Early 2015 pics

Celebrating my Birthday at the cigar spot 

Below Easter with my Nana 95+.  Nice chapel at her home

First ride after a quick maintance.  It was a little cold...

Birthday Celebration (I put on at home)

How's this for a title: Lost a Job but Gained a Hobby?

So it's been a few weeks and eventful that's why I haven't posted.  The job loss was not a shock I saw it coming for 6 months plus.  I had been planning for this and have saving and a plan which I may elaborate on.  For now I will say that I am pursuing several parrellel paths and each is promising to get me to the next level in my career.  The weeks I have been off I have felt better than I have for many years.  This is how I can tell I would be a great indepedantly wealthy or retired person.  I have a schedule set for week days.  Work in the morning, walk the dogs, then the afternoons gym, usually followed by cooking dinner.  The lack of the day to day stress of work is a feeling I have never felt before.  Of course a weeks vacation here of there is ok, but there was always that looming back to work Monday.  This is an entirely new feeling that has been so far great. Should I be more worried? probably so, but for now I am enjoying my "faux-retirement".   I also have begun learning a software language which I had on my to do list for years.  I found a class (insert Stanford online link) to learn Java.  I picked it because it is used for mobile app development.  This project is mostly for self improvemnt and now I have the time I am getting it done.  The other part is a small personal project that I will outline on another post when it gets closer to time (i.e. when I learn enough to start writing it).

So was learning Java the hobby? nope!  As if I needed another hobby in this time of financial uncertainty.  Well true to form I have been influenced to take up Golf.  I had hit balls in college at a driving range and it was a good time.  Around graduation set of clubs was given to me and I went a few times, but not having a partner it sort of died off.  In a cleaning mode one day led to the donation of the unused clubs.  Well 15 years later I find myself back at the range and basically as I do with every hobby into it big time.  Thanks to my cousin as he pushed this onto me.  I can't say I regret it.  I am taking a measured approach in that I am only buying a few clubs and the bare minimum to get on the course.  This is not my usual hobby MO of sinking lots of $ into it.  So far I have been to the driving range a few times and plan on my first round in the next couple of weeks.  In the short time back at the ranges I can say I have had some beautiful weather since the horrible winter and I have seen some beatutiful scenes (see pic below).

Other than that I have help my parents with a deck fix up project (see pics below) and done a few projects around the house (flat screen behind the wall install, gardening, got motorcycle out).   I have a big project that it seems I am procrastinating on which is wash, polishing and waxing the boat.  I wasn't going to put it in this year, but as the time came I said I have the time to save the cost of the detailing and frankly I don't think I could live with not fishing at all this year.  So there you have it and more to come.  

Insert picture from Rocky point
Insert pictures of deck
Insert picture of wall mo

Mid June update

This year I went from the boat projects to the trailer hitch to the motorcycle. Actually the hitch was due to my plan for the motorcycle. I was to take it to get it professionally serviced in the winter. To do that I needed a hitch and trailer (or hitch carrier). Well time moved very quickly and it ended up summer and no motorcycle. I then evaluated the tasks I needed to do and then I did it. Oil change, coolant flush and fill, and brake fluid change. That leaves the suspension to be serviced and adjusted. On that note I found a new shop in Glen Burnie that looks like a likely spot. It is clean, modern and the staff seemed professional (rare in the motorcycle shops here in the Baltimore area). With all these tasks I learned a lot, got new tools and found that shop. Besides that I saved money on the service, but not the time. Was it worth it?  Yes

Week 5/28

I was on vacation this week.  Went to the beach for Memorial day which was great.

There I tried a new drink:

Whiskey sour
1 1/2 ounces whiskey (rye or bourbon)
1 ounce freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (orange and lemon)
1/4 to 1/2 ounce simple syrup*, according to taste
Maraschino cherry for optional garnish

Over the week I also:

Got a book and did some reading
Worked on the sewing project
Worked on the boat interior (rod holder)
Refurbished the grill burners
Went fishing (caught a yellow perch)
Went for a motorcycle ride
Watched lots of playoff basketball
Went to the gym a few times

At the gym I saw the most interesting thing.  In the parking lot I noticed a couple smoking in their car.  They soon left and walked in the gym to presumably workout.  Is this common because it seems a bit backwards to me. I mean you work out to get fit if you smoke you are undoing your work, right?

Week of April 30th

So after checking into a hotel the clerk stops you and informs you the fitness center is on the 4th floor. Does that mean they observed your build and decided: A. you obviously work out and would be interested in the gym or B. you need to work out because you are so out of shape?

Today it was pretty warm. That being said riders were out.  Passing through Delaware, I noticed 10% of the riders decided to wear a helmet. Is there a point of flirting with certain death? Is it more fun?  Or do you hate the poor state highway worker that will have to scoop up pieces of your cerebral cortex?  It makes me uncomfortable to even see them riding like that.  I did see a guy on a scooter wearing a leather riding jacket, but no brain bucket. This is one thing I am glad the government regulated, just so I don't have to be uncomfortable seeing here in MD.  

Weekly Update WO 3/11

Finished the pulley project.  Yeah once again making it yourself isn't the cheapest or easiest way.  I'll keep the story simple. I should have bought this for $20:


Instead I built my own for a cost of $200.  Well that was for 2 (put 2 up in the garage) and $30 was a ladder rental which I would have had anyway.   Live and learn and it was actually fun.

Got the bike out.  Changed the Oil and filter, put air in the tires and it didn't start.  Weak battery was the problem.  Got an AGM battery,  so I'm back in business.

In the next 2 weeks I got to start the boat process.  Wash, polish and wax the hull.  Then troubleshoot the bilge pump and clean the battery connections (if not replace one or both), then the Wash wax and polish the topside and then clean the interior. Actually now that I am thinking about it I might get the boat yard to do the wash wax part.  Yeah its $400, but man its alot of work.  Well I still have the interior and bilge pump issue.

GOP primary
Romney looks like he's on his way, but  Santorum is putting up a fight.  I hope Santorum wins; better chance for Obama, too far to the right.  Whereas Romney is moderate and could give Obama a fight. We'll see.

Hurricane Irene

Funny with the natural disasters theme of the end of the month.  Well call it natural events because the earthquake wasn't a disaster and hopefully the Hurricane won't be. We were going to ocean for the weekend.  We were going to go down Thursday night and staying til Sunday.  With the storm predicted we considered leaving Monday until my sister texted (from the ocean where she was on vacation) that an evacuation order was issued for Friday.  I guess we're not going. I then accepted it might be coming so time to get prepared.  My main concern is losing power for a few days. We went and got food, but nothing more than the normal weekly shopping trip and a case of bottled water. I emptied the ice cube container into a cooler and froze some bottles of water in case we need to pull the food out of the refrig.  The next issue was the boat.  I had inquired about pulling it out for the weekend when we thought we were going, but since were were staying it stayed in the water.  I put the motors down, effectively shortening the boat allowing it to have more room to move. I started to double up the lines and thought I might need more, but I had stored a bag full of lines in the boat which were prefect; almost like I had done this before?  Isabel was the welcoming party for the Proline 2950 in October 2003 only a few months after purchase rode it out fine.  This picture was the morning after the storm where the boat was only a few feet over the dock.  The night before it had been upto 6 feet over the normal high water level.

Survived the 100 year storm levels of Isabel once; I guess it will be fine again.


Watching the news Friday you would think that the world was going to end with this strom.  The super markets were packed.  Funny thing to me is the liquor stores (and bars) were doing a brisk business.  Is it the alcoholics think they wont be able to get out or people can't deal with being shut in for a few days? So I bought a case of diet beer (MGD 64 lemon).

My prediction is it will hit, high winds and rain and a little higher tide.  I summary no big deal.  That being said my recent prediction track record isn't 100%.  See last weekend I wanted to go for a motorcycle ride.  I knew that the forecast was for isolated thunder storms.  I checked the map and the only storms were up above baltimore county in PA.  So off I went the plan was to ride to centeral Baltimore county and loop down into the city to the gym.  Well I got about 15 miles from home and looked south and saw dark, dark clouds.  Time to head home.  Problem was i had to ego southeast to get home pretty much into the storm.  I got about 2 mile from home and the rain started (steady but not pouring).  A mile more and the lightening and thunder started and it started to pour).  I pulled into a gas station and thought: In 20 minutes this will clear right up.  Well an hour later I rode home in a light rain.  At the gas station the attendant talked to me about his motorcycle he had in India.  He said it was fast 150cc , one of the most powerful they had over there.  When he asked what size motor was and I told him 600cc he seemed incredulous.  He asked how fast it was, will it do 100?  I told him 160 and 0-60 in 3 seconds he again seemed dubious.  Then he guessed it the cost and he was under by a factor of 2.  Once he accepted that he asked did I have a car too. That was entertaining but the funniest part was when he noted that he would be hesitant to ride here, because women drive here.  I had to smile at that.  Anyway his conversation help pass the time.  I set out before it ultimately stopped, because a tornado alter was issued for the area and the thunder had subsided.      

All this Hurricane discussion led to a funny discussion about the dogs.  If worse comes to worse and this is the end of civilization as we know it (according to the local media) and we run out of food, which dog would eat first?  My wife says the female who is the heavier one. Which makes sense, but I say the male because females have more body fat and the male's weight is more lean muscle, meaning more meat.  
We'll see if it comes to that....