Rocks and Raccoons

 

I have a bowl fountain with a solar powered pump. It used to be part of a cascading fountain but the raccoons kept climbing on it, knocking it over, and eventually breaking all the bowls except the largest bottom one.

I've filled the remaining bowl with small stones and let it go at that. I have some spray nozzles but during the brightest sun, the pump sprayed the water out of the bowl. So, without the nozzles, I let it burble. Works just fine.

It also serves as a birdbath and watering spot for the squirrls and raccoons.

Raccoons have very sensitive pads and fingers. They see by touch almost as much as they do with their eyes. At night I hear them playing around the water bowl. They like to grasp the rocks in the water and move them around. Often they'll lift the small stones out.

 

I took this photo this morning. You can see one rock they've taken out of the bowl and two others they've tried to lift out (the two that are poking above the water).

Good Guys

Monday - Butler vs. Duke



Clean, good, programs.

Honest to goodness real college student athletes.

The Cinderella vs. the Blue Blood Elite.

Final buzzer . . . They are all winners.

He Really Can Write!

I'm a bit of a movie buff. I get my money's worth out of Netflix each and every month.

I'm also amused (bemused?) by Scientologists. I mean, come on people, you actually believe that crap?

LOL

Anyway . . . Here's the connection.

I came across this rather humorous open letter of apology by J.D. Shapiro - screenwriter of Battlefield Earth. Battlefield Earth is so bad, it's almost good. In a weird campy sort of way.

Here's the link - I penned the suckiest movie ever - sorry!

More of an Addendum

This really is an addendum to the previous post. But, it already has an addendum. So . . . .

From State Fans Nation, the following is the lead paragraph to their Sweet Sixteen analysis. I couldn't have said it betteer.

After a first two rounds that matched the drama of any in recent history, we are but 48 hours away from Sweet Sixteen play. I don’t know if it’s ideal for ratings, but the most rabid sports fan couldn’t have scripted it any better. You have elite, “blue blood” programs (Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, Michigan State), a good mix of major conference up and comers (Tennessee, Kansas State, West Virginia), and perhaps the strongest batch of mid-major upstarts ever (Butler, Northern Iowa, Cornell, and St. Mary’s). In short, it’s perfect TV drama for the college hoops junkie.

Read the entire SFN post here.

Sunday Morning Update +Addendum

What a great day of college basketball yesterday.

Well, except for one thing - State lost to UAB in the NIT. Lost is putting it mildly. UAB beat the dickens out of State. We were never in the game. The final score says it all - UAB 72 - NC State 52.

In the NCAAT - a day of upsets. Little ol St. Mary's College (enrollment 4,500) defeated number 2 seed Villanova.

And Northern Iowa (who the heck is Northern Iowa?) took down the number 1 team in the country - Kansas.

This year's NCAAT has been thrilling. The little guys aren't backing down from no one.

So far - there will be 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11 seeds in the Sweet 16.

Awesome!

This has been, without a doubt, the most exciting first and second round ever.

Raccoon Addendum

For the past few months, I thought there were 3 raccoons coming around. Turns out - there were 4 Sunday evening.

Usually there's 2 that travel together and 1 that comes around by itself. I'm now wondering if that 1 was actually 2 different ones.

Or - maybe it's a newcomer that found out about the food.

Word gets around you know.

Working in Morehead

Working this week at the State Port in Morehead City. Similar to the Wilmington Port but smaller.

While there I found out that there are hundreds of ships worldwide that are “laid up” due to the recession.

Many ships anchor at sea off the coasts of various countries. For example, I was told Spain has a couple hundred anchored offshore. Lots of ships are anchored in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico since there’s lots of room and the water is generally calmer.

Some ships, like the Maersk Texas, are berthed in port to wait out the economy. The MT pays $1,000 per day to berth at Morehead City. There’s a tiny maintenance crew aboard. If it were anchored at sea, it would need a full crew aboard – the same as though it were working. With minimal crew, less wear and tear on the machinery and components, and burning almost no fuel – it’s less expensive to dock than to stay at sea.

 

The large platform is a helicopter landing pad that was retrofitted to the ship. The ramp allows access directly into the ship for ports that don’t have cranes. (The ship also has deck cranes)

Notice the waterline - look at where the ship and dock meet. The waterline is high in front (bow) sloping down towards the back (stern). The container holds and deck are empty - the weight of her machinery, engine, superstructure, etc. load her down in the rear.

(She's pointy up and out in front - phat in the rear. ba-donka-donk! LOL)

Another interesting thing about the Maersk Texas – I was told it was hijacked (or attempted hijack) off Somalia (could not confirm).

NCAAT and NIT

This is my favorite 3 weeks of the year. I love watching college basketball.

Go Wolfpack!