Vote ! !!!!!!

Why is this funny?

004 Presidential Election Canceled

Bush Cites National Security Concerns, Inconvenience

WASHINGTON — President Bush announced today that the 2004 presidential election will be canceled due to the war on terrorism and other scheduling conflicts.

Although the U.S. Constitution expressly mandates that presidential elections be held every four years, a little-known clause in the USA Patriot Act, which Congress hastily approved in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, gives the sitting president the option to cancel a presidential election and remain in office indefinitely if he deems it in the national interest.

In a brief statement from the Oval Office, Bush said, "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it," adding, "My administration is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

Upon hearing the news, Democrats on Capitol Hill promptly rolled over and capitulated.

Sen. John Kerry was unavailable for comment, as he could not be immediately resuscitated.

Experts agree that the election likely would have been only a formality anyway, with Bush currently enjoying strong public support. The latest Fox News opinion poll put Bush's job approval rating at 165 percent.

The 2004 Re-Election Security Act is the latest in a series of presidential initiatives intended to bring Americans aid and comfort during a time of unprecedented fear and uncertainty. It comes on the heels of Bush's highly touted Economic Security Act and Energy Security Act, as well as the more controversial Snack Food Security Act.

The cancellation of the election is expected to save the oil, energy, accounting, tobacco and gun industries an estimated $50 million in expenditures over the next two years. Instead, the corporations will be asked to make voluntary donations to a new pet project Bush announced today.

Under the plan, known as the Mt. Rushmore Security Act, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt will be joined by new stone carvings of both George W. Bush and his father, former President George H. W. Bush. A dedication ceremony will be held on the first Tuesday of November 2004 in lieu of the presidential election.

It is not clear when, if ever, another presidential election will be held. But congressional researchers announced today that they had discovered another obscure clause in the USA Patriot Act that sheds some light on the matter.

The clause, buried in a subsection called the Bush Dynasty Security Act, states that in the event George W. Bush should ever leave office, anyone not named Jeb, Jenna or Barbara is expressly prohibited from governing the country.

~Daniel Kurtzman

Is This REAL?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html?pd51

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 9, 2007

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive

White House News

NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51

HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20

Subject: National Continuity Policy

Purpose

(1) This directive establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal Government structures and operations and a single National Continuity Coordinator responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Federal continuity policies. This policy establishes "National Essential Functions," prescribes continuity requirements for all executive departments and agencies, and provides guidance for State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector organizations in order to ensure a comprehensive and integrated national continuity program that will enhance the credibility of our national security posture and enable a more rapid and effective response to and recovery from a national emergency.

Definitions

(2) In this directive:

(a) "Category" refers to the categories of executive departments and agencies listed in Annex A to this directive;

(b) "Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;

(c) "Continuity of Government," or "COG," means a coordinated effort within the Federal Government's executive branch to ensure that National Essential Functions continue to be performed during a Catastrophic Emergency;

(d) "Continuity of Operations," or "COOP," means an effort within individual executive departments and agencies to ensure that Primary Mission-Essential Functions continue to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies;

(e) "Enduring Constitutional Government," or "ECG," means a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government, coordinated by the President, as a matter of comity with respect to the legislative and judicial branches and with proper respect for the constitutional separation of powers among the branches, to preserve the constitutional framework under which the Nation is governed and the capability of all three branches of government to execute constitutional responsibilities and provide for orderly succession, appropriate transition of leadership, and interoperability and support of the National Essential Functions during a catastrophic emergency;

(f) "Executive Departments and Agencies" means the executive departments enumerated in 5 U.S.C. 101, independent establishments as defined by 5 U.S.C. 104(1), Government corporations as defined by 5 U.S.C. 103(1), and the United States Postal Service;

(g) "Government Functions" means the collective functions of the heads of executive departments and agencies as defined by statute, regulation, presidential direction, or other legal authority, and the functions of the legislative and judicial branches;

(h) "National Essential Functions," or "NEFs," means that subset of Government Functions that are necessary to lead and sustain the Nation during a catastrophic emergency and that, therefore, must be supported through COOP and COG capabilities; and

(i) "Primary Mission Essential Functions," or "PMEFs," means those Government Functions that must be performed in order to support or implement the performance of NEFs before, during, and in the aftermath of an emergency.

Policy

(3) It is the policy of the United States to maintain a comprehensive and effective continuity capability composed of Continuity of Operations and Continuity of Government programs in order to ensure the preservation of our form of government under the Constitution and the continuing performance of National Essential Functions under all conditions.

Implementation Actions

(4) Continuity requirements shall be incorporated into daily operations of all executive departments and agencies. As a result of the asymmetric threat environment, adequate warning of potential emergencies that could pose a significant risk to the homeland might not be available, and therefore all continuity planning shall be based on the assumption that no such warning will be received. Emphasis will be placed upon geographic dispersion of leadership, staff, and infrastructure in order to increase survivability and maintain uninterrupted Government Functions. Risk management principles shall be applied to ensure that appropriate operational readiness decisions are based on the probability of an attack or other incident and its consequences.

(5) The following NEFs are the foundation for all continuity programs and capabilities and represent the overarching responsibilities of the Federal Government to lead and sustain the Nation during a crisis, and therefore sustaining the following NEFs shall be the primary focus of the Federal Government leadership during and in the aftermath of an emergency that adversely affects the performance of Government Functions:

(a) Ensuring the continued functioning of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government;

(b) Providing leadership visible to the Nation and the world and maintaining the trust and confidence of the American people;

(c) Defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and preventing or interdicting attacks against the United States or its people, property, or interests;

(d) Maintaining and fostering effective relationships with foreign nations;

(e) Protecting against threats to the homeland and bringing to justice perpetrators of crimes or attacks against the United States or its people, property, or interests;

(f) Providing rapid and effective response to and recovery from the domestic consequences of an attack or other incident;

(g) Protecting and stabilizing the Nation's economy and ensuring public confidence in its financial systems; and

(h) Providing for critical Federal Government services that address the national health, safety, and welfare needs of the United States.

(6) The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. In order to advise and assist the President in that function, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (APHS/CT) is hereby designated as the National Continuity Coordinator. The National Continuity Coordinator, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), without exercising directive authority, shall coordinate the development and implementation of continuity policy for executive departments and agencies. The Continuity Policy Coordination Committee (CPCC), chaired by a Senior Director from the Homeland Security Council staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, shall be the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination.

(7) For continuity purposes, each executive department and agency is assigned to a category in accordance with the nature and characteristics of its national security roles and responsibilities in support of the Federal Government's ability to sustain the NEFs. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall serve as the President's lead agent for coordinating overall continuity operations and activities of executive departments and agencies, and in such role shall perform the responsibilities set forth for the Secretary in sections 10 and 16 of this directive.

(8) The National Continuity Coordinator, in consultation with the heads of appropriate executive departments and agencies, will lead the development of a National Continuity Implementation Plan (Plan), which shall include prioritized goals and objectives, a concept of operations, performance metrics by which to measure continuity readiness, procedures for continuity and incident management activities, and clear direction to executive department and agency continuity coordinators, as well as guidance to promote interoperability of Federal Government continuity programs and procedures with State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, as appropriate. The Plan shall be submitted to the President for approval not later than 90 days after the date of this directive.

(9) Recognizing that each branch of the Federal Government is responsible for its own continuity programs, an official designated by the Chief of Staff to the President shall ensure that the executive branch's COOP and COG policies in support of ECG efforts are appropriately coordinated with those of the legislative and judicial branches in order to ensure interoperability and allocate national assets efficiently to maintain a functioning Federal Government.

(10) Federal Government COOP, COG, and ECG plans and operations shall be appropriately integrated with the emergency plans and capabilities of State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, as appropriate, in order to promote interoperability and to prevent redundancies and conflicting lines of authority. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall coordinate the integration of Federal continuity plans and operations with State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, as appropriate, in order to provide for the delivery of essential services during an emergency.

(11) Continuity requirements for the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and executive departments and agencies shall include the following:

(a) The continuation of the performance of PMEFs during any emergency must be for a period up to 30 days or until normal operations can be resumed, and the capability to be fully operational at alternate sites as soon as possible after the occurrence of an emergency, but not later than 12 hours after COOP activation;

(b) Succession orders and pre-planned devolution of authorities that ensure the emergency delegation of authority must be planned and documented in advance in accordance with applicable law;

(c) Vital resources, facilities, and records must be safeguarded, and official access to them must be provided;

(d) Provision must be made for the acquisition of the resources necessary for continuity operations on an emergency basis;

(e) Provision must be made for the availability and redundancy of critical communications capabilities at alternate sites in order to support connectivity between and among key government leadership, internal elements, other executive departments and agencies, critical partners, and the public;

(f) Provision must be made for reconstitution capabilities that allow for recovery from a catastrophic emergency and resumption of normal operations; and

(g) Provision must be made for the identification, training, and preparedness of personnel capable of relocating to alternate facilities to support the continuation of the performance of PMEFs.

(12) In order to provide a coordinated response to escalating threat levels or actual emergencies, the Continuity of Government Readiness Conditions (COGCON) system establishes executive branch continuity program readiness levels, focusing on possible threats to the National Capital Region. The President will determine and issue the COGCON Level. Executive departments and agencies shall comply with the requirements and assigned responsibilities under the COGCON program. During COOP activation, executive departments and agencies shall report their readiness status to the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's designee.

(13) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall:

(a) Conduct an annual assessment of executive department and agency continuity funding requests and performance data that are submitted by executive departments and agencies as part of the annual budget request process, in order to monitor progress in the implementation of the Plan and the execution of continuity budgets;

(b) In coordination with the National Continuity Coordinator, issue annual continuity planning guidance for the development of continuity budget requests; and

(c) Ensure that heads of executive departments and agencies prioritize budget resources for continuity capabilities, consistent with this directive.

(14) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall:

(a) Define and issue minimum requirements for continuity communications for executive departments and agencies, in consultation with the APHS/CT, the APNSA, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Chief of Staff to the President;

(b) Establish requirements for, and monitor the development, implementation, and maintenance of, a comprehensive communications architecture to integrate continuity components, in consultation with the APHS/CT, the APNSA, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Chief of Staff to the President; and

(c) Review quarterly and annual assessments of continuity communications capabilities, as prepared pursuant to section 16(d) of this directive or otherwise, and report the results and recommended remedial actions to the National Continuity Coordinator.

(15) An official designated by the Chief of Staff to the President shall:

(a) Advise the President, the Chief of Staff to the President, the APHS/CT, and the APNSA on COGCON operational execution options; and

(b) Consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security in order to ensure synchronization and integration of continuity activities among the four categories of executive departments and agencies.

(16) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall:

(a) Coordinate the implementation, execution, and assessment of continuity operations and activities;

(b) Develop and promulgate Federal Continuity Directives in order to establish continuity planning requirements for executive departments and agencies;

(c) Conduct biennial assessments of individual department and agency continuity capabilities as prescribed by the Plan and report the results to the President through the APHS/CT;

(d) Conduct quarterly and annual assessments of continuity communications capabilities in consultation with an official designated by the Chief of Staff to the President;

(e) Develop, lead, and conduct a Federal continuity training and exercise program, which shall be incorporated into the National Exercise Program developed pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8 of December 17, 2003 ("National Preparedness"), in consultation with an official designated by the Chief of Staff to the President;

(f) Develop and promulgate continuity planning guidance to State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators;

(g) Make available continuity planning and exercise funding, in the form of grants as provided by law, to State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators; and

(h) As Executive Agent of the National Communications System, develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive continuity communications architecture.

(17) The Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall produce a biennial assessment of the foreign and domestic threats to the Nation's continuity of government.

(18) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall provide secure, integrated, Continuity of Government communications to the President, the Vice President, and, at a minimum, Category I executive departments and agencies.

(19) Heads of executive departments and agencies shall execute their respective department or agency COOP plans in response to a localized emergency and shall:

(a) Appoint a senior accountable official, at the Assistant Secretary level, as the Continuity Coordinator for the department or agency;

(b) Identify and submit to the National Continuity Coordinator the list of PMEFs for the department or agency and develop continuity plans in support of the NEFs and the continuation of essential functions under all conditions;

(c) Plan, program, and budget for continuity capabilities consistent with this directive;

(d) Plan, conduct, and support annual tests and training, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, in order to evaluate program readiness and ensure adequacy and viability of continuity plans and communications systems; and

(e) Support other continuity requirements, as assigned by category, in accordance with the nature and characteristics of its national security roles and responsibilities

General Provisions

(20) This directive shall be implemented in a manner that is consistent with, and facilitates effective implementation of, provisions of the Constitution concerning succession to the Presidency or the exercise of its powers, and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. 19), with consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others involved. Heads of executive departments and agencies shall ensure that appropriate support is available to the Vice President and others involved as necessary to be prepared at all times to implement those provisions.

(21) This directive:

(a) Shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and the authorities of agencies, or heads of agencies, vested by law, and subject to the availability of appropriations;

(b) Shall not be construed to impair or otherwise affect (i) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, and legislative proposals, or (ii) the authority of the Secretary of Defense over the Department of Defense, including the chain of command for military forces from the President, to the Secretary of Defense, to the commander of military forces, or military command and control procedures; and

(c) Is not intended to, and does not, create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(22) Revocation. Presidential Decision Directive 67 of October 21, 1998 ("Enduring Constitutional Government and Continuity of Government Operations"), including all Annexes thereto, is hereby revoked.

(23) Annex A and the classified Continuity Annexes, attached hereto, are hereby incorporated into and made a part of this directive.

(24) Security. This directive and the information contained herein shall be protected from unauthorized disclosure, provided that, except for Annex A, the Annexes attached to this directive are classified and shall be accorded appropriate handling, consistent with applicable Executive Orders.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Coincidence?

you need to see this and take note of the specific points. do something.

You don't negotiate with terrorists.

House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge.

One of these things is not like the other. .. Oh Wait...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121876461747243159.html

Andrew K. McCain, 46, was on the board of Silver State Bancorp for five months before he resigned on July 25 for unspecified "personal reasons," according to a news release issued by the bank at the time.

Associated Press

Andy McCain was on the board of Silver State Bancorp for just five months before he resigned on July 25 for 'personal reasons.'

A week after Mr. McCain's departure, the Henderson, Nev., company reported a loss of $62.7 million in the second quarter and said its capital -- the bank's cushion to absorb losses -- had eroded significantly. At the same time, Silver State announced the resignations of its chief executive and chairman.

Niel Bush , restoring dignity and the family name.

http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/real-estate-mortgage-loans/282011-1.html

Silverado: Neil Bush and the Savings & Loan Scandal

Among the financial ruins heaped upon the American public by the savings and loan debacle are the remains of a few institutions that have come to symbolize the unfortunate excesses of the 1980s. One of them is the Denver-based thrift

that was aptly known as Silverado Banking.

Besides the staggering $1 billion cost to taxpayers, the demise of Silverado was further exploited by the presence of Neil Bush, the president's youngest son. As a member of the board of directors, the 29-year-old Bush gave Silverado first-family connections and social prestige. In the end, the Bush name attracted national headlines and congressional investigations, and, as a result, Silverado became synonymous with the entire S&L fiasco.

Way scarier than SNL

Sarah Palin's Churches and The Third Wave from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.

Step right up , Step right up, sell your soul, sell your vote.

English is easy.

I take it you already know,
Of tough and bough and cough and dough.
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps.
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead - it’s said like bed, not bead,
For goodness’ sake, don’t call it ‘deed’!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose –
Just look them up – and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go and thwart and cart –
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Why man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five.

More hearings at the hill

Congressional Hearings bush

Citizen Engineer

Citizen Engineer from citizen engineer on Vimeo.

This is a very cool site. There is always so much to learn. That's one of the great things about life, learning new ways to have fun. Because, "If I aint havin fun, I'm done"

McCain admits he graduated

At least he was better than 5 other dumbasses in his class of 899.

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

War Cost








click here to learn more



Dreams Wishes and Delusions

I did have a weird dream last night but that's beside the point. I'm talking about the kind of dreams you have when your awake, things you wish for that aren't true or at least presently so.
And the delusion part refers to the ability or predisposition of the human mind to wish things were different and to be able to rationalize whole belief systems around that delusion.
I guess this came out of some books I've been reading lately. One was a hopeful piece of fiction about life choices, dreams and fulfillment of destiny and the other one is a careful analysis of the ability, and the reason the ability exists, for otherwise intelligent people to belief in irrational things. I guess hope can be more fun than pragmatism. I've also been listening to lectures on cell biology, motivation and comparisons of the USA to the Holy Roman Empire, the latter of which has been pointed out to be none of the three. Then again there is the placebo effect of wishful thinking which I've heard is being used as a replacement for real steroids. So apparently there is some value in it for us somehow and it's up to us to try to balance the usefulness of the technique against the travails of it's irrationality.

Worlds and other oysters

Hi Gentle Readers,
This has been a lovely and productive week. I've enjoyed a few evenings with friends that I haven't seen for a while among other things. I smoked a salmon on tuesday which turned out great. Took that and some shrimp in a backpack on the motorcycle over to MF's house for a house warming bbq. Also went with DH who now rides MF's old bike; the purchase of which helped to propel MF into homeownership and fatherhood. His little boy loves the neighbors dogs while MF does not. Anyway that was nice. The food and friendship was great. I have more plans this weekend for boat tasks. Getting the final checklist going. I'll be doing some cleaning of the boat and will be testing the motor and gathering all of the gear together. I'll have to take some time to review my items of interest.

On a good note, I got a call from FM who wants to be in the keys in May. So it looks like I'll have a chance to try out my new scuba gear and do some day sailing in Key West. Always fun.
Of course I'll have to renew my dive insurance with DAN before diving. It's been 3 years now since I've been diving and I'm right here in a divers paradise. Well at least now that I have my own equipment I can go at anytime. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone here that dives other than the big boss and my bosses boss.

Busy

Awesomely productive weekend. Of course some of it was spent wasting my time and money because of mistakes that I'll have to repair, but overall it was good. First I'll have to start with friday afternoon because I got the oil changed in the car. Up early Saturday, I loaded up the ipod with a couple of hundred new songs. My sister and bro in law came for an early morning visit and brought me a christmas present. Then it was off the the races. The getting things done races.
I had a prescription filled which takes forever but during that time I got a pin for the backstay on my sailboat and some epoxy. I had gotten some pins earlier but they were too big. First task was to epoxy a washer onto the front clip of my car. So with the epoxy I just bought, which was identical to the full tubes already in my toolbox, I fixed the probem with the front clip. After getting prescription filled and the hardware store I decided to wash my truck. That took a while because it's a big billy badass truck. Then I changed the oil in my bike and washed that. After all that, I still had time to get my car washed. The oil change place gave me a coupon for a free wash. I love it because I had a 14$ coupon for oil change, then they give me a 7$ coupon for car wash. After all that I got a little lunch and watched some horse racing with some old timers. I did end up going out later but it was uneventful. Sunday was a very happy day. My friend came over to help me drill some holes in my boat. That's right, drill holes in the boat, on purpose. I had previously taken a big piece of hardwood and shaped to the inside of the bow and fiberglassed it into the front of the boat. After a little sanding and painting it was acceptable for my first fiberglassing job. With D's help we used a string and a laser level to measure the appropriate distance for the drilling. It eventually worked out well , ending with a tow hook securely installed in the bow of the boat. Yay!. Now launching and retrieval just became MUCH easier. I've been waiting to do that for quite a while but now I'm starting to feel like a boat builder or at least someone who might be able to fix what I break. So after that accomplishment I went to the nearby boat ramp to see if I could get my boat in and I think it will be just fine.
A couple more little tasks and I should be on the water soon. Yay!

Boats Bikes Trucks and Cars

Mayday Mayday

Not much to say today, in fact, it hurts. Being sick is rare for me and I'm not digging it.
On top of the cough and sore throat I woke up with conjunctivitis this morning. Taking a trip to clinic this morning. I enjoyed seeing the children and dogs in Sanibel island but am now remined that they are both disease vectors. :(

Mini Vacation

I finally took a little vacation. Didn't really do much but that's what they are for right? Of course , the first day I thought my throat was a little scratchy and sure enough it turned out that I was sick the whole time. I didn't notice it much during the time off but really did right before I had to go back to work. I got to have a bunch of great meals, see some bands, do a little sailing in the gulf and fishing from the beach. Played with my new gps a garmin 400c with the coastal charts pre loaded. That's the handheld one for the boat. It was pretty cool driving on roads near the shore and also being able to see the marinas and obstructions and depths. Can't wait to get it out on my boat.

Doing stuff and Not

Yesterday was a beautiful day but only mildly productive. I managed to get my hairs cut but little else. Had a nice dinner with my friend Dave though. I still have about half of a delicious ruby red tuna steak that I plan on consuming for dinner. Tonite I will have to get some chores done as it is trash night. Or as someone once said people will never amount to much as long they have two choices or something like that. I am motivated though. I will get some extra pins for the stays today and I did order a gps. I was going to go for a permanently mounted one that can be hooked up to sonar and radar but opted for a new model handheld one that comes with the bluewater coastal chart data already preloaded; rationalizing that it would be more useful to be able to take it in the car and other terrestrial trips. Hopefully some of the other stuff I ordered will come next week.

Current reading

I have lots of reading material currently. An Attitudes and Latitudes and a new Harpers came this weekend. I'm still reading Ann Karenina. Never really read much Tolstoy and I'm really enjoying it. I'm guessing someone probably made a movie of this that I'd like to see. I read old man and the sea this morning in the wee hours. I still have movable feast by the bedside that I'll start reading again sometime. I also read a fair amount of on the road this morning. Not really sleeping through the night. I think there is a hole in a screen or something as I'm regularly destroyed by mosquitoes during the night.

Another day in Paradise

The other day when trying to put up the mast I noticed I'm missing a pin for the backstay. I tried to get a hasty replacement but it was the wrong size so I moved the boat back into the side yard.
Otherwise, it seemed to trailer ok and It SEEMS like I should be able to step the mast without any trouble. I see my trailer parts are being shipped, I hope I got the right stuff. I need to drill out the fiberglass block and install my towing hook. Big excitement for me. With winch and a few more items I think I'll be ready for a shakedown lake cruise soon.

Weekend

Ok, I did the fiberglassing. That was a first but it worked out alright. I'm glad to have the experience. I still need to to a little sanding and then drill the holes for the tow hook. I hooked up the boat to the truck and pulled it out front where I can put up the mast. I didn't put it up because my friend came over and we did other stuff. Plus, I saw that I'm missing a fastener for back stay. I wanted to see how hard it is to deal with the mast but I think I'll be able to handle it. I'll try find a pin for the back stay today. Also, I need to order the winch post and winch for the trailer. I did order a bunch of stuff this weekend. New Scuba gear!, a sexy new bilge pump and some fenders. Looked at a bunch of gps/chartplotter sounders. Can't decide. Got a new Harpers and Latitudes and Attitudes plus a whole box of books this weekend so I have plenty of reading material. Had a good time this weekend. Went to a eating fest in town to sample different restaurants and then went to a bikini bike wash. I didn't have my bike so I shucked trou and got myself washed. Fun. This week will see more sailing items crossed off my list.

Conservation

Ok, So I didn't get any chores/projects/tasks done yesterday. I was invited to a nice auction to raise $ for a conservation association. It was great. Rode the bike there after work and enjoyed all kinds of things boating and fishing wise, as well as a nice steak and free drinks plus some nice free shirts.

Today, I'll take some marine caulk and smooth or fillet the edges around my hardwood block that I epoxied on the inside of the bow in order to provide a backstop for the towing hook. Then tomorrow I'll practice some fiberglassing, then glass in the wooden block. I've never done any fiberglassing so that should be sort of fun. I intend to do a good job. Also, this evening, I'll be ordering a bunch of stuff that I need for boat. See earlier list, likely to expand.

Sailing Camping

Ok, So I have my sailboat. Here's a list of things I need to do to get ready to go sail camping in the gulf.

Secure towing eye. Need to Fiberglass in hardwood block and drill holes.

Boat US Liability and Towing insurance.

Order winch stand and winch. Needs to be about 35" high, should support a ton or more, should fit on a 2" steel channel, nice to have bow stop.

Order Bilge pump.

Fresh water hookup.

Portable Stove.

Giant Cooler

Spare tire for trailer. Double check all. Grease Bearings, bearing buddies, zirc fitting.

Order fenders for docking, ~ 4 should be good plus quick connects to attach to side rails.

Fire extinguisher/first aid, required equipment checklist. Whistle lights flares lifejackets etc.

Order scuba gear.

GPS Garmin 420? Depth sounder?

Good Compass,

Paper Charts.

Secure Anchor inside.

Break in Motor

Bimini Support

Stereo?

Took kit for boat.

Secure gas cans. - Gas Line.

Blog for my father

Well in a general kind of way. It's a great Coltrane tune so why not.
I agree with my friend JMFC that blogs are kind of and so feel a little uneasy about publishing anything. There is not enough time to get things done in the day.
This blog is called Bein for two reasons , 1 cuz that's what I'm doing, and 2 because that's what my mom calls me.