Chaosbutterfly

Lets see if this makes it to LJ…

That would be unfortunate.  I have a lot of content on Live Journal and I really woulnd’t want to see it die.  I am currently sorting through all my entries and posting them on my own drupal formated blog on chaosbutterfly.  You can find it here: http://chaosbutterfly.com/drupal/

I’ve put up a few things using the username “timechick” under pages and blogs.  I am still getting used to the format so bare with me. 

Work is still dead.  We have one project getting ready to go out.  This morning I discovered the McDonnalds is closed in the Tunnels.  I over heard them discussing a "lockout" as I walked by.  This doesn’t bode well from the sound of it.  In other news of the odd, that upside down flag in that display case has been fixed over the holidays.  However, yesterday, it was the Houston City Flag at Tranquility Park that was now upside down.  lol  It’s good to be back home. 

Made it home today around 1600. I left yesterday from Orlando and stopped again in Pensacola to spend the night at my Aunt’s house again. It is a good way to break up the trip to drop by there. The weather was fine all the way home. You couldn’t ask for better driving conditions.

The stay in Pensacola was great. My Uncle Don had a stash of Texas beer that one of my cousins had given him. So I got to relax with a Shiner Boch and we had some great chili that my Aunt had been working all day on by the time I got in. He’s another expat Texan like my dad, living in Florida and he really likes his Texas alcohol. My dad however, has a taste for Texas hill country wine and is always asking me to bootleg him a case from time to time.

Florida is nice, but it was great to get home again. I even found myself counting down the miles on that last stretch of I-10 in Louisiana to the Sabine. It was great to see those flags flying at the border and really great to be back aboard my boat again.

I found when I got home two boxes of MRE’s someone had apparently had left over from Ike wanted to get rid of down at the dumpsters when I got home. I popped one box into a dock cart and loaded the rest of my stuff from the trip on top. There must be a week or two worth of MRE’s in that one box alone. I left the other box up there so I wouldn’t be a complete hog. They include  Jambalaya, some chili without beans, and a bunch of other flavors. Looks like a menu specially designed with SE Texans in mind. The  Jambalaya was surprisingly awesome. After Ike I only was able to get the Care Package type MRE’s. They were not the real military issue MRE’s like these. They are listed as having between 1500 to 1800 calories each. It was too much food for me, I’m still working on the pound cake. If I only ate one MRE and only that MRE a day and I would lose weight.

My dad and I went down to Tampa with a couple of his friends to tour the American Victory. In WWII, the US was putting out a "Victory" cargo ship about once per day. This one has been restored and is docked in Tampa. My dad’s friends, Eugene and June are volunteers down there and they gave me and my dad an insider’s tour of the ship. This thing is huge. It has a capacity of around 300 container cars. Compare with Elissa’s tiny 8 car capacity and you get the picture. It has this huge Steam turbine – Diesel engine that seems to go down for ever.  We saw bits of this ship that no one ever sees.

In other news, I start the trip home tomorrow.  It’s been busy here with parties and all and I’m ready to go home.  I get to Pensacola in the evening.

I went to the National Naval Flight Museum in Pensacola with my cousin Kim. I took a few pictures. Just so you know, I’ve never seen so many aircraft in one place in my life. It’s an amazing museum.  Tomorrow I head off to Orlando. 

Yes it would, however, my hopes for a Train ride to Orlando on the Sunset Limited seems to be dashed.  It apparently, no longer goes all the way from LA to Orlando.  It now seems to be stopping in New Orleans.  Hurricane damage? It doesn’t say on the Amtrak website.  Come on, it’s been 3 years since Katrina.  They still have the route showing on their maps but you can’t make a reservation from here to there without going through Chicago!  Granted, that would be a fun trip, but damn..

Well, I guess I will drive after all.  I leave on the 22nd.  I’ll be stopping in Pensacola to say hello to my aunt and cousins along the way. 

I’ve heard the critics pan this new movie pretty badly.  I went to see it anyway and you know, most critics dis Sci-fi.  My guess is they don’t understand it.  I really liked this movie.  It wasn’t nearly as different as people have been saying it is.  You get the signature, “Klaatu, barata nicto.” in the very beginning as opposed to the very end.  You really have to listen for it.  It’s there, believe me.  It’s different, but never the less has a similar message.  I didn’t think it would from all that I had read, but it really does with some added stuff to make it more current. 
Not nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.  Go see it.  Really.

This is a test… if this were a real entry, I’d have something worthwhile to read here. 

As well as they do on paper …

more animals

Ok, so it’s a slow day at work…