Driveways, menus and GPS

Why is it that people find it hard to back out of my driveway?

For some reason back 50 or so years ago when my house was

built, they cut the driveway on an angle to the street.  Obviously

they weren't thinking of the landscaping nightmare that would soon

ensue.  Now, my lawn is far from being in a Scott's commercial,

especially after last summer's drought which it may never recover

from, but I still do take some pride in it.  Whenever I can remember,

I remind people to make sure they use their driver's side mirror

when backing out.  They don't always remember until they go over

the curb and clunk down into the street.  Sometimes they catch

themselves half-way down and apply the brakes, taking a tire-width

swath of sod along with them. I've replaced many divots. 

Apparently my driveway is hard to navigate.

Reading a menu is often a daunting task.  When there are way

too many items to pick from, my job in choosing what to eat

instantly becomes harder.  So many combinations of flavors,

textures, accompaniments, cooking techniques. Just a few more

minutes please, then we'll be ready to order.  When the server

re-appears, everyone looks at me.  I'll go last, that way I 

have more time to whittle down my options, and ultimately

order something that is a completely new choice.

 Diner and Chinese menus are especially troublesome for me. 

Will it be the pastrami reuben or the calve's liver platter? 

 Chow Har Kew or Moo Goo Gai Pan?  I'm so undecided. 

And if the multitude of choices weren't enough to confuse you,

the instructions and rules will. There are menus that suggest a wine

pairing with each menu item. Then there are menus that suggest the

order in which each component of the plate should be eaten to

 experience the desired sensation. There are reminders that a

sharing charge will be applied.  A 20% gratuity will be added to

parties of six or more.  Cell phones are not appreciated in the

dining room. Jackets and ties are desired.  Substitutions are

frowned upon. Vegetarian selections are notated by an image

of a Birkenstock. We compost all of our kitchen trimmings.  

All of our menus are printed with soy-based inks on FSC

certified mixed 100% post-consumer waste paper. 

And I never even mentioned the word "organic"!  Get my drift?  

Menus are often a real pain to navigate.    

 I sail by the seat of my pants.  I learned that trait and phrase

from my Dad.  Basically what that means, according to me,

is that I use experience and intuition to make my way from

here to there.  So far it has not let me down.  Not to say that

I don't look at a chart every once in a while. 

Barnegat Bay is a fairly narrow body of water, and unless

it's a severely foggy day, on which Buff suggests making it a

bar day instead, I can normally make my way back to the dock

without hailing the Coast Guard. The shoals and bars are

what could cause me problems with my 4'6" draft.  I do have

 a depthfinder but by the time it tells me it's too shallow, it's

often too late. I consider myself very comfortable with my

sailing capability. Especially when it's within the boundaries with

which I have become so familiar. GPS is a very popular form of

navigation these days.  I actually have it!  And it's the most

convenient ship's clock I've ever had.  Yeah, sure it provides 

co-ordinates, waypoints, tracking, speed, shipping channels,

currents, tides, restaurant suggestions, Dow Jones Industrial

Average, and the current price of a gallon of Diesel. We often

hang the camera on it.  I will navigate by the seat of my pants.

   

Thanks, Friends!

Many times over the last year, I wasn't sure if I had

the right ideas for my posts.  But I went with them

anyway.  Quite a few I regretted having gone through

with, but that feeling never lasted very long.  There

was always someone with a funny comment or wise

word or two to change my mind.  I'm lucky to be

in the midst of a small group of very intelligent,
 witty, and frankly caring and compassionate people
who I consider to be my close circle of friends.
I know there's way more to life than just the blog,
but often, it's just what the doctor ordered.
You all like meatloaf, right?

Grateful for his Patronage

I get chills when I hear these two guys sing.

Coxswain = Navigator

And this bridge too, Tom!

More Waddling

Any time we beat Gardner Cox was a good day.  I mean, he

was an Olympic sailor!  I seemed to be struggling with something

in this picture; it was probably the jelly donut from the registration

table that I snuck on board. Dad's Murphy and Nye sail was his

 go-to light air sail.  I think it started out that way, but as the

day wore on, he probably wished he had the Seidelman on.

I liked the Murphy and Nye sail better because it had

cooler looking sail numbers. If you look close-up, check out

Dad's weather helm!

Sailboat Week, May 14, 1973

A hotly contested  "Who's Who" fleet of Penguins raced for

the Region II honors on Staten Island.

All the obvious skippers were there.

I love the classifieds.  This one is definitely for Tillerman.

The strictest One Design racing in the world.

Huzzah!

And a Harken Bullet Block for a mere $2.75?

That design is unchanged to this day, and rightly so.

Febuary made me shiver

Forget Ground Hog Day.  The first real harbinger of

Spring is the arrival of the new West Marine catalog.

In it I can find hundreds of pages filled with stuff that

I want and need, and never knew that before I got

this goddamn catalog in the mail.  It so drives home

how spartan and ill-equipped my boat really is.  It's

kind of depressing in a way, when you come to the

realization that there actually are people out there 

that have everything in that catalog that you want.

I usually get music for Valentine's Day.  The way I see it,

another five years or so and I will have a CD of every

album I've ever owned.  It'll be a good while after that

before something new comes down the pike and makes

CDs a thing of the past.  Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Hey, I need another beer.  Are you done with that can opener yet? 

Nifty fifty

Look at this birthday present and tell me what I will never do again.

 

Friday night we went out for dinner and I couldn't help thinking

about my blogging friends at the Ear Inn that night. There are

at least three things wrong with these sketches, beside being

amateur at best.  What inaccuracies can you find?   

My nephew, niece, and two daughters.  They've been skiing since

they've been able to go potty by themselves.  They giggle all the

way up the lift, and they bomb all the way down. We always

hoped it would be that way. 

While we're at it

Trouble

Oysters are "functionally extinct" in many locations around the globe

to disease and overharvesting, a new study has found.

The wide-ranging survey, published in BioScience, the journal of the

American Institute of Biological Sciences, compares the past and

present condition of oyster reefs around the globe. The international

team of researchers led by Michael Beck of the Nature

the University of California found that more than 90 percent of

former reefs have been lost in most of the "bays" and ecoregions

where the mollusks were formerly abundant.

In many places, such as the Wadden Sea in Europe and Narragansett

Bay, oysters are rated "functionally extinct," with fewer than 1 per- 

cent of former reefs persisting. The declines are in most cases a

result of over-harvesting of wild populations and disease, often

exacerbated by the introduction of non-native species.

"Overall, we estimate that 85% of oyster reefs have been lost

globally," the study says. "Most of the world’s remaining wild

capture of native oysters comes from just five ecoregions in North

America, yet the condition of reefs in these ecoregions is poor at

best, except in the Gulf of Mexico."

Beck's team examined oyster reefs across 144 bays and 44

ecoregions. It also studied historical records as well as

national catch statistics. The BioScience authors rate the

condition of oysters as "poor" overall.

 Oysters provide important ecosystem services, such as filtration,

as well as food for people. The survey team argues for improved

efforts and the removal of incentives to over-exploitation.

It also recommends that harvesting and further reef destruction

should not be allowed wherever oysters are at less than 10 percent

their former abundance, unless it can be shown that these activities

do not substantially affect reef recovery.

Oyster Bowl XII

 Every Super Bowl Sunday for the past 12 years, Jack

Morrison and his crew from the Blue Point Grill

and Nassau Street Seafood have held the Oyster Bowl,
an oyster eating contest to benefit Susan G.
Komen for the Cure, a charity dedicated to education
and research about causes, treatment, and the search
for a cure for breast cancer.  The event is held on the
 sidewalk outside of the Blue Point, which is adjacent
to Nassau Street Seafood, my all-time, hands-down
favorite fish market. Ever.  Here I stand next to one
of my favorite fishmongers, Colin, an Irish gentleman
who I want on my side any day of the week.  I thought
I knew my fish until I met him many years ago.   

Inside Nassau Street Seafood, the first thing you smell

is fresh produce.  You can't say that about most of

the fish markets you walk into.  I always tell people

when they ask where to buy fish:  "Anything they have

in their case, you could eat raw.  That's how fresh it

is."  No lie.  And the prices aren't discount, but you 

should never skimp on fish. On the other hand, good

vegetables can be found elsewhere much cheaper. 

But when you're there, and those baby pattypans

are staring you in the face..........no wait, look away,

be strong!  Stop and Shop is on the way home.

2 out of 3 reasons to be.  My older daughter was

working this afternoon. Gotta have gas and

spending money! By the way, did I mention

that it was an unbelievably beautiful day today, the

first in seemingly months?  No?  It was.

Her love of all things oyster came from me, I think.

The oyster stew was sublime, and the price was

justified when we remembered it was for charity.

Congressman Rush Holt asked me and Liv if he could

get a shot with the two of us.  I said okay...............

but make it quick!

War paint (cocktail sauce).

They shucked 7500 East Point oysters from South

Jersey this morning in anticipation for the event this

afternoon.  7500 oysters.   

Waiting for the contestants to line up. Eat as many

oysters as you can in two minutes, and deposit

your shells in the buckets provided in front of you.

Your oyster count is tabulated by the number of

shells in your bucket. If you leave a shell on the tray,

it will not count. You may dress your oysters with

condiments before the gun, then all hell breaks loose.

This clip captured the action in all of its primeval gore,

with shredded bivalves hanging from the maws of the

gladiators, only to be slurped up in nauseating fashion.

It was really cool.

Charles and Dorothy, the couple in the middle of the

frame, have been a part of the Oyster Bowl from

the very beginning.  They both use the "Slurp from

the Shell" method, which, while not being the fastest

way to eat oysters, may be the most traditional.

Notice the "Oyster Cam" on the guy to the

right of Charles. I'd love to see that clip.

Hats off to Charles, who polished off 62 while

suffering a cut to his upper lip from a rather sharp

 oyster shell edge.  Dorothy actually made the

perpetual Oyster Bowl Trophy 12 years ago,

pictured below.  Those two are some of my all-

time favorite former, and hopefully future customers.

It was so so good to see them both today. 

The winner today ate 87 oysters in two minutes.  The record

was set in 2009 at 102.  I guess every year is different. 

Beside winning the Oyster Bowl for a year, the victor

receives a vacation for 2 in the Caribbean.  Not bad, but

the trip is over in 14 days.  The Oyster Bowl is theirs for 365.



Sporty

Scud

More Sneaky

Flexible Flyer

Groundhog Day: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

By the time I grilled tonight, all of that ice was gone.

As was the ice on the net.....

and the Chinese Maple...

And my car.

Corny, but funny year after year.

Hey, everyone slips up sometime, right?

Febuary

I'm so excited that the month of my birth has arrived!

For 28 days, I will cringe while people of all ages,

financial strata, college degrees, colors and creeds

will mispronounce the month in which I was born.

While I'm at it, Happy Valentime's Day!