Some time last winter I told my buddy I'd drive his mulch truck for a couple of weeks this spring.

One night Don (m/v Jolly Mon) filled my head with complements, told me his sad stories, and, most importantly, got me quite drunk. He told me he needed someone mature and reliable (like me) to help him out during his busy season (3 months from mid-March through mid-June). The pay was good, and I use to be a truck driver way back when. So I'm told I said, "Sure, Don, count me in."
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In the past couple of days I'd noticed a spike in readership at my main web page (www.sv-galena.com). I found that my site was finally added to the premier cruising and sea stories site, Cruise News. That would explain it. I asked to be added to the list of cruising web sites about a month ago and they seem to have accepted me. My web statistics indicate that I had been getting about 30 hits per day, mostly from the Westsail Owners Association site. Now I'm getting over 100. with 70 coming from Cruise News. I also joined the Cruising Web Ring and that should increase readership a little, too.

( Warning: Anchoring Rant Follows. Proceed only if you give a shit. )

... with a new picture on my body.
As an old guy I'm doing a lot of things that I had put off for many years for many reasons.
As I get older, I find many of the excuses are no longer operational.
( Story and pictures )

I'd rather be the ship that sails
And rides the billows wild and free;
Than to be the ship that always fails
To leave its port and go to sea.

I'd rather feel the sting of strife,
Where gales are born and tempests roar;
Than settle down to useless life
And rot in dry dock on the shore.

I'd rather fight some mighty wave
With honor in supreme command;
And fill at last a well-earned grave,
Than die in ease upon the sand.

I'd rather drive where sea storms blow,
And be the ship that always failed
To make the ports where it would go,
Than be the ship that never sailed.

-- Anonymous

I have a rather high-tech car. Instead of a mechanical steering column lock, it has an electronic one (that allows the ignition key to be mounted on the dash which is way cooler than not). The electronic steering column lock is controlled by one of the many, many computers in this car. And sometimes that computer gets a little confused.
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And a pretty good one, at that (Tech Lead on the main DoD medical application).

When my little sister mentioned that she had a process at work that was taking up a lot of hours I listened with 'professional' attention. Solving business process problems is what I (use to) do. I immediately saw a way to save her hours of time and a lot of effort.
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I take pride in the primitive nature of my boat. Others head out for the weekend with air conditioning, refrigeration, propane stoves, and running water. I head out for a winter cruise in the Bahamas with none of the above. Running water? Nope. On Galena if you want water you have to pump it up from the tanks in the keel. Want a cold beer? Head for the Tiki Bar on the beach because you’ll find nothing like that onboard. We drink our rum and Tang warm.

Down on the dock my dockmates wonder how I put up with the heat. Well all that’s about to change. I’ve just gone over to the dark side: I bought an air conditioner for the boat. It’s just a little window unit from Best Buy. I bought the smallest cheapest unit I could find. Then over to the local Home Depot to get a chunk of plywood just big enough to fit in the companionway, taking the place of the drop boards. I saw out a hole to accept the new air conditioner and fabricate a couple of brackets to mount it in that hole. When in place it will be right in the way and I’ll have to step over it to get into and out of the boat, but I’ll have air conditioning for about $100. Similar purpose-built units that set on the forward hatch cost $900. So I’m way ahead. I’m just not as manly as I once was.

I’m heading down to the dock today and once I get this new unit installed the coming week will be relatively comfy. Now I have no excuse for not getting things done. And also there’s less validity when telling my wife I spent the day at the pool because of the heat. She’ll know I’m there for the beer and the bikinis.