This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go fishing down in Galveston Bay. I took my kayak out on Sunday morning to a marsh off 8 mile road. It was a fantastic day, not too hot
, a steady breeze and when I unloaded I was the only one there. I had never fished this spot before so I didn’t know what to expect. On top of that the Sunlunar calendar (yes that is a real thing) said today would not be a good day for fishing. But it was. I caught them early and often. I was trying out a new rod. It’s a strange looking thing about as long as my arm, it’s called an EMMROD. It took some getting used to but I caught some fish with it.
While I was out there, I ran into a couple of fellow TKF (Texas Kayak Fishermen) members, they were very friendly as usual and were pulling a stringer with one large redfish on the end. I have found kayakers to be extremely friendly here in Texas. Maybe it comes from sitting in those little plastic boats in that big ocean. By the time I headed back to the truck, I had landed a Texas slam (redfish, trout and flounder) all the fish were caught on Gulp shrimp under a popping cork.
Do you hear that? That is the sound of success. That is the sound of a diploma being conferred to someone who earned their degree with close to a 3.5 GPA. That’s the sound that is made when you complete the full college experience, when you participate, get involved, do the work, start managing your own life, learn how to learn, become president of your Music Fraternity, make your own friends, stop spinning your wheels and start moving on down the road. That’s the sound that makes you a little wiser, a little deeper, a little more confident. That’s the sound Katie Christy just made.
As it turns out, we were not the only ones who heard this concerto. Before she had finished her last semester Katie had 3 internship offers, she picked the best one and asked if she could work one of the other internships after she completed the first one. During the first internship she was recommended for a full time job position at another company. After several interviews she was offered the position. This was a week after graduation. This opportunity came through the help and support of others but it was no accident. Katie
For some time now there has been this thing called “crowd sourcing” where a bunch of people who have some common interest work together to advance some big project. The stuff they work on is sometimes called “open source”. It’s an informal and organic way of doing things. People essentially volunteer their time and effort for a greater cause. One of the best examples is Linux and all the applications that run on Linux. Linux is free, no one owns it and thousands of people are working on it all the time.
A few years ago the Fed changed their investment rules that allowed regular people to invest in companies without stock or equity changing hands. A web site popped up called KICKSARTER. They wanted to provide a platform where a regular person could collect relatively small amounts of money from a bunch of people who wanted to see a project succeed. On the website, the entrepreneur would pitch his product, lay out what he hoped to accomplish, set a dollar goal and a fixed time frame for collecting the money. They would also come up with some incentives or bonus for contributors. So it might go something like this:
I’m Bob and I want to create a Kimchi cookbook. I need $7000 to buy supplies and hire an assistant. I plan to release the cookbook by the end of this year. I have 30 days to collect my goal. If you send me $5 I will send you 5 recipes, $10-$20 10 recipes, and for $100+ a jar of my special hot Kimchi.
Then the site keeps track of the amount of money pledged, the number of people who commit and the time left. If Bob does not get $7000 pledged in his 30 day time frame, no money or recipes change hands, this Kickstarter project will have failed. If he does get his $7000 (sometimes they beat their goal so he could get $10k) then Kickstarter gets 5% and Amazon (who handles the payments) get’s their 5%. Bob gets what’s left and gets to work. Hopefully Bob makes his cookbook, sends out bonus recipes and special hot Kimchi and everyone is happy. ALTHOUGH if Bob decides to go to Las Vegas and try to double his money there isn’t much anyone can do about it. There are no guarantees and Bob doesn’t legally have to give you anything.
Why then, you ask, would anyone give Bob any money? There are several possibilities;
1. In the Kimchi cabal, Bob is the Zen master, to have just one of his recipes for $5 or to be guaranteed a taste of his special hot would be worth it, this may be the only way to get a jar
2. You love Kimchi and have yet to find a decent cookbook, this is your chance to help spread the Kimchi love out there
3. You yourself are a frustrated chef, years ago you desperately wanted to write a Brussels Sprout cookbook but no one would listen
But I think mainly people want to be a part of something. They want to be able to tell their friends they are part of the Kimchi community. It gives them the feeling of being able to make something happen that matters or at least would be cool.
So why am I writing about it now? Well, I think it’s hitting the mainstream. Projects are raising millions of dollars from people like us. Other people like us are getting a chance to work on something they are passionate about that they might not have had before. About 42% of the projects are successful. The Kimchi cookbook is not my idea, there is actually a guy out there trying to make this happen. One of the biggest projects out there is called OUYA – it’s a game console machine, it’s cool, check it out. I have another idea, I was just getting you used to the concept. Maybe you have an idea too?
Labassin Waterfall Restaurant is inside a resort. People play in the water while they eat or just dangle their feet. It’s a buffet so you have to get your food yourself. This is no time for those high end kicks and the 5 second rule defiantly doesn’t apply.
“Banks are now advising parents to think carefully before naming their child’s first pet. For security reasons, the chosen name should have at least eight characters, a capital letter and a digit. It should not be the same as the name of any previous pet, and must never be written down, especially on a collar as that is the first place anyone would look. Ideally, children should consider changing the name of their pet every 12 weeks.
Expectant mothers have also been advised to choose carefully where they give birth. Anywhere that has a place name is best avoided. These are listed on maps, which are freely available on the Internet.”
Not my story, I found it on the interwebs and I couldn’t resist the picture of MrFuzzyP3anut.
, had handlebars, a tube with a spring and 2 foot pedals. You bounced on it. The first bounce was getting all the parts situated, the second was starting a rhythm, the third was probably your best bounce, by the 4th you were giving it all you got. The 5th bounce . . . well it wasn’t technically a bounce, more like a ricochet. Eventually you landed off-center or your feet slipped off and you went ass over tin cups onto the sidewalk. It was fun!
Eventually transistor radios, Clackers and Pong took over the hearts and minds of the young generation. The Pogo Stick faded into obscurity. But . . . . it didn’t die. Today the Pogo Stick is back with a vengeance. I give to you; Extreme Pogo
As reported by the French media: To demonstrate to the word that it is more than just bread and fries, the French government organized the “shock and awwwww” flash mob. 600 Parisians dressed in tight silk black pants 3 inches too short, black and white stripped nylon shirts and silly little hats were deployed on the 3 levels of the monument. When the first command was given they all started gyrating and spinning (to the left of course) faster and faster to the throbbing beat of Celine Dion. At the height of the revelry the second command was given and 3 cats were released, one on each level. They were irresistible . . . contact was made . . . shock and awwww ensued.
Not everyone was impressed. With cigarettes drooping from the corners of their mouths several cafe goers complained about the lack of culture in America
The past weekend Linda and I went fishing in Galveston Bay. We went early and it was a nice day, not too much wind. At one of our spots we saw something breaking the surface of the water, then disappear, then pop up again. As it got closer we could see it was a sea turtle. I had not had a lot of luck catching fish so I asked the turtle if there were fish any down there. He said “of course there are fish down here, there must be at least 10 right around your boat!”
, I hadn’t gotten a single bite. Defensively I said ” oh yeah, I bet you are just making that up, you’re mocking me”. “I heard that turtles have terrible eyesight and are so slow you would have trouble catching a dead fish” The turtle looked at me incredulously. Sensing I had him on the ropes I said “I bet I can catch a fish before you can even see one!”
What’s a turtle going to do with $20, that’s what I want to know. He doesn’t even have pockets.
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