who reads Mr._Bill's_web_pages:

Today is the 24th of December and we're NEARING Christmas - so here's some things to consider:

a.) if you can read (and why COULDN'T YOU if you're looking at my web-page) then you're Fortunate (to be able to read (and to have access to the internet (and have a computer, (and etc. etc. etc.))))


b.) Ms._May and Mr._Bill feel fortunate, also - that we have each other and we also have a beautiful-feline (who (almost)  pushes us out of bed most nights?!)

c.) We 'saved the environment' (and our bank-account, to some extent) in that we did NOT 'decorate lavishly' for Christmas, but we let those more fortunate (meaning those more WEALTHY than us) decorate for us ( example here ).

d.) Mr._Bill helped, today (Wednesday, 23rd) our friend Mr._Ned do his first solo ParaGlide run(s) in front of the abandoned hotel on the beach...  Mr._Bill feels fortunate to have assisted Mr._Ned in his goal!, and I've learned a LOT from listening to Mr._Jeff for nearly a year, and watching Mr._Ned and Mr._Jeff.  I feel FORTUNATE to have friends who will help me LEARN without risk and LEARN so MUCH just by watching and asking questions.  To be able to LEARN from others is TRULY A GIFT to be thankful for...

Here's a couple of pictures:  

• ( Picture_1: Mr._Ned (on the left) and our instructor, Mr._Jeff )
•  Mr._Ned in the air  (you can't really tell it's Mr._Ned - but trust me it is)

 - _Ned_ was a 'little shaky' but he did o.k. and landed both times and nothing broken, damaged, or hurt (that we know of)...  _Ned_ actually had six 'runs' - three down-and-back.  The first down-and-back was quite quick and nerve-wracking for all concerned, however, the second and third 'down-and-back' he did all at once, after some consultation on the beach with our instructor, Mr._Jeff and a second (assisted) launch and pull.   We really enjoyed this achievement - ParaGliding is, though, truly a 'team sport' - as is Hang Gliding - you need a "Support Team" _ wherever and whenever you go.

e.) We're due to 'officiate' (Ms._May is a _US_Sailing_ judge and Mr._Bill pulls anchors and does other 'grunt-work') - for the _Orange_Bowl_Youth_Regatta_ in Miami 27th - 30th December - we'll be 'out-of-touch' for much of that week - we may get some e-mail but maybe not...

f.)- then right after the first of the year (after the annual new-year's-eve-party that we typically attend, put on by some other friends,  we go mostly to visit with even more friends)

g.) Mr._Bill is supposedly going to go 120 miles on his  ( I.C.E. TriceQ ) recumbent tricycle (along with some other lunatic friends)  and attempt an ALL THE WAY AROUND the LAKE (as in Lake Okeechobee).   Some of this MAJOR TRIP will be on 'surface streets' - but some will be on the L.O.S.T. ( Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail ) dike - which is paved, flat, and interruptionless!...  

We'll see if the weather and such cooperate, it'll be at least 8 hours - probably 10-11 hours on the trike - a LONG WAY - and 50% farther than my best-ride-so-far which was right near 80 miles in North Carolina in early October...  Here's the link to the North Carolina Ride



h.) Ms. Wong's ceramic goodies came out (looking VERY GOOD) of the wood-fired-kiln last Saturday.  The studio & kiln  owner ( _Justin_Lambert_ ( http://www.liveoakpottery.com ) had a sale and refreshments and such almost all afternoon.

Anyway - Mr._Lambert's web-site (above link) and Ms._May's blog-entry do considerably greater justice to the pottery than I can do, so visit their links for more (and better) information.

The "Kiln unloading day" was the same day (Saturday, 19th December) that Mr._Bill did 40 plus miles at Lake Okeechobee (with his trike-friend Mr._Tom (amongst others)), on his recumbent trike, with a 20-30 mph headwind for the first half... track-log-here .    That's a BIG headwind, by the way, going 'up' speeds against this wind were rarely over 10 mph.  However, 'coming-back speeds' were typically in excess of 16 mph, and so we came back to the start-point / parking-lot at Port Mayaca quite rapidly...

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Weekends are FUN - this weekend (December 12-13) we are doing a LOT of THINGS that are FUN - and INTERESTING...

1.) Ms._May is helping to 'stoke' a wood-fired-kiln, this weekend, near to here where we live, and this takes about 48 hours of putting wood in the firebox of the kiln to get the ceramics inside to a temperature of 'around' 2,300 degrees.  She has two 'shifts' that she's agreed to, and Mr._Bill will help her on the 10pm to 3am Saturday-evening / Sunday-morning shift.    Ms._May has a blog-entry, with pictures, about the wood-kiln-firing you can read & view, link-here.


2.a.) Mr._Bill continues to ride his 'tricycle' and as he nears the 5,000 mile mark (in 'about' a year of riding) Ms._May has (by-hand) made him a VERY ARTISTIC award-certificate which is VERY beautiful  (see shot just above (and click on it for larger version))... (as of about 2pm on Saturday afternoon, 12th December, I need about another 17.5 miles to make my 5,000 mile mark....)

For some (idjit) reason I 'thought' I was about 50 miles closer than my spreadsheet says that I am.   BUT - I did 57.8 miles today, and only came home because it was raining and I was HUNGRY! - So Ms._May made some spam-fried-rice which was VERY TASTY!.

Please realize that it is NOT Ms._Wong's fault that her hubby wasn't where he 'ought-to-have-been' mileage wise.   On the other hand I ain't far from the 5,000 mile point, and spreadsheets don't lie (much).  (it rained all week the week following the award, but suffice it to say, by now (23rd of December) I'm 'well past' the 5,000 mile mark!)


2.b.) NOW an 'award certificate' is nice, and we appreciate the thought and talent that our huggly-bunch put into the certificate, HOWEVER, it would not be of 'great-value' without something 'of value' - and Publix has helped out here with a '2-for-1 special', which Ms._May partook of recently to help-out with this award.    Here's a picture of Mr._Bill with his award certificate AND his "AWARD"... - which must be duly shared with the award giver.... Unfortunately (for her) the award is about 1/2 chocolate and Mr._Bill DEARLY LOVES Chocolate and Ms._May can't deal with too much chocolate because it has caffeine in it.



3.) One of Mr._Bill's innovative tools, that he manufactured, recently, for his web & beach-camera-work.   This little gadget (manufactured from a 'ceiling-sander-gadget' (sometimes called a 'pole-sander')) available at Lowe's (or Home Depot) for about $8-$9...   This one has been cut-down-to-size and is used (with some towel covers) to rinse and dry the glass front of the camera-housing(s) that frequently get salt-spray on them...
 

4.) And - lastly Ms._May continues to work on her piano-playing and Mr._Bill thinks she's getting better, but what does he know?   However, though she still takes lessons once a week, she's also found someone who comes to the house to assist her with her playing.   Picture of her 'visiting-professor' here...  or a larger-image here.

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A friend came to visit us the other day, for breakfast!

Today is the first of December - a Tuesday - and MANY things are happening, today, at the BeachClub that deserve celebration and sharing with our "Web-Community"...

Mr. Bill rode abut 59.6 miles on his trike, today, in just barely 4 hours / 50 minutes - not bad considering it was HOT (well 75-85 F)... Some pictures are located here (some friends of my sister's (who lives in Austin)) that I met-up with on the ride, today.  And the track-log / Google-Earth image.

Speaking of HOT - the kiln is running today - bisquing some of Ms. May's BEAUTIFUL ceramic artwork... (it will eventually get to about 1,840 F (1,005 C) before it shuts-off (under computer-control) and it'll be cool-enough to take the stuff out tomorrow evening.

AND spekaing of HOT - working in the YARD was another of our daily activities (especially since the 'Yard Trash' is picked-up tomorrow and it's only picked-up once a week, these days... SO - needless to say we had to do some YARD WORK to fill-up the bins for the Yard Trash Guy to empty tomorrow - otherwise he might not feel like his job was worthwhile.

ALSO: book-reading, e-mailing, camera-work follow-up, cat-petting, iPhone tutorials, Apple-goodies (for Xmas) reviewing, long-pants (for cold-weather) ordering and  and  and  and other such daily activites going on all the while!

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These are 'hold-overs' from previous months...

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From September-October - the "CNC09 Cycling trip:  Our arrival back home in Stuart (on Monday, 5 October) (after a 13 1/2 hour - 760 mile drive, yesterday, in the RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN... from the "Cycle North Carolina - 2009" - 430 mile cycling trip from Blowing Rock to Surf City - entirely in North Carolina...

The "CNC09" - since it spanned September and October - has it's own web-page - so you can see that ' Here ' - It'll be 'new and different today (6 October) but I'll probably update it throughout the month as more things show-up...

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On the hang-gliding front we have not been flying "that much" - but a good friend of ours from _Colorado_ went to a competition in _Arizona_, recently, and posted this video.    It's only about 2 minutes / 10 seconds long but shows the tow-up, the circular motion that is so important, some gliders below him, and if you turn the sound up you can hear his 'vario' (the instrument that tells a glider pilot he is in a rising column of air) - typically called a 'thermal'.

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Mr._Bill's best hang-gliding-flight (Ever) - see the FlightLog.Org web-page, here...

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updated:    19:52 p.m. on Thursday, 24 December, 2009 - revID:  1c