Bill Schell's "BeachWeb" for June 2011 
Ms. May took this on a very foggy morning, but considering the clothing I have on (it looks chilly), it was probably January ?
a cropped-image is here: small - (333 k bytes) large - (1.1 meg-a-bytes)
Someone's
been sleeping in our bed - he has, though VERY recently had a 'bath' -
something that happens about once a year or so?!
And
we have found LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of these at all hours of the day -
if they would just work a little harder, I wouldn't have to mow the
grass (but they dig these funny little holes, too???)
Wherein
(as they say in the Pooh-Bear-Books) Mr. Panda engages in an
'excursion' to the shop / pottery building and learns what all the
'noise' is out there...
Mr. Panda has a VERY ACUTE sense of
hearing (like most animals in the wild)... He said, the other day,
"What is that "Click-Clacking" going on in the shop-pottery building
every oncet in a while - Inquisitive Bears Want to KNOW?!" - so
we took Mr. Panda out to the shop to find out about the
click-clacking...
here's what he found - (a 10 second / 1.1 megabyte video-file)...
Ms. Wong came up with what we both thought was a monumental way of describing Saturday Afternoon's activities:
We were either going to MAKE HISTORY, or we were going to BECOME HISTORY,
with Mr. Bill's insanity idea - driven, of course, by something totally
out-of-the-norm, AND some damned web-site that made me believe "I can
do this"... - yeah - well - dream-on...
We 'attempted' something
called 'Kite Boating' (in case you can't figure this out - it's a
Kite with a Boat) - yesterday afternoon at the local sailing center.
And our good friend, there, just happened to have a boat with no
mast on it - so it was a 'no-brainer'... (in more ways than one).
Now
- there was a BIG DAMNED SQUALL coming - and the link below doesn't
do-justice to the attempt, which was undeniably SHORT (like less than
10 minutes) BUT SUCCESSFUL AND we learned a LOT in that 10
minutes, so we may go back today if the conditions are suitable...
anyway - a very tiny video - taken by our friend Addison, who eventually had to tow us back in, but we will persevere and try again...
NOW
if you want to see what "Kite Boating" is all about if you have nearly
unlimited funds and a LOT of fancy boats, equipment and staff you can
peruse THIS LINK...
And
this past week, Mr. Ned and I were able (after being helped out by the
bug-lady (who decided what to do) and her colleague who actually did
the work the next day) - we replaced five 'ookie' (that's a technical
term) porch-roof-hold-up-posts (which were cedar - should never have
been cedar posts)
- with NEW Pressure Treated posts - and
- well it were a BIG PROJECT, but now it's done - so we're attempting
to decide how to do the 'remainder' (re-build the screen, maybe put in
a low-wall of glass-block - we have a LOT of OPTIONS?) - but will
probably wait a month or two and evaluate what we have and see where to
go from here.
However, in the meantime - the porch-roof
if now FIRMLY ATTACHED to the concrete slab-floor - and so that's very
comforting - knowing hurricane season is coming...
Ms. May wrote a 'blog-entry' that is quite good - the link is here: Ms. May's blog-entry for "Porch Posts Project".
random-pics:
This
guy we found in a box of cereal (Cheerios, I think) - I understand he
has a large following on TV (we think his name is "Sponge Bob Square
Pants" - but that may just prove our lack of TV knowledge?) ; he's
doing a head-stand on his surf-board, something Ms. May and I would
both like to do if we were 'talented' - which, of course, we are not...
Here's
a picture from the "Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding Event" - that
I volunteered to help-out with, recently... This picture just
showed-up... - so though the event was back in April-May, here's the
picture, now...
Bill's co-pilot - really required on a recubment tricycle since it's
such a complicated device... - NOTE that the co-pilot contributes
NOTHING to the muscle required, but being right-behind me he can
contribute a LOT of 'Go HERE!, Do THIS!, FASTER, NOW!!! sort of
instructions!!!
Click on the image for a bigger image-file or click 'HERE' for a HUGE image file!!!!
We had some other things going-on
here at the "Beach Club" early this month... - We have had - for
several days (maybe weeks) a 'phantom murderer' (of our rapidly growing
eggplants)... - This evening Ms. May finally caught our murderer in the
'act'... Bottom-line a HUGE grasshopper was the culprit - amazing
the amount of things he can eat (we'll 'assume' it's a 'he' - but I
don't think I'd know how to determine he or she if you paid me?
We were growing tomatoes, also, but they didn't seem to be get
eaten(except by us - which is just fine, they are TASTY and DELICIOUS!!!
Here, we see a TERRIFIC image of a cactus flower - these only bloom
about 2-4 times a year - and I managed to capture this one this morning
(Saturday, 4th)...
This was a sunrise this morning - the iPhone camera may be a pretty
darned good phone-camera, but it still doesn't hold a candle to a
REALLY GOOD Digital SLR, but the iPhone is almost always with me... -
you'll have to use your imagination!!!
another sunrise picture taken on a recent recumbent tricycle ride...
or REALLY HUGE image....
I was doing "Launch Director" duties at a Hang Gliding event... (Thursday, 28 April through Friday 6 May)
So - now - lets chat about "Team Management" - here for a moment - since that's EXACTLY what "Launch Director" is.....
I did this for the "Rob Kells Memorial (2011) Hang Gliding Event"......
This
is a situation in which I seem to find myself - at least once a year -
and it certainly brings back 'the memories of life in the corporate
world"...
1.) you're given a 'team' - the make-up of which you had very little input to...
2.) you're given a 'responsibility' but almost no 'authority'
3.)
frequently 'Upper-Management' (means those who have a higher 'pay
grade' than you (which in this case is everyone (since my pay for this
was zero cash-dollars, (but all the cold water I could drink))))
frequently changes things but does not tell you...
4.) your
'goal' / 'objective' is necessarily vague and un-focused (put 50-100
hang gliders in the air SAFELY, and do it with minimum resources and
QUICKLY (like less than 60 minutes (at least one glider every 60
seconds))
5.) upper-management frequently steals key-resources
(people) to put onto other tasks without consulting you... (where did
my team go?)
(I only had 11 people and 4 of them didn't show up... (and didn't tell me they were not going to show up?)
6.)
part of 'my team' never shows up the next-day but has a key item
required by both the team and the customer (the hang-glider-pilots)...
So - it is EXACTLY like life in the corporate world, - BUT - no pay - but
Hey - Let me say that this is a HUGE CHALLENGE, and for the second year in a row we pulled-it-off and amazingly enough did it:
a.) without hurting ANYONE at all
b.) ONLY ONE (very small) damaged hang-glider (one broken down-tube)
c.) QUICKLY (in some cases in less than an hour)
d.) without 'upsetting' too many folk (team, spectators, customers (Hang Glider pilots)), etc. etc. etc.
e.) with varying weather conditions
f.) with varying 'demands' from 'upper-management'
g.)
for five days in a row (flying was cancelled on the sixth day and on
the seventh day (instead of resting (Like God did)) I turned over the
'management' of the team to one of my most capable 'partners in crime'
and she did a tremendous job...
so - yes - it is a no-pay "job"
- but it is, like many things in life, something worth doing - it's
worth doing WELL, and we managed that again...
Some people, all
of whom shall remain nameless - but they definitely know who they are,
were STELLAR in their help and support of me as a 'leader' of this
'motely (and varying) crew'.
My kudos and BIG THANKS to
the many who made ME LOOK GOOD, you guys and gals certainly helped!!!!!
I enjoyed working with ya'll and hope we have a chance to work together
again...
During this 'event' - one of my partners in crime realized that my shoulder bones 'sweat' ??? (small / large) not my whole shoulder, you understand, but just the boney-protrusion - a very weird thing...???
To see a TINY VIDEO of me 'working' try-this: - go to this Blog-Site:
Click on the (right-pointing-arrow) to start the digital video under the red-text that says: Florida Ridge Day 5
(there is also a white-text-link in that same space that says: Florida Ridge Day 6...)
in either case I'm the guy in the white-long-sleeved-shirt and the grey shorts that is right at the beginning of the video...
Other pictures will follow as soon as the people who have them forward them to me...
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There's a short (11 minute) movie of the Rob Kells 2011 Memorial Hang Gliding event, at this link:
http://thefloridaridge.com/pages/RobKellsComp2011.php
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AND - after the Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding event (which I 'helped-out-at' - there was another event.
This
one is called the "Flytec Race and Rally" - and it is a bit unusal, as
it is the only event in the world where the pilots fly to a different
city each day, land, then get up the next morning and launch (mostly)
from the city they landed in.
This year they went farther than ever before, starting in the middle of Florida and ending-up in South Carolina... - 
The
organizer of this event is a 42 year old lady-lawyer who is also a
hang-glider-pilot... She finished quite respectably in the Rob
Kells competition that I helped-out-at - documented above.
Other early May-2011 (Hang-Gliding event) things:
Most morning(s) before the (Hang Gliding) event I was able to ride my (ICE)
trike - some mornings longer distances (more time) than other mornings.
I'm now closing in on 12,000 miles in the 30 months or so since I
bought my trike...
I slept in the mini-van most nights and that was comfy - not as good as the bed at home, but comfy nevertheless...
I learned a LOT MORE about LaBelle, Moorehaven and Clewiston, where to eat, (where NOT to eat) where to buy ice, gas, etc...
I did NOT drive retrievals this year - and that probably had something to do with keeping my sanity.
YUP! - that's ME and Mr. Pool Bear (by: Tom Otterness) on the cruise-ship "Infinity" ( Celebrity CruiseLines ) on a VERY CHILLY MORNING
- more about the cruise in the February 2011 web-page...
You can access the February web-page (which has more about our 'cruise' and access to those places...) here
Archived BeachWeb monthly (and other) site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
updated: 15:16 p.m. on Sunday, 19 June, 2011; by: Mr._Bill on the Apple Macintosh
'Mac Book Air' - revID: 1c
