We left Topside early last night taking our chocolate cake home in a clear plastic box. We always get the chocolate cake for desert, it goes great with coffee. But I wasn’t up to eating it right then.
I wasn’t feeling well and I was getting hotter by the minute. I had to get horizontal.
So I found the bed and with much struggling and a certain amount of effort I peeled back the covers and climbed in. And so there I lie, shivering.
My joints are sore. My skin feels raw. There is a metallic taste in my mouth. Light hurts my eyes.
Eventually I stopped shivering but then started to heat up. I don’t know what my temperature was but I got so hot i left burn marks in the sheets.
Damp washcloths helps the head pain while keeping the light out of my eyes. Through constant turning and refolding they eventually cooled me down.
I was up and down throughout the night and 6:30 a.m. came awful early. I just couldn’t get up. Two sumo wrestlers were sitting on my head. Two packets of BCs assuaged the headache. I had a good nurse.
I fell back into the pillows and was out again until 12:45.
What a lousy way to end a vacation.
(The alligator here pictured came out of the pond to get a little sun. That was a highlight of the trip. Ruth insisted that I gradually get closer until I was about 10 feet away. She was okay with that. My life insurance is paid up.)
...dave
If you treat a sick child like an adult and a sick adult like a child, everything usually works out pretty well. - Ruth Carlisle
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Topdeck Restaurant
Yesterday we toured (drove) only half of island. Today we drove the other half.
In order to get into the tip of Hilton Head you have to pass through a gatehouse and pay some money. A Lincoln will get you through to see the ocean. This is very foreign to us. Imagine charging for access to a public beach. It's crazy. In Hawaii it's a state law that you can't prevent or charge for public access to the beaches...I think. At least, we never paid anyone to get to any beach in Hawaii.
At the end of South Beach you'll find a red and white striped light house. It towers 60 feet in the air and gives a great view of the circular harbor of mostly muscle fishing boats. Some of the sea cruisers are 50-100 feet in length. The bay, lighthouse, and surrounding area was designed by Charles Fraser. He went through the trouble of sending his designers to Europe's ports and marinas to study the best features. Then he incorporated them into this world famous port. The lighthouse is in every Golf magazine as it lines up with the 18th hole of Harbour Town Golf Links.
We toured some historic homes made of shell. Tabby (a cement made of lime, sand or gravel, and oyster shells and used chiefly along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina in the 17th and 18th centuries) homes were built from the materials at hand, in this case ocean shells. They are crumbling now after some 200 years. Still an interesting construction approach. After cleaning and rinsing, the shells were placed into a mud mix inside wooden forms. The forms had large dowels running across them to prevent the pressure from blowing out the sides, similar to the ties of concrete forms today.
The kitchens were a hassle though. They were built about 100 feet away. This prevented accidental house fires and unpleasant aromas permeating the home from slaughtered animals. No refrigerators in those days.
The highlight was Topside, a restaurant back at the lighthouse serving seafood of course. We were there as they opened and got a window table. We drank our Long Island Iced Tea and Rusty Nail as the sun set. We were early enough for the Early Bird special so that meant more cash in my pocket. I had the She Crab Bisque and sautéed prawns in angle hair pasta. Ruth the Passion Fruit BBQ Salmon. We enhanced the light flavors with a gentle New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
...dave
Money can't buy happiness but it can certainly rent it for a couple of hours.
In order to get into the tip of Hilton Head you have to pass through a gatehouse and pay some money. A Lincoln will get you through to see the ocean. This is very foreign to us. Imagine charging for access to a public beach. It's crazy. In Hawaii it's a state law that you can't prevent or charge for public access to the beaches...I think. At least, we never paid anyone to get to any beach in Hawaii.
At the end of South Beach you'll find a red and white striped light house. It towers 60 feet in the air and gives a great view of the circular harbor of mostly muscle fishing boats. Some of the sea cruisers are 50-100 feet in length. The bay, lighthouse, and surrounding area was designed by Charles Fraser. He went through the trouble of sending his designers to Europe's ports and marinas to study the best features. Then he incorporated them into this world famous port. The lighthouse is in every Golf magazine as it lines up with the 18th hole of Harbour Town Golf Links.
We toured some historic homes made of shell. Tabby (a cement made of lime, sand or gravel, and oyster shells and used chiefly along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina in the 17th and 18th centuries) homes were built from the materials at hand, in this case ocean shells. They are crumbling now after some 200 years. Still an interesting construction approach. After cleaning and rinsing, the shells were placed into a mud mix inside wooden forms. The forms had large dowels running across them to prevent the pressure from blowing out the sides, similar to the ties of concrete forms today.
The kitchens were a hassle though. They were built about 100 feet away. This prevented accidental house fires and unpleasant aromas permeating the home from slaughtered animals. No refrigerators in those days.
The highlight was Topside, a restaurant back at the lighthouse serving seafood of course. We were there as they opened and got a window table. We drank our Long Island Iced Tea and Rusty Nail as the sun set. We were early enough for the Early Bird special so that meant more cash in my pocket. I had the She Crab Bisque and sautéed prawns in angle hair pasta. Ruth the Passion Fruit BBQ Salmon. We enhanced the light flavors with a gentle New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
...dave
Money can't buy happiness but it can certainly rent it for a couple of hours.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
hat on dash
My idea of a vacation is: Drive to a spot, have coffee, and sketch stuff. Unfortunately that was not Ruth's plan. She likes to explore the entire area when she goes places. She'll drive for hours. It’s gotten worse since she purchased the Garmin. Now the GPS is her best friend. She gets lost on purpose just to use her gadget to bring her back.
Danny Gregory says: 'Don't worry about going to a place to sketch something specific just sketch what's right in front of you.' That's good advice. So I sketched my hat on the dash of the car. It wasn't getting much use on my head since it was going to be nightfall before I get out of the tin can.
This sketch is the result. It was done while we drove through Hilton Head Island. We drove all afternoon. What makes this drawing so remarkable is that it was done in the car while she drove through parking lots, over speed bumps, and around endless turns. Sometimes I'd have to look ahead a bit before attempting some of the details of the sketch to be assured of a steady hand.
Her driving over the speed bumps was helpful when I was doing the stippling though.
...dave
Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. - Josh Billing
Danny Gregory says: 'Don't worry about going to a place to sketch something specific just sketch what's right in front of you.' That's good advice. So I sketched my hat on the dash of the car. It wasn't getting much use on my head since it was going to be nightfall before I get out of the tin can.
This sketch is the result. It was done while we drove through Hilton Head Island. We drove all afternoon. What makes this drawing so remarkable is that it was done in the car while she drove through parking lots, over speed bumps, and around endless turns. Sometimes I'd have to look ahead a bit before attempting some of the details of the sketch to be assured of a steady hand.
Her driving over the speed bumps was helpful when I was doing the stippling though.
...dave
Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. - Josh Billing
Saturday, December 22, 2007
garmin & beanbag
We decided to spend some time away. The Christmas holiday is a perfect time to get away, fewer cars on the roads, lower occupancy at the hotels, and fewer people at the restaurants.
We've always wanted to visit Savannah. We haven't seen the ocean since moving to Georgia. We stayed in Hilton Head Island which is much more picturesque than Savannah. It's about an hour north of Savannah. Since we left on Saturday we thought we at least would stop in at Savannah before going on to Hilton Head.
In Savannah we saw a lot of construction and remodeling. It was raining and on our way to a restaurant we had to find cover in a temporary walkway surrounding of the reconstructed buildings. We drove around the historic district and saw buildings from the 1800s. Savannah was not burned during the Civil War.
The highlight was the brewery we fond along Bay street . Moon River Brewing Company is housed in a hotel built in 1821. We got some fresh German ale brewed on the spot. All ingredients are from Germany. The only thing from Georgia was the water. It was the color of gold wheat at harvest time but it's taste was as fresh as brewed yesterday. For the meal, I ordered the Black & Bleu. The Black and Blue is a burger made form Black Angus beef topped with beau cheese. Huge, piping hot, onion rings came as a side. All cooled down the gullet with the Savannah Fest Ale. Wow! I also tried a sample of the The Captains Porter. If you're in Savannah, check out Moon River Brewing Company and down a pint.
The Hotel Crown Plaza has a 10% occupancy. In spite of that they didn't give us any upgrades although we tried. They attempted to get us to pay another $30 or $50 for a poolside or oceanside view. A 50 dollar a night upgrade charge? Are you kidding me? We got our regularly priced $150 dollar night room for just $60! I'm not spending another $50 for an upgrade. I'm saving up for retirement. The Front Desk clerk told us that "after all these are deep discounted rates." (Ruth got them from www.priceline.com.) She gave us a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the air conditioners on the roof. So we drew the drapes and flicked on the TV.
...dave
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. -Mark Twain
We've always wanted to visit Savannah. We haven't seen the ocean since moving to Georgia. We stayed in Hilton Head Island which is much more picturesque than Savannah. It's about an hour north of Savannah. Since we left on Saturday we thought we at least would stop in at Savannah before going on to Hilton Head.
In Savannah we saw a lot of construction and remodeling. It was raining and on our way to a restaurant we had to find cover in a temporary walkway surrounding of the reconstructed buildings. We drove around the historic district and saw buildings from the 1800s. Savannah was not burned during the Civil War.
The highlight was the brewery we fond along Bay street . Moon River Brewing Company is housed in a hotel built in 1821. We got some fresh German ale brewed on the spot. All ingredients are from Germany. The only thing from Georgia was the water. It was the color of gold wheat at harvest time but it's taste was as fresh as brewed yesterday. For the meal, I ordered the Black & Bleu. The Black and Blue is a burger made form Black Angus beef topped with beau cheese. Huge, piping hot, onion rings came as a side. All cooled down the gullet with the Savannah Fest Ale. Wow! I also tried a sample of the The Captains Porter. If you're in Savannah, check out Moon River Brewing Company and down a pint.
The Hotel Crown Plaza has a 10% occupancy. In spite of that they didn't give us any upgrades although we tried. They attempted to get us to pay another $30 or $50 for a poolside or oceanside view. A 50 dollar a night upgrade charge? Are you kidding me? We got our regularly priced $150 dollar night room for just $60! I'm not spending another $50 for an upgrade. I'm saving up for retirement. The Front Desk clerk told us that "after all these are deep discounted rates." (Ruth got them from www.priceline.com.) She gave us a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the air conditioners on the roof. So we drew the drapes and flicked on the TV.
...dave
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. -Mark Twain
Sunday, December 16, 2007
the door is closed
What's it like crashing to the ground from 100,000 feet? Terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.
The project has been halted.
The project budget was $100,000,000 for a single year. That's huge. But it has vanished into thin air. Most of it spent on consultants and contractors, on shore and off.
In one month alone 6.5 million dollars was given to a vendor for software development. And we never installed the software. We canceled the development. The person that wanted the software has left the company.
Of course I get paid even for failed projects. I get paid to draw boxes and lines. I get paid to meet with people. I get paid to get people to agree on ideas, directions, and well, diagrams with boxes and lines. It doesn't matter that the systems those diagrams represent never get installed.
I could argue it's all futile and ask: "What's the point?" and leave. But then, my checks would stop coming and I'd get kind of hungry.
I view the diagrams I've drawn and consensus building I've accomplished as my successful deliverables, regardless of the project result. If it's determined that there is no money to implement the beautiful pictures I create, I think the pictures themselves are still works of art. They hang on the hallway walls and conference rooms just the same.
This project is similar to many others I've been on. We start them, then stop them, then start them again, often under a different name. Like a car that can't get enough gas, we lunge forward, then lag and die out. We start up again, jump forward and within a few feet cough to a stop.
We have named our dog Stay. "Come Stay, come Stay, come Stay."
The contractors have left, others have moved off to other projects. And so all's quiet on this floor. The cubes are empty.
I sometimes hear phones ringing off in the distance. No one answers. An elevator bings but no one is there and the elevator descends empty to the lobby.
The only sound I hear is, my own typing at this keyboard. I'm working on another project but remain here on the top floor, alone with my coffee pot, pens and beautiful diagrams.
...dave
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
The project has been halted.
The project budget was $100,000,000 for a single year. That's huge. But it has vanished into thin air. Most of it spent on consultants and contractors, on shore and off.
In one month alone 6.5 million dollars was given to a vendor for software development. And we never installed the software. We canceled the development. The person that wanted the software has left the company.
Of course I get paid even for failed projects. I get paid to draw boxes and lines. I get paid to meet with people. I get paid to get people to agree on ideas, directions, and well, diagrams with boxes and lines. It doesn't matter that the systems those diagrams represent never get installed.
I could argue it's all futile and ask: "What's the point?" and leave. But then, my checks would stop coming and I'd get kind of hungry.
I view the diagrams I've drawn and consensus building I've accomplished as my successful deliverables, regardless of the project result. If it's determined that there is no money to implement the beautiful pictures I create, I think the pictures themselves are still works of art. They hang on the hallway walls and conference rooms just the same.
This project is similar to many others I've been on. We start them, then stop them, then start them again, often under a different name. Like a car that can't get enough gas, we lunge forward, then lag and die out. We start up again, jump forward and within a few feet cough to a stop.
We have named our dog Stay. "Come Stay, come Stay, come Stay."
The contractors have left, others have moved off to other projects. And so all's quiet on this floor. The cubes are empty.
I sometimes hear phones ringing off in the distance. No one answers. An elevator bings but no one is there and the elevator descends empty to the lobby.
The only sound I hear is, my own typing at this keyboard. I'm working on another project but remain here on the top floor, alone with my coffee pot, pens and beautiful diagrams.
...dave
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
moleskine business card hack
Whenever I meet someone, I want to give them a business card. But putting them in the wallet makes them dog eared. So I put a few slices into the stiff first page of my Moleskine and then slip in two corners of my moo cards (business cards from flickr.com) and voila.
...dave
Life is like a grammar lesson. You find the past perfect and the present tense.
Theoretically Related Posts
...dave
Life is like a grammar lesson. You find the past perfect and the present tense.
Theoretically Related Posts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)