Home is where the dock is

Now that we finally found a place that is warm and safe enough to stay, I have to leave. But not without seeing the Keys first! Maybe I can manage to lose my passport and ticket within the next two days... 

If you bless me, I'll bless you. – No, no, you first!

I'm getting confused. Can I bless God? Or does he have to bless me? Does he bless America? And what if he doesn't? Would I even notice? Can I recall my blessing? And if he doesn't want to be blessed by me, will he ever tell me? Does God read bumper stickers? Is he the guy who passes me in the right lane at 100 mph? Does he ever run out of gas? Is fuel a gift from God? Hummm. I'll have to think about this more.

Franchise opportunity: The Ugly Waiting Room™

Sometimes locations are so real it hurts. Today we found the textbook example of the ugly waiting room. Every detail was incredibly perfect: from the black and yellow tape on the linoleum floor to the scary old bear on the scary old tv on the scary old sideboard to the pallet in the corner and the missing panel in the ceiling. I wonder if they have a patent on this, if not I'd really like to create a franchise selling the design. 

When Death went for his morning run on the beach, he greeted the big white bird with a smile.

Last night I dreamed of a big lady with a red and green rash. What's that supposed to mean?

Fort Pierce, FL: Oceanographers discover new species of marine sausage.

The sausage approaches diver John Aquaviva.

A sausage surfacing for air off the sea wall.

The latest addition to the museum.

A team of Fort Pierce, FL, based marine scientists literally came up with a groundbreaking discovery earlier today. While observing the growth of man-eating barnacles on boat hulls, diver John Aquaviva noticed a strange shape approaching him under water. "First I thought it was a shark, but then I realised it was a giant Italian sausage", says Aquaviva, still totally mesmerized by the encounter. After taking measurements and meat samples the scientists believe they have found a whole new species of marine mammal. Unfortunately the sausage died in the process and is now on display in the National Museum of Prehistoric Sausages. Italian Ocean Sausages are thought to have evolved from four-legged land sausages over 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the Proboscidea (elephant sausage) and Hyracoidea (hyrax sausage).

Can you feel the heat? Fort Pierce, Florida, on thermal cam.

After a full year of applying photo booth's bulge, twirl and squeeze to my own face (and loving it!), I finally tried the thermal camera effect. And yes, the colors are cool. But what I like best is zooming into the photos. Big, colored pixels. Could there be anything more beautiful than this?

Pick your own: New method of "no-pole-fishing" leads to first results.

The all new painless approach to fishing is leading to instant successes: 36 year old Stephanie V. from Hamburg, Germany, caught her first fish today. "Why carry around a heavy tackle box and a couple of fishing poles when you can pick the fish right from the dock?", asks Stephanie. She might be right. The new method of "no-pole-fishing" works with elements from transcendental meditation and telepathy and makes the fish jump right into the hands of fishing enthusiasts.

Breaking news: Kepler reports 14% unemployment rate on Jupiter due to high gas prices

Although the official Nasa press release says that "the Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft lifted off on time at 10:49 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida" I think they were slightly off schedule. Which means: they launched it too early! We were anchored out last night just out of Fort Pierce and watched the countdown on Nasa's webpage, when Robbie suddenly turned around and yelled: "There's the rocket!" And there it was. Actually it flew in a perfect curve and didn't bounce through the atmosphere as it may seem in the video. Kepler's mission: to look for rocky planets similar our own. "Kepler is a critical component in NASA's broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present," said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Robbie suspected they will probably find out that the unemployment rate on Jupiter is 14% - due to their high gas prices.

Manatees rule! Some manatee rules from marine scientist Dr Daniel Voelzow.

Where are the manatees? Probably enjoying their day off at the spa.

Here in Florida you see slow speed and manatee area signs at every inlet, on almost every piling in a marina and every blackboard at a marina office warns boaters to not approach, run over, feed, or touch Florida's state marine mammal. I wonder: Where in Neptune's name are they? I haven't seen a single one in my whole life and I think I'm ready now. Manatees generally start traveling to warm water when the air temperature drops below 50 degrees or when the water temperature dips to 68 degrees. Although it's a little warmer right now, the guys at Titusville Municipal Marina told us to sail further South to the nuclear power plants, because manatees love to hang out there in the warm discharge water. I still do not trust it, but I will certainly add this point to the list of arguments for nuclear power.

Lots of manatees on the internet.

No manatees next to our boat.