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This race was important, since the Ronstan ACAT Worlds are in Islamorada next weekend, and there was much positioning between the competitors.
A couple weeks ago, I took out a 16' Hobie cat in these same shark-infested waters. Sonia took a 2 day sailboat intro class this weekend, so she'll be up to sailing speed soon as well. By the way, I'd actually like to give shark meat another shot. I have not had an opportunity to taste the local bullsharks, but they must be delicious, since bulls are often delicious. I would probably try to make bullshark ceviche. Also wanted to go wakeboarding that same day, but the wind didn't die down in time for the boat to go home, so maybe next weekend. I want to experiment with a more fin-free setup, as advised by an expert.
Also have been doing some bicycling around the neighborhood, and planning some forest and trail trips, now that the weather is nice and cool. Some old rail tracks in St. Petersburg were torn out to connect the Pinellas County trail to the downtown via Tropicana Field. I plan on attempting the unfinished trail with my mountain bike this week. I have some "Town and Country" tires which should be up to the task.
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]]>Outline Format:
I. I personally believe that U.S. Americans are
unable to do so because:
A. “um”
B. some people out there in our nation don't have
maps
C. “uh”
II. I believe that our, uh, education like such
as:
A. “uh”
B. South Africa
C. “uh”
D. the Iraq
E. and everywhere, like such as:
1. I believe that they should, so we will be able
to build up our future.
a. uh, our education over here in the U.S. should
help the U.S.,
b. uh, should help South Africa
c. and should help Iraq and the Asian countries
Debian Linux - one of the many Linux distros, but this one is truly world community-based, not led by a company like Ubuntu. companies get bought and then do wacky things.
Server Software
Plone - this site, and many others I host
Trac - version control/ticket tracking for software development and document versioning. also has a nice versioned wiki
Palm Treo 680 Software
CallFilter* - block calls with fine grained control
Versamail* - email client that works great with IMAP
Chattermail* - email client that works even better than Versamail with IMAP and receives instant messages from IMAP server for instant notification. Much more robust and worth every penny.
PocketTunes* - plays podcasts, ringtones, etc.
QuickReader* - RSS Feed Reader/downloading podcasts to SD Card
pSSH* - secure shell client for encryption over a network
So, reading the news, I encountered the expose on Bush's pardon of Scooter. Apparently, he was cajoled into it by the Cheney Squad of Darkness for two possible reasons: cronyism or perhaps fear of an Abramoff-style Scooter revenge brain dump. Doesn't matter which (or both possibly). What does matter is it reinforced the concept that Bush, though a four hit die fool, is actually an honorable man, and that Cheney is the root of most of the Administration's miasma.
America and needs to lay aside its differences and embrace the only real truth we have: Lee Majors. Come back to the light. There has been too much focus on the realpolitik of nuclear proliferation and détente, terrorism, global warming, and corn vs. flour tacos. Come back to the light. I propose a massive cavalcade in honor of Lee Majors commence at once. It must start in Tibet and and in Guerneville California, in a hot tub constructed of redwood. Let's show Lee Majors that the world truly does appreciate all that he has given us (namely 'The Fall Guy'). We will present him with a pile of flour tacos. Corn tacos may be more nutritional and savory, but the rubber flexibility of flour tacos can better withstand the elements, the rigors of our industrialized food service heating mechanisms, and the hatred of the corn taco devotees. Corn tacos fall apart. They are brittle and have small speckles from corn impurities. In summary, please don't let corn win. Choose flour tacos!
]]>* matthouston is a brash rookie cop who won't play by the rules.
* beanfootage is a straight laced veteran about to retire.
<matthouston> I've got an idea. It's so crazy it just might work.
<matthouston> Let's break JasonBox's illicit Ocala flan monopoly wide open!
<matthouston> It's gonna take all we got. And the police chief won't like it.
* ledge gruff, streetwise old Captain with a heart of gold
<matthouston> omg, the flan dealers just shot the Captain mostly dead!
<matthouston> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
<ledge> Aye lads, I done had a good stretch 'o years, so don't ye be worryin' about me. Ye jest get out there an' ... an' ... GAK
<matthouston> leeta: Are you in? Can you risk everything to bring the syrupy sweet trade in flan to its knees?
<ledge> Faith, I only be mostly dead...
<matthouston> Just die already so we can get to the shootout!
* matthouston leeta> matthouston: Sweet! I want one.
<ledge> If only there were a cute and plucky kid te' accompany ye to the shootout!
<matthouston> leeta: You mean, you're siding with the flan dealers and are taking bribes of flan?
<ledge> Perhaps one of a dif'rent cultural and urban background than the two of ye.
<ledge> Aye kin see there'd be many a humorous misunderstandin' betwixt ye in that case.
<ledge> Begorrah! I think I be mostly almost all dead now!
<ledge> GAK!
<ledge> Oh, one last thing, if it be my dyin' wish, that crotchety old police chief, tell 'im I'll see 'im in 'ell!
<ledge> GAK!
<matthouston> The autopsy reveals he had been eating FLAN ALSO!
<matthouston> Dum da DUH!
<ledge> The autopsy further revealed that, despite speaking with an Irish/Scottish/Pirate brogue, the gruff but lovable old police Captain was in fact from South Korea! Dun dun DUNNN!!
<ledge> Could this be the asian flan connection they were looking for?
<ledge> STAY TUNED!
<beanfootage> damn.
<Umber_Bulk> wait, he hasn't been chased down a hallway by a firey explosion yet.
<next day>
<Umber_Bulk> that's all part of a chase sequence involving a late model chevy, a stack of cardboard boxes, a fruit stands, and a helicopter that explodes after it crashes behind a hill.
* ledge dreams of one day breaking up that South Asian flan trade racket
<ledge> don't forget the plucky and independent but still vulnerable blonde woman who has to trip and fall as she's running away from the explosion with you, which means you have to run back and pick her up as you leap away
<THE END>
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| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A rapidly growing young, professional population desirous of craft beers. Visit the bar named The Independent if you wish to witness this demographic. |
St. Petersburg water has a bad taste, as it partially comes from an aquifer and isn't mountain runoff as in other brewpub-populous areas. |
| There is abundant retail space. Lots of decrepit unused storefronts near Central. |
Water is expensive in St. Petersburg. I don't know how much of a relative cost factor this would be. |
| Competition from the excellent Dunedin Brewpub 30 minutes to the North |
|
| The general population of St. Petersburg, including tourists tend to prefer poor quality near beers like Budweiser. |
If you think the pros outweigh the cons, where should it ideally be located? My suggestion is somewhere near Central Ave, no further West than 31st. Street and no closer in than 9th Street.
]]>Loading the palm onto the truck (manual shifting which mostly came right back to me after a 10 year space off time) was a breeze gracias al forklift. The fun ended there.
So, Sonia got some neighbors/friends together, and the four of us started sliding the the pallet off the truck, with the palm on top. The weight quickly overwhelmed us, as I half expected and the palm started sliding off the pallet, almost crushing my neighbor from across the street Mark's foot.
I heard him say. "My foot, my foot, foot, foot, foot. Still my foot." So we pulled the pallet away from his foot, which resulted in numerous thorn cuts on our arms and even Brian's, another neighbor's, ear and the top of his head. In fact, my ear was impaled by the sharp thorns as well, a fact I noticed the next day. Sonia devilishly snickered at our cartoon-like ouches.
Ed, a friend who lives a couple miles away looked like a character from the movie Stigmata, as his wrist and work-gloved hands were impaled so many times he had to go wash up. The needles effortlessly puncture standard work gloves.
Finally, after much labor, we rolled the palm into the pre-dug hole and finished the installation. For $100, we could have paid someone to do it. They probably would have been eviscerated as well, but that would be their occupational hazard and choice. Also, they might actually employ some modern simple machines, or even a Bobcat.
The next day, we check on Mark and his foot hadn't even bruised, and we gave him some chocolate and beer to partially compensate for the trauma and to say thanks for volunteering without even being asked.
Morale: plant from seeds. Impatient people (not naming any names here) are dangerous!
]]>I shall now proceed to distribute "iFrigginStronglyDislikeApple" bumper stickers.
]]>They look nothing alike! Ha! Trademark dilution, my heiny! How long has NYC been "The Big Apple"? Wait, I don't even want to know. Steve Jobs, perhaps your black turtle-neck is choking you, depriving your mind of the oxygen necessary for clear thinking.
Mr. Jobs, I additionally invite you to enjoy life, and wear a summer weight shirt with a retro multi-colored Apple logo. The multi-colored logo was a happy logo, unlike the ominous newer grey one vying for NYC's namesake.
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I also want to get a rainbarrel set up (see how dry the lawn is in the picture). It's our dry season in the spring, right before the rainy hurricane season. To combat this problem, a friend makes and sells rainbarrels. Here's his url: http://rainwaterservices.com
As an aside, why come do Asian dwarves get a jasmine named after them anyway? Why can't I have a jasmine named after me? Norwegian dufus jasmine has serious potential and would likely be very resistant to aphids.
I can only image getting worked up into a religious fervor, at the height of which Keith busts out Homer the hand puppet and starts talking in tongues. Afterwards, I'd imagine we could all (including Homer) sit down to a nice buffet of cabbage greens and corn bread on the patio.
]]>Which brings up a the question of why I am accumulating all these paper receipts in this digital age.
I looked around for some e-receipt standards which may exist. Here's what I found:
Which brings us full-circle to the need for the first bullet point's standards development solution. Don't you just love technology? Anyone interested in resurrecting the Digital Receipt Consortium?
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5944 34th St N Saint Petersburg FL
727.522.9988
View Map with Street View (under construction when photo was taken)
Unlike all other Vietnamese restaurants in this area, Halong Bay actually has a stylish atmosphere with green shaded halogen track lighting highlighting large images of Halong Bay. The place was very busy, almost cafeteria-like, apparently frequented mostly by the local Vietnamese population. Being open for only a week at this point, the staff, albeit friendly and eager to help, were mostly useless. Speaking Vietnamese would likely have helped my cause when ordering. We came for the dim sum menu, but the menu is otherwise Vietnamese.
The dim sum was not very diverse. Generally, there were fried items filled with shrimp or pork, and steamed items filled with shrimp or pork. The steamed items were very good, the fried items were boring. There was one vegetable dish on the dim sum menu: chinese broccoli, which was very large and hard to eat without a cutting instrument and just some chopsticks. The manager jokingly encouraged me to try the chicken feet, but since this review is voluntary, I fell back upon my "no feet nor tripe" personal policy. Yes, I am an antipodigastrotarian.
We also ordered a Vietnamese basil chicken dish, which was excellent and massive in proportions, so most of it went into a to-go box. Jalapeno peppers and lots of garlic made it interesting.
Prices were reasonable, and on the cheap side for dim sum. I'll go back. Hopefully next time there will be fish in the aquarium.
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