Boats and Boating
27th Feb 2007Posted in: Boats and Boating, Music, Personal
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Random Notes
- I finally got an S3! No, not an Audi S3 (still not available in the US), but a Canon S3. This replaces our Canon A70, which unexpectedly gave up the ghost last year. Project photos, before-and-afters, and other photo blogging will soon resume in earnest.
- I got the camera just in time for the 12 Hours of Sebring, which is in just a few weeks time (uh, -18d:23h:12m:23s, according to the countdown clock here). I will be going again with the Fluhrs.
- Kimberly and I worked on the boat for most of the weekend. We finished the upholstery, finished installing all new cabinet hardware, fixed the anchor stay, fixed the swim ladder, applied new SeaRay badges to the radar arch, cleaned the cockpit, and even found a little time to relax.
- (cont.) On Sunday afternoon, we decided to reward ourselves for all of our hard work, by taking the boat out to meet Dave and Heidi, but it wouldn’t start. Frustrated with the recalcitrant boat, I rechristened it – Fangdango (a reference to a previous mechanical disaster, my 1983 Audi UrQuattro named Fang). Anyway, Dave and Heidi kindly drifted over and tied-up at our marina, where we had a beer and showed them our handiwork. The sun fell in one of those beautiful displays that leaves the lake looking lavender. Despite some frustration, it was a great weekend.
- One of my new year resolutions is to read more books. Now, I love to read, so that isn’t the problem. The problem is that I am so busy that the only time I commit to reading is right before I go to bed, when I am so exhausted from being so busy that I can only read a paragraph or so before I nod-off like some old geezer. It doesn’t help that I’m a slow reader. No, not because I’m stupid, but rather because I approach good writing like a sommelier might sample an exquisite wine (hold up to the light, swirl, smell, slurp, swish, spit/swallow). After reading a particularly fine verse, I might lay the book down on my chest, chuckle, cry or just reflect on the pleasures of such inspired craft. And then I fall asleep. Consequently, I read maybe one or two books last year. Mrs. Pribble can read a whole book while I’m brushing my teeth. I tried a book on CD last year, but I also bought a convertible, which subverts that effort (wind noise). No, to read more books just takes commitment. So far, it’s going well. If I can slog through Stranger in a Strange Land (promising start, but I’m not really grokking the Free-Love Space-Jesus™ stuff), I will have surpassed my total book count for last year. Unless I am sidetracked by a particularly strong recommendation, I first plan to read all of the books in my collection, which I haven’t already read. I’m such a book lover that I will often buy books “for later” and later never comes. I am publishing my reading list on the (out-of-date and hidden) misc page.
- Stewert Copeland’s band, The Police, have reunited for a tour. Initially, the prospect of righting one of my greatest musical regrets (not seeing my former Favorite Band of All Time™ as they passed through Austin on their Synchronicity tour) had me declaring that I would see them at all costs. But faced with the reality of shelling-out nearly $500 to see them in Dallas, I reconsidered my position. I have decided that their tour should support a new album. Do the work first, lads. Get into a studio, write, shout, fistfight, do whatever it takes and see where the artistic tension takes you. If your brilliance emerges once again, you can have all of my money. Until then, my money will go to The Killers, playing in Austin on April 13.
First photo with the S3 – Jimmy trying to grok Stranger in a Strange Land.
Lake Lavender
J I M M Y
