Rob's Ramblings

Winter Sailing...NOT

2011-02-13T14:36:00.001-05:00

Thank god it's starting to get close enough to Spring that you can tell warmth is on its way. I had these grand plans to refinish all of my external teak over the long hard winter. And long and hard it has been. We haven't seen solid ground since the first of December. Well, I had a terrible time finding wood.Once I had found it the guy who was selling it to me died...yes...died...before he could ship it. So it took 2 more months to locate some. Anyway, I should have it by March.

So today I am repairing my bilge pump. I also fired up my oil lamp with its new globe. Here's a photo of it. Back to work, more later.

Ok, that worked well. Now maybe I'll post more than twice a year. Nice!

2011-02-10T22:30:00.001-05:00

This is what I'm up to now. There's an app for me to make money from for that.

First Mobile Blog from my awesome new Droid X.

2011-02-10T22:23:00.001-05:00

Time Flies when the Economy is in the Tank

2010-05-12T01:43:00.003-04:00

What a difficult end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 it's been. Worst of all Barefoot, my boat with my buddy was destroyed by a fire in the slip next to us. What luck eh? And to make matters even worse, they guys who owned the offending boat had NO insurance. Unbelievable...

Figuring that the winter months combined with a rock bottom economy the time was right to search for a replacement boat. As soon as Spring begins to get close everyone is looking for boats so I had to move fast to get the best deal possible. I found a boat that I really liked and one that is a bit rare. My buddy didn't like it so in order for me to move forward we had to dissolve our boating partnership. So I went it alone. What I found was a boat that was built in the late 60's and only 25 were made. It was made by Hinterhoeller at the same time they were merging with C&C. It's called a C&C Invader 36 but technically was made by Hinterhoeller. This boat led to the next version that was called the Redwing MK1 which became a very famous boat and highly sought after for club racing.

Here are a few photos. No time for growing tomatoes this year. It's all boat work.

The Summer is Gone

2009-09-11T01:44:00.000-04:00

It's been a rough year for many self-employeed people. I'll be glad to see 2009 gone. No one wishes for time to move quickly but 2009 is not fun. At any rate, it gave me some time to sail on the new bottom. Here are some photos from the summer.

The new bottom finished.

2009-03-27T18:28:00.003-04:00

Here is the new bottom. Tomorrow she goes in. Too bad the prettiest part of the boat will never be seen as it will be underwater...

Barefoot Gets a New Bottom

2009-03-22T19:46:00.006-04:00

With Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Plaxo it seems I never have time to update my blog. I don't know how I got involved with all of them. I never seem to get them updated very often either.

So, what am I up to? Well, for now it is getting a new bottom on Barefoot. After owning her for 2 years we've never done the bottom and now it is time. Here are a few pictures. The scenic ones are from the trip up to the marina. It was about 42 degrees out so it was a cold solo trip. I had a couple of buds that were going to go but they had to back out so I went alone.

There are a couple of closeups of the paint. The lumpy one is before (you can see how many layers there are and at one time it was painted yellow) the sanding and the one with swirls is after sanding... not quite microscopic but a very close up shot. It's kind of cool. You can barely see the swirls with the naked eye.

More later of the finished job.

Calvin's Blog is up and Running

2008-08-03T12:08:00.006-04:00

Calvin's Blog in South Africa is now up and running. WooHoo... It's very cool and reminded me of how seldom I work on mine. So, here is a new Post. Jackie has been cranking out mosaics like crazy and they are beautiful. She did the bar in the boat and it looks fantastic. I've been working on a 3D model of the Senator Theatre and sailing when possible. So far it's been a pretty nice summer. I'm sad to see it ending as you all know how much I dislike cold weather.

The image above is a comparison of a photo of the Senator lobby on the left and a 3d rendering on the right. It isn't finished but is looking pretty good so far.

Really Bookin'

2008-03-29T00:43:00.002-04:00

Here's my bud Miguel putting the boat (Barefoot) to the test. We're pretty healed over here as you can tell. It was blowing about 20knts that day. As you can see we do a lot of sailing around the Francis Scott Key Bridge and on the way home we pass Ft. McHenry...and yes, the flag is still there.

Absent

2008-03-28T23:59:00.003-04:00

I've been gone for quite awhile. I'd forgotten about the Blog so I thought I'd post something before it got deleted. I'm not sure if that would happen but it makes sense.

I guess the biggest thing that has happened is that I bought a sailboat. I've always wanted on as I've been racing and delivering racing yachts for about 20 years.

Here is a shot of my friend David driving as we leave the Scott Key Bridge behind.

Luray Caverns

2007-01-10T23:15:00.000-05:00

2007-01-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

Luray Caverns

2007-01-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I guess I should say I haven't Blogged in awhile. I've been living here in this cave. I've been busy to say the least. Luray Caverns in Virginia west of D.C. are is amazing. It is worth the 12 mile side trip while travelling down I-81.

Chicago Shoot - Buckingham Fountain

2006-08-21T15:15:00.001-04:00

This is one of the first ornamental fountains every constructed in the US and patterned after the designs the French had in the 1800's. It looks pretty dramatic when backlit.

Chicago Shoot - The Bean

2006-08-21T15:10:00.000-04:00

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's a chrome bean/sculpture in a park in Chicago.

Chicago Shoot

2006-08-14T11:50:00.000-04:00

We are on a shoot in Chicago. This a shot from my phone while I watch the truck as the permit is being finalized. More cool shots later.

Return of the Killer Tomatoes

2006-07-19T16:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I've had bad Tomato luck this season. The tomato photo from earlier shows what became beautiful plants with numerous green tomatoes that in a period of one week completely died from a fungus. Ouch.

So, I started over and these photos are of the new plants. They look pretty good so far.

New Market, VA Reenactment

2006-07-19T16:37:00.000-04:00

Here are some images from the Reenactment.

Civil War Reenatcments

2006-05-20T14:55:00.000-04:00

In May I went to a Civil War Reenactment in New Market,VA. It was fascinating. There were about 2500 reenactors. I'll post some images later.

Abstract Images

2006-05-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

These abstract images look kind of organic/robotic. I made them by doing some long exposures of the TV while a show was on. I'd like to find a use for them.

Tomato Time Again

2006-05-08T18:34:00.000-04:00

I love growing tomatoes. I can't wait till it is time to slice them onto some white bread and have tomato sandwiches. You have to use white bread...it is important...

Lego Volvo

2006-05-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The Volvo Ocean Race is a Round-the-World sailboat race that used to be the Whitbread. Annapolis is one of the stops and Baltimore had a huge party for the event. Volvo sponsors the race and had this car on display. It was covered in Legos and was quite amazing.

Save the Internet

2006-05-01T16:27:00.000-04:00

2006-04-09T19:11:00.000-04:00

OK, putt...

2006-04-09T19:10:00.001-04:00

Nice day on the Disk Golf course.

2006-04-09T19:10:00.000-04:00

Nice shot dude...

I played Disc Golf today at a great 18 hole park near the Baltimore Zoo. It was a fantastic day out today. The sky was bright blue and the temperature was about 55 degrees.

2006-04-09T19:09:00.001-04:00

I wonder if bees ever think, "So many flowers, so little time."

2006-04-09T19:09:00.000-04:00

Future Apples

2006-04-09T19:08:00.000-04:00

Deep Inside

2006-04-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Petals Emerge

2006-04-07T23:24:00.002-04:00

Spring in the Back Yard - Early Dogwood Buds

2006-04-07T23:24:00.001-04:00

Spring in the Back Yard - Flower

2006-04-07T23:24:00.000-04:00

Spring in the Back Yard - Bark

2006-04-07T23:10:00.001-04:00

O's Opening Day - The Infield (duh)

It was a very fun day at the park. I joined friends and clients for what was supposed to be a rainy day. We had lunch prior to the 3PM game and saw rain while eating but once we were outside, it was great. The O's won. It was a good way to start off the season. I even saw my seat for 5 minutes. That was a first at Opening Day. I've never made it to my seat on an Opening Day before. Interesting...

2006-04-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

O's Opening Day - Main Entry

2006-04-07T23:09:00.001-04:00

O's Opening Day - Up to Club Level

2006-04-07T23:09:00.000-04:00

O's Opening Day

Opening Day Eve

2006-04-02T23:34:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the season opener for the Orioles. I've been lucky over the past years and have been given a ticket each year since Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened. We saw a blizzard one year, sun others but tomorrow it is supposed to rain. There are calls for widespread severe thunderstorms. It should make for an interesting day. I'll be sending photos along the way and have better images later in the week.

2006-04-02T01:16:00.000-05:00

You know that Spring has Sprung when it's time to set the clock forward.

Today's Bumper Sticker

2006-04-02T01:03:00.000-05:00

Another Phone Post Test.

2006-03-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

This is what you do after a tough day shooting Forsythia out the window of the car.

Spring is Here...

2006-03-31T14:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, the phone post works fine. When the Forsythia starts to bloom you know spring is here. Excellent...

RC BiPlane

2006-03-31T00:18:00.000-05:00

2006-03-31T00:16:00.000-05:00

Unaltered photos from the Remote Control airstrip.

Radio Control 01

2006-03-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

The trip today with my buddy Rob D. was quite fun. We saw a bunch of incredible scale model planes and helicopters fly. These two guys were doing some unbelievable things with helicopters. I don't know if you can post videos on a Blog but if so, I'll put some here in a few days. I took one of the planes I shot and dropped it over a photo of NYC. It was a good way to end a day spent with the accountant finalizing the taxes. Glad that's over...

PowerPlant Live

2006-03-29T22:28:00.000-05:00

This is where everybody parties in Downtown Baltimore. Actually I'm trying out 'hello' to see how it uploads and works.

Time to Fly

2006-03-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

Since I was about 12 I had always wanted to buy a remote control plane. I never had the money. Then about 10 years ago, I built one and flew it twice. The first flight was about 20 seconds of massive anxiety followed by a crash. I repaired the plane in about 3 hours and several weeks later took it to a friend's farm to fly again. It flew great and all was going well. The plane kept drifting farther away and got so small I couldn't tell whether it was coming or going. It went down behind some distant trees and I erratically fumbled with the joysticks in desperation. Miraculously it popped up above the trees. I struggled to bring it in and then it disappeared again. This time it didn't emerge from the canopy. After about 2 hours of searching the neighboring farms, we found it and it never flew again. It had minor damage. You can see the bandaid repairs in the photos of the plane in my attic.

A friend called today and said he'd been flying for about a year and wondered if I would like to go with him tomorrow. He flys with a club nearby. Looks like I might get into it again. I'll take my cameras of course and hopefully will return with a few good shots.

Tax Time

2006-03-29T12:57:00.000-05:00

Not much to say today. I'm working on taxes. It takes days out of my life and it always seems to be those spectacularly perfect days with perfectly blue skies, no humidity and about 65 degrees...like today. But alas, I sit here filling out little boxes.

Places Visited

2006-03-29T00:04:00.000-05:00

I was looking at other Blogs and found a fun site. You click the places you've visited and it creates a map. Give it a try: http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates

Bumper Sticker

2006-03-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

I snagged this Bumper Sticker the other day.

FRODO FAILED

Bush Has The Ring

2006-03-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

I'm trying out the functions of the Blog. My type seems to disappear on my Browser (IE6) when I post photos. Odd.

Today's Thoughts

2006-03-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

Hmmm: Ok, I started my Blog today after seeing an article at Comcast.net about a guy in Iraq that uses it to get around censorship in his country. I thought it was crazy/brave of him to include enough info that even a novice could figure out who he was. He listed his degree and school in Iraq. I hope they don't go after him. Anyway, if he was brave enough to do a Blog, I figured I had nothing to lose.

I just don't quite know what to do here yet. It's a diary I guess-but if that's true, no one should see it. So it is not quite a diary. It's not a portfolio because I already have that. I guess it is a dumping ground for anything I want. I think it would be weakened if I was too selective about what to post. I should just drop stuff in it when I feel like it and let it accumulate. In that way, it is sort of like the 'Junk Drawer' we all have. It's full of useless stuff, but, stuff you can't bear to throw away. So, anything could show up here.

Positive: I had a great meeting today with a new Ad Agency. I hope to get some interesting work from them. I liked the work they've produced.

Negative: I'm really worried about the state of affairs in Iraq. I think it's really going to explode soon and there won't be any way to put out the fire.

Oddity: While driving today I saw a guy that had stopped in the left lane against the concrete Jersey barrier. He apparently pulled over too close to it and his left tires climbed about halfway up putting his car at about a 30 degree angle. He was just climbing out and looking at it with a "what the ..." look on his face. I wish I'd had a camera with me. It was a priceless shot.

Red Barn in heavy snowfall.

2006-03-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

This is another shot from that same snowfall in February 2006.

Cold Hand of Winter

2006-03-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

We didn't have a particularily cold winter. It snowed less than usual but during one storm I got some pretty nice shots. It was one of those deep and dry snows that coated everything.