I'm slacking for the second night in a row...all that sun and salt air on San Francisco Bay can take it out of a man!
There's too many distractions this month, that's for sure...
The Tour de France has moved into the mountains, and as always the Alps didn't disappoint! NBCSN's LIVE TV coverage started at 3:30AM on the West Coast, and I found some European LIVE streams online. Many are even in English! My fantasy TdF team is cellar dwelling again...
The video blogs about Sunday's British Grand Prix have posted. More new bits for most of the cars, and a fantastic race on the track...a dry track after record rains for the rest of the F1 weekend. I find it totally amazing how little wings at the front of the sidepods, and the shape of the bodywork can help steer the open, up-firing exhaust down to the car's floor, between the rear tires, and out through the diffuser to increase rear downforce.
I looked at the USS Iowa's Facebook Page, and it's a treasure trove! Lots of interesting comments from Opening Weekend Visitors as well as Iowa Veterans. From my tradesman's point of view, USS Iowa Volunteer, Acting USS Iowa Electrician and Gunners Mate, James Baca's comments are most appreciated! There's a link to a good LA Times Story on the battlewagon posted there too.
I'll be making the trip south to visit Iowa once the new decks are finished, and more of the ship is open to tours...another year or two. The Pacific Battleship Center says that 95% of the ship will be on display by 2015
As you can see, I'm awash in my Sea of Joy...but I'm more than a little concerned about Fire Season, especially in the West. It's cooled off plenty since SturgeUrge and I baked out on San Francisco Bay Wednesday...a good thing for the firefighters battling the Robbers Fire between Foresthill and Colfax.
Even with temps trending downward for the coming week, winds are up again...so let's be careful out there everybody!
Showing posts with label battleship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battleship. Show all posts
Friday, July 13, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Final USS Iowa Update: A Tale of Two Cities
Uh-oh someone put bees in my bonnet on my day off...come to think of it, the SF Giants have the day off too...
I happened to glance at the "dead tree edition" of the Contra Costa Times on the kitchen table this morning, and a story on the SS Red Oak Victory caught my eye.
Actually the story is more about politics than the historic Victory Ship. Though not directly laid out in the story, this looks like a hissy-fit from a Richmond City Councilman named Corky Booze (you can't make this stuff up, Folks!) who was out maneuvered by another Councilman named Butt (see what I mean?) Fellow Councilman Jeff Ritterman, quoted from the Times story:
"Corky just wants to attack (Councilman) Tom Butt."
Butt, who has a reputation for pushing for restoration and preservation of historic landmarks in the city, has been at odds with Booze over several issues, most recently Butt's successful bid to steer port security grant funds to a building near the Red Oak.
My fantasy is the "steer[ed] port security grant funds" cited are going to preserve the Streamline Moderne Style General Warehouse building that's the most architecturally significant structure near the Red Oak Victory...on a historic par with the "Whirley Crane" that stands between the ship and the warehouse.
Every time I've been down to the Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park to see the SS Red Oak Victory, I could count the visitors to the ship on one hand...no way can the Non-Profit Organization that cares for her pay the city $10K/month!
There's a photo album of the General Warehouse on my Flickr Page.
Meanwhile in San Pedro:
Bigwigs from the city of Los Angeles will join with Iowa's Governor, Iowa's United States Senator Harkin, Representatives and USS Iowa Veterans at the USS Iowa Museum, to celebrate Independence Day on The 4th of July before the USS Iowa museum opens to the public on Saturday July 7th, 2012.
I'm thinking the City of Richmond could do a little promoting of the Red Oak Victory like LA Mayor Villagairosa gives Iowa, and maybe toot the horn for the Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park while they're at it...say on those special holidays that honor the men and women who built those ships that helped win the War and preserved our way of life? How about honoring Memorial Day...4th of July, and Veteran's Day for starters...then maybe they'll see the wisdom and tip the city's hat to VE Day, VJ Day, D-Day...
OK, enough Politics. Forgive me...here's some little things that you can do to help both ships.
Richmond residents, please attend the Richmond City Council meeting on July 10th, and let the City Council know that the SS Red Oak Victory is a valued attraction at the Park and should enjoy continued favor from the City as a partner in Richmond's revitalization.
7PM Tuesday July 10, 2012
Council Chambers, City Hall
440 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA
Visit their Websites:
USS Iowa
SS Red Oak Victory
Like Them on Facebook:
USS Iowa
SS Red Oak Victory
While you're at it, please like CorduroyPlanet on Facebook, too!
Thank you all! Happy Independence Day, and lets be careful out there...Be Fire Safe!
I happened to glance at the "dead tree edition" of the Contra Costa Times on the kitchen table this morning, and a story on the SS Red Oak Victory caught my eye.
Actually the story is more about politics than the historic Victory Ship. Though not directly laid out in the story, this looks like a hissy-fit from a Richmond City Councilman named Corky Booze (you can't make this stuff up, Folks!) who was out maneuvered by another Councilman named Butt (see what I mean?) Fellow Councilman Jeff Ritterman, quoted from the Times story:
"Corky just wants to attack (Councilman) Tom Butt."
Butt, who has a reputation for pushing for restoration and preservation of historic landmarks in the city, has been at odds with Booze over several issues, most recently Butt's successful bid to steer port security grant funds to a building near the Red Oak.
My fantasy is the "steer[ed] port security grant funds" cited are going to preserve the Streamline Moderne Style General Warehouse building that's the most architecturally significant structure near the Red Oak Victory...on a historic par with the "Whirley Crane" that stands between the ship and the warehouse.
 |
| Volunteer cars parked at the SS Red Oak Victory |
 |
| Back Side, General Warehouse, Kaiser Shipyard No. 3 |
Meanwhile in San Pedro:
Bigwigs from the city of Los Angeles will join with Iowa's Governor, Iowa's United States Senator Harkin, Representatives and USS Iowa Veterans at the USS Iowa Museum, to celebrate Independence Day on The 4th of July before the USS Iowa museum opens to the public on Saturday July 7th, 2012.
I'm thinking the City of Richmond could do a little promoting of the Red Oak Victory like LA Mayor Villagairosa gives Iowa, and maybe toot the horn for the Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park while they're at it...say on those special holidays that honor the men and women who built those ships that helped win the War and preserved our way of life? How about honoring Memorial Day...4th of July, and Veteran's Day for starters...then maybe they'll see the wisdom and tip the city's hat to VE Day, VJ Day, D-Day...
OK, enough Politics. Forgive me...here's some little things that you can do to help both ships.
Richmond residents, please attend the Richmond City Council meeting on July 10th, and let the City Council know that the SS Red Oak Victory is a valued attraction at the Park and should enjoy continued favor from the City as a partner in Richmond's revitalization.
7PM Tuesday July 10, 2012
Council Chambers, City Hall
440 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA
Visit their Websites:
USS Iowa
SS Red Oak Victory
Like Them on Facebook:
USS Iowa
SS Red Oak Victory
While you're at it, please like CorduroyPlanet on Facebook, too!
Thank you all! Happy Independence Day, and lets be careful out there...Be Fire Safe!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Maintain Radio Silence
After staying up writing most of the night, I slept through the big event on the Internet this morning...Twitter was down for more than an hour...the longest outage since November 2011.
Lots of Twitter users were freaking out because many were waiting for the Supreme Court rulings to come out. The two most anticipated rulings in several years, ObamaCare and Arizona's Immigration Law didn't debut Thursday after all.
The Twittershpere has been all wound up anyway, due to the Fast & Furious hearings in Congress, so equal parts of Snark, Seriousness, and Conspiracy Theory were on display...something for everyone...
I realized in the aftermath, just how much I've come to rely on Twitter for Real Time News. It's way faster than my beloved radio, even...
Missing in action this time around, the Twitter "Fail Whale" was nowhere to be seen during the outage.
In the days before the crash, I found a few more History Tweeters, and made a mental note to share them here.
I find it curious that we are in the midst of the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812, our second victory over the British, and yet if it weren't for Twitter, I wouldn't have known of it because of the omission of it by the Mainstream News Media.
Thanks to @warof1812online, I'm privy to an ongoing stream of history tidbits from 200 years ago. Another cool thing about this tweeter is they've alerted me to several other History Tweeters by retweeting them, so they show up in my Twitter Timeline.
One of these new-to-me accounts is really a gem. @navalhistorian has been tweeting details of The Battle of the Philippine Sea the past few days, including the story of "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" from 70 years ago.
Twitter being a Social Network is all about connections...think branches on a tree, and these seem to multiply if you're curious. With every new account that you follow, oftentimes they will lead you to other accounts with a similar outlook or interest, and then you can follow them too.
My new history "follows" are stacking up:
@SpitfireMuseum
devoted to the famous British Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes
@NavyHistoryNews
The Naval History and Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy
@sommecourt
Military Historian & author who works in Television: visiting & interpreting battlefields all over the world. Working on a big
@MayHillWWII
May Hill began to keep a Diary, and write poetry, not long after the outbreak of the Second World War. Son in the RAF: 'Waiting for news'
So today is "Follow Friday" on Twitter. This is a convention that organically started on Twitter where many tweeters tweet a list of accounts to follow, fronted by the hashtag: #FF
Hashtags make searching Twitter easy, and I play #FF most Fridays. I tweet my list of History Tweeters, Astronomy and Spaceflight Tweeters, San Francisco Giants Accounts, Sierra Weather Accounts and Skiing Tweeters.
Because I keep finding new History Tweeters, it's going to take more than one History #FF from here on out, and I'll probably need a fourth Giants #FF tweet...talk about Happy Warriors...
Lots of Twitter users were freaking out because many were waiting for the Supreme Court rulings to come out. The two most anticipated rulings in several years, ObamaCare and Arizona's Immigration Law didn't debut Thursday after all.
The Twittershpere has been all wound up anyway, due to the Fast & Furious hearings in Congress, so equal parts of Snark, Seriousness, and Conspiracy Theory were on display...something for everyone...
I realized in the aftermath, just how much I've come to rely on Twitter for Real Time News. It's way faster than my beloved radio, even...
 |
| Fail Whale, MIA |
In the days before the crash, I found a few more History Tweeters, and made a mental note to share them here.
I find it curious that we are in the midst of the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812, our second victory over the British, and yet if it weren't for Twitter, I wouldn't have known of it because of the omission of it by the Mainstream News Media.
Thanks to @warof1812online, I'm privy to an ongoing stream of history tidbits from 200 years ago. Another cool thing about this tweeter is they've alerted me to several other History Tweeters by retweeting them, so they show up in my Twitter Timeline.
One of these new-to-me accounts is really a gem. @navalhistorian has been tweeting details of The Battle of the Philippine Sea the past few days, including the story of "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" from 70 years ago.
Twitter being a Social Network is all about connections...think branches on a tree, and these seem to multiply if you're curious. With every new account that you follow, oftentimes they will lead you to other accounts with a similar outlook or interest, and then you can follow them too.
My new history "follows" are stacking up:
@SpitfireMuseum
devoted to the famous British Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes
@NavyHistoryNews
The Naval History and Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy
@sommecourt
Military Historian & author who works in Television: visiting & interpreting battlefields all over the world. Working on a big
@MayHillWWII
May Hill began to keep a Diary, and write poetry, not long after the outbreak of the Second World War. Son in the RAF: 'Waiting for news'
So today is "Follow Friday" on Twitter. This is a convention that organically started on Twitter where many tweeters tweet a list of accounts to follow, fronted by the hashtag: #FF
Hashtags make searching Twitter easy, and I play #FF most Fridays. I tweet my list of History Tweeters, Astronomy and Spaceflight Tweeters, San Francisco Giants Accounts, Sierra Weather Accounts and Skiing Tweeters.
Because I keep finding new History Tweeters, it's going to take more than one History #FF from here on out, and I'll probably need a fourth Giants #FF tweet...talk about Happy Warriors...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Geeks Are Gonna Geek
The nexus of a real, live, historic battleship and the latest, greatest modern computer simulated war games is a hot topic this week in the online geek universe.
Gizmodo, the geek's hangout of the Gawker Empire, gave some love to the planned computer game stations to enjoy precious space aboard the USS Iowa museum in San Pedro.
I'm on thin ice here...having never played any PC-based simulated war games...in fact I never played many video games either. I can count on one hand the number of times I played Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pong, Pac-Man and Ms Pac-Man combined.
The only game I ever played enough to record a score worth displaying was called Kick. A standup video game featuring a clown riding a unicycle that catches falling balloons on his pointy hat, and kicking the balloons that aren't caught back up to be caught for a score. Oh, and every once in a while an old cartoon-style bomb falls in lieu of a balloon...these have to be avoided...or, ***GAME OVER***
But that was one ski season long ago...the season before I first climbed into a grooming machine which I found to be much more compelling than the video game machine.
Gizmodo, the geek's hangout of the Gawker Empire, gave some love to the planned computer game stations to enjoy precious space aboard the USS Iowa museum in San Pedro.
I'm on thin ice here...having never played any PC-based simulated war games...in fact I never played many video games either. I can count on one hand the number of times I played Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pong, Pac-Man and Ms Pac-Man combined.
The only game I ever played enough to record a score worth displaying was called Kick. A standup video game featuring a clown riding a unicycle that catches falling balloons on his pointy hat, and kicking the balloons that aren't caught back up to be caught for a score. Oh, and every once in a while an old cartoon-style bomb falls in lieu of a balloon...these have to be avoided...or, ***GAME OVER***
But that was one ski season long ago...the season before I first climbed into a grooming machine which I found to be much more compelling than the video game machine.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
USS Iowa, Meet Online Wargaming
Our Big Stick got some ink and electrons from Forbes Friday:
"World of Battleships Publisher Wargaming.net Blends History With Online Gaming Aboard USS Iowa"
So far in my life I've resisted computer gaming, but I may have to take a look at World of Battleships...
America's "Battleship of Presidents" can use all the love she attracts...
"World of Battleships Publisher Wargaming.net Blends History With Online Gaming Aboard USS Iowa"
So far in my life I've resisted computer gaming, but I may have to take a look at World of Battleships...
America's "Battleship of Presidents" can use all the love she attracts...
Friday, June 15, 2012
Here Comes History
My world has been heavy with history for a month. The last week of May was wall to wall battleship. The USS Iowa's transit through San Francisco Bay made for a peak experience for SturgeUrge and I as we followed the big battlewagon from Richmond to Angel Island on an uncommonly calm afternoon.
Astronomically it was a couple of good weeks with the Annular Eclipse and the Transit of Venus.
I marked the 70th anniversary of the pivotal Battle of Midway in this space.
Last week we marked the 68th year since Allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches. D-Day the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany's reign of terror.
History was made in space when private contractor SpaceX successfully sent a cargo ship named Dragon to the International Space Station, docked, and a few days later, undocked, reentered and slashed down safely in the Pacific off the Baja California coast.
The 96th Indianapolis 500 and the 70th Monaco Grand Prix marked motorsports milestones, and this week I watched Matt Cain pitch his Perfect Game.
Looking ahead, Truckee will be hosting some history the first week of July, when two of the original Tuskegee Airmen will be feted at a dinner kicking off the Truckee Tahoe AirFair & Family Festival.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviation unit in the Army Air Corps during WWII. The heavily decorated all black 322nd Fighter Group is told in the George Lucas 2012 film "Red Tails"
All this excitement has me plumb tuckered out...perhaps this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans will recharge my batteries...
Astronomically it was a couple of good weeks with the Annular Eclipse and the Transit of Venus.
I marked the 70th anniversary of the pivotal Battle of Midway in this space.
Last week we marked the 68th year since Allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches. D-Day the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany's reign of terror.
History was made in space when private contractor SpaceX successfully sent a cargo ship named Dragon to the International Space Station, docked, and a few days later, undocked, reentered and slashed down safely in the Pacific off the Baja California coast.
The 96th Indianapolis 500 and the 70th Monaco Grand Prix marked motorsports milestones, and this week I watched Matt Cain pitch his Perfect Game.
Looking ahead, Truckee will be hosting some history the first week of July, when two of the original Tuskegee Airmen will be feted at a dinner kicking off the Truckee Tahoe AirFair & Family Festival.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviation unit in the Army Air Corps during WWII. The heavily decorated all black 322nd Fighter Group is told in the George Lucas 2012 film "Red Tails"
All this excitement has me plumb tuckered out...perhaps this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans will recharge my batteries...
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
USS Iowa Veterans Information
An interesting post appeared on CorduroyPlanet's Facebook Page Friday.
A veteran named Bill Sandlin asked:
"There are a lot of us veterans that would like to be there for the Grand Opening. I would like to make this a big event for USS Iowa and veterans. Is there anything I can do to make this happen?"
I responded:
"If you're a USS Iowa vet, the USS Iowa Veterans Association is holding their 2012 Reunion in San Pedro for the Grand Opening July 2-6" http://www.ussiowa.org/
"Veterans who served on other ships or in other services could pose their questions to The Pacific Battleship Center http://
Mr Sandlin replied:
"Thanks, I will pass this information on to other veterans. I am sure some served on the USS Iowa"
"Thanks for your service Bill! God bless you and all Allied Veterans". I replied.
That happened twelve hours ago. I've spent a little time since then looking at the USS Iowa Veterans Association website, and it's a little gold mine.
History comes a-knockin':
It occurs to me that another WWII milestone needs marking. The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942 was fought seventy years ago this week. This naval battle was the turning point in the Pacific Naval War, and though the USS Iowa wasn't launched until August 27, 1942, Iowa would play her part in Imperial Japan's surrender, the surrender that became a fait accompli as the result of the Battle of Midway.
Perhaps ironically, the Battle of Midway also foretold the end of the Battleship Era. Though 49 ships fought in the battle, only two were battleships, the real business end of both navies were the aircraft carriers. Japan brought four carriers to bear on Midway Atoll, the American Navy fielded three flat tops.
The USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and USS Yorktown and their combined Air Wings sank all four Japanese carriers, Kaga, Akagi, Hiryū, and Sōryū, four of the five fleet carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor just seven months earlier. The Yorktown sank after twice suffering devastating direct torpedo strikes. Japan lost 248 aircraft and 3057 men. The Americans lost around 150 aircraft and 307 men. American air crews suffered near total losses while devastating the Japanese carriers.
Japan stubbornly fought another three years and three months across the Pacific before the surrender was signed on the Iowa Class battleship USS Missouri while much of Missouri's crew was temporarily billeted aboard the USS Iowa on Tokyo Bay.
There's lots of these anniversaries coming down the pike. We all pray that there will never be a Total War like WWII again. Those of us who came after the war, and those that didn't serve can never repay our veterans for the sacrifices they made on our behalf.
If you know a veteran, thank them for their service to our country, and tip them to the upcoming Grand Opening of the USS Iowa as a floating museum on Independence Day weekend in Los Angeles Harbor. Talk up the USS Iowa Veterans Association as well, and point them to the Pacific Battleship Center's Facebook Page.
If you're going to be in LA before the 4th of July weekend, the LA Times has a guide to getting a closer look until Iowa opens for business.
USS Iowa On the Move Today:
The Pacific Battleship Center: "USS Iowa is expected to transit from Berth 51/52 to Berth 87 on Saturday, June 9. Invited guests on a pre-approved manifest will be the only people permitted onboard USS Iowa and within the secure zone established at both berths.
The transit will begin at approximately 1430, with arrival at Berth 87 at approximately 1530/1545. Access to Berth 87 prior to transit will currently be limited to those on the pre-approved manifest.
It is expected that there will be a lot of traffic within the San Pedro area. The Pacific Battleship Center Outreach Center is located at 437 6th Street for further details on USS Iowa and for purchase of hats, t-shirts, tickets, and membership."
USS Iowa veterans salute the Big Stick.
It would be awesome to volunteer on the USS Iowa don'tcha think?
A veteran named Bill Sandlin asked:
"There are a lot of us veterans that would like to be there for the Grand Opening. I would like to make this a big event for USS Iowa and veterans. Is there anything I can do to make this happen?"
I responded:
"If you're a USS Iowa vet, the USS Iowa Veterans Association is holding their 2012 Reunion in San Pedro for the Grand Opening July 2-6" http://www.ussiowa.org/
"Veterans who served on other ships or in other services could pose their questions to The Pacific Battleship Center http://
Mr Sandlin replied:
"Thanks, I will pass this information on to other veterans. I am sure some served on the USS Iowa"
"Thanks for your service Bill! God bless you and all Allied Veterans". I replied.
That happened twelve hours ago. I've spent a little time since then looking at the USS Iowa Veterans Association website, and it's a little gold mine.
History comes a-knockin':
It occurs to me that another WWII milestone needs marking. The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942 was fought seventy years ago this week. This naval battle was the turning point in the Pacific Naval War, and though the USS Iowa wasn't launched until August 27, 1942, Iowa would play her part in Imperial Japan's surrender, the surrender that became a fait accompli as the result of the Battle of Midway.
Perhaps ironically, the Battle of Midway also foretold the end of the Battleship Era. Though 49 ships fought in the battle, only two were battleships, the real business end of both navies were the aircraft carriers. Japan brought four carriers to bear on Midway Atoll, the American Navy fielded three flat tops.
The USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and USS Yorktown and their combined Air Wings sank all four Japanese carriers, Kaga, Akagi, Hiryū, and Sōryū, four of the five fleet carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor just seven months earlier. The Yorktown sank after twice suffering devastating direct torpedo strikes. Japan lost 248 aircraft and 3057 men. The Americans lost around 150 aircraft and 307 men. American air crews suffered near total losses while devastating the Japanese carriers.
Japan stubbornly fought another three years and three months across the Pacific before the surrender was signed on the Iowa Class battleship USS Missouri while much of Missouri's crew was temporarily billeted aboard the USS Iowa on Tokyo Bay.
There's lots of these anniversaries coming down the pike. We all pray that there will never be a Total War like WWII again. Those of us who came after the war, and those that didn't serve can never repay our veterans for the sacrifices they made on our behalf.
If you know a veteran, thank them for their service to our country, and tip them to the upcoming Grand Opening of the USS Iowa as a floating museum on Independence Day weekend in Los Angeles Harbor. Talk up the USS Iowa Veterans Association as well, and point them to the Pacific Battleship Center's Facebook Page.
If you're going to be in LA before the 4th of July weekend, the LA Times has a guide to getting a closer look until Iowa opens for business.
USS Iowa On the Move Today:
The Pacific Battleship Center: "USS Iowa is expected to transit from Berth 51/52 to Berth 87 on Saturday, June 9. Invited guests on a pre-approved manifest will be the only people permitted onboard USS Iowa and within the secure zone established at both berths.
The transit will begin at approximately 1430, with arrival at Berth 87 at approximately 1530/1545. Access to Berth 87 prior to transit will currently be limited to those on the pre-approved manifest.
It is expected that there will be a lot of traffic within the San Pedro area. The Pacific Battleship Center Outreach Center is located at 437 6th Street for further details on USS Iowa and for purchase of hats, t-shirts, tickets, and membership."
USS Iowa veterans salute the Big Stick.
It would be awesome to volunteer on the USS Iowa don'tcha think?
Friday, June 8, 2012
What Is This?
No news is good news says everyone except TV News people and TV News producers.
This afternoon, my Mom asked me to read a note she was sending to a fellow church member who does all the planning and catering of Mom's monthly church luncheons. In the letter Mom bragged on all the kids (of course), talked about my writing (blogging), and mentioned that I get "email responses" to my blogs...or as Mom calls 'em, "writings"...
So I thought I'd write a blog explaining the whole blogger shebang as a way to delicately shame her into rededicating herself into getting friendly with personal computers.
Then this thing happened...The Pacific Battleship Center linked to my "Sunday Bonus: Penultimate USS Iowa Update" blog from last Sunday on their Facebook Page, and retweeted my tweet that linked the same blog...
Mom came into my room about 19 minutes after the links went up, and I explained how all this worked. The hits were up to 155, and I explained the Blogger Platform, that it's owned by Google, and that Blogger has a feature called "Stats", that's a rudimentary version of Google Analytics, that gives the blogger some stats about how many visits his blog gets, where the visitors come from in both the geographic sense (what country the visitor is in), and the internet sense (referring URL)
I refreshed the Stats Page...227 Page Views...Mom perked up...299 page views...I started explaining the concept of linking...333 page views...I explained that I don't write to start a conversation, or to feed a forum...that most of the comments I get come from BajaBabe, but a few of my most read blogs did attract some other commenters.
Mom really perked up each time I refreshed the Stats Page and read the latest count and amount. So I'm thinking maybe I could get Mom to start blogging...
I'm gonna sleep on it...I'll come to my senses when I get up and watch streaming P1 from Montreal's Formula One Canadian Grand Prix...
This afternoon, my Mom asked me to read a note she was sending to a fellow church member who does all the planning and catering of Mom's monthly church luncheons. In the letter Mom bragged on all the kids (of course), talked about my writing (blogging), and mentioned that I get "email responses" to my blogs...or as Mom calls 'em, "writings"...
So I thought I'd write a blog explaining the whole blogger shebang as a way to delicately shame her into rededicating herself into getting friendly with personal computers.
Then this thing happened...The Pacific Battleship Center linked to my "Sunday Bonus: Penultimate USS Iowa Update" blog from last Sunday on their Facebook Page, and retweeted my tweet that linked the same blog...
Mom came into my room about 19 minutes after the links went up, and I explained how all this worked. The hits were up to 155, and I explained the Blogger Platform, that it's owned by Google, and that Blogger has a feature called "Stats", that's a rudimentary version of Google Analytics, that gives the blogger some stats about how many visits his blog gets, where the visitors come from in both the geographic sense (what country the visitor is in), and the internet sense (referring URL)
I refreshed the Stats Page...227 Page Views...Mom perked up...299 page views...I started explaining the concept of linking...333 page views...I explained that I don't write to start a conversation, or to feed a forum...that most of the comments I get come from BajaBabe, but a few of my most read blogs did attract some other commenters.
Mom really perked up each time I refreshed the Stats Page and read the latest count and amount. So I'm thinking maybe I could get Mom to start blogging...
I'm gonna sleep on it...I'll come to my senses when I get up and watch streaming P1 from Montreal's Formula One Canadian Grand Prix...
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday Bonus: Penultimate USS Iowa Update
Now berthed in Los Angeles Harbor, BB-61, the USS Iowa is getting good press in Hollywood. Can an agent and film deals be the next entries in the Ship's Log?
A very good USS Iowa photo album at the LA Times link, too.
As the son of a native San Franciscan, it brings my heart joy that the lead photo in the LA Times story on the USS Iowa is the battleship on San Francisco Bay!
New readers, please feel free to Like my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page, Thank you!
I expect that the Final USS Iowa Update will be the announcement of Iowa's Grand Opening and hours of operation in July. As for the Big Stick's Hollywood updates, I think that's best left to "Her People"...Ciao, Babies!
A very good USS Iowa photo album at the LA Times link, too.
As the son of a native San Franciscan, it brings my heart joy that the lead photo in the LA Times story on the USS Iowa is the battleship on San Francisco Bay!
New readers, please feel free to Like my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page, Thank you!
I expect that the Final USS Iowa Update will be the announcement of Iowa's Grand Opening and hours of operation in July. As for the Big Stick's Hollywood updates, I think that's best left to "Her People"...Ciao, Babies!
Past and Future
I'll just wrap up some past stories to make way for the future stuff.
San Francisco Giants:
While the Giants club dates to 1883, baseball didn't start keeping real stats until 1918. I became curious over the past weeks because so many club records were falling or in danger of falling, and usually the copy read: "...since 1918"
USS Iowa:
Smooth sailing for the big battlewagon, her hull work completed, she entered Los Angeles Harbor Saturday morning.
The photo is courtesy of Donna Littlejohn, DailyBreeze.com The Victory Ship in the foreground is the SS Lane Victory built in Los Angeles and returned from distinguished service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, she's a museum now. The Lane Victory has been restored to seaworthy condition and offers "Victory at Sea" summer cruises.
The Lane's website features an incredible photo album from the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond that includes day by day photos of a Liberty Ship on the ways under construction. It's really worth a look.
OK, now on to the Future:
There's bunches of spaceflight news this week.
Private/Public Spaceflight tallies historic first milestone.
The SpaceX Falcon/Dragon mission to the International Space Station is a rousing success. NASA says in light of the mission's success, approval for continued resupply missions under a $1.6 billion contract would be a mere formality.
Not everything in civilian spaceflight is rosy:
Sea Launch, another commercial spaceflight contractor successfully launched an Intelsat 19 communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit. There was a problem with the satellite however when one of the spacecraft's two solar array wings failed to deploy.
X-Ray Space Telescope Nears Launch:
The NuSTAR space telescope will be launched by Orbital Sciences Corp. as early as June 13th, 2012. This satellite is launched from a converted Lockeed L-1011 airliner that launches a Pegasus rocket plane that carries the NuSTAR into orbit.
There's Military Spaceflight News...sort of:
The Air Force's XB-37B "Mini Space Shuttle" will return to Earth after it's classified 15 month mission in Low Earth Orbit sometime in the next few weeks...
Sutter's Mill Meteorites Found:
This story is getting a little long in the tooth, but I suppose it's the nature of the beast...I don't recall Mark Twain reporting on every nugget and vein discovered in the Comstock when he was a reporter for Virginia City's Territorial Enterprise
Video of the Sutter's Mill Fireball surfaced this week, and to date almost a pound of the meteorite has been found and reported. I wonder how many bits of the meteorite were found and sold on the spot to meteorite dealers at $1000/gram... At least one piece made it's way to a UC Davis geologist so far...
Don't toss those eclipse glasses just yet:
You'll need them again Tuesday June 5th to view the Transit of Venus across our Sun. Sky and Telescope have a good observation guide.
San Francisco Giants:
While the Giants club dates to 1883, baseball didn't start keeping real stats until 1918. I became curious over the past weeks because so many club records were falling or in danger of falling, and usually the copy read: "...since 1918"
USS Iowa:
Smooth sailing for the big battlewagon, her hull work completed, she entered Los Angeles Harbor Saturday morning.
The Lane's website features an incredible photo album from the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond that includes day by day photos of a Liberty Ship on the ways under construction. It's really worth a look.
OK, now on to the Future:
There's bunches of spaceflight news this week.
Private/Public Spaceflight tallies historic first milestone.
The SpaceX Falcon/Dragon mission to the International Space Station is a rousing success. NASA says in light of the mission's success, approval for continued resupply missions under a $1.6 billion contract would be a mere formality.
Not everything in civilian spaceflight is rosy:
Sea Launch, another commercial spaceflight contractor successfully launched an Intelsat 19 communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit. There was a problem with the satellite however when one of the spacecraft's two solar array wings failed to deploy.
X-Ray Space Telescope Nears Launch:
The NuSTAR space telescope will be launched by Orbital Sciences Corp. as early as June 13th, 2012. This satellite is launched from a converted Lockeed L-1011 airliner that launches a Pegasus rocket plane that carries the NuSTAR into orbit.
There's Military Spaceflight News...sort of:
The Air Force's XB-37B "Mini Space Shuttle" will return to Earth after it's classified 15 month mission in Low Earth Orbit sometime in the next few weeks...
Sutter's Mill Meteorites Found:
This story is getting a little long in the tooth, but I suppose it's the nature of the beast...I don't recall Mark Twain reporting on every nugget and vein discovered in the Comstock when he was a reporter for Virginia City's Territorial Enterprise
Video of the Sutter's Mill Fireball surfaced this week, and to date almost a pound of the meteorite has been found and reported. I wonder how many bits of the meteorite were found and sold on the spot to meteorite dealers at $1000/gram... At least one piece made it's way to a UC Davis geologist so far...
Don't toss those eclipse glasses just yet:
You'll need them again Tuesday June 5th to view the Transit of Venus across our Sun. Sky and Telescope have a good observation guide.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Meltdown
I'm wilting...it's still almost 80°F in here at 1:23AM...
It's not like I didn't plan for this...I planned my day with the afternoon heating in mind.
In the last couple of days, I stumbled upon a great, new-to-me Food Blog, The Bitten Word. Therein I found a great looking recipe for a Beet, Rhubarb, and Orange Salad.
The new produce store downtown has these gorgeous Golden Beets, as well as the regular Detroit Improved classic red ones. Rhubarb is at the peak of the season, so hell yeah...I'm in.
So the beets are roasted in a 400°F oven for an hour...the perfect recipe to heat the kitchen and most of the rest of the house...so I was preheating the oven at 10:30AM, and the beets were cooling by noon...I even poached the rhubarb early...the first time...oops, 30 seconds too long on the rhubarb,so it turned to mush instead of the desired "crisp tender"
Anyway, I picked up another pound of rhubarb and poached it to perfection, in time for everything to cool enough to cache in the reefer until dinnertime.
The salad was a hit, though six servings must be as the entree...I've got enough for dinner for four again tomorrow. (This time I'll remember the feta, so it'll be like it's not even leftovers!) Now that I think about it, I shoulda taken some pictures...This salad is nothing if not colorful!
Thursday Night Roundup:
The Giants had the day off...their first in 20 days!
I found out that you can watch the whole Indy500 online! It's the best 500 in a long time, and runs about 2 hours 45 minutes. Turbos are back, baby!
The forecast says Friday will be hot before the pattern turns cool over the weekend...there's even a chance of rain for Reno this weekend.
Wow, the Pacific Battleship Center posted a link to my USS Iowa Tow Video Blog, and more than 600 people visited CorduroyPlanet. Thank you all!
Don't forget to Like my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page.
Thanks again everyone!
It's not like I didn't plan for this...I planned my day with the afternoon heating in mind.
In the last couple of days, I stumbled upon a great, new-to-me Food Blog, The Bitten Word. Therein I found a great looking recipe for a Beet, Rhubarb, and Orange Salad.
The new produce store downtown has these gorgeous Golden Beets, as well as the regular Detroit Improved classic red ones. Rhubarb is at the peak of the season, so hell yeah...I'm in.
So the beets are roasted in a 400°F oven for an hour...the perfect recipe to heat the kitchen and most of the rest of the house...so I was preheating the oven at 10:30AM, and the beets were cooling by noon...I even poached the rhubarb early...the first time...oops, 30 seconds too long on the rhubarb,so it turned to mush instead of the desired "crisp tender"
Anyway, I picked up another pound of rhubarb and poached it to perfection, in time for everything to cool enough to cache in the reefer until dinnertime.
The salad was a hit, though six servings must be as the entree...I've got enough for dinner for four again tomorrow. (This time I'll remember the feta, so it'll be like it's not even leftovers!) Now that I think about it, I shoulda taken some pictures...This salad is nothing if not colorful!
Thursday Night Roundup:
The Giants had the day off...their first in 20 days!
I found out that you can watch the whole Indy500 online! It's the best 500 in a long time, and runs about 2 hours 45 minutes. Turbos are back, baby!
The forecast says Friday will be hot before the pattern turns cool over the weekend...there's even a chance of rain for Reno this weekend.
Wow, the Pacific Battleship Center posted a link to my USS Iowa Tow Video Blog, and more than 600 people visited CorduroyPlanet. Thank you all!
Don't forget to Like my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page.
Thanks again everyone!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Head On a Swivel
OK, I feel all rested up from the busy weekend.
My Memorial Day Weekend was all about history...looking back if you will...WWII Battleship USS Iowa...70th Monaco Grand Prix...96th Indianapolis 500.
Even baseball brought the history. On Monday, San Francisco Giants left fielder Melky Cabrera passed Willie Mays' 1958 record of 49 hits in the month of May. Wednesday night the Melk Man knocked his 51st hit, tieing the all-time-any-month Giants record that goes back to 1918.
When SturgeUrge and I were on San Francisco Bay Saturday, the boat traffic became so crazy that SturgeUrge's head looked like it was on a swivel...call it Combat Boating. Well, Skipper 'Urge brought us back to dry land in one piece to float another day.
This evening, I feel like it's my head on the proverbial swivel. My world is all on the up and up tonight...after watching the Giants lose 4-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, my twitter feed was suddenly full of spaceflight tweets...
As I write, I'm keeping an ear on the SpaceX Dragon and the International Space Station's LIVE ungrapple and departure stream. The Dragon Capsule will leave the ISS tonight on it's way back to Earth. As it turns out, all this spaceflight stuff is history too...SpaceX's Dragon is the first commercial spacecraft to visit and dock to the ISS. The Dragon will shuttle people back and forth from the ISS after some more test flights and NASA approval.
SpaceX aren't the only private outfit building commercial spacecraft for the ISS delivery market either...
Orbital Sciences Corp. is developing their Antares rocket/ Cygnus capsule system to serve the ISS, too.
Another company, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic received the necessary permits from the FAA to test their SpaceShip Two with full rocket motor power. Virgin who call themselves the "First Commercial Spaceline" (as opposed to airline), is going after the Space Tourist Trade...short sub-orbital rides into space, complete with the dramatic, firey atmospheric reentry.
I'm so grateful to these companies picking up NASA's slack. NASA seems to be dithering lately, and time is running out for me to see earthmen walk on Mars. When I was a kid watching NASA blast off into the New Frontier, it was a given that men would be on Mars sooner than later...now it's been forty years since we last landed on the Moon! NASA gets it budget slashed every year while the Feds run up World Record deficits...
You know, all this internet/smartphone/Facebook/Twitter/iPad stuff is all the product of kids who were inspired by the Space Program and it's offshoots. Back in the day, we all felt like we were helping the astronauts...willing them higher, farther, longer...to the next unbelievable breakthrough, milestone after milestone, until Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969. We all carried astronaut lunch boxes to school, scores of toys and commercial tie-ins exploited our space mania. Is Tang still on grocery store shelves?
Well, in the Internet Age, pandering is as easy as click, click, click, only in the 21st Century they're giving it away. Here's some SpaceX Dragon fun that's free save the price of printing it on your home printer:
Print and build your own paper Dragon Spacecraft
Have fun kids!
My Memorial Day Weekend was all about history...looking back if you will...WWII Battleship USS Iowa...70th Monaco Grand Prix...96th Indianapolis 500.
Even baseball brought the history. On Monday, San Francisco Giants left fielder Melky Cabrera passed Willie Mays' 1958 record of 49 hits in the month of May. Wednesday night the Melk Man knocked his 51st hit, tieing the all-time-any-month Giants record that goes back to 1918.
When SturgeUrge and I were on San Francisco Bay Saturday, the boat traffic became so crazy that SturgeUrge's head looked like it was on a swivel...call it Combat Boating. Well, Skipper 'Urge brought us back to dry land in one piece to float another day.
This evening, I feel like it's my head on the proverbial swivel. My world is all on the up and up tonight...after watching the Giants lose 4-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, my twitter feed was suddenly full of spaceflight tweets...
As I write, I'm keeping an ear on the SpaceX Dragon and the International Space Station's LIVE ungrapple and departure stream. The Dragon Capsule will leave the ISS tonight on it's way back to Earth. As it turns out, all this spaceflight stuff is history too...SpaceX's Dragon is the first commercial spacecraft to visit and dock to the ISS. The Dragon will shuttle people back and forth from the ISS after some more test flights and NASA approval.
SpaceX aren't the only private outfit building commercial spacecraft for the ISS delivery market either...
Orbital Sciences Corp. is developing their Antares rocket/ Cygnus capsule system to serve the ISS, too.
Another company, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic received the necessary permits from the FAA to test their SpaceShip Two with full rocket motor power. Virgin who call themselves the "First Commercial Spaceline" (as opposed to airline), is going after the Space Tourist Trade...short sub-orbital rides into space, complete with the dramatic, firey atmospheric reentry.
I'm so grateful to these companies picking up NASA's slack. NASA seems to be dithering lately, and time is running out for me to see earthmen walk on Mars. When I was a kid watching NASA blast off into the New Frontier, it was a given that men would be on Mars sooner than later...now it's been forty years since we last landed on the Moon! NASA gets it budget slashed every year while the Feds run up World Record deficits...
You know, all this internet/smartphone/Facebook/Twitter/iPad stuff is all the product of kids who were inspired by the Space Program and it's offshoots. Back in the day, we all felt like we were helping the astronauts...willing them higher, farther, longer...to the next unbelievable breakthrough, milestone after milestone, until Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969. We all carried astronaut lunch boxes to school, scores of toys and commercial tie-ins exploited our space mania. Is Tang still on grocery store shelves?
Well, in the Internet Age, pandering is as easy as click, click, click, only in the 21st Century they're giving it away. Here's some SpaceX Dragon fun that's free save the price of printing it on your home printer:
Print and build your own paper Dragon Spacecraft
Have fun kids!
Monday, May 28, 2012
USS Iowa Video Clip
From Saturday's tow on San Francisco Bay:
An extraordinary day on San Francisco Bay, sunny and calm winds. Mother Nature favored the Iowa and all her floating fans.
Thursday May 31st Update:
Thanks for linking me Pacific Battleship Center!
New visitors, if you like my video it would be great if you liked my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page. Click and LIKE me, thanks!
I've got more USS Iowa posts and photos here as well. Click on CorduroyPlanet in the masthead above and scroll down, or click on USS Iowa in the tag cloud at the bottom of the right hand frame.
An extraordinary day on San Francisco Bay, sunny and calm winds. Mother Nature favored the Iowa and all her floating fans.
Thursday May 31st Update:
Thanks for linking me Pacific Battleship Center!
New visitors, if you like my video it would be great if you liked my CorduroyPlanet Facebook Page. Click and LIKE me, thanks!
I've got more USS Iowa posts and photos here as well. Click on CorduroyPlanet in the masthead above and scroll down, or click on USS Iowa in the tag cloud at the bottom of the right hand frame.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
USS Iowa Photos
SturgeUrge and I launched the F/V SturgeUrge from Richmond's Marina Bay Yacht Harbor around 0900 Saturday morning. The winds were around 5 kts out of the south, identical to the NWS forecast. We idled out of the No Wake zone and accelerated into the main channel.
We hung a right into Ford Channel where the Iowa was berthed. We were the only pleasure craft on the waterway. Iowa was attended by two tugs, one standing off while the Tractor Tug was alongside Iowa's bow passing lines and rigging for towing. I snapped some photos and we headed out to San Francisco Bay.
SturgeUrge and I were going halibut fishing. According to the schedule printed in the San Francisco Chronicle, Iowa would leave Richmond at 1100, so we had time to do a couple of drifts on Southampton Shoal. An 11 pound halibut was caught at the south end of the Shoal Friday near the Berkeley Pier, and a 28 lb flatty across the Bay off Paradise mid-week. Though the tides weren't favorable for halibut, you can't catch halibut if you're not halibut fishing.
The Bay was a little lumpier than we expected for 9AM so we elected to forgo the trip all the way down the Shoal to avoid some pounding and to keep an eye on Iowa as the tow would begin after the bottom of the tide.
After an hour or so I noticed Iowa beginning to move. They were backing her down Ford Channel. We ran south and east for another drift though our baits were completely unmolested. Iowa was approaching the main channel, and we could see her getting close to the Liberty Ship Red Oak Victory that's berthed across Ford Channel at Ferry Point. Even though we were a mile or so away, I snapped lots of photos...you know, history and all...
As Iowa began moving towards the Bay proper, I started rigging my camcorder and tripod.
Iowa was making way looking magnificent in her new paint with Point Richmond as a backdrop. She looked stately as she approached the main Bay. I began rolling video.
I'd set up my tripod as a monopod so I could try to absorb the swells and keep the camera on the subject. As Iowa neared the end of the main channel, SturgeUrge noticed that the swell was laying down...exactly the opposite of the forecast, and the normal order of things on San Francisco Bay from Spring through Fall.
Iowa made the main Bay off Richmond. She was now a half mile to our northwest, and she was starting to draw a crowd. Curiously, Iowa began turning north between the Chevron Pier and Red Rock Island. We counted five tugs loitering near the Iowa, along with a Coast Card cutter, lots of sailboats and more fishing skiffs. We wondered what they were doing...was Iowa being hijacked to Stockton? Finally Iowa's 270° pirouette was completed and she was headed south towards San Francisco. The wind and swell had abated enough that SturgeUrge said "we can flank her until Angel Island"
The flotilla was growing quickly now. As Iowa headed south, the USS Potomac, president Franklin D Roosevelt's Presidential Yacht passed the battleship heading north. Rounding Iowa at her stern, Potomac headed south to flank Iowa as she approached the central Bay. It was getting very busy as Iowa reached Raccoon Straits between the Tiburon Peninsula and Angel Island. An antique San Francisco Fire Boat took up a position behind Iowa and began blowing fountains of water into the air as tribute to the mighty battle wagon.
While I was watching through my camcorder's LCD screen, SturgeUgre's head was on a swivel. We took evasive action three or four times as Iowa passed Angel Island and turned west towards the Golden Gate. There was a new lump on the bay...not from wind or swell, but boat traffic was getting insane, and the criss-crossing wakes made the water confused. A pair of F18 fighter jets flew west high overhead, as private aircraft, TV News helicopters, and the Hanger1 blimp joined the impromptu air show.
We followed Iowa around Point Blunt, the southeast corner of Angel Island. This was special stuff, rarely do we ever venture around Angel Island. The waters to the south of the island are directly in line with the Golden Gate, and the winds and swell are usually too much for the 17 ft F/V SturgeUrge...Saturday? The Gods were with us and the Iowa...had the large flotilla not been churning the waters, it would have been like a lake out there. We ran to the southwest corner and made a couple of drifts as the Iowa's parade headed west.
Twenty minutes into my second 63 minute MiniDV tape, the camcorder's battery died and the freshly charged extra battery wasn't working either...I pressed my digital camera into movie making, missing all the beauty shots of Iowa with San Francisco in the background.
We probably could have joined the parade and ventured west closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, but we were nearing the frontier of our comfort range on the Bay. The weather wasn't the issue, the crowed waters were. We demurred...discretion being the better part of valor and all that. The Golden Gate statistically is the second most dangerous inlet on the West Coast of the States after Cape Disappointment on the Columbia River.
When Iowa neared the famous span, they began another unexpected turn north. That's when we realized that these turns were planned photo opportunities! Bless the Pacific Battleship Center for honoring the battleship Iowa and photographers and enthusiasts!
As Iowa made her way under the bridge, we turned east and drifted the eastern beaches of Angel Island...the fish just weren't biting. With a mind to the clock, we decided to head to the south end of Southampton Shoals and drift fished home to Richmond. We drifted perfectly all the way to the Richmond Rockwall, the end of Richmond Harbor's main channel where we tracked Iowa from at the beginning of our day.
Mission accomplished...except for the halibut deal...
We hung a right into Ford Channel where the Iowa was berthed. We were the only pleasure craft on the waterway. Iowa was attended by two tugs, one standing off while the Tractor Tug was alongside Iowa's bow passing lines and rigging for towing. I snapped some photos and we headed out to San Francisco Bay.
The Bay was a little lumpier than we expected for 9AM so we elected to forgo the trip all the way down the Shoal to avoid some pounding and to keep an eye on Iowa as the tow would begin after the bottom of the tide.
After an hour or so I noticed Iowa beginning to move. They were backing her down Ford Channel. We ran south and east for another drift though our baits were completely unmolested. Iowa was approaching the main channel, and we could see her getting close to the Liberty Ship Red Oak Victory that's berthed across Ford Channel at Ferry Point. Even though we were a mile or so away, I snapped lots of photos...you know, history and all...
 |
| Ferry Point lay of the land: General Warehouse, Whirly Crane, Red Oak Victory, and Iowa ready to turn towards the Bay.11AM Saturday 5/26/2012 |
Iowa was making way looking magnificent in her new paint with Point Richmond as a backdrop. She looked stately as she approached the main Bay. I began rolling video.
I'd set up my tripod as a monopod so I could try to absorb the swells and keep the camera on the subject. As Iowa neared the end of the main channel, SturgeUrge noticed that the swell was laying down...exactly the opposite of the forecast, and the normal order of things on San Francisco Bay from Spring through Fall.
Iowa made the main Bay off Richmond. She was now a half mile to our northwest, and she was starting to draw a crowd. Curiously, Iowa began turning north between the Chevron Pier and Red Rock Island. We counted five tugs loitering near the Iowa, along with a Coast Card cutter, lots of sailboats and more fishing skiffs. We wondered what they were doing...was Iowa being hijacked to Stockton? Finally Iowa's 270° pirouette was completed and she was headed south towards San Francisco. The wind and swell had abated enough that SturgeUrge said "we can flank her until Angel Island"
 |
| Iowa and Potomac cross Raccoon Straits The Goldan Gate's north tower peaks over Angel Island |
We followed Iowa around Point Blunt, the southeast corner of Angel Island. This was special stuff, rarely do we ever venture around Angel Island. The waters to the south of the island are directly in line with the Golden Gate, and the winds and swell are usually too much for the 17 ft F/V SturgeUrge...Saturday? The Gods were with us and the Iowa...had the large flotilla not been churning the waters, it would have been like a lake out there. We ran to the southwest corner and made a couple of drifts as the Iowa's parade headed west.
Twenty minutes into my second 63 minute MiniDV tape, the camcorder's battery died and the freshly charged extra battery wasn't working either...I pressed my digital camera into movie making, missing all the beauty shots of Iowa with San Francisco in the background.
As Iowa made her way under the bridge, we turned east and drifted the eastern beaches of Angel Island...the fish just weren't biting. With a mind to the clock, we decided to head to the south end of Southampton Shoals and drift fished home to Richmond. We drifted perfectly all the way to the Richmond Rockwall, the end of Richmond Harbor's main channel where we tracked Iowa from at the beginning of our day.
Mission accomplished...except for the halibut deal...
Saturday, May 26, 2012
USS Iowa Update
The Big Stick sails today at 11AM. SturgeUrge and I will be on the water for the occasion.
I'll post photos here Saturday evening.
I'll post photos here Saturday evening.
Friday, May 25, 2012
USS Iowa- It's On for Saturday
The Weather Gods have calmed the savage seas off Central and Southern California, so the Pacific Battleship Center will move the USS Iowa from Richmond, CA to Los Angeles beginning on Saturday May 26th, 2012
Check that date...it's one day shy of the 75th Birthday Celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The San Francisco Chronicle's story has a handy schedule and tips on where to view the battleship as it's towed through San Francisco Bay, and under the birthday bridge.
It looks like the northerlies that have been blowing hard all week will abate a little Saturday allowing SturgeUrge and I to put the boat on the Bay for some history and halibut.
LIVE Webcam link of Iowa's voyage.
Check that date...it's one day shy of the 75th Birthday Celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The San Francisco Chronicle's story has a handy schedule and tips on where to view the battleship as it's towed through San Francisco Bay, and under the birthday bridge.
It looks like the northerlies that have been blowing hard all week will abate a little Saturday allowing SturgeUrge and I to put the boat on the Bay for some history and halibut.
LIVE Webcam link of Iowa's voyage.
On And Off
I'm ready to nod off again...no wonder, I've been busy...and all without a nap...
I loaded the car this morning...maybe a dozen times up and down the stairs, locked up the DaveCave and headed out by 10AM.
As I was swinging through Soda Springs, I passed Jeweler's house and saw his car out front with the door open, and the front door of his place open as well...I hung a U-ey and pulled into the driveway next to the open car door...
We spent a half hour catching up before I pointed the car downhill and hit the SuperSlab.
I put it in long distance drive, and turned up the radio...road construction was much less onerous than on Monday's trip to the County Seat, and I kept it pointed west until I reached Vacaville and pulled off I-80 to hit my favorite Asian Grocery, where I picked up some baby bok choi, shitake mushrooms and some Chinese pea pods.
I arrived at the Ancestral Digs an hour before the Giants game's first pitch...the Giants were playing the Miami Marlins in the Marlin's brand new half a billion dollar stadium, resplendent with expansive views of downtown Miami thru the outfield windows, and the marine aquariums flanking home plate filled with neon colored reef fish.
The game went 1-1 into the 6th, when the Giants exploded for four runs! The Marlins answered with four in the 7th, and then the game really went off the hook! Final score Giants 14, Marlins 7! It was a wild one!
Mercifully, Mom said she'd take us out to Chinese, but I whined about spending enough time in the car today and Sister K went down to the closest Chinese joint and came back with four delicious entrees instead.
It turns out that the local joint is excellent! They gave Sister K a complimentary beer while she waited, and sent her home with dinner, plus a bonus grocery bag of fresh, local organic produce! We'll be heading down to dine at the joint soon...not only are they the nearest Chinese Restaurant, but they're all organic, don't use any MSG, and they have a Sushi Bar too!
Sometime during the afternoon, the Pacific Battleship Center announced that the USS Iowa will set sail on Saturday morning from Richmond to Los Angeles.
Oh perfect, SturgeUrge and I will be out there on the Fishing Vessel SturgeUrge Saturday halibut fishing and giving "The Big Stick" an escort of sorts as she plies the Bay out under the Golden Gate Bridge that's celebrating it's 75th Birthday Saturday...perfect indeed...let's hope the halibut are biting!
I loaded the car this morning...maybe a dozen times up and down the stairs, locked up the DaveCave and headed out by 10AM.
As I was swinging through Soda Springs, I passed Jeweler's house and saw his car out front with the door open, and the front door of his place open as well...I hung a U-ey and pulled into the driveway next to the open car door...
We spent a half hour catching up before I pointed the car downhill and hit the SuperSlab.
I put it in long distance drive, and turned up the radio...road construction was much less onerous than on Monday's trip to the County Seat, and I kept it pointed west until I reached Vacaville and pulled off I-80 to hit my favorite Asian Grocery, where I picked up some baby bok choi, shitake mushrooms and some Chinese pea pods.
I arrived at the Ancestral Digs an hour before the Giants game's first pitch...the Giants were playing the Miami Marlins in the Marlin's brand new half a billion dollar stadium, resplendent with expansive views of downtown Miami thru the outfield windows, and the marine aquariums flanking home plate filled with neon colored reef fish.
The game went 1-1 into the 6th, when the Giants exploded for four runs! The Marlins answered with four in the 7th, and then the game really went off the hook! Final score Giants 14, Marlins 7! It was a wild one!
Mercifully, Mom said she'd take us out to Chinese, but I whined about spending enough time in the car today and Sister K went down to the closest Chinese joint and came back with four delicious entrees instead.
It turns out that the local joint is excellent! They gave Sister K a complimentary beer while she waited, and sent her home with dinner, plus a bonus grocery bag of fresh, local organic produce! We'll be heading down to dine at the joint soon...not only are they the nearest Chinese Restaurant, but they're all organic, don't use any MSG, and they have a Sushi Bar too!
Sometime during the afternoon, the Pacific Battleship Center announced that the USS Iowa will set sail on Saturday morning from Richmond to Los Angeles.
Oh perfect, SturgeUrge and I will be out there on the Fishing Vessel SturgeUrge Saturday halibut fishing and giving "The Big Stick" an escort of sorts as she plies the Bay out under the Golden Gate Bridge that's celebrating it's 75th Birthday Saturday...perfect indeed...let's hope the halibut are biting!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday Battleship Update
Tuesday 2PM Facebook post from the Pacific Battleship Center:
"Tuesday Weather Update: the system has picked up a little bit with gale wind warnings on Weds/Thurs/Fri down the central and southern coasts. We are still looking late in the week for departure. As soon as we have more information we will put it out there."
I was driving west from Reno about an hour after the Facebook post...those forecast gale-force winds were howling right down the Truckee River Canyon. One unplanned almost-lane change got my attention in a New York second!
I know I promised photos, but I can't make any until Iowa is underway...and my attempt at eclipse photos yielded weak results...I need a solar filter for my 90mm telescope, or a digital point and shoot camera with a much longer lens than what I've got now.
Enjoy this awesome photo I found online:
I'm pretty sure the Milky Way was photo shopped in back here on Earth. I love the New Moon's shadow on the cloud bank...I'm sure that's a real image, but these daylight photos from ISS never show stars...the Earthshine overwhelms the starlight, and after all, the Milky Way is all stars...
In a related note, SpaceX launched the first commercial spacecraft to go to the International Space Station Monday morning. It was pretty cool watching it LIVE online.
Now I've been watching live NASA launches since I was a kid...I started watching before there were astronauts onboard. Monday morning's launch had something I've never seen
When the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule on to made it successfully into orbit, the SpaceX people jumped up and down for joy...like children their joy and relief showed like CinemaScope on my little laptop screen...it was such a genuine human moment...something I never saw before... from the buttoned-down NASA guys.
The only thing close wasn't NASA per se, but JPL scientists getting first data from their planetary probes several years after they were launched...still great happiness, but no jumping up and down like giddy children.
We'll be seeing more scientists doing the happy dance when NASA's next Mars Mission arrives at the Red Planet on August 5th, 2012. This mission includes a Mars Rover named Curiosity that's the size of a small SUV.
"Tuesday Weather Update: the system has picked up a little bit with gale wind warnings on Weds/Thurs/Fri down the central and southern coasts. We are still looking late in the week for departure. As soon as we have more information we will put it out there."
I was driving west from Reno about an hour after the Facebook post...those forecast gale-force winds were howling right down the Truckee River Canyon. One unplanned almost-lane change got my attention in a New York second!
 |
| Jeremy Bonelle Photo from The Pacific Battleship Center Facebook Album. Iowa's new paint looks great! |
 |
| At 96% exposure time is long thru the eclipse glasses...I was a little excited... |
In a related note, SpaceX launched the first commercial spacecraft to go to the International Space Station Monday morning. It was pretty cool watching it LIVE online.
Now I've been watching live NASA launches since I was a kid...I started watching before there were astronauts onboard. Monday morning's launch had something I've never seen
When the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule on to made it successfully into orbit, the SpaceX people jumped up and down for joy...like children their joy and relief showed like CinemaScope on my little laptop screen...it was such a genuine human moment...something I never saw before... from the buttoned-down NASA guys.
The only thing close wasn't NASA per se, but JPL scientists getting first data from their planetary probes several years after they were launched...still great happiness, but no jumping up and down like giddy children.
We'll be seeing more scientists doing the happy dance when NASA's next Mars Mission arrives at the Red Planet on August 5th, 2012. This mission includes a Mars Rover named Curiosity that's the size of a small SUV.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Sunday Battleship Update
At about 0800 Sunday morning, the Pacific Battleship Center posted to Facebook:
"Facebook friends: The tow of IOWA has been temporary delayed on a day by day basis as we follow the weather system going through the west coast. The system is planned to cause a situation that would be dangerous to IOWA on Wednesday. We will keep you posted."
The LIVE streaming has been postponed as well, however there is an upside. The LIVE stream will notify you by text or em@il when Iowa is ready to get underway...
What a fascinating Modern World we live in!
"Facebook friends: The tow of IOWA has been temporary delayed on a day by day basis as we follow the weather system going through the west coast. The system is planned to cause a situation that would be dangerous to IOWA on Wednesday. We will keep you posted."
The LIVE streaming has been postponed as well, however there is an upside. The LIVE stream will notify you by text or em@il when Iowa is ready to get underway...
What a fascinating Modern World we live in!
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