Occasional Quote:

Excellence is an art won by training an habituation. We are what we repeatedly do.

-Aristotle

Ancient Ships

Does your mind ever wanter to a time of long ago?
When the salty air filled your lungs with life force
As the spray of the sea washed the sweat from your brow
And the solid earth was not your foothold of choice?

Do you ever dream the sound of mighty canvas sails?
Whipping windward as the seagulls soar to meet the sky?
The beauty of dark stained mahogany and golden brass rails
The memory of a shipmate's shout, "To portside, whales going by!"

Can you remember the sting of the bloody hands around the sheets?
As your worked side by side with mates to bring the ship about?
Setting a course for far off lands and great adventures to complete
Entries in your diary of exploits, even treasures... did you tout!

Then, there was that storm, a gale which was never seen before,
Force was the "Devils" favor as she approached the black of day
The still calm of the sea behind seemed to be running back to shore
All aboard the Clipper knew what lay ahead and all began to pray!

Immediately the mainsail bellowed as it filled with a furious wind
The Captain shouted, "Trim her tight agains the wind, hold her steady"
Over sounds of clapping thunder and the frenzied screams of men
Do you recall the strength you felt, as the Sea Witch stood ready?

As she listed to starboard, swells cascaded over her slippery deck
"Secure those sheets, release the Jib...Mr. Baker, check below for flooding!"
The Captain's voice, full of the force of God, they would not wreck!
You held your ground and faced the wrath, no time for brooding!

Within threedays time, the storm had quelled, the gulls returned
"A job well done, men, shall be rewarded with an extra hunck of mutton!"
Cheers echoed forth, all knew the heartfelt pride they had earned
Stars were bright that night, a zephyr was free, you were a glutton!

I challenge you to wonder...to ponder that amazing trip...
Were you dreaming, or was that you aboard that Ancient Ship?

-by Geneva Canaday
R.I.P

Happy Birthday Kipling

His bio is here. As you may know I am an enthusiastic fan of his poem "If".

Occasional Quote:

Ayn Rand

"Guilt is a rope that wears thin."

Starting to look like a daily quote, isn't it.

"Success" by Berton Braley

" Success"

If you want a thing bad enough

To go out and fight for it,

Work day and night for it,

Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it

If only desire of it

Makes you quite mad enough

Never to tire of it,

Makes you hold all other things tawdry and cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it

And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,

If gladly you'll sweat for it,

Fret for it,

Plan for it,

Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you'll simply go after that thing that you want.

With all your capacity,

Strength and sagacity,

Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,

Nor sickness nor pain

Of body or brain

Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,

You'll get it!

Occasional Quote:

Will Rogers

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."

Occasional Quote:

Anna Pavlova

"To follow, without halt, one aim: There's the secret of success."

Happy Birthday Pasteur

He was the man who brought us pasteurization, proved that spontaneous generation was incorrect, and gave us a vaccine against anthrax.

Lyrics to "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off"

Since the most frequent reason people visit my site is to find the lyrics to this song, I thought I should actually post the lyrics:

SHE SAID i'M GOING OUT WITH MY GIRLFRIENDS
MAGUARITAS AT THE HOLIDAY INN
OH MERCY...MY ONLY THOUGHT
WAS TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF

I TOLD HER PUT AN EXTRA LAYER ON
I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SHE DRINKS PATRON
HER CLOSETS MISSING HALF THE THINGS SHE BOUGHT
TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF

CH....SHE'LL START BY KICKING OUT OF HER SHOES
LOSE AN EARRING IN HER DRINK
LEAVE HER JACKET IN THE BATH ROOM STALL
DROP A CONTACT DOWN THE SINK

THEM PANTYHOSE AIN'T GONNA LAST TOO LONG
IF THE D J PUTS BON JOVI ON
SHE MIGHT COME HOME IN A TABLECLOTH
TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF

SOLO

SHE CAN HANDLE ANY CHAMPAIGNE BRUNCH
BRIDAL SHOWER WITH BACARDI PUNCH
JELLO SHOOTERS FULL OF SMIRNOFF... BUT TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF

CHORUS

SHE DON'T MEAN NOTHING
SHE'S JUST HAVING FUN
TOMORROW SHE'LL SAY
OH WHAT HAVE I DONE
HER FRIENDS WILL JOKE ABOUT THE STUFF SHE LOST
CAUSE TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF

Things you can to to increase your home's saleability

These are stolen from "Sell Your House on Purpose" by my friend, Pat Forber. He has a great list of items so I decided not to reinvent the wheel. The italicized parts are his headings, the comments are mine.

Condition
1. The Love Factor/Perfect Inspection. Show that your home is well maintained by doing those five to ten repairs you've been meaning to do, but haven't made time for. You may have stopped noticing that the faucet doesn't quite work right, or front door sticks, but a buyer sure will.

2. When in doubt, paint it! Paint goes a long way. Think about it if you drive up to a house and the front of it has chipping paint, that is going to color your view of the whole home. Even if the interior is perfect, you are going to be looking for flaws because of the first impression.

3. When in doubt, fix it! The buyer will probably ask you to do this as part of the inspection anyway. Why give them the opportunity to renegotiate the price? Fix it.

4. Keep water in the tub! Plumbing problems scare the crap out of people. Make sure your plumbing is in great working order. If your toilet runs, make it stop. If you sink drips, make it stop. If you have water damage, figure out the problem and fix it.

5. High tech standards. Make sure your electrical system is up to code.

6. Concrete and Dirty Ideas. Fix any landscaping and concrete blemishes outside the house. Especially in the front of the house.

7. Outland awareness. Once you've done the landscaping, keep it neat and trimmed.

8. The Furnace. Have your furnace serviced and if possible have them check for any gas leaks. Make sure the area around it is clean.

9. Interior decorating. Try to eliminate anything that is offensive to the current market. Get rid of that orange shag carpet!

10. Setting the stage. Basically, make your home look clean when potential buyers tour the house. Get rid of clutter. Make your home feel as welcoming as possible. Keep all areas of the home clean. Get rid of clutter (I already said that didn't I.)

I hope this was helpful.

Response to Rev's Question

Thanks to Rev for posing the comment/question. My response got so long I decided to make it a post.

You can definitely save money by doing some of the work yourself. The value added would still be the same as long as you didn't sacrifice quality by doing it yourself.

So let's run through an example. The national average cost for a deck addition was $11,300 and the cost recovery at sale was 90%. This means if your house was worth $200,000 before the remodel, it would be worth $210,170 after the remodel ($200,000 + ($11,300 x 90%).

If you were able to reduce the price of the deck addition by 10% by doing it yourself, the price of the deck would then be $10,170. So the increase in value would be exactly equal to the cost of the project.

The same type of analysis would apply for any of the project remodels.

As far as getting advice in your neighborhood, I would definitely recommend talking to a the Realtor who farms (ie specializes in) your neighborhood. If they are putting themselves out there as an expert in your neighborhood, they should be able to tell you what the buyers are willing to pay extra for in your neighborhood. They should know what the trends are and what you as a seller can capitalize on.

Getting an appraisal may not serve your purpose and the Realtor will likely do the analysis for "free". By free, I mean they will do it for no cost other than the honest opportunity to win your business. If you don't plan on moving anytime soon or are going to use your buddy Joe, have the courtesy to take them out to lunch at a decent place.

When people here in Denver ask me what to do to their homes, I recommend they make whatever changes to their home that are going to make them enjoy it more and not to worry about the dollar return on investment. The return is their enjoyment of their home.

It isn't worth what it cost!

As a real estate appraiser, I know that cost and value are not the same thing. Every year NAR does a study of what remodel jobs pay off and which don't. That is kind of a misnomer because in general, they don't pay off. They are trying to be positive so they put it in a percent of cost recovered, but I would prefer if they put a percent gained or lost based on the investment put in. Almost all of the numbers would be negative, but that is more realistic.

Smartmoney published the list here. Keep in mind that you only made money on your investment if the number is greater than 100%.

Dumb Criminals

This goes along with the Darwin awards. Hat tip to Business Pundit.

Occasional Quote:

Theodore Roosevelt

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Merry Christmas

Firefly Life Lessons

This is Firefly's answer to "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".

Occasional Quote:

Thomas Jefferson

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."

Occasional Quote:

George Washington

"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

Top 100 Skylines

I've had this one on my favorites list, but I thought I'd share with my readers. There is something about a skyline that makes you think about all of the people working there and what they are accomplishing.

I'm (not) with the band

I played guitar for about ten years around when I was in high school and early college, but set it aside. I just recently picked it up again and have been surprised about how much I remember.

Anyhow, since I've been playing I've been toying around with the idea of starting a blues band. Not something too serious with the touring, and the promoting, and the recording, but something to do for fun on occasion. Maybe the opening act for an opening act.

Well, last night I spent the evening at Swallow Hill at their blues jam. I had a great time! I learned a few new songs. I learned a few new cords. I played until my fingers (almost) bled. (Note to self, work on my callouses).

As much as I had a great time, I came to the conclusion that the weakest member of my one man band is me. It is going to be some time before I'm ready to ask others to play with me. I had a terrible time remembering chord changes. I was sort of like the littlest girl in a kindergarten dance recital; I would watch the others for the next move. I was like the Peter Keating guitar player.

So this just means that I'm going to have to keep on practicing, keep on playing at sessions like last night, and generally keep on keeping on. Eventually I'll be just like John Lee Hooker, only a little whiter.

Congratulations

I want to say congratulations to Gabriele who just finished the first draft of her first novel.

The Dead Zone

I just finished On Writing by Stephen King and I thought it was a good read. Coincidentally, Ian over at Banana Oil posted his thoughts on King's "The Dead Zone", which King talks about in On Writing.

I've never read The Dead Zone, but I love good plots and the plot of this one is "What happens when the lone gunman in the tower is right?". Ian goes into the plot in more detail. Just the simple question makes it an intriguing novel. Most great plots can be summarized with an intriguing question starting with "what happens when":

What happens when a priest falls in love with a gypsy girl? (Hunchback of ND)
What happens when an ugly, but witty, man seduces the woman he loves for a hansom, but simple friend? (Cyrano)
What happens when a mulatto returns home to confront a racist general and his slave trading brother? (George by Dumas)
What happens when a man fights against a Wall Street syndicate to build a grain elevator? (Calumet K)
What happens when a valley girl becomes a killer of vampires? (Buffy the Vampire Slayer-I had to throw this one in)
What happens when the mind goes on strike against society? (Atlas Shrugged)
What happens when a son discovers his father's unsavory past? (All My Sons by A. Miller)

All of these are great and intriguing plots.

Occasional Quote:

The solo sailor has to be conscious of every sight, sound, or even a change of motion on the yacht, whether on deck or below because it could indicate a change of wind speed or direction, a developing problem or the failure of a component.

-Andrew Roberts, Project Director, Aviva Challenge

Online Radio Stations

I normally don't listen to the radio at the office. I get distracted by the commercials and the DJs. Something about hearing someone talk interrupts my ability to focus on anything else.

Recently, I've checked out a couple of the on-line radio stations. I started with AOL and have tried out Yahoo! Music. I have to say I'm impressed. AOL had a great mix in the three categories I've been flipping between--blues, classic rock, and classical. This week, AOL seems to have partnered with XM radio and the mix went down hill. This prompted me to check out Yahoo!

Yahoo!'s mix is as good as AOL's. They do play commercials periodically, but only 30 second spot at a time. You also have to pay for some of the more specialized sites, including blues. :( They have two additional features I like: First, they have a "skip this track" button. If you just hate "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, you can simply skip it. (You can't skip the commercials!) Second, it will stop periodically to see if you're still listening. It is nice to know that the radio won't be on all night if I forget to shut down the computer.

My older sister, who works at Microsoft, has recommended I try MSN's music site. I'll let you know what I think once I give it a shot.

Compete in the America's Cup

The Spanish challenger to the America's cup just posted an on-line simulation game which allows you to sail a boat against a challenger. The directions are in Spanish, but it is possible to get the gist of the directions with a little help from Common Sense.

Tie me up, tie me down

Here is a link for boating knots. I always used to watch my dad tie things up when we were moving and was in awe that he could keep a giant desk or a couch from falling over with rope. Now that I've learned the essential sailing knots, I think I can one up him by using about half of the rope that he did.

If the title of this post excited you, you might be looking for something more like this. ;)

Happy Birthday Beethoven

Today is Beethoven's birthday. His short bio is here. I love his Fifth Symphony and his "Ode to Joy". He was one of the great composers of all time. If you want to learn more about his life and contribution, I recommend checking out the courses Robert Greenberg gives at the Teaching Company.

Creation and Destruction

Last Tuesday I came home and the house across the street was gone. It had been there that morning and had completely disappeared by 6PM. It amazed me that the wrecking crew took a single day to destroy what took some developer at least six months to create.

Fortunately, there is a new developer who is going to put up a shiny new duplex in its place, which will make my house more valuable.

Occasional Quote:

Thomas A. Edison
"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."

Copulating deaf couple unaware of own volume

The title says it all. The full article is here.

Hat tip: Noodlefood

Jack the Ripper

Since I mentioned it: If you go to London, don't miss the Jack the Ripper walking tour. They start at midnight and take you on a tour of the crime scenes. It is definitely gruesome; you definitely learn a lot about the crimes, but you learn about the times too.

If you don't have a taste for the macabre, go to the improve. You might get to see some of the cast of the British Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Healthy Competition

Apparently Muir and C&F are competing for some kind of award. And they are taking friendly jabs at each other in the process. I think they are both funny. I have a little cartoon crush on Sam, the redheaded engineer with an assault rifle, on Day by Day, so I may have a little bias.

English Breakfast

I like to have a big cup of coffee in the morning. Not so much because I need the caffeine. I don't. I drink decaf. I just like coffee.

The last couple of days I haven't been able to have my morning cup. I don't have any coffee in the house and haven't managed to make it to the store. Normally I would just skip it and make a mental note to buy some coffee, but it has been so bloody cold lately that I need something hot. In place of my beloved cup of Joe, I have had to resort to drinking tea. English breakfast to be exact.

Drinking this particular flavor of tea brought back a vivid memory. Liz and Norman brought Tina and I to this little coffee bistro when we first arrived in Scotland. I follow the old maxim "cum in Roma", so I ordered the "Scottish Breakfast". I devoured it. There were a few things on my plate that I didn't immediately recognize, but that never stopped me before.

Afterwards, I asked about the little blackish mound of stuff I had eaten. They explained to me that it was black pudding.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Well, it is blood that they boil and add spices to." Liz said.

At this very moment, I let loose a sneeze I had been fighting off. When I looked up, everyone had taken a step back and had a horrified look on their face.

"What's wrong?"

"Well," Liz said "I thought after telling you what was in the black pudding... and the motion that you just made... well, I thought you were going to vomit."

They were actually surprised that I hadn't.

So it's been nice re-living some old travel memories. I will have to get some coffee soon or I'll keep reliving my travels to Britain. Then you'll be subjected to my "Jack the Ripper" story.

Blogging Heroes

hero (n) A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose.

There are two bloggers I'd like to give a hat tip to. They are heroes because of their courage and dedication to their goals.

The first is Dee Caffari. She is adding to her list of heroic sailing triumphs by sailing alone around the world backwards. It is easier to sail around the world going west a la Magellan. She is going it alone to the east. Reading her blog/diary is fascinating and exciting.

The second is Jason Duncan. He is starting a coffee shop up in Bozeman, MT. He just graduated from college and has taken on this big undertaking. I really enjoy his blog too.

New Pirates of the Caribbean Movie

I always hear about the good new movies from Ian first. Check out the trailer.

Ziggies

I just discovered a cool bar in Denver. I won’t say it’s a new bar because it is only new to me.

It’s Ziggie’s Saloon: Colorado’s Home of the Blues. It is the only blues bar I know of here in Denver. I mean strictly Blues. I dropped by the check out the band they had there on Saturday night and what struck me was how friendly everyone was. I ran into a guitarist, Andy, who told me about their Sunday jam sessions. It sounded like fun, even though I haven’t really played guitar in years and my skills are hovering just above newbie.

The band was cool too. They played a pretty interesting mix of blues and funk. Chucky, the bar owner, told Andy and I that they were a trio from three other bands and they played together on the side.

The bar’s walls were covered with posters of the old Blues legends--Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, etc. They also had signed photos of the bands that have played there over the years.

I’m definitely coming back!

Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl": An analysis

I don't really know what to say except that if this song baffles you as much as it baffles me, this article will add some insight.

Ancient long distance seafaring

I found the link above via Zephyr. It is a story about evidence that contradicts the belief that ancient mariners never left sight of land. Maybe I watched too many Indiana Jones movies as a kid, but archaeology is so fascinating to me.

Final thoughts

So this is my last post on the sailing class. For those of you who wanted to know "how was your trip" and only wanted the short version, this is it.

I loved the class. I really enjoyed getting out into real water. Looking out and seeing nothing but horizon. There is a kind of freedom and power you feel when you catch the wind. My friend, Steve, who recommended this school to me, said that sailing was all terminology at first and all dream later. When I asked "what dream", he said, "the dream that you can go anywhere." I think this is that freedom and power you feel. The adventure, the travels, the stories, the wind, the fun, the excitement, the DREAM.

I learned a lot. If you've read some of the posts, you know generally what I learned. Navigation, boating systems, anchoring, sail theory, etc. What I didn't share was what I learned about myself. That is that as much as I loved the class and sailing on big water, I had much more fun racing this summer.

It's not that I don't want to go cruising, or that the dream of sailing the Greek islands is out, only that racing was more exciting. When you race, it is all about the wind, the course, the competition. If there is no wind, there is no race. When you're cruising, if there is no wind, there is always the motor. Whenever we chose to motor because we had no wind and had to make time, I thought, if I wanted to motor, I'd get a motor boat. So I've decided to spend more time at the weekly regattas this summer. There will probably be another cruise sometime in the upcoming years, especially if I can talk a few friends into a long weekend somewhere.

Photos From the Trip

Click the title for the photos. :) I only have four right now and I only took three of them. Eventually I'll put up more.

Occasional Quote:

Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.
Ralph Charell

Last Day

Ok. First things first. Shower---long, hot, continuous, shower. A few days of freezing while you lather up with the water off taking a Navy shower makes you appreciate running water.

After that I took a few minutes to study before our final test. It took the most amount of time of any of the tests, but I passed.

Since two of us passed, we were able to take the boat out for 24 hours without our instructor. Our only real option was to sail out and back, anchoring at the same place we went the first night.

At first, there was no wind to speak of, so we primarily trimmed our sails as best we could and cruised along at 1 to 2 knots. I think I can swim faster than that. Just before dusk, the wind picked up and we got some good wind going into our anchorage.

Once we set our anchor, we hoped for a calm night. Unfortunately, we had the biggest winds over night. Both Rob and I were up checking on our anchor to make sure it was holding.

And the next morning, we got up and motored back to our dock. There was no wind and so no point in trying to sail.

Once we were back, we got our certificates and went our separate ways. In my last post about this, I'm going to write my take away lessons and sum it all up.

Docking

So we were back at the Harborage marina and had to dock the boat. We were all thinking about hot showers, fresh food, full flush toilets, unlimited water, but we had to dock the boat first.

I always got nervous docking the little J boats in Denver. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop the momentum of the boat and would crash into the end of the dock. Now we're driving in a much bigger boat in tighter quarters. Rob drove in the first time while I handled the spring lines. We pulled out and docked a second time for practice. I drove that time while Rob handled the spring lines. Once we had the plan down, it was actually pretty easy. I think docking the J boats is going to feel a lot easier after this trip.

Once we were docked for the evening, Rick tells us our final exam will be in the morning and then he disappears. I'm sure he was anxious to get home to his wife after being trapped on a boat with us for four days.

I split the rest of the evening studying and walking the docks of the marina. It is really interesting to see the people who choose to live on their boats. They seem normal, but they are bound to a boat with limited space. Granted the yachts are huge! They have everything you'd ever need. The women in our group visited a boat which had a washer/dryer, fresh water maker (from sea water), plus the works entertainment system. If I didn't have as much stuff as I have, I could live on a boat---maybe.

While I was on the dock, I noticed there were two or three cats roaming around. One of them was a tailless manx. It makes me wonder if the cats go sailing with the boats they live on and do they ever fall off? Do their owners lock them in a room down below?

Translating my posts to English

I know some of the people who are reading this know very little about sailing. So I've included this link which shows some of the basics.

Blown away

So we motored along the ICW to get back to Tampa Bay. We opened a couple of the draw bridges, which was kind of fun. It is sort of like playing with the CB radio when you're a kid only the guy on the other side stakes you seriously and they stop traffic to let you through.

Finally, mid afternoon the wind picked up. We were getting 10 knot winds and had to compensate about 20 degrees up wind just to keep on our planned course.

We sailed back to our destination and the wind picked up even more (15 to 20 knots). The boat was heeling so we had to adjust our sail plan to depower the sails.

To maximize power of the sails, you want sails trimmed perfectly and close to the wind. You want them a little loose to catch as much wind as possible in light winds. Essentially, you want a big parachute to catch the wind.

Powering up the main sail is done by:
1. Slightly lowering the main or loosening the Cunningham to let the part of the sail next to the mast bow out a little.
2. loosening the outhaul to let the part of the sail next to the boom bow out a little.
3. Tightening the boom vang to eliminate twist.

To depower, do the opposite.

The only way to power up the job is to move the jib fairlead forward to eliminate twist.

So we played games with our sails and finally made it back to our starting point.

Intercoastal Waterway

After the test we started up the motor again and headed down the Intercoastal waterway (ICW). Since I knew nothing about the ICW prior to this trip, I'm going to bore you with a description. The ICW is a long, marked waterway that runs along the east coast of the US from Maine to Texas.

The direction is important because the buoy markers are marked as if you were headed back to Texas. When you enter a harbor, the rule is "red right returning". This means all red buoys, which are numbered and triangular on top are kept to the right. This ensures that you don't go into water that is too shallow and run aground. The green buoys, which are rectangular, are kept to the left.

On the ICW, they are marked independently from the harbor or channel markers. Each existing buoy is marked with either a yellow square or a triangle. Just like the normal buoys, the triangles are kept to the right and the square are kept to the left as if you are headed to Texas.

Sometimes you will have a red buoy with a yellow square or a green buoy with a yellow triangle. In these cases, if you want to enter the harbor, you follow the color of the buoy and if you want to follow the ICW you follow the yellow markers. This is sort of like highways which are marked [I-25] and [US85]. Sometimes the highways will separate and you have to watch the correct sign to stay on your chosen path.

By the way, I sometimes have to create pictures in my mind to remember things. For the buoys I've created two images. The green buoys are called cans, are rectangular, and are marked with an odd number. To remember this, I think of a 7UP can. It's a can, it's green, it's marked with an odd number. For the red markers, which are called nuns, marked with an even number and are triangular, I think of a nun dressed in red, wearing the pope's hat with a number 6 on her frock. I know it is a silly way to remember it, but I haven't been able to forget it either.

Second Test

I came primarily to learn about sailing, chartering sailboats, and to sail on something bigger than Cherry Creek Reservoir. The secondary purpose was to get the certification from US Sailing which acts as a kind of international driver's license for sailors. Most charter companies internationally want you to show that you have, at a minimum, received their yachting certification. To get the certification, you have to pass their tests. I challenged the basic keelboat sailing course and this morning I'm taking the bareboat chartering test.

The test wasn't really that difficult, but you had to really think through your answer. It helped to be able to visualize yourself on the boat, in the water. It also helped to know each of the systems within the boat. I passed.

Dinner and Jokes

Dinner tonight was a blast. We were on shore for the first time in three days, so we were all walking a little crooked. We all ate seafood, drank beer and told jokes. We ended up having a joke orgy. Each joke spawned another joke, which lead to another. One joke after the other, each laugh egged on more laughter. We fanned the flames with a lot of beer.

I love eating. I love telling jokes. I love laughing. I had a great time.

Seasick

I almost got seasick today. We were getting pretty strong winds and the woman who was driving couldn't keep a steady course. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. My stomach started to rebel after about half an hour. I took some ginger tablets, which they say will calm your stomach. Based on my reaction to it, it does. I felt better in only a few minutes. I didn't feel entirely "right" until Rob started driving.

You remember the four books I was supposed to have finished for this trip. If I had finished them, I would have learned that seasickness comes from a faulty sense of horizon. When your body is being shaken about, but the horizon doesn't seem to move, you get seasick. It helps to drive the boat, or to keep moving because it helps to reestablish the horizon. The book also says if you cant move, it helps to stare at the horizon for a few minutes.

Waste

We finally had to deal with the nasty business of dumping our waste. You have to be out at least three miles from shore before you can legally do this. Otherwise you have to use a giant shit vacuum at a marina. You throw the switch which allows flow out of the holding tank and turn on the macerator (1 part pump, 1 part blender). We left it open once we were done to let the sea water into our holding tank, which we pumped out just before closing the valve off again.

Yack. Nasty business.

Navigation tips and tricks

One little trick we used to "shortcut" our navigational duties was to back sight channel marker in order to set our course. We knew the channel marker was in a direct line with the point we were headed at a bearing of 240 degrees, or about 7 o'clock with north at 12 o'clock. We couldn't see the point we were headed directly because the Earth is still round. If we looked back and the channel marker was at 60 degrees (240-180) we knew it was time to turn. What this allowed us to do was to cut a corner. Instead of sailing straight in one direction and then making a hard turn, we were able to sail more directly to where we were going.

Quiz... what do you mean quiz?

Started this morning with a quiz which was clearly designed to show us how little we knew about sailing. None of us knew most, let alone ALL, of the answers. Rick used it as a teaching tool. I think it would have been easier to skip the quiz and go straight to a lesson, but it's not my school.

Rick taught us about how to modify the rigging of the boat to give the sails additional power or to depower the sails. These are definitely useful skills in high and low winds.

After our lesson, we charted our course, hauled up our anchor, and fired up the engine. (Yes, there was no wind again this morning.)

We decided that we wanted to go to dinner at this restaurant that will let us dock overnight if we buy dinner. This, in my view, is one of the coolest things I've learned. That you can dock close to a town, stop in for dinner or to see some of the sights. I guess this bit of travel lust is what draws me to "cruising" in the first place.

OUCH!

Crap! I dreamt a fox was chasing me and when it attacked me, I kicked at it both in my dream and in reality. I woke up when my foot connected with the cabinet in my coffin-like bedroom. My toe is killing me!

Day 2

This morning we started with a navigation lesson. We began with the chart for the area and filled out our course for the day. Our log included our course distance, bearing, weather conditions, and actual times between course points.

We appointed a skipper, navigator, engineer, and crewman for the day. I was the skipper for the day, so my job was to steer the boat. I didn't have to do it all day, but I was responsible for pulling up anchor in the morning and dropping anchor in the afternoon. The navigator plots the course and keeps us on it. The engineer is responsible for checking the engine and all of the mechanical systems. The crewman basically took care of the dinghy we were towing.

After our navigation lesson, we pulled up the anchor and headed to the fuel dock. Talk about anti-climactic. We pulled up the anchor and MOTORED about 100 yards. I got to practice docking without sinking our boat.

We docked mostly because we were worried about running out of water. We actually didn't use that much, but it was nice to top off just in case.

Finally, we headed out. We let the blow us off the dock, and once we were clear we motored out of the marina. Unfortunately, there was no wind, so most of the morning we motored up the channel, following the channel markers and double checking our navigation.

One of our navigation points was the Skyway Bridge. They had enormous concrete pillars on the starboard side as you crossed under the bridge from either direction. Apparently in the '80s, a big ship knocked down the last bridge and the concrete pillars were their solution to prevent a repeat performance. I guess the last accident caused 20 deaths.

After we passed the bridge, we finally picked up some wind. So we sailed around, mostly practicing the man overboard drills. This was a little different way of picking someone up than I learned in the Denver course. Instead of drawing a figure eight around the victim, you immediately tack and draw a circle around the victim. Once you are upwind of the victim, you heave to and let the boat drive slowly toward the victim. It is actually easier to do than the figure eight because you have to think about the sailing less than the figure eight drill.

Once we finished these drills, we hove to and had a second navigation lesson. I'd heard the phrase "taking a bearing" and triangulation, but I never did get my mind on the concept until today. I guess I always thought I'd need to review my trigonometry and review sine, cosine and tangent, but it isn't even that hard. All you need to do is to pick three points you can identify on the map. Measure their compass readings from where you are, mark a line that parallels those compass readings on the map through each of your landmarks, and the point where those three lines intersect is your location. Maybe this is quite simple, but for me it was a big a-ha or more of an "oh, that's too easy".

So I was the one who anchored the boat last night. It was very different than in Denver. Instead of driving fast against the anchor, we let the wind blow us back against it. Then we started the engine in reverse and SLOWLY increased the RPMs until we were backing up pretty hard against the anchor. We were anchored near Long Boat Key.

The Orientation

We met our instructor, Rick, in the morning. He seems to have been born on the water. He said he started sailing when he was young. After school, he got his captain's license and started sailing tug boats, while he was living on his boat. He said that after the first couple years of marriage, he and his wife decided that the boat was too small for two people and moved to shore. I think he said he lived on his boat for 15 years total. He's a pretty relaxed guy, but extremely knowledgeable.

The boat is fantastic and huge, at least it is huge compared to the J boats I sail on CC Reservoir. It's twice the size of what I'm used to, 43 feet. It is only a year old and has all of the latest technology--a furling main and jib, self tailing winches, a mechanical winch for the main sheet, GPS, "auto pilot", electronic apparent and true wind indicators, etc. Raising the sails is so easy compared to the boats I'm used to, it almost isn't any work at all.

It is hard to say if I learned anything at all today. It was so exciting getting the big boat going it was hard to remember what was new and what was just fun.

Oh, Yeah. We went over the mechanical systems. The engine, generator, water system, sanitary system. And all of the trouble shooting for each system. It was a lot of information to take in and it seemed like it was all crucial. If you don't do X, we crash/sink/suffer.

I'm used to an outboard motor, so this inboard is a big change.

After the systems lesson, we got the underway. Instead of going out directly, we spent an hour driving circles around the marina to see what our turning radius was. Rick taught us about prop walk-the boat's turn to the starboard side when the motor starts initially. We used it to turn the boat more quickly to the starboard.

We set sail for a little bit, but the sun was going down, so we didn't have much time sailing today.

At sunset, we anchored. It was only the second time I've anchored, but it was really easy. I guess on the J boats it is so much more work because we have to haul out the anchor from down below, measure our scope, get the outboard running. In this boat, everything is stored in the bow of the boat with a mechanism to ease it out and pull it up.

Ok. That's all for today.

First Night

Tonight, I met the other students enrolled in the sailing course.

Rob is a self described "doctor's wife." He's taken on the role of raising the kids and "homemaking" while his wife, the dentist, makes the bread. He recently took the "learn to sail" course and is ready to buy a new sailboat. They are thinking of getting a 45 foot boat.

Linda is a retired widow who lives in Florida. She's originally from the northeast and belongs to the Princeton Ski and Sail Club. She hasn't taken any of the courses and doesn't seem to be prepared for the course--although she has a lot of experience sailing with the group.

Monica also belongs to the Princeton club. She seems to be the most experienced sailor. She's a middle aged divorce'. It should be an interesting week.

I'm posting all this one week late

I'm going to try to keep the dates to when I wrote them. If I forget the dates, let me know. I'll fix it.

To St. Pete

I’m flying out to St. Petersburg on Sunday and start my sailing classes Monday. I am going to try to blog the whole trip. If I can’t, I will take a journal and then enter it in later. So either you’ll get lots of posts next week, or lots of post the following week.

Kelo Relief

The Kelo decision was the most vile, repugnant, unpopular decision the court has made in years. Many of the states are passing laws to directly prevent Kelo condemnations. A developer has applied to condemn Justice Souter's home to build the "Lost Liberty Hotel". And yesterday, the House moved to counter the Supreme Courts decision. It is nice to see the checks and balances of our government working in the right direction.

Sunken Treasure

I found this article on Tall Ship Geeks. Construction workers discovered an 1850’s gold rush ship as they were excavating the site. Apparently, several ships were abandoned in this land fill site which lies underneath San Francisco. This is almost as exciting as Odyssey Marine Exploration’s find.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

About six months ago someone turned me on to Firefly. It is the science fiction/western produced by Joss Whedon. I loved it!

 

Since I’m a little obsessive about things I like, I checked into what else Joss has done. I found out he was the creative force behind “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spin-off, “Angel”. Both of which I now love. The funny thing is that I never watched a single episode while it was on the air. I discounted it as a show because 1) the movie was silly and 2) I had a friend who was wrongheadedly snarky about Sara Michele Geller.

 

I’m glad I didn’t miss the witty dialogue, the killer fights, and the emotional rollercoaster that is Buffy.

 

 

Finally...

...someone exposes the truth about SNL criticism.

Occasional Quote

There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.

-Poor Richard, 1737

Happy Halloween!

I knew I was going to find something cool to post about halloween. Well, thanks to Diana at Noodlefood, I have it.

Extreme pumpkins. Don't try this at home kiddies!

Random Thoughts

1. People are their own worst enemy. I think this comes from a lack of introspection and self knowledge. If more people would ask themselves "what do I feel and why do I feel it?" they would be better off. I have a friend who is having a crisis right now for this very reason.
2. I've had several people tell me that their twenties were the worst for them, that they changed the most in their twenties, and thank god they are in their thirties. I also heard someone else say "never trust anyone under 30." I haven't thought about this much since I've only been in my thirties for a year, but I think there is some truth to this. So with my birthday approaching, "here's to the next decade, may it be better than the last."
3. I grieve slowly and randomly. When my grandpa died, I felt sad about it at random times. And still, today, I miss him.
4. Recently, I had two close friends lose their mothers. One of the women I knew well and felt close to. Last week I felt the full weight of their loss while watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I actually couldn't stop crying while I was watching the show.
5. I have three very good friends who are all wicked smart. Oddly, I could refer to them as my Id, Ego, and Superego. I'm not a Freudian, but they each highlight a specific part of my personality when I'm around them.
6. I hate daylight wasting time---oh, wait, I already said that.
7. I'm going to be sailing on my birthday this year. :) But only if I don't get blown away by a hurricane. :(

Daylight Wasting Time

For me today is the beginning of winter. I hate today! From now until spring, the dark will rule the evenings. Evenings, which should rightfully be bathed in sunlight, will be covered in darkness.

Growing up

I have a friend who I've known for almost ten years now. In the couple of years, she lost her mother, her father was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, she got married, and she lost nearly everything in Katrina. I just talked to her a few days ago about her upcoming trip to Denver before she goes back to work in MS. I am so impressed and proud of her. She has dealt with more things in the past year than many people with deal with in five. She did it with maturity, perseverance, and courage. She is a true champion and I'm happy to know her.

Research to report the obvious

In the study above they showed that Darwin and Einstein handled to mail the same way we respond to email. Some of their mail was immediately replied to, some of it was trashed, and some of it was responded to somewhat later. Am I missing something? Is there anything Earth shattering about this? To me, this reads like "Einstein and Darwin consumed food and drink to remain alive".

Science discovers Tut's drink of choice

Tina always sends me these interesting articles about history and archaeology. In this one they discovered that King Tut drank red wine, or at least the evidence points that way. Amazing!

ABBA wins

I really WANT to hate ABBA, to mock them, to make petty jokes about them. I guess it is that old "I love Rock and Roll and everything else stinks" premise I had when I was in high school.

The problem is that I don't. As much as I hate to admit it, I actually like ABBA.

So with that being said: congratulations to ABBA and their award. (See above link)

Hat Tip: Martin at EGO

Art or science

Chicago Real Estate Blog just posted an article posing the question about whether appraisal is a science or an art. I think it is both.

The art comes in as you search for sales and rents. You have to put yourself in the mind of the buyers and sellers in the market. If it is a downtown loft, you have to become a 20 something professional with money to burn. If it is an office building, you have to become an investor. If it is an auto shop, you have to become a grease monkey. You have to be creative and to think differently.

The science of appraisal is how you treat the sales and rents. You need to make adjustments to the comparable's sales price to account for how it is different from the subject. The amount of the adjustment is sometimes a science, ie something you can well establish. Sometimes it is an art, and you have to be creative in determining how to adjust for a feature. Regardless of how you determine the size of the adjustments, the method of adjusting the comparables is the science being real estate appraisal.

The art part of real estate appraisal is the reason that computer aided appraisals will never take over the appraiser's job completely. A computer can't "think like a buyer" or make judgments based on a physical inspection of a property.

Learning to sail...

...is like learning to make love; it can't be done from a book.

As you might notice, I'm a little frustrated with my reading assignments. I can't believe they sent me FOUR books to read before I get there. I enjoy it, but it is just abstraction until you're on the water with the wind at your back.

Can't wait for November.

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man my son!

Occasional Quote

If Passion drives, let Reason hold the reins.

-Poor Richard 1749

Occasional Quote:

George Washington
"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

Dumbledore

WARNING THE LINK HAS SPOILERS

I had the same suspicion about the surprise at the end of the Half Blood Prince as the authors of the link above. We'll see what Rowling does.

(Hat tip: NoodleFood)

Serenity in 2000 words or less

This is a funny summary of the movie. Warning, plot spoilers.

(Hat tip: Noodle Food)

Occasional Quote:

Women and Cats do what they do; there is nothing a man can do about it.

-Dr. Richard Ames in The Cat who Walks Through Walls by Robert Heinlein

The Secret Life of Blogs

Stephanie Klein of Greek Tragedy writes about the problems of having a blog and knowing who may or may not read it. I have had a few discussions with the Milk Maid about this and I really don't know. I know that I am more aware of what I write here than at any other time that I'm writing. I guess this is the process of finding your blog voice. I'm new to this so it feels a little like wearing cowboy boots for the first time. You start out feeling like you're in costume, but hopefully end up feeling a few inches taller and tough as nails. I guess I'll figure it out as I go.

Comments?

Package

I just received my packet of information on my week long sailing lesson in St. Pete. They sent me FOUR books. In their letter, they casually say, please read these before you come to class. :) Looks like I have a lot of reading to do! Actually, I think the books have a lot of overlap, so it won't be that bad.

I'm really excited for this class. I'll receive my Bareboat Chartering certification from US Sailing when I finish. Part of why I'm taking this class is just to go sailing, enjoy the ocean. The other part involves this long term goal to sail in the Greek Islands with a group of friends. My best friend's wife is Greek, so they take an annual trip to Greece to visit her family. My friend is excited, but I think it is just theoretical right now. It isn't real enough for him to feel like it could happen.

Anyhow, I started sailing by taking sailing lessons here in Denver. (Yes, you can sail in Denver.) Obviously my location limits me somewhat. So this class is the next big step. Sailing on the Ocean rather than on a pond. Eventually, I hope I'll feel comfortable enough to sail solo in the Mediterranean.

Verdi

I have been listening to the Teaching Company's class on how to appreciate opera. I'm not sure I'm ever going to be a die hard opera lover, but I've learned to appreciate it a little. The one opera composer I've come to admire through the course was Verdi. He was incredibly independent minded and didn't care what his critics or his fans thought. I am excited to read more about him.

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

I am not a big country music fan. I do have a few favorites here and there. I heard a song on the radio that made me laugh. The lyrics are in the link above. It is the image of a naked woman holding a bottle of tequila that gets me.

The Milk Maid Says:

"This Blog is Boring."

I just thought the other two readers should know.

Logic by Beavis and Butthead

They left out the bit where Beavis proclaims that he hates numbers because there are just so many of them.

VIA Noodlefood

Sailing Alone Around The World

I just finished reading Captain Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around The World". I thourally enjoyed it. Slocum was an experienced seaman, an able shipmaker, an adventurer, and an entrepreneur. He built his ship, the Spray, himself and sailed her around the world. He endured the elements, pirates, and hostile natives. He was the first man to sail alone around the world.

His style took some time to adjust to, but it becomes engaging and funny. This book is witty and fun.

I'll end with a quick quote:

To face the elements, to be sure, no light matter when the sea is in its grandest mood. You must then know the sea, and know that you know it, and not forget that it was made to be sailed over.

Going to Florida

I just signed up for a week long sailing class in St. Petersberg, FL. It'll be my first experience on "real" water. By real, I mean a body of water that you can't see the shore on the other side!

More later.

Occasional Quote:

Pierre Corneille
"When there is no peril in the fight there is no glory in the triumph."

Wind

There we sat, gently rocking in the middle of the lake. The same rocking motion we'd been experiencing for the last hour and a half. The waves gently rocking the boat back and forth. We almost forgot that we were there to be sailing and not just to shoot the breeze. The boat rotated slowly in circles during that time as power boats past us, their waves pushing us this way and that.
With only the slightest warning, the wind picked up, filling the sails, and propelling us forward. We pulled the sails in tight and headed up to close hauled. We were flying. Our sudden speed was a remarkable contrast to the stillness of the last hour an a half. We gathered speed, tacked and milked the wind and the sun for the last half hour of sailing for today.

Although short, it was a good evening of sailing.

Occaisional Quote:

I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build. -Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand

Arguing Religion

This is from Ian Hamet who got it from Raving Athiest.

Can you believe how [intelligence-denigrating adjective] people who believe in
[name of religion] are? Just look at what [name of religious leader/blogger]
said [or did]: [Fill in objectionable claim or conduct of religious leader/blogger]

What a [expletive] moron! Doesn’t he know that [fill in scientific evidence
refuting leader’s claim or rationale for conduct]? Moreover, can’t he see
that [identify internal logical contradiction in claim or rationale for conduct]?

North Korea

I always pay close attention to what defectors from tyranical countries say. Diana has an interesting post at NoodleFood. There are some comments about the North Korean leader and his MO that are very interesting and reveiling. I think it is hard for Americans to imagine what living in a dictatorship is like and this is the closest we can come. In terms of fiction, Ayn Rand does an excellent job of concretizing what it is like in her novel "We the Living". There was also a non-fiction book called "MIG Pilot", which is an autobiographical account of a MIG pilot who defected in the '80's.

Stubborn

"Never try to out stubborn a cat!" -Robert Heinlein

I am currently in a stubborn contest with my (loaner) cat. He is very fussy about his food. This is so much so that he wants to have a different flavor of food every time I feed him. I don't know if this is unusual because I've never had a cat before. I do think it is unreasonable. He needs to finish the can before I'll move on to the next one. That is the rule and I'm sticking to it. I don't mind changing flavors, but not mid-can.

Random Buffy Quote

Willow (about Buffy): "Guess she's out with Riley. You know what it's like with a spanking new boyfriend."
Anya (re: Xander): "Yes, we've enjoyed spanking."

later:

Buffy (about Riley's lunch selection): "... A Twinkie! That's his lunch? Oh, he is so gonna be punished."
Willow: "Everyone's getting spanked but me."

Take my love; Take my land

I'm so excited for Serenity to come out this Friday. Below are the lyrics to the theme song and the accompanying guitar chords. Sing along and learn to love Serenity.

Firefly Theme
written by Joss Whedon
sung by Sonny Rhodes
tabbed/chorded by Joe Dizzy

Intro:
D----------0--3p0---0-
A-----0h3---------3----
E-----------------------

[D]Take my love
[C]Take my land
[G]Take me where I [F]cannot [C]stand

(some twang)

[F]I don't care
[C]I'm still free
[G]You can't take the [D]sky from me

(some other twang)

Take me out
To the black
Tell 'em I ain't coming back

(again with the twang)

Burn the land
And boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me

(sort of a twangy solo)

Have no place
I can be
Since I found Serenity

("I'll be in my twang")

But [F]you can't take the [C]sky from me

(it endeth not with a bang but with a twang)

57 Channels and Nothing on

So after years of life without cable, I finally caved in and got cable. Cable TV as in THE DISH. I'm still not set on it, but I can tell you my favorite feature already. It is the Season Pass. It will record a show every time it is on for the entire season. It is like I don't have to be at the TV to watch TV. It is like having your cake and eating it too. I know... I'm equivocating, but I still love it.

More on the HMS Lydia

Again, this was Hornblower's ship in "Beat to Quarters".

In this ship, Hornblower captured La Natividad, which was under Spanish domination. He surprised them and took the much larger ship without ever receiving a shot.

Unfortunately, he was required by orders to turn La Natividad over to a madman, with whom the British had allied themselves against Spain. Days later, Hornblower comes to find out that Spain and England are now allies.

Hornblower takes it upon himself, as his duty, to re-take La Natividad before she can sink a valuable Spanish cargo vessel.

The Lydia takes on the much larger Natividad in a fight to the death. At the end of the battle, Hornblower tows the Lydia across the becalmed sea into action. As the Lydia is towed, he has the men who dance the best jig compete for the top prize. Hornblower does this to keep the men's spirits high as they move slowly into action, but it cements his reputation as a man of iron nerves.

Strong Bad answers your emails

Sometimes, I don't know why I like what I like. But I like HomeStarRunner. Check them out here.

Definitely don't miss Strong Bad's emails.

Why HMS Lydia?

I don't have a good reason for naming the blog after one of Horatio Hornblower's first ships as captain. I just did. If you've never read Hornblower, you're in for a treat. Start with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and follow his career from beginning to end.

The Seven Personalities of Sparky

I’m taking care of a friend's cat, Sparky, while she’s in Europe. I’m testing the waters of pet ownership. This is an update in to my temporary pet ownership experience.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to realize that my friend didn’t give me one cat, but seven. This cat has multiple personalities! I’ve named each of these sub-personalities with an “S” name other than Sparky.

Satan, Lord of the Underworld
For the first several days he lived not under my roof but under my furniture. He effectively ruled this area of my house. In his adjustment to the new environment he hissed and growled at any approaches. His rule was absolute. You couldn’t enter the underworld without permission and his grace.

Spitz, Mark-Olympic Champion
Sparky, once comfortable, began his nightly training for the Kitty Olympics. He would test his athletic skills by creating a race course. From the top of my headboard, around the outside of the bedroom, into the study. A quick stop to eat a bite and then he is off to the living room, under the couch, around the dining table, into the kitchen. Then with the precision of a racecar driver, rounding the curve to head back through the living room onto the scratching pad to sharpen his claws. And neck in neck with his imagined opponent, he’d race back in the bedroom and back to his post at the headboard.

What was truly amazing was his total discipline. Every morning, before most self-respecting Olympic athletes would wake up, Sparky would be up and training. In fact, one could say Sparky does more all night than the Army does before 7 am.

Socrates
After his Olympic training ended, my friend would turn into a polemicist. His meows and mews intended to convince me that 4:30am was not only the acceptable time to wake up and get him breakfast, but that it was part of the path to virtue. The form of the good, my feline philosopher would argue, comes in sacrificing my sleep for the greater good. The greater good, he explained in a sophisticated meow, consisted in stopping the rumbles in his belly.

Simba – The Lion
On day four, he became the hunting lion. He slowly moved into position to watch his prey from a safe spot where he could wait for the opportune moment. His patience like that of an Army sniper or a professional photographer…waiting for the perfect moment for the perfect shot.

He knew his prey was unaware of his silent approach. He slid forward as if floating on the air, eyes fixed on the prey. And at the perfect moment, he pounced. My unsuspecting toe, which, I apparently wiggle in my sleep, was the victim of Sparky’s lion attack. The small amount of blood he drew must have sated him, because he’s kept the Simba personality caged since then.

The Sophomore
He’s now been here a few weeks and another personality emerged: the sophomoric prankster. As I write this, he is constantly batting at the pen. If I stop to pet him, he’s not interested. When I start to write again, he makes the pen his play thing. The same thing happens when I type on the computer or read a book or do just about anything. When this personality comes out, you are at the mercy of a cat with a sense of humor.

The Stoic
One last personality hiding within this little beast is the stoic observer. Sparky climbs to the highest spot in the room to observe, to watch, to judge, without emotion. Often he assumes this posture as he watches out one of the windows. His watchful eyes catch everything. He acts as if he’s all knowing and totally indifferent.

I think my favorite personality of his is the one I call Sparky. The one that climbs on my lap, starts to purr, and, as I pet him, gradually begins to knead my pants. It is as if I’ve given a chocoholic “Death By Chocolate Ice Cream”. His enjoyment is complete and totally consumes him.

Sometimes this Sparky comes out as I’m reading. I’ll be on my back holding the book at a 90 degree angle on my chest and Sparky will nestle between my body and my upper arm making a home for himself. So I think I’ll keep calling him Sparky to keep this personality alive.

Wednesday Whim

Last Wednesday night I didn’t have any specific plans. I remembered that they have mini-regattas at Cherry Creek Reservoir for keelboats and thought it would be fun to watch or even to crew on a short staffed boat. I was lucky—I got to crew on one of the fast U20 boats.

The U20 was Tom’s boat, who was clearly an experienced sailor. He was in his mid-50’s and wore a baseball hat with a chin strap to keep it from flying off in the wind. His belt was fabric with the logo of USA Sailing printed on it, and he had a pair of custom made prescription sunglasses designed for being on the water. Tom gave clear direct orders, which he expected to be followed ASAP. At the same time, he was patient enough to explain what he meant and allow for inexperience. I found out later that Tom sailed for 22 years and was the judge for most of the regional regattas. I could tell that Tom not only wanted to sail, but to win!

Tom’s normal crew wasn’t there, so Diane and I were his back up crew, his scabs. Diane was also a new sailor. She took up sailing recently because her boyfriend was a big time sailor and she wanted to join in the fun. So we had an experienced skipper and two newbies on the boat.

After we got out of the dock area we hoisted the main and set sail. As we were heading toward the sailing club’s “regulation” boat, Tom asked me “How long have you been sailing?”

“About a year. I took Victoria Sailing Schools Courses.” I was eager to impress him that I knew something about sailing.

Instead, he instructed Diane to get out the life jackets. He joked “Given the experience of the crew, we just might need them. So, Jason, what do you know about sailboat races”

Feeling a bit humbled as I put on my life vest, I said, “nothing except that the first guy across the finish line wins.”

Tom chuckled, “Well, that’s not necessarily true. Each boat is given a handicap and your time is factored by that handicap.”

So I corrected myself and said that I knew nothing about racing.

As we passed the “regulation” boat, they had the numbers 62 posted on the side. Tom explained that every week they were given a different set of buoys as a course. So today, we had to beat upwind to buoy six then run back to buoy two and back to the finish line.

The regulators set off a horn to indicate that we had five minutes to get ready. So we had to “pace” in the water for five minutes to try to be as close to the line, without crossing it, as possible at the time the race started. We sailed south on a beam reach then make a u-turn, tacking through the wind and heading north on the opposite point of sail. At the same time, we had to avoid all of the other boats. I was amazed at how close each of the boats would come to each other without a collision.

Finally, we got the signal: thirty seconds to go. We headed toward the line, but the boat in front of us was intentionally cutting us off. Dirty sailing trick! Since they were on the starboard tack and we were on port tack, they had the right of way. It cost us time because we had to circle back and to make it through the starting line.

We started the race a little behind, but not too far behind. We weren’t the last ones through the line. The boat was fast enough to make up for time lost, although our boat’s low handicap worked against us.

At this point, we were close hauled and making our way towards buoy six. Tom was explaining when we were going to tack and why. He chose his moment so we could either give ourselves the right of way or to “steal” another boat’s wind. Again he came within a few feet of hitting another boat, and no one else flinched.

When you are close hauled, you are sailing almost directly into the wind and the boat tends to tilt in the water. To give the boat more speed, I was all the way at the top end of the boat hanging my legs overboard to give as much counterweight as possible. Tom yelled, “ready to tack” and I had to swing my legs back over the side before he yelled “tacking”. I managed the ropes attached to the front sail and made it to the other side of the boat as we went through the eye of the wind. I was used to doing this slowly, but since we were racing I really had to perform.

We were approaching buoy six. Tom had explained how we were going to launch the spinnaker for our run down to buoy two. We had extended the spinnaker pole out in front of the boat. Diane was responsible for letting the spinnaker sail out as I pulled the halyard. Within minutes, this giant multicolored parachute looking sail was up in front of the boat. Tom had me adjust the spinnaker’s trim as we sailed to the next buoy. I had to continuously let out the sail until it started to fold up and then pull it back in until it was full of wind.

As we reached buoy two, we had to jibe, which means to put the rear of the boat through the back of the wind. This can be dangerous because the boom of the main sail can forcefully switch sides of the boat. If you are on the wrong side of it, you can get knocked pretty hard.

After we rounded buoy two, Diane and I pulled in the spinnaker. We only had two tacks to get to the finish line.

As we finished up, Tom told Diane that she had done well. And then he said “Jason, not bad for your first time out.” From a captain like that, I imagine that was high praise.

As we put the boat up, I couldn’t believe that only three hours ago, I was just formulating the idea to come down to the marina. And there I was at the end of my first sail boat race. I can’t wait until the next Wednesday I can make it.

PS I looked up the results the next day on the internet. We came in second! Not bad for a newbie crew.

Originally Posted 7/12/05

Analogy for Value Investing

I am trying to work out an alalogy on value investing compared with those traders who used to travel in caravans. (I got this idea from reading The Walking Drum by L'amour).

So the idea was that a trader would start out with a small amount of capital, goods or money. They would buy the things that were made where ever he currently was to trade in the next place the caravan stopped. The trader would sell the goods and buy other goods that were cheap in this town to sell in the next. By doing this over and over again, the trader would amass wealth.

The better the trader was as recognizing bargains or opportunities to buy low and sell high, the more quickly he would get rich. The primary way of increasing the value was by moving the goods from a place where the goods are cheap to where they are expensive. I think of this as "space arbitrage".

Value investing is the same thing. Finding goods (stocks) which are cheap and selling them when they are fairly valued. The big difference is that instead of having the goods/stocks increase in value because of moving them, it is in the change in the market's value of the property. I think this is a kind of "perception arbitrage".

I don't know that this is a perfect analogy and am still working on it.

Originally Posted 8/26/05

London attacked by terrorists

It is hard to sustain outrage. After September 11, I thought I would never stop being angry about it. That I would never forget. I haven't forgotten, but I haven't felt that sense or outrage.

I'm posting a list of things we should be outraged about. The list is written by John Lewis, a professor of history at Ashland University. It is a list of the terrorist attacks against the west by middle eastern groups.I think this is evidence that unless we do something drastic, principled and focused on the root of the problem, we will see more of these attacks. And what is worse is that there will probably be something worse than September 11 on the course we are headed now.

Originally Posted 7/7/05

Island Economics

I just got back from my vacation in Hawaii and I wanted to share my thoughts on the business side of the vacation.

1. Hawaiian real estate has gone through the roof like California and many East Coast cities. This is going to be a challenge for their economy because most of the people who live there can't afford housing. Most of the demand has come from out of state buyers looking for a vacation home. In the mountain resorts the locals deal with this by living in the cheaper communities farther away from the resorts. On an Island you can't do this. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. My thoughts: eventually Hawaiian locals will have to move to a place with better economic opportunity which will increase the wages the resorts will have to pay to keep their employees.
   
2. Gambling is apparently the pastime of choice for the Hawaiian natives. I had a lengthy discussion with a local about cock fighting. As with any "vice", making it illegal tends to make it thrive.
   
3. Grocery shopping was fascinating. Anything grown on the island was dirt cheap. Anything imported was outrageously expensive. You can see this same effect in your local Safeway or Kroger, but not to this extreme. This is definitely an argument for specialization, outsourcing, and international trade.
   
4. The Kauai coffee plantation makes great coffee, but somehow you never see it stateside. It is much better than Kona, which means that Kona must have some good marketing.

Originally Posted 6/27/05

Three ways

According to valuation theory, there are only three ways to value anything: cost, market, and income.

As it applies to real estate, the Cost is the replacement cost new less deprectiation plus the land value. This is typically used on brand new buildings, old buildings whose structure has little value, and special purpose properties.

The market approach is the process of comparing similar sales to the subject property and making adjustments to the sale price to determine the subject's estimated sale price.

The income approach is the present worth of the rent that could be collected from a particular property. It can be calculated via discounted cash flow or by capitalization (like the inverse of a P/E ratio).

As this applies to stock investing, there was a good section in Bruce Greenwald's book using adjusted book value of Intel to determine when it is over/under valued. I think this is the best example of using the "cost" approach to value a company.

Using the sales comparison approach is common among investors. In J. Dennis Jean-Jacques's book, he recommended keeping a "sales" database by watching mergers and acquisitions in the paper.

The income approach is familiar to anyone who has heard of P/E ratios or DCF's. But I will add that going through a formal DCF for a commercial property and estimating when certain capital improvements will be made is very illuminating.

Originally Posted 6/13/05

The Warren Buffett CEO

I just finished reading "The Warren Buffett CEO" by Robert Miles. I recommend this book highly for both a general business audience and value investors.

The book is set up as a series of profiles of the CEOs of Berkshire's wholly owned companies. The business stories are compelling and offer genuine insights into business, investing, and life. Miles leads us to understand how Buffett selects his CEOs and makes us admire all of these heroic business people.

A secondary focus of the book is the continuation of Berkshire post Buffett. After reading the book, I feel confident that Buffett has stamped his personality so well on the company that it will continue for generations.In short, it's a good read.

Originally Posted 7/7/05

Incarnation 2

This is my secong go at a blog. I'm going to transfer some of my best posts, but I think this one will be much better.