Father's Day at Lake George

Finn and I took a trip to Lake George for Father's Day. We first drove to Fischer's Marina where we launched the canoe and headed for Long Island State Park, which is in the middle of the lake.

We arrived at the marina about 2PM and unloaded the car.


With the outrigger attached, we headed for the island.
The outrigger might look silly but it worked well. It canceled the roll that annoys some about canoes. It did not stop the pitch but it did keep us a little more level when we took the wake of other boats. Lake George is no small place and the power boats there give little care for small craft like a canoe, so this was a must. About 17 years ago I made this same trip with my friend Carmelo and we had a hell of a time with a lot more weight and a choppier day.

About 45 minutes later, first mate Finnegan looks for our campsite.
The campsite numbers are on the docks. Each campsite has 'half' of a dock.
We have completely unloaded our gear. Time to register and set up.
Here are some views of our home of 20 hours.



The tradition of burning marshmallows continues.

Zonked out after half an hour of potty jokes in the tent.
Sunrise.
How to make good coffee at camp: that's an MSR Pocket Rocket for a stove.
Finn is up and ready for a swim and some fishing.


After that we're warming up while the bacon sizzles.

Breakfast is served minus the bread that the animals stole when I carelessly left it out.
Time to leave but we will be back.
That was a tough paddle back to the marina. Finn was out for the whole trip home (2.5 hours).
All of these photos were taken with my Blackberry.

Helping Clearwater Cleanup Camp: IBM Centennial of Service Celebration

IBM Celebrates 100 years as a company this year (today, actually). Yesterday, 900 IBMers in the Hudson Valley alone were taking part in volunteer projects like ours. I participated in a project with 100 other IBMers where we helped clean up Clearwater's camp at University Settlement, just south of the city of Beacon.

Here a Clearwater staff member explains the tasks for our team - making rain barrels and a flow-through planter - and the importance of controlling storm run-off.

All volunteers muster in the morning.

"The White House," where Clearwater's offices are on the property.

The finished rain barrels.

Some of the volunteers work on designing the planter.

Lunch time.

We were entertained by some of the talented musicians from the staff of Clearwater and The Mystic Whaler.

A traditional canoe hangs in one of the buildings.

Retired and renowned IBMer Roger McKnight showed up to snap pictures.

Carrying at HUGE canoe. Many hands make light work.

More Fun With PVC

PVC is Lego for adults. I decided I wanted an outrigger for my canoe to stabilize it and give it more buoyancy. There are plenty of plans for outriggers, one site that sells them, Cabela's has them - but I had to do it myself. I created these pontoons out of irrigation pipe and tested them today in the river - they hold their air and seem like they are going to work. I will get to try them on the canoe for a real test, soon.

Tree Climbing Cat

Fishin!

They're small, but he caught 'em all by himself.

Sloop Clearwater

The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater tied up at Beacon Harbor.

Symmetrophobia

Beef kidney - yet another weird pattern that wigs me out.

Certain patterns in nature weird me out. I recently learned that this is called "symmetrophobia". I first noticed that regular patterns in nature bothered me as a kid whenever I saw a honeycomb or a magnification of an insect's compound eye. One day as a bag boy in a local grocery store as a teenager something came down the conveyor that freaked me out. I picked up the item, noticed what it looked like, and dropped it. "What the hell is that?!" I asked. The customer responded, "Tripe!". I refused to touch it again. I made the man bag it himself. He laughed.

The article I reference indicates that I:

may become anxious in any situation that is symmetrical and may actively rearrange [my] home and work environment so that they are asymmetrical. In extreme cases, [I] may completely withdraw from society as [I] become completely unable to function in a symmetrical world.

and furthermore:

All phobias are the result of a real-life traumatic incident in an individual’s life. Thereafter, that traumatic experience is automatically and consistently associated with symmetry.

but I ain't buying it. I just get weirded out by the stuff.

Great Blue Heron - Wappinger Creek, Yesterday Afternoon

Memorial Day

We got things together in time to invite a few people at the last minute for a Memorial Day cookout.

Before people arrived we had to prep food and grills. I took a small bench I made and converted it to something useful for barbecuing.

The marble top allows us to use the extra, little grill to do things like roasting peppers or small batches of shrimp, while larger animals can be done on the bigger grill.

Counterclockwise around the table from lower left you see our guests, Capt. Robert, Loredana, Mike (Cara's boyfriend), Cara, Finn, Lasse, and Jennifer.

Jennifer serves up Tuscan style chicken, which is spatchcocked and grilled under a brick.

Capt. Robert and Loredana.

Loredana.

Lasse.

Beacon Harbor, May 24th

Taken with my cell phone.

More From Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

This guy found something he likes.

These are wooden print blocks for decorating fabric.

Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

About W39th and 9th in Manhattan there is the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market every Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 5. That's every Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. Here are a few shots from my visit there last Saturday morning.

Angry Squirrels

This guy came around the side of our house to complain to Jennifer that Biko (our cat) was hunting him down.

See Date

This moron was driving around Poughkeepsie Friday afternoon, on a three-lane wide route 9 in a place where the traffic goes about 45-50mph. Someone pulled alongside him and began talking to him, so they both slowed down, and he handed literature to the passenger in the other car. I guess if the world is going to end you don't fear getting tickets.

TAX THE CHURCH.

More Rocketry At Vaclav's Hovel

Finn got two vinegar and baking soda powered rockets for Christmas. Spring means that at long last we get to play with the fun stuff after a long wait.

This is a short film of one of the better trials. The fat guy launching it is me.

The way it works is simple if not inelegant. You attach fins to a 1-liter soda bottle, then apply an extension of the tube and a nose cone if you like, to make the rocket longer. I thought the extension was hokey and useless - just cosmetic - so I dropped that and adhered the nose cone directly to the bottom of the bottle (which is the top of the rocket).The rest is tricky. You fill the bottle with up to 1 cup of vinegar, then hold it horizontally. Next, you take a tensioned stopper and shove it into one end of a tube that just fits inside the bottle. You fill the tube halfway with sodium bicarbonate, and then carefully stick the tube in, open-end first. Now you tighten the stopper - all the while holding the bottle level and horizontal. Once you have it tightened sufficiently (the amount of tightening takes some experience learned the hard way), you shake the bottle, set the rocket fins down and nose up, then stand back and hope.

Gardening At Vaclav's Hovel

We're mostly ready for the growing season. That nice black dirt is about 75% free. Our town has a community compost pile at the transfer station and each resident is entitled to have some, free, each year. If you are a resident of Beacon, take advantage of it!