but the one´s I´ve seen are just 3 or 4 tables.
"A lot of students have gone off on arranged buses to beach-resort areas. I suspect I´ll just hang around here. One guide book gives some hints on where to find trails into the rain forest. And Lee is looking into a tour on Thursday with the guides from a nearby ecoresort.
"Quite hot and humid - about like Memphis was last summer. Clouds have come and gone, and it could cloud up and rain at any time. After all, they don´t call it a rain forest for nothing.
"I felt really crappy last night with this cold and went to bed about 9, and slept 11 hours. I felt like I probably had some fever. So I actually stopped by the infirmary this morning, and indeed my temp was 99.7, or something like that. The doc said he´s seen a couple of cases of strep throat, but there´s no evidence I have that. And something about the ship´s ventilation system seems to promote sinus problems and sinus infections. He agreed it´s probably just a cold, but since he´s got a closet full of meds sitting there he went ahead and gave me some antibiotics 'just to make sure.' Anyway, I do feel better this afternoon, even if not yet up to running a marathon. So I´m going to continue taking it easy today and hope I´ll be full strength for Wed and Thurs.
"I´m going to meander back toward the ship and see what I can find on that side of the street. More later."
"OK, maybe it´s 500 people here, rather than 300, but that´s probably about it. Stretched out thinly over a mile or so of the bayfront. Very, very poor. Houses are almost all corrugated metal or thrown together from scrap wood. Lots of dogs and lots of small children. I´m not sure hardly anyone works. This was the shipping port for United Fruit to ship bananas, but they pulled out about a decade ago and I suspect that was the demise of an already shaky economy. The main businesses seem to be seedy bars, and in a town this small I´ve seen two Alcoholicos Anonisimos.
"But despite the poverty, I don´t sense the desparation of a ghetto. People are friendly and say Hola on the street, the kids and dogs all seem to be having a good time, and life goes on.
"Had a pleasant lunch at what may be the only place in town that qualfies as a 'cafe.' It´s connected with a little marina that runs sportsfishing charters. That is THE big business here now. Apparently Golfo Dolce is a really big place for swordfish and sailfish and whatnot. Chartering a boat and a captain is something like $1000 a day, but that´s small change for the guys who are heavily into sportfishing. There are a few other eateries around, but the one´s I´ve seen are just 3 or 4 tables.
"A lot of students have gone off on arranged buses to beach-resort areas. I suspect I´ll just hang around here. One guide book gives some hints on where to find trails into the rain forest. And Lee is looking into a tour on Thursday with the guides from a nearby ecoresort.
"Quite hot and humid - about like Memphis was last summer. Clouds have come and gone, and it could cloud up and rain at any time. After all, they don´t call it a rain forest for nothing.
"I felt really crappy last night with this cold and went to bed about 9, and slept 11 hours. I felt like I probably had some fever. So I actually stopped by the infirmary this morning, and indeed my temp was 99.7, or something like that. The doc said he´s seen a couple of cases of strep throat, but there´s no evidence I have that. And something about the ship´s ventilation system seems to promote sinus problems and sinus infections. He agreed it´s probably just a cold, but since he´s got a closet full of meds sitting there he went ahead and gave me some antibiotics 'just to make sure.' Anyway, I do feel better this afternoon, even if not yet up to running a marathon. So I´m going to continue taking it easy today and hope I´ll be full strength for Wed and Thurs.
"I´m going to meander back toward the ship and see what I can find on that side of the street. More later."
Monday, June 12, 2006
Cute Pooch; Reminds Me of Fannie Foxtail
I swear this is the cutest dog I've ever seen. Go watch a quick slide slow of Tatyiana.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035666500@N01/sets/508858/show/
Following is Randy's "lost" email from Monday, June 12 that finally arrived Friday, June 16. I'm adding it here so his emails will still be in order, more or less.
Undelivered Monday message, which the system took until Thursday to tell me hadn't been delivered. My error - misspelled your email address - but the response time could have been a little quicker.
________________________________
From: Knight, Randall
Sent: Mon 6/12/2006 11:53 PM
Subject: wallowing
"We hightailed it from Golfito to Cocos, making the trip in about 19 hours. But we have about 38 hours to make the return, so we're poking along quite slowly. As a result, we're "wallowing." I presume that's a technical term since I've heard a couple of officers using it. They were grumbling that they'd prefer the captain go faster, then simply anchor off Golfito until Friday morning. Nonetheless, here we are. Wallowing along.
"Gorgeous day today. A mix of sun and clouds and blue water. We could see thunderstorms off in the distance, and I expected them to get more common as the day went on. Instead, they seem to be dissipating.
"I'm somewhat stiff and sore from yesterday's heroic exertions. And I have a cold. The last couple of days had been sore throat days, and now I'm into wheezing and blowing. So I don't feel real great. It's hard to know how much is the cold and how much is the reaction to yesterday. I took an antihistamine, which made me drowsy, so I napped a couple of hours this
afternoon. I have to give a midterm after dinner, so I don't have to think but I do have to stay awake.
"Golfito arrangements are a little hazy, other than arrival at 8:00 tomorrow (Tuesday). We're tying up at a banana boat dock. I would say that Golfito is just a wide spot in the road, but I'm not sure there's a road. I heard one report that the population of Golfito is about 300, but I can't verify that. There are bars (no surprise) and a few restuarants and a gas station. The ship is going to run shuttle buses to a couple of beaches, but one is an hour away and the other (supposedly a surfing paradise) two hours away. We'll have to wait and see if these are any better than the virtually nonexistent shuttle that was arranged in Lima.
"I don't know if I'll go to a beach or not. It will probably depend on how accessible we find the local rain forest. One guide book mentions 'an' internet cafe, but, as above, we'll have to hit the ground to see what the true situation is."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035666500@N01/sets/508858/show/
Following is Randy's "lost" email from Monday, June 12 that finally arrived Friday, June 16. I'm adding it here so his emails will still be in order, more or less.
Undelivered Monday message, which the system took until Thursday to tell me hadn't been delivered. My error - misspelled your email address - but the response time could have been a little quicker.
________________________________
From: Knight, Randall
Sent: Mon 6/12/2006 11:53 PM
Subject: wallowing
"We hightailed it from Golfito to Cocos, making the trip in about 19 hours. But we have about 38 hours to make the return, so we're poking along quite slowly. As a result, we're "wallowing." I presume that's a technical term since I've heard a couple of officers using it. They were grumbling that they'd prefer the captain go faster, then simply anchor off Golfito until Friday morning. Nonetheless, here we are. Wallowing along.
"Gorgeous day today. A mix of sun and clouds and blue water. We could see thunderstorms off in the distance, and I expected them to get more common as the day went on. Instead, they seem to be dissipating.
"I'm somewhat stiff and sore from yesterday's heroic exertions. And I have a cold. The last couple of days had been sore throat days, and now I'm into wheezing and blowing. So I don't feel real great. It's hard to know how much is the cold and how much is the reaction to yesterday. I took an antihistamine, which made me drowsy, so I napped a couple of hours this
afternoon. I have to give a midterm after dinner, so I don't have to think but I do have to stay awake.
"Golfito arrangements are a little hazy, other than arrival at 8:00 tomorrow (Tuesday). We're tying up at a banana boat dock. I would say that Golfito is just a wide spot in the road, but I'm not sure there's a road. I heard one report that the population of Golfito is about 300, but I can't verify that. There are bars (no surprise) and a few restuarants and a gas station. The ship is going to run shuttle buses to a couple of beaches, but one is an hour away and the other (supposedly a surfing paradise) two hours away. We'll have to wait and see if these are any better than the virtually nonexistent shuttle that was arranged in Lima.
"I don't know if I'll go to a beach or not. It will probably depend on how accessible we find the local rain forest. One guide book mentions 'an' internet cafe, but, as above, we'll have to hit the ground to see what the true situation is."
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/11/06 (#34)
"Cocos - Island of Horrors. But I lived to tell the tale. 5:00 p.m. Saturday [sic; actually 5:00 p.m. Sunday], back aboard ship, in one piece (mostly).
"Awakened to a gorgeous tropical isle right outside my window. We had dropped anchor at 6:30 [a.m.], and the various launches were being launched and were scurrying about. Mixed clouds/sun, lots of tropical birds. Numerous frigate birds circling the ship, and lots of some white bird - probably a tern, although I haven't made a firm ID - soaring past.
"Prearrival instructions. The floating dock will be anchored in 3 to 4 feet of water. Be prepared to wade ashore in waist or chest high water. (Actually, the Bear's Tale mentioned 'waste high water.') Students are assigned to launches and must use only those boats. The Numbers 10 and 11 'fast boats' will shuttle faculty and staff ashore and back.
"Sounds simple enough. Perhaps the first omen was when I arrived on the main deck about 9, only to see a fast boat pulling away. But the fast boats zip over to the floating dock in about 2 minutes, so I figured it would be back very shortly. Wrong. For whatever reason, it tied up at the dock and stayed there. So Lee Parker and I waited around until 9:45 and went in on one of the student boats that still had a few seats.
"Second omen. 'Everyone exit the boat and move right into the water. No more than 3 or 4 on the floating dock at any one time. Be careful, it's deep.' Deep? We're all prepared to wade ashore in chest-high water, holding our stuff over our heads. I had two packages, snorkel gear in one and camera, binoculars, bird book, towel, etc. in the other. The water was over my head. Fortunately, as I was being pushed off the dock by the throngs exiting the boat, a CMA cadet who apparently didn't have anything to carry said 'I was on the water polo team' and took my heavier snorkeling package. I side-stroked with one hand trying to hold my other package (my fanny pack) out of the water until it was shallow enough to stand. Finally ashore with only minor water damage.
"Beautiful small beach, a bit of sand bordered by rocks and then the land immediately shot up a steep hillside densely covered in trees. A small but lovely waterfall was cascading down one side onto the beach. My plan was snorkel one side, then hike and bird a little, then snorkel to other side to cool off from the hike. So I donned snorkeling gear, left my stuff on a rock well above the water line, and headed in.
"It was, indeed, an excellent snorkel. Lots of coral, lots of reef fish. I school of 25 or 30 medium sized irridescent blue fish 'adopted' me for awhile and swam around me. I saw several white-tipped reef sharks, about 3 feet long, but no hammerheads. Some students reported seeing large rays. I didn't see those, but did see a large lobster lumbering over the rocks.
"As I was coming back in to the beach, I noted that the real fun had begun. Last night was a full moon. (It was, by the way, absolutely gorgeous on deck last night with the moon and clouds.) We're also coming up on the summer solstice. Combined, those make for some of the highest tides of the year. And apparently Cocos has a rather large tidal range. Waves were already lapping at where I, and most of the students, had left our gear just an hour before, well away from the water at that time. A few cadets were tossing gear up onto higher rocks, and they had just tossed mine as I came stumbling ashore. But ... not in time to prevent one of my sandels from washing out to sea.
"With the beach gone, and nothing but rocks, I couldn't go anywhere without my sandels. And gear that had been only mildly damp getting ashore was now even wetter.
"I hadn't thought of the especially high tides with the full moon until then, but the lightbulb went off (duh!) and I recognized that the highest level of rocks, with a debris line at the top, was probably where the water was heading as the tide was continuing to rise. So while cadets and students had moved to somewhat higher ground, I encouraged them to keep going higher. And did so myself.
"With only one sandel, I couldn't go anywhere. So after comtemplating my situation for awhile, I decided I could at least get in my second snorkel. Only by now there's nothing even resembling a beach. There weren't really waves, but there was a surge of water back and forth, and you had to make your way through 10 yards of big, slippery rocks, barefoot, with the surge pushing you off your feet, to make it to open water. I managed to get out relatively unscathed, had a nice second snorkel, but did get banged up a bit coming back through the rocks on my return. Nothing serious, just a couple of abrasions.
"But out of the frying pan, into the fire. Because the tide's come in so far, the floating dock is now even further offshore, perhaps 150 yards, and now the water is over our heads before getting halfway out. And we have to go through the 'mine field' of the rocks to get into the water. I don't know why they didn't pull the dock in closer and retether it. But they didn't. I
watched a group of students go out, most not being terribly successful at keeping things over their heads.
"I formulated a plan, finally, that required 3 trips back and forth. Swim out with my fanny pack, with the camera in a zip-lock bag. (At least I had foresight for a couple of those.) Swim back in. Swim out with the snorkeling gear, with the binoculars in a zip-lock stuffed between my snorkeling fins. Empty this bag. Swim back with the empty bag and the ziplock the binoculars
had been in. Put the birding book it ziplock, and it and my wet towel in the snorkeling bag. Swim out again. I waited until there was no launch tied up at the dock, figuring the guy working the dock would radio for one of the 'fast boats' for me when I had finally completed all this.
"Fortunately, one of the fast boats hanging around saw me coming out the first time, recognized me as faculty and took pity, and came part way in to meet me. Although there was one slight miscue. I had managed to get that far with my fanny pack still dry. But I was trying to hand a guy on the boat the pack while he was trying to grab my free hand. Due to miscommunication, the pack got dunked, although only briefly. After that, I implemented my plan, all three trips back and forth, but at least had the distance shaved off some by the boat being in closer. I was too pooped by then to haul myself
into the boat, so I got myself partly hoisted up on the side, the guy drug me over the edge, and I ignominiously rolled into the bottom of the boat. Whew.
"Damage report: Camera and binoculars came through fine in their bags. Birding book is wet on one side but not destroyed. Hat, extra shirt, and other gear fairly wet but no permanent damage. All now rinsed and drying, anything washable will get washed when they reopen the laundry rooms after Costa Rica. I'm banged and scraped a couple of places but will quickly mend.
"And I'm pooped. I'd come to hike and snorkel in a tropical paradise, not enter a swimming marathon. I saw nothing of the island other than this one narrow beach - although the students, who had better luck shoe-wise than me, reported that it's quite lovely. And it truly was excellent snorkeling.
"Ray of sunshine in this otherwise gloomy tale: Just as I was preparing to leave for my first desperate swim out to the dock, and had moved about 50 yards down the beach from where I had been sitting, there was my missing sandel, washed up on shore! Either that, or someone who happens to wear the same brand sandel in the same size managed to lose the opposite shoe. Whichever, I took it!
"Hope you had a better day. Onward to Costa Rica!"
"Awakened to a gorgeous tropical isle right outside my window. We had dropped anchor at 6:30 [a.m.], and the various launches were being launched and were scurrying about. Mixed clouds/sun, lots of tropical birds. Numerous frigate birds circling the ship, and lots of some white bird - probably a tern, although I haven't made a firm ID - soaring past.
"Prearrival instructions. The floating dock will be anchored in 3 to 4 feet of water. Be prepared to wade ashore in waist or chest high water. (Actually, the Bear's Tale mentioned 'waste high water.') Students are assigned to launches and must use only those boats. The Numbers 10 and 11 'fast boats' will shuttle faculty and staff ashore and back.
"Sounds simple enough. Perhaps the first omen was when I arrived on the main deck about 9, only to see a fast boat pulling away. But the fast boats zip over to the floating dock in about 2 minutes, so I figured it would be back very shortly. Wrong. For whatever reason, it tied up at the dock and stayed there. So Lee Parker and I waited around until 9:45 and went in on one of the student boats that still had a few seats.
"Second omen. 'Everyone exit the boat and move right into the water. No more than 3 or 4 on the floating dock at any one time. Be careful, it's deep.' Deep? We're all prepared to wade ashore in chest-high water, holding our stuff over our heads. I had two packages, snorkel gear in one and camera, binoculars, bird book, towel, etc. in the other. The water was over my head. Fortunately, as I was being pushed off the dock by the throngs exiting the boat, a CMA cadet who apparently didn't have anything to carry said 'I was on the water polo team' and took my heavier snorkeling package. I side-stroked with one hand trying to hold my other package (my fanny pack) out of the water until it was shallow enough to stand. Finally ashore with only minor water damage.
"Beautiful small beach, a bit of sand bordered by rocks and then the land immediately shot up a steep hillside densely covered in trees. A small but lovely waterfall was cascading down one side onto the beach. My plan was snorkel one side, then hike and bird a little, then snorkel to other side to cool off from the hike. So I donned snorkeling gear, left my stuff on a rock well above the water line, and headed in.
"It was, indeed, an excellent snorkel. Lots of coral, lots of reef fish. I school of 25 or 30 medium sized irridescent blue fish 'adopted' me for awhile and swam around me. I saw several white-tipped reef sharks, about 3 feet long, but no hammerheads. Some students reported seeing large rays. I didn't see those, but did see a large lobster lumbering over the rocks.
"As I was coming back in to the beach, I noted that the real fun had begun. Last night was a full moon. (It was, by the way, absolutely gorgeous on deck last night with the moon and clouds.) We're also coming up on the summer solstice. Combined, those make for some of the highest tides of the year. And apparently Cocos has a rather large tidal range. Waves were already lapping at where I, and most of the students, had left our gear just an hour before, well away from the water at that time. A few cadets were tossing gear up onto higher rocks, and they had just tossed mine as I came stumbling ashore. But ... not in time to prevent one of my sandels from washing out to sea.
"With the beach gone, and nothing but rocks, I couldn't go anywhere without my sandels. And gear that had been only mildly damp getting ashore was now even wetter.
"I hadn't thought of the especially high tides with the full moon until then, but the lightbulb went off (duh!) and I recognized that the highest level of rocks, with a debris line at the top, was probably where the water was heading as the tide was continuing to rise. So while cadets and students had moved to somewhat higher ground, I encouraged them to keep going higher. And did so myself.
"With only one sandel, I couldn't go anywhere. So after comtemplating my situation for awhile, I decided I could at least get in my second snorkel. Only by now there's nothing even resembling a beach. There weren't really waves, but there was a surge of water back and forth, and you had to make your way through 10 yards of big, slippery rocks, barefoot, with the surge pushing you off your feet, to make it to open water. I managed to get out relatively unscathed, had a nice second snorkel, but did get banged up a bit coming back through the rocks on my return. Nothing serious, just a couple of abrasions.
"But out of the frying pan, into the fire. Because the tide's come in so far, the floating dock is now even further offshore, perhaps 150 yards, and now the water is over our heads before getting halfway out. And we have to go through the 'mine field' of the rocks to get into the water. I don't know why they didn't pull the dock in closer and retether it. But they didn't. I
watched a group of students go out, most not being terribly successful at keeping things over their heads.
"I formulated a plan, finally, that required 3 trips back and forth. Swim out with my fanny pack, with the camera in a zip-lock bag. (At least I had foresight for a couple of those.) Swim back in. Swim out with the snorkeling gear, with the binoculars in a zip-lock stuffed between my snorkeling fins. Empty this bag. Swim back with the empty bag and the ziplock the binoculars
had been in. Put the birding book it ziplock, and it and my wet towel in the snorkeling bag. Swim out again. I waited until there was no launch tied up at the dock, figuring the guy working the dock would radio for one of the 'fast boats' for me when I had finally completed all this.
"Fortunately, one of the fast boats hanging around saw me coming out the first time, recognized me as faculty and took pity, and came part way in to meet me. Although there was one slight miscue. I had managed to get that far with my fanny pack still dry. But I was trying to hand a guy on the boat the pack while he was trying to grab my free hand. Due to miscommunication, the pack got dunked, although only briefly. After that, I implemented my plan, all three trips back and forth, but at least had the distance shaved off some by the boat being in closer. I was too pooped by then to haul myself
into the boat, so I got myself partly hoisted up on the side, the guy drug me over the edge, and I ignominiously rolled into the bottom of the boat. Whew.
"Damage report: Camera and binoculars came through fine in their bags. Birding book is wet on one side but not destroyed. Hat, extra shirt, and other gear fairly wet but no permanent damage. All now rinsed and drying, anything washable will get washed when they reopen the laundry rooms after Costa Rica. I'm banged and scraped a couple of places but will quickly mend.
"And I'm pooped. I'd come to hike and snorkel in a tropical paradise, not enter a swimming marathon. I saw nothing of the island other than this one narrow beach - although the students, who had better luck shoe-wise than me, reported that it's quite lovely. And it truly was excellent snorkeling.
"Ray of sunshine in this otherwise gloomy tale: Just as I was preparing to leave for my first desperate swim out to the dock, and had moved about 50 yards down the beach from where I had been sitting, there was my missing sandel, washed up on shore! Either that, or someone who happens to wear the same brand sandel in the same size managed to lose the opposite shoe. Whichever, I took it!
"Hope you had a better day. Onward to Costa Rica!"
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/10/06 (#33)
"Saturday night. On our way to Cocos Island, anticipated arrival 6:30 a.m.
"We were cruising into the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) when I got up this morning. It does look like some valley lost in time! Described in one guidebook as a 'tropical fjiord,' it does look rather like one. A long, narrow bay, about 20 miles wide, with fairly steep and high mountains rising on all sides. But rather than being covered by glaciers, the mountain sides are covered with dense tropical rain forest. A 'baby gulf,' hence 'Golfito,' extends off to one side. We dropped anchor about 8:30 to await the local port captain to clear us into Costa Rica. Our anchoring spot was not quite into the little town of Golfito, but we were surrounded on both sides by dense, unbroken rain forest with misty clouds over the mountains. Beautiful! Looks really primeval. I'll be anxiously awaiting our return here on Tuesday to learn more. Although the rain forest is there, getting access to it (i.e., no roads, no trails) may be challenging.
"We lifted anchor by 11:00 and have been traveling faster than usual to make to Cocos (300 miles) by early morning. A beautiful day of clouds and sun. Rained hard last night (just steady rain, no lightening or thunder), and I expect we'll see more. But not today.
"Tomorrow should be a strenuous day of snorkeling (with hammerhead sharks!), hiking, birding, and who knows what. Lots of sunscreen and insect repellent and hope it doesn't rain, or at least not a downpour. I'll try to get a report out tomorrow evening...."
"We were cruising into the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) when I got up this morning. It does look like some valley lost in time! Described in one guidebook as a 'tropical fjiord,' it does look rather like one. A long, narrow bay, about 20 miles wide, with fairly steep and high mountains rising on all sides. But rather than being covered by glaciers, the mountain sides are covered with dense tropical rain forest. A 'baby gulf,' hence 'Golfito,' extends off to one side. We dropped anchor about 8:30 to await the local port captain to clear us into Costa Rica. Our anchoring spot was not quite into the little town of Golfito, but we were surrounded on both sides by dense, unbroken rain forest with misty clouds over the mountains. Beautiful! Looks really primeval. I'll be anxiously awaiting our return here on Tuesday to learn more. Although the rain forest is there, getting access to it (i.e., no roads, no trails) may be challenging.
"We lifted anchor by 11:00 and have been traveling faster than usual to make to Cocos (300 miles) by early morning. A beautiful day of clouds and sun. Rained hard last night (just steady rain, no lightening or thunder), and I expect we'll see more. But not today.
"Tomorrow should be a strenuous day of snorkeling (with hammerhead sharks!), hiking, birding, and who knows what. Lots of sunscreen and insect repellent and hope it doesn't rain, or at least not a downpour. I'll try to get a report out tomorrow evening...."
Friday, June 09, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/09/06 (#32)
"Mostly cloudy, humid, quite warm today but no rain. But we were, about an hour ago, heading toward pretty dark clouds on the horizon. Probably rain tonight. We changed time zones yesterday to match C.R. Although Costa Rica is due south of Atlanta, they're on central time (without daylight savings). So it's now sunrise about 5 a.m. but sunset at 6 p.m. Strange native customs.
"There's a pole on the front of the ship called a jack pole. I really don't know it's function, but you can probably see it in various ship photos. Anyway, 3 red-footed boobies have been roosting there all day. One on the top, two on rungs a bit lower down. Occasionally one will fly around the ship for a few minutes, then come back. They seem quite content to travel
across the ocean in comfort and luxury. They'll probably even send postcards back home about having been on a cruise. They're the only birds I've seen actually land on the ship. But the cadets aren't so happy. One of the cadets on watch has to stand at the bow of the ship, beside the jack pole. When I strolled up to the bow this afternoon, the cadet on watch was standing a bit off to the side and said 'they'll fire on you.'
"Cal Poly students will be ashore on Cocos Island (seen in the opening scene of Jurassic Park as the helicopter approaches it) from 10-2. Faculty do better, since one boat will take faculty and staff back and forth so we're not tied to a schedule - other than returning before the ship leaves. A "wet landing." They're going to unload a floating dock and anchor it in about 4
feet of water. The launches will unload on the floating dock, then you've got to jump in and wade/swim ashore. Since it's likely to rain (or pour) during the day, I think we'll all be in wet gear regardless of whether we're swimming, snorkeling, hiking, or just sitting around.
"I've only 2 classes tomorrow, one being a midterm. And then 2 on Monday, also one a midterm. So fairly quite until we leave Costa Rica next Friday."
"There's a pole on the front of the ship called a jack pole. I really don't know it's function, but you can probably see it in various ship photos. Anyway, 3 red-footed boobies have been roosting there all day. One on the top, two on rungs a bit lower down. Occasionally one will fly around the ship for a few minutes, then come back. They seem quite content to travel
across the ocean in comfort and luxury. They'll probably even send postcards back home about having been on a cruise. They're the only birds I've seen actually land on the ship. But the cadets aren't so happy. One of the cadets on watch has to stand at the bow of the ship, beside the jack pole. When I strolled up to the bow this afternoon, the cadet on watch was standing a bit off to the side and said 'they'll fire on you.'
"Cal Poly students will be ashore on Cocos Island (seen in the opening scene of Jurassic Park as the helicopter approaches it) from 10-2. Faculty do better, since one boat will take faculty and staff back and forth so we're not tied to a schedule - other than returning before the ship leaves. A "wet landing." They're going to unload a floating dock and anchor it in about 4
feet of water. The launches will unload on the floating dock, then you've got to jump in and wade/swim ashore. Since it's likely to rain (or pour) during the day, I think we'll all be in wet gear regardless of whether we're swimming, snorkeling, hiking, or just sitting around.
"I've only 2 classes tomorrow, one being a midterm. And then 2 on Monday, also one a midterm. So fairly quite until we leave Costa Rica next Friday."
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/08/06 (#31)
"Crossed the equator a little after midnight last night. I didn't wait up, but I did loan my GPS to some of the students who wanted to do a countdown. Started the morning with warm hazy sun, but it was clouding up by noon and we've had off-and-on sprinkles this afternoon. We could certainly hit thunderstorms any time now.
"My Energy and the Environment class had a tour of the engine room today. One of the ship's engineers came to talk yesterday, not only about the engines but about how we make water, what we do with sewage and wastes, etc. Then today we descended into the depths to take a look. It's extremely noisy in the engine room, you have to wear earplugs, and since I was bringing up the rear of the group I could hardly hear anything John was shouting at us. But I could figure out most on my own. Engine "room" is somewhat a misnomer. We're talking the whole center of the ship, going down about 4 floors and extending from midships back to the stern. Not only noisy, also hot. And they were only running one of two engines today. Maybe I'll have John give me a private tour later.
"Schedule for the coming days: Arrive Golfito 8 a.m. Saturday to clear into Costa Rica, but we don't disembark. Sail back out to Cocos Island late Saturday. We're at Cocos all day Sunday, but they'll be taking us to shore and back in groups. I think each group is only going to get 4 hours ashore. Maybe faculty can get away with more. Back to Golfito Monday, then we're there Tuesday-Thursday. Golito itself seems to be about a 2-block town. A marina, a gas station, and about 3 bars and cafes. Used to be a United Fruit dock for their banana plantations, but they pulled out 10 years ago. This is the most wild and rugged part of Costa Rica, but the interesting places are not things you can visit on a quick day trip. It's the rainy season, transportation is mostly 4-wheel drive vehicles over muddy roads, and nothing happens quickly. We may have to wait until we get there before we begin to get a sense of what all we can do. Other than visit the 3 bars. It will be hot (probably 90), steamy, and rainy. Otherwise, it's supposed to be beautiful, with toucans and parrots hanging around town."
"My Energy and the Environment class had a tour of the engine room today. One of the ship's engineers came to talk yesterday, not only about the engines but about how we make water, what we do with sewage and wastes, etc. Then today we descended into the depths to take a look. It's extremely noisy in the engine room, you have to wear earplugs, and since I was bringing up the rear of the group I could hardly hear anything John was shouting at us. But I could figure out most on my own. Engine "room" is somewhat a misnomer. We're talking the whole center of the ship, going down about 4 floors and extending from midships back to the stern. Not only noisy, also hot. And they were only running one of two engines today. Maybe I'll have John give me a private tour later.
"Schedule for the coming days: Arrive Golfito 8 a.m. Saturday to clear into Costa Rica, but we don't disembark. Sail back out to Cocos Island late Saturday. We're at Cocos all day Sunday, but they'll be taking us to shore and back in groups. I think each group is only going to get 4 hours ashore. Maybe faculty can get away with more. Back to Golfito Monday, then we're there Tuesday-Thursday. Golito itself seems to be about a 2-block town. A marina, a gas station, and about 3 bars and cafes. Used to be a United Fruit dock for their banana plantations, but they pulled out 10 years ago. This is the most wild and rugged part of Costa Rica, but the interesting places are not things you can visit on a quick day trip. It's the rainy season, transportation is mostly 4-wheel drive vehicles over muddy roads, and nothing happens quickly. We may have to wait until we get there before we begin to get a sense of what all we can do. Other than visit the 3 bars. It will be hot (probably 90), steamy, and rainy. Otherwise, it's supposed to be beautiful, with toucans and parrots hanging around town."
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/07/06 (#30)
"Surprising as it seems, we're getting toward the 'winding down' stage of cruise. My classes are moving toward the final chapters, and I have last midterms in 2 of them on Saturday.
"FINALLY, a warm, sunny day. Temps have shot up to the high 70s as we come up on the equator (anticipated crossing about midnight tonight, although I doubt I'll wait up). And, no big surprise, the humidity has shot up along with it. But with midterms, papers and projects due, etc. there are very few students out sunning. Unlike our southward pass through the tropics, which was early in the cruise and the students weren't yet taking classes too seriously. Then the upper deck was littered with bodies soaking up the rays.
"Last night's 'Navigation for Dummies' was pretty interesting. I knew most of it already, but a review was good. And I did learn how navigators use special triangles with protractors stamped on them to lay out courses at different headings and also to locate a current position based on bearings taken off nearby landmarks. Not hard, I had just never done it.
"Three days a week, our Cal Poly students go to a special after-lunch class called Cruise 195 where various of the ship's officers come to talk about different aspects of the ship. Today, the captain came to talk about piracy and to give his first-hand account of being on an oil tanker that was boarded by pirates off Singapore about 1990. Most people think piracy died out centuries ago, but it's alive and well. There were over 250 incidents of piracy on the high seas reported last year. Most of them are akin to house burglaries. Pirates board from small boats in the dark, hold the crew (a pretty small crew on most commerical vessels) at gun point or knife point while going through cabins and the bridge stealing watches, computers, money, etc., then depart. But there are times when the whole ship is taken and its cargo sold off into the black market, and even entire ships are "re-registered" and sold to buyers who promise not to look too closely at the details.
"But don't worry. Nearly all piracy is off the coast of Asia and Africa. I think we're safe."
[Editor's note: This is my reply to the piracy topic. Quoted sections are Wikipedia entries.]
Now this is interesting! There was a show on TV awhile back, maybe on the Nat'l Geo channel, about modern-day piracy. Tankers and big cargo ships get hit the worst because they have such small crews. The show specifically mentioned problems in and around SE Asia. They showed how crews train to repel pirates with high-pressure water hoses since there isn't much else they are allowed to do. The pirates also specifically look for U.S. cash.
Just a few days ago I bought a book about pirates at Costco. It's a children's book, but is a really good, entertaining look at the history of piracy.
You might want to start thinking ahead toward:
"International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by two Americans, John Baur ("Ol' Chum Bucket") and Mark Summers ("Cap'n Slappy"), who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like pirates. For example, instead of "hello," an observer of this holiday would greet his mates with "Ahoy, me hearty!" The date was selected because it is the birthday of Summers' ex-wife and would consequently be easy for him to remember.
"Background
"At first an inside joke between two friends, the holiday gained national exposure when Baur and Summers sent a letter about their invented holiday to nationally syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry in 2002. Barry liked the idea and promoted the day. The day became "international" that same year when people in Australia learned of the holiday from Barry's column. By 2003, with the release of such pirate-themed films as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the holiday was established.
"Actor Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film Treasure Island is the patron saint of Talk Like A Pirate Day. Peg-legs, parrots and treasure maps were all literary inventions of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, Treasure Island, a book whose influence on pirate culture can not be overestimated.
"Examples of pirate sayings
"Seamen in the days of sail spoke a language far apart from the norm. It was so full of technical jargon as to be nearly incomprehensible to a landsman. For example, few could follow these instructions:
"Lift the skin up, and put into the bunt the slack of the clews (not too taut), the leech and foot-rope, and body of the sail; being careful not to let it get forward under or hang down abaft. Then haul your bunt well up on the yard, smoothing the skin and bringing it down well abaft, and make fast the bunt gasket round the mast, and the jigger, if there be one, to the tie.
--The Seaman's Manual (1844), by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
"Even more baffling are some of the phrases used by sailors in the 17th century:
If the ship go before the wind, or as they term it, betwixt two sheets, then he who conds uses these terms to him at the helm: Starboard, larboard, the helm amidships... If the ship go by a wind, or a quarter winds, they say aloof, or keep your loof, or fall not off, wear no more, keep her to, touch the wind, have a care of the lee-latch. all these do imply the same in a manner, are to bid him at the helm to keep her near the wind.
--former pirate Sir Henry Mainwaring (see Harland (1984) p.177)"
So if you're not safe, Randy, at least you now know about the international holiday.
"FINALLY, a warm, sunny day. Temps have shot up to the high 70s as we come up on the equator (anticipated crossing about midnight tonight, although I doubt I'll wait up). And, no big surprise, the humidity has shot up along with it. But with midterms, papers and projects due, etc. there are very few students out sunning. Unlike our southward pass through the tropics, which was early in the cruise and the students weren't yet taking classes too seriously. Then the upper deck was littered with bodies soaking up the rays.
"Last night's 'Navigation for Dummies' was pretty interesting. I knew most of it already, but a review was good. And I did learn how navigators use special triangles with protractors stamped on them to lay out courses at different headings and also to locate a current position based on bearings taken off nearby landmarks. Not hard, I had just never done it.
"Three days a week, our Cal Poly students go to a special after-lunch class called Cruise 195 where various of the ship's officers come to talk about different aspects of the ship. Today, the captain came to talk about piracy and to give his first-hand account of being on an oil tanker that was boarded by pirates off Singapore about 1990. Most people think piracy died out centuries ago, but it's alive and well. There were over 250 incidents of piracy on the high seas reported last year. Most of them are akin to house burglaries. Pirates board from small boats in the dark, hold the crew (a pretty small crew on most commerical vessels) at gun point or knife point while going through cabins and the bridge stealing watches, computers, money, etc., then depart. But there are times when the whole ship is taken and its cargo sold off into the black market, and even entire ships are "re-registered" and sold to buyers who promise not to look too closely at the details.
"But don't worry. Nearly all piracy is off the coast of Asia and Africa. I think we're safe."
[Editor's note: This is my reply to the piracy topic. Quoted sections are Wikipedia entries.]
Now this is interesting! There was a show on TV awhile back, maybe on the Nat'l Geo channel, about modern-day piracy. Tankers and big cargo ships get hit the worst because they have such small crews. The show specifically mentioned problems in and around SE Asia. They showed how crews train to repel pirates with high-pressure water hoses since there isn't much else they are allowed to do. The pirates also specifically look for U.S. cash.
Just a few days ago I bought a book about pirates at Costco. It's a children's book, but is a really good, entertaining look at the history of piracy.
You might want to start thinking ahead toward:
"International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by two Americans, John Baur ("Ol' Chum Bucket") and Mark Summers ("Cap'n Slappy"), who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like pirates. For example, instead of "hello," an observer of this holiday would greet his mates with "Ahoy, me hearty!" The date was selected because it is the birthday of Summers' ex-wife and would consequently be easy for him to remember.
"Background
"At first an inside joke between two friends, the holiday gained national exposure when Baur and Summers sent a letter about their invented holiday to nationally syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry in 2002. Barry liked the idea and promoted the day. The day became "international" that same year when people in Australia learned of the holiday from Barry's column. By 2003, with the release of such pirate-themed films as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the holiday was established.
"Actor Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film Treasure Island is the patron saint of Talk Like A Pirate Day. Peg-legs, parrots and treasure maps were all literary inventions of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, Treasure Island, a book whose influence on pirate culture can not be overestimated.
"Examples of pirate sayings
"Seamen in the days of sail spoke a language far apart from the norm. It was so full of technical jargon as to be nearly incomprehensible to a landsman. For example, few could follow these instructions:
"Lift the skin up, and put into the bunt the slack of the clews (not too taut), the leech and foot-rope, and body of the sail; being careful not to let it get forward under or hang down abaft. Then haul your bunt well up on the yard, smoothing the skin and bringing it down well abaft, and make fast the bunt gasket round the mast, and the jigger, if there be one, to the tie.
--The Seaman's Manual (1844), by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
"Even more baffling are some of the phrases used by sailors in the 17th century:
If the ship go before the wind, or as they term it, betwixt two sheets, then he who conds uses these terms to him at the helm: Starboard, larboard, the helm amidships... If the ship go by a wind, or a quarter winds, they say aloof, or keep your loof, or fall not off, wear no more, keep her to, touch the wind, have a care of the lee-latch. all these do imply the same in a manner, are to bid him at the helm to keep her near the wind.
--former pirate Sir Henry Mainwaring (see Harland (1984) p.177)"
So if you're not safe, Randy, at least you now know about the international holiday.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/06/06 (#29)
"Cloudy, hazy, occasional drizzle. We haven't seen more than a few snippets of sun since leaving Valparaiso nearly a week ago. We're chugging along toward the equator (should cross late Wednesday), it's getting warmer, but the steady overcast is getting on everyone's nerves.
"But it could be out of the frying pan and into the fire. The intertropical convergence zone - a band of heavy rain and hunderstorms that circles the earth near the equator - is usually parked over Costa Rica this time of year. So we'll probably go from cool and gloomy to hot, steaming rain. At least the giant swells of a few days ago have passed and the ship is now riding much more steadily.
"We did encounter some fairly amazing flying fish today. The bow wave of the ship surprises them, and they come leaping and flying out of the waves right alongside the ship. These were small fish, looked to be no more than 4 or 5 inches long, but each "burst" produced 100 or more. Maybe 200, it was impossible to tell. All of a sudden you'd see countless little silvery things skimming over the water for 10 or 20 yards, then they'd disappear. This happened every couple of minutes for a half hour or more.
"The ship's navigation officer - a woman - is going to give a two-hour 'navigation for dummies' class tonight. That's not the official title, but I think it's probably a reasonable description. The upper-class cadets have to take some heavy-duty navigation classes, so this is an intro for CMA first-year cadets and any others, such as Cal Poly students, interested in attending. It's right after my astronomy class, so I think I'll attend and see if I can pick up a few pointers. Who knows, it might help me get the kayak home some day.
"I think that's about it from truly out here in the middle of nowhere."
"But it could be out of the frying pan and into the fire. The intertropical convergence zone - a band of heavy rain and hunderstorms that circles the earth near the equator - is usually parked over Costa Rica this time of year. So we'll probably go from cool and gloomy to hot, steaming rain. At least the giant swells of a few days ago have passed and the ship is now riding much more steadily.
"We did encounter some fairly amazing flying fish today. The bow wave of the ship surprises them, and they come leaping and flying out of the waves right alongside the ship. These were small fish, looked to be no more than 4 or 5 inches long, but each "burst" produced 100 or more. Maybe 200, it was impossible to tell. All of a sudden you'd see countless little silvery things skimming over the water for 10 or 20 yards, then they'd disappear. This happened every couple of minutes for a half hour or more.
"The ship's navigation officer - a woman - is going to give a two-hour 'navigation for dummies' class tonight. That's not the official title, but I think it's probably a reasonable description. The upper-class cadets have to take some heavy-duty navigation classes, so this is an intro for CMA first-year cadets and any others, such as Cal Poly students, interested in attending. It's right after my astronomy class, so I think I'll attend and see if I can pick up a few pointers. Who knows, it might help me get the kayak home some day.
"I think that's about it from truly out here in the middle of nowhere."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/05/06 (#28)
"A Monday back-to-work day. Nothing particularly new or interesting to report. Only one bird sighted today, no sea mammals. It's just dullsville out here in the middle of the ocean. "
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/04/06 (#27)
"We had a time zone change last night, as we're moving westward, so an "extra" hour of sleep. That got sunrise back to a more reasonable time of 6:45. It had been 7:45, so it was totally dark when I had been getting up and going down to breakfast at 7:00.
"A leisurely Sunday of ocean viewing and chapter editing. It started out fairly sunny, and the students thought this was going to be the first day for afternoon sunbathing. But then it clouded up and got cooler. We've moved back in closer to shore and picked up our booby escort. We've had both masked boobies and brown boobies today. A group of 4 or 5 masked boobies seemed to be using the ship's stack as a race course, as they kept zipping around it very fast. The watch officer on the bridge told me he had seen a couple of whales breaching earlier, but I never seem to be outside when the good things happen.
"Temperatures are pleasant now - high 60s - but we should start moving into tropical waters and really warming up on about Tuesday. At our present speed we'll cross the equator on Wednesday and arrive into Golfito, Costa Rica Friday night or Saturday morning. This is just a "clearance stop," without getting off, then we'll head back out to Cocos Island for next Sunday before returning for our "real" Costa Rica visit Tuesday through Thursday of next week.
"I'm going to go knock off a few more pages before dinner."
"A leisurely Sunday of ocean viewing and chapter editing. It started out fairly sunny, and the students thought this was going to be the first day for afternoon sunbathing. But then it clouded up and got cooler. We've moved back in closer to shore and picked up our booby escort. We've had both masked boobies and brown boobies today. A group of 4 or 5 masked boobies seemed to be using the ship's stack as a race course, as they kept zipping around it very fast. The watch officer on the bridge told me he had seen a couple of whales breaching earlier, but I never seem to be outside when the good things happen.
"Temperatures are pleasant now - high 60s - but we should start moving into tropical waters and really warming up on about Tuesday. At our present speed we'll cross the equator on Wednesday and arrive into Golfito, Costa Rica Friday night or Saturday morning. This is just a "clearance stop," without getting off, then we'll head back out to Cocos Island for next Sunday before returning for our "real" Costa Rica visit Tuesday through Thursday of next week.
"I'm going to go knock off a few more pages before dinner."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/03/06 (#26)
"That's 'Saturday Night Live Astronomy Class with Professor Knight.' Just about the most exciting Saturday night entertainment on board. It's been cloudy since leaving Chile, so no star viewing. Tomorrow night is probably our last chance to see the Large Magellanic Cloud, since we're moving north quickly and it will be dropping below the southern horizon. It was cloudy the last few days heading into Chile, actually fairly clear a couple of nights in Valparaiso but too many city lights to see anything, and now cloudy again.
"It was partly sunny, partly cloudy most of the day today and absolutely gorgeous. A fairly strong south wind had the blue ocean just a-rolling, with lots of white caps as accent marks. But since we're going 'with the wind,' it was warm and hardly any 'apparent wind' on deck. We pretty much followed the coastline on our way south, and that's why we saw quite a bit of wildlife. For our return we're taking a straight line from Valparaiso to the 'left shoulder' of South America, so we're now about 400 miles from shore. As a result, the only wildlife I've seen is a couple of birds that zipped past the ship but didn't hang around to get IDed.
"I do think I may need to be helicoptered out so that I can catch an immediate flight home. Watching the Wal-Mart web site??? I didn't realize my absence would have such serious reprecusions. Having slid this far downhill, lord knows what you'll be watching by the end of June. Yikes. [Editor's note: Do you think he'll notice that I even blogged it here? My final word on the subject is this, "It's just a gig, man. It's just a gig." I hope Taylor was heard by many people, made a lot of money, and will sell a lot of CDs at Wal-Marts everywhere. I'll be buying mine elsewhere.]
"Tomorrow's the big one-day off for the week. I think I'll clean the toilet. I cleaned the sink and shower a couple of days ago, so the toilet will complete the trifecta. Do I know how to live it up on weekends, or what?
"Eat those veggies. Our ship salad bar is rather anemic, so I'll be looking forward to some good salads. There were some great looking fruits and veggies at the markets in Valpo, but apparently the cook didn't go shopping. The rather sad bananas we'd had up until Chile have disappeared entirely, so the only fruit options are apples and oranges, undoubtedly from CA. But we do have soy milk!"
"It was partly sunny, partly cloudy most of the day today and absolutely gorgeous. A fairly strong south wind had the blue ocean just a-rolling, with lots of white caps as accent marks. But since we're going 'with the wind,' it was warm and hardly any 'apparent wind' on deck. We pretty much followed the coastline on our way south, and that's why we saw quite a bit of wildlife. For our return we're taking a straight line from Valparaiso to the 'left shoulder' of South America, so we're now about 400 miles from shore. As a result, the only wildlife I've seen is a couple of birds that zipped past the ship but didn't hang around to get IDed.
"I do think I may need to be helicoptered out so that I can catch an immediate flight home. Watching the Wal-Mart web site??? I didn't realize my absence would have such serious reprecusions. Having slid this far downhill, lord knows what you'll be watching by the end of June. Yikes. [Editor's note: Do you think he'll notice that I even blogged it here? My final word on the subject is this, "It's just a gig, man. It's just a gig." I hope Taylor was heard by many people, made a lot of money, and will sell a lot of CDs at Wal-Marts everywhere. I'll be buying mine elsewhere.]
"Tomorrow's the big one-day off for the week. I think I'll clean the toilet. I cleaned the sink and shower a couple of days ago, so the toilet will complete the trifecta. Do I know how to live it up on weekends, or what?
"Eat those veggies. Our ship salad bar is rather anemic, so I'll be looking forward to some good salads. There were some great looking fruits and veggies at the markets in Valpo, but apparently the cook didn't go shopping. The rather sad bananas we'd had up until Chile have disappeared entirely, so the only fruit options are apples and oranges, undoubtedly from CA. But we do have soy milk!"
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Taylor Does Wal-Mart
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
- Hunter S. Thompson
Did Taylor Hicks "sell out" to global corporatism by performing for the Wal-Mart stockholders meeting Friday morning in Fayetteville? Or was he merely "Dancing with the Devil?" (We've all danced with the devil a few times over the years now haven't we....?)
When Elvis gave up everything to Colonel Parker, he not only danced with the devil, he sold his soul to the devil. And it killed him, both musically and literally.
But Taylor isn’t Elvis and AI/Wal-Mart/Clive Davis aren’t the Colonel. This isn’t 1956, it’s 2006. Taylor isn’t a naive 19-year-old. He’s 29, he’s smart, he’s been around the block a few times, and he has a smart family backing him.
Taylor has been so good at picking his way through this media-blitz minefield, through this whole post-AI thing, it’s almost unbelievable how well he has handled himself. He’s doing just fine. I see no reason to think he won’t continue to do so.
I’m a big-picture, long-range thinker. That’s how I see Taylor. He got through the entire AI experience not only NOT letting it wear him or his music down, but actually bringing the AI phenom UP to his level and changing it in the process (AI will never ever be the same after Taylor).
Whatever your personal ethics/values etc re: Wal-Mart, patriotism, Fox news, whatever — keep this in mind: Taylor isn’t being changed by the American scene, Taylor is changing the American scene. The musical scene. That’s what Taylor is: a musician. Wal-Mart sells CDs. Wal-Mart will sell a lot of Taylor CDs, will expose a lot more people to his music and, in his wake, to the music of others like him.
Taylor’s attitude has always been, “Bring ‘em on, baby!” Can we have any less faith? I’m with Taylor: “Bring ‘em on, baby!”
- Hunter S. Thompson
Did Taylor Hicks "sell out" to global corporatism by performing for the Wal-Mart stockholders meeting Friday morning in Fayetteville? Or was he merely "Dancing with the Devil?" (We've all danced with the devil a few times over the years now haven't we....?)
When Elvis gave up everything to Colonel Parker, he not only danced with the devil, he sold his soul to the devil. And it killed him, both musically and literally.
But Taylor isn’t Elvis and AI/Wal-Mart/Clive Davis aren’t the Colonel. This isn’t 1956, it’s 2006. Taylor isn’t a naive 19-year-old. He’s 29, he’s smart, he’s been around the block a few times, and he has a smart family backing him.
Taylor has been so good at picking his way through this media-blitz minefield, through this whole post-AI thing, it’s almost unbelievable how well he has handled himself. He’s doing just fine. I see no reason to think he won’t continue to do so.
I’m a big-picture, long-range thinker. That’s how I see Taylor. He got through the entire AI experience not only NOT letting it wear him or his music down, but actually bringing the AI phenom UP to his level and changing it in the process (AI will never ever be the same after Taylor).
Whatever your personal ethics/values etc re: Wal-Mart, patriotism, Fox news, whatever — keep this in mind: Taylor isn’t being changed by the American scene, Taylor is changing the American scene. The musical scene. That’s what Taylor is: a musician. Wal-Mart sells CDs. Wal-Mart will sell a lot of Taylor CDs, will expose a lot more people to his music and, in his wake, to the music of others like him.
Taylor’s attitude has always been, “Bring ‘em on, baby!” Can we have any less faith? I’m with Taylor: “Bring ‘em on, baby!”
Friday, June 02, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/02/06 (#25)
"The word is that Betsy broke the fibula a little ways up from the ankle. Not both bones, and a clean break that could be set without surgery. Apparently they had her in a cast and moved to a hotel by last night, and she was supposed to be flown home today. I presume she'll travel as a wheelchair passenger, but don't know any details.
"We've been in the biggest swells of the trip since leaving Valparaiso, and the ship is really rolling from side to side. I had to take books and papers off my desk and put them on the floor since they were sliding off and heading for the floor anyway. Sometimes at meals you have to keep a hand on your plate to keep it from sliding away! It's impossible to walk down the corridors in a straight line, so everyone looks like a drunken sailor. In class, I have to brace myself against the whiteboard with my left hand while writing with my right.
"All in all, it's not an unusual amount of rolling. It's just that we newcomers were spoiled with the calmer-than-usual conditions on the way down. It looks from the weather reports that we'll move into calmer water and warmer conditions by tomorrow. It's already noticeably warmer than when we left Valparaiso 24 hours ago.
"Otherwise, just another day at sea. Looking forward to warm weather and longer days in just a few days. I've got to start looking at tour guides [tour guide books] about what to do in Golfito. A quick glance suggested more rain forest and tropical ocean stuff than what I had first heard, although the town itself is apparently kind of a dump. But we'll see. In the meantime, I'll keep on rolling."
"We've been in the biggest swells of the trip since leaving Valparaiso, and the ship is really rolling from side to side. I had to take books and papers off my desk and put them on the floor since they were sliding off and heading for the floor anyway. Sometimes at meals you have to keep a hand on your plate to keep it from sliding away! It's impossible to walk down the corridors in a straight line, so everyone looks like a drunken sailor. In class, I have to brace myself against the whiteboard with my left hand while writing with my right.
"All in all, it's not an unusual amount of rolling. It's just that we newcomers were spoiled with the calmer-than-usual conditions on the way down. It looks from the weather reports that we'll move into calmer water and warmer conditions by tomorrow. It's already noticeably warmer than when we left Valparaiso 24 hours ago.
"Otherwise, just another day at sea. Looking forward to warm weather and longer days in just a few days. I've got to start looking at tour guides [tour guide books] about what to do in Golfito. A quick glance suggested more rain forest and tropical ocean stuff than what I had first heard, although the town itself is apparently kind of a dump. But we'll see. In the meantime, I'll keep on rolling."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 6/01/06 (#24)
"Well, I had noted that it might be nice to return to Valparaiso again some day. But perhaps not this soon.
"We pulled away from the dock right on schedule at 7 a.m. this morning. It was barely beginning to get a bit light in the eastern sky. I went on to breakfast and class, and everyone was quickly back into their routine. (For students, "routine" on the day after port means sleeping sitting up in class.) Then about 10:30 we had an "Attention all hands, attention all hands" call over the PA. We were returning to Valparaiso due to a medical emergency and would be dropping anchor in about an hour.
"Indeed, when I came up from class at noon, we were anchored in the outer harbor. Anchoring is MUCH cheaper since we use neither dock nor tugboat services, and in this case all we needed to send to shore was one of the small launches.
"As you may recall, Captain Keever left the ship in Valparaiso and Dan Weinstock, who had been one of the mates, took over as Captain. He was replaced by a woman officer named Betsy, who flew to Chile and met us there. Apparently, Betsy tripped over a hatch as we were departing this morning and - brace yourself for this, Sally - broke her ankle! I have only about third
-hand information about this, but the story I heard is that they initially weren't sure if it was broken or simply sprained. If it had been badly broken, to the point of being obvious, I think we would have returned immediately. In any case, off she went to the hospital for x rays. (We do have some kind of x ray equipment on the ship, so I don't know why that wasn't sufficient.)
"At daily quarters, about 1:00, they announced we might be in Valpo overnight. Which presents another problem. The ship can't make water while in port since it doesn't run the engines hard enough. The tanks are good for 3 days, but not much more. They hadn't had time to start getting water going before we were back in port - with very little water. So we were all asked to super-conserve and, if possible, not shower. If we were to stay overnight, we might actually take the ship out to sea just to run the water generator.
"And to top it off, I found out later in the afternoon that another casualty had gone in with them. Our Instructional Technology guy - the guy who's always seasick and never seems to have email running properly - possibly had a broken hand.
"Anyway, I heard an announcement about 4:00 for the crew that handles the launch, so I stuck my head out. The IT guy, Vance, came off the launch with his arm in a sling, but no Betsy. We raised anchor shortly thereafter and are now headed out at quite a fast clip - hardly circling the harbor while making water - so I presume Betsy has been left mending in a Chilean hospital and will have to be flown back home whenever they're able to move her. I'll presumably find out more at dinner, which is where I'm now heading."
"We pulled away from the dock right on schedule at 7 a.m. this morning. It was barely beginning to get a bit light in the eastern sky. I went on to breakfast and class, and everyone was quickly back into their routine. (For students, "routine" on the day after port means sleeping sitting up in class.) Then about 10:30 we had an "Attention all hands, attention all hands" call over the PA. We were returning to Valparaiso due to a medical emergency and would be dropping anchor in about an hour.
"Indeed, when I came up from class at noon, we were anchored in the outer harbor. Anchoring is MUCH cheaper since we use neither dock nor tugboat services, and in this case all we needed to send to shore was one of the small launches.
"As you may recall, Captain Keever left the ship in Valparaiso and Dan Weinstock, who had been one of the mates, took over as Captain. He was replaced by a woman officer named Betsy, who flew to Chile and met us there. Apparently, Betsy tripped over a hatch as we were departing this morning and - brace yourself for this, Sally - broke her ankle! I have only about third
-hand information about this, but the story I heard is that they initially weren't sure if it was broken or simply sprained. If it had been badly broken, to the point of being obvious, I think we would have returned immediately. In any case, off she went to the hospital for x rays. (We do have some kind of x ray equipment on the ship, so I don't know why that wasn't sufficient.)
"At daily quarters, about 1:00, they announced we might be in Valpo overnight. Which presents another problem. The ship can't make water while in port since it doesn't run the engines hard enough. The tanks are good for 3 days, but not much more. They hadn't had time to start getting water going before we were back in port - with very little water. So we were all asked to super-conserve and, if possible, not shower. If we were to stay overnight, we might actually take the ship out to sea just to run the water generator.
"And to top it off, I found out later in the afternoon that another casualty had gone in with them. Our Instructional Technology guy - the guy who's always seasick and never seems to have email running properly - possibly had a broken hand.
"Anyway, I heard an announcement about 4:00 for the crew that handles the launch, so I stuck my head out. The IT guy, Vance, came off the launch with his arm in a sling, but no Betsy. We raised anchor shortly thereafter and are now headed out at quite a fast clip - hardly circling the harbor while making water - so I presume Betsy has been left mending in a Chilean hospital and will have to be flown back home whenever they're able to move her. I'll presumably find out more at dinner, which is where I'm now heading."
Thursday, June 01, 2006
The Fish Bowl
Fannie in a bowl one day. Fish in a bowl the next. It's a bowl thing. (Soul Patrollers will note the play on words, as in "it's a soul thing.") Anyway, my friend Georg(iana) and I just goofed off together a lot this past Memorial Day weekend. One day we took in the local Art in the Park art and craft show in Morro Bay. I couldn't go home without this very cool bowl, made by Penny Allen and Jim Williams of Carpinteria, California. I love that it's a visual play on the ubiquitous fish platter. Roxanne, the white with black trim kitty princess, ate her spinach salad last night from the fish bowl.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/31/06 (#23)
"Ah, the smell of tear gas. Brings back memories of my youth.
"Anyway, I headed off to Santiago early yesterday morning. A pleasant bus ride, and Santiago is a very cosmopolitan city with a somewhat European feel. I basically strolled around and ate. Right before lunch, I chatted with a women who was giving out leaflets and spoke reasonably good English. She told me that students all over Chile were on strike about fees, quality of education, and various other measures that had declared during the military rule of Pinochet and never rescinded. She mentioned there had been 'trouble' at one university.
"I didn´t think too much more about it until about 6 p.m. when I was ready to head for the metro and then out to the bus station. The metro stop I was heading for was Universidad de Chile. The metro runs underneath the main east-west thoroughfare, Calle Alemeda, a wide street with a green median down the middle. As I came up onto Alemeda, I found a crowd of a couple of thousand people and a heavy police presence with military-like vehicles. A couple of big water cannons and a couple of¨"troop transporters." The water cannons had already been in use, shooting long streams of high-pressure water. In response, students were throwing rocks at the police vehicles. There was a steady sound of clank-clank-clank as rocks bounced off the metal sides of the vehicles. Younger kids had taken to throwing rocks at street lamps to break them, and other students had broken down some iron grillwork from somewhere and were trying to make barricades in the street.
"A good part of the crowd was merely spectators, lots of ordinary Santiagans who had merely been on the way home from work. But they certainly sided with the students, and big cheers would go up every time a group of students rushed the police vehicles with rocks. The police didn´t have nearly enough manpower to disperse a crowd this big. Periodically the water cannons was race down the street a few blocks while shooting water streams along the sidewalks. But the crowd simply melted back into the side streets until the cannon passed, then immediately came right back out onto Alemeda. Mostly the police vehicles sat at one intersection and only hosed and tear gassed students who came too close. I think the water cannon may have also been spraying tear gas on some of its runs down the street, because eventually the wafting tear gas began to be more than I was willing to bear. And I figured that eventually the police would bring in reinforcements if they really wanted to take control, and police in Latin America aren´t known for restraint.
"According to today´s news, several hundred students were eventually arrested (although that figure may include arrests from other areas around Santiago) and injuries were reported among both students and police. More important, not only the public but also the new Chilean president have taken the student side, and it sounds like several high police officials have been sacked for over reacting. It was certainly my impression that the students were beginning to turn violent mostly in response to the police tactics. Left to themselves, they probably would have paraded in the streets for a few hours, messing up all the rush hour traffic, but then dispersed and gone home.
"In any event, I did get some pretty good pictures of the water cannons firing, people running, and smoke from a tear gas grenade. I suggested posting them on the Follow the Voyage website with a caption 'what your children do while on liberty in foreign ports.' Instead, I think you´ll see pictures of children from an orphanage visiting the ship.
"The subway stations along Alemeda had been closed, so getting out of downtown Santiago took quite a bit of round-about back tracking to other metro lines, then changing trains. But I suceeded, and was back aboard ship by about 10. Just another day in the big city."
"Anyway, I headed off to Santiago early yesterday morning. A pleasant bus ride, and Santiago is a very cosmopolitan city with a somewhat European feel. I basically strolled around and ate. Right before lunch, I chatted with a women who was giving out leaflets and spoke reasonably good English. She told me that students all over Chile were on strike about fees, quality of education, and various other measures that had declared during the military rule of Pinochet and never rescinded. She mentioned there had been 'trouble' at one university.
"I didn´t think too much more about it until about 6 p.m. when I was ready to head for the metro and then out to the bus station. The metro stop I was heading for was Universidad de Chile. The metro runs underneath the main east-west thoroughfare, Calle Alemeda, a wide street with a green median down the middle. As I came up onto Alemeda, I found a crowd of a couple of thousand people and a heavy police presence with military-like vehicles. A couple of big water cannons and a couple of¨"troop transporters." The water cannons had already been in use, shooting long streams of high-pressure water. In response, students were throwing rocks at the police vehicles. There was a steady sound of clank-clank-clank as rocks bounced off the metal sides of the vehicles. Younger kids had taken to throwing rocks at street lamps to break them, and other students had broken down some iron grillwork from somewhere and were trying to make barricades in the street.
"A good part of the crowd was merely spectators, lots of ordinary Santiagans who had merely been on the way home from work. But they certainly sided with the students, and big cheers would go up every time a group of students rushed the police vehicles with rocks. The police didn´t have nearly enough manpower to disperse a crowd this big. Periodically the water cannons was race down the street a few blocks while shooting water streams along the sidewalks. But the crowd simply melted back into the side streets until the cannon passed, then immediately came right back out onto Alemeda. Mostly the police vehicles sat at one intersection and only hosed and tear gassed students who came too close. I think the water cannon may have also been spraying tear gas on some of its runs down the street, because eventually the wafting tear gas began to be more than I was willing to bear. And I figured that eventually the police would bring in reinforcements if they really wanted to take control, and police in Latin America aren´t known for restraint.
"According to today´s news, several hundred students were eventually arrested (although that figure may include arrests from other areas around Santiago) and injuries were reported among both students and police. More important, not only the public but also the new Chilean president have taken the student side, and it sounds like several high police officials have been sacked for over reacting. It was certainly my impression that the students were beginning to turn violent mostly in response to the police tactics. Left to themselves, they probably would have paraded in the streets for a few hours, messing up all the rush hour traffic, but then dispersed and gone home.
"In any event, I did get some pretty good pictures of the water cannons firing, people running, and smoke from a tear gas grenade. I suggested posting them on the Follow the Voyage website with a caption 'what your children do while on liberty in foreign ports.' Instead, I think you´ll see pictures of children from an orphanage visiting the ship.
"The subway stations along Alemeda had been closed, so getting out of downtown Santiago took quite a bit of round-about back tracking to other metro lines, then changing trains. But I suceeded, and was back aboard ship by about 10. Just another day in the big city."
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/30/06 (#22)
"A little after 3 p.m. here in Santiago. Caught an 8:30 bus from Valparaiso, arrived at the bus station in Santiago a little before 10:30, picked up the subway right outside, and was downtown by 10:45. I´ve wandered around a bit, then had lunch across the river from downtown in one of the more "bohemian" neighborhoods, called Barrio Bellavista. The lunch place, the Azul Profundo (I guess that would translate as "Profoundly Blue") used to be frequented by Pablo Neruda, Chile's Nobel-prize winning poet and novelist. There were mucho pictures of him on the walls. An excellent grilled sea bream in slightly spicy olive oil, topped with some shrimp and mussels and other shell fish. And a nice glass of Chilean white wine. Lunch in Chile is late and leisurely; this place didn't even open until 1:00.
"Santiago, at least downtown, is very cosmopolitan. Lots of eating places, upscale shopping, modern buildings, public squares. Great Mercado Centrale with fish vendors and veggie vendors selling their wares. The subway - the metro - is very modern and carries something like 800,000 riders a day. The train I was on was fairly crowded, but they seem to come every few minutes.
"I´m going to continue wandering, another transect through downtown heading toward the university district. Speaking of universities, students are having a one-day strike all over Chile to protest high fees. I chatted for a few minutes with a woman who was handing out leaflets and spoke reasonably good English. I even made a small donation to the cause. Supposedly the police showed up with firehoses to disperse students at one locale. Viva la revolucion!"
"Santiago, at least downtown, is very cosmopolitan. Lots of eating places, upscale shopping, modern buildings, public squares. Great Mercado Centrale with fish vendors and veggie vendors selling their wares. The subway - the metro - is very modern and carries something like 800,000 riders a day. The train I was on was fairly crowded, but they seem to come every few minutes.
"I´m going to continue wandering, another transect through downtown heading toward the university district. Speaking of universities, students are having a one-day strike all over Chile to protest high fees. I chatted for a few minutes with a woman who was handing out leaflets and spoke reasonably good English. I even made a small donation to the cause. Supposedly the police showed up with firehoses to disperse students at one locale. Viva la revolucion!"
Fannie Foxtail Sleeping in Her Bowl
This is Fannie Foxtail. She is a Balinese ball-of-fire. She has claimed this old, cracked ceramic fruitbowl which sits on a small quilt on our dining room table, as one of her favorite beds. Go figure. She loves her bowl. We love Fannie.
Steven and the New Door(s)
If you have followed this blog at all you have been reading all about the new doors, or should I say the struggle to obtain and install new doors. We are making progress! Last week the contractor send over my favorite guy, Steven, to actually install the 4 pre-hung interior doors and their hardware. This is Steven, sending a salute to Seaman Knight while working on the downstairs bathroom door. That day Steven got all the old doors, frames and molding out. He then put in the new doors, prehung, and the new door hardware. One downstairs bathroom door, 2 upstairs bathroom doors and a master bedroom door. I'll take more photos later this week and show you the finished (minus staining) product.
I apologize, Steven. I couldn't resist. I'm just that kind of girl. Frankly, I think that tool belt is pretty impressive. That's what separates the men from the boys: it's the tool belt. Steven loves our cats, is a real perfectionist, and is my remodel therapist. Believe me, if you're remodelling, you'll NEED a therapist!
And this is the downstairs bathroom door installed, but without the moldings and hardware. Steven and I spent some time testing out the frosted "privacy glass" to see how privacy-making it really is. You know, the stuff lives up to its name! We were really impressed. In fact, with lights off and no flash on the camera, from the outside, the privacy glass actually acts somewhat like a mirror. That's me sitting on the stairs taking a picture of the door. You can see the art work on the wall at the top of the stairs behind me, and you can make out Steven's outline while he's standing right behind the glass.
A Ride on a Magic Carpet
Yes fans, there IS more to life than Seaman Knight Checking In and Taylor Hicks winning American Idol! While I am being truly overworked with household trivia in Randy's absence, I do continue my fiberish pursuits as much as I can. I finished this reversible bracelet last night. It's a Melanie Doerman design, "Magic Carpet Ride." This version is purple and lavendar on one side, royal blue and light blue on the other. Those silver-lined matte royal blue beads really glow.
I've been taking every Melanie Doerman class I can for several months now because Melanie has the mind of an engineer. She's a master at bead work structure. That's what I want to be learning now. I'm also perfecting my right-angle weave skills, not an easy task but definitely worthwhile since right-angle weave supports so much structural design. At a recent class, I snapped a photo of Melanie (on the left) with my beady friend Laurel. Honestly, we were having too much fun that day.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/29/06 (#21)
"Had lunch in a rather old-fashioned resturant where, it would appear, mostly businessmen come. They seem to spèak Spanish funny here, and even my few words of Spanish weren´t doing me much good. I could hardly make out anything the waiter was saying. But we muddled through. I had the "menu nacional" lunch, which was a salad with hardboiled eggs, consume, a meat dish (I went for pollo, which turned out to be oven roasted), dessert (the only one I could understand was plantanos, which was served with some kind of sweet syrup), and coffee (espresso like). Quite tasty, and all for about $7.50.
"I´ve spent the afternoon wandering around. Valparaiso is not really a touristy town, but still quite interesting. A strange mix of San Francisco, Italy, and the French Quarter. Lots of old Victorian-style buildings, some in better shape than others, and painted funky colors. A fairly clean city, and (unlike many Latin America cities) virtually no beggars. I had a brief stroll up into one of the hillside neighborhoods, and I´ll check those out some more on Wednesday.
"It´s 5:30 here, just about sunset seeing as how it´s winter. Sunny and pleasantly cool this afternoon, very similar to San Luis Obispo winter, but will probably cool off quite a bit tonight. After a big lunch, I think I´m just going to have a snack and something to drink, then head back to the ship. Most of the students are heading up to Viña del Mar, Chile´s most well known beach resort about 10 miles or so north. That´s where all the nightlife is supposed to be. Many will come straggling back aboard just before their 2 a.m. curfew."
"I´ve spent the afternoon wandering around. Valparaiso is not really a touristy town, but still quite interesting. A strange mix of San Francisco, Italy, and the French Quarter. Lots of old Victorian-style buildings, some in better shape than others, and painted funky colors. A fairly clean city, and (unlike many Latin America cities) virtually no beggars. I had a brief stroll up into one of the hillside neighborhoods, and I´ll check those out some more on Wednesday.
"It´s 5:30 here, just about sunset seeing as how it´s winter. Sunny and pleasantly cool this afternoon, very similar to San Luis Obispo winter, but will probably cool off quite a bit tonight. After a big lunch, I think I´m just going to have a snack and something to drink, then head back to the ship. Most of the students are heading up to Viña del Mar, Chile´s most well known beach resort about 10 miles or so north. That´s where all the nightlife is supposed to be. Many will come straggling back aboard just before their 2 a.m. curfew."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/29/06 (#20)
"Sunny and cool in Valparaiso this morning. We were cleared to leave the ship about 11:00. Mexico and Peru both take dollars everywhere, but not so Chile. So the first task was to find a bank. We´re tried up at the Naval Pier, and it´s about a mile walk into the edge of town. But we did find a cambio right away. The Chilean peso is roughly 500 to the dollar, so changing $120 got me a bit over 60,000 pesos. I´ve never felt so rich!
"Just been strolling down the street since then. Fairly interesting. Thousands (it seems) of city buses everywhere. And no emission controls, so the streets are fairly thick with fumes. The flat part of the city is only about 3 blocks wide, from the waterfront, then very steep hills start going upward. I´m going to first get some lunch and continue looking at the flat area, then take one of the "ascensores" up one of the hills and walk back down."
"Just been strolling down the street since then. Fairly interesting. Thousands (it seems) of city buses everywhere. And no emission controls, so the streets are fairly thick with fumes. The flat part of the city is only about 3 blocks wide, from the waterfront, then very steep hills start going upward. I´m going to first get some lunch and continue looking at the flat area, then take one of the "ascensores" up one of the hills and walk back down."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/28/06 (#19)
"A quiet Sunday. Mostly cloudy, no more rain, and seems to be clearing a bit and turning cooler late this afternoon. I can somewhat see the coastal mountains underneath the cloud deck. Looks quite a bit like the CA coast, as I knew it would. I slept in a bit this morning, then spent a good part of the day editing and grading some exams. Had a good ride on the stationary bike down in the gym.
"Arrival in Valparaiso is anticipated for about 8 in the morning [Monday, May 29]. We'll again be in formation. The kids actually behaved fairly well for arrival in Lima, so I hope they'll do the same here. We'll be pretty much right downtown in Valparaiso, within walking distance of most things. Being in a remote port in Lima was certainly a nuisance."
"Arrival in Valparaiso is anticipated for about 8 in the morning [Monday, May 29]. We'll again be in formation. The kids actually behaved fairly well for arrival in Lima, so I hope they'll do the same here. We'll be pretty much right downtown in Valparaiso, within walking distance of most things. Being in a remote port in Lima was certainly a nuisance."
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/27/06 (#18)
"4:30 Saturday. A big night of midterm grading on tap. Actually, I did see a sign for Bingo at 9 p.m., so maybe I'll drop by. A preview of the nursing home to come!
"Rainy off and on today. Not hard. Not very windy here, but we have picked up a rather significant swell coming up from the south and the ship is rolling more today than anytime since our first day. I rather like it, but Stacy reported feeling a bit queasy. Another illness is making its way through the ship - this time apparently a virus, with fever, vomiting, diarreha (sp?), and really severe gas cramps. I sure hope I don't get this one.
"I've found from guide books in the library that there are buses running [from] Valparaiso to Santiago every 15 minutes. Fare about $4 at the time the guide books were printed. A 2 hour trip. Bus stations conveniently located in both cities. So assuming I stay healthy, I think I'll head for Santiago early Tuesday morning and return that night.
"I'm optimistic about Chile. The guidebooks sound interesting, petty crime is always around but not a terrible problem, and Chile is the most properous South American nation and so (with luck) won't have the appalling poverty of Peru. I'll see what I can in 2.5 days, but it might be a place we'd want to return to for a vacation. Lots of nature stuff - deserts, Andes, southern lakes and forests - that I won't see a thing of on this trip."
"Rainy off and on today. Not hard. Not very windy here, but we have picked up a rather significant swell coming up from the south and the ship is rolling more today than anytime since our first day. I rather like it, but Stacy reported feeling a bit queasy. Another illness is making its way through the ship - this time apparently a virus, with fever, vomiting, diarreha (sp?), and really severe gas cramps. I sure hope I don't get this one.
"I've found from guide books in the library that there are buses running [from] Valparaiso to Santiago every 15 minutes. Fare about $4 at the time the guide books were printed. A 2 hour trip. Bus stations conveniently located in both cities. So assuming I stay healthy, I think I'll head for Santiago early Tuesday morning and return that night.
"I'm optimistic about Chile. The guidebooks sound interesting, petty crime is always around but not a terrible problem, and Chile is the most properous South American nation and so (with luck) won't have the appalling poverty of Peru. I'll see what I can in 2.5 days, but it might be a place we'd want to return to for a vacation. Lots of nature stuff - deserts, Andes, southern lakes and forests - that I won't see a thing of on this trip."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/26/06 (#17)
"Drat. Not enough people signed up for the Santiago trip, so that one was cancelled. Horseback riding and wine tasting seem to be a lot more popular. I'm going to look into going on my own to Santiago by bus. If it's anything like Ecuador, there'll be a bajillion buses going back and forth - so many as to make it confusing.
"Continued cool and cloudy, although the clouds seem to be breaking up late this afternoon and there are pieces of blue sky. We've cut in rather close to shore, and I can see very vague hints of mountains to the east. We're now pretty much straight south of Boston. So not only have we traveled this far south, we've also traveled east the width of the U.S. We had another time change last night and are now 3 hours ahead of CA.
"I'm giving a midterm (already written) in one class tomorrow, and I've cancelled astonomy for tomorrow (to great cheers) since we've actually managed to get a day ahead of schedule. So I'm pretty much caught up with things until we depart Valparaiso next Thursday. We've got about a 10 day stretch at sea from Valparaiso back to our stop at Cocos Island."
"Continued cool and cloudy, although the clouds seem to be breaking up late this afternoon and there are pieces of blue sky. We've cut in rather close to shore, and I can see very vague hints of mountains to the east. We're now pretty much straight south of Boston. So not only have we traveled this far south, we've also traveled east the width of the U.S. We had another time change last night and are now 3 hours ahead of CA.
"I'm giving a midterm (already written) in one class tomorrow, and I've cancelled astonomy for tomorrow (to great cheers) since we've actually managed to get a day ahead of schedule. So I'm pretty much caught up with things until we depart Valparaiso next Thursday. We've got about a 10 day stretch at sea from Valparaiso back to our stop at Cocos Island."
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