Been going back and watching the Twilight Zone again lately.

Season 5, Episode 27 "I am the night - color me black."

I recommend it with a period of thought afterwards.

"A sickness known as hate. Not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ — but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone — look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether."
~Rod Serling

This project is done except for the paperwork, which will be this week. We left the ship after a full power run that lasted twice the time required.
My dad went into the hospital on Monday and only found out his status yesterday (doing better, btw).
My tool backpack weighed in at 84 pounds, and I had to lug it out from the Engine room to the flight deck and twice the length of the ship to the gate, with my admin bag (25 pounds) on my chest.
I'm tired and sore.
And I fully expect to get a ration of crap from the powers that be that this took a month longer than it should have.

Will probably not answer my phone for the next few days as I've got 4 months of crap and bills and garbage to sort through.

For any that still care if this bear is still around - I am. I'm working these years as a Heavy Diesel Mechanic (read MAN, Fairbanks Morse...large marine generators/propulsion plants), and our shop "took" a contract for a rush job that has grown and they're still trying to hold us to the contract dates. So...for the better part of the last month I've been doing 12 hour days, pretty much 7 days a week. Somewhere along the line I became the lead of two shifts. This past weekend got so frustrating with the powers that be, including my boss that I flat out said that we were stopping work today, regardless that it's a holiday (although that was part of it - when you have contractors and inspectors coming to you to ask and "hint" about not working on a Monday holiday for over 2 weeks...and you finally give up the day before...well...

The stress level was high enough that at some point I left 4 knuckle prints in an electrical box with no damage to my hand.

I keep hearing "You need to take care of yourself because no one else will", well, no one is stepping up to do the job either. Dammit, I turn 56 this year and I'm still lugging a tool back pack about 50-55 pounds up and down ship's ladders.

Hopefully taking today off and venting and chilling and sleeping will help things as I start the drive to finish this mess tomorrow.

Fahk.

Thanks for the space to vent.

Been a while since I updated this. The surgery went well and I was up and walking that night. The recovery took a toll on me as I couldn't really do anything but go out and walk and not lift anything more than 10 pounds for the better part of two months. I've been slowly working back up, but I still need to be in the gym a lot more. Getting back in shape (yes....round is a shape and I don't like it on my frame) and dropping about 20 pounds is rough. Work has been keeping me more busy than a one-armed paper-hanger. To wit, I'm up in Seattle for the next month.

Not sure who's around here anymore other than the old Tai Pan gang, but I might be able to swing some free time on the weekends. So far they only places I've been wanting to hit have been Archie McPhee's and a fly fishing shop and both might take a full afternoon on one Saturday.

First off, thanks for all the well wishes! Surgery went amazingly well. The Surgeon replaced 2 disks in my neck and the numbness and shoulder grinding was gone the first day. Managed to get on my feet and walked unassisted within about 6 hours of things. Got home the next day and have been puttering about here. Sleep has been a pain in the butt as trying to get comfortable without damaging everything. Same with bathing..I'm a little ripe, but the scar is still pretty ugly on my neck. Trying to swallow these last 5 days started off bad, so I'm just now getting to soft foods (soup and crackers). Also got a bone growth stimulator that I have to wear at least 4 hours a day for the rest of the year. No driving yet, but I should be in a week or so. Unfortunately, my nerves are going back to normal after being squished for ages, and I'm getting weird pains showing up all over the place.

To my friends on here;

You know that my work schedule has been a royal pain; so much so that medical issues are catching up with me. To wit, I'm going under the knife tomorrow and will be out of it for a couple weeks, with a messy recovery plan to follow. Seems that I've got a bunch of herniated disks in my neck, and they're going to be replacing 2 for starts. So, if anything, the next few days I'm going to be a mess. Hope to catch you on the other side.

Hi all;

I'm looking for a copy of "A Study in Black and White" and "Advanced Studies in Black and White", both from Silverfox Publications. Yeah...this is a long shot, but I never knew what art of mine got put into these 'zines. (lost track with Sylver at the time due to being sent to Pearl Harbor).

Apologies to my friends out there; this year has been quite hectic thanks to work. I've spend about 9 months out of Jacksonville with most of it overseas in the sand box. Then about 2 weeks sitting with my dad as he had a heart valve replaced and a really speedy recovery. I've been trying to catch up and have been pulled three ways to Sunday.

So, to all my friends I wish you all the best for the holidays, a very Merry Christmas (or Yule, Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate), and all the best for the New Year.

Hopefully this coming year is better for all, in one way or another.

Remember, I'm pulling for ya; we're all in this together!




"Making duct tape cool, 20 years before the Mythbusters."

Got back in late last night (30+ hour flight) and had a heck of a surprise at the baggage claim.

Ran into Edward Elric himself (Vic Mignoga)! He looked about as tired as me so I didn't bother with a selfie - just leaned in and told him that I loved his work...got a handshake and a few seconds of chat...(Hey...he was worn out from travel too... and no need to create a scene), then parted ways.

Leaving for Chesapeake in 3 days....

!#)#(*$#)@##!

Well, another trip around the sun...marks number 54. This year work has me overseas...and missing Megaplex ( also MFM...was hoping to make it there).
After this work trip, I'm flat out telling them no more for a while; gotta get my health in order and finish getting things...simplified so I can draw and write again, as well as visit friends and work on my bucket list. I know I'm not anywhere close to the digital artists these days, but I do want to get back to drawing stuff.

Just got in from a 31 hour trip from Djibouti.....after spending 20+ days of working in 115F heat in an engine room (for various hours a day) *flump*

Heading out to the west coast for a job. Anything interesting out in the Portland, Oregon area?

Well, someone decided that the job in Puerto Rico over Christmas was a bad idea (too expensive) and they cancelled at the last minute. So I got to drive up and visit my parents over the holiday. So to all my friends, I wish you a very merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Solstice. Stay warm and safe!

Just got back from Bahrain late last Sunday and have been fighting one heck of a head and chest cold (Not covid...had the test). Heathrow did not have heat on for the 18 1/2 hours that I had to layover ( No wonder everyone was coughing and hacking). And it looks like I'm going to be gone again over Christmas...


joy


All this has been doing has been to stifle any attempts at being creative...art...writing, music...gah...

Work has me on the road again; this time I'm back up in Norfolk, Virginia. Still not sure what my work schedule and timeline is looking like, but I'm hoping that I can get a weekend off, or maybe a day or two here and there.

Yup...another solar orbit completed. Spent the weekend up in Myrtle Beach, SC, then down to Orlando to visit Archeus Ledoux (amazing collection of vacuum tubes, speakers hardware and other great pieces of history)!

I'm in trouble - someone opened an L&L in Jacksonville...and the food is 100% spot on!

Rolled into Jacksonville this afternoon and should be moving into my apartment tomorrow. Got a lot to take care of, and start work on Monday.

Hopefully everything keeps going ok.

Well; my current job is pretty much dead ended (well, it was dead ended...) and an opening came up for a position in the Mayport/Jacksonville, Florida area. Effectively I'll be traveling around to different facilities and working on marine diesels; biiiiig change from a desk job over the last 11 years.

So now comes the terror of whirlwind sorting, packing, and picking up and moving down to Jacksonville.

Any information/help/ ideas where to rent, etc would be greatly appreciated!

Gawds...I need a drink...

A lot of things have happened since 1969. Can't wait to see what the next 50 years brings.

Heading down to Megaplex! (with a quick side trip to Port Canaveral for work).

Looking forward to seeing and meeting peoples!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UowLJ0VeM1A

This guy is insanely good and talented; think about it; automotive paint and brush all by hand...

Ok...has anyone heard anything about her? How she's doing?

Got in from the hospital a few hours ago. Had a cardiac ablation done to deal with an over-revving heart. (Having your heart hit 225 BPM for over an hour and a half sucks). Sleeping over at a friend's place tonight before heading home tomorrow.

At least the Deerfield Fair is coming up this weekend!

For those of you that are into the digital arts and have the Huion Kamvas series; is there a way to adjust the cursor to match the pen tip?