Musing #8

Taken Away
this was written a year ago while I was still on deployment...

I was looking out over the Indian Ocean this evening and I saw a beautiful sight. The sea was glassy calm. As the ship passed through the water the phosphor (photo luminescent algae) was glowing brightly in the ships wake. The phosphor was bright electric neon blue - not like in the North Atlantic where the phosphor is neon green and not nearly as bright.
As the waves crashed down and the water churned from the props the ships wake glowed a path into the inky black darkness. It glowed in the foam and created lighting bright strings rippling like plasma across the wave tops.
Then to my amazement, I could hear splashes off in the distance. At first, I could not figure out what it was, then the splashes came closer and I could see huge “blasts” of phosphor spouting into the air. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see more. Finally, I saw what caused those mini explosions in the phosphor. Dolphins were jumping the waves in our wake, merrily playing and jumping giving us an unbelievable light show to the likes few have ever seen.
Taken aback, all the days’ problems and troubles just washed away, if only for a few moments. Tonight was one of those times when I knew in my heart I belong at sea. For only a moment I was taken away, I was no longer onboard the ship I was just watching nature at it’s finest soaking in everything, the sights and sounds of the magnificent show before me. There was no better place on earth, then right here.

Musing #6

Last Sunrise in the Mediterranean

0455 (4:55 AM) Thursday morning May 10^th, the water was glassy smooth the only ripples were from the bow slicing smoothly through the water. The sky was still starry as we headed west. Behind us, the light started almost imperceptibly at first then growing faster a deep rich gold along the horizon. The clouds are still dark and inky, above them night is still grasping firmly refusing to fade away to the onslaught of the new day.

As the light grows, there is Spain off to the north. Rising up from the water not welcoming but refreshing nonetheless, for you see today is our last day in the Mediterranean Sea. After today, I am most likely to never sail on any body of water other than the Atlantic. Standing quietly I think back over the memorable past 17 ½ years I have spent them in the Navy. I wonder what the future holds and what will happen with my life after I retire.

Turning back to the sunrise at hand, the sky is growing brighter and that gold is now showing orange with a purple line above with the night still refusing to fade away. The clouds are lighting brighter by the second moving from purple to fire red with orange below as the sky brightens up there are merchant ships carrying cargo to and from all parts of the globe passing along.

Today is the dawning of a new day and the closing of a chapter. As the sun slides up to the horizon, the night finally relinquishes it grasp. Such a poetic moment should not be interrupted by idle conservation, I remain, fellow sailors have come and gone today; just as they have come and gone through out my career.

I cherish this moment like few others in my life. Looking back for the last 214 days of this deployment and the last 17½ years in the navy, I can truly say wow it has been one hell of a ride. Just as the day takes over the night, it is time for the younger sailors to take over for those of us “old salts” this day is different than every one before and the Navy is different today then it was when I came in a scared kid. Somewhere along the way I became a man, today is the day when the kids of today will need to step up and be men too.

I guess it is finally time for me to start looking west towards that sunset and let the younger sailors have the day.

HOW TO SIMULATE SHIPBOARD LIFE - NAVY STYLE

Speaking today on behalf of those that think that the Navy lives a "TOP GUN" existence. You know, those people that have watched one too many episodes of JAG, and think that Navy life is glamorous! Here are a few suggestions on how to experience the real Navy life, right in the comfort of your own home.

• Buy a dumpster, paint it gray and live in it for 6 months straight.

• Run all of the piping and wires inside your house on the outside of the walls.

• Pump 10 inches of nasty, crappy water into your basement, then pump it out, clean up, and paint the basement "deck gray"

• Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go the scummiest part of town, find the most run down, trashy bar you can, pay $10 per beer until you're hammered, then walk home in the freezing cold.

• Perform a weekly disassembly and inspection of your lawnmower.

• On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays turn your water temperature up to 200 degrees, then on Tuesday and Thursday turn it down to 10 degrees.

• On Saturdays, and Sundays declare to your entire family that they used too much water during the week, so all showering is secured.

• Raise your bed to within 6 inches of the ceiling.

• Have your next door neighbor come over each day at 5am, and blow a whistle so loud that Helen Keller could hear it and shout "Reveille, Reveille, all hands heave out and trice up"

• Have your mother-in-law write down everything she's going to do the following day, then have her make you stand in the back yard at 6am and read it to you.

• Eat the raunchiest Mexican food you can find for three days straight, then lock the bathroom door for 12 hours, and hang a sign on it that reads "Secured - contact OA DIV at X-3053"

• Submit a request form to your father-in-law, asking if it's ok for you to leave your house before 3pm.

• Invite 200 of your not-so-closest friends to come over, then board up all the windows and doors to your house for 6 months. After the 6 months is up, take down the boards, and since you're on duty, wave at your friends and family through the front window of your home...you can't leave until the next day.

• Shower with above-mentioned friends.

• Make your family qualify to operate all the appliances in your home(i.e. Dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.)

• Walk around your car for 4 hours checking the tire pressure every 15 minutes.

• Sit in your car and let it run for 4 hours before going anywhere. This is to ensure your engine is properly "lit off".

• Empty all the garbage bins in your house, and sweep your driveway 3 times a day, whether they need it or not.

• Repaint your entire house once a month.

• Cook all of your food blindfolded, groping for any spice and seasoning you can get your hands on.

• Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, randomly losing every 5th item.

• Spend $20,000 on a satellite system for your TV, but only watch CNN and the Weather Channel.

• Have your 5-year-old cousin give you a haircut with goat shears.

• Sew back pockets to the front of your pants.

• Spend 2 weeks in the red-light districts of Europe, and call it "world travel"

• Attempt to spend 5 years working at McDonalds, and NOT get promoted.

• Ensure that any promotions you do get are from stepping on the dead bodies of your co-workers.

• Needle gun the aluminum siding on your house after your neighbors have gone to bed.

• When your children are in bed, run into their room with a megaphone, and shout at the top of your lungs that your home is under attack, and order them to man their battle stations.

• Post a menu on the refrigerator door informing your family that you are having steak for dinner. Then make them wait in line for at least an hour, when they finally get to the kitchen, tell them that you are out of steak, but you have dried ham or hot dogs. Repeat daily until they don't pay attention to the menu any more they just ask for hot dogs.

• In the middle of January, place a podium at the end of your driveway. Have you family stand watches at the podium, rotating at 4-hour intervals.

• Lock yourself and your family in your house for 6 weeks. Then tell them that at the end of the 6th week you're going to take them to Disneyland for "weekend liberty". When the end of the 6th week rolls around, inform them that Disneyland has been cancelled due to the fact that they need to get ready for E-cert, and that it will be another week before they can leave the house.
  
  Put your family through these, and then let them tell you how glamorous Navy life is.

ISO (in search of)

hello all I'm looking for something to post here, and I'm hoping that you my fans can help. I am looking for the 100 things that I would do if I was an evil warlord.
Can anyone help me out?

Happy 2008 to all and I hope that this year finds you and yours "...healthy wealthy and wise"!
(now who can tell me who first said that and what is the rest of the quote?)

Dennis

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all!

Finally, I am on leave I really needed a break from the Ship! I am visiting my in laws this week, for the record I have the best in-laws out there I mean this between Marjorie's sister, Beth her husband Mark and the best 2 nephews in the world Evan and Holt, and my wonderful Mother-in-law Betty. Berry (father-in-law) and Alice and her daughter Neely. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful extended family that has made me feel a part of their family ever since I first met them.

Thanks to all and I hope 2008 is your best year yet!

(I promise to post a picture of the family as soon as I can get back to my home computer)

Dennis

What College Viewbooks Don't Tell You

There are some real gems in here!


reprinted from
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/6174/h--colle.html


1. Quarters are like gold.
2. Be creative in the dining hall.
3. Flip flops become as important as soap, shampoo, etc.
4. You will never find so many excuses for a bucket.
5. Asleep by 2:30 am is an early night.
6. New additions to the food groups: Mountain Dew, Doritos, Ben & Jerry's, Ho-Hos and Oreos.
7. Make sure your alarm clock has back-up batteries.
8. Showers become less important.
9. Sleep becomes more important.
10. Two meals a day are standard.
11. Recycling becomes synonymous with laundry ("Oh, my jeans can last until Christmas...there's only a *little* bit of mud on them...").
12. You can never make too many meals in a crock pot or hot plate.
13. 10 minutes is more than enough time to get ready for your first class.
14. Going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before.
15. It takes more than one person to carry your laundry, books, trash, etc...
16. You begin to nap again.
17. Your bill in the bookstore will almost equal tuition.
18. Isn't it amazing that the book your professor wrote is always required for his class?
19. Labs used to be fun.
20. T.A. used to stand for teaching assistant, now, for terribly articulated.
21. Squirt guns = stress relief.
22. E-mail becomes your second language.
23. Frat parties are exactly like they are in the movies.
24. Ten-page papers used to sound impossible, now they're a Godsend.
25. You never realized so many people are smarter than you.
26. You never realized so many people are dumber than you.
27. Professors are like celebrities: you see them, but they never see you.
28. Western Europe could be wiped out by a horrible plague and you'd never know, but you could recite last week's episode of "Friends" verbatim.
29. See every movie under $3 that your campus provides; it's actually proportional to the amount of money you have.
30. Road trip whenever possible.
31. Pick up all new lingo.
32. Plain pasta never constituted a complete meal before.
33. The health service attendants are there because they couldn't make it in a real hospital, never ever forget that.
34. Forget putting the toilet seat down, you just pray that they flush.
35. Frisbee becomes a contact sport.
36. Care packages rank up there with birthdays.
37. College girls are the same as high school girls, just with more freedom...and no curfew.
38. It never sucked so much to get sick.
39. Pop a vitamin and breakfast is covered.
40. Learn to love your roommate, especially when he leaves you the room.
41. You always thought that worshipping the porcelain god was just an expression...it's not!
42. You'll learn more about male genitalia than you ever thought necessary, guys talk more about that than women and sex put together.
43. Beware the freshman 15, or in some cases, the freshman cup size.
44. Even though the beds are long, they are also extra narrow.
45. Things that were a huge deal in high school are now commonplace.
46. You never thought you would share so much about yourself with people you have known for such a short time.
47. Computer games go in and out faster than the latest fashions.
48. Any game can be made into a drinking game.
49. Disney movies are more than just classics.
50. Find one thing you like in the dining hall and go with it.
51. You will hear more stupid nicknames than you ever thought possible.
52. Phone calls almost never happen and when they do, you just don't get the messages.
53. Cereal makes a meal any time of day.
54. Keep your high school term papers; nowadays, everything is recycled.
55. ATMs are the devil's advocate.
56. Beware the boy in the Care Bear toga.
57. You almost forget how to drive.
58. You'll drink anything if it's free.
59. People still cheat, it's just more technologically advanced.
60. You get really good with excuses for skipping class.
61. The girl you're going to marry may live right next door, so keep your stereo down.
62. Ordering food at 1 am is a common occurrence.
63. You never realized how cool you can be.
64. TV becomes a bigger time sucker than ever before.
65. You realize how great your hell summer job was once you get to work study.
66. Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them more than ever before.
67. You meet the type of people you only thought existed in the movies.
68. You learn to sleep with light, noise, extreme , and roommates snoring.
69. You don't have to cover your textbooks anymore.
70. You become a juggler with the balance between school, friends, girls, activities, work, parties...
71. You live for chicken finger day at the cafeteria.
72. People that were geeks in high school seem okay now.
73. You begin to realize that college is about the ideal lifestyle, except for those pesky classes.
74. You get good at rationalizing on whether to do homework or not.
75. Procrastination becomes an art.
76. Jeans may be worn as many times as the wearer desires (for example, see # 12).
77. The only reason you ever dress up is when everything else is dirty.
78. Your parents start to tell you stories about their college days.
79. With all the wealth of knowledge around you, you start to feel like you're on intellectual welfare.
80. Going to the mini-mart is a major treat.
81. You have two kinds of shoes: everyday shoes and party shoes.
82. Classes: the later the better.
83. The cute girls actually talk to you now.
84. The longer you're there, the less you talk about home.
85. Always wear your safety goggles, they're not kidding.
86. You just don't learn last names.
87. Card games never lasted for hours before.
88. Boys will dance in college.
89. People who never talked to you in high school are now your best friends when you come home.
90. You are NEVER alone.
91. It's amazing how late you can stay up doing absolutely nothing, yet falling asleep in class or in the library takes an average of two seconds.
92. You spend a ridiculous amount of time pondering the mystery of whether the cafeteria Lucky Charms are the real thing.
93. People magazine is your deep philosophical reading material.
94. You begin to subdivide your room into sections such as den, library, etc. to make it sound like a house.
95. All you have to do to make new friends is have mom send up some cookies.
96. You never realized how quiet your house was.
97. Dishes aren't dirty enough to wash until they have bugs and/or mold in them.
98. Printers only break down when you desperately need them.
99. You get along so much better with your family now that you never see any of them.
100. You become an expert at space optimization.
101. Anything can be cooked in a microwave.
102. Girls are almost as messy as guys. Girls just hide it better.
103. A trip to the grocery store requires 3 hours, in order to price check everything.
104. You can't study when it is too quiet.
105. Your cherished CD collection will never be intact again.
106. Going out to a restaurant to eat, only happens when your parents come to visit.
107. You become a really good pen-pal when you have a boring class.
108. There is such a thing as a blow-off course.
109. You actually rationalize staying home and watching Ricki Lake to going to class.
110. The first sign of spring and classes become even less of a priority.
111. If an 8:00 am class is required for your major, change your major.
112. Clever margin manipulation can turn a 4-page outline into a 100-page senior essay.

Guest writer

A friend of mine Steven, wrote a review of one of my favorite Coffees the IMV or Idido Misty Valley. I just had to share this with all of you! Thanks Steve!!!

It was an early fall day, rainy and colder than one would expect at this time of year. After coming back from a work trip that took a lot out of me I was looking forward to a wonderful pot of coffee. I had just the thing. Dennis had roasted up a batch of IMV, and this man has remarkable skill. He seems to know the bean, to understand what it wants in a roast. For we all know that taking a roast a touch too far may bring us a good cup of coffee, but some of the flavors will be gone or will have a faint taste of being burned - very faint, but there, affecting the entire cup. Should the roast run a bit too short and some flavors don't have the chance to introduce themselves to the other flavors in the roast and to the cup one is about to drink. Dennis knows how to get them all to the party.

The first sip is a bit of a trick, for it tastes like a simple cup of quality coffee - the flavor is full, the "coffee" flavor present, a bit of an earthy tone is front and center. But, on the second and slower sip one can taste a multitude of soft flavors that by themselves are very good, but together make up a coffee that is like none other one will have tasted. There is the treasured chocolate flavor of many very good coffees, which in and of itself can be hard to bring out in a coffee, especially one as complex as IMV. And, sitting next to the chocolate is the true taste of a floral bouquet - how is that possible. And, it wouldn't seem they would go together, but they do. I believe it is the other flavors that bring them all together, for a fraction of a second after the floral flavor is a more citrus one, not sour, but the zest of a citrus fruit in a chocolate background.

It doesn't stop there. This roast is not a particularly dark one, and I believe this allows many flavors to come out without one dominating the experience for the taster. As the chocolate subsides I was surprised to taste a true hint of vanilla, another flavor not come by easily in a roast, but here it is in Dennis brew. While not overpowering, there is a sharpness to them, they cut through the "coffee" and earthy tastes, along with a sample of cherry, almost as an afterthought it hides among the other flavors.

I also live in Costa Rica and the coffee reminds me of that, not in the actual coffee, but in the tropical nature of the combined flavors, much like the cornucopia of fruits one would find in our yard down there. The taste lingers sweetly and dissipates with no aftertaste, the palate is cleared for the next sip.

My goal is to work at roasting this coffee to the point where Dennis, himself, would say, "well done." Care goes into this roast, that is obvious. For it would take very little to miss the true "sweet spot." I imagine that there are a number of places to "pull" the roast that would give one a very good cup of coffee, but there is a very small window which would allow so many varied flavors all to have their say without any of them taking command of the cup. This coffee, every sip, is a gift to the senses. Drink on, drink on ...

Musing #3

Don’t Fight It...

Just the word change makes some people nervous. Why is that? What is it about change that causes us to fight it? Change is inevitable. Not one of us can truly prevent change no matter how hard we fight, Change happens. There is just something about change, which we equate with bad things. Change can be good.

I can look back in my life and some of the worst things (I thought at the time) I can remember about changes in my life actually became some of the high moments. Going to a new school –very traumatic at the time, yet after the hating the uniforms and having school on Saturday, I soon learned that my new school had it good points as well. After all having those Saturday classes made the school year shorter. The smaller class size get me a better chance of getting the extra help I needed in my weak areas. APS (Aiken Prep School) even had a “Sports day” where we all competed against each other. My ninth grade year, the Sports Day was the single proudest moment of my childhood. I had never been a super athlete as a child(heck, I was usually the "Last Picked for Kickball") but that day I actually won. My name is forever on the halls of APS as the senior champion for 1985. The school and the winners list goes all the way back to 1919.

Other changes I have readily accepted, even embraced – getting married, getting divorced 9 years later, getting married again, joining the Navy etc. (Speaking of joining the Navy; now that is just asking for change and lots of it!) From boot camp, to the fact that you are transferred from duty station to duty station, every three to five years. If you did not want change then the military is not for you.

Conversely, if you take a closer look at the military as a whole, the structure and schedule you keep is very indicative of a lack of change. Some people embrace the military for just that reason. The traditions and heritage of the Navy are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to rigidity (used here to refer to lack of change).

Change is constant and well “ever-changing” (pun-intended). We need to learn to accept change and evolve with the changes, to appreciate the changes we experience every day. Some days we don’t want to change and wish that our little bubble would remain exactly the same but once we have accepted the changes that will inevitability happen in our lives, our lives become richer and more fulfilling all the time. There is no reason to fight the change. We should all embrace change and find out how we can use the changes to enrich and better our own lives.

So let’s talk about Coffee…

Coffee is my passion my obsession if you will. I roast my own coffee at home using different methods. My first method was using a stainless steel dog bowl and a heat gun. Roasting your own coffee is easy and fun. Now I use a special drum inside a propane grill and I can roast up to 6 pounds at one time. Having Fresh coffee every day is such a treat I used to be a -6 shot grande-heavy whipping cream-4 Splenda-Latte at the mermaid. I was spending almost 7 dollars a day on coffee and that was if I didn’t get one in the afternoon as well so lets do some math since I was a customer for 4 years there I was spending 49 per/week that comes out to over 2500 per year. For the four years I went daily I spend over 10 thousand dollars there so what can I do to reduce that figure and have even better coffee? Well I started reading, learning, and found that I could roast my own do it better and cheaper.