Maxine, Mar. 2005 - Nov. 2007

Maxine, originally uploaded by sailorbill.

View photos of our Border Collie, Maxine.

Western New York Fly Fishing

Little brown trout, originally uploaded by sailorbill.

Winter has started to creep in to the Western part of New York and the 'Browns' are thinking about grabbing their last meals before slowing down for the winter in the creeks near Rochester.

We had a our first little flurry of snow yesterday. The temps are dropping too but wearing layers seems to be working just fine as I actually got too hot the last time out - except for my fingers! I have to figure out what to do about gloves. Any suggestions are appreciated. My next approach will be to take several pairs and when the first pair gets wet, switch to dry ones.

The bass boat is getting winterized next week. I may take it out once more to mix up the Stay-bil in the tank before shutting things down for the cold weather.

Tracy just bought me a 8'6" 3 wt. Winston Boron IIx fly rod for my 40th birthday, so I'm now walking the area's freezing creeks hunting for fish.

I might be addicted to fishing.

Special forces

I watched an episode of "The Unit" last night on CBS.

The first story line involved three members of the Army's secret Rangers unit going into a foreign country to rescue workers at an American embassy that was under fire.

Bullets were hitting the building and breaking out the newspaper-covered windows as the group was exiting to a waiting bus.

The ambassador and some of the workers were not following orders and were very resistant to leaving.

One of "the unit" members was hit by a bullet in the arm in the first scene because of a delay by the ambassador.

After several other embassy workers were killed because they weren't listening to the instruction of the experts there to help them escape, my wife said, "I couldn't do a job like that where the people I was helping didn't want to be saved".

I responded, "It is all in a day's work."

Tracy finishes her first half-marathon

Tracy finishes her first half-marathon, originally uploaded by sailorbill.

Her 2007 Preferred Care Rochester Marathon, Rochester, New York, September 16, 2007 photos are on my flickr.com page

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Spindle by Dustin Shuler (1989)

Spindle 1989 by Dustin Shuler, originally uploaded by sailorbill.

Artist Dustin Shuler's "Spindle" located in the parking lot of a Berwyn, IL strip mall in the Western suburbs of Chicago may be removed permanently and replaced by a Walgreens according to a story published by the GateHouse News Service.

“The ‘Spindle’ may or may not be maintained,” said Michael Flight, president of the management company. “The current ownership would have to spend a tremendous amount of money if they relocated it. The current ownership is not sure what they would like to do with it at this point.”

Back in February, I was heading into the western suburbs of Chicago from the city when I saw the sculpture off to my left and I slammed on the brakes, did a u-turn and shot a few photos.

To be replaced by Walgreens. Hrm...

Tracy's old iPhone

Tracy's old iPhone, originally uploaded by sailorbill.

One of the reasons we waited to get the iPhone is that Tracy runs with a rubber band connecting her old flip-phone and her iPod Shuffle (minus the cap and strap.

Friday night, we each picked up an 8 Gb iPhone. I came home and set mine up immediately. Tracy was afraid to run in a 10K here in Rochester on Saturday morning while carrying the new phone, so we waited to set up her new iPhone.

We connected her phone to iTunes on Saturday morning after the race. Sunday, 10:45 a.m. and we are still waiting for activation. We did get a order number in an email from AT&T. I guess AT&T never had this quantity of people swamp their set-up process before.

Mine is working fine. Calls are clear. The keyboard is getting easier to use with each attempt. The phone is very intuitive to use. The Safari web browser is amazing once you figure out that you can turn it sideways and double-tapping zooms the text.

More updates to follow, I'm sure!

(Oh, yeah, Tracy finished 12th in her age group in the Furry Scurry 10K - her first race!!)