Monday, November 2, 2009

Rogue's Gallery


Here's this year's collection of Jack O'Lanterns on the kitchen counter after being freshly cut. We had Smiley on the left, "Baby Boo", Harry Pumpkin, the Haka Pumpkin and the Vampire. We'll see what's left of them at the end of the week! (Pictures to follow on Friday!)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Engage.


As I alluded to in my last post, I've changed my 'regular' job. I say 'regular' job because it is my where the majority of my earnings come from and what I trained for in college. I really have two jobs - the one that I go to during the week and teaching canoe building on the weekend. Basically, I am a mechanical engineer and would be known in the trade as a packaging engineer. For the past 14 years, I was specifying, designing and overseeing the manufacturing of opto-mechanical/electro-optical systems. I must say it was a very interesting job and I am very grateful to my previous employer for the opportunities that I've had to do interesting things. There was never a dull moment. However, I was outgrowing the job that I was doing and it was time for me to move on.

I finished up the period of notice at my previous employer on Tuesday and immediately started my new job on Wednesday.

At my new job, I am still working as a packaging engineer, but I'm not packaging optical systems anymore. I can't really explain it in detail, but suffice it to say that it's a lot more technical than my last job and a lot more intense in some regards. I don't know if you are old enough to recall the old Memorex tape ad at the top of this post, but it is a good analogy to starting a new job like the one I've begun. Suffice it to say that I'm the guy in the chair and the job is coming out of the speaker.

As anyone who starts a new job, I have lots to learn, but believe that I also have lots to offer my new employer. I'm well versed with the tools that I will be using to do my job. (Even though I am still waiting for some of the tools that I need and trying to decide which tools will help me do my job better and faster...) I have actually already started the re-design of an existing product, which amazes me a bit, but the only way to get good at what you are doing is to do it. My greatest satisfaction is that I can actually see my progress in only two days on the new job!

Monday, October 26, 2009

A bit of change...






With the change of season, I'm also going to be having some other changes in my life. My morning drive will be changing and over the past few weeks I've been taking some pictures to remind me of some of the sights that I've enjoyed over these many years.

I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have.

Friday, October 23, 2009

A Few More Blogs



I'm obviously not the only blogger out there, and certainly not the only one doing small boats as a topic. One of my favorite sites was one I was introduced to through the gentleman who put it together over at the WoodenBoat Forum. The man in question was David J. Fleming III, aka "Tugboat Dave" and "O&O West Coast". Mr. Fleming was a kind and modest gentleman who shared his wealth of wisdom and experience with woodworking and traditional wooden boat building and repair with others. His website, Welcome to Sag Harbour is a treasure-trove of boatbuilding wisdom from a tradition that is not what it once was. Sadly, Mr. Fleming passed away last year and I have no idea how much longer his website will be around. I strongly urge you to take a look around his site while it's still there.


Another great blog that I'm really remiss in not sharing sooner is 70.8%. This blog is written by "mostly armchair sailor" Thomas Armstrong and "70.8%" is a reference to the amount of the Earth's surface that is covered with water. The blog postings are relatively infrequent, perhaps about 6-10 a month. What he lacks in posting quantity, he makes up for with subject depth which is quite excellent. In particular, I'd like to point out Thomas' post on the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival and his excellent pictures of the subject.

If you really enjoyed the pictures from 70.8% of the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival, I'd encourage you to check out this thread at the WoodenBoat Forum!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009