Mothership Service

Click on the small thumbnail at the left for a panoramic view of the service area. This was taken from just in front of our RV while it was being worked on. This facility is only a couple of weeks old.


We arose early, fixed breakfast and dressed to be ready for the service call. Sure enough, a little after 8 am central time, a polite young man showed up and asked us to report to service bay 29 as soon as possible even offering to drive our coach over to the service area.

The service facility is impressive with about 40 service bays. Everyone is very nice and as soon as we pulled into Bay 29 the young man met us and reviewed our list of service requests. At the same time they plugged our main electricity in and we remain in the coach with all services such as AC and lights running. So far we are very impressed with the enthusiasm and skill of the workers here. We now understand why people travel here to have work done on their coaches. If we are in this area again and need maintenance done we will surely call on the Tiffin folks to do it for us.






The only difficult repair is the main slideout. It had started binding on us as it extended so we added it to the list of things to be done. After a few attempts at adjustment they guys said that we would have to bring it back on Monday for more work.


They are going to have to actually remove the slide out box and repair the rollers. These guys are the experts so we will stay in Red Bay for the weekend and be back in the service area on Monday first thing. We could never get this kind of expertise on this particular coach without coming to the factory.

Mothership Land

The rhythm of the road is kicking in. We left Atlanta and headed west on Interstate 20 towards Birmingham. First stop was a Flying J Truck Stop for refuleling. These stops are great. Even though setup for truckers they have a set of pumps for cars and RVs. We noticedd that the price of gas is a bit cheaper there than other locations. For me, their wireless internet access is frosting on the cake. This Flying J was just across the Alabama border traveling from Atlanta towards Birmingham.

I-20 was our path through the Taledega National Forest. A paved trail through very dense forest growth. A thousand Bigfoots, (Bigfeet?), could live in there and no one would ever see them. Thank goodness none of them ran across the road in front of us.

Passing through Birmingham we could see the industrial heritage of this city. We could see huge plants that must have been for steelmaking or fabrication. The names of the surrounding towns reflected the history of the area. Names like Bessemer and Carbon Hill.

Just west of Birmingham we turned north and started our final leg towards Red Bay, the birthplace of The Mothership. The countryside is very beautiful in this area with green rolling hills. Turning for final approach to Red Bay we changed to a small county road and arrived in Red Bay about 3pm Central Time just as the afternoon thunderstorms began. Bob was in the campground office checking in when a bolt of lightning hit nearby. Everyone in the office gasped and almost dove for cover. It was like a direct hit from heavy artillery. Barbara who was waiting in the Mothership said she almost had a heart attack it was so loud.

We were assigned a campsite and a service number and settled in for the night. Full hookups and 50 amp power. My kind of place. Best of all it is only $10 a night. The down side is that there is no internet available. There is a phone line in the office and we may take advantage of that in the morning. We turned in early expecting to be called early for service. Conversations with people around us revealed that the work load is light this time of year and we should expect to be called right away.

Storms and Traffic

What started out as a routine travel day ended a bit stressfully. After a normal departure and smooth traveling we approached Atlanta from the south only to encounter strong thunderstorms and rain. The rain can only be described as torrential. We decided that rather than fight the rain we should settle in for the night. This was about 4:30 pm. We saw a campground sign on the interstate and decided to go for it. Following the sparse directions on the signs we ended up on a back road that was not even paved where we asked a guy if there was a campground in the area. He said, "No." We asked if the road was passible and he said, "Yes, the section that is unpaved is very short and it leads to a shopping mall." He was right but once we got to the mall we really got turned around and it took us a while to get back to the interstate.

As we approached Atlanta the traffic got heavier and heavier. Since we were approaching the big city from the south we took the beltway around to the west and ran into the worst traffic gridlock we have ever seen. We crawled for an hour or so only to arrive at our exit to find it was blocked off due to an accident. Fortunately the GPS software was able to reroute us to I-20 west but once there we started checking for campgrounds only to find hardly any on that side of Atlanta. We pulled into a parking lot and did a broader search and found a nice campground up at Marietta, Ga. The mapping software routed us to it and showed it was only 13.2 miles away. We started out for it while calling on the cell phone to hold a campsite. By now it was late in the day for us, around 7 pm and they had one site left which they held for us. This campground is nice because it has free wireless internet.

The down side is that things are a bit soggy after all the rain. Our car looks like it is the color of red clay since that covers everything in this part of the country. Click here for the web site of the campground. I took some photos of the gridlock traffic with my cell phone. I'll add them to the post later. Anyway, we are settled in for the night and hope to make Red Bay, Al tomorrow. 250 miles to go.

Bye Bye Florida

FINALLY crossed the Florida/Georgia state line. We are at a refueling stop at a Flying J Truck Stop. It is a cool place to stop because they have high speed wireless internet. We stopped for lunch after refueling and hope to get past the Atlanta Metro Area today. That's it for now from the Flying J.

Rhythm of the Road

The first day always seems to be the hardest. Getting an RV on the road is like getting a ship underway. The crew is rusty and it takes a while to get things in the right place and to get in synch with the rhythm of travel. When on the road each day has a definite cadence. Today will be better and tomorrow even better as far as that goes.

We both slept extremely well last night. I think it is something about breaking that connection to routine duties and patterns at home. On the road each day is different and holds new adventures. We enjoy seeing new sights and meeting new people.

Today we hope to get past Atlanta and have that major metropolitan area behind us. Neither of us enjoys the congestion and traffic so it will feel good to take that south bypass and the big turn to the west.

The Mothership Has Landed

It sure takes a long time to get out of Florida. We passed Orlando and got into the rolling hills of the Clermont area and started seeing dark clouds and lightning ahead. Pulled into a rest stop on I-75 and studied our maps and GPS display and decided it was time to begin looking for a place to park for the night. We passed a KOA Campground in Ocala, Fl and started looking for signs on the Interstate indicating "Camping." Here in Ocala we saw one for the Ocala RV Ranch and that is where we are for the night. It is nice with good paved roads and 50 amp hookups. So, here we are spending the first night on the road still in Florida. Oh well, it is a long state and we got a late start. It has been a while since we have been on the road so it took us a lot longer than we had planned to round up all of those little last minute items like CDs, keys, glasses, medicines, etc. So, here we are at 5:46 pm in a really nice place with wireless internet, all hooked up for the night and a nice gentle rain is making those sleepy sounds on the roof. What a great way to travel and what a great life. I am sure the rest of the trips will hold many adventures but for now this is quite nice and pleasant. Click here for the campground web site.


Here is a screenshot of the GPS display after we parked.

Lunch Break

We are at the Fort Drum rest area on the Florida Turnpike taking a break for a sandwich. Got a late start this morning. More about that later. Feels good to be "On the Road Again."

Final Preparations

It is 6:30 AM and I am starting to shut down computers and other systems such as our Tivos. I have two doors to shutter but one of them must be left until the last minute. Today is the day. Some last minute packing to be done and then we are off for our adventure. I am really excited about getting started after one delay due to Hurricane Dennis. Of course, we must keep an eye on Tropical Storm Emily that is cranking up out there and following a similar path to Dennis. If she follows her big brother up towards Alabama we will just bail out and head on north. Gotta go. Things to do. See you on the road.

Departure Update

We will be leaving tomorrow. Dennis has been downgraded to a tropical depression and is moving out of northern Alabama, our first destination.

A new storm is brewing down in the Carribean and will likely be somewhere near the US by this coming weekend. That gives us a window of departure that we are going to take advantage of by leaving tomorrow.

We will have our laptop and satellite tv while on the road and will be watching the new storm so that we can stay out of its way. The new one will be called Emily.

I am anxious to turn this back into a travel Blog instead of a weather Blog.

Here is an interesting radar loop of Dennis making land fall. Click here to view it.

The Wunderground site is my favorite site for tracking storms. Clikc here for the latest info on the new storm brewing in the Carribean as well as Dennis.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Calmer Weather

The weather here in West Palm Beach has calmed down to more of a normal state. We are worried about my uncle Bill who lives in Fort Walton Beach. None of us have heard from him yet. We do know that he is equipped with one of those big automatic generators that turns on when the power goes out.

As far as our trip goes, we will wait one more day. We plan on calling the RV plant up in Red Bay, Al to determine the extent of their damages. The forecast for that area calls for possible tornadoes and very heavy rains. No need to drive into an area until they have fully recovered. We figure it will take us 2 - 3 days to get there so if we leave early on Tuesday morning it should all work out about right. That will also give us time to double check our provisioning and packing. Stay tuned. We will be underway soon.

A Second Power Outage

We had another power outage during the night when another spiral band from Dennis came through. I didn't get to my main computer in time to shut it down but Barbara's was still running on the battery in the UPS so I shut it down more gracefully. The rain and wind woke me up but I don't remember the time. I am guessing it was around 2am though which would coincide with this special weather statement that came in while we were sleeping.

At 2 am EDT...Doppler radar indicated bands of heavy showers
affecting Palm Beach County. The activity was most concentrated
across northern and eastern sections of the County. The heaviest
showers will affect areas between Royal Palm Beach and caloosa.
Gusty winds to 50 mph and torrential rainfall will accompany the
heavier showers across these areas. Mainly light showers will affect
the coast...but even these light showers could contain gusty winds
to 40 mph.

Rain Bands

Here's a shot of the rain and wind as one of the feeder bands swept through the West Palm Beach area.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Google Earth

This image shows a weather satellite image overlain on Google Earth along with the projected path of the storm. Google Earth is an incredibly powerful geographic display tool. If you do not have it on your PC you MUST get it as soon as possible.


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Weather

Looks like my travel blog has turned into a weather blog. We just had a power outage but it is back on now. Bands of rain and wind continue to sweep through as the effects of Dennis are being felt here in West Palm Beach. Here is a snap of the weather radar from Miami grabbed from Wunderground.com


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Dennis

Bands of heavy rain are sweeping through our area. They are connected with the feeder bands for Dennis. We lost power about thirty minutes ago and I am posting this using my laptop connected through my cell phone. The forecast for Red Bay, Al does not look good. I think we made the right decision to stay put. Here is the forecast for them:

LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-LINCOLN-MADISON-MARSHALL-MOORE-MORGAN- 500 AM CDT SAT JUL 9 2005 ...IMPACTS FROM HURRICANE DENNIS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS TENNESSEE VALLEY SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY... HURRICANE DENNIS WILL APPROACH THE GULF COAST ON SUNDAY. DENNIS IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL SOMEWHERE ALONG THE ALABAMA GULF COAST OR WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK THEN MOVES DENNIS NORTHWEST ALONG THE ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI BORDER ON MONDAY MORNING AND INTO NORTH MISSISSIPPI BY BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE FIRST RAIN BANDS FROM DENNIS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE TENNESSEE VALLEY BY LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES NORTHWARD. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE RANGE OF ONE INCH ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TO UP TO THREE INCHES ACROSS CULLMAN COUNTY WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT. NORTHEAST ALABAMA MAY ALSO SEE HEAVIER RAINFALL DUE TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED DURING THE DAY MONDAY...WITH FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING BECOMING POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY NIGHT WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH EXPECTED. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY. STRONGER WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHEST TERRAIN OF NORTHEAST ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. AS WITH ALL LAND FALLING TROPICAL SYSTEMS...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY STILL EXISTS WITH THE EXACT TRACK OF HURRICANE DENNIS. ANY SHIFT TO THE PATH WILL RESULT IN VARYING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND RESULTANT WEATHER THREATS.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Definite Delay

Look at the model projections from the National Hurricane Center. Click on the small image at the left to make it larger. These projections along with the fact that Dennis is growing into a major hurricane and the forecast is for him to strengthen further, we are delaying the start of our trip. We think it prudent to give Dennis the right of way here. Since our first stop is in Red Bay, Alabama to visit the factory that built the Mothership this makes sense to us. We doubt that they would be working on our RV in the middle of a major hurricane. We don't like camping in hurricanes either. We decided to give it a day or so to make sure that it does not deviate drastically to the right. We would not like to be up in Northern Florida and then have it turn to the right.

Now we have time to review our check lists. Do some more detailed preparations. Bob also needs to rest from the two days of intense work he has done packing the RV, putting up hurricane shutters, and doing last minute yard work. Maybe this is a good thing to let us take deep breath and fine tune our preparations.


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Complications

Tropical Storm Dennis, soon to be a hurricane, looks like he also wants to go to Red Bay, Alabama. Hmmm, what to do? We sure do not want to arrive there and then have a hurricane hit. The discussion from the NHC is forecasting that Dennis will become a major hurricane and strike the central Gulf of Mexico. We may have to wait until he goes through. We can always start up that way and get within a couple of days drive and then see what happens. It is always interesting this time of year in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Continued Preparations

Well, we have two tropical storms brewing in the Carribean. One, Cindy,
appears to be headed for Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in
that area. The other, still tropical depression 4 I think, is also
forecast to head into the Gulf of Mexico. I have ten of the nineteen
windows in our house shuttered. Our plan, since we are in hurricane
season, is to have all of the shutters up when we leave. It looks like
the hurricane guessing game has already begun. This might be a good
time to head out of Florida. We are still looking at a Thursday
departure with Red Bay, Alabama our first goal.

--

Preparations Continue

We continue our preparations for the trip. Many people think it is just a matter of hopping in the RV and going when you feel like it. For a short trip this might be about right but for an extended one there are many things that have to be taken care of prior to departure. Prescription medications must be ordered, bills payed, laundry must be done, and then there is an entire category of things relating to the RV. It must be fueled with both gasoline, propane, and water. Tire pressures must be checked. Oil levels and engine fluids must be checked. We even took the car, the Escape Pod (PT Cruiser), in for servicing last week just to be sure it is up to speed. Also, all those little things from the last trip that should have been worked on while in port must be taken care of. A loose towel rack, installation of sun shades, various adjustments and tweaks; all of those must be done before departure. Finally, hurricane shutters must be put in place on the house just in case one of those bad boys blows through town. Now that we are retired doing these things is almost fun since it can be done a little at a time. The trip is really beginning to seem like a reality now. The last few days before departure are always a time of increased excitement, anticipation, and a bit of anxiety thrown in for good measure.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Travel Maps

I am going to maintain this blog as much as possible while we are on our vacation trip. Right now it looks as though next Thursday is our departure date. Our first goal is Red Bay, Alabama where we will get some repairs done on the motorhome. While on the road I plan on posting location maps like this one to let everyone know exactly where we are. You can click on the small map to the left to view a larger one or use this link to view the map in a version that will allow you to zoom in or out.

Vacation Preparation

We are planning a trip right after the Fourth of July holiday. There is a surge of vacationers on the road at that time and so we will delay our departure until they are done with their vacation thrashing. Our planning right now consists of a known stop in Red Bay, Alabama for some warranty repairs to the Mothership windshield. Other than that all I can say is that we have our Canada Inter Province Insurance Cards and all safety equipment required in Canada. We both have always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies and that is one of our goals. We have been watching the temperatures in Banff, Alberta daily and they are still pretty chilly there. I think we are both a little tired of the constant rain and heat and just need a change of scenery. All we know at this time is that we plan on being back home in August sometime. It could be sooner or it could be later depending on how we feel. We both enjoy being on the road in the Mothership as anyone who reads this Blog knows. So, in the weeks to come stay tuned for updates on our adventures on the road. We will be posting links as we have above to our present locations using http://maps.google.com/ . As you can see from this link, overall route, this is quite an ambitious voyage but with six weeks it should be doable. Also, if we don't get to cover the total distance we will still have had a great time.

New Project

I have been heavily involved in a flight simulator scenery development project lately. It has been great fun and involves a lot of what I learned working in both the IT field and in Geography. I am working with a virtual team to develop accurate flight simulator scenery for the State of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico coast over to New Orleans. You can read more at the website I created at http://fs-freeflow.com . The interesting things is that we received an unexpected bonus from a benefactor in Tasmania who donated a server to our project. He manages a website called http://FS-Shipyards.com/ that specializes in marine craft and scenery for flight simulator. To add an additional international flavor to the mix, the server is located in Denmark. Very interesting. So, if you want to learn more about the project just visit the site http://fs-freeflow.com/ .

We are using two software packages on the site, both of them freeware, SMF, Simple Machines Forum, and MKPortal, an interesting package that wraps itself around the forum. It is very configurable and I am strongly considering switching this site over to that configuration as well.

Cute Photo

This is the cutest photo of Kaitlyn our granddaughter. I took it during her visit on Jaunary 20, 2005. She had the best time playing with this cardboard box. Her favorite thing was to get in it and pull the flaps down closing herself up inside and then popping up like a Jack-In-The-Box.

---

Aerosoft DHC-2

Misty Fjords Fly By
Originally uploaded by rbrown3rd.

This is a screen shot of my De Havilland DHC-2, Beaver, in Flight Simulator 2004. This is one of the most famous bush planes ever built. The civilian version DHC-2 Beaver was was manufactured by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Ltd. from 1948 to 1969. The MKI is the mostly spread version witha 450 SHP Pratt & Whitney R985. Alternatively a MKII was developed with 550 SHP Alvis Leonides 502/4 engine. Later the less common PT6A6 turboprop powerd Beaver was built between 1964 to 1969. In total almost 1700 plans were built and many of them are beautifully restored and service for tourist flights,transportation and fun all around the world. If you have seen the movie, "Never Cry Wolf," you will remember a very decrepit old Beaver that was used to carry the main character Tyler into the wilderness for his wolf studies. That one was patched with bailing wire and plywood and was still flying. It is a tough and reliable airplane that Aerosoft has modelled very well for FS2004.

Project Warn

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation
It is ironic that Sir Arthur C. Clarke through his foundation has been involved in Project Warn for some time. The Project was planning a simulation test of a warning and disaster response system relating to a major Tsunami in 2005. Clearly, Sir Arthur Clarke is using his intellect and the wealth he has acquired through his books to approach major humanitarian issues using technology.

Tsunami news from Sir Arthur C. Clarke

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation

Tsunami Help Site

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

Tsunami Blog

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here

Tsunami blogs

Sumankumar's yak pad

Tsunami Blogs

Extra Extra

Plasma TVs on the way out?

News The subject line says it all. Read this article about Sony's plans to withdraw from plasma tv manufacturing.

Neat technology combination

This is pretty neat. A digital recorder that you can speak into and then hook to your computer where your recorded lectures or stories are converted to text files. Very neat.

RIT SUN GUARD

RIT SUN GUARD
Just heard about this product from a neighbor who was told about it by his dermatologist. For those of us here in Florida this sounds like a great way to get extra protection from the sun. The manufacturer, Rit Dye, says, "Just add one package to your regular wash cycle to give clothing a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) of 30 that will last for up to 20 launderings." Sounds pretty good to me. We are going to give it a try.

WirelessTrips.com

WirelessTrips.com
This is an excellent summary of the different options for staying connected on the road. These guys also have a really nicely formatted and written Blog about life on the road. Hope they don't mind this plug in Musings.

This is a post from my laptop using my GPRS cell phone as a modem. I have finally gotten this connection working as it should. With my unlimited T-Zones internet on my cell phone this will be the method of choice for email and internet while on the road. I know I am a slow learner but it took me a long time to get this figured out. The solution was two fold. The first was to pair the phone with the laptop as a Bluetooth device. After Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2 the Bluetooth pairing capability was simplified and improved. Once the laptop and the Nokia 3650 were "paired" the connection was assured anytime the phone is within range of the laptop. The second part of the solution was when I finally abandoned the Nokia modem software and setup a dialup connection using the Standard Modem over Bluetooth device rather than the Nokia Bluetooth modem. Now the dialup connection has been working flawlessly. The connection is not too bad in terms of speed either. I connect consistently at about 33 kbps. This Blog post is being done using my Nokia 3650 cell phone modem wirelessly using Bluetooth radio. Looks like many of our "on the road" connectivity problems have been solved.

Home Once More

We are back home once more. It was an interesting trip. Interesting because as we got closer and closer to the center of the storm track the visible damage increased noticeably. Once we got onto secondary roads the going was kind of tricky since many of the traffic lights were still out or were at crazy angles so you could not see them. Fortunately in a "Who goes first?" situation, the Mothership is big enough that no one argues with you. Our neighborhood has a strange surreal appearance since none of the trees have very many leaves on them. Another thing we noticed is the smell of decaying vegetation everywhere. We did indeed feel like tiny little carbon life forms when looking at all of the forces of nature that were at work here. I will take some pictures to share with you. We lost a couple of more fence sections and one screen panel on our patio but that seems to be it. It feels good to be back on my home keyboard and Internet connection instead of jury rigging campground phone lines and cell phone connections.

Our choice of Naples for a storm refuge was a good one. Based on our calculations to be ninety degrees to the left of the track this location was the farthest and easiest to reach in the motorhome. We are at Rock Creek RV Resort. We picked a campsite free of trees. We are glad that we did as we were buffeted by gusty winds all night long and are still being hit by gusts as I type this. The wind does seem to be coming in gusts now instead of being a constant force. TV reports show gusts to 50 mph in the Naples area. Watching all of the TV reports we seem to be on the edge of the heaviest rain and winds which is what we had hoped for. The wind direction has shifted from the North yesterday to West and Southwest today. Since the motorhome is parked in a North South orientation we are rocked slightly as the big gusts come through. Even with 40 to 50 mph gusts the movement of the motorhome is not alarming.

During the approach of the storm yesterday we watched the Weather Channel for forecast track reports. After landfall ocurred we switched to the local TV stations for more detailed coverage. We maintained email contact using Bob's Nokia 3650 cell phone when the winds were too high to go outside. We also have access to a modem line in the campground office where we can use the laptop to access email and weather reports. The modem line is also needed to transmit this long entry to the Blog. The problem with the cell phone is having to type using the keys on the phone. This dictates that those emails are short. It is really nice having email access with the cell phone though as we can send updates and status reports to our friends and family in the worst of conditions.

We left yesterday in the Mothership to get out of the path of Hurricane Jeane. As we drove out of the local area we saw long lines backed up at local gas stations. Lines extended up to half a mile on one road. Barbara suggested that we go west and take the Florida Turnpike which turned out to be a good suggestion. We were headed to Naples, Florida where we are now encamped. I looked at the forecast path for the storm and took a ninety degree angle to the left of the track and the farthest point we could get was Naples. This location puts us 150 miles from the path. We hope this will get us out of the destructive part of the storm. Our house is strong with metal shutters on all windows but the Mothership would not take hundred mile an hour winds. In addition, we are trying to avoide the long power outages and lack of gasoline and food that follow these events.

We are tired of running from storms and tired of being constantly on the run. This year has been very stressful for all Floridians. We count ourselves among the lucky since we are retired and have the mobility to get out of harms way. We have not endured the trauma and stress of our friends and family who must remain the storms path. We worry about them constantly. We are constantly in touch with our cell phones but there is little we can do to help them except bring needed items when we return.

The biggest worry with Hurricane Jeane is the debris that still remains from Hurricane Frances. Streets in West Palm Beach are lined with piles of tree branches and other debris. An astonishing amount of work has been accomplished in collecting this debris but the amount to pick up is so huge that a lot remains. The worry is that all of this will become flying missiles that will do more damage. I put as much of it in my garage before we left so I have a garage full of vegetation that smells bad. My friend and neighbor will go over and take it out after the storm passes.

A drive by one of the local debris collection locations, John Prince Park, provides some perspective on the amount of tree damage inflicted by Frances. There are lines of trucks bringing tree debris to this location where it is being chipped and ground up. There are literally hills of wood chips in the park where there used to be green grass areas where people played. The park, one of the largest local parks, is closed to the public since it is a central debris collection point.

We now wait and watch as Jeane moves through the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. We may get some wind and rain from it here in Naples beginning this afternoon and tonight.

Hurricane Jeane

Hard to believe but a FOURTH hurricane is threatening Florida. Jeane has been circling around in the Atlantic as if waiting for clearance from some higher authority to launch another attack on our state. Each forecast from the National Hurricane Center moves the northward turn a little farther west. There is a turn to the north in the forecast but when that occurs is the question. If it follows the latest forecast track it will slowly turn and follow the coastline north towards the Carolinas. Debris from Frances still lines our streets and the piles at the central collection points are huge. Yesterday, we watched the Lake Worth Drainage District remove trees from a nearby canal. They are in a huge pile beside one of the roads we travel each day. I spent some time this morning doing some tree trimming on the orchid tree nearest the house. The general consensus of people after the storm is you are fine as long as you live in a concrete block house with a concrete tile roof and no trees near the house. Oh, and of course, strong hurricane shutters on all windows and doors.

Home

We are back home. Driving down the first thing we noticed that was odd was the way the signs were all bent and broken off and sitting at odd angles. Some pretty hefty highway signs on I-95 were broken off and they were mounted on large metal beams. Billboards were just skeletons since the signage had long departed for areas unknown. We have power and our fence has been blown down. My neighbor and good friend stacked it neatly by the house. My garage door looked like a first grade art project with leaves flattened all over it in a strangely attractive pattern. I erased the art work with my hose. We removed the shutters from two doors and one window to let some light in. There are huge piles of dead vegetation and debris still waiting for pickup on all of the streets.

Escape

Yesterday morning, Thursday, we both awoke at 3 am. After checking the latest forecasts and watching the weather channel we made the decision to evacuate. The Mothership was loaded and ready to go so at 4 am we departed the Mothership Base. Driving through Brevard County we listened to talk radio shows and heard people calling in reporting traffic conditions on I-95. At that point things were not too bad and traffic was moving right along. As we approached Daytona the picture changed drasticly and we encountered bumper to bumper traffic. It must have taken us two or three hours to get from Daytona past Jacksonville. Once we were out of Florida things opened up pretty nicely. After eleven hours of driving we are parked in my mom and dad's yard but are still watching the storm.

We now have our friends and family who stayed in Florida in our thoughts and prayers. Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaugher are still in West Palm Beach. Mavis will be working around the clock in the hospital where she is a nurse and Rob and Kailtyn will be in a concrete office building owned by a friend. It is a very secure building. We feel that they are safe. Our friends in our neighborhood, like us, have done all they could do to prepare their houses by putting up storm shutters and moving everything outside into the garage or the house.

My friend Rick went to Home Depot last night and said it was crazy there. He said that there were at least one hundred people in line for any kind of wood to cover their windows and doors.

We have done all we can do at this point and can only hope the storm will weaken so that the damage will be lessened. The latest report says the storm has slowed down to 9 knots and even though it has weakened slightly is likely to restrengthen. The slow speed and possible strengthening is not good. That means the hurricane force winds will last much longer wherever the storm passes.

We are still watching Frances since it could still effect us here in SC as it travels inland. We are prepared to move the Mothership away from the tall trees here if we have to. We would move it to the local Wal-Mart parking lot and lock it up if the weather turns bad here.

Day 2 Frances Prep

Some good news at the 5pm update from the hurricane center. The track has shifted a bit to the north. I am really tired after two days of moving stuff and putting up shutters some of which don't fit very well. There must be some basic law of the universe that says the last component of any system you are installing will give the most problems. The one door I left until last was the hardest one of all to put shutters on. I also went to the grocery store and stocked up on some food items. The motorhome is ready to go if we have to escape. Since the 5pm report was slightly encouraging I am going to hold off until possibly early morning if we leave. That way I can view the 11pm advisory. Maybe the track will shift a bit more to the north. That would take some of the worst part of the storm a tiny bit further away from us but my mom and dad live in South Carolina and that might be the next target. We had considered going there to escape the storm but it does not seem to be a good idea at this time. This time of the year down here is pretty intense and we are constantly watching the weather. A good sign is that people are taking the threats very seriously now. I can remember when they just brushed them off as not a serious threat. I think hurricanes Charley, Andrew, and Hugo within living memory has made an impression on the public.

Watching Frances

I have spent the last day and a half putting up metal hurricane shutters over our windows and bringing loose objects inside the garage. Our garage door has beams that are put in place to reinforce it against the wind. I have done all I can do to get the house ready. We are now watching the forecasts by the hurricane center at each update, 8am, 11am, 5pm, and 11pm local time. The latest advisory has the storm going inland somewhere north of us. Hurricane force winds extend outward from the center for 60 miles and the tropical storm force winds out 200 miles. The subtropical ridge that is holding the storm to the south may weaken a bit in the next 24 hours. We are going to get our camper loaded up and be ready to move it if the storm looks like it is going to head our way. We would go all the way up to South Carolina or further to avoid the storm. If the subtropical ridge weakens a tiny bit and allows the storm to go further northward we will stay put and ride out the tropical storm force winds here at home.

Frances

Spent the day installing shutters. I have 16 of our 19 windows covered with our relatively new hurricane shutters. If we evacuate it will be early Thursday morning as I still have a fair amount of work to do in preparing the house. We still have a dilemna as to where to go but it is clear that we do not want to go up the east coast if we decide to leave. All of the forecast tracks show the storm traveling generally up the east coast of Florida but any slight wobble one way or the other could make a huge difference in the impact of the storm on us. One should never take the NHC forecast track as an absolute. That is why they forecast a wide cone of error. We saw what happened with Charley on the west coast when it took a sharp turn to the right at the last minute. That turn was well within the cone of error in the forecast. We are praying to the steering current and Coriolis gods to make it turn to the right soon. South Florida should start feeling some winds from the storm on Friday afternoon.

Local Preparations plus Hurricane Charley Relief Fund

The model forecast tracks for Frances show a slight turn to the right. We are continuing to prepare the house by putting up shutters and planning what we will do. The direction of the forecasted tracks is a dilemna for us. If we evacuate and move the motorhome out of harms way we will have to go quite far to escape the projected track. Moving to Tampa is not necessarily a good thing since they are so vulnerable and with the track crossing diagonally across the state from SE to NW we would still be in harms way in a motorhome instead of in a strong and secure house. If the right turn tendency continues we will consider staying put. We have new and very strong storm shutters and also have a strong concrete roof.



Here is the link for the
Hurricane Charley Relief Fund coordinated by the state. Please help the victims of Charley by going to this site and donating what you can.

Hurricane Frances

It is a fact of life. We are nearing the height of hurricane season here in South Florida. We are presently watching Hurricane Frances and all indications are that we are in the danger zone. This storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Floyd that headed right for us here in West Palm Beach but turned at the last moment. The sun is rising now with a beautiful red and orange hue but that only brings to mind an old saying my dad used to tell me. Red in the morning, sailors take warning. We are watching the forecasts very carefully to decide when to activate our escape plan. We decided long ago that if a Cat 3 or higher storm threatened us we would evacuate. We have a motorhome that would not survive such a storm and more importantly we do not want to go through a storm like that since we have the option to escape. We must allow time to shutter all of our windows and take all steps to prepare our home and yard for a possible hit. I will begin those preparations today and work towards being ready for a move before the end of the week. Most of the National Hurricane Center models are showing a turning trend. Hurricane Floyd was the same scenario and we felt like we were standing in the middle of the interstate highway with an eighteen wheeler bearing down on us having been told that it would probably turn at the last minute. Floyd made that turn and we are praying that Frances does too but we will take no chances.

Storm 2004 Hurricane Season: Charley

Storm 2004 Hurricane Season: Charley This is a local link with a comprehensive list of phone numbers and other ways to help the victims of Hurricane Charley.

Volunteer Florida Home

Here is a link with a phone number and information on how to help Hurricane Charley victims. The top priority seems to be donation of funds rather than goods. Please help if you can.

Volunteer Florida Home

Disaster Donations

donationlink1
This is the link to a list of the various organizations that are coordinating donations to the Hurrican Charley victims.

Charley

Charley missed us completely here in West Palm Beach but the news from the west coast is grim. Much loss of life and property. The scenes on TV, CNN and Weather Channel, are truly frightning. The devastation is extensive. We got lucky this time but there is already another tropical depression brewing south of us. It is a bright and sunny day as I post this thinking of our fellow Floridians in Punta Gorda and Fort Myers who have lost their homes. I hope they are taken care of quickly and effectively. The governor is visiting the area and I hope they take action to help those folks.

International Trade Centre

Now the International Trade Centre is giving my name to people so they can give me money. I didn't know there were so many kind and generous people in Africa.


FROM:MRS.VICTORIA NDLOVU
ATTN:
You may be surprised to receive this letter from me
since you don't know me personally,but for the
introduction,I am MRS. VICTORIA NDLOVU,the wife of
Late DR.ONOMUA ANDREW NDLOVU who was recently murdered
in the land dispute inzimbabwe.
I got your contact from the INTERNATIONAL TRADE
CENTRE here in Johhanesburg and decided to write
you.My Husband was among the few black Zimbabwe rich
famers murdered in the cold blood by the agents of the
ruling governmentof President Robert MUGABE for his
alleged support and sympathy for the Zimbabwean
opposition party,controlled by the white minority.
Before his death,he had taken me to to deposite the
sum ofFive Million Dollars US$ 5M.with a security and
finance company as if he knew the looming danger in
Zimbabwe. The money was deposited in a box as
gemstones to avoid much demurrage from the security
company.
This money was earmarked for the purchase of new farm
machinery and chemicals for the establishment of our
new farm in lesotho and Swaziland.This land problem
arose when president Robert MUGABE introduced a new
land act,which wholly affected the rich white famers
and some blacks vehemently condemned the
modusoperand"adopted by the government. This resulted
to rampant killings and mob actions by the war
veterans and some political thugs presently,more than
SIX-HUNDRED[600]people have so far been killed.Heads
of government from the west,especially The Great
Britain and The United states of America have voice
their condemnation of MUGABE'S plan.
The South Africa development community (SADEC)has
continuously supported MUGABE'S new land reform Act.It
is against this background that I and my Children who
are currently staying as REFUGEE in a SOUTH AFRICAN
REPUBLIC but currently seeking An ASSYLUM in any of
THE THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES have decided to
transfer my late Husband's money into a foreign
account.
As the only and LEGITIMATE -WIFE of my late husband I
am saddled with the responsibility of seeking a
genuine foreign account where this money could be
transfer without theknowledge of my country's
government who are tatically freezing our
familieswealthback home in ZIMBABWE and The South
Africa government seems to be playing along with them.
I am faced with the delimma of investing this amount
of money in The South Africa Republic for the fear of
encountering the same experience in future since both
countries have almost the same political
history.Moreso ,the South Africa Financial foreign
exchange policy does not allow such investment hence I
am seeking for Assistance.As a business person whom I
must entrust my future and that of my family on his
hands,I must let you know that this transfer is 100%
RISK FREE .
Therefore if you accept to assist my family,we are
willing to offer you 20% of the total sum for your
assitance,70% for me and my family,while 10% will be
mapped out for all expenses.I would wish to invest in
your country on REAL- ESTATE based on your advice and
I would also receive assurance that you would'nt sit
on this money when transfered into your personal or
company account. If this PLEA is acceptable by you
please do send me your personaldetails,Name and
Address,telephone and fax numbers .You should know
that this business is highly confidential and shall be
kept within you alone.I hope to hear from you soon on
the above email address.
Thanks,
Best Regards,
MRS VICTORIA NDLOVU.
REPLY TO :hod_20042003@yahoo.com

Split

Hey, another guy wants to split $28.6 million with me.

TO: THE PRESIDENT/CEO REQUEST FOR YOUR KIND ASSISTANCE
Dear Sir,
This latter may come to you as a surprise but I am writing it with hope that you will accept my request as I have no international connections and I believe this is going to be a beginning of a sound and long lasting relationship if you accept my offer. My name is Usman Belo, I was born August 16th 1964 in the northern side of Nigeria and I work with Shell Petroleum Company as an engineer. My father is one of NNPC Oil marketer, and he died during a fire explosion in NNPC house Lagos Island in December last year. There is something I want to disclose to you, which no body knows about. This needed immediate attention and I hope you will be of great help and you will also benefit from it. Dr. Smith Paul Clemens an Oil merchant who is late now as a result of an explosion which burnt down NNPC house in Lagos Island deposited the sum US$28.6 Million with a Security and finance company in Europe. He intended to use the money for a payment of Crude Oil with the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) which some document I recovered stated that my late father is the intended person to receive this fund (US$28.6 Million) for NNPC. Based on the recommendation given to me by a friend who made your contact available to me, I develop the confidence that you have the caliber to stand as Dr. Smith, so that you ask the Finance Company to resent the money back to you and we share fifty - fifty. I would forward to you via DHL the original copy of Certificate used to deposit the money and also give you their contact for you to reach them and verify. Please do not expose this confidence I am reposing on you as this is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime and I do not want anything to jeopardize it. If you want to collaborate with me for this transaction send to me your private telephone and fax number so that I can communicate you to give you the modus oprandi or you can email me with my private mailing address above for more briefing as I wait to hearing from you as soon as possible,
Best regards, Usman Belo Date: 23/11/2003

My Dear

I have lost track of my potential wealth at this point. When it all comes in I will probably have to adapt a completely different life style. It might be hard to adjust to having so much money.

MY Dear

This mail may come to you as a surprise but is borne out of my genuie need
urgent assistance . I prayed over it and selected your name among
other names due to its esteeming nature and the recommendations given to me
as a reputable and trust worthy person that I can do business with
and by the recommendation , I must not hesitate to confide in you for this
simple and sincere business .

I am FLORA COULIBALY the only daugther of late Mr.and Mrs. JOHNSON
COULIBALY . My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant in Abidjan , the
economic capital of Ivory coast, my father was poisoned to dearth by his
business associates on one of their outings on a business trip .

My mother died when I was a baby and since then my father took me so
special. Before the death of my father on february 2003 in a private
hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me
that he has the sum of Ten million , United State Dollars. USD
($ 10.00,000) left in fixed / suspense account in one of the prime bank here
in Abidjan ,that he used my name as his only daugther for the next of Kin in
depositing of the fund. He also explained to me that it was because of his
wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates.


That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where i
will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose such as
real estate management or hotel management .

I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways:

(1) To provide a bank account into which this money would be transferred to
.

(2) To serve as a guardian of this fund since I am only 22years.

(3) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my
education and to secure a resident permit in your country.

Moreover, i am willing to offer you 20% of the total sum as compensation
for your effort/ input after the successful transfer of this fund into your
nominated account overseas.

Furthermore, you indicate your options towards assisting me by replying to
me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within
fourteen (14) days you signify interest to assist me. Anticipating to hear
from you soon.

Thanks and God bless.

Best regard

MISS FLORA COULIBALY

More Money

The offers keep pouring in. Soon I will be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. Everyone in Africa loves me and wants to give me money. Here is the latest:

Dear Friend
I am Barrister Ibrahim Bello a Solicitor and also the Personal Attorney
to Enginer Kaith Howard, who used to work with shell development company
in Nigeria.

On the 4th of March 2002, my client were involved in a plain crash accident
along Sagbama Express Road that claims the lives of all, This was sad news
to the hearing of any human being and Since then I have made several enquiries
to embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives this has proved
unsuccessfull . After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to
trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family
but of no avail, hence I contacted you.

I have contacted you on trust to assist me in receiving the money left behind
by my client before the bank he has an account with gets the money confisicated
or decleared his money as unclaim fund following the the bank's policy.
Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about
$7.5 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin of
my client or have the account confisicated the next ten working days.Since
I have been unable to locate the relatives for precisely three years now
I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since
you are bearing the same surname with my late client so that the proceedings
of the transfer of the money valued at $7.5m can be remitted to you as the
next of kin for our mutual benefit The sharing percentage is as follow if
only you will be faithfull and honest to assist me, 30% for your assistance
as next of kin 60% for me and the remaining 10% shall be for expences or
taxes as your government may require.All necessary legal document that will
back up your claim of this money will be secured by an attorney on your
behalf.

All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see that this deal
comes through. I guarantee you that this business will be executed under
a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law
Please get in touch with me by my ib_be32@yahoo.com to enable us discuss
further step to follow.
Regards

BARRISTER.IBRAHIM BELLO

Business Relationship

I just did not know so many people in Africa care so deeply about me and trust me so much. According to this latest one The South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry referred me to Mr. Eric. Wow! This is amazing. Still no money though. Some day soon it will start pouring in from all my friends in Africa. Here is the latest offer:

Mr.Peter Eric
NO 47 Nelson Av,
Partown Johannesburg
South Africa
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP.
Dear sir,
I am Director of finance with Eskom South Africa and a
member of the Contract Tenders
Board (CTB) of the above corporation.
Your esteemed address was reliably introduced to me at the
South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry in my search
for a reliable individual company who can handle a strictly
confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a
reasonable sum of money to a foreign account The amount is
US$15,500,000.00 (Fifteen Million Five Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars), which was extracted
from various contracts awarded by my corporation. This was
made possible through over-invoicing
of the various contracts ,which were been drafted to
represent final payment for a various contracts that
were executed to the corporation some years back.
The money is now floating in the suspense account of
Federal Reserve Bank of South Africa awaiting claim by
Foreign Partner which status we now want you to
assume,following the presidential directive to pay all
contract debt to personal/company 's account.
In my last meeting with the officials involved, it was
unanimously agreed that you shall be compensated dully and
on your indication to assist us, we shall agree on what
will be given to you.
I assure you the transaction is 100 risk free as we have
concluded every arrangement to protect the interest of
every one involved. Likewise, all modalities for the
successful transfer of this money have been worked out with
the Finance Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of
South Africa to facilitate the remittance of
this money to your designated account.
However. I would want to believe that you are honest enough
and will protect our interest in
all aspect of the transaction, more importantly,you will
keep this transaction very confidential so as not
to tarnish the confidence reposed on these official by the
Government of South Africa.
Your immediate response will be highly appreciated.
Best regard.
PETER ERIC

More Money

This is fantastic. I am receiving these offers to give me money faster than I can deposit it in my bank account. Of course, I am only receiving the offers. I am still waiting for the first dollar to roll in but when it comes I am surely going to be as wealthy as Bill Gates. Here is the latest generous offer to give me money. Isn't it great how all these people are so kind and generous?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DEAR.SIR
I am Mrs.Mariam Abacha, the widow of Sani Abacha the Late Nigerian Head
of State.The government has frozen all the family account and auctioned
all our properties.

To save the family from total bankruptcy I have managed to ship out through
a shipping company, the sum of US20,500,000.00 Kept by my late husband.The
money was disguised to beat the Nigerian security and it is currently deposited
in a credit commission.

I want you to receive the money and pay it into your account for the family
safely.I am offering you 30% for assisting me secure this money fast before
it is located by the Nigerian Government Agents.

Contact me immediately through this mariam2001@usinmail.com so that I can
forward to you all the necessary details.

Kindly send your phone and fax numbers for easy communications.

Best regards.

Mrs.Mariam Abacha

Renumeration

I am so excited. I must be the luckiest guy in the world. I continue to get emails from people wanting to give me money. This is the latest one. I just cannot believe that all of these people want to give ME money. I think I am going to start sharing all of these emails with the world on my Blog just to show how lucky I am. This is the latest email that I received: (Thanks Dr. Williams. You are great!)


5,Parkway crescent,

off upper Ridge way,

cape Town,

Republic of South Africa

30th june,2004.

Dear sir,

I am Administrative Staff of the South africa Mining

Corporation,currently on a course in England and I represent a group that is interested in engaging your service as Manager for investment purpose, of a interested in engaging your service as Manager for investment purpose, of a large volume of fund.

If this proposal is acceptable to you, please get back to me, so that I can work out a remuneration for your participation in this transactions, and also let you know how I came to select you for this purpose.



Please contact me through the above my email address:

emailaddressdeleted

THANKS.

Dr charles Williams

Secrets

I get an endless stream of emails that provide me with entertainment far superior to any soap operas one could watch. Many of them are the personal assistants of powerful people wanting to give me their confidential numbers and email so that they can give me hundreds of thousands of dollars. I know you all get those and at first I found them annoying. Now I am beginning to read them for entertainment. I must tell you that I download none of these to my PC since I use a software package called Mailwasher that previews the messages on my internet service provider's server. I use Mailwasher to delete, bounce, or approve for download prior to letting these emails touch my personal machine.

Anyway, it seems that every personal assistant to every powerful person in African and other countries wants to include me in their high finances. I am so honored and feel privileged to be a part of such major transactions. However, I would prefer that they just send it to me as cash in plain, unmarked envelopes without all of the email ceremony in between. I am still waiting for my first hundred thousand to arrive.

Death (almost) by Garage Door

Good advice on this site. I just went out into our garage to take the car over for an oil change. When I hit the button for the garage door to open it the spring broke and it came crashing down. A garage door weighs 300 - 400 pounds so if I had been under it I would have been killed. A small child would certainly be killed. Just letting you know this happened so you can be careful. The thing was just a few feet away from me and believe me it scared the you-know-what out of me.

The link below has some really good tips about garage door safety.

State Farm Insurance Garage Door Safety

ABCNEWS.com : Florida Town to Use Surveillance Cameras

ABCNEWS.com : Florida Town to Use Surveillance Cameras

I am different

OK, I have decided to come out and admit it. I am different. I have decided to stop hiding it and come clean. The thing is, being different does not bother me at all. The fact that I have no tattoos, no body piercings, and use no drugs, don't drink lattes, wear my baseball hats with the bill facing forward, and call anyone with grey hair sir does make me different from the rest of the population but hey, we should celebrate our differences. Right? For a long time I thought this was something to hide but have decided to come out and tell the world. So there, I feel a lot better now.

Yesterday, we attended the Chihuly Across Florida Exhibit in Tampa. Some photos I took at the exhibit may be seen by clicking here. When we went to the museum I did not realize that cameras were allowed in the museum so I used my cell phone to capture these images. After we got in the museum we found that cameras were allowed but you had to turn off the flash. Anyway, these did not turn out too badly considering I was using my Nokia 3650 cell phone.

To quote the Sun Sentinal article which can be found by clicking here. "South Floridians may know Chihuly's work from the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. At the Norton, one of the most memorable features of the new wing is a semicircular room containing a suspended ceiling with an elaborate arrangement of 693 glass pieces, many in the shapes and colors of marine life.Chihuly made it specifically for that space at the Norton."

Aerial shot of driveway

Finally got an aerial shot of the new driveway. The fickle winds have prevented me from getting this shot for quite a while but here it is at last. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

New Driveway

Our big project of installing a new driveway has been completed. The old asphalt driveway was poorly designed and did not connect to the camper pad on the side of our house. We used a local company called All-Out Concrete Enterprises, Inc. and they were outstanding. They showed up on time, took pride in their work, and did an excellent job. I would highly recommend them for any concrete work as they are very good. You can see the pictures of the project by clicking here.

Updates

Just some routine updates. The site has been stagnant for too long. It is 5:30 am. I am up early because the workers are supposed to be here soon to begin pouring our new concrete driveway. The "mud" as they call it is supposed to arrive at 7 am. These guys, All Out Concrete, are the best we have seen in the county. Barbara heard about them while at the dentist office from one of the office staff. Interestingly the excavators they used to remove the old asphalt drive were a married couple who worked together like a ballet team. They came in with big equipment and had the old driveway out in an hour and a half. The old material is being recycled. I thought that was really cool being from the Rachel Carson, Save the Earth, generation. Photos will be posted soon.

Speaking of photos. I added a couple of links on the left. One is for the most recently posted photo in all of my albums and the other is for the most popular. That way you can get a quick view of the latest pics without searching for them. The little photo on the left was added too. It is a link to the most recent cell phone photo that I posted over at TextAmerica.com a mobile camera blog. A thumbnail of the latest photo will be there.

Lastly, I am working on an electric powered radio controlled helicopter. It is called a Corona by a company called Lite Machines Helicopters. It has been fun building it. It is an very impressive assemblage of hi tech radio components and state of the art motor. Let's hope this old pilot is not too rusty to control those whirling blades in the air. I have been practicing on an RC simulator on the PC. I hope that helps some.

CBS News | ID Day For Telemarketers | January 29, 2004 07:01:42

CBS News | ID Day For Telemarketers | January 29, 2004 07:01:42 It is about time! Getting a handle on the reins of the telemarketers has been a long, slow, and painful process. This will certainly help. We signed up for the national do-not-call list when it first came out and also sent out a LOT of letters to the major telemarketing firms as suggested at Junkbusters.com. Following the steps on this web page to the letter eliminated our junk calls. We get one or two renegade calls a month now where we used to get half a dozen a day right at dinner time.

Google Search: south carolina ice storm

Google Search: south carolina ice storm Power is rapidly being restored after the ice storm swept through the Carolinas and Virginia. Here is the result of a Google News search on the topic. Google News and its search capability is a very powerful tool for finding the latest news on a topic. Just go to http://news.google.com/ and enter your search in the usual place. Very cool!

The Sun News | 01/27/2004 | Frozen Carolinas

The Sun News | 01/27/2004 | Frozen CarolinasThis is the latest on the serious ice storm that hit South Carolina hard. Ironic that the news item was found in a Kansas online newspaper, The Sun News. To quote the article, "In South Carolina, the frozen precipitation marked one of the worst weather events so far this winter.."

It is 80F here today and when I was taking the picture the tree over my
head was filled with parrots. Now, I said to myself, "How cool is
this?" "Parrots in the trees, a warm day, the wind blowing the palm
trees." ....but best of all, having paid my dues over the last 40 years,
I did not have to go to work today either.

Heal thyself: Patients' bone marrow cells restore failing hearts

Heal thyself: Patients' bone marrow cells restore failing hearts

Bob Keeshan, Who Played Captain Kangaroo on TV, Is Dead at 76



Bob Keeshan gently entertained and educated generations of children as television's Captain Kangaroo.

Satellite Images

Satellite ImagesNeat site that displays new satellite images for the earth. It even has an RSS feed so you can see when new ones appear.

MOA_SEARCH

MOA_SEARCHThis is just too neat. Search the Cornell University Making of American online library of journals and books from around 1815 to 1926. You can narrow the time period and select books, journals or both. Very cool.

Metal Star

Metal star in gift shop, Lake Worth, Florida.

Breakfast in Lake Worth. A funky bar/breakfast spot. Lots of interesting people. Why? Well, a long line at John G's, that's why.

Jeremy Zawodny's blog: Cleaning LCD Screens?

Ok, finally found a definitive answer on how to clean those LCD screens. This is a a link to Jeremy Zawodny's blog: Cleaning LCD Screens?

Computer Repairs

Well, me old trusty computer bit the dust while we were away. Odd,
because I left it powered down and unplugged from everything. I tried
everything, reseating all of the cards, new power supply, but none of
those brought it to life. My fans would come on but it would not
boot. I could not even get into the BIOS so I suspected the mobo which
was confirmed at my local computer shop. I bought a new motherboard and
in the process upgraded my CPU to an AMD XP2700. Everything seems to be
running just fine. Windows XP did not hickup at all putting in the new
hardware but we made sure to use another Gigabyte motherboard with a Via
chip on since that is what the old one used.

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing
your enthusiasm."
Winston Churchill

Outer Banks Art Horses

Our collection of photos of the Outer Banks Art Horses can be found at OBX Horses

Home again.

The mothership has landed at home base. Total miles for the Kitty Hawk trip going and coming was right at 2,000. It is good to be home but I am in the process of fixing things that have felt neglected while we were gone and decided to play sick. The only one I have not been able to fix yet is my main computer. I think the power supply may be partially bad on it but we will figure it out and fix it eventually.

Discuss This Topic

The Mothership has landed at Tranquility Cove. No, not the Tranquility
Cove on the moon but the one in South Carolina. We drove straight
through from Kitty Hawk to this location in seven hours last Saturday.
We have really tested the heating system of the Mothership because one
night it got down to 23 degrees and with the dual furnaces we were cozy
as can be. We are spending Christmas with Bob's mom and dad and
enjoying just kicking back and relaxing. Bob helped his dad activate
the second tuner on his Tivo yesterday. We ran a second coax feed from
his dish which already had a 4 output multiswitch on it. So, it was an
easy job and it is really nice having that second tuner running so he
can record one channel while watching another or record two different
channels at the same time.

This is the Harry Combs replica. The guys on the Wright Experience
Team, (the ones that attempted the flight), suggested that we walk up
and take a look at this one. They said their replica was a little worn
from all of the flying and that this one was a pristine replica. We
actually felt the Wright Experience Replica was probably more like what
the Wright Brother's plane looked like after all of its flights.
Actually, as you can see in the photo below, the Wright Experience
Replica is quite beautiful. We told them that they had done a wonderful
job at demonstrating what a difficult thing the Wrights had
accomplished. Mr. Combs, now 80, is a significant figure in the
aviation field. He was president of Gates Learjet Corporation from 1971
to 1982 and commisioned this copy of the 1903 Flyer. The reproduction
was built with over $1 million donated by Combs. The plane was donated
by Mr. Combs to the Wright Memorial on December 17, 2003 and will be on
permanent display at the Visitor Center at the Wright Memorial.

Today, Thursday, June 18, is the day after the official closing of the
Centennial of Flight Celebration. We drove by the memorial and the main
entrance was closed but we decided to go around to the First Flight
Airport to ask if we could come in and take photographs. Everyone we
talked to were friendly and told us we were welcome to walk in and take
photos. We went to the Wright Experience EAA Pavillion and talked with
the members of the team who said it would be fine if we took photos.
This is a small example of one of the photos. I am going to create an
album to store the higher resolution images. I will post a link to that
site when it has been completed.

Wright Experience - Reconstructing the Wright Brothers' Legacy

Wright Experience - Reconstructing the Wright Brothers' Legacy
The above link is to the website published by the group that created and learned to fly the replica of the 1903 Flyer. It is the most complete assemblage of information, photos, and documents relating to the Wright Brothers and their flight experiments.

2003 - Vol. 31, No. 12 - Capturing History - The Daniels/Wright Photograph

2003 - Vol. 31, No. 12 - Capturing History - The Daniels/Wright Photograph

The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers

The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers The Library of Congress Collection.

Root Candles

Mr. A. I. Root's account of the Wright Brother's activities, Jan 1, 1905
Mr. Root was a beekeeper who wrote extensive books called, "Gleanings in Bee Culture." I learned of Mr. Root from my dad who was an avid beekeeper many years ago. The following quote is from The Root Candles Website by Amos Ives Root:
"A.I. was a visionary with faith in others who dared to dream. A friend of the Wright Brothers, he published the first account of their flight (found today in the Smithsonian Institute) when few others believed what they had done. He was a humanitarian lauded by 11 year old Helen Keller for his kindness. "

The Root Candles Website

Discuss This Topic

Aviators are a persistent group of people. This was the view around
eight o'clock this morning in cold pouring rain. The word was out that
the best view was from the hill where the monument is located. We
chose to try to be close to the starting point but the rain prevented
the attempt from taking place while we were out at the field. We are
both too tired and cold to go back out but you can be assured that most
of the people you see in this photo are still out there watching.

CNN.com - Bush honors anniversary of first flight - Dec. 17, 2003

CNN filed this excellent report. An attempt to fly took place a few minutes ago but the wind was not sufficient to help the small 12 horsepower engine and the Flyer ran the length of the rail but did not leave the ground. We must remember that the Wrights did their testing at Kitty Hawk because of the wind. The day they flew the wind was blowing over 20 mph. During this afternoon's attempt it was no where near that velocity. There is no doubt that another attempt will be made soon.
CNN.com - Bush honors anniversary of first flight - Dec. 17, 2003

An impressive force travels with the president. These are only some of
the helicopters that arrived with him. These were Marine Corps Blackhawks.

The president departs in his helicopter. After about half an hour Air
Force One flew over the field.

We watched President Bush make a speech but had to watch him on the
Jumbotron since we were on the other side of the field near the takeoff
site.

Here we are about an hour into the rain. At this point we were still
hopeful that the clouds might lift and the Flyer would make its
flight. But, after a couple of more hours of this we could take it no
longer and returned home.

This photo says it all. The flight this morning was scrubbed due to
weather. We arrived before daylight and within an hour were huddled
under a small umbrella in pouring rain. We did get to see the
president and John Travolta so that was neat. We are back in our house
drying out. We just turned on the tv and CNN says the attempt to fly is
going to happen in thirty minutes. After a couple of hours we were both
soaked to the bone and so cold that we could not stand it any longer. We
don't even think we can get back to the field in that amount of time so
we will probably just watch it on CNN. They may do it again tomorrow
and if they do I will go back out. Barbara has had it with mud, rain,
and cold.

It is 5:35 AM and we have had breakfast and are getting dressed for our trip to the Wright Memorial. The weather forecast calls for light rain this morning followed by a break and then heavier rains after that. We are hoping they can get in an attempt to fly during the interval in the rains. Our dilemna is how to dress. It is warm this morning, around sixty degrees F, and after the rain passes through it is supposed to drop to cooler temperatures. We are going to try to take our big umbrella and hope security will let us take it inside. John Travolta is the master of ceremonies this morning and rumor has it that the president will be there for the ceremony. This is the big day and we hope the flight will be successful. We are exctied and will be on our way to the shuttle pick up shortly.
Discuss This Topic

Today the Celebration of Flight honored all of the aviation greats. On stage were John Glen, Buzz Aldrin, Bob Hoover, Chuck Yeager, Jeana Yeager, and many others. It was an amazing assemblage of aviation greats. Tomorrow is the big day for the reenactment of the first flight. The weather forecast is for rain and wind so we are not sure how it will go but we are planning on being there VERY early in the morning. We plan on catching the shuttle around six in the morning.

Barbara contemplates some of the major milestones of aviation highlighted in the Century of Flight Monument.

We discovered this wonderful monument to 100 years of flight. It is located at the Kitty Hawk, NC visitor centor. Each of the metallic columns contains plaques that document major milestones of aviation from all over the world for the last 100 years. It was a very well done and informative monument. The metallic columns, polished metal, gave the monument an aviation feeling while honoring all of the major accomplishments. We learned a lot and both Barbara and I continue to be amazed at the dramatic advancements that have taken place over a very short period of time.

BBBrown.com Images :: Outer Banks Horses

Here are the photos we took of the Outer Banks Art Horses. We took a break from the Centennial to track down the horses that are part of the celebration of the one hundredth year of flight. We met other people who were photographing the horses and spoke with a lady at a gallery who was involved in painting some of the horses and for keeping them looking freshly painted. There are about a hundred or so of these winged horses at various locations. Tomorrow's weather forecast is for some rain and wind. We are glad we came because we now have a better feel for the weather conditions that the Wright Brothers had to deal with out here. Enjoy the horse photos by clicking on the link below.

BBBrown.com Images :: Outer Banks Horses

This is a replica of one of the Wright Gliders in the Centennial of
Flight Pavillion. The exhibit also contained very interesting displays
about the Wrights, the Outer Banks, and examples of what conditions were
like back then. We have learned that the Wrights dealt with a Category
II hurricane, extreme winds and temperatures, and clouds of mosquitoes
that would block the sun. They called the cold nights "five blanket
nights." These guys had to really want to fly badly. The other thing
that we have learned is that they approached the flight problem very
methodically. They seem to have been among the first to use a project
management approach to solving the problem through experimentation,
design, and testing.