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What did Santa bring?

Posted By: tshan

What did Santa bring? - 12/25/08 11:32 PM

He brought me enough $$ to pay off a 2009 Viper... Jan/Feb pick up date.

Mine is a big purchase, but cat sailing is all about the details...

What did you get to make your 2009 a better/easier/faster year???
Posted By: andre1

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 01:40 AM

I got a zhik cold weather set for that jan/feb Viper arrival date. I'm going nuts now waiting four months, but the end is in site. By the way, I spend a good deal of time in Pensacola, I'm in New Orleans most of the time. By the way, that rise of the dollar was a big help in paying off the boat to come.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 02:09 AM

We got a Wii. Just like the real sport with the remote. Good workout.

Doug and Ashleigh
Posted By: Rolf_Nilsen

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 11:30 AM

I got one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...amp;pf_rd_p=463374953&pf_rd_i=468294

It will not directly help my racing/sailing, but if I get more energy I will be able to work out more, sail more and build more laugh
I tested it this morning, and it actually works (so far). I did not want to go back to sleep again like I normally do when buzzed by the alarm clock.
Posted By: mikeborden

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 02:35 PM

Just a boat. smile

Well, not yet, have to pick it up!!


Mike
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 03:09 PM

Santa brought us a new power transformer on the pole across the street, but not until about 10 pm last night!

I usually cook the turkey at about 11 am, so we can eat around 3pm but not this year. The wife wants to go to her parents first. I say, why not put the turkey in the oven first, then go to their house (only 4 miles away) then we have a good reason to leave. No, she wants to go, now, so we go. And we get back very late (5pm) and then I have to start the turkey. The Turkey goes into the oven about 5:45, 3 hour cook time.

About 7pm the power goes out. At first I think we tripped a breaker or something, so we scrounge up some flashlights and start resetting all the breakers. No luck. So I go walking to see if the neighbors are out too. They are. So now the wife is on the phone to the electric co.

Well, much to my amazement, the electric co. actually answers the phone, and sends out a truck! On Christmas! I guess because I'm paying them $750/mo for electricity they don't want my house out too long, might hurt their bottom line!

So the first guy who comes out trys to reset the transformer, and that restores the 110 service, but not the 220. So he tries again, and again, and again.

45 minutes later he calls for two more trucks to replace both the transfomers on the pole. The two that are there are about 40 years old and covered with vines. He says it will take at least 1-1/2 hours. The wife isn't waiting, she wants me to find food.

So I go driving up and down rt. 27, and as you can guess, nothing is open...except Dennys!

So now I go back to the house, load up the wife and 4 kids and it's Christmas Dinner at Dennys at 9pm! Just us and some cops in there, and some drunk kids. Drunks at Dennys? Who knew?

$80 [that place has gotten way too expensive!] and 1 hour later we are on our way home and loe and behold, the lights are now on! Yeah! The trucks were gone so I couldn't even thank them or offer them a beer or 3.

A huge thanks to all the electric co. workers who showed up and replaced the transformers at night on Christmas!

Oh, I finished cooking the turkey at midnight, it was quite tender after 5 hours in the oven [bless those roasting bags]! Carved it up, put it all away in the fridge for today, washed the pots, pans, etc. and took out the trash.

Got to bed at 1am. Now I'm packing for my trip to Kuwait later today, I might get a bite of turkey before I go. And some stuffing.

I hope you all had a better day than I did!

Oh, and I got a new belt and a couple books. grin
Posted By: fin.

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 03:33 PM

Didn't you have "Turkey Interruptus" last year as well?

http://www.honeybaked.com/
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 04:07 PM

Yes, now that you remind me, I got called out to fly the Sheriff's Dept. plane to look for some lost people just after the turkey went into the oven, and by the time I returned it was all done and put away. Still, it was much better than no-turkey and an $80 tab at Dennys! I'm now heating up a drumstick.
Posted By: Tony_F18

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/26/08 04:16 PM

maybe you can recoup that $80 from your power company?
btw, $750 a month for power? are you heating the whole lake? wink
Posted By: Dermot

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/27/08 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Tony_F18
maybe you can recoup that $80 from your power company?
btw, $750 a month for power? are you heating the whole lake? wink

I know the answer to that one grin
It's the air-conditioning ! Tim spends more on cooling than we do on heating eek
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/28/08 04:15 AM

Live from Kuwait City...yes we have some of the highest power rates in the country, and they are going up 25% next month. Why, because that increase was approved back when oil was $140/bbl. and never got un-approved!

The house is 1962 vintage 3 bedroom, 2700 sq. ft. cinderblock ranch, nothing fancy except the entire back of the house is made of glass, with louverd windows that leak, and all single pane, with 3 10 foot x 10 foot sliding doors to look at the lake. They do not retain either heat in the winter or cool air in the summer, so the A/C unit is running all the time, oh, and with 4 teenage kids (3 of them girls) the washer and dryer never stop either. It's a fully electric house.

Yes, I would like to bulldoze it and build a new energy efficient home, but if I do my property tax will tripple (to say nothing of the replacement cost) because of the FL. Homestead tax exemption I am under now with the original house.

If you would like to buy it, let me know, because I would sure like to move to a condo in Sarasota, close to the Sarasota Sailing Squadron of course!
Posted By: scooby_simon

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/28/08 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by Timbo

oh, and with 4 teenage kids (3 of them girls) the washer and dryer never stop either. It's a fully electric house.



Do you not hand the washing out to dry in the summer?
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/28/08 05:35 PM

That is a great idea and it would work in the winter when the air is dry and it doesn't rain. The summer humidity is about 90% most of the time with afternoon thunderstorms. I'll mention it to my wife, want to guess what her answer will be? sick

Well, I'v got to go put on my monkey suit and get back to work, should be back in Atlanta tomorrow morning by about 8am. See ya! (it's 8:35pm here in Kuwait, we depart at midnight local)
Posted By: Dermot

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/28/08 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by Timbo
That is a great idea and it would work in the winter when the air is dry and it doesn't rain. The summer humidity is about 90% most of the time with afternoon thunderstorms. I'll mention it to my wife, want to guess what her answer will be? sick

Well, I'v got to go put on my monkey suit and get back to work, should be back in Atlanta tomorrow morning by about 8am. See ya! (it's 8:35pm here in Kuwait, we depart at midnight local)

When my sister lived in sunny dry California, it was illegal to hang out your washing - you had to use a dryer confused
Posted By: simonp

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/28/08 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by Dermot
When my sister lived in sunny dry California, it was illegal to hang out your washing - you had to use a dryer confused


why was it illegal to hang out the washing?
Posted By: Rolf_Nilsen

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/29/08 09:24 AM

Local regulations for esthetic reasons. Things are about to change though.

Timbo, how did people in your area dry clothes before they had electric dryers?

We dry clothes outdoors the year around, and have both high humidity and cold weather. It takes longer in winter, but with some light breeze, they always dry.
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/29/08 06:33 PM

Rolf, when I was a young lad (or say, 40 years ago) my mom did hang out quite a bit of laundry (6 children in the house) but in the winter it would freeze solid (live up north then). We always had a dryer as well for the rainy or cold days. And she still hangs out laundry now, even though she now lives alone and the dryer bill would be quite small. I really don't know what they did down here in Florida 40 years ago. I guess they hung it out, but that practice has pretty much gone by the wayside years ago at most homes, at least I never see any laundry hanging out anywhere any more.

It could make a comeback when the new electric rates take effect though! I wonder if I can hang a drying line between the Hobie 14 and Prindle 16 masts...Or wait, maybe I should tell the wife I need another boat with two masts, just for clothes drying! grin
Posted By: Karl_Brogger

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/29/08 07:11 PM

There's two of us in a 2500ft rambler, I don't think our electric bill has ever been over $115. But that's just two people I guess, and the dryer and the AC are the only major draws on electricity in the house, hot water, and heat are both propane. I definetly could not afford a $750/month bill. Thats better than half of my mortgage.


Rolf, it might not be a local ordinance preventing people from air drying clothes, but a neighborhood covenant laid out by the developer. Usually they just dictate the way a house is supposed to look. Type of siding, and roof materials are the most common criteria. They can work all sorts of weird stuff into them though. For instance my neighborhood the roofs have to be at least a certain pitch, no aluminum or vinyl siding, houses have to be set back from the street so far, there were others, but I can't remember.
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/29/08 07:29 PM

Well you know I am gone about 1/2 to 1/3 of the month. It is impossible for me to "run the house" from overseas. We have had this discussion many times in my house, the bottom line, the $750/mo. is cheaper than a divorce...I think. She would get the house, I would still pay the $750/mo. bill and be living in a van, down by the river.
Posted By: Joanna

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/29/08 10:22 PM

"The house is 1962 vintage 3 bedroom, 2700 sq. ft. cinderblock ranch, nothing fancy except the entire back of the house is made of glass, with louverd windows that leak, and all single pane, with 3 10 foot x 10 foot sliding doors to look at the lake. They do not retain either heat in the winter or cool air in the summer, so the A/C unit is running all the time, oh, and with 4 teenage kids (3 of them girls) the washer and dryer never stop either."

Replacement double pane windows w/uv covering would help a lot and you could probably recoop most of the cost in the electric savings. A porch/awning over that side of the house would probably help in the summer too.
Posted By: CaptainKirt

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/30/08 03:42 AM

A new Ashby main!

Kirt
Posted By: LuckyDuck

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/30/08 05:56 PM

Kirt. Is the Ashby for the Flyer or the T-pan? Ed
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/30/08 09:18 PM

Timbo's used to hemmorraging money. His kids have horses, which probably cost $750 USD per month (EACH ONE).

That "Fuel Surcharge" they tack on to the airfare is really to pay for Timbo's toys...
Posted By: Timbo

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/30/08 09:37 PM

Timbo has only 1 toy, a Blade F16. The wife and kids have all the other toys, Timbo just gets to pay for them all...

When I was 25 and single I had a J-24, two windsurfers, two racing bikes, a BMW R100S motorcycle, a new car, a better stereo, oh, and time to play with it all. Then I got married...

After only 5 months of marriage, my wife came down with Twins Disease, so my squadron mates at my Air Guard Unit had a "Name the Twins" contest. There were lots of great entries, like "Jose and Hose B, Frick and Frack, etc. but the run away winner was, "No Boat and No Motorcycle" as I had just sold both for a downpayment on a house. It was 7 years before I set foot on a boat again.

Let's see, you are in what, about year 2? Only 5 more to go! grin
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/31/08 05:51 PM

Year three, actually.

And let's see.. Sold the house, N20 (man that boat was sweet), Exterra, and Acura Legend Coupe (man that car was sweet) to pay for the first "little bundle of joy", and managed to squeak by using hand-me-downs for the second "little bundle of joy". Thank heavens my wife is a great bargain hunter.

So, I guess I'm just "bundle of joy-d" out... But I guess I could walk to work. It's only 20 miles to the office.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: What did Santa bring? - 12/31/08 10:58 PM

Hi all,

Santa brought me a new Ronstan smock top. Haven't used it yet, have only been cycling (90km rail trail) and sailboarding one day on 5.5m2 and one day 4.5m2. tired

Life is tuff in paradise wink mid 20s air temp and heaps of wind, looks like it is going to blow again today not good for National titles being held localy, just hope the old body can put up with another day sailboarding, have broken lots of bits of my 20 year old equipment so far.(sailboard equipment that is, my equipment is much older grin)
Posted By: waynemarlow

Re: What did Santa bring? - 01/01/09 02:38 PM

About 10 very naff presents I would never buy myself and Shingles, can I forget Santa this year as its certainly been a painful Xmas. frown
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: What did Santa bring? - 01/01/09 10:57 PM

comiserations, I have had shingles, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, but then maybe there is one whistle.
Posted By: TonyJ

Re: What did Santa bring? - 01/02/09 08:34 PM

The family and I just got back from 16 days holidaying in New Zealand. Stayed on the beach at Takapuna.
Got one day sailing in, from the Panmura river to the Noisy Islands on a Hartly 32.
Nice and refreshed, get the house back into shape, back to work on Monday, and get in and finish Blade 002.

Take care Tony
Posted By: CaptainKirt

Re: What did Santa bring? - 01/17/09 02:26 AM

Ed-
It's for the Taipan- I got a new Glaser main for the Flyer at the 2007 World's and talked to Glen about the T main there- Was waiting until he was through w/ Olympics and all to order.



Kirt
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