Catching up is hard to do...
Well, it looks like LiveJournal is still a growing, changing thing...the update for my LiveJournal 'client' seems to have taken into account that the old embed codes that YouTube and the like used to use are finally going by the wayside and the newer codes are here to stay (until the next 'Big Thing' comes down the pike...) So, it looks like I'll be able to add interesting videos to my updates after all!
That being said, I'm still pretty busy otherwise. still doing the 50-hour workweeks at work and it's only going to get busier over the next few years as the USS Enterprise is being inactivated next week and that's going to keep me busy for the next three or four years (Not to mention the USS Abraham Lincoln is coming in for her refueling and we've got a couple new Ford class carriers being built right now...) All that, plus I'm still working on getting the house fixed up after this past summer's tornado. (I'm currently tearing down the old shed in the backyard to make way for it's replacement next week...just waiting for a decent time to start the noisy work...probably after noon.) And on top of all that, the holidays are here and I'm debating going to Mardi Gras this year as I don't have a date for the ball and it's just a couple of weeks before Katsucon, where I've volunteered to run the Model Contest this year...sheesh.
Anyway...let me get started in catching up on my LiveJournal entries....(I don't promise I'll get it finished today...just started.)
Back in early October, I took a road trip down to Georgia for a couple of reasons. The first was there is a semi-annual public dig at one of the best locales for rutile crystals at Graves Mountain, Georgia. Rutile is a titanium oxide mineral that can form beautiful reddish-silvery crystals and Graves Mountain is where they can be found forming really nice (and expensive) formations. There's also a lot of other neat minerals that can be found at this site of a couple ancient volcanoes...lazulite and iridescent hematite, to name a couple.
Second, after deciding to make the trip, I figured I'd be within an hour or so's drive of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia and despite the fact that last time I checked into his website, he said he was going to be closed the whole YEAR of 2012, I had to double check...
Lo, and Behold! He had opened the museum up on weekends! Fridays and Saturdays! Because...because...he was going to sell off his entire collection this February...
*jawdrop*
Well, that settled it. I HAD to go now...and I HAD to call up some friends of mine back in Mobile to tell them the news. So, we planned a weekend in Georgia to go digging, microcar viewing, and checking out Atlanta.
Here's my album from the Graves Mountain Dig...
There were LOTS of people out there digging. The weather was perfect! I didn't find any rutile (except for a beautiful crystal I found on a table...I extracted it with several pieces of green paper...)
The following day, we went to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum and took a ton of photos, because this would most likely be the only time I get to see this fantastic collection. He also collects vintage vending machines, bubblegum memorabilia, and kiddie rides. Everything on the display floor was in pristine shape! Best $5 I've spent in a long time...
We were going to only go there for a few hours but we ended up staying until they shut the lights off...
Sunday, we went into Atlanta and went to the Georgia Aquarium. The largest aquarium in the world! A great time was had by all...though I really can't recommend the dolphin show...it was pretty damned cheesy.
Driving back, I made a few stops at some interesting places such as The Georgia Guidestones (again) and the Center of the World!
This is probably the worst idea ever to come out of the Civil War...a Double-Barreled Cannon! Yup, two cannonballs connected by a chain were to be fired out of this baby. Nothing bad could happen with this idea!
Well, that's it for now...there'll be more updates soon.
That being said, I'm still pretty busy otherwise. still doing the 50-hour workweeks at work and it's only going to get busier over the next few years as the USS Enterprise is being inactivated next week and that's going to keep me busy for the next three or four years (Not to mention the USS Abraham Lincoln is coming in for her refueling and we've got a couple new Ford class carriers being built right now...) All that, plus I'm still working on getting the house fixed up after this past summer's tornado. (I'm currently tearing down the old shed in the backyard to make way for it's replacement next week...just waiting for a decent time to start the noisy work...probably after noon.) And on top of all that, the holidays are here and I'm debating going to Mardi Gras this year as I don't have a date for the ball and it's just a couple of weeks before Katsucon, where I've volunteered to run the Model Contest this year...sheesh.
Anyway...let me get started in catching up on my LiveJournal entries....(I don't promise I'll get it finished today...just started.)
Back in early October, I took a road trip down to Georgia for a couple of reasons. The first was there is a semi-annual public dig at one of the best locales for rutile crystals at Graves Mountain, Georgia. Rutile is a titanium oxide mineral that can form beautiful reddish-silvery crystals and Graves Mountain is where they can be found forming really nice (and expensive) formations. There's also a lot of other neat minerals that can be found at this site of a couple ancient volcanoes...lazulite and iridescent hematite, to name a couple.
Second, after deciding to make the trip, I figured I'd be within an hour or so's drive of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia and despite the fact that last time I checked into his website, he said he was going to be closed the whole YEAR of 2012, I had to double check...
Lo, and Behold! He had opened the museum up on weekends! Fridays and Saturdays! Because...because...he was going to sell off his entire collection this February...
*jawdrop*
Well, that settled it. I HAD to go now...and I HAD to call up some friends of mine back in Mobile to tell them the news. So, we planned a weekend in Georgia to go digging, microcar viewing, and checking out Atlanta.
Here's my album from the Graves Mountain Dig...
There were LOTS of people out there digging. The weather was perfect! I didn't find any rutile (except for a beautiful crystal I found on a table...I extracted it with several pieces of green paper...)
The following day, we went to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum and took a ton of photos, because this would most likely be the only time I get to see this fantastic collection. He also collects vintage vending machines, bubblegum memorabilia, and kiddie rides. Everything on the display floor was in pristine shape! Best $5 I've spent in a long time...
We were going to only go there for a few hours but we ended up staying until they shut the lights off...
Sunday, we went into Atlanta and went to the Georgia Aquarium. The largest aquarium in the world! A great time was had by all...though I really can't recommend the dolphin show...it was pretty damned cheesy.
Driving back, I made a few stops at some interesting places such as The Georgia Guidestones (again) and the Center of the World!
This is probably the worst idea ever to come out of the Civil War...a Double-Barreled Cannon! Yup, two cannonballs connected by a chain were to be fired out of this baby. Nothing bad could happen with this idea!
Well, that's it for now...there'll be more updates soon.