Monday, April 30, 2012

Twas A Good Weekend

It was a good weekend. Friday we had guests over for dinner and made some nice steaks on the grill. Saturday it rained hard all day and we REALLY needed it. Sunday was nice and we went to the beach and snorkeling. Below are pictures from the weekend. Please click the pics to enlarge.
Our Cat Clan is growing, Now we have 7, or 8. Above are 3 yellow cats. LT on the left, Goldie in the center and a new cat, very shy. Not sure we want him/her..... Looks pretty healthy and may live somewhere else too.

Coralhead reflection
Brown Sea Turtle.

Spottless Spotted Eagle Ray

Needle Fish

Study of a Seagrass Bed

It's early Monday morning. I woke up at 2. I notice that on a lot of mobile devices, blogger shows up with a white background instead of my default black background. This sometimes makes the colored text difficult to see. This is a problem. I like the colored text. I was wondering, if anyone reads this far, how many people see the black background and how many are using a mobile device and see a white background?

Friday, April 27, 2012

Books From When I Was A Kid

I'm here this morning, with my insomnia kicked it full blast. Earlier, I was surfing the net, looking for old books I read as a kid. I found my top two picks. 

The first one, Andrew the Big Deal, is a very funny book about a kid (Andrew) growing up with his family. Did I mention it is very funny? I took it to school, and gave it to the teacher to read to the class. I remember I thought she was kind of skeptical when I gave it to her, but the next day she told me how good it was and that she read the whole book and couldn't put it down. She read it to our whole class, I think it was Third or Fourth  Grade.
One of the funniest parts I remember is that Andrew dug a hole in the yard as a trap for Santa Clause. His Dad stepped in the hole and twisted his ankle. Andrew said something like "Good thing I had it all figured out that Santa was a midget, or I would have dug a hole big enough for Dad to twist his neck". Or something like that.

The second book I looked up was about a boy in Saskatchewan Canada, who adopted a teeny tiny baby owl. The book is called "Owls In The Family" The owl grows up and the boy teaches it to fly and everything.
I remember when the family was at the dinner table and the owl lands on the windowsill with a dead, stinky skunk in his talons. He just wanted to eat dinner with the family, or brought them an additional main course! 
I remember I thought it was cool to think there were kids in Saskatchewan, like me, who might get an owl. We had frogs and turtles in my area. I remember looking up Saskatchewan in the Atlas and in the encyclopedia. This was before the internet, ya know. 
Now, amazingly, my Sister In Law is from Saskatchewan!

There's other books I can/can't remember. I remember a book I read in grade school with a blue cover that had a New England style house on the front. The house had a lookout platform/deck on the top. The book was about ghosts I think. I remember the cover, and that I liked it, but can't remember much else. I'd know it if I saw it though.

Another book I read in my much older years was supposedly written by an insane person. I can't remember anything about it except thinking that it was fantastic. "How could anybody think to write this?" One part I remember was the guy would never date women with fancy fingernails. And he had many many many good reasons why. As I was reading this, I was thinking "Dang, this is true." To me that book was impossible to write unless the author was really insane. It was an incredible read! 
I have no idea who wrote it or the title. I think I was in High School or the Navy when I read that book. 


I guess I've always been a reader. Years ago somebody told me I describe books I read like someone describing a movie. I guess that made me feel pretty good. Usually, the book is better than the movie, but sometimes the move makes me go read the book..

Anyway, that's it for today. It's Friday, and like always, I hope you have a good weekend. Here it looks like it might be cloudy and rainy all weekend. I want to go diving and I don' t like diving when it's rainy!!! I guess I'm afraid to get wet!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Father Wiretaps Son.

I found this on the news this morning. A father put a recording device on autistic his son to find  out what was going on at school. He was shocked to find the teaching staff was bullying his son.

Despite the audio tape proof of bullying, the teacher and one aide did not get fired (one aide did get fired), but were moved to another classroom. Stuart Chaifetz, the father, made this video and has started a petition to make sure that teachers who bully children will be fired from their jobs. You can read the petition and sign it here

I got this article from Here and Here.

I think jail time in addition to firing is more appropriate. The prison guards should have special instructions to taunt these inmates.

This article truly makes me angry.

When I was a kid in school, especially the earlier years, I had a hard time with some of my teachers. The difference between the case above and me is that it was always the teachers and my parents against me. I was expected to conform to any conditions. I remember especially a sixth grade math teacher....


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Underwater Boxing

This is cool. A minute three seconds. Girls boxing underwater. You can find more on YouTube. One of those "why didn't I think of that?" things. Its neat the way the girls can go flying out of the ring when they get punched. I am sure the whole thing is more for show than for GO!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Still Not Lovin It.

I have complied with Bloggers every request. I have switched to Chrome. I don't like Chrome, mainly because there's no menu bar. Bloggers new interface makes the menu bar more necessary. For example, try this: While editing a post, select an image to move by cutting and pasting. When you right click to select "cut" the image deselects, and you can't cut... Need that menu bar.
If you look at my recent posts, you'll see huge spaces between paragraphs that I can't get rid of. They're not in the editor.
The menu bar is essential, especially with Google Chrome and the new Blogger interface combined.

Yesterday I showed a "reading list" button (that didn't work) that was supposed to go to the blogs I'm following. Today I can't find that button anymore. Apparently, now I can't access the Blogs I'm following from the Blogger control panel! That is just STUPID!!! I suppose I have to exit Blogger completely to see my blog reading list using Google Reader.  I'm trying to think of ANYTHING better about the new interface, but can't. The new font colors maybe??? Nah.
However, I'm done complaining about it.

I walk the dogs and come back with pictures of cats! How does that work? Here's some pics from our walk this morning.
Six cats following us.
Lee and Goldie
The Catpile
Al Bina 

Monday, April 23, 2012

No Idea

What do you call an Odocoileus that is blind?

No eye deer!

What do you call a blind Odocoileus with no legs?

Still no eye deer!

What do you call a no legged blind Odocoileus that has been spayed or neutered?

Still no fucking eye deer!

Sorry, I know that's not funny at all, but I have No Idea what I'm going to post about today.


It's Monday, the weather is weird. The wind was straight from the south blowing hard and now it's swung around and is coming from the north. It's like winter.

Still struggling with the new blogger interface. I keep getting pop ups to re-log in, and it's a major hassle. Plus there are the "Secret Buttons" that you need use, even to leave a comment on someone else's blog.


 Plus I can't even find the list of blogs I follow anymore... The "reading list" button doesn't do anything.

I can't add text after an image unless I switch to HTML mode, because I can't get to the bottom of the page. I really don't like this new dashboard. It seems like it has too too too many problems to be released to the public yet.
You can't even complain, the complaint section is designed so you can't communicate. I can't believe this is so bad. I compare it to paying someone to paint your house, one specific color. You come home and find it sloppily painted, all different colors, and none of the colors are the color you specified. If I turned work like this I'd be fired, any job I've ever had.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Good Bye 1990 Toyota Landcruiser

Good Bye to my 1990 Toyota Landcruiser. Today I drove it to the junkyard. It had been sitting undriven for a couple of years and I tried to sell it but nobody wanted it. So this morning I hooked up the battery charger for a few hours (unnecessary), then this afternoon I started her up and drove to the junkyard. Then I took the license plates off and turned them in to the Motor Vehicle place and that was it, end of an era. In Cayman, the license plates stay with the vehicle for the entire life of the vehicle.
Getting ready to start her up.
Looking in the drivers door.
My old dashboard. 
(I carefully took the stereo out but left the adapter in case someone ever puts one back in)
Stopped at the corner because I forgot my camera
Final walkaround on the road.
By Beloved Vehicle in the junkyard as I sadly walked home. 
It's right on the corner so I will see it every time I drive by. 
Painfully.
These two license plates probably haven't seen each other since 1990, before one was placed on the front of the vehicle and the other on the back.
I love that vehicle, it is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. She never let me down, ever. She kept running till through anything and everything. She stood outside during Hurricane Ivan with no damage, except the automatic locks never worked again. Even before I bought her I always wanted one. The coolest looking vehicle ever made, I think.
I feel much like I felt when my first ship got decommissioned when I was in the Navy. But worse. I will never forget my Toyota Landcruiser. I am sure there will ever be another car I love as much.

 The Landcruiser and me in 2001 at the beach.

A Good Feel

This morning HAD a good feel to it, kind of like a holiday smell. Swimming pool and suntan lotion.

Then I came here and found the new Blogger. Why is it so plain? You can't edit your post while uplaoding anymore, you have to sit there and wait. Why do the developers lately seem to make things inferior to the old way?
My insomnia has been kicking big time, night before last I got up at 2:30 and was up till 5. Above is a picture of the sun coming up when I went to bed. Then I slept an hour. Maybe two. Last night wasn't so bad, I got up once for a few minutes. But I woke up with a bad headache. One of the things about the insomnia is that the bed seems so uncomfortable, and the pillow actually causes pain. I can't explain it, it's the insomnia, not the bed.

But I ain't complaining. I have a good feeling about today, and this weekend.

I don't know about this new blogger setup. I might move to Wordpress, or Tumblr. I think Blogger is trying to copy Wordpress, because that's what this looks like, now that you mention it....

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Throw the king in jail

Throw the king of Spain in a jail cell with the dead elephant he killed. He can gnaw raw elephant till it's all gone or the king is dead. I'm not concerned with meat spoilage issues. Just the king and the elephant in a 6 X 9 foot concrete cell. forever.
He's too much of an idiot to be a king
Photo above and text below from HERE

Murdering animals for pleasure is not a new hobby to Don Juan Carlos. The 74-year old monarch has 50 years of experience (almost his entire adult life) hunting elephants, bears, wolves, leopards… you name it. According to The Guardian, he paid 7.000 Euros in 2004 to shoot a European bison —one of the world’s most endangered species (approximately 1.600 left)— during a trip to Poland.

And the rest of his hunting deeds could easily fill up a second or third memoir. I’d suggest “How to Rule the Wilderness in Two Easy Steps” as a title.

Step 1: Buy it.

Step 2: Kill it.

Rann Safaris, the king’s hunting ally in Botswana, has deactivated today both its website and the Facebook page, where several photographs of the king’s hunting adventure with the company had previously been posted.

But the shocking video of their bloody trails is still spreading around the internet, like a dark shadow of what man—with money, a gun and no compassion—can do to nature, animals and, ultimately, to himself.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

black socks

Last night I dreamed I was looking for black socks. All night, I was looking all over for black socks. Finally, about time to wake up, I remembered I had half a dozen pairs in my drawer that I never wear.
This is one of those days where I had something I was planning on posting about but can't remember now. Kind of like when you have a list of movies you want to see and can't remember a single one when you go into the movie rental place.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Big Circle

I have Firefox 3.52. This morning I upgraded to 3.69. I won't go to 4 or higher, and I will move 0n to a new browser when necessary. Probably chrome.
SO, I upgraded to 3.69, and then every time I opened this blog page the browser would crash. I saw that the favorite Firefox was 2.01, so I tried that, then it crashed after a few seconds on any page. So I'm back to 3.52 again, which seems fine, just like before I started.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Hammerfest Norway

Hammerfest near and far, on Google Earth
I've always had a love for maps. I've always owned and carried Atlases. I can spend hours looking at maps. I love Google Earth, I think it's the best thing since sliced bread. The only way to improve it is to increase the resolution, and make it live! So that I can read over your shoulder. Neither is feasible but Wouldn't it be cool?

Years ago I found Hammerfest Norway in an atlas. My first thought was "What a cool name"! A hammering good party! My second thought was "What a cool location" way up there at the top of Norway. I wonder what kind of people live there.
Later I found that Hammer in Norse means Anchor, and Fest in Norse means Rest. I still think the location is cool.

Hammerfest is north of the Arctic Circle. In the above chart, The hours of the day are listed on the right, the months are on the bottom. When it's all yellow, it's light in Hammerfest 24 hours a day.

Current weather in
Hammerfest:
The picture below is called Reflections of Hammerfest by Rainer Schuetz.
I'd like to visit someday, probably in the summer. But I don't think it's really vacation destination. It would be better to go for work for a month or two. Or maybe a year, I think it would be interesting to experience the days of light and the days of darkness at least once in ones life.
Well, this is my post about Hammerfest, My only connection with Hammerfest is that I found it on the map a long time ago and never forgot it. I keep going back to look at it on the map. I read about it. I hope someday I get a comment: "Hey! I'm in Hammerfest, and I'm reading your blog".

Friday, April 13, 2012

Tank Recon 3D on the new phone

I found one game I really like for my still new new Samsung Galaxy S II. It's called Tank Recon 3D. There's a free version and a full version that has more levels. I chunked down the $4.99 US and got the full version after playing the free version for a week or so. I tell ya, it's good, it's really good! Before I found this game I was getting PO'd because I couldn't find any games I liked.
Its really fun but I am not very good yet.
Below is a one minute forty-two second video from YouTube that shows a sample of the game play. Watch it! You'll like it! (The videos music isn't part of the game, but the game has a feature so that you can load a playlist and play your music with the game!)

It's available for iOS, Android, WP7 and BlackBerry.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! It's FRIDAY!!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Possible Career Change?

I remember hearing on the BBC at night several years ago about a man whose job it was to taste dog food and determine of dogs would like it.
The other day The Wife got some dog biscuits that look and smell like those Goldfish Crackers
I ate one. They're good... Now what? The problem is how to stop me from eating them all!! Maybe I can get a new ultra-high paying job!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

UWPW: Under Water Pictures Wednesday

These are some pictures from day before yesterday. I hope you like them.
Pink Vase Sponge. I turned the flash on for this shot.

Juvenile Spotted Drum barely bigger than your thumbnail. The other two little clear fish are very common, like flies on a horse farm. I don't know what they are called.

This yellow and purple dude lives under ledges. I've been trying to get a really good shot of one, this ain't it

Last time I posted a picture of one of these, I said I used to know what they are called but forgot. Someone commented and told me the species, but I forgot again. Fiddler Crab?

Garden Eels. These look out of their sand houses at you, and as you get closer they slowly back down into their holes.

A.Yellow.Fish.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

New Cat

This is LT, he is being assimilated into our cat clan. We call him LT because he has a Long Tail. He is very friendly and likes to be petted, held and scratched. The other cats don't really like him yet but I can tell he's trying to fit in. He sniffs somebody and they snarl at him, then he'll lay down and be passive. I really think he is trying to fit in. I hope the other cats accept him.
Today is Tuesday on the calendar, but in the brain it's Monday. Yesterday was a holiday here. So was Friday, big four day weekend. Went diving yesterday, pictures probably tomorrow.

Monday, April 09, 2012

blank window

I sat here yesterday with this blank window open for a very long time yesterday, and now I'm sitting here again with it open. What occupies my mind I don't want to post.

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Passover Seder

Last night the Wife and I went to a Seder. It was the first I had been to since moving to this island.
I grew up mostly in a small town in Missouri. I was the only Jewish kid in my school. On weekends, we would drive an hour to the town that had a synagogue. All the kids there were friends and didn't know me, and to make a long story short, I always felt like an outsider. Everywhere. At school, being the only Jewish kid and with other Jewish kids, because they were all friends. Plus, with my father, no holiday was fun, always following Jewish laws and never doing good enough. So last night I was reluctant to go. But once we got there, I was very eager to pay attention and absorb the happenings.
The problem was, to me, that there were so many unruly kids, I couldn't hear and the whole thing seemed disorganized. There were kids running around and lots of noise, and the Rabbi had a not so powerful voice.
A Seder is a story about the Hebrews being freed from slavery and leaving Egypt. You sit at the table, and go through a small book called a Hagaddah and tell the tale. Also you drink Four glasses of wine (or grape juice in my case) throughout the meal. About 2/3 of the way through the main meal is served, and after that is the closing and the last two glasses of wine. Four Glasses of wine. Very Important. After dinner, they seemed to just blow off the rest of the service and the last two glasses of wine, and got it over with. I thought it was very disorganized, but I wonder, am I just from a strict environment?
I'm not complaining, I am glad I went, and was surprised at my interest after I got there. I don't have enough expertise to know a good Seder from a bad one, I just wanted the whole thing like I remembered as a kid.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

No Post Yesterday

I didn't post yesterday, I got up and went to work straightaway. In the afternoon, The Wife and a visiting high school friend of hers (and her boyfriend) went diving. Here's some pictures. I'm diving again today.
Moray Eel

Chain Link Eel

When's the wedding?

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

why bother?

Well I don' t know what to post about today.
Didn't sleep worth a dang.
Bad mood.
Wife gone to the gym.

Gotta take Sheba the itcher to the vet again.
Pick up my prescription.
Pay some bills
Everybody easily guessed my "what is it?" picture yesterday.
Coffee is my only friend...
I shouldn't even bother posting this.