End of 2011

Amateur Night!

Tonight, those who never partake will be out in force at parties everywhere. So don't drive. Your chances for a mishap are higher than normal and it is not worth it. Let the dummies get together on their own, ok? Let us also try not to imbibe too freely, there is plenty to go around and we can do this over a long stretch of time.

I hear that the AAA will be towing people home for no charge. But supplies are limited! Plan accordingly.

2011 was a decent year for us here at the Barco Sin Vela. A new job was acquired with the appropriate bump in pay, one of us has disengaged from society, and overall our health is good. We would ask for continued good luck for next year, since no one knows what kind of challenges await us.

//Rant On:  I'm hoping that our Country gets it's act together, that's for sure. I grow weary of the Media, who act as Willing Lap Dogs of our President and who are making every Republican Candidate look dumber than our current Vice President!  Then again, it's easy to see why quality Candidates are unwilling to put their families through the cruel wringer of microscopic study. Only a true egotistical jerk would do that to their loved ones. So that's what we get as candidates for public office...

We need to kick every incumbent out of Con-Gress (Both Sides!) since they have not been doing their jobs in representing the people. It's about time we have regular people who know how to balance their own checkbooks controlling the National Purse! It is inexcusable that the last Con-Gress (2009-2010) did not make a budget for 2011 and punted the fiscal ball. This stunt was to make the current Congress look as foolish as possible for the 2012 election. Throw. The. Bums. Out. The House of Representatives was not meant to be a lifetime sinecure for Our Betters.

But back to the close at home stuff. Anybody can have an opinion; Opinions are like anterior orifices: We all have one.

Rant Off!//

I will try to accomplish every one of my goals that I started on in the last couple months. The Boat Captain test is happening in the early part of February, so I have that to look forward to and a bit more of study, too. Also we have an attic that needs clearing and re-insulated. I have a number of boat items out back that need to be sold/traded and a refrigerator needs to be installed onboard Barco. There is much to do!

The ugly word must be mentioned; Varnish. Varnish will need to be applied to wood surfaces on the boat, too. I really don't like to do that kind of stuff but since I am unemployed I shall have to person-up and perform. Responsibilities, and all that goes with my-good-deal!

2012 will be tomorrow, we have much to do and only 365 days to do it in!

I promise to do more boating and to report on such activities. There are many out there who cannot, so it is up to the Barco Crew to again be at the pointy end and do.

Please, everyone; Take good care of your health and be here for the next New Years Eve!

Cat Calming

At the Barco Sin Vela, we know that our main mission is the care and support of Them. We humans are staff for the kittehs and they know it. During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we discovered inadvertently, a method of keeping Them happy and out from underfoot.

The new method is called "Cat Calming".

Normally, a kitteh is either in a state of complete rest or in motion. Motion consists of running back and forth at break neck speeds, begging for food or attention, or hunting.

Rest is usually in a lap or bed, anyplace will do.

Here is a display of Mao, our Big Boy Cat.

Him begins to get a bit dozey

Fighting to stay awake

Gives in to natural instincts

Now, the problem is that Cats may decide they want to be following us around the house. Especially into closed off rooms or escaping outside. Other times, we may just need them out from under our feet as we perform household tasks.

Cat Calming is material condition set when a warm towel is placed on a bed. When the announcement comes over the Ships 1MC, 'Now set Material Condition: Cat Calming'.

I place some towels into the dryer, set on very warm. Run the dryer for about five minutes and reach in, pull out towels and let the door slam.

Upon hearing the door slam, Them will usually make way for the bedroom at great speeds while communicating their displeasure at me. They know that I'm gonna pull a fast one on them, but they want the warm towel, firstly. 

Spreading the towels in a visually pleasing manner, I get out of the way for the final act of setting the Cat Calming Condition.

Results:

In place, ready for the next step...

Cat Calming is now in effect. Continue Ship's Work.

Now I can get stuff done. I have laundry drying, cleaned out the cat bathroom and washed down the kitchen. Now I am free for just doing whatever. Without interruption!

Coming up; There will be a celebratory Wine Dinner for the New Years Eve at the Yacht Club. I have my tux ready and She Who Will Be Obeyed has a new formal dress for the occasion. It seems like we were just doing this a couple of months ago. The years certainly do get shorter...

Have a great evening!

Wednesday: Keeping an eye on important stuff.

Saw this video a few minutes ago, very nice song and even better imagery.

Off to the gym in a minute, then I have an appointment at Mom's with the garage door repair dude at 1130.

I'd rather be sailing in the warm trade winds... But until then we have the memories!

Boxing Day report

I have been accomplishing, today.

Up at 0600 with a fresh X-Mas hangover,  I prepared Bacon sammiches for the Spouse and myself along with coffee. Actually, I cooked bacon for the complaining cats and was able to save enough leftovers for a wee sammich for the two humans.

I bashed about on the radio controller, took it apart and restored it with no appreciable change. I will contact a twelve year old, tomorrow. Expert help shall be required before I destroy my model helo.

We got this from here.

Eleven o'clock, I was underway for the Mom's house. She has some issues with the garage door and her back fence. Nothing was done with the door, way out of my minimal skill set. So I went into the back yard and dug two post holes, placed fence posts in said holes and repaired fence. The fence no longer resides in a 45 degree angle but is in the upright position. I nailed the fence to the new posts using metal plates. Not too professional of a job but it would be proudly displayed in Nigeria or Kenya. This was the first time I had ever used a post hole digger or repaired a fence.

Woo.

Even Mom had a diagonal scrunch in her face as she inspected my work from the house.  'Free' is a nebulous term and my work was worth exactly what she paid. Hope it works for a while!

There are grand leftover foods for us to sup on later; Have a nice Boxing Day!

Happy Christmas, and all of that.

The big day is here!  We were on Skype last night for an hour or so. It was nice to watch some relatives get together and do the presents thing, it was as if we were there, too!

Then we turned off the Skype, finished the champagne and hit the rack in a peacefully quiet house. I like technology! Keeps us away from the crowds.

Speaking of technology; I now have an RC Helicopter, a Hughes 300 model which is huge! My problem is that I am afraid to fly it because the instructions are literally in Chinese, and some technician merely used google translate from the original Mandarin to engrish and now the destructions are unreadable. Inscrutable, even. The other problem is that our other computer is a PC and it has Vista. The CD that came with the model is not supported by Vista, but can be used on machines with XP/ME/Windows 98.

WTF?

But the Chinese masters do not use Mac. So my problem is trying to get the radio control unit calibrated so that I might be able to fly the helicopter and not move the wrong lever and smash our expensive model to pieces.

Peking duck is hanging in the breeze out back, drying for the past twelve hours in the gym under a fan. Around Noon I will cook said duck over charcoal and serve for Christmas Dinner. It's a tradition for us to have Peking Duck. I suppose it is from watching that great film, "A Christmas Story", where the family has to eat at a Chinese Restaurant. But first, Mimosas and smoked salmon...

Fa, rah rah, ruh rah, rah rah...

I'm hoping that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day, and that we all have a most pleasant New Year.

Oh Noes! Kim Jong Il is a parrot!

I don't know what to say... This is such a terrible bit of news; Apparently, the Great Reader of the Nork Land is no longer just ill.

He's resting. Gone to meet his maker, bereft of life... well, you know the rest. (bad pun!)



What will Jihad Gene do? It's gonna be a tough go for those guys, for sure.

Saturday; Baking Day

I type this with the big Boy Cat pacing on my lap. Him wants something (To Go Outside) but it ain't happening. So he leans on my arms hoping for pets or just to slow my action down.

It is always something with Siamese Cats. Them require staff to perform tasks. Now.

Reveille was held at 0555, Them wanted food and it was so. Now, preparations will be made to start the baking marathon that always happens, just about this time of year. Russian Tea Cakes (Little dry flour, butter and powdered sugar balls, which require coffee for safe consumption), Snickerdoodles (cinnamon sugar cookies made from a recipe in that Better Homes New Cookbook binder that was published 40 years ago), Oatmeal Cookies with dried cranberries (Oh, yes... they are the new favorites!) and of course the flat white cookies shaped like Christmas with colored sugar. I'm sure the last ones have the least calorie content.

But Christmas isn't about calorie counting, is it?

No, Christmas is about rude shoppers at the Navy Exchange and Commissary, pushing zombie-like as they zero in on that one object to your right and they shove you aside in haste to grab it. Parking lot kamikaze's with cell phones driving their family vans aimlessly in search of the last parking spot. The endless ringing bell of the homeless guy standing in front of Publix, with that Salvation Army Bucket gleaming accusingly at me as I try to slip by, hoping to be ignored.

I'd rather write a check. Anonymous cash in a bucket may not make it to the good folks in need. Am I too cynical? Yes. Relax Francis...

I'm not trying to sound like a Dr Seuss character, but I really dislike the seeming hypocrisy of people wanting to make large purchases, and thus show love and affection for their families. All to the exclusion of good manners, while trying to run me off the road. Harrumph.

We shall endeavor to persevere, as Chief Dan George said many years ago. That, and enjoy the cookies and hope that next year is as good as the past bunch have been for SWWBO and myself. My large girth being evidence of such good living.

The good news is that temperatures are holding in the 70's around here, I love warm weather in December. Makes me feel somewhat smart for living in Florida. Maybe I should go see what the boat is up to at the dock.

Have a great weekend, and may all your cookies be tender and sweet, and coffee hot!