Yesterday I went to Fisheries Supply to buy a few odds and ends for my Hobie cats. I've been shopping at Fisheries for years for all sorts of things for my boat. They have a great selection of all things boat related, and they have a knowledgeable and usually helpful staff. But yesterday I was shopping in the sailing hardware section of the store, a section of the store, that given my history of powerboat ownership, I had rarely ventured into before. I needed a bunch of things, from shackles to quick-release pins and from righting lines to bungee cord. I wasn't 100% sure exactly what some of these things were, and I certainly didn't know where to find them. The 60' of 1/4" bungee cord was the first thing on my list. I didn't immediately spot it among the racks of reels of various types of lines, so I asked the sales guy at the desk. He pointed "over there" but it wasn't immediately obvious to me where he was pointing. I asked, "Where?" and he said, "Look at my hand, look where I'm pointing!" as if I were some sort of dummy. I again asked, "where?" and in exasperation, he took me the reels that were a couple of aisles over from where we were. I thought he would give me a hand measuring and reeling off the cord and cutting and labeling it. Instead, he pointed at the marks on the floor and told me to measure it out myself. OK, I can do that, but when I was done I asked for his help with the other items on my list. Until this point, I had tried to keep it light and hoped to engage the guy in the story of my Hobie cats and get some help and advice from him. He walked away from me telling me that he wasn't a "personal shopper." I really had to fight the urge to dump my basket of stuff, scream some obscenities at this guy, and walk out in a righteous huff.
But given that Fisheries is probably the best place to get all this stuff, and given that I didn't want to run all over town tracking it down, I put my head down and kept shopping. I eventually found most everything on my list. I did have to ask the A-hole for help one more time to get some wire rope and fittings for the forestay. He said he'd be a minute, but five minutes later sent his associate over to give me a hand. The associate, having surely been told what an unreasonable ass I was, was cordial but cool.
I got what I needed and left the area, but on the way to the checkouts, I stopped as the customer service desk to complain to the manager. He was quite sympathetic, thanked me for my input, and said he'd deal with it. I had the distinct feeling that this was not the first time he had heard complaints from irate customers about the sail rigging department personnel.
A day later, I still have mixed feelings about how I handled all this. On one hand, I think I took the adult and rational course. On the other hand, it would have been much more satisfying to blow up, create a major scene, and let the jerk know how I really felt.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Last Night at The Tractor
Megan and I went to see Eilen Jewell last night at The Tractor. Even though The Tractor is my favorite music venue in Seattle, I hadn't been there in months. I'm not sure where I first heard Eilen Jewell's music. It was either Pandora or KBCS, but wherever it was I was immediately struck by her voice and her style, and it wasn't long before I bought one of her albums. It's hard to pigeonhole her style, but I'd call it a sultry jazzy and bluesy style of swing. It's a bit of a retro sound, and physically she's a bit of a retro woman. She's attractive enough, in a 50's sort of way. She's got a great group of talented musicians backing her up. From the first chords of the first song, you knew that you were listening to a polished and professional group. She played all the songs that drew me to her in the first place, and played enough of a new album for me to buy one on the spot. Good stuff!
Zoe Muth, a local Ballard singer-songwriter, opened for Eilen. Zoe's got an interesting voice, but she needs some more interesting songs to sing. Her opening song was a bit of a depressing dirge that almost put me to sleep. Her backup band was pretty good, but somehow didn't quite mesh. That became glaringly obvious when Jewell's far more professional group took the stage.
I thoroughly enjoyed the night out, and will certainly go to see Eilen Jewell again any chance I get.
Zoe Muth, a local Ballard singer-songwriter, opened for Eilen. Zoe's got an interesting voice, but she needs some more interesting songs to sing. Her opening song was a bit of a depressing dirge that almost put me to sleep. Her backup band was pretty good, but somehow didn't quite mesh. That became glaringly obvious when Jewell's far more professional group took the stage.
I thoroughly enjoyed the night out, and will certainly go to see Eilen Jewell again any chance I get.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
On the Water
The maiden voyage!
She's kind of pretty, isn't she?!
Mike and me approaching the dock.
I'm looking pretty pleased with myself, aren't I?!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Cats in the Woods
We had a great weekend at the CITW. Our mission was to assemble one Hobie Cat and to get both of them rigged and ready to sail. I hadn't really done anything other than look at the cats in the garage since I delivered them some months ago, and even though I downloaded the Hobie 16 manuals (isn't the internet wonderful?) and got Mike Sinclair's written hints and tips from 20+ years of Hobie racing, I wasn't looking forward to sorting through the piles of parts and cables and try to put it all together.
Fortunately, I convinced Mike and Kris (and Marie and Jerry) to come out for a weekend and give me a hand. and I'm sure glad they came. Mike knows these cats inside and out and could have put them together blindfolded. Left to my own devices, it would have taken me several days to do what we did in seven hours last Saturday.
As it turned out, I was too busy working to take even a single photo, but fortunately Megan was able to digitally document our progress. I don't have the originals, but I managed to copy a few of the photos from her Facebook page. If you're Facebook friends with Megan, you can see a whole bunch of photos on her page. When I get the full complement of photos I'll post more. In the meantime, here's a taste:
After the boats were assembled and rigged, we took down the sails and got them ready for transport. By then it was 7PM, so we retired to the cabin for some well-deserved brats and beer.
On Sunday, we took one of the boats to Fish Lake for its maiden voyage. It was a bit drizzly, and there was virtually no wind, but we went for it anyway. The Fish Lake boat ramp is sheltered in a bit of a cove, so once the boat was in the water, Mike and I had to paddle out a little way to catch some wind. There wasn't much out there, but Hobie cats are so light and have so much sail area that it doesn't really take much to get them moving. We had a good sail and I more or less learned the ropes without the danger of going too fast to get out of control. When Mike and I were done, Mike and Kris went out for a bit, and then Megan and I went out. Judging from the ear-to-ear grin on her face the whole time we were out, I think I may have a sailor on my hands.
We did learn a valuable lesson getting the boat out of the water. Once the boat was on the trailer but not yet tied down and with the mast still up, I pulled it out off the ramp so that others could load their boats. Well, like a dummy, and even though we'd been warned about the overhead wires, I proceeded to try and pull down a power line with the mast of the boat. Fortunately, I was going about a half mile an hour when the mast hooked the power line and tried to slide the boat off the back of the trailer. Even then we didn't immediately realize what was wrong until someone looked up. I backed up, we pushed the boat back on, and proceeded to a safe area to drop the mast and tie down the boat. It was a good lesson to learn, especially without doing any damage.
I won't have any pictures of the boat on the water until Megan posts them on Facebook or I get my hands on her memory chip, but I will post them when they become available.
Thanks again to Mike for all his expertise. We couldn't have done it without him.
Oh, and one more thing. The boats need some names, and I'm having a hard time coming up with anything other than the less than socially acceptable names that first came to my depraved mind. So if anyone can come up with some catchy names other than Breaking Wind and Blow Me, let me know.
Fortunately, I convinced Mike and Kris (and Marie and Jerry) to come out for a weekend and give me a hand. and I'm sure glad they came. Mike knows these cats inside and out and could have put them together blindfolded. Left to my own devices, it would have taken me several days to do what we did in seven hours last Saturday.
As it turned out, I was too busy working to take even a single photo, but fortunately Megan was able to digitally document our progress. I don't have the originals, but I managed to copy a few of the photos from her Facebook page. If you're Facebook friends with Megan, you can see a whole bunch of photos on her page. When I get the full complement of photos I'll post more. In the meantime, here's a taste:
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. Especially one from the woodpile.
Megan took a break from taking pictures to give us a hand getting the mast up.
Here are the two of them - on land, but pretty much ready to sail.
After the boats were assembled and rigged, we took down the sails and got them ready for transport. By then it was 7PM, so we retired to the cabin for some well-deserved brats and beer.
On Sunday, we took one of the boats to Fish Lake for its maiden voyage. It was a bit drizzly, and there was virtually no wind, but we went for it anyway. The Fish Lake boat ramp is sheltered in a bit of a cove, so once the boat was in the water, Mike and I had to paddle out a little way to catch some wind. There wasn't much out there, but Hobie cats are so light and have so much sail area that it doesn't really take much to get them moving. We had a good sail and I more or less learned the ropes without the danger of going too fast to get out of control. When Mike and I were done, Mike and Kris went out for a bit, and then Megan and I went out. Judging from the ear-to-ear grin on her face the whole time we were out, I think I may have a sailor on my hands.
We did learn a valuable lesson getting the boat out of the water. Once the boat was on the trailer but not yet tied down and with the mast still up, I pulled it out off the ramp so that others could load their boats. Well, like a dummy, and even though we'd been warned about the overhead wires, I proceeded to try and pull down a power line with the mast of the boat. Fortunately, I was going about a half mile an hour when the mast hooked the power line and tried to slide the boat off the back of the trailer. Even then we didn't immediately realize what was wrong until someone looked up. I backed up, we pushed the boat back on, and proceeded to a safe area to drop the mast and tie down the boat. It was a good lesson to learn, especially without doing any damage.
I won't have any pictures of the boat on the water until Megan posts them on Facebook or I get my hands on her memory chip, but I will post them when they become available.
Thanks again to Mike for all his expertise. We couldn't have done it without him.
Oh, and one more thing. The boats need some names, and I'm having a hard time coming up with anything other than the less than socially acceptable names that first came to my depraved mind. So if anyone can come up with some catchy names other than Breaking Wind and Blow Me, let me know.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Grottfest '10
For those of you not lucky enough to be one of the Facebook friends of me or Hal or Mike, here's one of my favorite shots of Grottfest '10.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A few ways of looking at the Gulf oil spill
It's been confusing trying to figure out how much oil is spewing from the broken pipe from the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf. Not only is the actual volume hard to figure, but the news media talks about gallons per day or barrels per day, and unless you're really paying attention, they're all just a bunch of big numbers. And then they'll say that the Exxon Valdez dumped 10.8M gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. How many barrels are in 10.8 million gallons and how does that compare to the spill in the Gulf?
What got me thinking about this when Megan the Elder asked me to put this all in perspective by putting it in terms of Olympic-size swimming pools. I figured that might make sense, so I did some number crunching. When the well first blew out, the amount of oil being spilled was estimated at 1,000 barrels/day. That was later revised upward to 5,000 barrels/day. Since then numbers like 10,000-20,000 barrels are tossed about, but I've seen guesstimates as high as 60,000 barrels/day. Nobody knows for sure.
I checked on the volume of Olympic-size swimming pools (OSSP), and found a number of 660,253 gallons. A barrel of oil is 42US gallons, so there are 15,720 barrels in a pool. That's well within the current range of estimates for the daily discharge from the blown-out well, so for the sake of argument, let's say the well is dumping out one OSSP of oil per day.
Another way of looking at it is in terms of acre-feet. That's the unit used for measuring large volumes of water stored behind dams or in lakes. An acre-foot, as the name implies in an acre of water (or whatever) one foot thick, or 325,851.4 gallons, or 7,758 barrels, or roughly half an OSSP. So the well in the Gulf is blowing out about two acre-feet of oil per day. Most residential lots are 1/4 acre or less, so imagine you and eight or ten of the lots in your neighborhood inundated with a foot of oil every day.
And yet another way of looking at it - Your typical tanker truck holds 9,000 gallons of whatever. In terms of OSSP's, it would take around 73 tanker trucks to fill the pool, or truck away the oil from the spill if that were possible. That's a truck full every 20 minutes, every day, for 43 days so far. Something like 6,300 trucks and counting. If each of the trucks are 50' long, and if each of the trucks were lined up nose to tail, the line would be 60 miles long!
In summary, so far the spill has dumped these equivalent volumes of oil:
-43 Olympic-sized swimming pools
-430 big city lots covered 1 foot thick
-60 miles of tanker trucks lined up end to end
-2.6 Exxon Valdez tankers
It was a bit of fun to crunch the numbers and put everything in perspective, but that's about the only fun thing about the whole sordid mess.
What got me thinking about this when Megan the Elder asked me to put this all in perspective by putting it in terms of Olympic-size swimming pools. I figured that might make sense, so I did some number crunching. When the well first blew out, the amount of oil being spilled was estimated at 1,000 barrels/day. That was later revised upward to 5,000 barrels/day. Since then numbers like 10,000-20,000 barrels are tossed about, but I've seen guesstimates as high as 60,000 barrels/day. Nobody knows for sure.
I checked on the volume of Olympic-size swimming pools (OSSP), and found a number of 660,253 gallons. A barrel of oil is 42US gallons, so there are 15,720 barrels in a pool. That's well within the current range of estimates for the daily discharge from the blown-out well, so for the sake of argument, let's say the well is dumping out one OSSP of oil per day.
Another way of looking at it is in terms of acre-feet. That's the unit used for measuring large volumes of water stored behind dams or in lakes. An acre-foot, as the name implies in an acre of water (or whatever) one foot thick, or 325,851.4 gallons, or 7,758 barrels, or roughly half an OSSP. So the well in the Gulf is blowing out about two acre-feet of oil per day. Most residential lots are 1/4 acre or less, so imagine you and eight or ten of the lots in your neighborhood inundated with a foot of oil every day.
And yet another way of looking at it - Your typical tanker truck holds 9,000 gallons of whatever. In terms of OSSP's, it would take around 73 tanker trucks to fill the pool, or truck away the oil from the spill if that were possible. That's a truck full every 20 minutes, every day, for 43 days so far. Something like 6,300 trucks and counting. If each of the trucks are 50' long, and if each of the trucks were lined up nose to tail, the line would be 60 miles long!
In summary, so far the spill has dumped these equivalent volumes of oil:
-43 Olympic-sized swimming pools
-430 big city lots covered 1 foot thick
-60 miles of tanker trucks lined up end to end
-2.6 Exxon Valdez tankers
It was a bit of fun to crunch the numbers and put everything in perspective, but that's about the only fun thing about the whole sordid mess.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Why are we in this hand basket and where are we going?
I haven't done a political rant for a while, but that doesn't mean it isn't pretty depressing out there with gushing oil rigs, markets melting down, and various never-ending wars.
In spite of the fact that it looks like the economy has bottomed out, I've never quite trusted the financial "recovery." Unemployment is high, housing is still in the toilet, and bankers seem to be back to business as usual. I came across this scary video during my morning net-surf. The ups and downs of the current market are eerily like those of a couple of years ago.
Watch it and weep. Or have another drink.
In spite of the fact that it looks like the economy has bottomed out, I've never quite trusted the financial "recovery." Unemployment is high, housing is still in the toilet, and bankers seem to be back to business as usual. I came across this scary video during my morning net-surf. The ups and downs of the current market are eerily like those of a couple of years ago.
Watch it and weep. Or have another drink.
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