Random Thought Thread

[Barry Donovan]

Look at Google Earth, Hoover Dam. As you move around the angle of view (parallax?) changes, as if you're either manipulating a "solid" image or they just took pictures of that thing from every single angle...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ho...29de37!6m1!1e1

Modern tech, which I am still 'way behind on. I was happening to be marveling over the 1930's tech (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam) when I came across that. I'd bought Gail a weekend in Vegas for her birthday which due to this-and-that we haven't gone on yet but when we do, there may be the side trip.

amazing stuff.
I used to play with nasa world wind.
scripts to show journeys...that is also getting to be an old story.

tiny computing power..this means smart math.

---

my uncle skip

I was up until 5 am. Not sure why. My heart is strong and felt a sharp tug around 2am.. went away quickly.
I went for the coffee, just another one.
I had a desire to keep busy.

my dad calls today to inform me my uncle died of a heart attack this morning.

He left a bad marriage behind, he was a skipper.
recluse for years, but still loud if to meet him.

he was officially educated to be a captain.
Got in a lot of trouble, they took the big license.
110 foot all steel, off the coast of new england was his peak.
Among the toughest guys in the world I presume..at the helm to boot.

the stories are as old as the heavy hulls.
I worked with him on his lobster boat for a short time, cold coast of maine.

In another life, he'd be a legend.
In another life he'd have all his kids around him.. no hiding.
The troubles, the jails..
the tattoos.
the boat trip full of marijuana avoiding the panama canal went around south america instead..
The judge commended him for fantastic skills with a sextant. No electronics.

In another life, Frank Albanese jr of woburn mass..
He would be remembered, for more than the book he was in.
The badass he became...the badass he tried to run from.
I believe he found that other life now.
He is enjoying the peace.

I am glad to have met him, and know him since birth.
I remember my brother and sister and I could all fit on his back, as he swam us around.
50 something at the shoudlers. Like we were sitting on a baby whale.

I witnessed him tilt the 45 foot boat to the side with just his arms, pulling a loaded trap by hand from 150 feet.
I'll call him a legend, and get away with it.
Rest in Peace "skip".

Some claim the name. Some actually earn it.

I like music with memories.
He did like this song.

I professed to write a peom some day..
for the toughest man I ever met.

Your the first mate." he said,
the two of us out at sea.

The strength of his spiritual head,
unafraid to be dead.

The plane flying above was for me.

A 1st mate I became,
For the plane in the sky.

Close to the same,
Avoiding death is not the game.

For a man to be free.

I keep a woman in my dreams.
A captain at the helm it seems...

For a man to be free.

Rest in peace my uncle skip,
Heaven must have a big ol' ship.

For a man to be free.

[Deaf Bob]

My condolences, Barry..it is never easy..

[Barry Donovan]

My condolences, Barry..it is never easy..

hardly upset..
but you're right.

My family has big gene pool contrast, grandma married twice.
she is a binding for 2 self efficate strong men, bordering nerd in knowledge.. from different ends of the universe.
It is funny to decipher.
I look like a grandpa no one ever met, a 1st cousin looks more like my sister than my brother and sister..only met her once.

it is fun. A sure thing to say:
one of a kind is all of us...

if it means making up words that are missing.

[Deaf Bob]

Hate to say, I missed my dog more than my dad, his brother rated a humph when he passed their mom my grandma got a smile when she passed..
No... I was perfectly justified..
Kinda funny how stuff is.. Not haha funny but strange..
I know my kids will miss me..I made sure I done none of the crap dad did..
Life marches on..
Some are left behind to carry on..

[Barry Donovan]

Hate to say, I missed my dog more than my dad, his brother rated a humph when he passed their mom my grandma got a smile when she passed..
No... I was perfectly justified..
Kinda funny how stuff is.. Not haha funny but strange..
I know my kids will miss me..I made sure I done none of the crap dad did..
Life marches on..
Some are left behind to carry on..

that does happen too.
my uncle went to federal jail, he did a lot of bad things.
blew up a gas station.
some thought he killed somebody.
sailed halfway around the world for a boatload of marijuana...

with only a sextant.

I knew better than call him a bad ass. .
I am almost glad for the hempers, the way things are given a chance.
Guys tougher than him would call him a runt and laugh...and they'd stay friends.
Gangsterisms I presume.
He knew of other mass. gangstas. Whitey Bulger etc.

once just happens.
once goes by.

once it is in your head.
once.
it will never die.


good or bad. it is up to all of our puny truthed selves.
I remember moving to maine, the city sarcasms almost built in.
I had to learn a lot of things too.

Staying alone was one of them..
I am on the federal dive to hell. The other end of a rainbow.


There is a runt here at vbulletin with the isr action code.
interrupt service request. I do not need that. Does a keylogger?

changing the subject..
I joined the military, my uncle had an influence. Formal records is important. The whole family is good, he knew it. He was his own tangent on life.
I first told him while he was in jail, lake placid. That may have been 1988 or 9...1990?
within months of predicting a war... gulf 1 unfolded.
We spoke sometimes, as if time was right there in front us. A normal person would claim a mental ill.
I had 2001 scribbled on a notebook, from 1990.
weird stuff like that. We used to laugh sometimes.

when I finally joined and got talking with others..I was at bangor maine air guard.
I said, an enemy could walk right through this place, and no one would do anything. I mean heck, nothing even secures the damn airplanes.
that was 1992.


At my worst hit, I had a coworker that was real bad. Yes as an air gurad weekend warrior, I have encountered more than one enemy..internationally. I was poisoned at a local club, and knew without a doubt it was a real enemy.
At home disabled.. slurring my words as if stroked, months later.. 1997. in late 90s, that made national news. someone else caught onto bangor maine...in journalism. An active duty person was poisoned, same club.
As it turned out, I was in the first of the lone wolf attacks. ..they began before bin laden announced them.

I was talking to an officer.."As long as that runt is working there, the gates of hell will be open. No one will call 911 then either." (he left me for dead).
I vividly knew, something bad was going to happen. Lack of tactical, lack of defense... all kinds of donut eaters.

I think of my uncle when out loud words come true. Drives schizos and frauds crazy.
2001 did happen...after they waltzed through bangor maine...to causally steal airplanes.

rest in peace to real soldiers...with real times.
you all get your way.

anwyay..my badass uncle.
in another life he'd be a rare 5 star going down in famous history. His father was an officer...alter a path for good sons, you still get a soldier.
RIP to uncle skip.

[tedly]

Managed to score a 4.6 SOHC, 4L60e trans, and an 8.8 rear. The motor is a recent rebuild, pulls strong, runs smooth, the trans doesn't have a hiccup... Now I just gotta decide what to do with it. Toying with the idea of dropping it into the TBird, but There is still so much work to be done it won't be on the road anytime soon even if I could work on it right now. Thinking I'll wait for a 32 valver for it. Now, should I sell the engine and trans or find something to drop it into?

[Deaf Bob]

Managed to score a 4.6 SOHC, 4L60e trans, and an 8.8 rear. The motor is a recent rebuild, pulls strong, runs smooth, the trans doesn't have a hiccup... Now I just gotta decide what to do with it. Toying with the idea of dropping it into the TBird, but There is still so much work to be done it won't be on the road anytime soon even if I could work on it right now. Thinking I'll wait for a 32 valver for it. Now, should I sell the engine and
trans or find something to drop it into?

Hello stranger!
Get a t-bucket!
Something LIGHT!
Pinto?

[tedly]

Lmao! Nah, don't have anything like that st the moment. Maybe I can scrounge something up though. ;)

[Deaf Bob]

Just a frame, steering and a place to STRAP IN.....

[tedly]

I just had an interesting thought... LeMons car? It's a 92 Town Car and nothing on the entire car is worth a damn except the drivetrain... I got it for helping out in a shop, the guy that runs the shop got it as a haul off. Hmmm...

[Deaf Bob]

I just had an interesting thought... LeMons car? It's a 92 Town Car and nothing on the entire car is worth a damn except the drivetrain... I got it for helping out in a shop, the guy that runs the shop got it as a haul off. Hmmm...

Go to the $5000 thread. BBR has a supercharged car he plays with... Maybe something like that up your way?

[tedly]

Go to the $5000 thread. BBR has a supercharged car he plays with... Maybe something like that up your way?

There's a LeMons race not 2 hours from me in July... I'm REALLY starting to like this idea. Now to find out how many other suckers - Um, I mean team mates - I can get in on this.

[Barry Donovan]

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the retirement of astronaut Scott Kelly:

“When the first Americans set foot on Mars, they will be following in the footsteps of one of the finest astronauts in the history of the space program, my friend, Commander Scott Kelly. After spending an American record 520 days in space – including his Year in Space – I can think of no one more deserving of some well-deserved rest and time on the same planet as his family and friends.

“All of us in the NASA family -- and indeed in the broader scientific community -- are grateful that he was willing to sacrifice time with his loved ones, meals that don’t come in a bag, a cold beer, hot showers, cool autumn breezes, the sounds of birds chirping, the ability to lay his head on an actual pillow and so much more of the pleasures of life during his year of research and experimentation the International Space Station.

“We will never forget the 700 stunning images he posted to social media, the leadership he demonstrated as ISS Commander for the last six months and, most of all, the impact that all his missions and years of service will continue to have on our Journey to Mars.”

For more information about Kelly’s NASA career, and biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kellysj.pdf

predictions on health..
he'll look like an immune deficiency disorder...with perfect diet and heatlh care in place. Years and years.
Electrical anomalies, even the toilet he may use on a regular basis..
faucet taps cracking at the brass..
batteries with broken half negatives...
street lamps going out before he gets to them.. to come back on after he goes by.
the depth in the eyes is time itself..

add some myth to the facts. It is all famous.

enjoy retirement...
Commander Scott Kelly.
infamously.

I paid closer attention, as my mothers maiden name is kelly... the unafraid genome has many names.
my time in service has been in the vomit comet, saw several aging nasa planes for their experiments.

Very tough work to be where he is.

his thoughts on what he was missing, and when the other astronauts spoke as well.
the thoughts on pollution being visible from where he was at...

he and the comrades.. they got a piece of all of us.

[Barry Donovan]

a book called "ptown", my uncle skip is in it.
Not quite old enough to be my father.. we argued like brothers instead.
I look back to realize the scope of what I was arguing with....

sometimes.

"A well-defined and intelligent look at some of the characters--from colorful to determined to notorious--who have given texture and personality to Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Today I guess that region is known as pp town.
a whiff of lost or extreme strong...
it attracts it every time.

I see it as like a long running military unit.
the heros disappear... the pile of waste left behind.
imagination, false facts, and fairy tales becomes its own suicide. Dynamics was not that of an artist, but the genius of burly martyrs that created it.
The wake of fail has living things "trying" to.

my uncle is a "notorious" one I guess. There for real fishing, old school tough guys.
my cousins grew up to runaway from it.

"Tony and the columbians" is the chapter.
Of course I was given a free copy.
The times my uncle joked is as bad as me (I am terrible)... sometimes you knew we were all related.

He joked to be the only smuggler in history to go to columbia with 20 tons of marijuana instead of away from it. (the boat they gave him broke on the first attempt)
given the open culture of the wacky green stuff lately, I hope this is not offensive to anyone.
the legality of what they do is in hemp rope and medicine, etc. the rest is people struggling. It is like too much product sitting in piles...evil takes over.

if you must know, I am not a hemper. I do not like it at all. I was curious when I was 17.. quickly stopped and ran from the cults.
I did find interesting outcomes...many years later.
viet nam vet, agent orange.
hydrogen sulfide on the iron hull was my uncles fascination with it..

I then narrowed it to strong elements or heavy elements, inside a human. Chains of chemistry..
Even then, I did not find it good for anything. Some people do.


anyway, it is an interesting read.
The law proclaimed half the boats in the bay being dirty, which meant there was a bigger boat to catch.
I think they chose not to.
My uncle spoke of a sextant, and a trip all the way around south america..
not sure what he took to his grave. I could guess he knew of the big ones staying anonymous for months at sea.

in 1985, he was living with my mother and my siblings...on the run.

He had a bale of dope. All 100 something pounds of it, in the basement.
We knew we were all safe, as we met the law... but not my uncle.

I saw a thread of time on my own, when the drugs were in the house, anyone that entered was in the daydream of being rich for nothing.
I have seen cocaine in piles.
I knew better at the age of 12..when this was happening. I was already a little military man..with cub scouts behind me, a boy scout on his way...
awards for academics. I still look back today with pride.
Two younger siblings, I began cooking and cleaning as the party to death went on.



Maine in 87, my first times alone.. I knew who I was even more.
I had to survive a coming war...on the gov'ts team of course (gulf war 1).

My mom died addicted in the first month of my enlistment, my uncle died rotting alive this past week..
What we called cousins aunts and uncles was so barely relatable, we will never speak again anyway.
Just the dialect of Massachusetts is a trauma for me and my siblings.
The gravestones. We can visit them in peace.
At my worst, a mental break.. I decided I missed my mom. this was in the mid 2000s.
I drove my subaru for many hours.
I stopped in the driveways of where we once were..
and quickly ran away again.

Worth a mention at a hot rod forum..
like a ten geared 87 subaru that stayed alive.

I am blessed for being me. Good or bad.
It is not the length of life.. it is the truth in it.

Grandma (RIP) thought I'd write a book, I was awarded when I was ten .. junior writing guild.
I would just reel in time, crushing and leaving wakes.. sentences to the point.

That stuff is for leaders. Not for me.

I suppose I'll leave this at a bad joke.

but no.
the story is not over yet.. there has been ideas kicking random for 30 years to make the "divino craidor" boat a movie, according to the books later chapter.
A funny fact on why skip said that boat name off the top of his head to be the clone..

divino sounds like my surname...(his brother, is my father - split family) A joke for an irish name among the italian family was the "donovino" when we were kids.

it is so stupidly simple...
giving away the book.. you can go get it yourself. I could add to it, his getaway years.. rhode island onward. My father was wasted at the time too. His memory would go schizophrenic. Skip did go deep. I knew he was going to die. He went a lot further than I did not expect.
the present now is the fact he revealed national security holes, integrity...actually scared me right off into the military. No boating for me. Formal path and community is incredibly important. True to yourself can never go away...
that "bad guy" found a hole...I joined the good guys to fill it.
Never got my way however...
speaking of ptown and how gay....

moving on.
with skips death, I guess his current family may move onto another place to live. I believe whatever was built should stay closer to relatives. Skip was brought up that way as well. I offered up my V.a. loan to buy his place..
my dad shot it down.
Away he goes.. nothing left behind, after a whole lot taken.

I type this here, as it is a public place. A random thought does not take up my time. I did not see skip for years, I hated him. As if I was to be a cop condemning a felon. Smarter than that.. no enemy is immortal.
The last I saw him was last year. His mind was all there but the boating, I brought it up. I could not bring it up without a blank reply.
I knew he was not going to live much longer then. I helped with his double 318 cruiser... I set the timing. He was at the aft deck, taking it easy. Barely walking, two legs rotting alive. He showed me the decay. He knows truth only for me... we were eye to eye. The last I saw of him. The fears were still there. The big man he is, was also there..

[Barry Donovan]

walking in an old cemetery

oldest birth 1789.
second oldest .. 1797.
the second oldest is declared the towns first settler.

I hear a gong noise and a basketball bounce.. about 1/8th mile away in the school yard.
the rim makes the same noise as it did for us in 1988.

Times like this, I see who is a short timer. Wild stabs of self declared masterminds..
off in the distance an unnamed hill.
I presume that is where my silent defense comes from.

If I was 227 years old today...
I'd still laugh at the suspensionless bimmer.
A downdrafted chimney with no vent outside..
windows tight as a submarine, while the main door has light through the cracks.

the rat that came out from under the porch is cleaner than a maine spring, as its white paws clean its nose like a royal cat.

I'd stare at the black gmc.. the biggest wagon I have ever seen.
I'd smell the st. lawrence.. intervals not often..and prepare for the homestead to move.

I'd wonder why the short hairless one is kicking a bass sound in intervals, as if to be sending a signal...with no concern by those annoyed by it.
I'd learn barack was president and think it was a Donovan long overdue...