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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Things To Do With Google
As everyone knows, I use Google. In fact, most of my head-facts and the greater part of my information set I now leave to managing by way of my google-fu.
On popurls.com today, I came upon this handing link, 52 Things To Do With Google.
It's like my birthday! And I get to share the gifts! So I use over 30 of the 52 things on the list already, that's still 22 that are new to me!
And for many of us, I am sure that there are 52 new Things To Do.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'm here.
And good Google, I surely appreciate Google! After all, I had been waiting for it my entire life! (Dewey Decimal system, anyone? Pass the Google!)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Loggerhead Turtle Rescue
Wow! What a morning! I was headed into shore when I came across this really big turtle with its head sticking up. Since it didn't dive I figured it didn't see me, so I slowed down and maneuvered over towards it. Funny thing, it didn't spook....
So I motored around it for awhile snapping photos, and I started to wonder if it was in some kind of crisis. True, I have been around enough big turtles to know that occasionally they hang out and let you get a good look at them, or even show interest in us, but generally they are out like a shot.
Eventually, I can see that it is letting me get very close to as I very slowly go round it. Something was definitely wrong here.
Pulling up right to it, with my hand I gave it a gentle nudge. It was surely alive but not going anywhere. With engine in neutral, I went to see if I could hold on to it. And indeed it let me grip its shell where its head was protruding. (Believe me, I was careful. That big head comes complete with powerful jaws!) And it let me. This one was in trouble.
I tried to haul it in, but realistically the creature weighed between two and three hundred pounds. In other words, no way. Finally, it did get tired of me handling it and dove down but only around four or five feet. I followed it for a while figuring out what to do. (A coast guard boat came by as I was right in front of the base, but when I attempted waving them down they thought I was just saying hi. Doh!)
What I did do wound up saving the day: I went to shore, and called my good friend Wade Miller. Wade is one of the captains at Danger Charters, and very ecologically-minded, and as luck would have it he had the number for the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. That number was just what the doctor called for. The phone was answered by a young man named Shane told me he was on his way.
In less than an hour he arrived, and we jumped back into my Carolina Skiff and went out to see if the great beast was still with us. To be honest, I was uncertain whether or not we would be able to locate it. I called in my buddy Cliff the Palm Weaver, another animal-loving individual like myself (and one of the most dependable guys I know), who happened to be out there and nearby on his boat.
While I was calling, Shane who was keeping watched spotted our quarry! It was floating on the surface, lifting its head, and only 30-40 yards from where I have parted company with it an hour before! That's when Cliff showed up, and thankfully he did; I am uncertain how we would have managed without him. The turtle was huge! Shane confirmed my original estimation of age: This turtle was in the 90-to-100 year old catgory. As I said earlier, it weighed between 200 and 300 pounds!
Between the three of us, we managed carefully lift it out of the water and as gently as possible flip it into my big skiff. There was a very bad injury on its underside, the shell was cracked but not cracked open (that's good). We immediately headed to shore, and Shane's awaiting ambulance.
We pulled up to the two-hour tie-off outside the window of Half-Shell Raw Bar, where the seats were full with lunch-time crowd. "Get ready to have your minds blown," I announced to the seated diners as we tied off. Then the three of us lifted the big beauty (a boy, you could tell by its claws—hooks on the fins for clasping during mating—and its large tail), and like I said, people were amazed. It was loud ooohs and aaahs the entire time. "So that's a dolphin," I mugged to the crowd, and everyone laughed. It lightened the mood considerably. Lots of people came out to take photos while we went for the "gurney" (dock cart). I would have if I had been them, and they had been me!
A number of fellows came up to help lift the 100-year old on to the gurney, and then kept up with us as we wheeled it over to the ambulance. (Yep, it is an actual ambulance, sirens, lights and all. After all the damage we did to the turtle population in the past, we now take their care seriously here in the future.)
And now it is being treated in Marathon. My thanks to Wade, Shane, Cliff, and the passerby's who helped today. It took all of us to make it happen, and one way or another it was worth the effort!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Obama Sign-Making Party and Voter Registration at Blue Heaven Today
And footmarch through the streets and down Duval in support of OBAMA at 6PM! Read on...
Today at Blue Heaven, from 12 PM to 5PM, we are gathering to hand-make our own Obama for President signs.
Our goal is to have children and adults come by, voters and non-voters, and by making our signs encourage a sense of ownership for the direction of our futures.
At the beginning of the presidential campaign, I was for Dennis Kucinich. Then, after the primary, I was for Hilary Clinton. Therefore, having followed my conscience all the way through, it has been with the greatest ease of conscience I am able to endorse Barack Obama for president.
When Suanne Kitchar suggested to me the idea of a sign-making, I was immediately thrilled by the idea. For me, America as a is more than just voters. It is all of us. In fact, America is limited by boundaries. For me, the ideals I have learned, and absorbed over time—such as truth and justice, liberty, the pursuit of happiness—extend beyond boundaries of land. They even extend beyond the boundaries of cliche!
For me, these ideals are real in the way life is real.
Barack Obama is not the embodiment of them. He is a man, and a professional, and a Democrat, and a politician, and a candidate. And with all those failings—mortal as all of us—he understands life's true value. And it is not money, power, or fame.
It is hope.
Yesterday, Suanne went to see Obama speak in Miami. But as luck would have it, the Key West contingency of women who journeyed together for the occasion were invited to sit behind and to the sides of Barack Obama at the podium. And after waiting three hours for the speech, and after seeing him and hearing him just feet away from this individual who has come to embody the hope for the future, as luck would have it, she met the man. She was there and she shook his hand. Here's the video of the speech. (And here.) (Update: And here.) Suanne is at 3 o'clock. You can see the sign that says "KEY WEST MOMS for OBAMA". She's next to that.
Whatever happens from here on out, Barack Obama's place in history is sealed. But what can happen from here on out will determine the direction of our planet's future.
And sometimes things do work out in the most unexpected ways. In fact, whenever things work out, it is always unexpected.
Barack Obama is unexpected.
Join Suanne and I and our friends at Blue Heaven from 12PM to 5PM as we enjoy fellowship and conversation while entertaining the idea of a hope-filled future. Kids welcome. Non-voters welcome. People who have been sitting on the fence welcome. Supporters welcome. It's a Obama sign-making party, and everyone is welcome. There will be materials and refreshments. (Or bring your own boards, and use our paints. Any extra materials are welcome!)
Then meet up with us at Blue Heaven, the corner of Thomas and Petronia, as we go for a walk with our new Obama signs.
Today at Blue Heaven, from 12 PM to 5PM, we are gathering to hand-make our own Obama for President signs.
Our goal is to have children and adults come by, voters and non-voters, and by making our signs encourage a sense of ownership for the direction of our futures.
At the beginning of the presidential campaign, I was for Dennis Kucinich. Then, after the primary, I was for Hilary Clinton. Therefore, having followed my conscience all the way through, it has been with the greatest ease of conscience I am able to endorse Barack Obama for president.
When Suanne Kitchar suggested to me the idea of a sign-making, I was immediately thrilled by the idea. For me, America as a is more than just voters. It is all of us. In fact, America is limited by boundaries. For me, the ideals I have learned, and absorbed over time—such as truth and justice, liberty, the pursuit of happiness—extend beyond boundaries of land. They even extend beyond the boundaries of cliche!
For me, these ideals are real in the way life is real.
Barack Obama is not the embodiment of them. He is a man, and a professional, and a Democrat, and a politician, and a candidate. And with all those failings—mortal as all of us—he understands life's true value. And it is not money, power, or fame.
It is hope.
Yesterday, Suanne went to see Obama speak in Miami. But as luck would have it, the Key West contingency of women who journeyed together for the occasion were invited to sit behind and to the sides of Barack Obama at the podium. And after waiting three hours for the speech, and after seeing him and hearing him just feet away from this individual who has come to embody the hope for the future, as luck would have it, she met the man. She was there and she shook his hand. Here's the video of the speech. (And here.) (Update: And here.) Suanne is at 3 o'clock. You can see the sign that says "KEY WEST MOMS for OBAMA". She's next to that.
Whatever happens from here on out, Barack Obama's place in history is sealed. But what can happen from here on out will determine the direction of our planet's future.
And sometimes things do work out in the most unexpected ways. In fact, whenever things work out, it is always unexpected.
Barack Obama is unexpected.
Join Suanne and I and our friends at Blue Heaven from 12PM to 5PM as we enjoy fellowship and conversation while entertaining the idea of a hope-filled future. Kids welcome. Non-voters welcome. People who have been sitting on the fence welcome. Supporters welcome. It's a Obama sign-making party, and everyone is welcome. There will be materials and refreshments. (Or bring your own boards, and use our paints. Any extra materials are welcome!)
Then meet up with us at Blue Heaven, the corner of Thomas and Petronia, as we go for a walk with our new Obama signs.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Increasing Our Network: Computers headed to Jamaican school!
The collection of unused/refuse computers Lincoln Thompson and I began early this summer has been successful: As you can see in the video above, packed for transportation for shipment are ten complete work stations...plus an assortment of computer accessories, peripherals, and odds and ends. Most of this stuff was sitting around or headed for the trash. Now it has been cleaned, re-vitalized, re-purposed, and is already on its way to a "second life."
Lincoln and I (along with Lincoln's brother Clive and their cousin Kevin) collected about double this amount of stuff. Between all the computers and monitors, we cobbled together seven solid desktop stations and three laptops (including an assortment of Macintosh computers—one green iMac, an old (but working) MacBook laptop, and for those who know about such things, an old old Power Computing Macintosh clone running system 9!). It was dirty work, it was tricky work, and there was a plenty of work, but getting to sit down for days at a time cracking open all those computers and stuff, and then piecing it all together to make whole working computer work stations, well, that was just about as fun as it gets!
[Also, special thanks to Conch Town Cafe and Blue Heaven restaurants for the generous loan of space and resources. And extra special thanks to Sloppy Joe's, who provided us with a gift of used computers and peripherals which wound up accounting for about 25% of our collection. It was a terrific surprise to see such a huge player on our Island as Sloppy Joe's come to the table with such generosity.]
Speaking of which, there are (of course) two more things we could really use:
1) Unused Windows XP and Macintosh system disks.
2) A decent condition, good-sized wall unit air conditioner.
The use for the disks is obvious. To re-build some of the systems on the computers should anything go wrong. Back-ups.
The need for an air conditioner, however, is inspiring: The school Bramption Primary has re-dedictated and had rebuilt an entire room for the use, up-keep, and security of their new computer workstations. Since the computers have already shipped by container vessel (boat), an air conditioner will have to fly with us directly. But if we find one, I'll make certain it gets there.
Incidentally, if anyone knows of any students here are the Island who need computers, please let me know. I may be able to help with a solution.
And that's it. Lincoln and I are set to fly into Montego Bay on September 26. His wife will pick us up, and then I'll be there with them for two weeks of computer installation and instruction at Brampton Primary, Trelawny District.
Now think about that! A school of ninety kids (and their teachers) getting computers and being connected to the internet where before there has been neither! And remember, Olympian champion Usain Bolt is from Trelawny Parish! These kids are world-famous and don't even know it yet!
Can you imagine? Stay tuned. Stay tuned!
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