Posted by: nativeiowan | July 3, 2011

proud Papa

I call her “Stunner”…

Posted by: nativeiowan | July 3, 2011

a long fun weekend…

…and school break just started (based on UK/ Aussie school calendar), so we spend the weekend in the pool…

Yesterday, Saturday, was great fun. Had Steve and Mendozza in the pool early. Nick, Salome, 3yr Leliana and 8 month old Paza were a grand addition.

Leliana jumped in the pool at one point thinking she could swim. She almost can. Who said her daddy, Nick, was too old to move fast?

Annie and her brood are always a gas. Angelo is getting a bit too cool for the pool… had the bbq running all day and into the night.

Ended up with Papa and Angelina crashing out in front of a movie.

I chased everyone one away today so I could get caught up with work.

All done and all guud…

Posted by: nativeiowan | July 1, 2011

da truth…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 27, 2011

sitting in an airport…

Watching the people. Another half hour or so to go. I am looking forward to being warm, even hot, again.

Young love sits across from me. They must still be teenagers. Running away for a few days on the slopes?

A couple big groups of school kids move around. They appear to be well behaved. All in uniforms. Looking like clones.

Most everyone is face-planted in a machine of some sorts. I do see a couple people reading books.

And I write. About what I see. What I hear. What I feel…

Life is way guud…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 27, 2011

more very nice music…

20 Guitar Interlude _ Autumn Morning

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 27, 2011

sorry folks… blinded by the light…

I posted the 2007 version, all 8 minutes, before I relasied it was a let down… my bad.

here you go…

try this too… 01 Blinded By the Light

01 Blinded By the Light

 

 

 

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 27, 2011

dun’t know… “blinded by the light”…

Set off this morn for more “moko”… on the way, and again, as I got in the car to drive away… this tune kept coming up….

Boy, oh boy… I remember nights zoning out to this… shit, musta been the summer of 76 …??? I bet most people dun’t know Springstein penned this tune… who among our old rocker friends still play this song… or even know the words?

“…Mama always told me not to look into the eye’s of the sun…”

but thats where the fun is…

Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said “I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong,
play the song with the funky break”
And go-cart Mozart was checkin’ out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
But she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tired
She’s gonna make it through the night
She’s gonna make it through the night
But mama, that’s where the fun is
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Mama always told me not to look into the eye’s of the sun
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
Says, “Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in it’s funny bone,
that’s where they expect it least”
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner,
watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin’ with his frozen zone, reminding him of romance
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Madman drummers bummers, Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
Now Scott with a slingshot finially found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not said daddy’s within earshot save the buckshot, turn up the band
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said “I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong”

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 27, 2011

Last day in Aus…

And about time. Should have been back Friday. Saturday was Mendozza’s 6th birthday. We had a big party by the pool. I so much enjoy kids parties… and I missed this one. Real bummed!

But as I get today totally open to planning… I am going to run south and get some more Moko work done. it’s amazing how much I look forward to the ink and the needles then after a few hours turn into a world class wimp.

Call me a puss…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 24, 2011

Stuck in Aus

Solair strikes again… 930 am flight for today, 24 June now is a 930 pm flight on Sunday 26 June.

Sure glad I checked the flight status before I went to bed at 1am… 200.00 for a car to pick me up at 630 am so, good news is I did not find out about the changes at the airport, and bad news is it still cost 200.00 as the car was here at 630am.

Bad, bad news is it suppose to start raining so no bike rides in the offing…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 21, 2011

another cold night coming on

Tonight it’s going as low as 40f / 5c. Got my stocking cap on and am thinking about a hot bath and my heavy blanket… days are great here but I need a fire place if it’s going to be near freezing during the eve/ night…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 18, 2011

rider’s log 16-620-11

Had both bikes out for a spin this morn. The f800r is a slick bike. I took it then the R1200RTSE over the same roads. Speed limit 80ks… I found the ride on the 800 to be effortless while I found myself riding the brake on the 1200. The 800, so much lighter, corners like a dream. The 1200 does a great job but is just simply a bigger bike and don’t do corners as well.

I did a few k run up the freeway on both bikes and thats where the 1200 comes into it’s own. a day in the saddle on the 1200 would be fine where you’d be crippled after more than 4 hours on the 800.

I am glad both have heated seats and hand grips. Temps a bit low as it is winter here in Queensland. Lows tonight to be down below 50f or 9c…

Got a stocking-cap, wooly sweater and fur boots on and the sun is still up, and life is gud…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 17, 2011

only 52 degrees out

Thats about 11 c…

Dumb move today, left the Solos without the power supply for my computer… dern… new computer is 900, power supply has got to be 200… dern, messed up this time…

Wonder who has one I can borrow?

…???

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 16, 2011

Heading to Aus

Preparing to spend a week in Queensland. Weather there is a bit cold but it will be OK. Solair, as usual, a bit confused… ticket says depart 245pm… front of today’s paper states departure at 1145am… who knows… go figure…

life is good

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 14, 2011

sad times…

So much for education in the isles… I like the line about the fire truck not being functional…

Auki school blaze
WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2011 04:36

ONE of Malaita Province’s historical icon, Auki Primary School (APS) was burnt down early hours of yesterday morning.

A double storey classroom was believed to have been torched to the ground.

The incident happened between 2am-3am.

Deputy head teacher Paul Totore said they were shocked and they were not aware of who was responsible for the burning down of the school.

“It look as if someone was responsible for the fire but we cannot jump to conclusions until an investigation is carried out”, he said.

Mr Totore called on parents not to take matters into their own hands but leave it to the police to deal with it.

But reports reaching the Solomon Star from Auki said it was the work of arsonists.

According to residents nearby, they saw two men walking into the school premises before the fire started.

A container containing fuel was also reportedly found at the scene in the morning.

It was understood Auki police were also handicapped with resources, thus they could not contain the fire.

The only fire truck in the province has no battery so it was useless as well.

Hundreds of students turned up for classes yesterday morning but to their dismay with only ashes left of what they had learnt over the years.

Meanwhile, Mr Totore described the school as the pride of Malaita Province.

APS is one of the first schools to be built in the province as well as the country.

“Some of the elites in the country with good educational backgrounds were once groomed from this very own school and it is a sad thing,” Mr Totore said.

A grieving parent Billy Sumani spoke on behalf of the parents of the school stating that the burning down meant that a lot of children would be deprived of their rights to education.

“It’s a sad thing for the province and I am not happy,” he said.

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 14, 2011

luv these islands…

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 13, 2011

to make you smile…

1-17 I Wanna Be Black

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 13, 2011

all guud

I sit in Gizo as the light fades. The cicadas sing and the power is off. I got up to the house about 1pm. Flew in from Honiara, did some work at the depot then came home. Hooked up and logged in and, the power went off.

Had a great, drowsy afternoon.

I flew up with some nice steaks for supper. The boys get a lot of fish but good meat does not visit Gizo often. Last week I brought up a nice ham we shaved, sliced and gnawed for the entire week. Today I brought up some nice looking sirloin.

At the Gizo house, or rather, in the Gizo house resides a quite insane cat. The Gizo house is a great place and a great place for cats but, is also the home of a bunch of dogs. There are old dogs n young dogs n short dogs and long dogs… we are dog people and we feed a whole mess of them.

Some time they get fed cats.

As much as we like dogs we like cats too. With our old dogs we ran the dogs cats and birds together. Somewhere in the family archives is a picture of a young ridgeback, with a wild cat only Paul could handle, and an Eclectus parrot the kids had clipped it’s wings… They were all eating out of the same bowl.

So we bring cats to the house and, sadly, inevitably, they wish to step out of the house and, yep, the dogs win.  They win every time. But this once…

The cat that resides here has no real name. He once decided to wander out-of-doors and was rescued after two dogs decided to play tug o war with him. The cat obviously survived and lives merrily, if insane, in the Gizo house

The wind just blew up… the power is still off.

The stove is electric. I cannot cook until the power comes on.

I have had the steaks merinading all day. They are going to be real good. But I need power.

Last week we had a ham. The dern cat would not eat any of it. Paul explained that cat is a fussy eater. But refusing ham? He stole a full steak a while ago. Guess it is good to see he like beef.

I’ll work on a story of the insane Cat that lives on an island in a sea of dogs.

Light is ending. It will be real dark, real soon. Have a kero light near by. Also have a standby generator in the shed. Not sure why the boys are not using it but I wold not doubt that it is nothing more than a flat battery.

The wind blows from the north. A bad wind, indeed. I hate northerlies. They mean bad news as this anchorage is protected to all quarters but north. When I was last in the shipping business you got used to hearing the wind pick up and worrying about your vessel.

And life is guuud… even for the cat stranded in a sea of dogs….

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 13, 2011

ain’t no sunshine…

Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s G

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 3, 2011

too tired, too early

Being on the water wears you out. This past week has been fun but I’m looking for bed and it ain’t 8pm. What a wusss… Last day, tomorrow.

More clean up and maintenance work here at Gizo. Then schedule our next projects. The guys have done a great job rebuilding the wharf. The depot is doing well but still needs a lot of work. Considering we got hit by an 8.1 earth quake and a resultant tsunami in 2007, we’re doing real, real good.

The Alcol is near the end of it’s rebuild. It is a pleasure and an honour to work with Uncle Noel Hudson. He’s a genius. He’s an impressive human.

As a bit of background: The LC (landing craft) Alcol is an old steel hulled barge of 300 tonne class. For a boy from Iowa I have done pretty good in regards to the Ocean. Knew nothing about it when I came out. knew less than nothing.

I once heard a definition of an “Island” as, “a body of land, surrounded by water, that demands ownership of a boat”.

We’ve had boats for a long time. Mostly small. The Alcol is the biggest thing we’ve ever owned. Once looked at buying a 1000 tonne barge. The Alcol is only 300 tonnes or 100 feet long by 25 feet wide.

As mentioned, the Alcol is an “old” steel hulled barge. A couple of years ago the vessel’s owner was not sure if he was going to repair it or scuttle it. It needed a mountain of work. I got involved and we have almost, completely rebuilt the vessel to a very high standard. By the end of July we should be certified and all ready to haul fuel round these islands. We did the rebuild at Uncle Noel’s very remote and very bitch’n ship yard on Liapari island…

The ship yard is the small line about 6 oclock in the south side of the bay.

Everything had to be shipped in from Honiara. A logistical wet-dream. It has been 2 years as of last month. And we’re aiming to be surveyed and in service by end July. Lots of pictures from several trips chronicle the rebuild. It is literally an amazing feat

Found the tune that fits my mood…

05 watrerfront

Posted by: nativeiowan | June 2, 2011

more fun in the sun

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