Hurricane Irene

Well the first Hurricane to hit New York in decades is almost upon us. I can hear the rain's tinny crescendo hitting the A/C unit mounted through our upstairs window. I'm a bit nervous about it though I don't think its going to be as bad as the news outlets are hyping it up to be. On the other hand, the ground is pretty soggy and the water has no where to run to. Since we are a slab on grade townhouse, the water will have no place to go but in the house if the ground does not absorb it.

I'm nervous for two reasons, first I'm awaiting calls from work to report any floods or damage to my building on 49th street and secondly I'm concerned about our Salvage tug the Zuni-Tamaroa which is moored in Norfolk. She's in a cove so hopefully she's safe.

The storm forced me to cancel a dinner we were going to have on Sunday to celebrate my sister Judi's birthday.

Saga continues........

Heard from work, we have about 14 leaks coming through various windows, mostly on the east side. We lost power for about 6 hours on Sunday at the house. But we also had another close call around here. The Garnerville Industrial Complex was inundated by the swollen Minisceongo Creek and about 125 feet of the building was knocked down. That was right across the creek from us.

In 1999 when Hurricane Floyd came through the Minisceongo cut away the banks and undercut three properties just south of us. The homes were abandoned while repairs to the river bank were made. So far we've been lucky. We're high enough so we don't have to worry about floods and just far enough away from the bend in the creek to avoid eroded banks.

Accidental Bling..........

For many years now, we have donated a wood burning stove annually to the Southwest Indian Foundation located in Gallup, New Mexico. In addition, we sometimes purchase an item or two from their catalog. Generally, I try to keep it simple. a T shirt or a key ring, maybe a bolo. I always look for a ring since I'm partial to them. But they never carried my size.

Finally, I saw one. I looked at the photo and thought,"what a great ring" and its 65% tax deductable as well. So I ordered it. It arrived today and I almost choked. It's a beautiful ring, but it is no where near as understated as it appears in the above photo. It's a hand wrought sterling silver ring with a turquoise nugget as the stone. In real life the stone is huge compared to the photo. But the ring fits and it is good looking if a bit on the blingy side.Just wait til my co-workers see it since I'm known for wearing very understated jewelry. I'm sure I'll be razzed a lot. We'll have to wait and see. I suppose, I can say it's a badge of honor for supporting the SWIF.
I'll have to be careful though, the stone has a pretty high profile and as my dear wife of 40 plus years is fond of pointing out, I don't know my own boundaries. She's right, I've scraped a number of watch crystals over the years. I don't know how strong a turquoise stone is; but, I don't want to bang it against a door jamb to find out.

Makr Carry Goods

Not that I'm a perfectionist, because believe me, I'm not. On the other hand, I tend to search too long for the perfect pen, perfect wallet, perfect slacks, perfect shirt, etc. Satisfaction is rarely reached with almost anything to the point where I don't look for a better version. Recently, growing weary of stuffing things in my wallet, a new approach was taken. What takes precedence? What do I really, really need. Stuffing my wallet a la George Costanza was making for quite a lump under my left hip (yea, I'm a lefty). So listing to starboard occurred when sitting down. I've tried various schemes to determine what is needed or what I want in my wallet. None of them ever worked.

My wife has grown weary of me trying wallets then throwing them in the dresser drawer when they don't quite pass muster. One more shot using reverse psychology was necessary. I bought a really small (for me) one pocket wallet from a brand called Makr. I'd never heard of them before. But it is a nice quality wallet, about the size of a small cell phone holster. It is hand stitched, the leather is well tanned and supple. It has a flap over the pocket held in place by a strap under which the flap is tucked. See photo above.

So now, what to eliminate?? First to go were photos, then went all business and appointment cards, then went all membership cards to the various historical societies to which I belong. Cast aside were a couple of credit cards no longer used as well as my AARP card. A couple of membership rewards cards and a Staples Discount card also were sequestered for the duration. In the end, I was able to insert 10 plastic cards i.e. drivers license, credit, debit, medical plan, prescription cards, Shop & Stop, Dunkin Donuts gift card (that needs to stay no matter what!) and my Metro card for the city bus when needed. I almost forgot, you can fit in at least 8 bills folded in half and a book of Homer Simpson stamps as well. Obviously, the less cards, the more cash can fit and vice versa.

So everything fits, the soft leather conformed to the new load. It has a very low profile and fits easily in my pocket. So much so that I keep checking to see if its still there. It's not a cheap wallet, but it appears to be good quality. Time will tell if the stitching and tanning jobs hold up. Also, an attempt will be made to unload a bunch of lesser wallets on my unsuspecting kids so to gain more room in my dresser. If they don't want them, well there's always charity............

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS

Any one who knows me that I have been a crazed Redskins fan all my life. I even got the kids going for them for a while. Sean is still a fan. So I had to share this story with you all.

Yesterday the Brood was at my mother-in-law's for a visit. I was wearing my Redskins script "R" burgundy cap. Sean pointed my cap out to Liam. When he saw it, my grandson broke out in a rendition of "Hail to the Redskins." He was in tune and knew all the words and verses.

I never laughed so hard in my life. Seeing him (a 4 year old) sing that song with such gusto, well it made my day. Maybe another Doherty generation is destined to be Redskins fans! I asked Sean to have Liam do it on video.That reminds me, I need to send my Redskins card Album to Sean.

I only hope my beloved Washington Redskins play as hard as Liam sung their song. They need a lot of improvement this year. Time will tell, but I'm worried about their offensive line and their quarterbacking.

Family Picnic Today.....

We had a good time today down on the Husdon River picnic Tables under pavilions and all. The west coast branch of the family came over to visit. The weather cooperated, the food was good and the grand kids, entertained until they got tired. Top photo is a view of the Hudson from the park. Second one was an attempt to get a shot of my gransdson.

This is my grand daughter scarfing down cheez-it crackers.She comes by it honestly, because her Grandfather is a Cheez-It addict. So its gotta be from me. We made it through the day and finished up before the thunderstorms rolled on through. I would have had better shots. However, we forgot to bring our camera so I had to use my Blackberry which has no flash.

Blackberry Withdrawl.................

For the last week and a half, I have suffered a serious case of Blackberry Withdrawl. My World Edition Blackberry from work went on the fritz and was unrepairable. Aside from the cracked case, the trackball was frozen in place. So I ordered a new one. Now, I'm not by any means a technocrat or versed in this kind of stuff, so I just ordered the first one I stumbled across, the Blackberry Bold. Nice machine, great graphics, etc. only the key board was miniaturized; my hands could not handle it. Try as I might I came close to wiping the Blackberry several times. I literally reached 9 attempts a couple of times at home and had to bring it in to work the next day to have somebody with small hands give it a final shot and get me back on.

Suffice it to say, I drove our IT Department nuts. One of the other guys had a Black Berry Curve which I tried. I became ecstatic. I could actually type the password and get it on the first try…….I demanded a trade and just received the new Curve. For the life of me I cannot understand the design of the Blackberry Bold's keyboard. The keys are very close together and way to wobbly at least in comparison to the Curve.

Between Blackberrys, I was going nuts. I was used to sitting down after dinner and watching a movie with my wife. While watching the movie, I could check email, check the weather, check the votes in Congress for the Debt ceiling, etc. etc. search on Google, you name it. Without it, I felt naked for the last week. I even texted on my own puny cell phone to find out about work during the weekend.

I got the new Cuve in the mail yesterday and was happy with the phone, though I must say that I am a bit miffed at how cheap Verizon is getting. With the Bold, I got an at home charger and a case. With the Curve, no at home charger and no case. Their poor excuse for a charger was a teeny black plug that you would plug into a the wall using an IT cable and the other end into micro port on the phone. On the way home from work, I bought a car charger and a NORMAL home charger.

I already had a nice Blackberry case at home, so that was no issue. I'm back on line and I'm happy, my bosses are happy, everyone's happy!!!!!!! Until this one breaks. This is my 4th Blackberry in 10 years……..Hope this one lasts. I'll need a magnifying glass and a stylus to use a keyboard if they keep getting smaller.