"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fees, quality of education, and various other measures that had declared during the military rule of Pinochet and never rescinded.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."
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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."
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/25/06 (#16)
"Mutiny! The cry of mutiny is in the air!
"Yesterday, without warning, the captain announced that the city we're visiting in Costa Rica has been changed. We were scheduled to visit Caldera, which is actually the port city for nearby Punteranas. Instead, we'll be visiting Golfito, in far southern Costa Rica. The only explanation given was 'we're changing at the recommendation of the embassy,' and a rather lame 'Caldera is just a port city, Golfito will be more intersting to students on liberty.'
[Editor's note: Maybe Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield are going to invade Costa Rica and have sent a "heads up" to the embassador.]
"BUT, Lee Parker, our biologist, had already scheduled an overnight rain forest visit out of Caldera. The Caldera area still has reasonable intact rain forests nearby, and an international tropical rain forest ecology group (who was going to be our host) has a couple of study sites in that area. We've all paid for that trip, and Lee has sent them a check. Golfito is mostly surrounded by agricultural lands (think 'bananas') where the rain forest was cleared long ago. But that's all irrelevant; the captain has issued an order.
"The students are VERY disappointed. Lee has sent emails to the captain about our situation, but apparently to no avail. Everyone knows that port stops are subject to change, but past changes (there haven't been many) have been for more obvious reasons - like typhoons, or failing to gain dipolmatic clearance. This change seems quite capricious. Lee is trying to see if any alternative field trips can be arranged, but this area of Costa Rica doesn't seem well connected by road to rain forest areas. (One guide book mentioned an area that can be reached by an all-day hike in hot, 100% humidty conditions over slippery, muddy trails!)
"In the meantime, everyone's looking forward to arriving in Valparaiso on Monday morning. Several organized tours are being offered, and I've signed up for a day tour on Wednesday to Santiago, the capital city about 75 miles inland. Santiago is supposed to be a very pleasant city. They'll take us to various sights, a market, somewhere for lunch, etc. and have us back to the ship in the evening. Certainly a whirlwind tour, but I hadn't anticipated being able to get to Santiago at all. Could be quite chilly inland. A horseback riding tour is very popular with the students, and a number of students and staff have also signed up for a wine-tasting tour in the 'Napa Valley' of Chile.
"We passed two pods (is that the right grouping?) of whales today. A pod of just 3 or 4 about 8:00 a.m. I may have been the only one to see them; I was on my way to class. They were about half-mile away. Then a much larger pod of a dozen or more about 9:00, in a little closer. That one actually got an announcement over the PA system. They were mostly staying on or near the surface, not diving deep and only appearing occasionally at the surface like the grey whales do near us [off the coast of central California]. One officer said he thought they were sperm whales. All you could really see where their backs and an occasional tail flipper, so it wasn't much to go on to make an ID. They didn't seem to me to be terribly large whales, as far as whales go, but they were still big."
"Yesterday, without warning, the captain announced that the city we're visiting in Costa Rica has been changed. We were scheduled to visit Caldera, which is actually the port city for nearby Punteranas. Instead, we'll be visiting Golfito, in far southern Costa Rica. The only explanation given was 'we're changing at the recommendation of the embassy,' and a rather lame 'Caldera is just a port city, Golfito will be more intersting to students on liberty.'
[Editor's note: Maybe Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield are going to invade Costa Rica and have sent a "heads up" to the embassador.]
"BUT, Lee Parker, our biologist, had already scheduled an overnight rain forest visit out of Caldera. The Caldera area still has reasonable intact rain forests nearby, and an international tropical rain forest ecology group (who was going to be our host) has a couple of study sites in that area. We've all paid for that trip, and Lee has sent them a check. Golfito is mostly surrounded by agricultural lands (think 'bananas') where the rain forest was cleared long ago. But that's all irrelevant; the captain has issued an order.
"The students are VERY disappointed. Lee has sent emails to the captain about our situation, but apparently to no avail. Everyone knows that port stops are subject to change, but past changes (there haven't been many) have been for more obvious reasons - like typhoons, or failing to gain dipolmatic clearance. This change seems quite capricious. Lee is trying to see if any alternative field trips can be arranged, but this area of Costa Rica doesn't seem well connected by road to rain forest areas. (One guide book mentioned an area that can be reached by an all-day hike in hot, 100% humidty conditions over slippery, muddy trails!)
"In the meantime, everyone's looking forward to arriving in Valparaiso on Monday morning. Several organized tours are being offered, and I've signed up for a day tour on Wednesday to Santiago, the capital city about 75 miles inland. Santiago is supposed to be a very pleasant city. They'll take us to various sights, a market, somewhere for lunch, etc. and have us back to the ship in the evening. Certainly a whirlwind tour, but I hadn't anticipated being able to get to Santiago at all. Could be quite chilly inland. A horseback riding tour is very popular with the students, and a number of students and staff have also signed up for a wine-tasting tour in the 'Napa Valley' of Chile.
"We passed two pods (is that the right grouping?) of whales today. A pod of just 3 or 4 about 8:00 a.m. I may have been the only one to see them; I was on my way to class. They were about half-mile away. Then a much larger pod of a dozen or more about 9:00, in a little closer. That one actually got an announcement over the PA system. They were mostly staying on or near the surface, not diving deep and only appearing occasionally at the surface like the grey whales do near us [off the coast of central California]. One officer said he thought they were sperm whales. All you could really see where their backs and an occasional tail flipper, so it wasn't much to go on to make an ID. They didn't seem to me to be terribly large whales, as far as whales go, but they were still big."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/24/06 (#15)
'No real news from the Pacific Ocean today. Fog and low clouds all day, fairly limited visibility. We are in the nutrient rich Humbolt Current, so I wasn't surprised that we passed a few sea lions today, even though we're probably 100 miles off shore, and quite a few birds. Peruvian boobies are quite common, and I think I saw a few more of the Inca tern. Unfortunately, the poor visibility made it hard to get decent sitings on the newcomers. I think shearwaters (lots), a couple of skua, and an albatross, but I wasn't able to get more specific. The albatross was sitting on the water right in front of the ship when I was up on the bridge this afternoon. It was facing away from us, but kept glancing over its shoulder (if birds have shoulders) and giving us a really disdainful look. Finally flew when we were about 50 yards from it.
"Got an email from Alice reporting that the new chapter shipped from Lima arrived safely. Otherwise, I'm grading, writing a midterm exam, and mapping out editing plans for the first few chapters of the 2e. I really think this revision is going to go relatively quickly. Logistics (keeping track of what's been moved where, what's been changed about homework problems, etc.) is going to be the biggest headache.
"OK, got to run off to dinner before astronomy. Should have some pre-Valparaiso info by tomorrow."
"Got an email from Alice reporting that the new chapter shipped from Lima arrived safely. Otherwise, I'm grading, writing a midterm exam, and mapping out editing plans for the first few chapters of the 2e. I really think this revision is going to go relatively quickly. Logistics (keeping track of what's been moved where, what's been changed about homework problems, etc.) is going to be the biggest headache.
"OK, got to run off to dinner before astronomy. Should have some pre-Valparaiso info by tomorrow."
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/23/06 (#14)
"Back to sea, back to work. Departure was delayed 4 hours this morning, although that didn't affect me. We were supposed to pull out about 6:00. I expected to be underway when my alarm went off at 6:45, but we were still tied up. When I got topside about 7, on my way to breakfast, we had taken in the gangway, we had two tugs tied up to us ready to pull us out, the Peruvian port pilot was aboard, but nothing was happening. Then I noticed - no dockside workers to cast off our lines.
"At breakfast I learned that the initial delay was due to fog (it was quite foggy this morning), but somewhere along the way the dock workers disappeared. At 7:30, I heard the deck call the captain and ask if the line handlers, who were standing around idle at both ends of the ship, could be released in groups for breakfast. There was mumbling about putting some
cadets ashore to cast us off, then sending back one of our "fast boats" to pick them up. I don't know if that wasn't considered feasible, or if it simply violated port protocol. I was in class about 8:30 when I heard a PA announcement for line handlers to report, but we still hadn't moved when I came up at 9:00, even though there were now some dockworkers about. Shortly thereafter a Peruvian submarine left the naval base that adjoins the shipyard, so perhaps we had been delayed by them. Anyway, it was nearly 10 before we finally cast off, moved out into the fog, and vanished from Lima.
"Sunny with haze now that we're offshore a ways, but getting much cooler. Mid 60s, but we're moving south into a south wind so the wind-chill factor is quite significant. Definitely windbreaker weather to be on deck now. And perhaps full parkas in another day or two.
"Otherwise, back to usual shipboard routine. Classes through Saturday, Sunday free, then arrive Valparaiso Monday."
"At breakfast I learned that the initial delay was due to fog (it was quite foggy this morning), but somewhere along the way the dock workers disappeared. At 7:30, I heard the deck call the captain and ask if the line handlers, who were standing around idle at both ends of the ship, could be released in groups for breakfast. There was mumbling about putting some
cadets ashore to cast us off, then sending back one of our "fast boats" to pick them up. I don't know if that wasn't considered feasible, or if it simply violated port protocol. I was in class about 8:30 when I heard a PA announcement for line handlers to report, but we still hadn't moved when I came up at 9:00, even though there were now some dockworkers about. Shortly thereafter a Peruvian submarine left the naval base that adjoins the shipyard, so perhaps we had been delayed by them. Anyway, it was nearly 10 before we finally cast off, moved out into the fog, and vanished from Lima.
"Sunny with haze now that we're offshore a ways, but getting much cooler. Mid 60s, but we're moving south into a south wind so the wind-chill factor is quite significant. Definitely windbreaker weather to be on deck now. And perhaps full parkas in another day or two.
"Otherwise, back to usual shipboard routine. Classes through Saturday, Sunday free, then arrive Valparaiso Monday."
On The Eve of Taking Back The Music
A brief review of the final performance night of American Idol's Season 5: Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee.
Greetings all from the Left Coast, a 5 hour drive up the highway from the Kodak Theater. I, too, stayed up ’til 1:00, keeping those DialIdol numbers high for Taylor by land-lining constant votes for 4 solid hours. I don’t think those teeny-boppers parents’ let them stay up that late voting for Kat! Got in at least 300 votes; was too out-of-it tired at the end to keep track. I voted until the lines shut down altogether, until those California cows came home.
Both contestants were, I thought, quite nervous last night and it really impacted their performances. Overall, Kat did not have her best night by a long shot and showed why she just shouldn’t have been in the final pairing at all. Bless her heart, she just doesn’t have the maturity yet. She might one day, but not yet. She came across like a giggling 14-year-old. Her coronation song did her no favors, nor did that sausage-casing dress. She was in over her head and it showed. I think it was a great example of why good looks and stage parents really don’t do you any favors at all. My prediction is that she’ll be a much better singer and performer at the end of the summer American Idol tour. She will benefit greatly from the experience.
Taylor, too, wasn’t his usual I’m-in-charge-here self. In spite of the nerves, he did carry on like a trooper. First song was very good: great fuschia velvet jacket! His nerves showed with Levon, but the Soul Patrol would forgive him nearly anything. The coronation song that he was given was pure cheese, just as Kat’s had been, but somehow he managed to Taylorize it and that made all the difference. He finished up in a burst of soul and with that, he took back the night!
My last thought about this season's next-to-last American Idol production? Kill the choir. Cheesey bright blue robes, winged sleeves waving in the breeze? Oh my gosh! Whose awful idea was that? Both singers looked like they were being attacked by swarms of indigo bats.
Now I’m looking forward to a nice nap since I still had to get up early this morning. And then? I’ll be glued to the tube again tonight for the final celebration of Season Five. It WILL be fun, indigo bats and all! And then will come that moment the Soul Patrol has waited for, that moment when we Take Back the Music.
Greetings all from the Left Coast, a 5 hour drive up the highway from the Kodak Theater. I, too, stayed up ’til 1:00, keeping those DialIdol numbers high for Taylor by land-lining constant votes for 4 solid hours. I don’t think those teeny-boppers parents’ let them stay up that late voting for Kat! Got in at least 300 votes; was too out-of-it tired at the end to keep track. I voted until the lines shut down altogether, until those California cows came home.
Both contestants were, I thought, quite nervous last night and it really impacted their performances. Overall, Kat did not have her best night by a long shot and showed why she just shouldn’t have been in the final pairing at all. Bless her heart, she just doesn’t have the maturity yet. She might one day, but not yet. She came across like a giggling 14-year-old. Her coronation song did her no favors, nor did that sausage-casing dress. She was in over her head and it showed. I think it was a great example of why good looks and stage parents really don’t do you any favors at all. My prediction is that she’ll be a much better singer and performer at the end of the summer American Idol tour. She will benefit greatly from the experience.
Taylor, too, wasn’t his usual I’m-in-charge-here self. In spite of the nerves, he did carry on like a trooper. First song was very good: great fuschia velvet jacket! His nerves showed with Levon, but the Soul Patrol would forgive him nearly anything. The coronation song that he was given was pure cheese, just as Kat’s had been, but somehow he managed to Taylorize it and that made all the difference. He finished up in a burst of soul and with that, he took back the night!
My last thought about this season's next-to-last American Idol production? Kill the choir. Cheesey bright blue robes, winged sleeves waving in the breeze? Oh my gosh! Whose awful idea was that? Both singers looked like they were being attacked by swarms of indigo bats.
Now I’m looking forward to a nice nap since I still had to get up early this morning. And then? I’ll be glued to the tube again tonight for the final celebration of Season Five. It WILL be fun, indigo bats and all! And then will come that moment the Soul Patrol has waited for, that moment when we Take Back the Music.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/22/06 (#13)
"Just got my package sent off to Alice [Randy's editor at Addison-Wesley] via DHL. A much bigger hassle here [Lima, {Peru] than in Mexico, but eventually we got it all worked out. They insisted I had to have a local address, so we finally went with "Training Ship Golden Bear, Callao [Callao is the actual port city; Lima is immediately east of Callao]." She was a bit perturbed that I couldn't provide a street address, but finally seemed to relent on that when I was able to provide a phone number for the ship. (The cell phone for the security desk at the gangway.) Otherwise I was just going to make up an address. Her main concern seemed to be that the computer wanted an address before letting her go to the next screen. Whether it was a real address wouldn't have been relevant.
"Lima is bleak, bleak, bleak. Relatively nice here in Miraflores, but most of Lima seems to be simply slums and crumbling apartment blocks. Even the downtown and main square are completely shabby, and for a capital city with 8 million people there's very little in the El Centro. Quito [Ecuador, which we visited on our way to and from the Galapagos] and Mexico City are positively modern cosmopolitan cities in comparison. I think Valparaiso [Chile] will be a much better place to visit.
"OK, I'm going to track down some more ceviche for lunch. They do have at least that one good thing going here. Stroll around a bit, then probably be back to the ship by dinner time. There's the first "big reception" on the ship tonight. As I understand it, the American Ambassador is the actual host, and the ship is just the venue. The guest list is mostly dipolmatic personnel and military attaches. The Peruvian foreign minister is supposed to attend. We're invited, and I might make a short visit if I'm there just to see what it's like. But I won't go out of my way.
"Haven't seen any cats in Lima.
"Onward to Valparaiso!"
"Lima is bleak, bleak, bleak. Relatively nice here in Miraflores, but most of Lima seems to be simply slums and crumbling apartment blocks. Even the downtown and main square are completely shabby, and for a capital city with 8 million people there's very little in the El Centro. Quito [Ecuador, which we visited on our way to and from the Galapagos] and Mexico City are positively modern cosmopolitan cities in comparison. I think Valparaiso [Chile] will be a much better place to visit.
"OK, I'm going to track down some more ceviche for lunch. They do have at least that one good thing going here. Stroll around a bit, then probably be back to the ship by dinner time. There's the first "big reception" on the ship tonight. As I understand it, the American Ambassador is the actual host, and the ship is just the venue. The guest list is mostly dipolmatic personnel and military attaches. The Peruvian foreign minister is supposed to attend. We're invited, and I might make a short visit if I'm there just to see what it's like. But I won't go out of my way.
"Haven't seen any cats in Lima.
"Onward to Valparaiso!"
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/21/06 (#12)
"Hola from Lima,
"A bit slow getting to [the] internet, but here I am at last. About 4 p.m. Sunday in Peru.
"Yesterday, after arrival at 8, we got liberty about 11. The Cal Poly group and a couple of others took 8 or 9 taxis in an armada to Pachacamac. We split into 2 groups there, each with an English speaking guide. Fairly interesting, and a much more extensive set of ruins than I expected. But you don´t see too much beyond partial remains of walls and a couple of not terribly well preserved pyramids.
"The taxis waited for us and then took us to Miraflores, the most ¨modern¨section of Lima. The main drop off point (also for shuttles to the ship) is in front of the Marriot Hotel and right across the street from the Larcomar Shopping Mall, which is interesting as far as shopping malls go - open air and built in a descending circular terrace into the side of a cliff over the ocean - but otherwise could be about any southern CA shopping mall. Some of the girls HAD to have a Starbucks before being able to carry on.
"But we did survive Starbucks, and most of us headed a couple of blocks away to a cervheria I had seen when we were in the taxis. Had a delicious plate of ¨classical¨cerviche, which is traditionally served with hominy and sweet potato. By then it was after dark, and Lee Parker and I picked up the shuttle bus back to the ship. The students and Stacy headed out to some music clubs for quasi-traditional Peruvian music (or at least Latin music) and drinks.
"Lee and the ship's doctor John and I were going to visit the National Anthropology Museum this morning, but the taxi driver (the ship has arranged for a ¨reputable¨taxi company to come inside the port and hang around by the ship) told us there was some big political rally today (they´re having presidential elections here) at the square where the museum is and that we´d probably never get into the museum. John, who speaks a bit of Spanish, was carrying out the conversation with the driver, who spoke a bit of English, but my Spanish wasn´t enough to get more than the bear [sic] outlines of the situation.
"Anyway, we opted instead for El Centro, the downtown, which is fronted by the main cathedral and the governor´s palace. The cathedral, which has been rebuilt multiple times from earthquakes, was rather disappointing. Plain, not much happening. But then we found the main action a couple of blocks away at the much more historic cathedral of San Francisco. Much more typical over-the-top Latin America design and decor. Mass was going on inside, [some] kind of festivity was going on right in front with dancers in Andean dress and a ¨band¨consisting of 6 saxophones, a clarinet, a violin, and a harp. People milling about everywhere. And San Francisco has an attached museum that had been (and part still is) a Franciscan monastary for centuries. Quite Moorish-style tilework all around the central courtyard, interesting artwork. But the big reason most people go is the catacombs underneath. According to the guide, under the monastary and cathedral was the first cemetary in Lima, and an estimated 25,000 people were buried there over the centuries, pretty much piled right on top of each other. We went through several corridors of low, barrel-vaulted hallways filled on both sides with walled pits - I think these were the original tombs - filled with tastefully arranged human bones. Hundred and hundreds of femurs. Just femurs, with the occasional pelvic bone. Then several pits with skulls. Somewhere there´s got to be a humongous room of ribs and fingers and toes, but we didn´t see those.
"Anyway, that worked up an appetite, so back to Miraflores for lunch at an upscale place directly overlooking an archeological site right here in Miraflores. I presume it´s also connected with the pre-Incan people, since it looked not unlike Pachacamac, but we didn´t get the story behind it. Had shrimp stew, which was tasty but not overwhelmingly great.
"Headed from there to the Indian Market, which was nearby. More trinkets and chotzkies than I expected, but a few intersting things. Now I´m back near the Marriott, thought I´d get this sent off."
"A bit slow getting to [the] internet, but here I am at last. About 4 p.m. Sunday in Peru.
"Yesterday, after arrival at 8, we got liberty about 11. The Cal Poly group and a couple of others took 8 or 9 taxis in an armada to Pachacamac. We split into 2 groups there, each with an English speaking guide. Fairly interesting, and a much more extensive set of ruins than I expected. But you don´t see too much beyond partial remains of walls and a couple of not terribly well preserved pyramids.
"The taxis waited for us and then took us to Miraflores, the most ¨modern¨section of Lima. The main drop off point (also for shuttles to the ship) is in front of the Marriot Hotel and right across the street from the Larcomar Shopping Mall, which is interesting as far as shopping malls go - open air and built in a descending circular terrace into the side of a cliff over the ocean - but otherwise could be about any southern CA shopping mall. Some of the girls HAD to have a Starbucks before being able to carry on.
"But we did survive Starbucks, and most of us headed a couple of blocks away to a cervheria I had seen when we were in the taxis. Had a delicious plate of ¨classical¨cerviche, which is traditionally served with hominy and sweet potato. By then it was after dark, and Lee Parker and I picked up the shuttle bus back to the ship. The students and Stacy headed out to some music clubs for quasi-traditional Peruvian music (or at least Latin music) and drinks.
"Lee and the ship's doctor John and I were going to visit the National Anthropology Museum this morning, but the taxi driver (the ship has arranged for a ¨reputable¨taxi company to come inside the port and hang around by the ship) told us there was some big political rally today (they´re having presidential elections here) at the square where the museum is and that we´d probably never get into the museum. John, who speaks a bit of Spanish, was carrying out the conversation with the driver, who spoke a bit of English, but my Spanish wasn´t enough to get more than the bear [sic] outlines of the situation.
"Anyway, we opted instead for El Centro, the downtown, which is fronted by the main cathedral and the governor´s palace. The cathedral, which has been rebuilt multiple times from earthquakes, was rather disappointing. Plain, not much happening. But then we found the main action a couple of blocks away at the much more historic cathedral of San Francisco. Much more typical over-the-top Latin America design and decor. Mass was going on inside, [some] kind of festivity was going on right in front with dancers in Andean dress and a ¨band¨consisting of 6 saxophones, a clarinet, a violin, and a harp. People milling about everywhere. And San Francisco has an attached museum that had been (and part still is) a Franciscan monastary for centuries. Quite Moorish-style tilework all around the central courtyard, interesting artwork. But the big reason most people go is the catacombs underneath. According to the guide, under the monastary and cathedral was the first cemetary in Lima, and an estimated 25,000 people were buried there over the centuries, pretty much piled right on top of each other. We went through several corridors of low, barrel-vaulted hallways filled on both sides with walled pits - I think these were the original tombs - filled with tastefully arranged human bones. Hundred and hundreds of femurs. Just femurs, with the occasional pelvic bone. Then several pits with skulls. Somewhere there´s got to be a humongous room of ribs and fingers and toes, but we didn´t see those.
"Anyway, that worked up an appetite, so back to Miraflores for lunch at an upscale place directly overlooking an archeological site right here in Miraflores. I presume it´s also connected with the pre-Incan people, since it looked not unlike Pachacamac, but we didn´t get the story behind it. Had shrimp stew, which was tasty but not overwhelmingly great.
"Headed from there to the Indian Market, which was nearby. More trinkets and chotzkies than I expected, but a few intersting things. Now I´m back near the Marriott, thought I´d get this sent off."
Friday, May 19, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/19/06 (#11)
"Gave one midterm this morning, another coming up in astronomy tonight. Then the sword of Damocles is removed from over their [his CalPoly students] heads while in port.
"We're going to try an archeological tour as soon as we get off ship tomorrow. The place is called Pachacamac, if you want to look it up. I don't know the details, but Stacy [another CalPoly professor on the cruise] decided we'd be better off getting 7 or 8 taxis to take us all out rather than trying to make formal arrangements with a tour company. Apparently one legit taxi company is allowed to come inside the port. (Anyone with a car can buy a "taxi permit" for something like 50 cents and start picking up passengers!) That said, I don't quite know how Saturday is going to play out or if I'll make it to an internet cafe.
"The ship is going to run a shuttle bus back and forth to an upscale (relatively speaking) neighborhood of Lima called Miraflores. Supposedly shopping, restuarants, nightclubs, etc. The historic El Centro district is about 8 or 10 miles from Miraflores, but an easy taxi ride. Lima, like Quito and Mexico City, is one of the earliest Spanish settlements, dating to 1530 or so. Supposedly a city very divided between a fairly comfortable but small upper class and huge slums of the most abject poverty. We've been told to expect huge swarms of child beggars. The poverty is one reason Lima has a bad reputation for pickpockets and other petty theft, although guide books say the situation is "improving." We'll see.
"Ceviche is more or less the national dish of Peru, and they supposedly do it better than anywhere expect back in ye olde Spain.
"So this is probably it until I find the ubiquitous internet cafe. In fact, I'm not sure they even run the ship's email while we're in port."
"We're going to try an archeological tour as soon as we get off ship tomorrow. The place is called Pachacamac, if you want to look it up. I don't know the details, but Stacy [another CalPoly professor on the cruise] decided we'd be better off getting 7 or 8 taxis to take us all out rather than trying to make formal arrangements with a tour company. Apparently one legit taxi company is allowed to come inside the port. (Anyone with a car can buy a "taxi permit" for something like 50 cents and start picking up passengers!) That said, I don't quite know how Saturday is going to play out or if I'll make it to an internet cafe.
"The ship is going to run a shuttle bus back and forth to an upscale (relatively speaking) neighborhood of Lima called Miraflores. Supposedly shopping, restuarants, nightclubs, etc. The historic El Centro district is about 8 or 10 miles from Miraflores, but an easy taxi ride. Lima, like Quito and Mexico City, is one of the earliest Spanish settlements, dating to 1530 or so. Supposedly a city very divided between a fairly comfortable but small upper class and huge slums of the most abject poverty. We've been told to expect huge swarms of child beggars. The poverty is one reason Lima has a bad reputation for pickpockets and other petty theft, although guide books say the situation is "improving." We'll see.
"Ceviche is more or less the national dish of Peru, and they supposedly do it better than anywhere expect back in ye olde Spain.
"So this is probably it until I find the ubiquitous internet cafe. In fact, I'm not sure they even run the ship's email while we're in port."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/18/06 (#10)
"Nothing new or different or exciting today. Just another day in the middle of the ocean. Water temps down to the mid-60s (after being mid-80s in Mexico) as we head in the Humbolt Current off S. America.
"Lima will be our first formal arrival. Mexico had no formalities since we anchored out, and it's just a sleepy beach town anyway. For Lima, the cadets and officers will be in formal white uniform with black trim - they're called "salt and pepper." We Cal Poly types will be in our "formal" uniform of khaki pants and matching blue polo shirts. (Don't think I ever told you that I got a set of the CMA T-shirts and polo shirt that I wear most days. It hadn't been clear that faculty were going to get those.) Students will stand in formation (for Cal Poly, I hope that means they'll simply stand still) in various locations on the upper decks. Faculty and staff stand on the main deck. Tentative "call to quarters" is at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. And then ... We'll, I don't know what then since I've never done this. I'll report back afterwards.
"Something like 180 people are scheduled to tour the ship while we're in port. Two groups from "The Academy," although I don't know what that means. Presumably some Peruvian naval academy. Then a group from the American embassy in Peru. I plan to be off the ship during this if at all possible.
"Two midterms tomorrow, our last day of classes before port."
"Lima will be our first formal arrival. Mexico had no formalities since we anchored out, and it's just a sleepy beach town anyway. For Lima, the cadets and officers will be in formal white uniform with black trim - they're called "salt and pepper." We Cal Poly types will be in our "formal" uniform of khaki pants and matching blue polo shirts. (Don't think I ever told you that I got a set of the CMA T-shirts and polo shirt that I wear most days. It hadn't been clear that faculty were going to get those.) Students will stand in formation (for Cal Poly, I hope that means they'll simply stand still) in various locations on the upper decks. Faculty and staff stand on the main deck. Tentative "call to quarters" is at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. And then ... We'll, I don't know what then since I've never done this. I'll report back afterwards.
"Something like 180 people are scheduled to tour the ship while we're in port. Two groups from "The Academy," although I don't know what that means. Presumably some Peruvian naval academy. Then a group from the American embassy in Peru. I plan to be off the ship during this if at all possible.
"Two midterms tomorrow, our last day of classes before port."
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/17/06 (#9)
"Slowed down a little over night, and so crossed the equator at 1:10 this afternoon. All the Cal Poly students were in the "Cruise 195" class where various ship's officers do a 3-day-a-week show-and-tell about the ship. They told me they were going to beg to get out early, but I found myself alone on the top deck when the big moment arrived. My GPS updates every second, and at our speed changes several digits in the last column each time. So there was no guarantee it would display zeros all the way across. But luck was with me, and for 1 second it displayed 00 degrees 0.000 minutes. Then we crossed the yellow line painted around the earth and were into the southern hemisphere. Apparently they used to have equator festivity crossings long ago, but something happened in the 1980s (I don't know what) that led them to not mark the occasion.
"Cooler (like 75) and partly cloudy today. I hope it will clear for star viewing tonight. The temperature will start dropping by tomorrow and it will get back to jacket weather outdoors.
"There's an archeological site just a little south of Lima from Inca times, although these weren't Inca since Inca were up in the Andes. But somewhat related. Stacy is working on a one-day field trip. She's in touch with a tour company in Lima and is trying to arrange for them to bus us all there."
"Cooler (like 75) and partly cloudy today. I hope it will clear for star viewing tonight. The temperature will start dropping by tomorrow and it will get back to jacket weather outdoors.
"There's an archeological site just a little south of Lima from Inca times, although these weren't Inca since Inca were up in the Andes. But somewhat related. Stacy is working on a one-day field trip. She's in touch with a tour company in Lima and is trying to arrange for them to bus us all there."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/14,15,16/06 (#8)
Delivery of email both going to and coming from The Golden Bear has been sporadic in spite of many promises that everything has been "fixed." So here are missives from Randy for the last 3 days.
From Sunday, May 14, 2006
"Another BBQ completed, BBQ in the common sense of grilling, not BBQ as you would wish to use the term. Steak this time. Not as good as last week's ribs. They do dogs and burgers too for those so inclined. A couple of the officers start cooking midafternoon, and sometimes the captain even takes a turn. Then food serving starts around 5. There's a stereo set up on the fantail for (loud) music, and last week the students hung around until quite late. A couple of squalls passed on either side of us this morning, but it didn't rain at the ship and it's been quite lovely this afternoon.
"If you check your map, you'll see that Panama is very snake-like. We've rounded the southern tip and are currently heading due east. I guess we'll have to swing around to north during the night to reach Balboa. I understand we'll pass under the Transamerica Highway Bridge before going wherever it is we have to go. Sounds like about an 8-hour process - if all goes well- so we should be in Panama all day tomorrow [Monday, May 15] but, with luck, head out tomorrow night. Lots of ship traffic now that we're so close to the canal."
From Monday, May 15, 2006
"Dropped anchor in the bay outside Balboa about 8:30. I counted 35 - 40 other ships anchored here and there, waiting their turn through the canal or waiting for fuel or just waiting. I guess diplomatic negotiations ensued. We hoisted anchor about 10:30 to proceed on into Balboa. I missed most of it because I was in class. We were just edging up to the dock, assisted by a tug, when I came out of class.
"We're in a humongous shipyard pretty much right inside the Transamerica Highway Bridge. Ships and giant cranes and heavy lifting machines all over the place. It took well over an hour to rig up large, heavy hoses (look to be about 6 inch inside diameter) and get them hooked up to the dockside pumps and to the ship. Everything is bolted together with heavy bolts. They started pumping about 3, and I hear they pump 2000 barrels per hour. If all goes according to plan, we should be filled around midnight, then they have to get everything disconnected and pull us out of the dock. I expect Balboa will be far behind us when I get up in the morning. Scattered thunderstorms around the area this afternoon, but only sprinkles at the ship."
From Rainy Tuesday, May 16, 2006
"Word around the ship is that no email has been sent out since Sunday morning. Blaming the satellite this time. I had not received any incoming from you since Sunday morning, although this afternoon I got your Sunday email not as an actual email but as an attachment emailed to me by the IT guy. Strange. Even the officers are starting to grumble seriously about how the email is so much worse this year that we all should get refunds. Except for the couple of old timers who say they liked it better in days gone by when there was no email at all. They'd call their wives/girlfriends whenever they got to port, and that was it. I'll continue to send one out once a day, with no guarantee when (or if) it will reach you.
"Departed Panama about 2 a.m. So they say. Cloudy when I got up, then heavy rain steady since about noon with occasional thunder. With reduced visibility, the ship sounds its big horn every 2 minutes as a fog horn. It will be nice to get the salt washed off the ship. We can access all points in the ship through corridors at the lower levels, so no need to go outside while it's raining. At least for us. Cadets on watch still have to make their rounds of the ship.
"So no star viewing tonight [Tuesday]. Tonight and tomorrow are ideal times, with the moon now rising late (last week was too much moon light) and still warm temps. We'll be getting into much cooler weather in another couple of days as we round the 'corner' of South America and move into the cool Humbolt Current. And then we'll be moving into the southern hemisphere winter with shorter days. Should be mild (70) in Lima, although overcast and fog are common this time of year. Down to 10 hours of daylight or less when we reach Valparaiso.
"If we continue on our present heading and speed, I calculate we'll cross the equator at 8:30 tomorrow [Wednesday] morning. That's in the middle of oceanography, but probably worth a class break to go up topside and all watch the GPS tick down to zero. If it's not pouring."
From Sunday, May 14, 2006
"Another BBQ completed, BBQ in the common sense of grilling, not BBQ as you would wish to use the term. Steak this time. Not as good as last week's ribs. They do dogs and burgers too for those so inclined. A couple of the officers start cooking midafternoon, and sometimes the captain even takes a turn. Then food serving starts around 5. There's a stereo set up on the fantail for (loud) music, and last week the students hung around until quite late. A couple of squalls passed on either side of us this morning, but it didn't rain at the ship and it's been quite lovely this afternoon.
"If you check your map, you'll see that Panama is very snake-like. We've rounded the southern tip and are currently heading due east. I guess we'll have to swing around to north during the night to reach Balboa. I understand we'll pass under the Transamerica Highway Bridge before going wherever it is we have to go. Sounds like about an 8-hour process - if all goes well- so we should be in Panama all day tomorrow [Monday, May 15] but, with luck, head out tomorrow night. Lots of ship traffic now that we're so close to the canal."
From Monday, May 15, 2006
"Dropped anchor in the bay outside Balboa about 8:30. I counted 35 - 40 other ships anchored here and there, waiting their turn through the canal or waiting for fuel or just waiting. I guess diplomatic negotiations ensued. We hoisted anchor about 10:30 to proceed on into Balboa. I missed most of it because I was in class. We were just edging up to the dock, assisted by a tug, when I came out of class.
"We're in a humongous shipyard pretty much right inside the Transamerica Highway Bridge. Ships and giant cranes and heavy lifting machines all over the place. It took well over an hour to rig up large, heavy hoses (look to be about 6 inch inside diameter) and get them hooked up to the dockside pumps and to the ship. Everything is bolted together with heavy bolts. They started pumping about 3, and I hear they pump 2000 barrels per hour. If all goes according to plan, we should be filled around midnight, then they have to get everything disconnected and pull us out of the dock. I expect Balboa will be far behind us when I get up in the morning. Scattered thunderstorms around the area this afternoon, but only sprinkles at the ship."
From Rainy Tuesday, May 16, 2006
"Word around the ship is that no email has been sent out since Sunday morning. Blaming the satellite this time. I had not received any incoming from you since Sunday morning, although this afternoon I got your Sunday email not as an actual email but as an attachment emailed to me by the IT guy. Strange. Even the officers are starting to grumble seriously about how the email is so much worse this year that we all should get refunds. Except for the couple of old timers who say they liked it better in days gone by when there was no email at all. They'd call their wives/girlfriends whenever they got to port, and that was it. I'll continue to send one out once a day, with no guarantee when (or if) it will reach you.
"Departed Panama about 2 a.m. So they say. Cloudy when I got up, then heavy rain steady since about noon with occasional thunder. With reduced visibility, the ship sounds its big horn every 2 minutes as a fog horn. It will be nice to get the salt washed off the ship. We can access all points in the ship through corridors at the lower levels, so no need to go outside while it's raining. At least for us. Cadets on watch still have to make their rounds of the ship.
"So no star viewing tonight [Tuesday]. Tonight and tomorrow are ideal times, with the moon now rising late (last week was too much moon light) and still warm temps. We'll be getting into much cooler weather in another couple of days as we round the 'corner' of South America and move into the cool Humbolt Current. And then we'll be moving into the southern hemisphere winter with shorter days. Should be mild (70) in Lima, although overcast and fog are common this time of year. Down to 10 hours of daylight or less when we reach Valparaiso.
"If we continue on our present heading and speed, I calculate we'll cross the equator at 8:30 tomorrow [Wednesday] morning. That's in the middle of oceanography, but probably worth a class break to go up topside and all watch the GPS tick down to zero. If it's not pouring."
Monday, May 15, 2006
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/13/06 (#7)
"Nothing really new. Just another class day. Mostly overcast today. Had a little light rain this morning, but just cloudy, dry, and hot since them. We've cut our speed a little, but yes, you can certainly feel the difference when we're going very fast. I think we're now off Costa Rica, but still staying way off shore.
"The 2 brown boobies of yesterday have grown to a feathery armada of at least 30 boobies accompanying us today. 5 or 6 at a time floating off he bow, the rest flying along the sides, occasionally diving in for a fish. They're quite pretty birds, so this is most entertaining. I understand the cadet on watch at the bow last night got bombed with a bird poop. I guess the birds were heading for Panama anyway and decided we could shove them along.
"Another BBQ planned for tomorrow [Sunday, May 14], although there's certainly a good chance of rain. Don't know what the plans are if it dose rain. Guess I'll find out then.
"OK, I was taking a little break from sketching out the art manuscript for the one new chapter that will go in the 2e. But about time to climb back up the stairs and resume work. I estimate I climb 40 to 50 flights of stairs a day. Good for the muscle tone, although, unfortunately, that only burns about 100 calories."
"The 2 brown boobies of yesterday have grown to a feathery armada of at least 30 boobies accompanying us today. 5 or 6 at a time floating off he bow, the rest flying along the sides, occasionally diving in for a fish. They're quite pretty birds, so this is most entertaining. I understand the cadet on watch at the bow last night got bombed with a bird poop. I guess the birds were heading for Panama anyway and decided we could shove them along.
"Another BBQ planned for tomorrow [Sunday, May 14], although there's certainly a good chance of rain. Don't know what the plans are if it dose rain. Guess I'll find out then.
"OK, I was taking a little break from sketching out the art manuscript for the one new chapter that will go in the 2e. But about time to climb back up the stairs and resume work. I estimate I climb 40 to 50 flights of stairs a day. Good for the muscle tone, although, unfortunately, that only burns about 100 calories."
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/11/06 (#6)
"Hot. Sunny. But I guess that's what we expected here. Shipped out right on schedule at 4 a.m. [Thursday morning, May 11]. I vaguely heard the anchor going up. Since we've got quite a few extra miles because of our Panamanian detour, we're really hauling ass. Doing 18 knots today (21 mph), which is quite a change over our leisurely 10 knots of last week. Saw a sea turtle after lunch. At first I just saw sunlight glinting off something in the water as we approached it and thought it was probably a bottle or some trash. But it turned out to be the wet dome of a turtle right on the surface. Not terribly big, hardly bigger than a box turtle at the pet store. A fairly big school of dolphin jumping around early this morning.
"I've added to my boobie collection. Brown boobies. There were quite a few over the bay in Zihuatenjo (along with lots of frigate birds and pelicans). I kinda thought they were brown boobies, but only yesterday managed to get a better look through binoculars. Kinda cute. Has the distinctive 'boobie dive' we saw in the Galapagos. Our three boobie friends from the Galapagos (red-botted, blue-footed, and masked) do frequent these eastern Pacific waters, so who knows, I might run into one.
"Otherwise, ship life quickly returns to routine. The students were staggering around this morning but seem livelier by evening."
"I've added to my boobie collection. Brown boobies. There were quite a few over the bay in Zihuatenjo (along with lots of frigate birds and pelicans). I kinda thought they were brown boobies, but only yesterday managed to get a better look through binoculars. Kinda cute. Has the distinctive 'boobie dive' we saw in the Galapagos. Our three boobie friends from the Galapagos (red-botted, blue-footed, and masked) do frequent these eastern Pacific waters, so who knows, I might run into one.
"Otherwise, ship life quickly returns to routine. The students were staggering around this morning but seem livelier by evening."
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Sturgeon's Law
Another gem from the Oxford English Dictionary on-line Word of the Day
Sturgeon's Law, n.
"A humorous aphorism which maintains that most of any body of published material, knowledge, etc., or (more generally) of everything is worthless: based on a statement by Sturgeon (see quot. 1958), usually later cited as '90 per cent of everything is crap'.
"[1958 T.H. Sturgeon in Venture Sci. Fiction Mar. 66/2 It is in this vein that I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against the attacks of people...whose conclusion was that ninety percent of s f is crud. The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud."
Sturgeon's Law, n.
"A humorous aphorism which maintains that most of any body of published material, knowledge, etc., or (more generally) of everything is worthless: based on a statement by Sturgeon (see quot. 1958), usually later cited as '90 per cent of everything is crap'.
"[1958 T.H. Sturgeon in Venture Sci. Fiction Mar. 66/2 It is in this vein that I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against the attacks of people...whose conclusion was that ninety percent of s f is crud. The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud."
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
The Beaders Handshake
These are my friends Susan and Sue, who are both exceptionally talented beaders. (We're talking extensive work with seed beads here.) When they ran into each other at a recent gathering of beaders, they greeted each other with the traditional Beaders Handshake. Weavers of cloth, by the way, greet one another in a similar fashion.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Elsie and Me
Elsie is "grandmother" to Hamlet and Nellie, two of my pet sitting clients. Because Elsie usually stays home when her daughter Leabah and son-in-law Barry travel, I have gotten to know Elsie quite well over the years I've cared for the piggies. Elsie is the greatest! She is a very interesting woman. I can talk with her about anything. She has a quick wit -- I have to work overtime to keep up with her. We laugh together a lot.Last week when Barry and Leabah were in the Galapagos, Elsie and I went out to Hoppe's in Cayucos for lunch one day. I had our waiter take our picture. Elsie's the good looking woman on the right. We make a real Mutt-and-Jeff pair. I'm 5' 8". Elsie is 4' 4 & 3/4". That's not a typo! Good thing we were sitting down for our portrait. We both had Kobe beef burgers for lunch, with a shared ginger creme brulee chaser.
My Day Job
Occasionally I even earn a more-or-less honest buck. I have a small pet sitting business. I specialize in staying overnight in the pets' homes. What keeps me doing this is: 1) I want other people to have the same care for their companion animals that I want for mine, and 2) I have deep respect for the bonds between people and their companion animals.
Two of my most long-time clients are Hamlet and Nellie, two pot-bellied pigs who are companions to Barry and Leabah, and Leabah's mother Elsie. No, I don't stay overnight with the piggies. Yes, they go in the house, but not all the time. Yes, they are "toilet trained." No, they don't smell. Yes, they are smart (I think they are a lot like cats). They eat mostly commercial pig chow, hay, alfalfa, and fresh vegetables. Yes, they have been neutered. Hamlet is the smaller male white pig. Nellie is the larger (and domineering) female black pig. They are quite entertaining! And dearly loved by their human family and their pet sitter.
Two of my most long-time clients are Hamlet and Nellie, two pot-bellied pigs who are companions to Barry and Leabah, and Leabah's mother Elsie. No, I don't stay overnight with the piggies. Yes, they go in the house, but not all the time. Yes, they are "toilet trained." No, they don't smell. Yes, they are smart (I think they are a lot like cats). They eat mostly commercial pig chow, hay, alfalfa, and fresh vegetables. Yes, they have been neutered. Hamlet is the smaller male white pig. Nellie is the larger (and domineering) female black pig. They are quite entertaining! And dearly loved by their human family and their pet sitter.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In On 5/04/06 (#5)
Email from and to Randy aboard TSGB has been delayed these first few days. A couple of messages from him may have disappeared altogether into the ether. But here are a few tidbits that have drifted in recently.
Thursday, 5/4/06 at 4:00 p.m.
"We'll be 30 miles off the tip of Baja in another couple of hours. Would have already gone past (even though we're too far out to see it), but we spent from 0800 to 1200 going in circles as the 1st-year cadets got their first taste of 'rubber docking.' ...they throw a buoy overboard and students pretend it's a dock they have to pull up to. One student I watched make the circle did pretty well. I don't know about the others.
"Sea temp is up to 65. ... The noon sun is absolutely straight overhead, so really intense even with the air temp still in the high 60s. A bit cloudy this morning, but now sunny with brilliant blue seas.
"My astronomy class had its first star gazing last night, since it was our first clear night. Everyone was pretty excited and having a good time. 'What's that? What's that?' I'm having them keep a journal of their observations. My energy class has its first 'lab' tomorrow with the various things I brought.
"Seeing an increasing amount of ship traffic, mostly tankers. And a few fishing boats. Didn't see any the first 2 or 3 days. Saw a couple of dolphin this morning, but they didn't stick around. Still no birds around."
Friday, 5/5/06 at 10:00 p.m.
"Just came down off deck from star viewing with my class. Now getting quite warm - shirt-sleeve weather on deck at night even with a stiff breeze. But it was partially overcast, and the moon is now straight overhead, so viewing conditions were pretty marginal. Would have been able to see the Southern Cross from this latitude, but too cloudy toward the south.
"We zipped past the tip of Baja this morning, close enough to see the mountains fairly distinctly. The morning's rubber docking practice got cancelled after the wind came up rather strong. We're now into flying fish territory. Quite a few schools of them leaping out of the waves at various times during the day. The CM cadets often fish off the back during the day. One told me they had caught a couple of skipjacks, but not really very much considering how long they leave the lines out.
"As you'll see in the Captain's log, we're making a detour to Panama to buy fuel. It costs well over a million dollars to 'fill 'er up' (I wonder if they take credit cards?), and apparently fuel is enough cheaper in Panama to save a couple hundred thousand dollars. Certainly enough to justify the detour. They can run both training cruises of the summer (we're just the first cruise of two) from one full load of fuel. We won't be cleared to leave the ship, so we'll have to be content with looking at Balboa from the water. This will keep us running relatively close to land all the way down rather than cutting across from Mexico to Peru through the Galapagos. Looks like a couple of weeks of toasty tropical weather before it starts turning cool as we get into late fall in the southern hemisphere."
Saturday, 5/6/06 at 9:00 p.m.
"...just finished my 6:30 p.m. astronomy class for Sat. Never taught a Sat. night class before! Sunday is a free day - not even call to quarters for the cadets - and the captain is hosting a bar-b-que on the fantail tomorrow afternoon. BBQ ribs and BBQ chicken on the menu for dinner tomorrow.
"Definitely tropical now. Temps in the mid-70s, sea temp up to 80, and very humid. Fortunately, there's been quite a good breeze the last two afternoons. The word had been to prepare for the ship being overly cold. The classrooms are, indeed, rather cool, but my stateroom and some of the other areas are quite warm. Didn't see any flying fish today, but did see a first frigate bird when I went up after class to see sunset.
"Scheduled to be in Zhihuatenejo (terribly misspelled, I'm sure) by dawn Monday, and everyone will be cleared to go ashore right after call-to-quarters at 7:45. Have to be back on the ship midnight Wed night for a middle-of-the-night departure for Panama. We're anchoring in this port, so we go back and forth to shore in some of the tenders. I'm not sure of the details. The Captain and his wife, who apparently is flying down, are hosting an on-shore reception for faculty and officers on Tuesday afternoon.
"I think tomorrow [Sunday] will be laundry day. Laundry is forbidden while we're at anchor because they're not running the water generator, and I think I'll run out of socks before Thursday. Grade a couple of quizzes and lounge around."
Thursday, 5/4/06 at 4:00 p.m.
"We'll be 30 miles off the tip of Baja in another couple of hours. Would have already gone past (even though we're too far out to see it), but we spent from 0800 to 1200 going in circles as the 1st-year cadets got their first taste of 'rubber docking.' ...they throw a buoy overboard and students pretend it's a dock they have to pull up to. One student I watched make the circle did pretty well. I don't know about the others.
"Sea temp is up to 65. ... The noon sun is absolutely straight overhead, so really intense even with the air temp still in the high 60s. A bit cloudy this morning, but now sunny with brilliant blue seas.
"My astronomy class had its first star gazing last night, since it was our first clear night. Everyone was pretty excited and having a good time. 'What's that? What's that?' I'm having them keep a journal of their observations. My energy class has its first 'lab' tomorrow with the various things I brought.
"Seeing an increasing amount of ship traffic, mostly tankers. And a few fishing boats. Didn't see any the first 2 or 3 days. Saw a couple of dolphin this morning, but they didn't stick around. Still no birds around."
Friday, 5/5/06 at 10:00 p.m.
"Just came down off deck from star viewing with my class. Now getting quite warm - shirt-sleeve weather on deck at night even with a stiff breeze. But it was partially overcast, and the moon is now straight overhead, so viewing conditions were pretty marginal. Would have been able to see the Southern Cross from this latitude, but too cloudy toward the south.
"We zipped past the tip of Baja this morning, close enough to see the mountains fairly distinctly. The morning's rubber docking practice got cancelled after the wind came up rather strong. We're now into flying fish territory. Quite a few schools of them leaping out of the waves at various times during the day. The CM cadets often fish off the back during the day. One told me they had caught a couple of skipjacks, but not really very much considering how long they leave the lines out.
"As you'll see in the Captain's log, we're making a detour to Panama to buy fuel. It costs well over a million dollars to 'fill 'er up' (I wonder if they take credit cards?), and apparently fuel is enough cheaper in Panama to save a couple hundred thousand dollars. Certainly enough to justify the detour. They can run both training cruises of the summer (we're just the first cruise of two) from one full load of fuel. We won't be cleared to leave the ship, so we'll have to be content with looking at Balboa from the water. This will keep us running relatively close to land all the way down rather than cutting across from Mexico to Peru through the Galapagos. Looks like a couple of weeks of toasty tropical weather before it starts turning cool as we get into late fall in the southern hemisphere."
Saturday, 5/6/06 at 9:00 p.m.
"...just finished my 6:30 p.m. astronomy class for Sat. Never taught a Sat. night class before! Sunday is a free day - not even call to quarters for the cadets - and the captain is hosting a bar-b-que on the fantail tomorrow afternoon. BBQ ribs and BBQ chicken on the menu for dinner tomorrow.
"Definitely tropical now. Temps in the mid-70s, sea temp up to 80, and very humid. Fortunately, there's been quite a good breeze the last two afternoons. The word had been to prepare for the ship being overly cold. The classrooms are, indeed, rather cool, but my stateroom and some of the other areas are quite warm. Didn't see any flying fish today, but did see a first frigate bird when I went up after class to see sunset.
"Scheduled to be in Zhihuatenejo (terribly misspelled, I'm sure) by dawn Monday, and everyone will be cleared to go ashore right after call-to-quarters at 7:45. Have to be back on the ship midnight Wed night for a middle-of-the-night departure for Panama. We're anchoring in this port, so we go back and forth to shore in some of the tenders. I'm not sure of the details. The Captain and his wife, who apparently is flying down, are hosting an on-shore reception for faculty and officers on Tuesday afternoon.
"I think tomorrow [Sunday] will be laundry day. Laundry is forbidden while we're at anchor because they're not running the water generator, and I think I'll run out of socks before Thursday. Grade a couple of quizzes and lounge around."
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/02/06 (#4)
A quick note from Randy tonight: "...things are pretty good. Two days of classes down, we're getting into a routine. We're about a third of the way down the Baja peninsula. Still overcast, but definitely getting warmer. Saw a few dophin today a couple hundred yards away. Students reported seeing a large group right alongside this morning."
Taylor Hicks Rocks the House on American Idol
Yes, it's true. I actually am watching the show this year and voting. Voting over and over again for Taylor Hicks.
I watched quite casually at the beginning of the season to see if there was anyone I really wanted to hear more than once. Taylor knocked my socks off from Day One. I wasn't sure he had the chops to make it at first, that he wouldn't let the Bright Lights and pressure get to him. I am grateful to say he has lived up to his potential. Gets better, in fact, as the season progresses. Now I find that I watch every week just to see what wonderful new evolution Taylor will share with us.
You know who he reminds me of? Elvis. The early Elvis Presley. Each week, more and more. Taylor has the voice and the charisma to be the next American Idol. And he will be the next American Idol. Just my humble opinion.
I watched quite casually at the beginning of the season to see if there was anyone I really wanted to hear more than once. Taylor knocked my socks off from Day One. I wasn't sure he had the chops to make it at first, that he wouldn't let the Bright Lights and pressure get to him. I am grateful to say he has lived up to his potential. Gets better, in fact, as the season progresses. Now I find that I watch every week just to see what wonderful new evolution Taylor will share with us.
You know who he reminds me of? Elvis. The early Elvis Presley. Each week, more and more. Taylor has the voice and the charisma to be the next American Idol. And he will be the next American Idol. Just my humble opinion.
Seaman Randy Knight Checking In on 5/01/06 (#3)
These gals have nothing to do with Randy, but I like to have a photo at the top of each post as often as possible. So here is a part of my Barbie collection. The 4 on the left are a Fashion Queen and 3 vintage "bubblecuts" from the early 1960's, in original outfits. These girls are barefoot because vintage shoes are rather fragile and (gasp!) vintage Barbie's feet are way too big for today's Barbie shoes. The blonde wearing lime green on the far right is a mod-era doll wearing a contemporary outfit in the mod spirit. Her smaller feet fit into those white disco boots. Now then, on to business. Received an email from Randy this afternoon, although it was written yesterday [Monday]. He says, "At last. Email is working! Or at least I can type something, which is a good sign.
"We're currently (4 p.m. [Monday, May 1]) passing near Catalina Island. But can't see it due to low clouds. Windy and rough and rather cold yesterday, but calm seas and not much wind this far south. We'll be moving into Mexican waters around midnight, and should see increasingly balmy days.
"Lots of running around today getting classrooms straightened out, trying to find a computer projecter (since they moved us out of the room with a built-in projector), etc. And wouldn't you know it, the Instructional Technology guy seems to be the only person on the ship who was seasick yesterday [Sunday; 1st day of cruise]. Hence the delays in everything.
"Anyway, got to run the projector over to Lee Parker [another Cal Poly professor on the ship]. I just noticed that the email was up as I went by the computer room, so I wanted to get a message out to you right away.
"Hope all is well. Love you! My regards to the kitties." R.
Monday, May 01, 2006
The Garage, The Doors and The Pissing Cat
I don't know what happened to me this morning. I went out to the garage and was struck by a bolt of lightening. Today was clearly and unmistakably the appointed, annointed day to clean and reorganize my stained glass and mosaic workspace in the garage. This was no small task. Up until this past weekend, the entire space was hidden by a wall of storage boxes and a half ton of other crap. Even worse, I knew that Spike O. Reilly, aka The Pissing Cat (whom you met an in earlier post) had been making visits to the area. Boy had he ever! It was an all-day and all-night job to clean and reorganize the area. I had to wash every single piece of glass. Some wonderful new plastic sweater boxes will keep the glass safe and pee-free. I am in awe of the power of cat pee. There must be some good industrial use to which this stuff could be put. I wish Randy were able to see this photo because having this work space cleaned up is part of me getting my life back. Darn, it feels good.
Now here's some really exciting news: the doors are here! The doors are here! Actually, they arrived Friday morning. Very early Friday morning. Of course, nothing is ever easy when it comes to remodels. The doors and casings are here, but the hardware isn't. Was supposed to arrive today. Apparently didn't since I didn't get a call from the Door Guy. I was too busy to worry much about it. Actually, I was too busy to worry about it at all.
Now in case you don't believe me about what a big deal it is to have my glass/mosaic space back again-- In case you think I've exaggerated about the previous condition of that side of the garage-- Check out this photo of the other side of the garage. And consider the fact that at least half the crap that used to be there is now either in the local landfill or the local thrift shop. And there's still a mountain to move. Oh yes, the pair with the matching Deer in the Headlights expressions are (left to right) Maizie Jane Valentine and Theodore Edward (aka Teddy or Teddy Damit), brother to Shasta Sue Latte.No, I haven't heard a peep from Randy yet. The Captain just posted an entry on the California Maritime Academy's web site. He says they're still having email problems, but hope to have them resolved tomorrow (Tuesday).
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