patrick.net

On Vacation

AeroMexico Sucks!

Or maybe I got them on a bad day.

Labor day

Last spinnaker run before sunset.

Sunset

Last Run at Sugar Bowl!

Best day this year (so far).

Are you a garden gnome?

My wife dresses like one.

Dang cold today.

I see you like the short skis (just like I did long ago when I hit the slopes)

HeadSet says

I see you like the short skis (just like I did long ago when I hit the slopes)

My wife (pictured above) is 6'2". She makes those skis look short. She's no garden gnome. Yankee from Maine, she's been skiing for 50 years. I can't keep up with her.

Modern short parabolic skis are so much easier and fun than the long straight skis of last century.

HeadSet says

I see you like the short skis (just like I did long ago when I hit the slopes)

You are forced to use them since snowboarders fucked up all the moguls.

Onvacation says

Modern short parabolic skis are so much easier and fun than the long straight skis of last century.

Short skis have always been "easier."

I'm no expert on skiing. I learned on skis that were long and skinny. These short parabolic skis almost turn themselves.

I preferred the old style thinner and longer skis and still keep a pair of volkl. Have been renting the new style demo skis, they are a bit too fat, but they are now making them longer again, and yes, they turn automatically. Almost too easy ;)

Tore a knee ligament. How old is too old to windsurf and ski? I hate these fucking painkillers but they beat pain. I get to see a knee doctor Friday. joy

I actually posted here wondering where my ignores went? I think I had 7 or 8. Any one else been unignored lately?

Sailing buddy of mine.

Hey, I've been on that boat!

Recreation

Onvacation says

Sailing buddy of mine.

I am surprised that dog put up with the goggles.

I had a albino dwarf Samoyed in foster that was supposed to wear them. That never happened, he would bite if I tried to put them on. He was a good dog actually, just had a previous horrible owner. All Samoyeds that are dwarves are albino. Samoyeds are expected to be pure white so they are bred for this color, and dwarfism is genetically linked to being albino.

They are a great dog, but HORRIBLY inbred. 9 came out of Siberia, then the Iron Curtain went up. Every Samoyed you see in the West are descendants of just those 9 dogs.

Just took the racecar for a spin. It has been covered for a couple weeks. Nice to have clear skies for a moment.

Onvacation says

Just took the racecar for a spin. It has been covered for a couple weeks. Nice to have clear skies for a moment.

You, Sir, have a great taste in cars.

99 or 00?

'99. I was telling her, " We're both old with issues, but yours are easier to fix".

Onvacation says

'99. I was telling her, " We're both old with issues, but yours are easier to fix".

I like how 98 is not a thing and 99 and 00 are treated differently for smog. As in you pay more to smog 99 even though it's 100% technically identical to 00. Tells a lot about the whole "smog check is for clean air" concept.

Under sail.

Heading out

We have arrived at my wife's family's island in Central Maine.
I have to drive the boat to shuttle family members or there would be a cold beer in front of me.

Soon!

This week's reading list:


Finished intro and in the middle of chapter one. Well written and backed with lots of facts and footnotes. COVID-19 was planned.

Without justice this banana republic will keep getting worse.

Mosquito zapper on the table next to it?

Patrick says

Mosquito zapper on the table next to it?

Ever been to Maine?

The bugs are voracious.

I just bought a thermacell. I hear they work great. Skeeters have temporarily died off due to a heatwave here though.

Onvacation says

Ever been to Maine?

Drove through it once on the way to Quebec City, but it was winter, so no bugs.

It's a bald eagle

Drone view of the island

Nice!

How does plumbing and electric work there?

Electric? Gas lanterns and battery headlamps.

Originally a hunting/fishing camp the property has been in the family for well over 100 years. Kind of like a time share for extended family. Different family groups get a scheduled time on the island each summer.

Someone started installing electric years ago but it was shut down in honor of the rustic nature of the place.

We have plumbing. We periodically run a generator to pump water to a holding tank. Gas water heaters. Indoor toilets flush to a septic tank and "leach field".

Several years ago a cell tower was built on a local mountain so we get Internet and cell service. Before that we went without. There is a phone line underwater cabled back to the mainland.

We canoe, hike, windsurf, read books, share good food and drink, and mostly just enjoy getting away to nature and hanging out with family. Tonight we have 20 people on the island. My wife and I have the nicest cabin this year because we're staying longer than anyone else.

I can hear the loons with their forlorn cries coming from the lake as I lay down to sleep.

Nice place to get away to.

Onvacation says

We periodically run a generator to pump water to a holding tank.

Is the water just straight from the lake? I suppose that's fine for the toilet and bathing, but then do you bring in drinking water by boat?

Filtration system, the lake water is pretty clean.

I'm looking to buy or build on a local lake where people pump water from. Problem is it's usually dry these days and it's about 65K to drill a well 800ft down into the aquifer.

just_passing_through says

I'm looking to buy or build on a local lake where people pump water from. Problem is it's usually dry these days and it's about 65K to drill a well 800ft down into the aquifer.

Just build a well close to shore, and below the water level it will fill up.

My family has a cabin on a lake, and it's "lake water". We used to drink straight from the well when we were kids, and one year, we found a dead rat floating in the well - ever since then, we've brought water in - but it was drinkable before that, and it didn't taste like the lake water, although it was lake water. The ground filtrates it.

RO machine will clean up any pathogens, but also test for arsenic and whatnot. You only need the RO machine for tap water, it doesn't matter for anything else, including a dish washer.

My grandparents had a cistern system, that collected rain water from the roof. You sure as hell wouldn't want to drink that, but bathing was fine, dishwasher fine, laundry fine - but if you drank it, enjoy your next several days in bed!