Since our San Juan Islands trip didn’t work out we’ve been recalibrating our vacation plans. I’ve always wanted to visit Northern California and its ancient redwood forests. Its well off the beaten path (a 6 hour drive from either Portland or San Francisco) so I’ve never had the chance to “drop by” on a business trip.
We’re checking into where we might find a cabin near the area’s national parks. Hopefully things will fall into place soon and we can visit these wondrous forests.
Infamous bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks allegedly replied “because that’s where the money is.”
In a press release explaining his position supporting offshore drilling, N.C. Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory asked:
“If we’re not willing to drill off our own coasts, then where will you drill?” he asked. “Off Venezuela? Off Nigeria? Saudi Arabia? Russia?”
Um, maybe someplace where there’s actually oil, Pat? Have you noticed that Venezuela has four times the oil, Nigeria has almost twice the oil, Saudi Arabia has ten times the oil, and Russia has three times the oil we do? And it would be even more lopsided if Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay was excluded?
There is more oil in the Middle East than all other world regions combined. We don’t drill off North Carolina because that’s not where the oil is!
Please get a clue, Pat.
Anyone who wants to drill for oil off our beautiful North Carolina coast needs to check themselves into Dorothea Dix Hospital. Any oil there is too miniscule to make a difference in supply, it will take at least a decade to get anything from it, and one spill would absolutely devastate our coastal tourism industry: about the only thing Eastern North Carolina can depend on. Possibly for years to come.
McCrory and Dole need to get a clue. Bev Perdue wins on this issue.
“Pile on the dogs” is what we’ll be saying this winter as PSNC has increased natural gas rates 31% in the last two months. We may have to get some dogs just to keep warm at night. Its sneaky how PSNC ups their rates in the summertime.
Suddenly the geothermal heater system I’d checked into is looking a lot more cost-effective.
At RDU airport two weeks ago I was taking Travis to the men’s room one last time before our flight. I know now that I was just starting a cold at the time, so my sense of smell might not have been at its peak, but I did a double-take when I smelled the hand soap I was putting on: it smelled like marijuana!
There was a guy in a nearby stall who could’ve been lighting up, but that would’ve be extremely unlikely. I checked and rechecked the smell of my just-washed hands and I’m convinced its the soap.
Next time you’re at the airport see for yourself. And avoid petting any K-9 units that might wander by.
The weather was very promising for a sail yesterday so we packed up the car and went to Lake Gaston for the day. We visited with the Naylors for a bit before taking Whimsy out for a sail.
The wind was great – strong and steady – but at times a bit gusty for the kids’ tastes. We soon returned to dock where the crew hit the water for an hour of lifejacket-assisted lake swimming.
I got a sunburn from the sailing – a stupid mistake on my part. In a strong wind its easy to overlook the sun’s effects. I’ll have to do better.
You may have noticed I don’t do much posting evenings and weekends. Its not that I don’t want to or have anything to say, its just that I’ve got an ailing laptop that’s been giving my trouble recently.
I’ve known for a while that my Thinkpad T40 doesn’t like to be run anywhere but from a desk. The moment its anything but completely horizontal it promptly zaps its memory – leaving me to reboot the system. Frustrated by its lack of portability, I took it apart last night to see if I could find any visible damage. After an easy disassembly and look-over, I cranked it back up only to have it be even less reliable than before. Now it won’t even boot consistently from a flat surface. That’ll teach me to play technician!
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Well, it looks like we’re not going to Orcas Island after all. The Southwest tickets I’ve earned are not valid for the days we want to leave. Since we’d be renting a house we wouldn’t be able to coordinate flights with rental times.
Up next is picking another destination known for cooler weather, or bagging the vacation plans altogether. We’re hoping we can make something work but we’re really sad the San Juan Islands won’t be it.
I was reading some news story this afternoon about approval for solar power stations being put on hold.
That got me thinking of how solar panels shade whatever’s below them, which may not be good for the vegetation or critters underneath.
That got me thinking how great it would be if there were solar collectors which could float in the sky, wirelessly discharging their electrical power.
Then I realized with a laugh that I was describing clouds!
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Ok, so although my goal in Chicago and Milwaukee was to not set foot in an automobile I came up short. There was light rain the last morning of our Chicago trip and though we only had 6 blocks to go (and I had an umbrella), my coworker wussed out and talked me into taking a cab.
That short trip cost us $10 and me the goal of a automobile-free trip. Bah.
