Disturbing

There are a phenomenal number of disturbing things about public bathrooms.  There are 3 things that I find particularly disturbing:

1. At work, the water fountain is just outside the bathroom.  It disturbs me when I am drinking and the water pressure drops at the same time I hear the toilet flush.  I understand the rational explanation, but it is very disturbing.
2. It disturbs me that soap dispensers in some bathrooms use yellow soap.
3. It disturbs me when you see the shoes of the person in the stall next to you under the barrier and they are facing toward you instead of forward.

On a completely different note, I heard about a computer cable for sale on Amazon that costs $500.  It is a digital cable which means it either transmits 1's and 0's or it doesn't.  A $10 digital cable transmits the same quality data as a $500 digital cable.  The user comments (at 269 at last check) had me laughing until I could hardly breathe. It is definitely worth a look (one or two get crude):

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000I1X6PM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Wheelchair Lift

The installation of Reid's wheelchair lift has begun.  Pictures and play-by-play at his blog: http://reidupdates.blogspot.com/

Books Obscure and Popular

We spent part of the 4th of July looking through our over stuffed book shelf and pulling out books that we want to get rid of.  Parting with a book is often painful although there were some books buried between treasures that were painful to see we owned.  The hardest part was books that have some significance from the early days of our Christian walk that now seem less that stellar theologically.  Some books were only moderately hard such as books that we received as a gift, read and enjoyed, but would never read again or lend them out.  Some books were easy such as books that were begun and stopped because something in their content was objectionable.  Yet it is hard to toss a book so there they sat for years, unread. 

Below are some of the more noteworthy books from our collection. Not because they are necessarily great literature or theology, but because they are unexpected gems to me.  I say "to me" because I suspect that some of my favorite books would just cause puzzled looks from other people.  This set is all sailing/boating books, which is no surprise for those who know me:

• Princess by Joe Richards - This is a simple book about a man who buys an old Friendship sloop and rebuilds it and sails it around.  It has long been out of print and hard to find, but I was able to snag a copy off http://www.abebooks.com.  It is Gem because of the lyrical, almost poetical, descriptions.  The writing is very unusually rich and visual, probably because his day job was as an artist/illustrator.
• Sailing Alone Around The World by Joshua Slocum - this is a popular classic and one not to be missed.  What I love is the whimsical writing style and the subtle humor.  He writes about a world that was just beginning to transition from sail to steam.
• Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing .  Every man should read this book.  It is a powerful display of leadership and is one of the few books that I literally couldn't put down.  I read it on vacation a few years ago and only knew I was at the beach when I looked up to give my eyes a break.
• H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian- I think this is the best of the  Aubrey Maturin series.  The entire series is worth the time.  This book is best listened to because it is easy to get lost in all the nautical jargon and miss the big picture and subtle humor.  The version I've heard is read by Patrick Tull and he does an astounding job.  I've listened to all the Aubrey Maturin books multiple times and will probably continue for years to come. 
• Dove by Robin Lee Graham - I read this book in High School and rediscovered it a few years ago.  A story of a 16 year old boy who sails alone around the world and comes home with a wife.  It is also a surprising testimony of his salvation.
• Tinkerbelle by Bob Manry - This entire book is available on-line at the Cleveland Historical Society and that is where I read it.  Another solo sailing trip, this one across the Atlantic in a very small sailboat.  The descriptions of his hallucinations are really fascinating.
• Caine Mutiney by Herman Wouk - This book is set on a boat, but it really is a brillantly crafted story about gossip and spreading an evil report.  This shows the damage done when subtle gossip poisons other people about someone. The language is rough.
• We Didn't Mean to go to Sea by Arthur Ransome - My favorite of the Swallows and Amazons series.  A group of children are swept into the English channel when the sailboat on which they are staying drags its anchor.  The gale forces them to keep sailing to survive.  Although fiction, the vivid details make it seem completely believable.
• Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis - One of the best pieces of sailing fiction ever written.  The ending leaves me a pathetic mess every time I read it.  I hope they don't mangle this one when it becomes a movie.

Fishing for Photos

Another evening on the Potomac River.  I tended to lose interest in maiming fish after the sun got low enough to paint the river in color.  All I wanted to do was take pictures and somehow capture the beauty of the evening.  It was an astoundingly beautiful sunset.  It didn't hurt that the fish were almost suicidal in their attempts to get at our lures.

Also - I have discovered a remarkable Internet Radio station.  Pandora allows you to put in a song or artist as a seed and then begins to select songs based on an analysis of the music.  I have found the results to be so good that I have it going almost all day.

Too Many Interests, Too Little Time