[Newfie]

Sitting in Antigua with not much to do except keep my fabricator working on my project.

Normally that would piss me off but I think I have reached that age when I am just happy to he alive and comfortable.

[AgentR11]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'I') tried the home garden thing, I quit when I realized I was basically making the equivalent of a dollar an hour for all the labor put into it. That's factoring in the 2/3 you give away to neighbors too, since you can never eat it all. I think I spend $20 a week now at the local grocer and last week it was $30 since I bought a big bag of dates that were on special. I can't grow dates here, or bananas, too cold, or apples really. When I was growing up backyard gardens were just going out of vogue, they were a holdover from the great Depression when it made sense, when money was tight. It might get tight again down here but at the moment I'm happy to have the supermarket supply my needs, and keep my hands clean and my back free of aches.

[AgentR11]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'S')itting in Antigua with not much to do except keep my fabricator working on my project.
Normally that would piss me off but I think I have reached that age when I am just happy to he alive and comfortable.

[Newfie]

Agent,

That is true. It is only a tiny fraction of sailors who spend as much time on our boat as we do. It does not seem abnormal to us because we are within that tiny community and not exceptional at all.

[theluckycountry]

I think boating must be a lot like motorcycling, it gets in your blood, you can't let it go. Most of us just ride local or a few days ride here and there but I've know guys that spend half their life just criss crossing the nation endlessly. Others ride around the world, taking their bike with them. They love it, think nothing of it even though the comfort of home it's not.

[Newfie]

Well we are off again from Antigua. Now back to the States for a bit before heading to Newfoundland for the summer.

It seems we have found a couple of happy places to be, where things feel "homish." That is pretty good.

My health seems to be just fine despite the heart attack, in fact the steers revived my energy and endurance a but. If not for the 9 pills a day I could forget about it.

That seems like pretty good happy talk to me.

[theluckycountry]

Ginger cat survives after Boeing Dreamliner crashes into indian apartment building
You can see him up there on the far right of the picture. Experts agree, the cat has only 8 lives left.
Oh and one man walked away too, the only survivor from the plane.
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/vis ... h-survivor

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'G')inger cat survives after Boeing Dreamliner crashes into indian apartment building
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/vis ... h-survivor

[theluckycountry]

This is the happy talk thread adam. I hope you rose to the occasion

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'T')his is the happy talk thread adam. I hope you rose to the occasion

[theluckycountry]

come on adam, say something happy, I dare you, I double dare you

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'c')ome on adam, say something happy, I dare you, I double dare you

[careinke]

Well, I have a Happy Talk Story. Disclaimer, I had my Copilot AI take my original post, and spice it up a little, but it is all true, enjoy...

Today was one of those rare, almost surreal days — a top-tier Father's Day in every sense. My youngest and I set out on the Salish Sea, right near home, planning to bottom fish under the Narrows Bridges. But of course, the Garmin depth finder had other ideas and decided it wasn’t going to work. So we floated up near the other boats — ten of us out there — most of them “dipping” instead of trolling. We figured, why not? So we joined in.

Right out of the gate, I snagged bottom and lost a few attempts before we gave in and cut bait. That’s when my son reeled in a shark — maybe two or three feet long. We were still marveling at it when the entire group of boats went quiet — engines off, lines reeled in. And then, that magical sound: the sharp exhale of Orcas surfacing nearby.

According to Washington law, you’re supposed to keep a 1,000-foot distance, but this pod didn’t seem to care. They glided right between the boats — bold, beautiful, and utterly majestic. I was pretty sure it was the J-25 Pod, local to Puget Sound. Funny thing, though — we saw only about 20 of them, even though they’ve grown to over 50 members now.

After they passed, we motored around to the outboard side of Fox Island to try dipping again. My son dropped a line to 200 feet and pulled up... a baby salmon, just three inches long! It was hooked right through the mouth and out the gills, so we left it on and used it as bait. Not long after, a flounder took the bait, and we had dinner.

We started prepping the boat to head for the ramp — and boom, the Orcas were back. But this time, way more of them. They were crossing the path we needed to get home, and we were stuck waiting. We made another call to the spouses to say, “We’ll be late — whales.”

The pod moved in formation, like something choreographed: younger ones up front with the “young parents,” followed by what I guessed were adult non-parents based on dorsal fin size. Then way in the back — the elders. One had a dorsal fin so massive, it’s hands down the biggest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few.

Eventually we got a window and raced to the boat ramp before the tide dropped too low. Made it — just barely. I pulled up YouTube to brush up on filleting, but before I even got started, my oldest son arrived. We cleaned the flounder together, and I had it for dinner — fresh, satisfying, and wrapped in that glow from the day.

A day packed with sharks, salmon, flounder, two surprise whale shows and good times with Both son's... hard to ask for anything more perfect.

Peace is coming

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '
')A day packed with sharks, salmon, flounder, two surprise whale shows and good times with Both son's... hard to ask for anything more perfect.

Peace is coming

[theluckycountry]

Really adam, this is the last thread you should be posting on, you're the saddest angriest old man on the whole forum. You'll give yourself a stroke one day if your not careful.

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'R')eally adam, this is the last thread you should be posting on, you're the saddest angriest old man on the whole forum.

[careinke]

I Took possession of my New Tesla Y Juniper Long range Rear Wheel Drive model. Pretty convinced I'm going to love this Robot on Wheels Machine. The best way to purchase a Tesla is with a referral from a current Tesla owner, I got 90 days of free FSD and the person making the referral got $200 Tesla Bucks to spend. The incentives always change at the Whim of Tesla, but the ratio seems to always favor the buyer with 3 units and the seller 2 units. This is an awesome marketing technique.

On the First drive, the AI does not allow Full Self Driving (supervised), until it evaluates your driving style. This does not take long, for me it was less than 50 miles. The purpose is to give you a driving style you are comfortable with, and learn where you like your steering column, mirrors, seat adjustments, set up your personal keys on your phone etc, etc.

I got to say, FSD (supervised) is amazing. It is also boring, not a lot of thrills there. But the robot does not let you forget you are supposed to be supervising. You want to watch the display, but if you linger longer than a second or two, you get a message that says "watch the road not the display". If you ignore that it starts a five second countdown, when you reach zero it turns off FSD and you get to drive.

Lots to learn, but if you are not sure, you can just ask the robot to do it, and it probably can. I'll post more on the EV thread.

Oh a couple of more things to be happy about. My oldest son just had an interview for a supervisor position at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, he feels very good about the interview. My youngest just bought a 22ft Fishing boat with that comes with a nice trailer. He says time to move on from speed boats.

Peace

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '
')Oh a couple of more things to be happy about. My oldest son just had an interview for a supervisor position at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, he feels very good about the interview. My youngest just bought a 22ft Fishing boat with that comes with a nice trailer. He says time to move on from speed boats.

Peace

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AdamB', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'R')eally adam, this is the last thread you should be posting on, you're the saddest angriest old man on the whole forum.

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')daho Wildfire Ambush: Gunman Dead After "Sniper Attack" Kills Two Firefighters
Sheriff described the attack as a "total ambush." The suspect is believed to have deliberately set the fire to lure in first responders, then opened fire. "They didn't have a chance," the sheriff said of the slain firefighters.