A long post-script for the day

I am the proud and happy new owner of an old Dolphin Sr sailboat!

I just found her yesterday; the guy with the Super Snark wasn't returning my calls, so I checked a slightly different area on Craigslist and found a "15 foot sailboat with trailer" in the St Louis area listed for $325. One phone call, and over 100 miles later, and she was mine for $300 even! Yay! She trailers fairly well, except for an oscillating vibration that starts to become noticeable over 60 mph - on the other hand, driving at 60 with the trailer may have actually improved my gas mileage, so no complaints, there!

This morning, I put up the sail with her still on the trailer (I just REALLY wanted to see her all dressed up), then put the sail and mast back in their bag, and pulled her off the trailer in the grass. Once flipped onto her deck, I inspected some cracks in the hull, and decided they could be dealt with (for now) with a dose of liquid epoxy.

A few hours went by, and I got tired of waiting; I wanted to Sail! I flipped her back over and loaded her back onto the trailer. I strapped her and the sail-bag (?) down, invited my mom along (not sure if I was inviting her in case of emergency, or just so I could show off!), and was off to a local conservation lake.

My first time sailing (ever! not including a time many years ago when I was on a sailboard) started off a bit slow, but then... I was moving! I crossed the little lake fairly quickly, began a turn, stalled, started to move again, "Boom!" caught an underwater tree with the daggerboard, barely moving again when "Boom!" caught another underwater tree with the daggerboard. Looking around, I could see yet another tree just under the surface of the water... she was too far into the wind (light breeze, really) to make headway... I experimented a bit, pushed the sail around and against the wind, and found that I could back the boat, if a bit clumsily. For the rest of the 2 hours I was on the lake, I stayed on the side without the trees!!

I sailed with the sail high on the mast; I've watched a few videos, and seen some pictures, so I realize that most people keep the sail a bit lower, so they have to duck each time it swings by; I didn't see much point in doing so, in such light winds. She heeled just a bit, going up and across the wind; I know she couldn't have been moving very fast, but to hear the swirling water behind, feel the boat heeling a few degrees in the wind, and the wind itself in my face - I guess I'd have to describe it as being an amazing experience.

Finally, it had been about 2 hours, and my mom asked if I was ready to go. Yeah, yeah - I'm 39, but still no reason not to invite my mom to spend a while at a nice little lake. Somehow, I did not feel that so much time had passed, but was feeling ready to come in. I used my newfound skills to tack in to the boat ramp, and hopped out just before the daggerboard hit bottom. Now I learned, the hard way, why to be careful not to let the daggerboard drop into it's slot! It tends to jam itself in there - luckily, some other people were nearby, and helped me to lift the boat a bit in the water, and bump the daggerboard back up out of it's slot.

Loaded back onto the trailer, sail and mast bagged, daggerboard and rudder in the back of the explorer, it was time to head for home. That pair of hours on that little lake were a real pleasure.

Next weekend, we're off to a reunion at Lake of the Ozarks - and we're taking her along with us! It'll be interesting to see how she performs on a larger lake. The waves will likely get my attention focused fast!

She an old boat; she's been through a lot. She has fiberglass patches on several spots of her hull. I epoxied a couple of cracks, myself. The mast is bent, just a tiny bit. None of that matters to her, though - she took to the water eagerly, obviously after far too long sitting on dry land. She didn't take on a bit of water, either - I pulled the plug while still on the loading ramp, and there was nary a drop. I'll keep her in the water. I'll keep her in the water as much as I'm able. Hopefully, I'll also find some time, now and again, to scour down her decks and repaint; perhaps even enough time, somehow, to properly repair the old fiberglass repairs. They hold, just fine; they're just very obvious. I'd just like to be able to show her, eventually, in the glory and shine she had when she was a new boat on the showroom floor.

Oh, and the Snark guy? He did call back. He called back about 20 minutes after I picked up my new (old) Dolphin Sr. Too bad for him - and good for me! I think I got the right boat for my needs.

Until next time, old 3274 and I are signing off.

-Mathew

Sailing, Sailing... oh, I used that title already.

Hmm... News! The Incredible is not removed from the market - it merely has had some teething trouble getting enough of them produced at the factory! So, when it's available again, I would really recommend it. Awesome phone! I used it just yesterday, travelling to a community near St. Louis, for it's GPS Navigation. Yes, GPS Nav does tend to run the battery down, but if you know most of the route someplace in advance, and just turn it on for the last 20 or 30 minutes, it survives fairly well. My Incredible got me to the address, exactly.

And why, you may ask, did I need to go to St. Louis? For a small sailboat! I was going to get a Super Snark from a man in Columbia, but he wasn't returning my phone calls... so I changed the area I was looking at on Craigslist from Lake of the Ozarks area, to the St. Louis area, where I found an advertisement for a 15 foot sailboat. I got a better price, and I think probably a bit better of a boat, too! Yay!! I've looked up the boat online, and it's a Dolphin Sr. I'm about to step outside and epoxy a couple of minor cracks in the hull, then it should be ready to sail on the first good day that comes along. Yay again!

Yes, the sail is in good condition - I just put the sail up this morning to look it over. Very nice.

So, that's about it for today. I'll catch up with you all again soon!

-Mathew

Android Incredible - short run?

Hey, as promised, I'm here to talk about the new Incredible phone available through Verizon. As the name says: it's Incredible! Mine just arrived in the mail yesterday, and I've got it all charged up and running well. I was having some trouble applying a screen protector to the phone, so stopped at an authorized Verizon dealer in town, where I learned something interesting: HTC and Verizon are shutting down production on the Incredible already! Not because of a problem with the phone, but either because Verizon wants to push the Motorola X, or because (maybe?) the company that provides the snapdragon processors to HTC for the phone has closed. I'm not clear on the details. I did get a chance to look at a demo (read - empty/fake) Droid X phone; it's HUGE... a LOT bigger in it's dimensions than the Incredible. Ladies with small purses and small pockets: you won't know where to put it. Gents, as well: this phone will stand up and show above your shirt pocket, and probably be sneaking out of your rear pants pockets, too.

I'm glad I got the Incredible while I could. Once I got the GPS function turned on, it pinpointed me very closely to my actual location. I can watch streaming video online easily with the 3g connection, it doesn't slow down at all no matter how many apps are open at once (that I could tell), and... and... well. Let's just color me impressed, right? I do wish it worked for watching tv shows on Hulu.com, though. Not the fault of the phone, but of Hulu itself, I'm pretty sure. I'll be keeping my eyes open for any workarounds so I can watch my tv shows there, though, as I'm sure many other people are doing.

Aside from playing with my new phone, I mowed a bit, this morning, and am now inside the house and thinking quite seriously about lunch. Perhaps I'll reheat some chicken I grilled last night; it turned out really good.

That's all for now, from the Nagogami Hills Farm, in Missouri. The cows say Hi, and the cats expect you to bring a fresh mouse with you on your next visit. ;-)

Until later!

-Mathew

Local Lake, missed the Market

We got out of the house a little late to catch the full farmer's market on Saturday - apparently it closes around noon, so we just didn't go. They also hold the farmer's market on Tuesday mornings, in a downtown parking lot, but I think we'll wait until next Saturday and see the full Farmer's Market, instead.

So... After mowing the grass at a property in town, I took off a few miles out of town, to the Little Prairie Community Lake - a small lake run by the Missouri Conservation Department - where I should be able to take a small sailboat, so long as I also spend a few minutes of my visit casting a line for fish. Who knows? Perhaps I might become a fisherman, as part of my learning to sail, too.

Speaking of Tuesday, Verizon sent me an email today that my new Incredible has been shipped (Finally!). I look forward to finally getting a chance to play with it - I'll post a review of how it does for me, probably around the end of the week.

Also, I should have enough scrounging done by the end of this week to be able to go and get a small sailboat! As I mentioned before, just a 10 to 14 foot "little" boat, but that's perfect for learning the basics. By this time next week, I hope to be taking advantage of some nice breeze on the lake at Little Prairie.

Storms, and possible tornadoes in the forecast for... right now! No storms to speak of, yet, although we have had a small amount of rain, and there is some distant thunder to be heard.

And so, I leave you once again, oh friendly, yet largely nonexistent Nag-Reader. Welcome to the Nagogami Hills Farm, with cows chewing cud, and cats catching mice. Come back again soon.

-Mathew

Sailing, sailing, o'er the bounding main...

Okay, so it's not the bounding main. It's not even a big lake that can develop large-ish waves. It's just Little Prairie Lake, a few miles out of town. In fact, it's not even that - yet. I'm scrounging a bit, and e-baying a bit, so I can get myself a little sailboat to take out and learn to sail. Someday I'd like to have a nice, big-ish (I know that's not a real word!) sailboat to take out on the real ocean, and finally begin to discover a bit more about myself, and the world we all live in. For now, though, I'm just working up to purchasing a small, 2 man sailboat. Perhaps a little Sunfish, or Minifish. I'm thinking probably just a nice little Super Snark. Odd names for boats, aren't they? But, from what I've read, if I want to learn to sail, and find out if it's something I might enjoy doing on a larger boat, these little boats are perfect.

Oh, to catch the wind, and ride it across the waves... or something like that.

I'm in my late 30's. I should be able to do this, right? Of course, my parents are still very negative about it. I don't know... I'd just like to have a decent 37 foot Beneteau Evasion sailboat, and just sail away, sometime. Yeah... it's my favorite sailboat design, for what I have in mind, so far. Also, they're just so pretty, as a sailboat, in, or out of the water.

Tomorrow, I'll be getting up at a reasonable hour to go to town with my mother, who's still visiting post 4th, to go see what there is to see at the local farmer's market. Who knows what sort of strange and exotic... umm... yeah, right; it's the Rolla Farmer's Market - there won't be too much of high interest to be seen, unless you like plants, vegetables, fruits (smaller selection), or homemade doodads and gewgaws. I may be mistaken. If so, I'll be sure to say so right here tomorrow.

Grass is starting to get shaggy in the yard again. Almost time to mow, again. For tonight, however, I think I'll crack open a cold one.

G'nite, everyone. See y'all tomorrow.

-Mathew

Good Morning, Wednesday

So, that feels like I'm part of the Addams' Family - Good morning, Wednesday; Good morning Pugsley; good morning Morticia. Let's have a little fun, today, and give Lurch a tongue twister. He should be able to finish saying it the first time by lunch.

So: Verizon. Android. The Incredible.
I ordered the phone June 16, and don't expect it to ship until July 14. Good news, though! Verizon is shipping all phone orders by next day shipping! Yay!
I mean, what is the point of shipping it "next day" if it takes a month to get the item put into shipping in the first place? Gimme the $5 or $10 the shipping upgrade costs; after waiting a month, I can afford to wait 2 more days. Even better, I should be charging the cell phone company for the delay. I know I've always wanted to charge these telephone advertisers and sales companies for the minutes when they call me; also, I want to charge phone companies for my time when they put me on hold without my permission.

So, maybe I'm slighly upset, having to wait for a month for my phone to be sent by next day shipping. It's okay - Verizon is still the best carrier out there. AT&T is having the same problem with the new i-Phone 4g, and it's got programming errors in it that go all the way back to the very first i-Phone. An error which, having now been discovered, points out that AT&T has poorer coverage, after all.

Why, you might ask, have I not blogged about anything IMPORTANT, so far? Well, that's pretty simple. Out here, on Nagogami Farm, life moves at a different pace than it does in many of this nation's cities. I've complained about my new phone taking a month to arrive; I did not go out and try to mow down hundreds of people with an uzi. After all, in a month's time, the cows will still be chewing cud, and leaving messes in the field. The farm cats will still be showing up around 3pm every day, wanting to be fed. And gas prices will still be outrageous.

Until whenever, this is Mathew, logging out.

OMG! It's My First Blog - Ever!!!

Hey, everyone. Anyone. If there's anyone out there who sees this. It's Mat. You can call me Mat, or Mathew, if you like. I've also been known to respond to "Hey, you!" among other popular greetings.

I've been following Abby's blog. You know who I'm talking about: Abby Sunderland, the girl who came so close to making the record books as the youngest to solo-sail around the world. I hope she doesn't give up the dream; yes, it's now too late for her to start over, even tomorrow, and make the record books for the accomplishment, but I think this is something that she's completely capable of, and it seems to me that it would be a fitting end for her book.

For now... it's late, here. Even the cows in the fields have gone to sleep, I think. Sleepy time for me, too, then.

G'nite, all.

-Mathew