In Search of Royalties

What I Got in Hawaii

2011-10-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

While in Hawaii I wanted to get some artwork or something to remember the experience. Problem was I also wanted something practical and functional. Eureka, how about ukuleles. Man, Craigslist is the place for get ukes on Oahu. So on the Big Island koa trees grow with really good grain, ukes with koa bodies have a nice deep rich sound. haha I hear you people..."Yo G, do you know how to play ukulele". Well, dat aint da issue I'm workin on the playin stuff.

Kimo Jones #247

Koa w/ebony frett board. Haven't figured out a name for his fella yet. This is the only one that I brought new on-line. I think the guy is in Kialua but, not sure? http://kimosukes.weebly.com/

King Kamaka

Full name King Koa Kamakamaka. Oh yeah, this baby is strung with a low G which is perfect to bring out the rich sound of the koa. Got him from a guy in Mililani, he also threw in a little amp. You could tell he was sad letting it go, was moving on I guess. Never showed me the uke he was keeping.

Mango Baby

Mango Baby is injured, Segundo dropped her and she needs to be fixed. Needless to say I'm not happy. She is a Tangi concert w/ebony frett board. Tangi, he has stopped making ukes. She has a really bright sound with an internal pick-up.

Blondi Blonde

Ok, so one could say I have a thing for tall blondes. Blondi is big and I have no clue what type of wood she is, perhaps a tiger maple but I think the grain pattern is too tight. The deal went down in the Ala Moana Mall parking garage. I left the Koa Boyz and Baby at home, only have Blondi here in Guam.

Guam Breadfruit

2011-07-10T03:24:00.012-08:00

Hey ho

Long time no post, well quick update I'm in Guam. Interesting place lots of ppl in denial...I mean hopeful that U.S relocation from Okinawa will happen. More on that later. Been here for almost three months saw my first tree snake the first month. Ain't seen one since. Well, just up the street is a bread fruit tree. So I had to try cooking one.

Well, after looking up how to cut and peel in the internet I fried that puppy up. The long and short of it is breadfruit is pretty bland. Very starchy like plantains, I used butter and had to cook on a low heat, just soaked up the butter. Next time I'll try peanut oil and a higher heat. seasoning is the key, I kept it simple celery salt and pepper but easily could have gone the sugar, cinnamon...sweet route.

There u got it just a quick update on the Guam thing. I need to get more active through, so next on the plan is to find a dive buddy. Got the dive gear here so I gotta use it. I also owe a Guam summary ... s'plain the denial comments

November KAF Update

2010-11-30T13:08:00.000-09:00

Ok it is past time for another KAF update. G-Daddy is done with the “Hawaii Project” final close –out has been a bitch and I’m free. Here is the Kick Ass November summary.

11/1 – I left Hawaii for Troy Michigan to visit USNCB Force. Had a great time cept lil’Ricky chewed my glasses. Spent week visiting The Force with 2 of those days in Lansing visiting KC. Highlight was the Motown records museum. OMG The Force dives like crazy in motor city. Egads I washed my cell phone. OMG it is impossible to buy an unlocked cell phone anymore.

11/5-11/6 Hungout with old college friend in Lansing MI. It was great lol we hit a couple of bars downtown. Dude is from Wasilla so we had great fun talkin about Sarah and the state of American politics.

11/8 – Fly to ATL and pick up big sis’s car. Start road trip to Emerald City. Met The Adventure (TA) in Atlanta. The car condition was a questionable 1996 C220 with 256,000+ miles. Lol my brother was posed to meet me but that didn’t happen. I had to pay the 200 bucks to get it out of hawk from big sis’s mechanic….arrgh family. Car condition summary after the mechanic “looked it over”. One trash bag of garbage and misc items for donations, gas gauge doesn’t work, gas leak somewhere, turn signal not working, no licensed plate lights, coolant leak somewhere. The overall male opinion is “sis sell the car”. Neway the GREAT ROAD TRIP had started. Gas gauge solution, use the trip odometer and only drive 300 miles between fill ups. Get this TA had a plane ticket to AZ based on the condition of the car just in case.

11/9 – Start of the GREAT US ROADTRIP Atlanta to Seattle 3700 miles with a side bar to Sierra Vista, AZ. First, leg ALT to HSV and met some friends of TA there. Car did OK so we pushed it to Florence AL. Hmmm weird noise started like sirens couldn’t determine where it was coming from. The take the back roads off the plan and now we need to stay on the interstate total lack of confidence the car will make it.

11/11 – Tried to contain TA’s geocaching addiction but that didn’t happen. Hit Texarkana with a geocaching vengeance, found 4. Met an interesting local(?) that gave us the town summary. The old railroad depot was vacant so of course we had to check it out, alas there was nothing of interest. Did find a house worth painting. Was hoping the travel/any from work would revise the watercolor urge but had/has nothing. Texas is huge took three days to get across that place. Figured out the gas leak/smell, it happens whenever the gas tank is filled too fast. Saw my first wind farm, I want one. Visited friends of AT’s outside of Dallas, she knows ppl everywhere.

11/13 – Get to TA’s place in Sierra Vista on Saturday did laundry and “rested” B4 the second half of the trip. Rested means ripped up living room carpet, mounted flat screen TV on wall, fixed bath lavatory drain, installed wireless router. Man was that rejuvenating.

11/15 - Hit PHX for CO2 capture burner mtg. Been talking with this friend of mine about being a PM for several coal and oil fired power plant burner replacement projects, for like almost 5 years. Come to find out the “investor” is waiting for the Mexican Government to redeem some 1913 Govt. Bonds lol roflmao… OK it may turn out but, I’m a little less confident it will happen. As my friend would say we should know by tomorrow…

I was also to meet a man about a solar panel/farm idea of met. My idea - The solar panel COOP farm, a simple plan. Buy some land, let ppl buy shares in the COOP, share in this case means PV solar panels. It is like this, most ppl don’t want to put panel on their house. Typically, old houses aren’t designed to incorporate several 3’x7’ solar PV panel arrays on the roof. The utility company will only let residential owners use the roof-mounted equipment to offset the utility cost. Hell in Hawaii, the electric company is claiming that to many residential installations will destabilize the grid WFT?? The total “collective” can sell the power generated to the utility company at peak cost and all of the members can benefit (meaning a monthly check) from the sale of power. The PV farm COOP can support a battery storage/inverter station so the grid stabilization think isn’t a factor. lol yeah I’m looking to buy some desert land in AZ near a power transmission lines hopefully for real cheap. Well that is an entire BLOG entry in itself.

11/16 – Well the second half of the trip had to pick-up the speed. So headin north yuk worst hotel of the trip was come rundown casino outside of Las Vegas. Barstow smells and looks really rough, the passenger side turn signal flew out of the car and the lens cover separated and flew over the roof. Amazing enuff it didn’t break or get run over by a semi tractor-trailer. Had some shipping tape in the car and ghetto’d the bad boy right-up. The coolest things on the California portion; 20 mule train BORAX mine (would have asked for the tour but, I just taped the turn signal back on the car), viewing the freight train on the Tehachapi Pass Loop, looking towards Death Valley, the orchards, Corning for olives and virgin oil.

11/17 – Oregon, sis’s lil car on the mountain, it was tough. But it did OK until Portland, it was raining cats and large dogs, the check engine light comes on, the add coolant light comes on. Lost all confidence in the car…call all my friends and family in Seattle and put the warning out that if the car dies in route send help.

11/18 - Lesson learned is dat sis’s little car don’t like to be pushed. After a nights rest, can of oil, and more antifreeze it purred into Seattle just fine. Had enough time for TA to geocach at the old Olympia brewery birthplace of Oly Pop!. Saw Aunt, Uncle, cousins and old college friend. Spent the night at D&S’s place, smile I actually “jammed” with D on guitar and, me on my ukulele lmao. I guess I learned something in Hawaii.

11/19 – Whew! dropped the car off at the shipping place and caught the plane home. Landed in ANC, it was 8 degrees F. Segundo picked me up at the airport. WTF, who leaves Hawaii to go home to ANC in the middle of the winter?

11/26- Took Segundo to Juneau to visit Primo and his GF. Primo cooked dinner at his roommates hse (not GF but, an older woman with young daughter). Great food, he slow roasted the turkey, it was a good time. We geocached the day after it was a good time. Lesson learned quit drinking with children, Primo is an angry drunk. New worries as a parent, oh well it never ends.

Well woo hooo it is good to be home. I have tickets to the AIFF and my birthday is coming up. Lots of house stuff to do. Let the rumpus begin. Christ I need to figure out what is next, again that is another BLOG entry also.

KAF Update

2010-09-12T13:04:00.018-08:00

Sorry for the lack of post all. Not that I haven't been having fun but project close-out has been a bitch. So I guess fun has been under achieved. However, I did go to the Big Island on Labor Day. A buddy of mine has taken it upon him self to document the health and location of Wiliwili trees on the island, freelance environmentalism. So we spent the afternoon hiking and locating these trees.

Mature tree, about 100 years old we figured??

Wiliwili tree seeds

Nice grove of trees.

The last groves of trees was a turkey roost, alas no turkey but we did find a turkey feather!
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You could see/feel the spirit of this old tree, its is dying, note orange color.
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Here is all of the pics from that day.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6jvDj02rIx0MmY5NTc5M2ItMGU1MS00MWU2LTgyYjEtOWQ3OWVmNjEzZjg4&hl=en

Ginger Syrup - The Mixology Experiment

2010-04-12T01:36:00.020-08:00

In an effort to be healthy I have been going to the local farmers market on Sundays for my fruit and veggies for the week. Well this one booth had these big ginger roots, I had to buy one. Great! So I asked myself, "Yo, what do u do with this big root-o-ginger?" Ahh yes, the answer was easy, make ginger syrup for ginger martinis. Note, how easy I stray from the "healthy lifestyle" pursuit.

Quick e-mail to M.I.

G-Daddy to MIHOTT
OK , I got this big chunk o'ginger. so what is ur recipe for ginger syrup. Can I make it with dark rum??

MIHOTT to G-Daddy
Equal parts water, sugar & Ginger (peeled & chopped). I usually do med to med high heat & stir a lot up front while the sugar is melting, then let it simmer until it's syrupy, about 30 min. That's it for the syrup.

For the martini, I experiment, usually 1/2 rum, 1/2 syrup or do thirds with triple sec.
Good luck!

Well for starters, no dude is gonna peel ginger root. Look at that thing, its alien. I just cut it small enough to go in my Black and Decker One-Touch chopper. Presto I got at least a pound of finely chopped ginger root. Now I happen to enjoy dark rum. So with that said I figure I'll go all dark and use dark brown sugar also. With those small deviation I proceed to make my own batch of ginger syrup.

OK so I melt the sugar in with the ginger and have this nice rich brown liquid...with all kinds on ginger peel pieces floating on the top. No worries, the house is equipped with a small strainer and I proceed to fish most of the chopped pieces of ginger skin out of my precious syrup. Simmer for 1/2 hr to 45 minutes. Hmmm, Doesn't look so bad.

I happen to have some blue sake bottles and some extra corks. So there, I have ginger syrup.

CONCLUSION: Let's say that for a first try I found all of the mistakes. Honestly who likes a brown martini? What was I drinking...I mean thinking? The dark rum was too strong, it clashed with the ginger. White rum next time.

Same with the brown sugar, white sugar next time. Oh yea, and if you don't want to peel then you need cheese cloth (hmm perhaps coffee filters will work). The strainer doesn't get all of the fines.

Good things. I got two containers of sweet chopped ginger root I have been cooking with. Ginger teriyaki tuna!!. The pineapple was great alone without any rum. The rum is great alone without any ginger. Mix the syrup with sparkling water for really good ginger ale.

Kick Ass Fun Update

2010-02-14T23:35:00.014-09:00

So here is what I have found. I have the best Super Bowl Sundays if I don't watch that goofy football game. So for the last two Sundays in a row I have hit Ward's Rafters. What a funky place. The third story of this woman's house in Kaimuki...who would have known??

http://www.yelp.com/biz/wards-rafters-honolulu

On Superbowl Sunday was, "A Tribute to John Coltrane". Man that was hot.

Here is the play list for you jazz purest.

1st Set
Bessie's Blues
Good Bait - sweet
I Mean You
Lazy Bird - waltz
The River
A Love Supreme - dudes, tore it up way to close a set!!! Satomi was just awesome on piano

2nd Set

Giant Steps
Moment's Notice
Ohm(sp) Original composition I thought is sounded like the funky part of The River
Something about John Coltrane - Flute
Impressionsw/Neil on Sax also for duet/ Neil can blow also....sigh started thinking about work on this tune.

3rd Set

In Walked Bud
Mister Day
The Creator Has a Master Plan - a Pharoah Sanders tune

This Sunday was just as good. Valentines Day, Mom and Pop's anniversary, which leads to an entire separate blog post. In Summary, that was two Sundays in a row of kick ass fun!

Where was all the Fun and Happiness???

2009-12-30T23:33:00.007-09:00

LOL.... back in April I posted some "short term goals" 30-60 days. Well with the year ending I figure I'll give a brief summary.

Lose weight...Yes I did. I even kept it off thru the holidays.

LEED AP... Yes I did. Now the good sustainable green building folks want me to select a speciality by 2011 so I'll have to get PDH's for that. Arrrgh

30+ engineering PDH's for my 2010 AK engineering license...Yes I did This was pretty cool.

Scuba Diving.....No, I didn't. Nothing, zippo, didn't even get wet. How lame is that? the most fun thing one that stupid list and I do nothing. yo G-daddy ur priorities are really f'd up. Sigh my pursuit of water colors was down also. I did only 7 post cards and 6 of those were Christmas cards of the same thing.

Years ago I had a TAB business with some college buddies. It wasn't a huge money maker but, every year we would have a big pizza super bowl party (hey, it was tax deductible). So at the party I would announce the word of the year. Remember Peewee's Play house? ok I digress. The phrase for 2010 is "Kick Ass Fun". I am going to focus on kick ass fun. This will be the one of the funnest years of my life.

Not saying 2009 wasn't fun. A few friends did come visit me on Oahu. I did get to the Big Island. Had a fun road trip from Denver to AZ thru New Mexico. However, more Kick Ass Fun in 2010 will be had by all.

Primo and Segundo on da island brah!

2009-12-29T23:09:00.012-09:00

CHECK IT OUT!!!

Primo and Segundo were in HI for Christmas.

The highlight was a night at the Dragon Upstairs Lounge in Hono Downtown Chinatown. Another awesome Jazz show, the drummer was choke as they say in the 808

They also got to pound sweet rice to make moshi(sp) for the new year. I guess rice pounding is a Japaneses new years tradition. The neighbor does this every year and he invited the boyz and I over.

Moshed sweet rice...., yup I know that was takin grammatical liberties with conjugation.

The moshi production line.

Three of us at the bar, he he it reminded me of going out with Pops .

No Pain, No Gain or Make Lemonade w/o Sugar

2009-09-13T18:43:00.003-08:00

YOW

A lot has happened since the last post.

Amazing, I passed my LEEDS AP test. Hey don’t ask I needed a 170 out of whatevah and I got bare minimum 170. Postponed it from 6/19 to 6/23 and passed the buggah! OK so I met the pass the LEED AP exam goal.

7/15/09 the house I’m renting was jacked. Bastards stole my laptop, back-up HD, Nokia N82 cell phone, both ukulele’s a KoAloha and my KPK, GPS (old as it was), check books and bank files. Bitches took my water color paints and pencils. Took a month to cancel checks, get new accounts (in Alaska), and file fraud alerts at all three credit agencies. The police file was closed in a day, so much for Hawaii 50 in the year 2009. Now I have chains on both gates…kinda silly for a house with jalousie windows and ¾” T&G walls. I mean a tweaked out Samoan could just go thru the wall.

So then I start having dizzy spells. Dr. puts me on the EKG machine and goes hmmm perhaps you need to see a cardiologist and take a baby aspirin daily. Of course then I feel my heart and carotid arteries start throbbing. The dizziness gets worse and so next week I see Doc again which is followed by an immediate head CT scan. Good news here, the small growth in my head is identified as my brain and no tumors or aneurysms are waiting to explode.

But in the back of my mind I think well maybe it is the HBP meds. So I’m now I’m mortified G-Daddy has heart disease. I stop drinking and coffee, and start popping aspirin daily. In addition, I was told to get a HBP machine so I can track my pressure at home. (Why would a doctor tell an engineer to collect and plot data points?) So I’m taking 20-30 readings a day just waiting for the big one to hit me. To be honest, Doc also said it could be stress and do some stretching, exercise, try yoga. So after living in fear for three weeks, I finally get to the cardio stress test. The cardiologist was hilarious, great stand-up. Long story short heart is healthy, changed HBP meds, and dizziness has somewhat subsided.

The point is add the; house break in, HBP meds dizziness side effect, the heart disease scare, plus work stress (next Blog entry) Woo Hoo!! I lost 8 lbs. So, I’m gonna claim an 80% on the lose weight goal.

No Diving
2 more CEU’s more to follow

Ouch... That did hurt

2009-06-15T00:14:00.003-08:00

Well that didn't work. Just highlighted how unmotivated my sorry ass is lately. Here is the goal progress summary:

1. Lose 10 lbs (first step in getting off HBP meds those things SUCK). This is a bigger than losing weight, I really want to get on a “whole health” mind set. Eat better, drink less, exercise more. Simply put I’m struggling with mortality. I haven't lost a fucking pound. Hell - no hiking, no rollerblading ,no nothing, this weekend.

2. Go diving, hell I have the gear, I’m in Hawaii. WTF?? Nope didn't do any of that.

3. Pass the LEED AP exam. Test is in June, need to get study materials. Well, I got the materials the test is on the 20th need to learn over 400 pgs in 6 days. Christ i really don't give a rip about LEEDs

4. Christ! I need 30 hrs of PDH’s to keep my license current. First step of this one is in motion. Will be in San Diego in May to attend a seminar but that is only ½ of PDH’s don’t know whether to plan another seminar or collect the remainder on-line. Canceled the SD seminar... lol pig flu worries ....more folks have it here in Hawaii. So the next attempt(s) is to go on-line. And yeah I'm stuck with a nonrefundable ticket to SD. Did attend an Hawaii AIA/ASHRAE "Mold in the Building Environment" brown bag luncheon. 2 PDH's down 28 to go.

Whew!! good thing it was only 4 goals. Folks, the long and short of it is I'm not going to be able to work another 15 years unless I find something more gratifying. The struggle for legal tender just to be part of the great US consumer economy has TOTALLY lost its appeal.

I guess a few simple goals won't hurt?

2009-04-23T04:33:00.005-08:00

Howzit, folks yes it has been awhile. I was in Anchorage last weekend. Yeah yeah I know I didn’t see everyone (including Mom). Smile... telling folks here in Hawaii that it was almost 50 deg F. in Anchorage on Sunday makes them shiver. Nevertheless, it was nice, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. Anchorage was pretty dusty but hey that is the way the place is b4 the first spring rain. Well, OK maybe a bit dustier than normal due to volcano ash/dust. Primo and Segundo are doing well in the house. lol Primo’s cat is on the new version of Google Earth runnin across the street.

Here’s the deal. I’ve been slacking lately so I need to publish some goals. I need to get back to posting on a regular basis. Both are ways to keep life moving, the proverbial killing two birds with one stone. These are only short-term goals 30-90 days

1. Lose 10 lbs (first step in getting off HBP meds those things SUCK). This is a bigger than losing weight, I really want to get on a “whole health” mind set. Eat better, drink less, exercise more. Simply put I’m struggling with mortality.

2. Go diving, hell I have the gear, I’m in Hawaii. WTF??

3. Pass the LEED AP exam. Test is in June, need to get study materials.

4. Christ! I need 30 hrs of PDH’s to keep my license current. First step of this one is in motion. Will be in San Diego in May to attend a seminar but that is only ½ of PDH’s don’t know whether to plan another seminar or collect the remainder on-line.

My Dad

2008-11-16T14:41:00.007-09:00

Well some of you may know that my Dad died on Nov 2, 2008 in Soldotna. So I flew that night back to Soldotna via Anchorage and arrived Monday morning at 7a to help Mom with the service and all. It was snowing in Anchorage and 4 degrees F in Soldotna when I landed. The service was nice, on Thursday the 6th, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (yes is that a good Catholic Church name or what?). My ex-wife flew in from WA and my sons came down from Anchorage. I being the only one of my brothers and sisters to show up (that is an entire other blog post) said a few words at the service. So I want to share those words with u’all also. I really didn’t write any of it down so I’m paraphrasing and adding in the things I missed also ;-)

Let’s see first I thanked my ex-wife for showing up, her and Pops were always close. Second, I named all of my brothers and sisters and thanked everyone on our behalf for coming to remember our father. Then I told about the different sides of Dad that I fondly remembered.

Soldier Dad- Pops served 30 years in the US Army. 3x combat veteran, a tour in Korea and 2x in Vietnam where received a Silver Star. Soldier Dad would send us cassette tapes every 1 or 2 weeks. He sent me a map of Cambodia and Vietnam and with each cassette he would send the coordinates of where he was located on a slip of rice/tracing paper so I could overlay it on the map and see where he was. Pops used to let me stay up and watch him shine all of his brass and place his ribbons on his uniform. He would shine everything down to the last oak leaf cluster. Soldier Dad gave me his field jacket in high school so I could be cool, taught me how to spit shine my shoes for ROTC. He gave me his special forces pin to wear on my Boy Scout cap.

Outdoor Dad- used to take all of us camping. We would load up the Olds Vista Cruiser and go to Fielding Lake or the upper Chena River. We would catch lots of graying and cook them, wrapped in foil, seasoned with lemon pepper, roasted on sticks, over the fire. I caught my first fish with Outdoor Dad; it was a rainbow trout at Otter Lake on Ft. Rich I think I was 9 or 10. I was too squeamish to clean or eat it, which didn’t sit well with neither Outdoor Dad nor Soldier Dad for that matter. I’ll talk more about this with Cooking Dad. Outdoor Dad took me hunting, skeet and trap shooting he was a great shot I was not. We used to go fishing on Ft Wainwright behind the golf course. Armed with a thermos of russian tea Outdoor Dad would catch a graying or two with his fly rod and bait us up for burbot (a fresh water cod like fish). We would drink tea in the summer twilight and dad would reenact how he would call pigs in his youth. Pops would go, “Wooooooooo PIG pig pig pig” with his voice dropping lower and deeper with each pig. At the end, it was so deep it would sound like James Earl Jones.

Then there was Fun Mischievous Dad - he used to play cards with us and would slap card on his forehead. Dad was fun to play cards with. One weekend or spring break when I came home from college mom was getting on Pops about something so he decided that we (he and I) needed to go to the hardware store. Which was followed by a side trip to the VFW, where we proceed to get rather tipsy (everyone should get drunk with his dad at least once). I think Dad just wanted to give mom other options upon our return home.

Cooking Dad – Most of you know Cooking Dad. He could fry fish in a deep fat fryer and still have spotless glasses. Cooking Dad to assist Outdoor and Soldier Dad made me clean fish, cut up meat and chickens to overcome by blood and guts phobias. Of course, the next step was start the grill, seasoning the meat advancing on to cooking it. Yes, Cooking Dad taught me how to cook on the grill. Some things Cooking Dad would not do. One year I was having a construction party for some work at my house in Anchorage an I asked Cooking Dad for his gumbo recipe. Pops laughed and firmly said, “NO, son how many ppl are you inviting”. Me made a huge pot of gumbo for all and then billed me for the ingredients. Hmmm... now that I think about it the same thing happened years before when I asked for his red meat rub recipe.

Well, those are the sides of dad I shared with everyone that day. I ended reading a poem about Pops, I wrote years before. I left out many facets of my Father; Rule Abiding Dad, Discipline Dad, Fastidious Dad, to name a few. Pops wanted his ashes spread in the flower garden at home. With single digit temperatures in Soldotna, the spreading of ashes will not take place until the spring. I love and miss my Dad

Hnloah G-Daddy Exploring The City

2008-09-07T21:40:00.005-08:00

What up, Yo

Sorry haven't been posting much. hell it is Sept and I have had only two post this year better step it up. First can you believe it I had the nerve to complain about $3.75/gal gasoline... duh what a bargain that would be now?

No doubt you have seen the Labor Day dive pictures so I'll spare y'all those details. The superferry over to Maui would make a great post in itself. The highlight of the trip was in Lahaina when this guy thought Heavy P and I were a gay couple and tried to sell us sea salt expholiating skin cream and some other great skincare products. I think it went over HP's head. nuff bout Maui.

This post is about me celebrating Segundo's 21st BD. Since he is back home in Anch I celebrated it without him. I got a ticket off of HPR (Hawaiian Public Radio) to a jazz concert, the ticket was only 20 bucks!!!. man-o-man let me tell you about this show. First in was in dwntwn hono in Kakaako (I think) at the Atherton Studio. The place seats maybe 75 ppl max, last night there was only 35-45 ppl there. The groups is Bop Tribal www.myspace.com/boptribal Yo dudes and dudettes, they tore it up. Do you get the picture? An awesome jazz show, in a small venue, for only 20 bucks??? In Anchorage, you would have never got tickets, this place was smaller than Bernies upstairs.

So here is what I thought of the show. The thinker is the trumpet player, DeShannon Higa, the majority of the tunes where his composition. He let that fact speak for itself and didn't hog the playing time and showcased everyone else. Ho! don't get me wrong dude can blow and jam he just didn't Bogart it on his compositions.

Satomi Yarimizo played the piano. Wow, she also had a couple of compositions both I really dug. It was a pleasure to watch her play, like a willow tree, she swayed and flowed with the energy of each tune. There was nothing slight or demure here. At times sure her play was was gentle but, girly girl could kick it with the boyz no problem. She was on time.

Playing Tenor Sax, Reggie Padilla. Hell i don't know what i liked best either when he and DeShannon played together or when Reggie would hit a groove, then it was just plain intense.

The drummer Von Baron, well I though his performance was crisp, clean and professional. Dude appeared to be a serious percussion technician. These all are meant to be good adjectives. Von Baron got down to business and went to work! I'm no musician but I swear at times his playing would pull that little extra sumpin, sumpin out of Paddila. My only complaint was the sandpaper effect on a couple of pieces but, hey that is just me.

The bassist Jon Hawes had the only amplified instrument, they swore his big upright was on the way. Dude gots to be real good to hang with the rest of these cats but, I wasn't moved greatly by any of his solo's. I think I heard synergy with Satomi lots of times; again, I'm no music anything.

Overall the show was sizzling. Of the first set I particularly liked Tipsy Island, I don't know, it seemed to me to be the first tune where the jitters were gone and I was hearing a tight quintet. My second fav of the first set was, Flowers Smell Better in June, it swung! The second set was just fuckin tight. I LIKED EVERYTHING!. seriously it was all good. They hit the Thelonious Monk tune, Green Chimneys, red hot and smokin no wonder they took a break before that last number. All in all it was a great show!!!

Gasoline cost in AK vs HI

2008-05-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

PISSED

So I don't get it? I'm back in Anchorage for a week, and the price of gasoline is $3.75/gal. The price in Hawaii is $3.65/gal. What the fuck? How can this be? Alaska has the North Slope, 3 refineries and gasoline cost more than in Hawaii? Then to add salt in the wound the "Dubya" and the entire Alaskan congressional congregation, wants to open ANWAR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) for oil development. The jerks say it will lower the cost of gasoline in America. Bullshit, if the gasoline price in Alaska is higher than Hawaii right now! How is opening ANWAR gonna do anything for the price of gasoline in the United States in the future.

Duh …Exxon and Conoco-Phillips will just make more money.

If anyone really believes opening ANWAR will lower the price of gasoline then I have some weapons of mass destruction located in Baghdad to sell you. ARRRGH

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2008-01-04T01:14:00.000-09:00

So the 1st post of 2008 should be a Chronicles post.

Hawaii vs Australia

Everybody ask, so G when r u goin back to work? Yo dude whaddup with that down under gig? Well the answers are; I’m back to work soon and the Aussie gig is dead. Most of you know that I left the RMI in August and was hangin in Anchorage waiting for my security clearance to go to Australia. I had the medical evaluation, polygraph test, psycho evaluation and field officer conducted interviews of friends and associates, in Sept. Hell I even got the visa in my passport. Well after 60 days… I got impatient (cute flowers).

So….my buddy Heavy P working in Oahu passed his employer my resume. His company flew me to Hono in Dec. I had a good interview and long story short they offered me a job. To which I said. “I need to give the Aussie gig 90 days to tie up the security stuff, if no word in 90 days, then I’ll take the Hawaii job.” To be cool told the Aussie folks that I need to know if I have a clearance or not in 90 days or else I’m gone.

Here is the kicker 90 days was the 12/15, I tell the Hawaii job I need till the 12/20 (95days). So 12/21 rolls along and I say Hawaii woo hoo. I get an e-mail from the Aussie folks on Jan 2…” I had a message from security this morning and your approval to brief was received 12/19/07.”…(that pissed me off since I asked specifically for any news about clearances on the 20th) basically the rub is two fold. First, I don’t care what the fuck, it shouldn’t take 90 days to let anyone know if they have a job. I was given four different report to Aussie dates: 11/3/07, 12/14/07, 1/11/08, and the last straw 2/8/08. Dudes in the future don’t give a report date until the security issues are complete. Changing dates just pisses ppl off. Hello?... ppl make plans based on the information given. Second, if someone knows about a long lead important items like the security clearances, DON”T SIT ON IT OVER THE HOLIDAYS….jerks

It is simple really. Company A (facilities) will have taken over six months to get me on the job site (Australia) after accepting the position. Company H (construction) will have me in Hawaii in less than 45 days after the job interview. Duh? Doing great in 2008 Oahu here I come.

PS The real bummer is I really wanted to go down under

G-Daddy 2007 summary/update

2007-12-17T00:23:00.000-09:00

It has been a good year. I spent the first 8 months of this year in the RMI working on Kwajalein. It was way cool, learning to dive, a trip to Majuro, then to Micronesia and visited Kosrae and Pohnepe. Hangin with The Adventurer made kwaj the greatest. We got black pearls in Majuro, visited the copra plant. We had dinner with the US Ambassador and his wife. Majuro was boss. Then MI Hott came out for a visit, she tagged along with me and The Adventurer on our Micronesian sojourn. So kudos on the first 8 months of 2007. So, yeah I got the adventure thing down so so.

Then I came home, hmmmm home has not been that happy. For Thanksgiving I went down to Mom & Dads (in Soldotna 150 Miles south of Anchorage). Dad with PTSD + depression, Mom dealing with Dad, and Mom after her knee replacement. That was a new first for me, old parents are worse than children. I coached coed geriatric physical therapy for Mom and Dad. I got all of the lingo down cold. Up, down, 1,2,3,4,5...hold release, again, last 5,4,3,2, done…switch legs, next exercise.

Royalties you ask? How is that going? Slow. Did some water colors in kwaj but none while at home. Honestly, I think it will take 10 years+ to get to a point where I’ll be able to sell prints or anything. Just keep trying. But hey the popularity of this blog is growing like some asian economies. The Gigantic Coconut Crab Movie isn’t in the can either plus I missed the Anchorage Film Festival this year. Not happy bout that. I guess I can post the second clip. I have about 5 scenes that I need to edit and three I still need to film. Movie making is equally as hard as water colors…yo

I’ll close with a lack of job rant. I’m pissed at the Aussie job, the report date first was Nov, then Dec, then Jan, now they’re telling me Feb. Fuck that crap. I guess the security clearance background check thing is the hold-up. Hell I don’t even wanna a clearance, don’t wanna know any secrets either. I had no God damn intention to be in Alaska for December duh it is 5 F. outside right now. I ain’t waiting for the Aussie gig. Let’s be real… what incompetent sits around for over 90 days waiting for a job. In addition, it is just plain fucking rude (not no mention unprofessional) to expect someone to do that. The process stinks, they should 6 sigma this shit ….hissss. lol that would make it take longer. So… I had a job interview in Hono last week with two other résumé’s pending in Hawaii also. No word from any of them yet.

Yup, if you were reading between the lines I was in Hawaii for my birthday. My old buddy Heavy P is working a construction project there. Ole HP got me the interview. He has a place near Haleiwa on Oahu. That was fun cept for that head cold but who cares, I was in Hawaii and it was cold back home.

G-Daddy at home in the north

Fuck, it snowed today.

2007-10-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I thought I would be outta here b4 it snowed.

This Australia job is taking way to long to close. I guess I still have to clear the security background check bullshit. Christ, if they said it would take over 6 months to get “cleared” for the job I would have said no and stayed in kwaj. In addition to that crap, I just found out that the place in Australia is a dry town (ha ha no pun intended) as of 8/1/07. You heard right a dry town in Australia, yikes that totally busted my aussie stereotypes. Yes, yours truly has accepted a job in a location where they don’t sell and alcohol. How stupid is that. Hmmm not passing the security clearance may be a blessing.

So the current plan is to be on site “the first week of December”. Meaning I have another 1 month to kill. Therefore when the passport returns from the visa process I’m headin back to kwaj. Pretty easy math, hang in anchor town for the beginning of winter or chill in the tropics and go diving. May hang in Hawaii for a day or two to see my buddy Heavy P. then go on to kwaj, see The Adventurer, and get some more diving in. I can still be back in anchor town for some snow boarding till December rolls in.

Here some pictures of the spot where we scatted some of Uncle Bubba’s ashes this is the mouth of the Kasilof River where we used to dipnet red’s. It was freezer fishing. We would catch both tides a day. Fish, clean fish, sleep, then fish again. It was a lot mellower than the Kenai River circus.

Guess what ya’ll both Primo and Segundo are living at my house. So far so good. At 20 and 21 not much interaction with the ole man but still it is kewl to have them around. Yeah yeah I know , but what about the hse when ur gone??? Solved I got better locks lol. Hell I don’t know? When the oz gig is finalized I’ll worry bout that.

Final note: I have been out of work long enough and I’m ready to paint. This is very good. Very very good, wooo hooo.

All in all, life is still good.
peace out mo fo's

Yes, I’m back in Alaska

2007-09-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Problem with Anchorage is I know too many ppl and places plus kids, parents and the ex-wife. It is way to easy to fall back into the same old grind. Well I have a lot of thoughts, and it has been along time since I have posted so here goes. Let me first; apologize for the random stream of consciousness but it all qualifies as Life.

Little Bro's ashes, I really don't want to put him in some fancy urn on my mantle. I don't even have a fire place. So, here's the plan …scatter him in three places. One is downtown Anchorage across from the old hospital, by the Park Strip, at the house we lived in when he was born. Second is at the mouth of the Kasilof River where we used to dip net red salmon. Third is at Beach lake in Birchwood where he used to party. I was thinking of making some Uncle Bubba geocache sites also but, Alaska has so many geocaches it isn't that unique. Maybe I will start an Uncle Bubba travel bug.

Mom and Dad, arrrgh Well I have sent about ½ of my three weeks home at mom and dad's house down in Soldotna. Dad is totally gone. Retirement and the complete lack of any activity as allowed the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to take over. Pops is a Korea and 2x Vietnam combat vet. He is constantly paranoid and paces around the house. He is not eating and I had to tell mom to call the doctor and take him to the hospital because he has lost so much weight, he was in for a week to get his weight and fluids up. Mom is in complete denial on how bad the situation is….mom historically isn't as incompetent as she seems in this situation but perhaps Bubba and Aunt Rose dying within 3 month of each other has had an effect? Last Sunday the boyz drove down for dinner and after dinner Dad announced that the food was poisoned….he is paranoid on the verge of psychotic. We had to explain the food was good, we all cooked it and it was safe to eat. Talking to my sister later it became clear that he is just scared shitless of everything. I guess it, the PTSD, has always been in the background but retirement left nothing to screen the weird behavior like working did. Sigh… we all saw it, there were lots of signs, but we didn't recognize the gravity until it was too late. Long story short, I told mom he needs to go to a psychiatric institute or hospital he is too much for her to take care of at home.

Yow, I remember going thru the times when everyone was getting married then having kids. This new phase of growing old and dying isn't too exciting. Speaking of kids I learned a valuable lesson. DON'T LET UR 21YO SON LIVE IN UR HOUSE WHILE YOU'RE GONE. Duh…apparently there was a party or two. Being the resourceful father I am, I hit the kid's roommate's blog to get any 411 on the said affair(s). Read http://wanghunglo.livejournal.com the Jan 4th entry. Young dude Wanghunglo owes me a mirror. I have also deduced that the broken tap explains the dark stains on the walls and ceiling of the bathroom. At least it appears to have been a decent dark/amber keg. Good thing is both boyz are enrolled in college, and currently have jobs. Primo is planning Segondo's 20th BD party. I have obtained written affidavits that the party will not be at the house.

Hmmm lots of details above but few thoughts, I'll summarize. I am torn about being back in Anchorage, some good feelings and lot of bad feeling. It is like I never left same old crap to deal with. I need to be gone before it snows, winter here will be depressing. I really miss my brother Bubba. http://www.myspace.com/welovebubba I don't want to be responsible for my parents, hell I'm not done with raising my own kids yet. However, I'm close to being done with kids, and the boyz are turning out pretty kewl so far.

Yup, nothing was said about relationships and future work. You could say I saved the hard topics for later. Next post will be free entrepreneurial ideas for young adventuresome capitalist eager to earn millions.

Work still sucks

2007-05-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hmmm... didn't I say a wanted to quit engineering entirely after the last job I left? yeah... and if I had to go back it better be an easy job in a really cool location. Well, Kwaj has been a classic example of getting what u ask for. This is facilities engineering circa 1987. I'm sooo ready to blow this popsicle stand.

In fact I have posted/replied to 35 jobs online since Feb mostly in the Pacific and west coast Only have gotten 4 or 5 nibbles with one firm offer, a project located in LAX, double yuck. Point being, there is alot of online frog kissing going on with very few job offers. I'm expecting an offer for a job in Australia it would be adventurous but, it is getting pretty far away from the folks. So I may tell them no. not sure yet? I have a position in CA in the making also, new power plant with CO2 capture (really cool project wrt the enviroment and all). See, I have added an additional professional focus...to help ppl. Don't worry, easy and cool location is still in! No more engineering for the military or big oil.

Sounds good don't it?? Till I look at my bank account, sigh some times I really hate capitalism. so ho'ing (engineering for the money, just with a different part of the body) still may happen despite all of my social ranting. Sigh...I'm really starting to think work will always suck, cause I'll probadly always need money.

My Brother Bubba

2006-11-14T17:42:00.001-09:00

Hello all

Yeah it has been along time since my last post and most of the time has been devoted to south pacific fun with the exception of the last three weeks. That is because I found out that my younger brother is dying. Get this, he has advanced cancer. A melanoma from a lesion on the sole of his foot spread into his lymph nodes and now it is at "stage 4" whatever that means. Can you image a black man, living in Seattle, getting skin cancer on the bottom of his foot? People get webbed feet in Seattle not skin cancer. As the cancer specialist said "hmmm this is extremely rare". He just turned forty. The doctors gave 6 months to possible 5 year time frame but I don't see him lasting longer than a year. Things seem to be deteriorating pretty fast while I was there.

So last week, I flew to Seattle and spent time with him. He was a blast, in good spirits and very accepting of his fate. At first I was angry because he was not going for life but my brother has always been easy going and very far from the coffee generation overachiever. Radiation and surgery are out of the question and with a 1 in seven chemo chance he said the hell with it, " I already feel sick why make myself miserable also". I know, I know, I tried the homeopathic/alternative medicine speech. Christ you can only lead a horse to water. I guess trying to beat 1:7 odds on a terminal illness would be too much work for him. More effort than he has ever put out in his life on anything but; he is the only person that can do it. We, meaning family, can all help him but he needs to be mentally there first and he isn't yet with time rapidly running out. That would be called acceptance.

My eldest sister Lorraine flew into Seattle, from Atlanta two days earlier. Big sis was cool and matriarchal, at first I was annoyed but man she was in charge and that helped ground me a bit. Mom and Dad flew down from Alaska two days after me. Each of us stayed for about a week, honestly the staggered family arrival and departure worked out pretty good. We had some fun, and ate good food, Salumi's downtown Seattle was great and 13 Coins late night is a SeaTac must for me.

Emotionally how am I? Hell, I don't know. Yes I'm sad, and sometimes I cry, but honestly getting divorced was more gut wrenching. Way lots more anger, hate and heartbreak. I'm mostly sad and reflective. I left a lot of stress and stuff to escape out here and not learn any more lessons in life for awhile. Sigh I guess life really includes all of the tragedy, pain, heartache, and joy (emotional stuff) along with adventures.

I love my Brother ..

Pacific Dining USAKA Style

2006-07-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all

Just a short note to let you know I’m still alive and kicking in the South Pacific. The most FAQ from my friends, are about island women...NO Comment! The second most FAQ is about the food. So after several attempts to attach the dining hall intranet web site with the Café Pacifica menu, which failed because, is blocked by the local IT folks. Meaning you can only see the menu while at work???. I have decided to write a summary e-mail about the food served in the PDR (local slang for Pacific Dining Room which in the early years was call the Subsistence Building). Honestly, some of the food isn't bad, and you have to give props to the cooks for being creative and adventuresome.

There is a huge variety in the menu.

Sometimes Italian; Ratatouille, Spaghetti w/Bolognese Sauce, Ham Marco Polos, Jardinière (ok so this is French but still most folks wouldn't know it)

or Mexican; Smoked Pork Carnitas. Chorizo Enchiladas, Tex Mex Fresh Veg., Spanish Rice/Tortillas, Beans Supreme??? (Yeah baby!!!, this is culinary vision. Forget taco supreme, burrito supreme, nachos supreme. Just go straight to the supreme beans)

Even Asian; Sweet & Sour Pork, Korean Beef Steak, Thai Veg. Pasta (this was horrible! Imagine fettuccine noodles with some peanut butter mixed in arrrgh), Oriental Fried Rice

OK so it is a menu of mix Asian cultures but hey the dudes be cooking. Sometimes, two or three times a week, there is just weird shit like, collard greens w/carrots? Great fish though, Broiled Mahi Mahi, Pan Seared Ahi.

I have hunch that chicken is the most popular food in the world. Chicken is almost a three time a day stable here and rice is also served at every meal including breakfast (eggs silly). Here are the lunch and dinner chicken selections from the last two weeks.
1. Kwaj Fried Chicken
2. Chicken Peapod Stir Fry,
3. Crispy Baked Chicken
4. Chicken Sukiyaki (yup Tuesday was Asian food night)
5. Breaded Chicken Strips w/ BBQ & Ranch,
6. Lemon Herb Roast Chicken
7. Chicken Fajitas
8. Oven Fried Chicken (really could be Crispy Baked Chicken)
9. Chicken Corn Saute
10. Sweet & Sour Chicken
11. BBQ Chicken
12. Herb Broiled Chicken
13. Roast Cornish Hen w/Fresh Herbs (yes these are chickens, lil bitty chickens but still chickens),
14. Spicy Chicken Curry
15. Louisiana Chicken & Crab Soup,
16. Chicken Veg. Stir Fry
17. Chicken Cordon Bleu
18. Szechuan Chicken
19. Oven Fried Chicken (not Oven Fried Chicken again)
20. Chicken Sukiyaki
21. Herb Roast Chicken (out of lemon again)
22.Spicy Buffalo Wings w/Celery & Bleu Cheese
23.Chicken Fried Chicken (ok this one had me.believe it or not this was served with "natural gravy")

The long and short of it is one must be very selective. Some things are good, other things are horrible. So farI have lost about 5lbs. When in doubt I eat the chicken.

P.S. Get the latest version of GOOGLE EARTH and see where I am

Be still my heart

2006-06-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

Howdy all

This is a copy clip from a recent e-mail from my last gf. She is a pretty awesome woman and had to share. What I really want to do [this week] is electro-chemistry. From The Hydrogen Economy: "So, the more evolved and complex the social organism, the more energy is required to sustain it and the more entropy is produced in the process of maintaining it. This simple reality flies in the face of orthodox economic theory. In fact, neither capitalism nor socialism is capable of accommodating the harsh 'real-world' realities imposed on society and the environment by the first and second laws of thermodynamics." The use of wind, geothermal, solar, etc., to power electrolysis to create storable, transportable hydrogen is very attractive. Don't worry, I'm also reading The Hype About Hydrogen, which seeks to debunk hydrogen as the silver bullet. Oh man nothing like a little "thermo" between engineers. Hindsight is 20/20 sigh... oh well, the good thing is we're still good friends. Next Post is Ebeye I promise

S-PAP

2006-05-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

Friends, howdy from Kwaj.

OK I'm sorry it has been a long time since I have posted. However, the good news is I have finalized mylong awaited (S-PAP) South Pacific Action Plan. Yes, in true engineer fashion I couldn't just "Do It". I had to plan it. In addition, since Im saturated in this military world, I gave it a pretty neat acronym. The plan is divided into two parts; personal task and professional task.

Personal task
Marshallese culture emersion. Get boat access and tour the Atoll islands. Learn Marshallese, visit Majuro the capital and hopefully get to other atolls. Basically get to know the Marshallese ppl and escape the USA influence. This place has 2000 Americans and 1500 Marshallese that come over from Ebeye everyday to work. I think, but Im not sure, the wages are substantially lower for them than USA folks, sharecropping comes to mind. I got a Marshallese CD from the liaison officer. This should be good cause, I stink at languages. I'll post for sure the trip(s) to Ebeye separately.

Fishing, deep sea, and saltwater fly fishing. A few Tuna, Ahi, Ono, and Mahi-Mahi. The locals catch some other reef fishes with hand nets. I dont know what those are and some of them have ciguatera toxins. The authorities say dont get reef fish??? Ok so far I have take the two written test to get your B-boat license. They have these really hot 22" Twin-Vees with 115 hp Yamahas for rent 40 buck for four hours plus gas. Get this gas is $1.80/gallon.

I am also on task to shake of my water phobia and perhaps do some snorkeling and/or scuba. I have never been a water person. I think it is the whole fire sign thing, plus always wearing glasses. Not a big priority until I get the underwater vision issue solved. Bi-focal goggles if you please. Being cheap here, insurance covers eye exams, but insurance isnt active until the first of June. Imagine living on an island and you can't see in the water, Christ sakes. So I need to wait, get some prescription goggles, and then attempt snorkel and scuba. Hell that shit is big out here. Sorry, surf-daddy aint happin.

Paint ten 9x12 watercolors and perhaps write some short stories or something. I joined the KAG (Kwajalein Artist Guild) met some cool ppl. This is working on the next career. Whatever moves me in the direction of royalties? This is the last engineering job I hope. Yeah I said that about the last engineering job Christ. This job is heavy suckage personified. I know, I know, I said I wont complain about work arrrgh.

Professional Task
Regain my past AutoCAD proficiency. This is the only real professional goal I can think of. Perhaps get my PMP certificate but hey if Im looking at royalties in the future who needs it. No hot keys, no layer keys, no templates. I have a draftsman that cant do xrefs. ha ha I mentioned Tri-Services layering standards once lol. That gives you a glimpse of the work/job situation. Beyond AutoCAD there is no engineering software here, none of any type period. I mention the lack of load analysis software in a meeting and was told to use a slide rule, they thought it was funny??? Oops was I complaining?

That is all for now G-Daddy Tropicus

P.S. I have a data cable issue to solve. As soon as I fix it hopefully, pictures will follow.

A Small Irony

2006-04-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hiho all (for some reason I have been thinking of Kermit the Frog)

Anyway how about a Kwajalein update. OK first some parameters. I ain't gonna complain about work. It is a job, it pays, and I'm out here for the adventure. However, excluding job complaints does not let the Company nor location off of the hook. I will often reflect and narrate on those conditions.

Today's topic folks, is irony. It is all over and I'm really trying to keep the sarcasm from bursting out. I have had three different orientation session; EH&S orientation, New employee orientation, and Island orientation, all without a compass or GPS. I'm all orienteered out. Btw my GPS is so old the Marshall Islands don't show up on any view less than 500 miles. Looks like I need a new one lol. OK back to the topic. Bit of history, this was the site of Operation Flintlock, the battle of Kwajalein. Oh about 1945 the US pounded this place with artillery, we're talking mass tonnage of ordinance, soldiers landed and slaughtered the entrenched Japanese. In 1945 this place was leveled and has never recovered. There are big pits in the reef that were blasted out for material used to extend the island. The liberated coral was also used for the concrete aggregate used in almost all of the older buildings.

In addition, this is an active US Army installation, being the army brat; I have been on a few Army Post and AF Bases. The point is military installations are not green environmentally friendly spaces. OK here is the ironic part; they had a big Earth Day Celebration 2006 here. I look around and want to cry, my boyhood visions of Treasure Island have been trashed. I could see, Earth Day awareness, a small wake perhaps? But celebration plleeezzs. I need to get off this island and see some other atolls. The real deal, is most of the US activities are channeled to this, the Kwajalein Atoll. You need permission from the RMI (Republic of Marshall Island) to go anywhere else. Our security is so tight we also need to get passes and permission to leave and go anywhere else.

Here is my partial island adventure plan.

Be quiet and not complain about the job. Yes G-Daddy will try to be a complacent worker bee. arrrgh is that bile I taste?
Try to learn Marshallese, sigh I am not good at languages.
Then hopefully I can go to Ebeye (pronounced E-bye) and make friends with folks from other atolls speaking Marshallese.
Get to at least three other atolls.

Here is a final don't do if any of y'all get a job out here. Do not ask about radiation in the EH&S (environmental heath and safety) orientation. We are not suppose to mention that however, there are some RF hazards I have actually gotten a Marshall Island history white paper, from one of those orientations, that does not even mention that the USA set off 67 atomic weapons out here. The atolls of Bikini and Enewetak where evacuated. Five islands in Enewetak Atoll were literally vaporized. OK next time more on the Island Adventure Plan

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here

2006-04-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hey folks Im in

The good parts.

The weather has been spectacular. 82-84 F. in the day, sunny or partly cloudy. Everybody rides bikes no POVs. It was part of my job to ride around the airport today and look at a project site. Man that was tough!! My room window looks east so I get the sun and moon rise over the ocean. The ocean view is spectacular, so far there has been steady trade winds and everyday I can watch these 3-4 foot breakers. Yes, folks I have an ocean front room, cross the road and add about 75 ft of land and Im at the beach. I have seen a total of 5-6 ppl on the beach it is all around so I guess the locals think no big deal. I walk to work and take the beach road so I get this view for about half of the walk. I guess I could ride a bike but hey it is only a 5 minute walk to the office.

I could give yall some of the bad parts but hey, I think Im gonna walk the beach. The sun has set and it has cooled off. Plus I got this new LED headlamp that really needs to be broken in before the moon rises. I must proudly add that the LED headlamp purchase was a result of GHOOM. I miss and want my rollerblades. This place is virtually flat. However the blades are in the mail, woo hoo GHOOM optimization again. Also want my bowling ball. This place has a 7 lane alley that is empty. Get this you still keep score by hand!!! The lack of bowling ball and fishing gear was also a result of the aforementioned GHOOM. Unpleasant result? Yes, but analyzed and fully evaluated.

Final note: for some reason we get Sunday and Monday off? Im sure there is a justifiable reason if you think about it? Regardless on Monday while ur going to work, Ill be .. hmmm hangin in paradise.

Kwajalein

2006-03-15T12:39:00.000-09:00

OK, arrrgh yes I have to go back to work.

Translation: I'm almost out of money. I know, I know.. I made a vow not to go back to engineering but, alas U R what U know. He he ha ha so I modified the vow! Anyway, the modified vow is if I have to go back to engineering, then it better be an easy, fun/exotic job and location. A true life (if, then) logic statement. Pretty tuff vow if you consider, growing up in Alaska plus 25 years of engineering up here. Note the amount of money isn't the first criteria. Shucks and darn the first job I apply for sends me an offer. The job is located in the Marshall Islands. Of course I said yes. I think of it as trading seeing fur seals in the Pribilof Islands (been there, done that) to sea turtles in the Marshall Islands. Yeah, I've seen the bears at Brooks camp too. Been snowed in in Glacier Bay NPS, that was a blast. Alaska been very very good to me (old SNL Garret Morris line).

So far so good. I sent back the first bundle of paperwork last week. I had the pre-employment "physical" today; basically they just drew a ton blood and other fluids, data collection of materials to be sent "back east" for further analysis. Yeah my blood pressure was OK and so was the uh prostate, being over 40 is a bitch. Remember when the hernia check as a big deal??Barring some weird unknown illness and the security clearance I think I'm in. (Fingers crossed, knock on wood).

GHOOM (geek high organization/optimization mode) is setting in. OMG, first a Gantt chart to organize all of the crap I need to get done b4 I go. Need to list everything I'm taking; which puter, camping gear, prescription goggles (holy shit I need an eye exam, extra glasses) fishing stuff (hmmm poles are in Soldotna @ mom and dads). Arrrgh Banking - I hate automatic EFT's but should get that set-up for all of the house bills. Yikes 20 and 18 yo sons with the run of the house, holy fuck that is "risky business". FYI Tom Cruise is a punk. Bike!! Can't drive on the island. Throw away bike?? Everything rusts out. Need to evaluate the proper bicycle for the tropics. The party!! need to have a party b4 I go!!!Warning Warning Danger Will Robinson. Sigh this is sooo much fun. More fun than humans should be allowed to have. wooo hooo

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

2006-02-26T12:23:00.000-09:00

Every now and then, I get a warm fuzzy from one of my sons. It is a kewl feeling because it indicates that perhaps, as a parent, I did actually influence them. Note, I didn't say I did something right. The jury is still in deliberation on several counts before the final tally comes in. The other night while watching the news, as our highest nationally elected official, was commenting about the possibility of pending "civil war" in Iraq, my eldest son, Primo says, "Dad, I wish I believed in God." This part made me cringe, cause I do believe in God and Primo's atheists believes may in fact, one day get me struck by lighting. The next part was awesome. He continues to say," Because then I would know that these assholes would be going to hell." What was really kewl was the tone of his voice made it clear he had a complete grasp of all of the assholes including the politicians, capitalist, religious zealots and terrorist ones.

Wooo Hooo!!!, see I did it. My eldest knows right from wrong.

PS just a bit on the religious thing. I'm not a Sunday worship dude. I just believe that a whole lot of things in nature are just right. I think no matter how long things took to evolve there must have been God behind it all. I also can see that there is a fucking whole lot of demons and evil shit hanging around. If good then bad, If heaven then hell. Yada yada

Amtrak - The Neglected Sunset Limited

2006-02-23T14:18:00.000-09:00

Howdy sports fans,

G-daddy is back home, but I need to catch y'all up on the last 2/3 of the "desert trip 2006". First, the Amtrak Sunset Limited. OMG it fucking sucked @#!$ Here is a bit of an history lesson; Amtrak owns no rails therefore, every Union Pacific freight train and its Burlington Northern freight hauling cousin has the right of way on the rails. I have never seen sooo many freight trains in my life. I bet we were passed by four or five consecutive freight trains. All of Arizona and New Mexico was passing or getting passed by freight trains. In the middle of nowhere, the tracks are three wide with a pull over section. I swear it took 10 hours to go from Tucson to Demming AZ just a small piece down the rail. Then because of the delays, we were late getting into El Paso. The engineer just stops the train. RR engineers can only work continuous 12 hours max. I think airline pilots and truckers have this same restriction too. So, the dude stops the train in Willcox AZ and we have to wait till an new engineer is driven out from El Paso. Arrrgh.

We must have passed all of the cool desert scenery at night, cause I didn't see any during the day. The water color inspirations for G-daddy the artist, were limited at best. But if anyone ever gets to Willcox there is a very cute run down white house with a backdrop of the biggest, fullest, dark rich, evergreen trees. It is located across the tracks from the train stop (no station in Willcox). The "stop" is literally the section of track between the Dairy Queen and the Circle K store. The house has a corrugated roof with a wide rust streak, cause by the flue stack. The paint is faded and peeling with an almost light baby bluish teal trim. I think I'll try this one, on acrylic and larger than my normal post card fair. If that isn't lemonade I don't know what is?

The moral here is: If u wants to take the train; get a connex, pimp it out and make it comfy, then ship yourself as freight. You'll get there on time as freight, cause if you take Amtrak you'll be late. The train was twelve hours late. It was scheduled to arrive at San Antonio at 10pm and it arrived at 10am the next day. Pretty sad when the French, Germans and Japanese all have 100 mph screamers and we have Amtrak. Needless to say, I did experience the dining and lounge cars to the fullest extent. The dining car food was a plus.

Puter update, the trusty laptop is still suffering. I am waiting for an elegant solution via divine inspiration (perhaps a lightening bolt). However, I think I'm in love with Linux. The relationship is still young so I don't want to jinx it. Tomorrow's episode is San Antonio

San Diego headin East

2006-02-07T15:24:00.000-09:00

OK all here is an update to the travels of G-Daddy

After a fun filled week with my college buddy JP in San Diego. (did I ever tell U bout da time we ran for student body President and VP at UAF?) NOTE - Lesson learned, don't fuck with ur computer and drink an entire bottle of scotch with ole college buddy. Oban, 14 yo, west highland, for those interested. The laptop is basically a travel weight at this point in time because, I optimized some stuff while really blind eyed drunk. Funny thing is I knew that drinking lesson (scotch and puters just say no) from past experiences but alas some lessons need to be revisited. Yes, it wasa long way to say it, I'm out of e-mail range for a while. Anyway the drinking was boss. We caught a rock show at the CASBAH in downtown SD, Saturday night, 4 bands for 8 bucks.

Now it is time to head east. sooo tomorrow I take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to LA then the Sunset Limited to San Antonio. The Sunset "limited"is just an econo class section of the Texas Eagle, For some reason they just can't call it an Eagle with cheap seats??^$$. The plan is to see Christy and her girls, old man Al is back on the slope, then go camping with Sue Grooms and Nicole. Yes, I have been inspired again and have one painting almost done. Hope fully the dessert ;-) train ride will give me another moment or two of inspiration.

Oh yah, the biodiesel conference, it was kewl. It was geared toward 20 million gallon a year plants and other producers, growers and f fleet managers operating in that order of magnitude. Nobody was talkin WVO, these dudes were talking soy beans to diesel fuel with no cooking in between. At this point in time, I would like to bestow some conference wisdom on those interested. Next time U plan to attend a conference with an exhibit floor - just pay for an exhibit pass, once U get a pass just go to any conference session you want....nobody ever checks. pls the Biofuel Conference exhibit pass still cost $275.00 plus I bought a $100 text book (geek).

Folks our next episode finds our super hero pondering, either buy a diesel car, get a job or, hangout for another 3 months. See y'all next week for our show titled, " Boy, I look like Samuel L Jackson in this car" OR " It is 82 Degrees F again, u gotta love workin in the South Pacific"

TTFN

My rants and ravings

2006-01-15T18:27:00.000-09:00

I cannot sleep, therefore I rant.

Profit - I would like to offer my definition of profit. Profit is the difference between what a company spends to produce a product and the sale value of that product. Profit can be created in two ways; under compensating workers that produce the product and/or inflating the sale price of the product produced. If a worker was paid the real value for the labor required and the product was sold at its' true value, there would be no profit. In simple terms, making a profit either rips off your workers/subcontractors, or rips off your clients/customers. To be highly profitable, basically means ??? Outsource work to China or India and really under pay your workers or sell products with a grossly over inflated sale price. That is a global economy.

Capitalism Sucks - I wish ppl could see the difference between democracy and capitalism. Capitalism is all about money; get a good education and get a good job. Be a worker for the wealthy and well established. Democracy should be about life; get a good education so you're knowledgeable enough to vote and recognize bull shit terms like "re-vamp" and the "war against terror". You know that constitutional line about the….pursuit of happiness.

Voting - You know, I’m not sure that voting ever changed anything major. Voting didn’t stop Hitler. Voting didn’t end slavery nor racial segregation. Is voting really a manifestation of freedom? Does voting end poverty, wars or child abuse? I believe Change is the result of Action. I think in this day and age, in the US, elections are won with money. Capitalism again. Political lobbyists buy congressional influence, again with money. Honestly, why can’t ppl see how money corrupts and blinds us from what is really important. Life should not be about money but in today’s US society it sure as hell is almost all about money.

Life - Here is my philosophy of life. Life is a long hallway with many doors on both sides as far as you can see. To fully enjoy life you must travel down that hallway and open as many doors as possible. Some doors you open, look, then turn around and shut them. Some doors you open and experience love, joy, and happiness. Some doors you open and see adventure. Some you open see pain, sadness, and sorrow. Perhaps you open a door and see another hallway to travel down with more doors to open and explore. The more doors you open, the more you experience life. When I was younger, I used to think you had to kick open each door with gusto. I am older now and open the doors with confidence, strength and dignity. All of that kicking hurt my feet. Funny thing is some doors now open to familiar spaces. I never thought there would be repeats. Those repeat doors I can either enter or close and walk away. Most times I walk away.

Good night

WVO King

2006-01-06T14:43:00.000-09:00

OK it is time for a WVO update

Here is the progress so far.

B4 the USVI trip I hand painted several 5x7 flyers/cards looking for members and ppl interested in the Anchorage Bio-fuels cooperative. Posted them, the hand painted bills, in all of the greenie places around Anchorage; the coffee shop next to REI, the Organic Oasis, Natural Pantry (Anchorage equivalent to a Whole Foods Store) and other tree hugger hangouts. The reply was dismal. Only four return calls.

The week B4 Christmas I sent out 90 letters to all of the hamburger joints, donut shops and Chinese buffets. Fifty bucks postage so far, including a self addressed survey post card. Basically it was a romp through the restaurant section of the yellow pages. The turnout was a bit better. I got about 14 returns, with an average of 15 -20 gallons of WVO available oil a week from each restaurant. Note I got also got seven, return to senders>, no donut shops nor Chinese buffet replies. Just for the record, yes I did create an MS Access database file populated with all 90 restaurant records and ALL four private ppl responses. Oh how punny, Yeah !! I geeked out.

A good indicator that I’m ready to go back to work is the fact that I sketched a system piping/process flow diagram of a small 50 gallon batch plant, complete with a materials list and cost estimate. Good thing I don’t have any drawing software on the laptop, else I would have created an AutoCAD file with a bill of materials. I stopped short of an electrical one-line diagram. I have a bunch of ckt bkrs and a small load center from an old ASTF grant project that I can steal/salvage parts from so, I need not get carried away with that. The final const for a good quality 50 gallon WVO-biodiesel batch plant is about a grand in Anchorage AK dollars. Here is what is next.

Make second contact. This is an easy one, since I only have less than twenty contacts to make. This is a one day task/completed by Monday 1/9/05.

I need more private members. Sigh, I think the next step is posting a newspaper add in the Anchorage Press, the local progressive rag. Point is I need more folks to use the bio-diesel. This will take place next week also. How about Tuesday, don’t want this to be like work or anything lol

I need a diesel vehicle. This is quite the exercise; I have the WVO sources but no diesel automobile. This is where living in Alaska is a disadvantage. If you want to buy a big ass Dodge Cummings Diesel that gets 8 gallons per mile there are a lot of those available (why bother). However, a 1985 diesel Mercedes-Benz or Volkswagen diesel sedan or wagon, for about 3 grand, is nonexistent up here. I’m still looking but those animals are rare birds. Yeah there are lots in Cali, but it is another 2 grand to get the vehicle north. Hisssss nasty Baggins has my precious

I need to complete the 50 gallon batch plant. That is easy just spend the money and buy the stuff. The plan is to construct a 50 gallon batch plant, set-up in the carport, by March 1, 2006. Oh BTW that is also the date targeted for my return to work. The return to work is another blog entry for sure. Arrgh just typing that phrase makes me ill, double yuk.

Merry Christrmas

2005-12-24T06:45:00.000-09:00

Sorry folks I haven't posted in awhile so I'm gonna wrap a bunch of stuff together.

Christmas depresses me.

The Boyz spend Christmas at their mothers' house. I think kids need a tradition so I guess that is OK but still I get sad. I don't want to go to my parents house, cause that is an old tradition and I think I need to move on not go backwards. Primo (the son that lives with me)is home from college. He is not goin back didn't like the school or location (Honolulu). The drugs (ice/meth mostly) , violence and prejudice shocked him. I told him any large city is like that. Next day we had a very heated discussion that culminated with a hole in my wall. Merry Christmas.

Get a Job

The subject matter of the fight/discussion was how nobody here (his immediate family)has their shit together including me. Which pissed me off but maybe he is correct? I left a good job 4 months ago and not really been doing much of anything since. Alright there was 3 weeks in the USVI. True, I needed a break, that job was killing me. Honestly I don't want to go back to building design engineering/consulting. I did it for over 20 years, but I'm not really moving to anything else. I got a bit of cash to hang till Jan/Feb., Why should I rush to get back into that rat race??? Just to add to the tension my Dad told me to get a job. Kind of funny, the first time in forty plus years he said that. He also said "don't start a business I've known to many ppl that have lost everything by starting a business" arrrgh I was respectful, it was Thanksgiving, and changed the subject.

WVO-Anchorage Bio-Diesel Coop

I did send out letters to all of the burger joints in Anchorage. Including fried chicken/catfish joints and donut shops80 letters in all. with a cooking oil survey card. please please I hope I get a good return on the survey cards. I am approaching this with a new philosophy. I'm not doing the capitalist money thing. I just want to make diesel fuel out of waste vegetable cooking oil and develop a net work of similar minded folks in Anchorage.

Why I shave my head

2005-11-12T14:21:00.000-09:00

In various circles, I have given several reasons for the current bald "look" I exhibit these days. 1. Michael Jordan has retired so I need to carry on in his image. 2. In my family, we have the island hair loss pattern. The hairline recedes in the corners leaving a small "isle of hair" in the middle of your head. Last Christmas my younger brother (by seven years) had achieved the full island effect. Boy, did I give him shit. To avoid any future retaliation from brother I just shaved it all off.

Those being great bullshit reasons, I must come clean with the real story. I used to cut my own hair. It was easy I had a pair of clippers and I would just put the plastic guide on and cut my hair. Kind of like mowing the lawn, adjust the wheel height and go. Well, the clippers were fairly inexpensive (cheap) from Sears. And after about 6 or 7 years they where starting to get dull. Dull clippers with kinky hair sucks. Yes, I have real tight kinky hair. Not the type that makes great "fros" the real tight stuff that u just cut short and forget about it. Anyway, the clippers started to do more snagging and pulling than cutting. Well in typical G-Daddy fashion, I started pricing a new pair of clippers. Sears didn't sell them anymore maybe mail order but I didn't check. (hmmm internet that is an idea) Checked K-mart, Wal-Mart, and Freddie’s they had them but nothing really struck me. Yeah I know, …what about clippers ever strikes anybody? Whatever I didn’t, buy any.

So the next time I start cutting my hair the bastards start pulling like crazy and I get fed up. Being the engineer, I figure I have a good diamond stone to sharpen my camping knife, soooo I'll sharpen my clippers. Engineers can logically justify taking anything apart. So, with the clippers now apart G-Daddy sharpens the blades. During the process of sharpening the blades, the plastic height adjustment guide drops to the floor and is stepped on by somebody? It kind of breaks. But if you hold it just right, with index and fore fingers on one side and with the thumb on the other side you can hold the guide while the clippers are cradled in the crook between the thumb and index finger. Easy. OK so I reassemble the clippers, and proceeded to cut hair. The sharpening was in concept only, bastards still pulled and snagged my hair. Somehow, during a most severe snag, my index finger slips causing a slight fluctuation of the pressure required to hold the plastic guide in place.

Well needless to say the guide pressure fluctuation causes major guide misalignment (the guide falls to the floor) that exposes the clipper cutting edge. Operator overcompensation for the encountered snag resistance brings the exposed clippers dangerously close to the operator's scalp. Yes the result is a 20-25 square mm bare patch. So now its like 11:30pm and I have two options go to Wal-Mart or shave it all off. I shave it all off. Refer to reasons 1 and 2 above. Of course, this has led to several interesting observations;

Hot showers on a bald head feel great ...woo hoo!!
Some women love it others hate it. I guess those cancel each other out.
For the first time in my life my mom and dad have said, "Let your hair grow back!"
Watch out for eyebrows when shaving your head in the shower. (Eyebrows grow back in about 3 weeks).
The scalp stubble has a velcro effect when pulling shirts over head so go with the grain

Findings of Facts

2005-11-03T05:06:00.000-09:00

Woo Hoo I’m back home.

Note the temperature is 15 degrees F. outside and snow is on the ground. I did some soul searching while in the USVI. Actually, more like "Findings of Facts" I just sorted out what I like and what I want. U’ll notice that the "Conclusions of Law" are not formulated yet. In keeping with the litigious metaphors, I’m still formulating the final opinions for the court.

I want to do something else.
I have gotten some static from my peers and friends regarding this so-called "mid-life crisis. Well it isn’t a crisis. Dudes and dudettes I am not working 30 years doing the same crap, as a consulting engineer, for the same firm. The year isn’t 1905, it is 2005, nobody should be expected do the same thing for 30 years anymore. I can’t abandon engineering completely I need the money but, due to my non-compete clause I’m exiled from engineering in Alaska for the next two years. I pity the fool that exiles me from my hometown. Duh does the Count of Monte Cristo ring a bell.

I’m out of money by January.
Jesus this sucks soooooo bad. Arrrrgggg I fucking hate jobs. Meaning that I’m going to have to get a real job by January. In order to obtain said job by January; I need to start looking now! Double yuk, it has been over 10 years since I looked for a job. I’m gonna fight this one until the last cent on my debit card, because this may mean I have to move to WA, OR, or the dreaded CA. I need to do something in Alaska that pays royalties; paint, write, invent, music. Yes I’m still attempting the watercolors, in fact I hand painted post cards from the USVI. God, please bless me with some artistic/creative talent. Was that a prayer? Did you see "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" movie were he had to go back to Blake Edwards and make one last Pink Panther movie cause he was out of money? It is just like that for me.

I want to get a Volkswagen Jetta/Golf TDI and make bio-diesel.
(Road trip, I bet there is a rusty TDI or two in the wreckage of Katrina.). Well the plan is to start a business and refine bio-fuel from WVO. I don’t believe there is enough waste vegetable oil in Anchorage to make a living out of it. So, I’m working on a "green co-op" if you will. Hopefully, there are a few folks locally interested enough to make fuel for ourselves. Then expand into a small-scale ethanol plant (distillery)in Delta Junction, AK. There is a small barley growing area in Delta that does OK if they can keep the buffalo out of it. This won’t happen by 1/1/2006 lol. Also there is a scotch distilling potential here (malted barely and peat). One must always acknowledge the fun/entertainment factor of any new adventure. Perhaps I should go scotch first, then ethanol fuel second.

I like living near the ocean and I want an ocean going boat, 30-40 footer, with twin diesel engines and a cabin that sleeps four.
The ocean dampens the temperature swings and the air just smells better. Basically if 60 percent of the planet is water, we should all have boats not cars. I like fresh fish, crab, shrimp, clams, hell most types of seaweed ya get at sushi and Korean restaurants. Seafood is good and the oceans are life. I wish we, mankind, would stop destroying the oceans. North American west coast boat locations; Prince William Sound, Southeast Alaska, British Columbia (inside Victoria Island), and Puget Sound. The southern tip of Chile, OMG boat heaven.

I want to keep my house in Anchorage, Alaska.
Note, that I am not saying I want to live the rest of my days in Anchorage. I just want a home base to come home to. In reality, I just have too much crap to put elsewhere and don’t want to move it somewhere else. I think I can make a little cash during the tourist season provided I fix all of the minor wear and tear up. I can’t take the thought of a long-term renter. I’m to old and set in my ways for the roommate action but a short-term tourist maybe just the ticket and the money is an order of magnitude greater. Hmmm this calls for a second home, now we’re talking.

Whine Whine Whine. I know compared to ppl in Pakistan, and other troubled places in the world this is all petty. I am OK health wise and have a lot to be thankful for. However/whatever, these are my shallow thoughts of the day for your reading pleasure and comments.

USVI

2005-10-22T00:49:00.000-08:00

My second night in the USVI, I am sitting in the living room with Eric. Sara Jane is at work. Eric says, “Greg did you see that spider? Help me catch it.” I look to my left and get a glimpse of a huge spider, at eye level, less than 24” away, and racing across the wall. It darts into the corner behind the TV stand. OK, huge is an understatement. The body is a bit larger than the size of a Susan B Anthony and the legs are about twice as long as the body’s diameter. Yes folks, that is correct, it has about a 4 inch wingspan. So, as I’m processing the size and speed of this devil Eric offers, “Be careful cause these guys can really jump? I don’t know how they get in. It must be through the windows”

In order to have the full picture you need to know that both Sara Jane and Eric are vegan/PETA folks. I’m thinking I need to arm myself with a shoe, newspaper, handgun, or whatever. I NEED A WEAPON. Eric on the other hand plans to do battle with a mere plastic Tupperware bowl and matching lid. He is entering this fatal confrontation with the prevailing thought, THE SPIDER SHALL NOT BE HARMED.

OK, back to the action. The TV stand is in the corner with the killer spider ready to attack behind it. I’m on the right of the stand, Eric is on the left. He is armed (relatively speaking). I’m the weaponless military adviser if you will. The spider makes the first move and dashes across the wall, towards me!! I make a strategic fall back yelling, “There it is!” thus fulfilling my observer roll. Then the beast jumps at least three feet directly towards me and lands on one of Erik’s large house plants. Note, Eric is Mr. green thumb with plants all over the place inside and out. Dude is amazing, he deftly sandwiches the killer inside the plastic bowl and lid. We apply duct tape as a security precaution just in case, hop in the truck, and release the POW about a ½ mile from the house.

Some final comments:

The three weeks I’ve been here and I have helped Eric catch and release two rats in this same fashion. We had to up size our weaponry to a large box but the strategy was the same. Rats were easy, the spider showed no fear.
The dog has been no help on any of these spider/rat campaigns.
I need to do laundry but, there is a big ass scorpion hanging out in the dirty closes pile. hmmm these shorts are good for another day.

USVI

2005-10-18T22:03:00.000-08:00

Monday night was beautiful.

I’m a night person and it just worked for me. The place I’m staying at is on a hill side about 810 feet above seawater. The house elevation is high enough to enjoy a stiff trade wind breeze from the east most times. The upper level deck presents an awesome panoramic view that faces south. Havensight (the cruise ship pier), Charlotte Amalie (town) and Frenchtown, are to the left. Submarine Bay, the airport and the St. Thomas campus of the VI University are to the right. The house is pretty much directly above the freighter/container ship docks, looking directly toward the east end of Water Island.

Monday night the moon was full and the view was a mosaic of white, black and grey hues. The sky was punctuated with scattered saturated puffy cumulous and cumulonimbus clouds. The silvery moonlight was shooting the gaps into the ocean giving the water surface a mercury like appearance. Off to the south I witnessed a huge thunderhead swelling and billowing just like the ones I saw when I was a kid living in Kansas. There were thunderheads to the south, east an d west with each storm contributing awesome, periodic, lighting flashes to the night sky. Each flash was like a directional color amplifier shifting the grey tones, in the effected area, up an entire octave or two. You have to imagine the massive dark grey ghostly shadows that the clouds cast on the moonlit water. Funny thing, the extremes, the black of the land and the white of the moon held fast.

The final part of this picture was the manmade white and orange tinged glows from the sodium vapor and metal halide lights. The lights dot the land and the sea marking buildings, roads, docks and boats. Just like dots on a map that mark cities and townships of the US eastern seaboard. The lights paralleled the shoreline with densities that varied with the pockets of commerce. Off in the distance there was a cruise ship lit up just like a section of town or one of the large hotels on shore.

Again it was a truly beautiful night

USVI

2005-10-11T23:37:00.000-08:00

Well I’ve done it.

Achieved slugdom, reached the lethargic pinnacle of my slacker existence on St Thomas. This morning I was up at 7:30 but the sun came out and I needed to go back and nap. That made the final real up and start time the day more like 10:30. I have been “trying” to accomplish ONE thing a day. I guess this has given me time to reflex on a few things. First, St Thomas and the Caribbean in general….. Oh sure the weather is tropical but the history just ruins the vibes here for me. For locals, you have continentals “whites” and west indies “blacks”. Pigment social separation is still strong here. Then you have tourist. The economy is 100% tourism, on St Thomas. In my mind the island is a North American play ground. See Bahamas. In fact those are my entire Caribbean thoughts as well and you can include the Dutch, British and French as well. No slavery, plantations, however there is no work except the service of the tourist. Oh yeah there is also self governance. That is full of corruption and nepotism so I hear. Sure other Islands have oil and big industry (Trinadad) and some still grow sugars cane and make rum. Note in Trinidad sugar cane is heavily subsidized to give the locals employment. All of the things to do that you can read about are for the continentals and the tourist. You would think being from Alaska, I would be used to high tourist density. Honestly at home we avoid the tourist places.

USVI

2005-10-10T23:52:00.000-08:00

Hey all

Finally got to a puter. At some lame ass tourist e-mail/trap. anyway. The weather has been great. I have painted a few post cards. I have had time to read a couple of books. Some Herman Wouk book about the VI and can you believe it "Lost Horizons"Place is great. I have a couple of post on my laptop that I'll transfer in time. My friends Sara and Eric don't have a puter? imagine that???

USVI

2005-10-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

No internet at Eric and Sara Jane’s so I’ll date when these are written not when they are posted.

Stardate Saturday: 10082005 ha ha what a geek (I crack myself up)

Well folks I can safely say the VI is pretty much still United States, but different. Must also say being from Alaska the weather is awesome, bummer didn’t get the snow tires mounted before I left. Sara and Eric rent a nice three bedroom place on the hills above town. The joint is high enough to get the “trades” they blow though the house and keep the place pretty comfortable. From their place you have a great view of the harbor; tour ship dock, all of the sailboats and the airport. I love a view with motion. Just add rum and your in the Caribbean. They swear it was miserable in Sept but I have yet to see any days w/o wind. Honestly, I’m not the beach/snorkel person and hanging at the house with the fragrant breeze is nuff fo me. I actually read a book here!… hell it has been a awhile for that one. Really there is no reason to head downtown if your up on the hill, the breeze is way better than at a sunny beach (tan is one thing I don’t need). So, I’ve had a little bit of time to think also, but honestly I have gotten to any conclusion with respect to what I’m doing next. I’m a little tempted to look around the island for engineering work but that is a long shot, not a lot of need for heating system designers. I found five engineering firms in the phone book and my stomach started to cringe. I’m not going back, no ain’t no turning back. I just don’t think this a place I could work a regular job. There is really only one industry here, Tourism. Well I did paint Segundo a post card. I hope to get a feel for the local ppl next.

TTFN from the VI

Alaska

2005-10-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

This is why I love my home town. Today at 10:30pm, in Anchorage, at the busiest traffic intersection, in the state (Lake Otis and Tudor), a big ass bull moose J walked right through the intersection. It is rutting season and he was a total bad ass, full shovel rack easily 60"across (about 1.5 meters). He just strolled through, made all of the cars slow down and wait. Like that old joke with the old bull and the young bull. AWESOME

Some sorry sad lack of party action

2005-09-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it. I told all of my friends in Seattle I'll be in town the last week of October. Passing thru on the rtn from the VI. I said lets have a Halloween party??? The overwhelming response was blah blah maybe dinner. Ouch, we all can't be that old?? Thinking of bagging the whole Seattle idea. It looks like two choices remain; either take a hop to San Diego and visit JP, or take the train to Vancouver BC with lil Bro. Dennis was up for it but he is down in Lacy/Olympia ans his place is pretty small. He is so fun, last time I was down there we got some dungy's and oysters and had a awesome party. It was pretty cool. Mal drove down from Seattle. Mal is leaving Seattle after 18 years? moving to LA yikes. making a bit of paper off of the "housing bubble"

Here is thought? Perhaps it takes a bit more than my black ass showing up for a party these days. Fuck that I'm Gumby dammit and I want to go to a off da hook Halloween party. Too Old to Rock: Too Young To Die. Appropriate JT album. note to self... need Aqualung, Songs from the Woods and Thick as a Brick for the CD Changer

Current Standings

2005-09-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

You would think that after 3 weeks away from work I would have mellowed and relaxed. Yeah right. I have had time to reflect on things and it is funny but I keeping ending on the same question I've been struggling with for over 30 years. For you old DD players and religious type I'm a good person, perhaps chaotic at times. I don't lie, steal or cheat. I befriend folks in need and in general I'm helpful and would give away my last dollar. This isn't because I have any great belief in Heaven and all of that crap. I just find it makes me feel good to be a good person. The problem is to live in the US society you can't be that way. Hell I don't know maybe all of western culture is like this? In the US, capitalism is king. You need to hustle, scam and be a player. This it true from 8 ballers up to MBA's, it sucks. I know to be successful, in the US, that is the way it is. It just turns my stomach. Part of the reason I quit my job. If I have to be a cut throat asshole I need/must get more than monetary satisfaction out of it. I have the mental HP to do it I just don't have the constitution to do it and be happy. I remember realizing in the 4th grade that it is the way it is and crying about it. Being smart and perceptive has its own problems at a young age. Even still I fell into that get an education be a worker capitalism crap. Remember the wealthy needs workers, and the poor, to be rich. Because you can't have either one without the other. The above is old history and fact. I now there must be another way? WHAT IS IT?. That is the question and the search. I'm not going back, but I don't know where to go? The hunt is on. I think I know where to look. I don't think it is in the material/physical realm.

Enough, peace out

Party in Seattle

2005-09-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

It is on.

I will be in the VI 10/5 thru 10/25. Sara and BF are kewl once again. 10/15 IS SARA'S BIRTHDAY - Party for sure. Then a week in Seattle. Basically a party in Seattle for Halloween. E-mailed Dennis, lil Bro, Cousin Ed. Need to find Malcat. Lil Bro has a Reggae band.

SHOUT IT, SHOUT IT, SHOUT IT OUT LOUD

I'm Free - In Pursuit of Royalties

2005-09-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

I am getting there, was on the River with the old boss. Saturday was a gorgeous day but, no fish. Rode down to Soldotna with Dad on Friday and been sitting on my ass drinking beer chillin with da folks. Both mom and pops are in their 70’s. Mom cracked up wrt painting, royalties and water colors. “OK son you really never could draw so what is the next plan”. I still think I can make a play on abstract work if I paint w/o my glasses. Man I do get inspired. The sun on the Kenia River was soooo pretty with the dark green of the spruce trees, the deciduous tress are turning so there were pale greens and yellows also. In Alaska, at least in south central, very few of the tall trees leaves turn red or orange. We get those colors vividly but they occur low to the ground on the bushes and shrubs. See I did think about painting some of this he he. Next post – The TRIP?

Night out with da TOM SISTERS

2005-08-28T07:31:00.001-08:00

I wanna live with a cinnamon girl.... I could be happy, the rest of my live with a cinnamon girl.

Went out with three ofthe Tom sister's last Thursday. It was a blast just to watch the family dynamics and petty competition. I had such a ball. They are AK natives,Yupik eskimos from the northwest villiage of Stebbins. All are thin and attractive. OK not your western TV norm model typebutvery exotic good looking. NOT Strack sisters from Manley, AK goregous but still pretty hot women. Note to self - Never ever take all three out at the same time again. (repeat that three times)

I have known Janice for years and we're good friends, met little sisters Ann and the oldest sister Dee about two years ago. Dee is awesome, my fav. fourth sister Jessica is prego and didn't hang with us. First went bowling with Dee & Ann, then we picked up Janice and their cousin. Hung out at a karokee bar and shot pool. NO G-Daddy don't sing karokee. It was an evening of good times.

Anyway as that dude Sendak would say,"Let the rumpus begin!!!" More fun to come! last day of work is Wednesday.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-08-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

The end of this career is near....WoooHooo

Here is news.
Folks after almost twenty years (15 at the firm) I’m tired of HVAC design. It is no longer fun and quite frankly I’m getting fairly grouchy. Almost daily I suppress the urge to tell a client or two to “take a hike”. Yeah like that is really the language I’d use. I don’t have a plan, I don’t have a fortune stashed I just know it is time to leave before I kill myself. Anyway my last day at "the Firm" is Aug 31. I plan to have a party to celebrate sometime in September not sure when? But I’ll let everyone know.
Proceed fearlessly

It feels sooooo good. I can't believe I'm almost finished with the design career. It is so funny most of my friends get it. The remaining engineers (only 4) are deeply concerned. Charlie got me a job interview... my back promtly went out had to miss it. The body rejected the concept. Brad thinks I need a break and then perhaps oil industry work will suit me.....NOT. JP queried me about my plans and then conducted a verbal interrogation to determine my mental state...I pass as sane... ha, I still can pass it off. I'm sure my call to Fahad will be more of a JP type inquisition, but hey it takes a pencil geek to know one. The best quotes are as follows: Brooke, " you're not quiting your graduating" Jay," you quit first you win". I can't believe I agonized about the money I never got, it don't mean shit.

OK enquiring minds what to know what is the plan. Well I didn't want to make a list. I did it in secret (hell give me a break 25 years as an engineer, at leastI didn't graph it out or make it in MS Project with dates, deadlines, and milestones. In no particular order.

Visit Mom and Dad...silvers in Sept on the Kenai
Paint 30 water colors
Build house/Construction Co, w/Segondo
Rent rooms in duplex (450/month each?)
Go on a trip- JP in San Diego/SaraJane in St. Thomas/Vancouver
Party in September most likely in Soldotna @ Mom and Dads

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-08-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last day of work will be 9/1/05.

Amazing enough the dumb fucks keep piling on the work. Later days dudes. OK had meetings with the CEO and the President. sounds really big but hell it is only an 80 man engr firm. The CEO was cool the President kinda pissed me off. "Uh well G I'm worried about U. You know your entire deferred compensation allocation becomes taxable as soon as you leave the company" Yada yada I just don't think he is talking in my best interest. The IRS has changed things???? His solution is for me to take a leave of absence until the first of the year then offer my letter of resignation to the Board. That way the deferred compensation isn't taxable next fiscal year. The problem with that solution is, that it delays my noncompete clause for another 4 months. meaning I can't do any engineering work in Alaska until 1/1/08. He's pretty slick .I just can't help but think the company will have to pay me the goods if I'm taxable. At the least by back the 850 shares of stock I own when I leave or deal with me.

The real bull shit is now I need to see a CPA and/or a damn lawyer. I just want to quit this FUCKING JOB. SHIT why the fuck is that so hard. I swear if the bastards screw me outta my deferred compensation I'll shut the mutha fuckers down. Steal clients, steal staff, I'll take over their lame limited market share. On a lighter note the rumours are on the street...Out of the blue I got a cold call for a job interview tomorrow. wooo hooo. I pays to be fuckin good at what you do and to be a homeboy in your hometown.

P.S. I get to keep the laptop. addiction satisfied.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-07-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

Woo Hooo!! I did it!! I did it!!

Principal #1 and Principal#2
After several months of contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that my future direction and that of the company's are divergent and it is time for me to depart. It is time for a change. It has been a great 15 years plus with the company and I have no regrets and some sorrow to be departing. However, I also look forward to new challenges outside of, or if possible, beyond those of consulting engineering.

My last day at the company will be September 1st 2005, of course I can stay longer if need be but it is a good date because almost all of my projects will be near completion or ending the design phase and starting the CA phase. I'll follow up with a list of my current projects and my recommendations on whom should continue as lead/PM.

Sincerely
G-Daddy

Fishing

2005-06-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

YES summer is here. Was fishing on PWS out of Whittier last week for halibut, the weather was awesome. Going fishing with da boss for halibut and king's today at 6:00am out of Seward. Yup you got it, I'm playing hooky with da boss. wooo hooo yes I live in Alaska and "sometimes you just might find....You get what you need!!!" ahhh yes.

P.S. Silvers in August

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-06-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Come in hear dear boy have a cigar you're gonna go far, fly high, never gonna die, U'll make if if U try, their're gonna love you....they call it riding the gravy trainnnnn.

70 degrees outside, on porch Pepperwood Pinot Noir 9 bucks a bottle at Carrs. No I didn't take the money and run. In fact I got a mid year bonus and got voted on to the Company board of directors. I had major some party action night b4 the mtg, and nodded throughout the entire meeting. Talk about lame???

Thinking of resigning from the FIRM. The job has become no fun. I need to leave before I self destruct. That is the way I work. If I don't have challenges that I want to pursue I sabotage myself, I need to exit before I self destruct. Even more important I need to find something to keep me busy so I won't self destruct. Thinking about going to visit my friend Sara Jane in the Virgin Islands. The ex always said I was an emotional island to myself. This weekend was one of those times I have to admit that a partner to hold up the fort while I lick my wounds would have been nice to hold on to. Regardless tomorrow is Monday. I'll strap on my armor and proceed fearlessly. "caught between the longing for love and the struggle for the legal tender"

What bull shit, I want my own company. I want to kick ass and take names. I want a building that is part of the Anchorage skyline. The conclusion is PDC won't get me there so G-Daddy is outta there. I'll keep you posted my friends but the time is either act now or wither and die.

I AIN'T ABOUT DYING AT THIS FUCKING TIME. G-Daddy is OUT!!

General Ketchup Post

2005-06-05T05:13:00.000-08:00

Holy mackerel it has been a long time.

G-Daddy was playing way to much. Good thing the kid is home from school now I have to clean-up my act. He arrived just in time. I didn't know how much I lived for them until I realized that with sons at 17 and 19 that purpose for life is almost gone. It is sooooo easy to stray back to street bullshit. The punkster pulled a 3.8 gpa and landed a job came home Friday, was working on Monday. Proud dad puffed out chest here.

I tried to rent the spare room out that was a mistake. It always is, she was a user and wanted to pay in dope. Threw out dope user b4 son arrived home.
LaRhinda is gone also, she moved to Colorado. That was crazy she missed first flight had to stay extra days until she was able to leave. Still friends but in this case distance is a good thing we corrupt each other. Watched her spike once--pathetic and scary--double yuk, it was very sad sad sad.
Need to get all bills paid, behind but recoverable, again playing, to much fun. I really need to deal with this midlife crisis crapola.

Ta da corporate chronicles is the next post. Ya'll please respond let me know U are still out there. Final note it is summer here, for some reason the hornets keep flying in the house? What is up with that?

Thanks all

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-03-20T07:01:00.000-09:00

Update - I'm at the restaurant up the street from my house. It has wifi so I can browse, chat, blog, whatever. All is the same I still hate the job. I've been bleeding into the bonus money so buying more company shares isn't and option. I know the way I work. basically I never really wanted to buy more shares, so I subconsciously spent the money. I'm going to start a new thread, on my new vocation/job search. I just think a continued focus and blog entries just restraint me and focus energy on something I want out of. Yeh I'll keep ya'll posted on a few fiery e-mails and spats. but just the really crazy stuff. OK short history session. G-Daddy is down on work, in the past I've made efforts to leave. Boss offers crazy "perf bonus" and I stay. Mark my words this time it is going to be. "take the money and run,.. go on take the money and run"

Other Stuff as I Promised

2005-02-27T12:36:00.000-09:00

Well the first thought is I have very little life to write about outside of work, my sons and LaRhinda. In addition to that LaRhinda isn't a sexual relationship just a friendship with some wild adventuresome circumstances. Crazy man crazy.

Good news is Primo, #1 son, is still in the dorms. Has no money, his loving father just sent him nine pickles (OK dudes and dudettes where did that come from lol) Need to send him some Gonzo Hunter books in a care package. I hated and loved care packages from my mom in college. There was always cool stuff and them some really wack shit.

Segondo, #2 son, and I are working on the little Suzuki Sidekick for his wheels. Need to get the registration current and sign it over to him. He is caught in the classic need a car for a job -vs- need a a job for car. catch 22. He is trying to earn money for a school trip to Costa Rica. I wish I could speak another language...I'm so American my English even sucks.

What else. I saw Sideways the movie. It was great!!!! A classic buddy/adventure movie. Sandra Ho was great. Part where Paul GIamatti tell about his love of the Pinot Noir grape and the lady talks about her passion for wine is awesome. Chronicles and LaRhinda update to follow.

Later folks

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-02-15T16:49:00.000-09:00

OK I need a life this is the last chronicle entry for a while. Same with the LaRhinda action I have other shit going on to blog about. (I think?) G-Daddy drops the hammer on a lowly draftsman.

From: G-Daddy Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 11:17 AM
To: D. Draftsman
Subject: FW: notes on ANBC Drawings

Dick Draftsman
It is a production department task to fix things like this. This is an engineering firm and the role of administration, production, accounting, and marketing are all functions to support the business of engineering design. The number #1 task of production is to assist engineering with the task of drawing. You should and need to let the engineers know of a problem but you should also correct the errors whenever you see them. The role of good draftsman is equivalent of a nurse to a surgeon, or a paralegal to a lawyer. Engineers want a GOOD draftsman to fix and complete their drawings. Example, H for the Structural and Civil department, they don’t let anyone else touch their work because they all love H's work. We don’t want draftsmen that don’t comprehend or look at what they draw. We don’t need people in the production department that don’t show any initiative to fix errors. If you see something that doesn’t look correct but are not sure notify the engineer. If you are sure it is incorrect, fix the error and let the engineer know what you did. Simply stated, don’t tell engineers to fix drawings, it is YOUR job to fix the drawings and make sure the graphic presentation is correct, clear, and concise.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-02-14T22:15:00.000-09:00

That is it! I don't want to manage ppl. I'll manage a project. I'll deal with clients, but dealing with the dysfunctional folks at my office is bogus. I know, I have am apiece of the problem myself but still I hate it (today anyway). There is a level of dysfunctionality in almost every department except Civil and Strut. We should use the reorganization to get rid of all of the deadwood. We need to purge the incompetent and complacent folks and just keep the willing workers. I doubt there would be any big losses in the office productivity, in fact their might be a gain. Historically it takes us a real long time to fire someone.

Subject More Random Stuff

2005-02-03T13:36:00.000-09:00

Holy cow! Mom will be 70yo on the 16th. Talk about sobering. Boy m getting up there also. G-Daddy wears bi-focals nanny nanny boo boo. It is fucking cold out. Y do I live in Anchorage? Seriously it is -10 and the wind is coming off of the inlet. BUTT Cold. The Jeep has no headbolt heater (ya stupid) so I start it at midnight before I go to bed. (thank god for large V-8s) the Suzuki has not started in literally months. I have a cold no more need to be said bout that. The eldest (Primo) is in college so Im home alone. Segundo lives with the ex. That is crazy.

Talk about finished responsibilities man I've gone crazy. It is like being 18 again and not living at home. Pretty scary it was having kids that cleaned me up and I stopped all of that action. Meth now days is bogus, I don’t know if it is the whole pipe thing or what. Give me old fashion black beauties, back in the day, as my choice of speed. White crosses always cramped my tongue and my fingers twitched. I also think the high from good powder is equal to rock. The coke result is the same though the new man wants more coke (either rock or crack) just more. I'm just to cheap nowdays. Jesus we had good dealers when I was a kid. It is fun to play again though, explains the LaRhinda thing a bit?

Ya, the job still sucks. Sigh here is the deal. "to old to rock and roll yet to young to die

My Lil Corporate Chonicles

2005-01-23T12:34:00.000-09:00

I have had it. Work sucks.

I was always afraid of the fact when the "founding" dudes left you would have a bunch of slackers (2nd generation Principals) just maintaining status quo to get their buy out funded by us associates. The remaining dickheads have no vision. I must exclude the COO at least he founded his practice before the corporate merger. That is just the shit we have. The Anch Off Bitch had the nerve to tell me that "fundamentally" the terms are the same, Quote, "The fundamental terms of the letter were the same as the ones you offered originally (except for the internet connection). The additional provisions were ones deemed important to identify the situation as temporary for medical purposes. We also wanted to make it clear the situation was established at the convenience of the company and we wanted to protect the company's equipment since it would essentially be out of our control. The letter was developed somewhat as a policy document since this time was our first. All parties agreed H was the ideal trustworthy individual to demonstrate this program. Should he express a desire to discuss it, I am sure we could come to some agreement. It was never the intent to impugn H's honesty or integrity." What FUCKING "softer" BULLSHIT.

Another "principal" told me that it isn't cool to have a jr engineer take a 1/2 lunch so she can leave early and take grad classes three days a week. What tha fuck??? isn't she a "professional" I told her I don't care as long as her work gets done. isn't that the point???. 1 hour lunch versus 1/2 lunch. get fucking real. punk ass MF. The deal is I don't mind the engineering but the middle management sucks. I honestly don't give a fuck anymore.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-01-15T14:09:00.000-09:00

1. I GUESS I STILL HAVE A JOB. woo hoo?
2. This week at the job sucked. See e-mail below. I have to many dudes above me.
3. Add that to the fact that I had to go to FBKS on Thursday and it was -35 F. below zero. EQUALS HEAVY SUCKAGE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: The COO (BOSS.1) to G- Daddy Saturday, January 15, 2005 11:39 AM For what it is worth, I was not part of this. My opinion and concerns are no different than what we talked about months ago. This company has some decision making and delegation problems. (da really?) In addition it was not right for them to send this letter out without out your comment. You are the one in charge of drafting, and were most involved in the negotiations.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: G-Daddy to the COO Friday, January 14, 2005 6:03 PM OK I’ve had a moment to relax. Now I’m ready to vent a bit. Not sure if you(BOSS.1) and BOSS .4 were part of this discussion at the principal level but it doesn’t appear to be. In addition, the statement, "soften the letter's tone" really is inaccurate. Knowing H, I doubt if he’ll sign this.

1. Originally I had written for PDC to pay for H’s internet connection, the soften letter requires “You are expected to obtain, maintain and pay for a high-speed internet connection for communication between your equipment and PDC’s.” It only cost 50 bucks a month??

2. Originally I wrote that H was to be 75-80 billable – soften version “It is expected work will be performed on directly billable projects only. No overhead time should be expended unless your supervisor specifically authorizes overhead work.”

3. The original statement was, “This Work at Home status arrangement has a six month trial period. At the end of six months the status will either be; extended on an annual basis, or terminated.” Again the much softer version, “There is no set term for this arrangement. Your status may be changed at any time” Perhaps I’m missing something but this isn’t any softer at all.

What really cheeses me is that for almost two months I’ve communicated that PDC would pay for the internet service and we should shoot for starting this on the 15th. Not once has anybody said nope that isn’t a good idea. Then on the 14th I get back my edited letter that requires H to fork over 50 bucks a month for MTA DSL: 512kb up/512kb down. You know, I used to hate specs, then I hated contracts, now I really really hate being middle management. I’m thinking that Scotch is in my immediate near future. Have a good party

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BOSS .3 to G-Daddy CC: BOSS .2 and BOSS.5 Friday, January 14, 2005 11:33 AM Subject: H - Work At Home Sorry, I forgot the attachment again. BOSS.2. called in and we discussed this arrangement. He has spoken with BP&K. There are no ADA issues. We are free to make any arrangements we wish along these lines. He suggested I soften the letter's tone somewhat, so I did that. Here it is. (Attachement Yada yada) HR, please print this one on letterhead so I can sign it before I leave at noon today. Thanks everyone. Regards,

Whew what is going on with me?

2005-01-10T17:07:00.000-09:00

First post in a long time I'm not really focused on anything. So I'll ramble about a lot of stuff going on. First I'm sorry a lot of these sites get way to personnel. G-Daddy ain't going to list a lot of poetry and crap. (OK may be just a short one). Next I was invited to join a group...hmmm nope it wasn't my type...looked like a lot of kewl folks but I'll pass. The #1 son (Primo)... is in Hawaii pretty proud G-Daddy. His cat is NOT cool with it though. #2 son (Segundo) stopped by yesterday to feed said cat. I love my sons, two of the only three good things from my marriage. OK here is the poem.

I love my Dad
I love my kitchen, my pots and pans
I can go from collard greens to shrimp scampi
Hell, don't even say stir-fry
Snow peas with tofu, that ain't shit
I know my sweet potato pie is weak,
But, big sis, Cynthia makes those.
Grill? Yo..don't talk to me bout the grill
I can burn. Steaks, chicken, pork shoulder with mopping sauce.
Pops hooked me up with a grill long time ago
But, pops still holds out.
No gumbo, nor red meat rub
I'll get those one day
I love my Dad

Final note....Rhinny is on another meth runner... users use. A real serious demon in inside a very nice woman. Next post will be the brief summary on the Tom sisters.

LaRhinda

2005-01-08T17:52:00.000-09:00

I can't believe it, I had an excellent day with LaRhinda we went to all the second hand stores from Anchorage to Eagle River and had a blast and then we had dinner at my favorite Mexican food place in Anchorage, Mexico in Alaska. It was a very cool, true friendship, fun and very nice, I enjoyed myself.The really cool thing was I dropped her off at home, we didn't have a lot to drink and she didn't go out and start a runner. I know I'm not gonna help her beat her demons or anything like that, I am not that naive, but the important thing was that bad past cycle of us going out having fun drinking and dancing , then her wanting to use was not there. Good, I don't want to make us going out associated with that cycle.

Music, yes it is Kiddie Rap I got at Value Village. Jump Jump Ya'll

Some random stuff

2005-01-03T17:33:00.000-09:00

Today was rather interesting, I had a good conversation with my ex-wife. Unbelievable it is amazing how sending your firstborn to college allows one to talk with someone you hate. yeah the dude is outta here tomorrow. translation my empty nest party is bout to happen baby. What else, the power was out when I got home weird weather that it is 40° outside in Anchorage Alaska in January. It takes some pretty stupid assholes not to believe in global warming. I fired up the generator "Let there be Light" I was God for a short period of time. Haven't used that thing since Y2K. See what happens when nerds get old, no xfer switch so I backfed through the HBO. kickin..OK I have procrastinated long enough, it is time to get the WVO project off the ground. I need to make sure I don't get into the retentive crap that always boggs me down. Step number one is the feed stock survey. Calling places from used oils. More on that later. The word for 2005 WVO and my diesel VW Passat.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2005-01-01T08:46:00.000-09:00

OK , here is the 2005 update on my career. Well , I was not offered enough shares to become a principal I will be about 75 shares shy. Also the end of year bonus was not enough money to pay off my debts and jump ship . Alas it looks like I'm hanging around this job for another year. As I said earlier we have a COO , and we're about to reorganize the department. That's going cruel but the outcome is going to be a little bit more work and I'm not quite sure it solves anything it just looks good on paper and kind of to makes choices that were difficult to do. The political hot spot is what to do with the old department head, I think I have successfully stayed a step back and strengthened my position as the number two person in the department. I have also cemented my position as the person that is in charge of all of the mechanical designed projects originate in the Fairbanks office. I still need to do some work in developing a true self sufficient mechanical department in Fairbanks but, perhaps that'll be perfect for this next year . The G-Daddy. 2005 corporate project

LaRhinda

2005-01-01T07:46:00.000-09:00

Kind of lame because I don't think anyone cares, haven't had anybody, read or comment on this site, but yet again I haven't told anybody about it either.

After Christmas took LaRhinda and her boss out for dinner. It was a good time however, we had too many glasses of wine. After dinner we ditched her boss and went dancing at Blues Central. That was cool to but later she wanted to pick up some dope, so I dropped her off at a Spenard trailer and she was gone running for about three days. Her boss called me looking for her he was unhappy there. This is truly penis thinking on my part and it is nice to offer friendship to cool people, but when the demon takes over she can't control it. Old rule, I know it well, users use, players play. Simple as that. A wolf will act like a wolf when he is surrounded by a herd of sheep.

Happy Fucking Holidays

2004-12-22T15:25:00.000-09:00

I am sorry I am just not in the holiday spirit. My little brother just came in to town and already he's driving me FA King nuts. (Note to self teach a voice recognition how to cuss). Anyway me and little brother are going to head down to mom and dads I guess Friday night. hell I don't know maybe Saturday morning. I think mom will really want us to be there before Christmas Day. Normally I would drive but it's freezing rain and driving 150 miles which freezing rain really isn't anything I would want to do so I think I'm gonna buy me and brother plane tickets and leave Friday night.

I have purchased absolutely zero presents. So it looks like G-Daddy is going to be the madman shopping tomorrow gross. I need to figure out something for the boyz that is it I'm not buying anything else. OK, mom and dad because they just brought a new house. But that is it I'm thinking for the boys $50.00 gift certificates to the Banana Republic. I also need to get my crew at work something. I'm of thinking the quick trip to the liquor store by everybody a nice bottle of wine.

OK so what is the deal with LaRhinda? Nothing been kinda distant, so I've been letting that relationship settle.

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2004-12-17T15:25:00.000-09:00

OK showing real defiance today. Walked in at noon and the big boss was in town. Real bad example. I also was passed over for principal. so I'm not sure I'm willing to stay with the firm. however showing up that noon like a bad ass on Friday doesn't look that good so I don't have much to argue about. This year's bonus was also less than last year's that's, disturbing because we made more profit than last year . There used to be a bonus and then there was a senior associate not sure the revenues but it doesn't look like to there's going to be a second dispersion checks that sucks also I'm thinking that this might be the time to exit, cash in my deferred compensation and start my own business. the problem is I have signed a non-compete clause therefore I may have to relocate. There's no problem with that. However I think I'm done with engineering design and I really wanna get into WVO and biodiesel. more on that later in fact I think I was starting to train as the WVO King

LaRhinda

2004-12-10T16:20:00.000-09:00

Did it this time. that is one hell of a woman more HP than I can keep up with but what the hell I'm on the field so I'll try to hang with the gal. Spent all of last night hanging curtains, mirrors and pictures, for god sakes. Needless to say the Susan thing is on really shaky ground but please G-Daddy don't need to hang with a woman that old with a 2 yo and not be in love. Agreed, I should treat my rejections better. I got the turned cheek kiss tonight after the movie. sigh... You would think life should be getting easier. NOT

LaRhinda

2004-12-04T14:34:00.000-09:00

What tha Fuck?

I don't know what to do bout LaRhinda. I feel myself getting sprung on her. Which is crazy, she has a drug problem. Trim, nice intelligent, but I can't do Coke. Christ. I just spent the whole day with that woman. Ok it is cool so far but I have a problem. I fall for damsells in distress. I have to help them and I see that happening again. Even more stupid she has this bad ass BF in jail for DV. Uh yeah that is stupid. OK OK there is more history. We have crossing paths (rehab sessions with Mia, that is another story). Also we have some past real dirty/sleazy history so why are we here now. God tends to throw ppl back into your life for a reason, what it is this time I don't know?

My Lil Corporate Chronicles

2004-11-29T14:54:00.000-09:00

Last month the Chairman of the Board Reorganized the company lower ranks sort of. He is also the new COO (operating officer) heads will roll. We got new warm and fuzzy mission & vision statements.