and particularly a beach at the southern end of Elbow Cay, called Tahiti Beach:
Elbow Cay is a paradise that sits on the Atlantic side of Abaco in the Bahamas. I have had the privilege to spend a number of vacations there back in the day, and one particular one stands out, as we have subsequently renamed the villa we rented alternately “Rat Villa”, or, sardonically, as “Steps to the Beach”. Luckily one could rent golf carts, the main mode of transport on the island, so we could navigate our way to the top of the steps to the beach in about ten minutes, pedal to the metal, granny holding on for dear life.
[a map is called for, ed.]
I think a map might be in order:
Elbow Cay
To get the bad news out of the way first, we discovered a frog in the cistern towards the end of our two week stay. This only came back as a more important memory when we were finally able to locate a rare, or rare in being symptomatic, amoeba called Dientamoeba fragilis
[Dientamoeba fragilis belongs to the trichomonad group of protozoan parasites and it has been implicated as a cause of gastrointestinal disease with world-wide prevalences ranging from 0.5% to 16%. The majority of patients with dientamoebiasis present with gastrointestinal complaints. Chronic symptoms are common with up to a third of patients exhibiting persistent diarrhoea….
International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211320712000255 added by ed., ed.]
in our eldest child a few years later. It wasn’t the frog’s fault or even the rat’s probably. But it might have been picked up while traveling, so I’m blaming the rat because he came with attitude and had motive and opportunity, if not means.
The rat we didn’t believe in to begin with.
But when we caught it in a snap trap that I had promised the kids would do him [or her, to be fair, ed.] in humanely and quickly, after it landed in a case of empties in the middle of the night having run over all six kids and the kitchen counter to get there, making a heroic leap from the garbage can, and then refused to die like a bad guy in a creepy movie, re-emerging dragging the trap from under the villa, until I actually managed to whack the trap open so it could slink off and get eaten by another rat in the bushes, then I was a believer. And the next rat, well, I carried it out, along with the entire night-table into whose drawer it had been lured as it terrorized my mother, without a single doubt as to its existence.
I don’t seem to have taken a picture of the villa that doesn’t prominently feature family members, so this will have to do:
It was our home away from home, a vacation home from a vacation home.
I switched from we to I, as my mother and I and my three kids got to stay on for an extra week, one of the advantages of homeschooling them when they are little [and pliable, ed.], after the rest of the clan went home. Peace also descended at that point, once the rat was vanquished, and we settled in to a lovely routine. The beach that was a short drive and then a steep set of, irony indeed, steps to the beach, was a nice morning beach:
for the foolhardy
and the adorably cute
But towards the end of the day, [all day, be honest, ed.] I much prefer a calmer place and pace and a longer short drive away there was a paradise, well-named: Tahiti Beach. If you were lucky when you were there the rays would come in close to feed
and you might even see an eagle ray’s fins out in the distance. And if you were unlucky that would remind you of a person to whom you are related by marriage who thought they were sharks, [perhaps trained pairs? sarcastic ed.] and refused to swim in the ocean at all. But my brave kids and their slightly inebriated mum and granny had no such fears, based on excellent statistics, i.e. no one ever eaten, even a bit, and recklessly enjoyed ourselves.
One exciting evening, the children were happily playing in the sand, off camera, while under close adult supervision:
when they encountered, about 8 inches deep in the sand near the water’s edge, a group of these:
who do this when provoked:
allowing me to make a once-in-a-life-time bad pun, saying they had found a penile colony.
I also met a woman on that beach who had turned sailor with her husband late in life, and as they began to get ready to go back to their sail boat she said she had to go, as “the tide was very punctual.”
And so I shall shut up, and leave you with a starfish leaving a feetprint, and the sun to set, punctually, from Tahiti Beach:
good morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0fj-UevS0s
been here with an illegal smile. http://www.cabbagekey.com/home/
Good stuff, xty. I found this article this morning, and it seems to fit. Enjoy.
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/06/39-ways-to-live-and-not-merely-exist.html
Now the wife and I are going out to take a walk in the morning air. It’s crisp out there. 🙂
I only got to tip number four. It said I should enjoy some coffee. I have cut way back but was thinking it smelt really good this morning. So I am going to follow that tip and then find out what else I have been missing.
smelt?. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelt_%28fish%29….smelled really good…get it right or suffer some moderation.
trying this again, let us pray. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ
We’ve been here, with young son in tow, fishing for snappers right off the dock. Great memories.
http://www.conchkeycottages.com/
That “young son” is now pushing 22 years old. We visited him at college yesterday, for the last marching band performance of the season. That’s him, mugging for the camera. He and girlfriend just signed a lease on a place together for next school year. Kid’s got the world by the tail. 🙂
i was here and it was way cool…
“mugging for the camera” like chinese proverb…apple not fall far from tree.
Awesome hats!
As to smelt, they are fish aren’t they. But dealt, learnt, burnt … English is a difficult language.
I may have played fast and loose with the rules for apostrophes as well. Let me know.
Speaking of awesome hats, I have another pic to share, but probably more appropriate for email. Coming soon.
“He who smelt it, dealt it.”
Can’t tell me that’s not good English. 😀
that is one that we agree on.
Food for thought on the miners:
http://www.mebanefaber.com/2013/10/25/a-classic-divergence/
Note: Mebane Faber is not a gold bug at all. I’ve read a lot of his stuff and he’s basically a pure number cruncher, without bias of any sort. Very conventional. Mostly known for backtesting a variety of asset allocation and/or timing models. I’ve never seen him mention miners at all, and only mention gold fleetingly in the context of broad asset allocation studies. I find this more interesting than anything that comes out of the mouths of the usual perma-cheerleaders.
I still won’t touch miners until they get over the 200 day (roughly the 40 week blue line on Faber’s chart), and then only GDX, and maybe not even then.
thank you EO. first fire of the year, with windows open..like camping in the living room and i am well versed at it.
Are you peeking in my windows? I just put a fire in the fireplace about an hour ago, though not the 1st of the season.
i just finished making Pico de Gallo. next i will be making Alton’s guacamole. i am using the last of my 2013 tomatoes. i will be moving next year in the spring, otherwise i would be building something now. i am going to design a set up so i can grow fresh tomatoes year round.
Ingredients
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/guacamole-recipe/index.html
oh yes. you think Packers vs Vikings will even be worth a watch? did you see the stuff about Brent Favre ? some Van for someone that i miss. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkYTW23BVPk
That guacamole sounds too good. I cheat and add salsa to avocado. Tossing with lime might keep it green longer. I have never been to Thailand, and am getting much more inclined to stay close to home these days, but that looks fabulous. Reminded me of BVI but grander.
A hole in the ground with a liar at the top. Man, that says it all.
Btw, I feel I should introduce Derek. I made 5 friends outside the old site, and you are four of them.
Lang may your lums reek! And thanks for helping me, in many ways.
I think I am possibly going crazy. Just trying to post a picture and failing.
I’ll try one. Here’s the maple tree in our yard. The remnants of the popcorn patch are lower left. 4.2 pounds of popcorn this year. Below average, but not the worst ever.
EDIT: and yes, you ARE going crazy. We all are. But that’s a whole ‘nuther story…
Bold
faster
but the link didn’t link so back to the drawing board …
oh, now it is a link
Well your picture sure worked. Just to prove I am getting alzheimers, how did you attach it? With the stupid choose file button? I am surprised I cannot find a better comment form, and that is my current quest. I think it must be out there.
Yes, I just saw those too. Thx. 🙂
giddyup cowboys
I think the birds are trying to tell me something:
Yes, just choose file. Needs to be something on my machine, not some internet thing. If it’s an internet thing I just drag it to my desktop first. It’s been working fine.
Saw this today. I wasn’t going to post it, but now I want to see how the “link” thing works. It struck me as the sort of thing that goes on every day at that other place…
Edit: nice. I like that.
Ron Paul was just on CNBC. I put him on “mute”, lol.
Gotta run, have a nice day.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html
how does this link option work?
i have a new “dumb” phone, but i haven’t figured out how to work the camera yet. when i do i want to start showing off my “rubble” collection.
here’s a picture taken from my last phone, which was smarter – (it was so eff’n simple) 🙂
It seems to turn all typing done after you hit the link button into a link.
This is not so straightforward as he makes out, but I am an hour into it.
and then if you hit link again, it stops being a link. Cool.
I think what I did was to highlight the words that I wanted to be the link, then hit the link button, then paste the link into the box that comes up.
Yup, that was it. Easy Peazy
okey dokey. good luck Xty. i still have yet to tackle my technical issues with the phone because…
i just spent over an hour on this! (had to look up a few things) i don’t have to tell you guys where i stand on these issues. i really don’t. but i will offer my opinion that the Pope came out on top in this interview.
OK – just in case you guys forgot, i have always thought that all religions are mostly “right”.
anyway, i found this article very inspiring, and i hope you do too.
i’m probably being paranoid, but just in case i killed the thread by introducing religion…
what i found inspiring is how inclusive and tolerant the new Pope’s vision for the Catholic church is. i hope that everyone that reads this post will work their way through it – i did have to look up a lot.
there is profound change happening in the world, and it’s far from being all bad. i believe that those that are preaching “doomsday” are trying to manipulate others using fear.
being paranoid, and also not traditionally being an apologist for institutionalized religion, i will close appropriately with a song…
I was raised in an almost religious-free atmosphere. Only my dad’s mum held any church beliefs, and she did baptize us in secret as Presbyterians are allowed to do in an emergency, in this case, us not being baptized by our parents. But my church memories with her are of bazaars, with lots of knitting and stuff, in church basements. Cups of tea.
And then in Grade Six I was sent to St. Clements school (in Toronto where I grew up) which turned out to be Anglican, and I kind of enjoyed their scripture classes. Started a collection of mini bibles – quite an interesting world of publishing as there is huge demand.
But despite my apparent stupidity, I did get in to the private school my brothers had, fooling the entrance examiners somehow. I say this in happy bitter hind-sight, because at the time I had no clue why my parents pulled me from my cohort and sent me to private school a year early. I think in retrospect changing schools then, and again when we went to England, has had a profound effect on my character. But on topic, it was secular.
In university I ended up taking a course in the Philosophy of Religion, that was very interesting and well taught. We also translated Genesis from the Vulgate bible into English when I took Medaevial Latin in 3rd year. But there, other than my own attempts to explain Easter to my kids and try to read or listen to the entire bible, somehow, someday, my religious education ends, and my opinion starts.
As to Catholicism, I have fairly hostile feelings, so I hesitate to comment, though I did start reading the interview. That even the Catholic church can shows signs of enlightenment, and possibly emerge from the 1600’s, does offer one some sluggish sense of hope.
Seems to me almost all religions are used as vehicles of social control, through brain-washing, and serve to serve a privileged few. And rarely are those privileged few female, on top of it all.
My story has many parallels with xty’s. Raised religion free. Secretly snuck off to church one day by my Mom and her sister to baptize me catholic, “just in case”. When I found out about it as an adult, I was pissed. When I saw that my sister had disclosed that fact on my write up in ancestry.com, I angrily told her to get that the hell off of there.
My attitudes tend to be hostile to religion in general, and to catholicism in particular. My Dad used to refer to it all as a “magic show”, and I’m with him. So when I saw your link, I didn’t linger. I’m not the least bit interested in what any pope has to say.
Sorry, woodpecker.
moving on…
i’ll never do that again! don’t worry, i am not Catholic, or anything else really. i’m still figuring out what i believe in. i only wanted to point out a new and hopeful tone – in my honest opinion! but maybe you should be at least a little afraid of going to hell if you won’t even open a link. 🙂 🙂 🙂
this movie scared the crap out of me the first time i saw it…
segue to new topic, and state of mind…
very skeptical of the pope(any and all) feel badly for the ones that feel obligated to support his and their lifestyle… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnhoxQJSqRY
just an old brain cell re-firing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4JDJ3HfD_w
. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdEQkRq_xrw
southern stuff for eo, uggs & woodpecker. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pCUBvyjJ68
OK, as promised, er, i mean warned… first picture from new “dumb” phone.
called banded iron, specifically specular hematite with jasper, also called jaspilite.
the silver layers are hematite. it is the primary ore mineral for iron. i collected this specimen from the Republic Mine, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
http://www.andylphoto.com/rmine/
let’s see if i can do this again…
back row – banded iron – same as above, cone top beer can – full – a long extinct Chicago brand – 1939, smokey quartz crystal – Mount Hope Arkansas
front row – 50 lb copper ingot – Copper Range Co. (White Pine Mine) Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
very nice!…some prine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1EF9Q2m7pA
thank you and nice to see you…
Elbow Cay Sunrise
In The Dark She Did Surmise
And Wrote To My Eyes
I keep getting the moderation warning that only comments written in Haiku format will be allowed. Man, these literary (does that mean people who are writers?) types sure do run a tough site!! lol
j/k Xty, as a lover of hot weather I really enjoyed the post. We’re still 70s here just west of Atlanta and I’ve already been weighing the pros and cons of being homeless somewhere south once the cold hits.
Picking a good spot to be homeless has been crossing my mind too – Toronto seems to be a choice destination for many, as is Montreal, which is crazy because we have 17 months of winter. Sneaking into the States and working my way south seems the best option.
That 50 lb ingot is very cool.
Comments are just showing up, without me doing anything. I think what happens is the spam filter lets you guys through right away, because of the settings, but does still check the comment for spam later, which makes no sense, but it seems to run a general spam check once in a while, and then the notice of moderation disappears. At least it seems to be working. Who knows what it keeps out.
Interestingly, it was not arguing about religion that started Derek and my friendship! But we took the discussion offline, and found much common ground.
As to writing in poetic styles (that doesn’t sound right) I only write Haiku by accident. I fall into Dr Suess mode no matter what. Like trying to speak in accents but always ending up sounding like Apu from the Simpsons. Trouble counting the beats, odd to say – I still have trouble understanding where syllables lie and how to pronounce things.
This was, still is, one of my favourite poems:
A Thousand hairy savages
Sitting down to lunch
Gobble gobble glup glup
Munch munch munch.
Written by Spike Milligan.
I grew up surrounded by mysterious british comedy. That poem then always reminds me of this:
My favorite limerick, stolen from ZH long ago (ironic, since I can’t stand to go to the site now):
My silver is on its way back
Despite the Blythe Masters attack
It sure would be nifty
If it shot up to fifty
My wife would stop giving me flack.