My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on December 17, 2009

The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry at age 26 died Thursday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina from injuries he sustained falling on Wednesday from a moving truck. He was hospitalized and died at 6:36 a.m. after being on life support.

According to reports, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers responded to a call shortly after noon on Wednesday finding “Henry in the road with life-threatening injuries” after being involved in a “domestic situation.” Preliminary reports state that he jumped in the bed of the truck that his fiancée, Loleini Tonga, was driving and “at some point came out of the back.”

As a Bengal, Chris Henry was an immensely talented receiver, yet made a mess of his life off the field. His first three season in Cincinnati were tainted with “run-ins with the law.” He had drug related charges, a gun possession arrest, as well as a DUI. He served jail time for drinking with underage girls and served an 8 game disciplinary suspension in 2007. Cincinnati fans had enough of Henry’s delinquent behavior after seeing 5 arrests in only 28 months. Bengals president Mike Brown released Henry with little opposition, but then decided to re-hired him again a short 4 months later; Cincinnati fan’s were embarrassed. After a promising start for the 2009 season with 12 reception for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns, Chris Henry suffered a broken arm which ended his season. He was put on injured reserve.

Through all of the drama, his fiancée Loleini Tonga remain supportive and in interviews Henry verbalized his appreciation for her standing by him. He was said to be a loving father to the three children and was in the process of planning a March wedding.

As with many talented individuals, finding fame, money and professional success at a young age, isn’t helpful for one’s maturity. Chris Henry has noticeably struggled with his personal maturity and to many fans has been an accident waiting to happen. He had an athletic gift on the field, but chose not to live within acceptable social standards off the field. Friend and offensive lineman Willie Anderson stated, “people busted their tails beyond duty helping him out. He has found the end of the rainbow three or four times.” For Chris Henry, their won’t be anymore rainbows in this life. (May 17, 1983 – December 17, 2009)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; FRIDAY, DEC. 17, 2009

FROM CINCINNATI BENGALS PUBLIC RELATIONS

BENGALS MOURN PASSING OF CHRIS HENRY

The Bengals were informed today by authorities in Charlotte, N.C., that WR Chris Henry died this morning from injuries sustained in an accident in Charlotte yesterday.

Henry played in this season’s first eight games with the Bengals, but was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a left forearm fracture he suffered on Nov. 8 at Baltimore. Henry was in Cincinnati last weekend for an exam by the team’s medical staff. As there was no rehab indicated for his injury beyond periodic adjustments of his cast, he was cleared at that point to return to Charlotte to be with his fiancée, Loleini Tonga (first name pronounced ‘LAY-nee’) and her family.

The couple had announced plans to be married in March. Henry leaves two sons, Chris Jr., two, and DeMarcus, one.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Bengals president Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis addressed news media today regarding Henry’s passing.

“Here at the Bengals, we knew Chris as a teammate and a close friend,” Brown said. “To us, he was a warm, pleasant and easygoing person. He was popular with the players, coaches and team management. This is a painful feeling, a tragedy, and we will miss him.”

Henry’s hometown was Belle Chasse, La., near New Orleans. He played in college at West Virginia and joined the Bengals as a third-round draft choice in 2005. He had a succession of legal problems early in his career, resulting in multiple NFL suspensions. But the last offense for which he was convicted occurred in 2006.

“Peeople were surprised that we stood by Chris during his problems,” Brown said. “The reason was, we knew Chris to be different than his public persona. To the best of his ability, Chris reached out to the team, his friends and his family. Everyone tried to help, and sometimes it went awry. But Chris’ heart was always in the right place. He was a good person, and he was on the road to doing well in his football career.”

Born May 17, 1983, Henry played during five Bengals seasons (2005-09). He saw action in 55 games with 12 starts, catching 119 passes for 1826 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“We had seen Chris expand this year as both a person and on the field,” said Lewis. “He had grown and matured. We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to Chris’ family and to everyone else who held him dear.”

_

Category: News, Obituary, Sports | 14 Comments »
Tags: bengals, cincinnati, football, nfl

Posted By RichC on December 16, 2009

While traveling to northeastern Ohio this week I had a bit more fun playing with Photosynth (see previous post). This time I used my daughter’s apartment as a subject before taking her out for our father-daughter dinner — the highlight of my week. Unfortunately lighting and not spending too much time to take the series of overlapping photos made for less than perfect results … but still,  for only a couple minutes of snapping photos the results are pretty  impressive. I’m looking forward to photographing a landmark or some other more useful scene.

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Category: Computer, Photos, Technology | 2 Comments »
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Posted By RichC on December 16, 2009

While stopping for lunch and killing time before my next appointment, I wanted to test the Posterous to blog set-up using my Palm Pre. Included in this post is a photo from a page of the Wall Street Journal Personal section and an article on ‘The Surge in Electric Cars’ — I will try to link below as well.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704201404574589900770542192.html

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Category: Automotive, Cellphone, News, Photos | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on December 15, 2009

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Category: Computer, News | No Comments »
Tags: mcdonalds, wifi, wsj

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2009

I tried my first “synth” with Microsoft’s online computer-generated panorama photo application called Photosynth.net. The app automatically stitches a series of photos together in a semi-panoramic combination and creates an image called a “synth.” From a users perspective, the process is fairly easy and takes less than an hour; all that is required is to take a grouping of digital photos and the ability to upload using a Windows-based computer with Microsoft’s proprietary, but free, image uploading software.

Check LINK as to history of Photosynth.net

My first attempt was to create a 30 photo series of our dining room (unfortunately in low light) by overlapping a group of photos to include higher angled photos as well as lower (it is recommended to overlap by 50%). For my first test I, unfortunately, moved the camera position once from one side of the room to the other — a mistake for this project, but on another, it could be used to show detailed views. I also included a closer photo of the centerpiece as I was curious to see how that was incorporated into the synth. The online software is impressive as it created a navigable image in about 30 minutes and enabled an image that is viewable full screen or can be embedded. The entire imaging process for this test was completed in about 40 minutes time; 10 minutes for the photos and uploading and 30 processing. I’m anxious to try on a detailed project or local landmark — so stay tuned!

Category: Computer, Photos, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: photosynth, photosynth.net

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2009

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Posted By RichC on December 14, 2009

With the republishing of a Christmas article on Facebook from sailing author Gary “Fatty” Goodlander, I’ve been re-thinking my vow to avoid this social networking site. Facebook being my kids preferred peer-to-peer (no geek humor intended) communications medium, I’ve avoided it not wanted to look like a ‘helicopter parent. So far, its not been all that difficult to avoid it an its associated links, but Fattys’ stories are almost too entertaining for me to pass up. Perhaps I should try to convince him to publish them on another site … or maybe I should tinker a bit more with Facebook – BTW, I’m not from the stone age and do have a Facebook account.

For now, I’ll include Fatty’s “Christmas Afloat” story re-post below, and will also add a link to his current book (on my Amazon Wishlist … hint, hint family), as well as a bit of audio from a couple summers ago: Captain Fatty Goodlander: Sailing in the slow lane.

Christmas Afloat with Cap’n Scrooge

Every December, my wife and daughter use the Christmas season as an excuse to reduce my vessel to a complete shambles.

They begin this gut-wrenching process just before the Thanksgiving Day holidays—so that they can achieve the maximum amount of irritation over the longest amount of time.

First off, they “decorate” my boat. They begin by draping silver tinsel everywhere belowdecks. It only takes them about three short minutes to fling more tinsel around the boat than I’ll be able to clean up in three long months. The tinsel, of course, doesn’t stay put. It immediately begins its implacable migration toward my bilge pump strainers.

This “annual family tinsel toss” is quickly followed by the ceremonial “stringing of the Christmas garlands.” These garlands are brightly-colored decorative strings in silver, red, and green, and continuously shed their tiny plastic slivers quite prettily.
My girls intertwine these garlands around my overhead handrails (so I have nothing to grip), across the galley (so the plastic garland melts onto my interior varnish when the oven is on), and near the companionway ladder (so it catches on my sheath knife each time I exit).

Then they thoroughly spray, both inside and outside, my cabin windows and port lights with fake snow from an aerosol can. The solvent and/or propellant in the fake snow momentarily melts the plastic in the windows, and the whole mess must eventually be laboriously chipped off with a dull welding chisel. This leaves more than a couple of scratches in the plastic, I’ll tell ya!

Back belowdecks again, they hang long strands of festive popcorn near the bookshelves—just to make sure that our shipboard roaches get plenty to eat during the holiday season.

Each Christmas card we receive gets Scotch-taped somewhere belowdecks. But they must dip the Scotch-tape in West epoxy first, because it adheres to my boat stronger and longer than any super-glue I’ve ever used.

They don’t stop merely at passive decoration, however. Nooooooo Sirrrreeeeeeee!

I’ve not mentioned the strings of 12-volt blinking Christmas lights along the lifelines, the illuminated Santa lashed to my stern rail, the glowing Rudolph perched on my boom, or the spreader-light illuminated Santa’s sleigh on my foredeck.

Both of my shipboard battery banks last about 15 minutes after sunset during December. If I complain, I’m labeled “Cap’n Scrooge!” and “Cap’n Bligh!” and “Stingy, stingy, stingy!”

I refuse to encourage them by buying a Christmas tree. So they have a “Goodlander family Christmas tradition” of stealing them, branch by branch, from our shoreside friends.

It is so embarrassing to be invited into someone’s living room, and when they leave for an instant to get the traditional eggnog and cookies…have your wife break off a large branch of their Christmas tree, slip a few fragile ornaments down her billowing blouse, and stash a couple of medium-sized candy canes under her commodious armpits, while your kid silently attempts to lasso the sacred angel off the top of their tree.

As Christmas approaches, my wife and daughter quickly escalate the abuse. “Let’s bake some cookies, pies, and other horribly messy food-stuffs!” they gleefully sing out to each other as they start dumping cans of flour, sugar, and Crisco onto my pristine navigation table.

Even our ship’s cat, which is appropriately named Joker, gets into Christmas—mostly by eating his holiday share of the “forbidden foods,” such as tinsel and wrapping ribbons. He vomits up the ribbons and, at least partially, passes the tinsel. “Oh, gross!” screams my daughter, as Joker streaks past her with a little Christmas tinsel gaily trailing behind him.

By the time Christmas Day actually arrives, my boat is a (barely) floating disaster area. The bilge pumps are clogged, the batteries are as flat as my bank account, and the lenses of my port lights are about as clear as my conscious.
To signal the glorious occasion, my wife wakes up at dawn and puts on some Christmas “Steel Pan” music on the stereo. It sounds like an angry young man, pissed off about being forever mired in abject poverty, beating on a garbage can under the hot tropical sun—which is probably what it is.

Each year, I give both my girls something I know they will endlessly enjoy and truly treasure—an enlarged color photograph of myself.

This year, my wife gave me a large magnifying mirror so that I can better gaze upon my noble countenance without straining my aging eyes. My daughter gave me a review of one of my books with all the negative comments cut out. (Okay, so there wasn’t much left of the book review, but that’s not the point. It’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?)
Since my writing income doesn’t allow us to, er, overeat, my Italiano wife often requests food stuffs from her Sicilian parents in Chicago. This year they sent her some Italian sausage, a bag of spicy meatballs, and some angel hair pasta.

It was, alas, kinda messy to eat with our bare hands. And the tomato juices kept dripping on the wrapping paper. But I couldn’t complain too much because my family sent me a fruitcake. This caused both my girls to shout out gleefully, “How appropriate! They’re all fruitcakes on your side of the family, aren’t they?”

In the midst of all this, I had to sail my vessel to our annual Christmas raft up; where about a hundred people got to see that we really do live like slobs aboard our boat and that I really don’t make up all these horrible things about my family—and that these lifestyle stories aren’t sick exaggerations, but merely wretchedly truthful recitals of the dementedly demonic details of our dreary daily existence.

At the stroke of midnight on Christmas, I began cleaning up my vessel— attempting to get her back into “shipshape and Bristol fashion.”

I used a machete on the tinsel and garlands, a shovel on the debris on the cabin sole, and a fire hose on the (highly sticky) galley area.

By dawn I was almost done, and at the end of my physical, mental, and moral rope.
As both my girls awoke, I hoped for a little genuine sympathy. But it was not to be. Instead, they giggled at my disheveled appearance, high-fived each other proudly, and sang out loudly in unison, “Let’s decorate the boat for New Year’s!!

This appeared in All At Sea Magazine in the mid 80’s

Category: Audio, Books, Humor, Sailing | 4 Comments »
Tags: cruising, facebook, fatty, fatty goodlander, friends, goodlander, sailng

Posted By RichC on December 13, 2009

A couple areas of interest to me merge one state over in Indiana. In an effort to help the endangered whooping cranes migrate safely from Wisconsin to their wintering grounds in Florida, Operation Migration had two disappointing moments this past week. In Vermillion County, Indiana, a staff member for the International Crane Foundation (ICF) found the carcass from the first crane to be successfully hatched in the wild in one hundred years near the town of Cayuga – it had been shot. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (I-DNR) are investigating the shooting.

“To kill and abandon one of 500 remaining members of species shows a lack of reverence for life and an absence of simple common sense,” said John Christian, FWS Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds. “It is inconceivable that someone would have such little regard for conservation.”

Operation Migration continued to proceeded south with their ultralight  and “top cover” Cessna 182 piloted by Don and Paula Lunsbury. Unfortunately the airplance experienced engine trouble over Illinois on December 4th and landed in a plowed field in southern Illinois. According to an aviation reporter, the freshly tilled ground was soft and caused the nose gear to dig-in flipping the C-182.  The two pilots from Canada were uninjured and the accident is still under investigation by the NTSB. No final report as to the cause has been release by the FAA.

According to another post on the subject, “this year’s assisted migration has been full of adversity as weather caused several long layovers” as the ultralight also had to make an emergency landing due to engine problems. Another unfortunate incident occurred prior to leaving as their aircraft and parts were vandalized.

According to an EAA article, “the remaining 18 cranes are, as of this writing, waiting out weather in Hardin County, Tennessee just north of the Mississippi-Alabama border. More information about how to support the migration including a fund to replace the aircraft damaged in the Wisonsin break-in can be found here.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a minimum reward of $2,500 to the person or people who provide information leading to a conviction. Anyone with information should call the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 24-hour hotline at: 1-800 TIP IDNR (800-847-4367), or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at 317-346-7016. Callers can remain anonymous.”

Category: Aviation, Environment | No Comments »
Tags: aviation, birds, cessna

Posted By RichC on December 11, 2009

After spending the week listening and grumbling over politics (and unfortunately blogging about it), I was ready for something to lighten my mood — How about Trackhoe waterskiing … or if you’re not from the south, it might be called Excavator waterskiing?

Whatever … its a recreation fitting for the NASCAR lover!

Category: Humor, Video | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on December 10, 2009

Although I’m not a John Birch Society focused guy,  a friend of mine forwarded a YouTube video from its founder Robert W. Welch, Jr. compiled from 1958 and 1974 speeches (embedded below). It is interesting that after our American Republic watched the Soviet Union’s heavy handed, centrally controlled communist government collapse in the 1980s, that another generation of Americans would be facing a leftist movement from within its own country just 25 years later …  of course it is semi-disguised as spreading the wealth, social justice, and compassion. Why haven’t we learn from the failed political experiments recorded in thousands of years of history?

It is puzzling how blind and accepting Americans have become to an expanding and heavy handed federal government, particularly one that is willingly to give governing power and our assets to foreign entities. What are we doing my fellow Americans — see previous post? Don’t let your freedom and liberty erode … our Republic is not in good hands.

“The American Republic was bound—is still bound—to follow in the centuries to come the same course to destruction as did Rome. But our real ground of complaint is that we have been pushed down the demagogic road to disaster by conspiratorial hands, far sooner and far faster than would have been the results of natural political evolution. … We are being insidiously, conspiratorially, and treasonously led by deception, by bribery, by coercion, and by fear, to destroy a republic that was the envy and model for all of the civilized world.”
– Robert Welch, Jr. (1899-1985)

Category: Politics, Video | 6 Comments »
Tags: john birch society