Lilacs and Lobster Rolls

It's been a weird spring for Maine. 2 days of 90+ weather in April and a snowstorm in early May. This is from the Memorial Day BBQ at work..gotta love lobster from Maine and corn from New Mexico.




With the early hot weather then a cool down period we have had a 4 week lilac season. Mine came out early in May but there are some a couple blocks away still in full flower. I live in the oldest part of Augusta so the neighborhood is loaded with these...all you can smell for a few days is lilacs Hope you enjoy.

If this doesn't make you smile check your pulse..you prob dead.

Telstar

A lunar base station, a transplanted Martian snow globe, Mork's egg — whatever it was that was taking shape in the Andover hills back in the winter of 1962 looked like something straight out of an Isaac Asimov

science fiction novel. And in fact the first person to conceive of the idea of relaying beams of information to space and back again from a station like this one was none other than sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke way back in 1945. AT&T, Bell Laboratories, and NASA took Clarke's idea and transformed it into reality, choosing the tiny Oxford County hamlet of Andover for their "radome" because the surrounding hills would prevent microwave radio interference.

Within this sixteen-story polyester fabric structure — literally a huge balloon kept inflated by a series of pumps when this photograph of it was taken — engineers erected a 340-ton, seventy-foot-high, rotating horn antenna to send and receive their television signals from the Telstar 1 satellite orbiting overhead. It was the promise of live international television coverage, even more than the demand for better overseas telephone and radio communications, which had enticed AT&T to gamble three hundred million dollars on this project. The 1964 Olympics was due to take place all the way across the world in Tokyo, and the company wanted the ability to present every race and boxing match for viewers in the U.S.

But the first signal to beam its way across the Atlantic to a receiver in France at 6:45 p.m. on July 11, 1962, was not of heavyweight Joe Frazier, but rather an image of the American flag flying in front of the same white globe shown here. That image and the satellite communication revolution that followed would go on to influence everything from Cold War missile-defense systems to the GPS receivers in our cars and cell phones. In Maine, Andover became one of the state's most surprising destinations, with some 25,000 schoolchildren and tourists every year seeking out the bulbous contraption in the western Maine mountains.

Though the radome and horn antenna were dismantled twenty-five years ago, traces of the region's space-age connection remain, from the local high school that still bears the name "Telstar" to the array of commercial satellite dishes that continue to relay transmissions from this storied spot in a quiet corner of Maine.

Time for a rant...well sort of.

Evening Folks
This is my first rant in a long time. The topic is, dare I say it out LOUD, is homosexuality. I don't get people trying to figure me/it out. It is such a minute part of who I am. True I have been out for a long time and been through a lot of things with "IT" but c'mon people how about if I started asking you how it felt to be hetro? Now that I have started finally started this, it's going to be a lot longer than I thought 3 minutes ago.

Yes I was married once and have a 26 yo son. Yes, my ex-wife knows and so does my son, and her extended family including the ones in Ireland. If they have a problem with it they have not made it know to either one of us. She is a little more fierce and protective than a rabid Tasmanian Devil..you ask her how she feels about me...go on I dare you.

What I do "in bed" is none of your business unless I invite you into it...nuff said.

Yes, and this one has caused me more grief than being gay is I am a Republican. I pay my taxes, vote every election, it's my right to do so and also my duty.

I have never worn a dress and let me tell you I cannot imagine wearing size 14 stilettos....yikes i would be a scary drag queen.

This whole gay pride thing has me confused...are hetro's proud of being that way..well I guess a few are ....Fred Phelps for one.

I am just a guy. I like to cook and do it well. I can use/do all of the mentioned immediately following this.
A chef knife, a lawn mower, a chain saw, a crochet hook { I broke my leg when I was 6, my gram watched me, she taught me to crochet to keep me busy and mostly out of her hair}, a router and a rip saw, drive a standard, run a snow blower..ha ha he said blower, I shingled my own house, seriously suck at plumbing. My electrical skills are basic at best. I used to be able to work on cars...say back in the late 60's when they were mechanical not computer run. I also wash my own dishes, can sew on a button, hate changing diapers, own a nail gun and compressor, ride a horse and change a flat tire, have blue/gray color blindness..don't ever ask me to pick out a shirt for you. I have no fashion sense. Jeans, a tee shirt, and a corduroy/flannel/denim shirt along with a pair of boots complete my ensemble.

I don't like chick flicks, gossip and drama. I have never had a tan in my life..thank you for that white Irish skin...burn, peel, repeat. WHEN I smoked it was Pall Malls and then Marlboro Reds. I like bourbon and good tequila, not so fond of white wine, beer is good. I read constantly and rarely watch TV. I like fast care and drive then the way they we're intended. For the most part I like people with their clothes ON, not off. NOTE TO READERS..there are exceptions..Gerard Butler should never be allowed to wear a shirt and only jeans that are 3 sizes to small. I don't like crowds, have a a fear of snakes and public speaking. Don't like to fight but hurt someone I care about and your in for a world of hurt once I find you.

I listen to country/folk/metal/classical/jazz/R and B/ and a lot of "alternative" for music. Don't do rap or hiphop or top 40.

If I was allowed to get "Married" probably would not. I have been in 3 relationships in my life. 2 were really good, one was okay..my fault not his...the reality is he could never compete with a ghost. I tend to be conservative in my views on most things. I have had an amazing GAY life, I have also had a good share of the STRAIGHT life..both were okay. I fit in both worlds/don't fit in either completely.


I am sure there are thousands of people..gay/hetro/male/female that this would fit as a description so whats the big deal? In some ways it was easier to be gay 20 or 30 years ago. There was a real strength in community then..all we had was each other. Now it's to commonplace and has gotten jaded and way to much inbreeding going on..it's really a good thing we can not reproduce. On that happy visual I am going to close..I vented and feel better. this was brought on by a new employee asking me if I was "sure" I was gay. WTF

I just put a bunch of flowers on the dining room table form my yard....does that make me gay?

Take Care of Yourselves and The Ones You Love

Dale

P.S. I jsut got this in an email and could not resist..it's bound to piss someone off., If that's you , well be glad your alive to get annoyed.....lol

Now before you go bonkers..click on it, blow it up and read it all.

Spring Has Sprung

Evening folks
These pics were taken last weekend and this week. It's FINALLY warming up here in Maine and things are growing everywhere. A couple of these we're taken in Camden and Rockland, some on my street and a few at work. I spent last weekend in Belfast and took a day ride to Camden and Rockland. It was about 20 degrees cooler on the beach, in the high 40's and windy as hell, but, there were no tourists so it was easy driving and getting around. My yard is turning green and will prob need the first mow of the season by the weekend. I am going to try to get to Lakewood Orchard, they have great cider doughnuts, in time for apple season blooming. It's like walking through a snowstorm as they start to drop their petals.

April 08, 2010

Morning folks
It seems that I have become a bit of a recluse lately. There is nothing wrong, nothing has happened, I just seem to be in hibernation for some reason. In particular I have been ignoring the computer, I sign on, check my mail and pay a couple bills then shut it off. Days at a time I just ignore this black monster on my desk.
It's spring here in Maine..temps in the 40's at night, 60's to low 70's during the day. Flowers are coming up everywhere, pot holes are being filled and frost heaves leveling off. Road crews are out in force and birds are every where. I just put new batteries in the camera and am going for a walk shortly to document some of this for you.
Personally life is good. A promotion at work...more responsibility and marginally worth it financially. I work 4 long days and 3 off..that I like. I have wanted a early to late 70's corvette and have started looking seriously for one. Took a few out for test rides but none were worth the asking price. Still looking for a Maserati TC but that is a tough one to find around here.
These pics are...Binx had a cyst removed, she's fine..thanks for asking. The other is the parking lot at work last night.

Smile....Think...Mostly Enjoy