Author: chappyshi

Kayaking the Potomac River Near Point of Rocks, MD

Posted on by chappyshi

I had quite the nice paddle on the Potomac River on Sunday, 8 August.  We have had a dry summer and the rivers are down but, after a mass of rainstorms came through last week, the Potomac near Point of Rocks, MD, still had a pretty good current flowing.  The water was crystal clear.  At one point up about 1/2 mile from my entry point at Nolan’s Ferry Road, I saw a school of about 300 good sized fish, presumably Largemouth Bass.

The paddle  up from Nolan’s Ferry Road to the Rt. 15 bridge across the Potomac was right about four miles and quite a good workout.  There were some stretches of low water where the going was slowly but there were more stretches of deeper water, up  to about four feet, where the going was much easier.  I saw a few Great Blue Herons and Osprey but no eagles on this trip.

Here are a few pics from the trip:

Fawning Over Falling Flora

Posted on by chappyshi

We lost a few trees in the apartment complex due to the heavy snows last winter.  I have been watching this one tree that was at the side of my building…just waiting for it to come down ever since early winter.  Today we had some heavy rains with very strong winds.  I had been at my sister Julie’s working on my job search when it all started.  I commented to her that I was worried about the tree.  I did not think it would take anything out if and when it came down but I was concerned.

By the time the storm abated and I headed home, I had totally forgotten about my concerns.  I walked to my building, checked my mail, gave some  packages to my neighbor that I had secured for him,  and settled into my apartment.  Then while grabbing Hamlet’s bowl to get ready to feed him I caught something odd out of the corner of my eye.  It was the top of the tree that someone had cut off.  The tree itself was down baring the few roots it had.  Considering the lack of significant root ball, it is amazing the tree stayed erect as long as it did!

I am sad to see the tree go.  It did block the view of the condos across from me in the winter.  More importantly, it provided  shelter for birds, particularly in the winter.   Finally, it was a tree and trees are good.  I did not even get the chance to see or hear it fall…  Damn it Jim!

Greetings from the Outer Banks!

Posted on by chappyshi

Trips to “Urgent Care” not withstanding (everyone is okay), we are having a great time at the Outer Banks (Salvo, NC).  Thanks especially to Julie for getting the house.  We have nice a house with pool and hot tub and are about a five minute walk from the, very uncrowded, beach.  Of course we are BBQ’ing like crazy!

Traffic was hell getting down here.  It took Kim, Don, and I 5 hours to drive the 125 miles down here.  Julie, Ed, and Ryan had about a 9 and 1/2  hour journey from Centreville.  Dave came down Sunday.  He had the longest drive but made it in less than seven hours.  Locals say the traffic was nearly as bad as they could recall it being.

Julie and Ed took a short trek down to the beach Saturday night but the rest of us didn’t make it out until Sunday.  Unfortunately it was in the mid-90’s with a wicked wind blowing from the south.  The wind was blowing major sand so we didn’t last too long on the beach.

Sunday night we had heavy thunderstorms, the wind switched to the north and abated considerably, and the temps dropped down to the mid-80’s.  That made for much more enjoyable trips to the beach!  This morning has been much of the same.  I headed down to the beach with my coffee, watched the sun rise, and took some pictures.

Here are a few pictures from the trip so far:

America Gave Me the Bird…

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And I took a picture of it!

Bald Eagle on the Potomac River

I had a great paddle on the Potomac River today.  I put in at Algonkian Regional Park and just happened to look up and catch this Bald Eagle in the tree.  It seemed totally unconcerned that I was hanging out below it taking pictures.  Joy!

I Felt the Earth Move

Posted on by chappyshi

I just got confirmation on the radio that we had a small earthquake this morning.  After hours of tossing and turning in bed, I got up at about 0500 and was sitting at my computer minutes later when my whole building shook.  Needless to say I was a bit puzzled but figured it had to have been an earthquake.  It left me feeling a bit queasy actually.

I looked at the USGS website about 10 minutes later but saw nothing.  It was only shortly after 0600 that I got the confirmation.  Will wonders never cease?

I Break for Ronald…McDonald

Posted on by chappyshi

On my scooter ride out to Deep Creek Lake, MD, I went through Romney, WV, on Route 50.  There was, what I considered to be an unusual backup, going through the small town.  Come to find out, they had put in a stop light to serve, as it appears, only the exit from the local McDonalds.

I had nearly forgot about this until I read this article in the Washington Post online , “Kentucky town of Manchester illustrates national obesity crisis,” (sic).  There are 2100 people in the town and 9 fast food restaurants if you count the Wal-Mart.  I am surprised there is a Wal-Mart.  In a town that small, more people must be in the Wal-Mart than any other place in town at any given time!

Is having to have a dedicated stoplight at McDonald’s an indication of a problem?

IRS Should Have Bigger Fish to Fry

Posted on by chappyshi

According to the Washington Post article “IRS wants a cut of online sales on eBay, Craigslist,” dated 30 May, 2010, the IRS wants tax revenue it is considered owed from online sales.  The Post notes that “With an estimated $290 billion tax gap…it is politically easier to raise additional revenue from people who haven’t paid their fair share than by raising taxes.”

Doh!  It’s a Homer Simpson moment.  Let’s move away from television fantasy to the real world here.  A new law has been created to help close the tax gap but as the Post additionally notes, “although nobody knows precisely how much the new law will bring in, or how much it will cost to enforce, congressional staffers have estimated it will make only a very small dent in the total tax gap.”

Let’s get after  it then, eh?