369

369 = 3 x 3 x 41

Wicked!

368

368 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 23

Wicked!

Research

I need to do some research this morning, or it will come out my ears.

Wicked!

Car

I have to make repairs to my car.

Wicked!

But not fun.

First Place

The New England Patriots are alone in first place at 10-2.

atlanta is also in first place in the nfc, but so what.

We absolutely pounded a team that sucks last night, 45-3.

Wicked!

Celtics Won Wicked Easy

The Boston Celtics, The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport, won wicked easy last night, 100-75. Now that is a wicked easy win.

16-4 projects to 65.6-16.4

I leave it to you to figure out the decimality of 65.6 wins and 16.4 losses.

Wicked!

dbag

There is a dbag living down the hill, across centerline road. Living in a fantasy world where everyone is making trouble for her. We'll see what happens. Right in the head.

Wicked!

362

362 = 2 x 181

Wicked!

Time for stuff

It's time for stuff.

So, therefore, thus, consequently, I will do some stuff.

Wicked!

360

This is probably extremely divisible. I bet I can do it in my head.

360 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 5

Wicked!

Definitely

I will definitely be wearing green tonight as the Celtics open the season against a team that sucks.

Wicked!

358

358 = 2 x 179

Wicked!

Stuck at 200.

I am stuck at 200.

Perhaps this week something will happen.

Still under the graph.

Wicked!

Gas Station

We might get another gas station. In fact, we might get two more. This is a big (har har hardy har har) story for this pathetic little island.

From www.stjohnsource.com.

==============================

Second New Gas Station Planned
By Lynda Lohr — October 21, 2010

An informational meeting on a gas station planned for the Great Cruz Bay area will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Westin Resort and Villas. The Planning and Natural Resources Department recently began requiring developers applying for terminal facility permits to hold informational meetings.
“We hold informational meetings so we can get any concerns,” Planning’s environmental specialist, Kent Bernier Jr., said.
If approved, the station will be located west of the shopping center that’s home to St. John Market. It’s on Southside Road near the Westin. Maps refer to the area as Chocolate Hole, but residents call it Great Cruz Bay.
The .43-acre property is owned by 481-1 Estate Chocolate Hole Realty, headed by St. Thomas resident Nedal Salem. Francisco Nadal is the architect. Keith Smith is also listed on the application, Bernier said.
Planning spokesman Jamal Nielsen said the area is zoned B-3, business scattered. He said gas stations are allowed under this designation.
According to Bernier, the company plans to install two above ground fuel tanks. One will have one compartment holding 25,000 gallons. The second will have two compartments. One holds 20,000 gallons and the other 5,000 gallons.
This meeting marks the second time since August that a gas station is on St. John’s front burner. On Aug. 15, Guilderoy Sprauve and his partner, Gerren Sprauve held a meeting at the Westin to get input on its plans to build a gas station near the former concrete plant on Centerline Road in Estate Adrian.
Planner Stuart Smith said that the Sprauves have applied to Planning for a variance to build the gas station and a conveniences store on the 1.5 acres of land they own. He anticipated a public hearing would be held on that gas station in mid-December.
St. John currently has only one gas station – E&C in Pine Peace outside the town of Cruz Bay. A second station, a Domino located in Coral Bay, closed in March and doesn’t appear to be reopening any time soon.

Men's Club

Here's what the Men's Club did.

Met at Skinny Legs and drove to Cruz Bay. Parked illegally at The lumberyard.

Walked into Cruz Bay and had a drink at High Tide.

Walked around a bit and bypassed several restaurants. Went into Crazy Crackers which now has a different name. Had a drink and appetizer. Had another drink and dinner.

Walked to the Irish Pub. Had a drink.

Drove home.

There were only three attendees.

Wicked!

354

354 = 2 x 3 x 59

Wicked!

Today is a day for accounting

I am going to do www.stjohnvillarental.com accounting today.

So there.

Wicked!

Patriots Won Wicked Easy

The New England Patriots won wicked yesterday, scoring the final 13 points over the totally exasperated team that sucks from baltimore.

We are the greatest.

Wicked!

Deion Branch

Today the Patriots have Deion Branch again. Just what they need. Mr. Cool. A perfect fit.

Wicked!

350

350. Looks like a good number.

2 x 5 x 5 x 7

Wicked!

Patriots Sunday

The Patriots are on my little teevee sunday, but I will probably go to Mary's for the game.

After all, I can yell off the deck there and act very silly.

Wicked!

No time today

No post. No time.

I get to make buckets today.

I am going to make traffic cones today.

Buckets. Spray paint. Reflective tape. Rocks inside. 2 x 2s with holes drilled in the tops.

Then yellow warning tape stretched between them.

Wicked!

Landslides

We had 4 landslides in Upper Carolina. Here is a story about them from The Source, www.stjohnsource.com.

================

Rock, Mudslides Make Headaches for Public Works
By Lynda Lohr — October 9, 2010

Public Works crews can’t remove every last bit of the rockslides and mudslides that litter St. John roads because it will further destabilize the hillsides, Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls said Saturday.

“The hillsides are still coming down. The ground is so saturated,” Smalls said in a phone call he initiated.

Some rain is expected Monday, which Smalls said won’t help matters any. He said this week’s rain fell on soil already saturated from Hurricane Earl’s passage on Aug. 30.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of rainfall in a short time. Rain is my worst enemy,” he said.

As for Monday’s rain, meteorologist Ernesto Morales at the National Weather Service in San Juan said that a tropical wave moving through the area will increase shower activity.

“But we’re not expecting significant rainfall,” he said.

Sharon Coldren, president of the Coral Bay Community Council, said that Earl’s winds blew from the west, which ripped trees and vegetation from the westerly facing hillsides. This week’s rains came from the same direction, falling on hillsides with less vegetation than normal. She said this helped create mudslide conditions.

Coral Bay and nearby Bordeaux areas are the worst area Smalls saw on a tour of St. John. He said that on Bordeaux Road, a slide 150 to 200 feet has totally closed the road.

Coldren pointed out that the Upper Carolina neighborhood adjacent to Centerline Road was particularly hard hit.

“We have four places where the roads are completely undercut,” she said.

Some residents have such significant damage in their yards or driveways that they can’t live in their houses, Coldren said.

Some of the landslides that began on Upper Carolina’s hillsides went all the way down to Centerline Road.

“There is gravel, boulders and whole trees,” she said.

Additionally, Coldren said she knows of four landslides that start on the downhill side of Centerline Road. She said that while they’re not as visible as the ones that started on the uphill side of the road, they’ve caused problems.

Drier weather would help, but Smalls said some parts of the roads need to be totally reengineered to solve the problem.

“We’ll have to do shoring up,” Smalls said.

He said that residents shouldn’t expect a quick fix for the mudslide problem.

According to Smalls, the government has “reached out” to the Federal Highway Administration for funding to solve the problems.

“We’ve provided an initial assessment,” he said.

When more mudslides occur, Smalls said that Public Works crews will clear them as much as possible so emergency vehicles and residents in the area can get through.

“But we want motorists to be careful,” he said.

A huge rockslide on a neighborhood road that joins Centerline Road near Reef Bay may provide materials for stabilizing other hillsides, Smalls said.

For the long term, Smalls called on people who plan to build on their property to construct retaining walls to keep the hillsides from sliding. And when they cut down bush on their property so they can build, he urged them to quickly revegetate to keep the soil on the property.

“It’s going to take community effort and commitment,” he said.

He said that the huge amount of construction in the Coral Bay area has changed the way water flows downhill, which in turn caused problems on Centerline Road. Centerline Road is the main artery from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay.

I have a mess to fix

Upper Carolina has 4 major landslides between Ironwood Road and Centerline Road. These have to be fixed, as they are major hazards to our roads.

Gotta do it.

Wicked!

343

343 = 1 x 343

Wicked!

343

343 = 1 x 343

Wicked!

Wicked!

Wicked!

That's all I can say about 200. That's what the little scale said this morning.

Eventually it will say 170, I think.

Wicked!

341

341 = 1 x 341

Wicked!

Trim the bushes

I might trim the bushes.

On the other hand, it might be raining.

So I might not. You never know. It would probably be good if I did some trimming.

Wicked.

339

339 = 3 x 113

Wicked!

Shutters

I am going to build not only my shutters, but also one for Elaine.

Wicked!

337

I'd like to point out that 337 is 1 x 337.

So I will.

337 = 1 x 337.

Wicked!

Villa rental

St John villa rental is at www.stjohnvillarental.com where you can rent a vacation villa for your trip to Cruz Bay or Coral Bay.

Wicked!

335

335 = 5 x 67

Wicked!

Scrabble Names

Axolotl
Captain
CTL
Henway
Piecost
Zeke

And one other one I can't remember.

Potrzbie? Nope, too many letters.

I guess I will think of something eventually.

Hope so, because this is critical!

Wicked!

333

Post Number 333.

That's 3 x 111.

Wicked!

Pre-Season

Pre-Season for the Celtics, the Greatest Franchise In The History of Sport.

We will demolish that skinny lineup of miami. Kind of fun.

Rondo drives the lane again and passes to an O'Neal again, who dunks it again.

Wicked!

Poop

Poop. That's poop backwards, because it is a non-poop day.

Wicked!

Don't do this!

Don't do 4 posts that say absolutely nothing, or you're gonna get it!

Poop again

Poop to them, and they know who they are.

Of course they are all injured and out for the year, so it isn't their fault really, but still poop.

Wicked!

Research

I am definitely scheduling some research today. Shortly.

327

327 = 1 x 327

Wicked!

Pandora

I am listening to Pandora radio. It actually works. So far, I have deleted two selections, but that is okay.

I think the quality is not as good as it could be, but that's what you get for free.

Wicked!

325

325 = 5 x 5 x 13

I did it in my head, of course. Easily.

Wicked!

Igor is going very far north

Igor is passing us today, but it is extremely far north of us. Good thing, because it is currently 145 mph.

Wicked!

More Vitelco News

This was in The Source, our on-line newspaper. You can read it and other stories at www.stjohnsource.com

=====================

Prosser Loses Appeal to Stop Vitelco Sale
By Bill Kossler — September 14, 2010

Former Vitelco owner Jeffrey Prosser shown exiting the courtroom.

A V.I. Superior Court judge dismissed an appeal Tuesday from bankrupt former Vitelco and Innovative Cable owner Jeffrey Prosser, clearing the way for ICC's biggest creditor to immediately buy Vitelco and the Innovative Cable companies.
When Judge Harold Willocks issued his ruling Tuesday—both dismissing the appeal and vacating an earlier stay of the V.I. Public Service Commission's ruling in May to let the Innovative sale proceed—he was no kinder or gentler than previous federal judges in his judgment of the merits of Prosser's case.
Dismissing a crucial element of Prosser's appeal, Willocks found Prosser had “failed to provide a clear showing of irreparable and substantial financial or property loss as alleged."
On the fundamental question of whether the PSC's decision met the conditions required for a court to overturn it, he said "(t)here is nothing in the record that suggests that the PSC's findings of facts and conclusions were arbitrary, capricious or procured through fraud.”
Prosser's other claims fared no better.
For instance, Prosser argued the court should review the case and send it back to the PSC for reconsideration because of new information and evidence.
But no new evidence was presented at the Sept. 7 hearing where Willocks heard arguments in Prosser's appeal of the PSC's decision.
On Monday, presumably at Willocks' request, Prosser attorneys filed a brief acknowledging there was, in fact, no new evidence and apologizing to the court. Willocks quotes Prosser's own brief, saying "(n)one of the material contained in the Petition for Reconsideration included new information as previously represented.”
But even had Prosser's attorney's been truthful about there being new evidence, Willocks noted that “the PSC did not need to consider any of the new issues raised.”
Citing federal rules of evidence, Prosser attorneys argued the case should be remanded to the PSC because the PSC did not issue a formal ruling denying his motion for reconsideration, instead letting it die through inaction.
“Throughout the appeal process, appellants [i.e., Prosser] repeatedly argued that this matter deals with a local agency and local statues,” Willocks said, agreeing with Prosser's earlier arguments that local, not federal, law applied. He then cited the passage of V.I. Code, which says if the PSC does not act on a petition for reconsideration in time, it is deemed denied by law.
Avenues for more delay in the bankruptcy seem to be closing one by one. Prosser may perhaps try to appeal Willocks' ruling to the V.I. Supreme Court. But with no stay in place, the transfer of ownership will go ahead immediately regardless.
And there do not appear to be any obvious legal grounds for a successful final appeal.
Whether or not Tuesday was Prosser's final day in court remains to be seen.

Shutters

I built a shutter holder yesterday.

Today I might build some shutters for downstairs.

Might.

Might not.

But probably might.

Wicked!

2 Wins

Patriots and Red Sox won yesterday, each by outscoring the opponents.

Wicked!

Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie is ahead by three strokes going into the 3rd and final round of a LPGA event somewhere. My favorite lady player. She used to go to Olomana just to see me play, in fact.

Wicked!

319

319 = 1 x 319

Wicked!

Battle vs. Genius

My battle vs. Genius is going very slowly. I still need 3 wins to tie him in points.

Wicked!

317

317 = 1 x 317

Wicked!

Double Research Kind Of Day

I have two reasons for research this morning.

But in all likelihood only one will be done in the library.

The other will be done in the den.

Wicked!

315

315 = 3 x 3 x 5 x 7

Wicked!

Moribund

The bullpen of the Boston Red Sox is moribund.

Moribund

Essay topic: Refute the contention that the literature of the middle ages is moribund.

Start of response: "There are those who contend that the literature of the middle ages is moribund. There are those who contend that the literature of the middle ages is not moribund."

Wicked

Wicked!

311

311 = 1 x 311

Wicked!

Joe's birthday party

Joe is having a birthday party today on the beach.

However, everyone is probably doing hurricane preparation.

Who know what people are doing?

Still can't tell exactly what is up with Earl, but looks like it is too close to ignore.

Wicked!

309

309 = 3 x 103

Wicked!

Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie, who is only 20, although it seems like she has to be older, got a hole-in-one yesterday and is 3 shots in front at the LPGA Canadian Open.

Wicked!

307

307 = 1 x 307

Wicked!

Research

I really need to do some research.

I prefer upstairs in my little library. We'll see.

Wicked!

305

I bet you thought I was going to mention that 305 is 5 x 61, which is wicked, but I am not going to, which is also wicked.

The above comment, by itself, is wicked!

Wicked!

Henry The Cat

Henry The Cat ate something yesterday.

Wicked!

303

303 = 3 x 101

Wicked!

Henry the cat

My little cat Henry has decided to start eating more.

He is on vitamins and antibiotics which we cram down his little mouth.

He doesn't like it, but too bad, since it is either get them or be sick and scrawny.

Wicked!

301

301 = 1 x 301

Wicked!

Guess what? My K key is working again.

Wicked!

Patriots Game Tonight

The New England Patriots are on teevee tonight in my little den. At least I thinc they are on teevee. This will be quite

wicced!

299

299 = 1 x 299

Wicked!

Don't do this!

Har har hardy har har. Nothing in this post. I guess I got you.

Wicked!

Gas Stations

We have one gas station on St. John. In Cruz Bay. The Domino station in Coral Bay does not currently count, since it has been closed since March. Here is an article from www.stjohnsource.com about the problem. Some dink wants to open a station on Centerline Road. It might be good. But the best thing to do would be to re-open the Domino in Coral Bay.

=============

Residents Raise Concerns about Plans for Gas Station
By Lynda Lohr — August 15, 2010

Guilderoy Sprauve

The proximity of a gut, its location on one of Centerline Road’s blind curves, and the presence of filled land were concerns raised by some of the almost 20 people who attended a meeting Sunday called by the developer to discuss plans for a gas station in Estate Adrian.

The meeting was held at the Westin Resort and Villas on St. John.

“And I’m worried about loitering, noise, light pollution. I’m worried about all kinds of stuff,” said one man who lives across the street from the project.

No one argued that St. John doesnt need another gas station. Only E&C gas station in Pine Peace is open. A second station, a Domino in Coral Bay, has been shuttered since March. Domino company spokesman Marta Novoy said last week that the company plans to reopen the station, but she didn’t know when.

Several people urged Guilderoy Sprauve and his partner, Gerren Sprauve, to locate their gas station at the Domino site.

“That gas station is sorely missed. It’s the perfect spot for a second gas station,” Coral Bay area resident Bonny Corbeil said.

But the Sprauves own the property in Adrian and plan to build the gas station and self-serve convenience store on 1.5 acres of land east of the former concrete plant. Another lot sits between it and the former concrete plant. They need a rezoning from R-1, residential low density, to Industrial 2 to start the process.

The rezoning hearing, to be held by the Planning and Natural Resources, is the next step.

The Sprauves plan to used double-walled tanks that sit above ground in a containment dike, Paul Tollefson said. Tollefson is the president of Petroleum Equipment Sales and Installation, which will install the tanks for the Sprauves.

“A sump under the tank will contain any leaks,” he said.

The site sits near Battery Gut, a major watershed that drains into the Fish Bay area and was a concern for some of those at the meeting.

“You’re at the very top of the watershed,” St. John resident Pam Gaffin said.

Guilderoy Sprauve said the issue of loose fill will be addressed when soil tests are done. The fill was dumped on the property by contractors hired by Sirenusa, a large condominium project that was never finished. He said he didn’t know that he needed a permit from Planning for the fill to be dumped. When he learned about the permit requirement, he stopped Sirenusa’s contractors from dumping.

He said Planning requires them to locate the station 30 feet back from center of a gut.

The Sprauves initially planned to put the station on property they own further east on Centerline Road, but Guilderoy Sprauve said neighbors had concerns about fumes and noise. This, as well as the fact that the concrete plant is zoned I-2, convinced them to use that site.

After one woman complained that the Sprauves should have held the meeting closer to the gas station’s proposed site, E&C owner Myrtle Barry urged them to get to know the community. While the Sprauves have their roots on St. John, they do not live on the island.

“St. John is different. Be neighborly,” she said.

A sandwich is coming

I feel a sandwich for everybody.

Ham, roast beef, swiss cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard, oil + vinegar, all on a baguette, and then sliced into eatable sizes.

Wicked!

295

295 = 5 x 59

Wicked!

Lamb Rack

Our private chef at Aqua Bistro is cooking rack of lamb tonight for 5.

I will have to ride my bike a lot this afternoon to get ready.

Research, building the window, bike riding -- all wicked good for me.

Wicked!

293

293 = 1 x 293

Wicked!

Wicked

Wicked!

291

291 = 3 x 97

Wicked!

My graph

I have a graph underway. And I am under the line so far. The last milestone on the graph is 170 pounds, incidentally. You will never guess what the current overage is, but it is probably workable, since I have 6 months to go.

I can probably do it. In fact, I am way under the line.

Wicked.

289

289 = 17 x 17

Wicked!

We need a left guard

The New England Patriots have managed to create a giant hole at left guard, refusing to pay Logan Mankins. Fortunately, with the emergence of Vollmer at right tackle, Nick Kazur was moved to left guard. Unfortunately, with Kazur having back problems, now they have lost two starting offensive linemen out of the five they need.

So, the solution is to sign Mankins.

Get with it.

287

287 = 1 x 287

Wicked!

Stupid disk drive

I have a stupid disk drive that doesn't work.

Time machine can't seem to use it. It is slow and stupid. I am going to throw it out.

Wicked.

285

285 = 3 x 5 x 19

Wicked!

Whatever

Whatever!

Wil Roberts got some ink

This was in The Source today, St. John's on-line newspaper. You can read it at www.stjohnsource.com.

Our friend Wil.

==============================

Island Expressions: Author Wilson Roberts
By Lynda Lohr — August 2, 2010

Author Wilson Roberts.

St. John winter resident Wilson Roberts has a new novel out, a mystery called “Incident at Tuckerman Court.”

It follows “The Serpent and the Hummingbird,” published in 2009 with one of the scenes set at Skinny Legs Bar and Restaurant in Coral Bay. That book came on the heels of the supernatural thriller “The Cold Dark Heart of the World,” published in 2008.

“And I just sent ‘Shadows and Acts’ to the publisher. It explores the career of a 19th-century actor, George Berell,” Roberts said.

Berell was a distant relative, and Roberts said he was lucky to find a manuscript in which Berell outlined his life. It was handed down through the family, and Roberts said he had somewhere to start when he began the fictionalized account of Berrell’s life.

He also has a trilogy waiting to be published. One book is set on the fictional island of St. Ursula, which Roberts said resembles Tortola. Another is set on St. John.

“It has a highly fictionalized account of what is now VIERS,” he said, referring to the V.I. Environmental Resource Station.

In addition to the three published novels on his resume, Roberts recently had a short story, “Against the Dying,” published in the prestigious Massachusetts Review.

“It’s like if you’re a painter and getting hung in a New York gallery,” he said.

He’s currently working on a book called “Poet’s Seat,” which is set in Greenfield, Mass. He and his wife, Diane Esser, live there when they’re not at their Coral Bay, St. John home.

Roberts and Esser first visited St. John in 1975. Like so many others, they fell in love with the place. In 1984, he had a sabbatical in nearby Tortola to explore the possibility of a link between Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts and a proposed college education program in the British Virgin Islands. The project never went any further, but it fostered more interest in a Caribbean life. In 1988 they bought land, building their house in 1989.

“It’s kept me broke ever since,” he said, laughing.

Writing novels is Roberts’ retirement job. Now 73, he retired from a teaching post at Greenfield Community College in 2001 after a long career teaching English at a variety of colleges up and down the eastern seaboard. At Greenfield Community College, he also served as a union organizer.

He now has space in his wife’s law office, which he said provides the discipline he needs to write.

Born and raised in Newtown, Penn., he graduated from Drew University in Madison, N.J., with a bachelor’s degree in religion. After teaching high school for a year, he went on to get a master’s degree in English from Appalachian State University in Boone, N. C.

At Appalachian State, he developed an affinity for traditional mountain folklore, which influences the storytelling he does at Greenfield area schools and in the guitar music he likes to play in his spare time.

“I usually play in the living room, but I’m playing at an open mike tonight,” he said.

He’s also a mediator, working with small claims court cases and in situations where children were removed from their families.

“The whole goal of the project is to reunite families,” he said.

Along the way, Roberts and his first wife had four children. Additionally, he parented a stepchild. One of his sons, Micah, and his wife Rachel, previously lived on St. John but now live near Greenfield. Chuck, Ben, Jabo, and Wesley are also in the area. His daughter, Leah, is in Leesburg, Va.

As for his future, Roberts plans to keep writing books.

Those interested can shop for Roberts’ books at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, on Kindle, or they can be ordered at any bookstore.

No internet

The internet was not working this morning, so I couldn't do what I wanted to do, which prevented me from blogging and typing "wicked" at the end of posts.

So I am doing it now.

Wicked.

Runoff

Here is an article from the Source, St. John's on-line newspaper. You can read this and other stories at www.stjohnsource.com.

On St. John, Dirt Roads Lead to Dirty Reefs
By Lynda Lohr — July 30, 2010

Marine scientist Sarah Gray.

Last week's deluges were welcomed by Sarah Gray, a professor of marine science and environmental studies at the University of San Diego, as they gave her the chance to study runoff and sedimentation on St. John under storm conditions.

Speaking Friday at Maho Bay Camps Pavilion Restaurant, Gray has the science to back up what most residents can see with their eyes. She said the island’s coral reef ecosystem is damaged by land-based pollution and sedimentation, the result of St. John’s recent extensive development.

“But it’s not that hard to solve on a local level. You need the political will, which you have,” Gray said to the 50 or so people at Maho.

Gray cited earlier research showing St. John’s numerous dirt roads cause five to nine times greater sedimentation than controls.

“And the number of dirt roads increased dramatically in the last 30 years,” Gray said.

But other factors such as global warming, ocean acidification, over-fishing, hurricanes, diseases and coral bleaching are harder to tackle locally, Gray said.

This is the fourth year Gray and her team of students worked on St. John. She has monitoring sites at Great Lameshur Bay, Fish Bay and Coral Bay. The Lameshur site sits in an undeveloped area within V.I. National Park and essentially serves as a control.

Her studies show that the Lameshur area has little sedimentation. Fish Bay has lots of sediment on the reefs, but Coral Bay’s sediment problem is along the shoreline. In studying the Coral Bay area, Gray’s team discovered that the sedimentation at Calabash Boom, the site of the recently built Calabash Boom affordable housing project, is less than at the Shipwreck site in an adjacent bay. Gray attributed this to the installation of sediment ponds at Calabash Boom.

“Shipwreck is not mitigated,” she said.

The shoreline near the town of Coral Bay shows surprisingly less sediment, but Gray said this was probably due to the mangroves serving as filters.

Her studies include evaluating sediment suspended in the water, accumulated in sediment traps and on the sea floor, Gray said. Her team processes the samples at the V.I. Environmental Resource Station lab, located at Lameshur Bay, before sending the samples off to their labs at the University of San Diego for more in-depth analysis.

The Coral Bay Community Council has ongoing projects to mitigate the impact of development on Coral Bay. President Sharon Coldren said the organization received $1 million in federal economic stimulus funds and $300,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to address the problem.

“But it will take $13 million to $15 million to take care of our bay,” she said.

Leftovers

I might eat leftovers today, even though I might not.

279

279 = 1 x 279

Wicked!

Microsoft Office

I installed Microsoft Office because I couldn't make the other softwares do what I needed them to do.

And today I will put everything in the dock or applications or desktop, or wherever those stupid things go to get out of the way.

277

277 = 1 x 277

Wicked!

So what!

So what if the baseball announcers say "runners at the corners"

I'll tell you what.
What?
What. I told you I'd tell you what.

The Boston Red Sox have the best record of any major league team in Boston baseball.

I'll bet

I'll bet that 275 is divisible by a few things.

275 = 5 x 5 x 11

Wicked!

My recliner

My recliner is here, and I actually sat in it yesterday. It rocks and glides and swivels in the down position, and swivels in the up position. Smells like leather.

And it actually fits.

The other chair it replaced is now in my little office in the basement.

I suppose someday I should fix the ceiling down here.

Wicked!

273

273 = 3 x 91

Wicked!

Recliner today

I think that today I will be able to get my recliner.

At least I think so.

You never know when dinks get in the way and prevent things from being done.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox won again yesterday by outscoring the opponents, some dink team from somewhere. The Sox are wicked this year.

Rain

It has rained for about 4 straight days, and everyone is tired of it. The weather is usually very sunny and clear this time of year. At least we don't have to worry about any people staying at our place, because we don't have any.

Free flights

I got free flights all the way to Hawaii through AADVANTAGE. For two awards -- one of 17,500 miles outbound, and one of 37,500 miles inbound first class (one segment is redeye, so it needs to be first class).

That was pretty wicked. I like American because their frequent flyer program is easy to use.

Wicked!

Favorites

The Boston Celtics, The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport, are favorites to win the NBA Championship again, with the signing of 6-time All-NBA forward/center, 6'11" Jermaine O'Neal.

Even people who are nothing but doom and gloom are ecstatic about this signing.

Wicked wicked!

Red Sox Win for the Umpteenth Consecutive Time

The Boston Red Sox won for the Umpteenth and Wickedest Consecutive Time yesterday by underscoring texas.

What is in my clipboard?

I think I'll see what is in my clipboard.

“He’s versatile,’’ said Celtics president Danny Ainge. “He can catch and finish. He can score on the post left hand, right hand. He’s a good weak-side shot blocker and he’s been a decent rebounder as well.’’

Well, well, a quote about new Celtic Jermaine O'Neal.

Wicked!

Tabs

Scott A. Hills aka ultmast showed me how to do tabs yesterday.

Windows/t opens a new tab. Now I can have multiple Firefox tabs open at the same time. I can also have multiple documents open and can view them all with F9.

Wicked!

David Ortiz

David Ortiz won the home run derby last night, and he is going to stay at one of my villas to celebrate. St. John Villa Rental is www.stjohnvillarental.com.

Mac Mini

I may have my Mac Mini installed today. May. May not. It all depends.

Forget it

You can forget it -- "it" being the miniscule chance that the miami shitheads will win even their division next year. They will be the most hated team in the nba ever. A big bunch of douchebags who have won nothing ever.

No-one returns calls

This is a moment of non-returned phone calls.

Dinks, all of them.

Including dish network, of course. Two dinks.

Wicked dinky.

259

259 = 1 x 259, which is

WICKED!

Shutters

Shutters almost done.

However, the dish network un-licensed non-distributor came by yesterday and fiddled around, accomplishing nothing.

I have to cut a tree down.

Then I have to build a platform, raising the antenna.

257

257 = 1 x 257.

Wicked!

We underscored them and won!

The Red Sox won their millionth straight game this season.

Yes, 1,000,000 games won and 0 games lost.

Wicked.

Research

I just did some research in my little library off my office.

Had to do it before going upstairs.

However, I got a Captain G. Piecost on my crossword, including an Edit of the creator.

Saturday crossword

Too hard to do the ny times crossword, since it is wicked. M does it.

I have to do the other one.

Day off

The New England teams all had a day off yesterday, but they all won by acclimation, which is a wicked good way to win.

They are all acclaimed.

Dinks

Those dinks at broadbandvi had three days of total outages, never returned a phone call, and are dinks!

Hinges

I need to buy 36 hinges.

Yes, 36.

4 on each door panel. 9 panels. That makes 36.

Therefore, I think a trip to st thomas home depot is necessary.

I might get some primer as well, but I don't think so, because I don't really want to carry it on the ferry.

Amazing that I need to go to a different island to buy something as simple as hinges.

Shutters and cat food today

Today I am going to start on shutters.

Cat food purchase before that.

Research before that.

Scrabble game before that.

Wicked!

249

249 = 1 x 249

That's it. Wicked.

One more stupid announcer comment

Tell you what.

What.

I told you I'd tell you what.

247

247 = 13 x 19

Wicked!

The long trip to town

I am going to take the long trip to town this morning.

Breafkast, newspaper, mail, paint.

That should do it just fine.

Red Sox Win 6th straight

The Boston Red Sox won their 6th straight game last night by outscoring the dodgers 2-0. Looks like both Buchholz 10-4 and Lester 8-2 will make the all-star roster. Look at it this way . . . The home stand was 8 wins and 1 loss, and the Lads seem to be on a wicked tear. Someone wrote about the Lads having "the best record in baseball since whenever" which is pathetic, since it is actually "the best record in the major leagues since whenever".

Useless

The current sjyc commodore has proven to be useless.

I was Great.

In fact, I was Wicked.

Referees Cheat!

I have it on High Authority that The Boston Celtics, The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport, won game 7 against the pathetic smoggers, but the referees cheated on the scorecards and changed some baskets around, cheating against the Celtics, who are The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport.

Cufflinks

The gold cufflinks were mailed to Scott yesterday.

Sandy Stein thinks they are worth $2,000.

A good birthday gift for Scott.

Theyregonnagetit

Thecheatingrefsallallgonnagetitrightinthehead!

I built a shutter

I built a shutter yesterday.

Today I will try to build 3 more. I need some screws. Everything else is ready.

No Posting

I am doing no posting in this blog today because I already put a post in the other one, and it was so great that nothing else could ever top it.

Game 5 Tonight

The Boston Celtics, The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport, will win game 5 easily tonight against the smoggers, whose only claim to fame is their uniforms are the color of snot.

Har har hardy har har.

Factors

This is post 237.

237 = 3 x 79.

Red Sox Win by Scoring Fewer Runs

The Boston Red Sox won last night, but underscored pathetic cleveland, where the river once caught on fire.

Just be glad you don't live there.

Green tonight

I will be wearing green again.

The Red Sox Won Again

The Boston Red Sox won last night. 8-2 last 10 games.

And if you add in the games the umpires cheated, the Red Sox are 10-0 the last 10.

Red Sox Win Again

The Boston Red Sox won again last night, 4-1, outscoring the opposition from cleveland, where the river once caught on fire.


A pretty sad place to live.

232

232

2 x 2 x 2 x 29

That means that you could do one post every 3 hours in February in Leap Year, and you would have 232 posts.

I am The Living Legend Of Statisticians.

Payments?

This was in The Source -- www.stjohnsource.com. You should read it and other stories, and then buy stuff from the various advertisers in The Source.

======================================

I edited a couple of grammar mistakes.

=======================================

Questions Regarding Prosser's Unpaid Lawyers Still Remain
By Source Staff — June 3, 2010

How do you keep a team of lawyers fighting for your cause when you don’t pay them? That continues to be the mystery surrounding Jeffrey Prosser, the now bankrupt former owner and CEO of Innovative Telephone, and his current team of four lawyers.
Under a court order from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald, three of Prosser’s four current lawyers, all from the U.S. mainland, have filed financial statements with the court; (EDIT -- should be ,) while the fourth, Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead of St. Croix, had not yet done so at the close of business June 2.
None of the three has been paid for his services since December 2008.
The court-imposed deadline for the filings was June 1. Fitzgerald told the lawyers to report precisely when they had received compensation, how much it was each time, and who paid the bills.
A much longer list of attorneys in recent years have argued for Prosser (and/or his family or interests) but have ceased to do so, often telling the court as they leave the case that they had not been paid. (In these courts a lawyer does not simply resign; the attorney must request the judge’s permission to stop serving a client. In fact, on at least one occasion in these hearings a lawyer who had been fired by the Prosser camp was told to continue to represent the client until a replacement could be found.)
The three lawyers filing financial statements were: Robert F. Craig of Omaha, Neb., whose connections with Prosser go back more than 10 years; Lawrence H. Schoenbach, a New York City-based criminal lawyer; and Norman A. Abood of Toledo, Ohio, who, in the last year or so has often played the role of Prosser’s lead lawyer.

Craig
The Omaha attorney, whose billing rate is $400 an hour, was last paid a fee in January 2007, almost three and a half years ago. He has, since that time, run up $82,405.27 in expenses (presumably, largely travel) and was reimbursed for $79,990 of that.
Both Craig and Abood often appear at monthly hearings in Pittsburgh, so that generates airline and hotel bills. None of Prosser’s lawyers are (EDIT -- should be is) based in that city, where most of the hearings take place.
Regarding the source of the expense funds, Craig reported to the court: “As advised by the client, all funds received by Craig Law originated from debtor’s mother or spouse. Remittances have been mechanized through various checks, wire transfers and payments through PayPal. Some were mechanized through third-party accounts of Adrian Prosser [Prosser's son] and John Breeze. Some expenses incurred for e.g. travel have been [paid] directly by Dawn Prosser [Prosser's wife] through her American Express credit card.”
This is the first mention of Prosser’s mother that the Source recalls seeing in any of the court documents. We have no information on John Breeze.
In Craig’s filing, and in the two others, there was this statement about the possibility of payments in the future:
“No promises have been received by Craig Law or any of its lawyers as to payment or compensation in connection with this case, other than in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.” Just what that means in layman’s terms was not clear.

Schoenbach
The New York attorney who has been handling Prosser’s suit against his creditors and others under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a sideshow to the main bankruptcy controversy, is also representing Dawn Prosser. Schoenbach, who bills at $500 an hour, said that some of his expenses were paid directly by Dawn Prosser’s American Express credit card.
He said that he had received two payments for legal fees, “one on October 6, 2008 for $7,282.20 ($7,500 minus PayPal fees) from Jeffrey Prosser’s PayPal account. Upon information and belief, the credit card associated with that PayPal account (and from which the payment was made) was Dawn Prosser’s American Express charge card.
“On December 1, 2008, I received a payment of $50,000 by a check drawn on the Regent Bank (Palm Beach branch) account of Adrian Prosser/Linda Hirsch. Upon information and belief, the funds were from the $1 million returned to Mrs. Prosser after the Court approved the sale of the Prosser’s Lake Placid [N.Y.] house. The funds were credited against the fees owed to me by Dawn Prosser.”

Abood
Of the three lawyers, Abood is the only one known to the Source as having had financial troubles in the past. He was, at one time, sent to a federal penitentiary for failing to pay his U.S. income taxes and was disbarred. He has since had his license to practice law restored.
He now bills at the rate of $330 an hour.
Abood also got a $50,000 check on December 4, 2008: “... a check drawn on the bank account of Adrian Prosser/Linda Hirsch. Upon information and belief, the funds were from the $1 million returned to Mrs. Prosser after the Court approved the sale of the Prosser’s Lake Placid house. The funds were credited against the fees owed to me by Jeffrey J. Prosser.”
Note that the wording in the two filings is identical, right down to a punctuation error – it should have been “the Prossers’ Lake Placid house,” not “the Prosser’s Lake Placid house.”
Abood also reported receiving four expense reimbursement checks during 2009, each smaller than the last. They were for $5,438, $4,855, $1,189 and $924.
An observer of these trials who had seen the electronic court filings for the case commented that none of the lawyers had recorded hours of work that had not been paid, though they must be large in each case. Since the judge did not ask the lawyers to provide a motivation for their continued work despite the lack of payment, there is no on-the-record information on that point.
The mystery continues.

Potrzebie

Potrzebie is polish. Some guy tried to commit suicide in Poland, but he jumped out of a basement window and escaped unhurt. His wife braided her armpits for the wedding.

No posting here either

No posting allowed in this blog either.

Green Tonight

Tonight I will be wearing a green shirt.

And the Boston Celtics, The Greatest Franchise In The History Of Sport, will take the court against the smoggers, who really aren't very good, have never been any good, and who choke. The Boston Celtics have the best players, the best defense, and are wicked tough all over the place.

4-1 series, possibly 4-0. For the Celtics.

Sox Win Again

The Boston Red Sox won again last night, falling behind 4-0 and then rallying to win 9-4. That's right, they won by outscoring the opponents again.

Oil Spill

The oil spill is getting bigger every day. BP is stuck. Can't fix the leak, so the oil keeps spewing out.

People should come to st john to rent a villa through www.stjohnvillarental.com instead of going to the gulf coast.

A strange item in my Winner's Bag

I got a very strange item in my winner's bag yesterday.

A pond bay club towel.

I am going to throw it away. Maybe it will go to a dumpster as a donation. But I certainly don't want it.

Potrzebie

Potrzebie is the preferred spelling of potrzebie.

Celtics and Red Sox Both Win

The Boston Celtics won by outscoring the pathetic orlando magic last night, and I watched the entire game and then fell asleep on the sofa.

The Boston Red Sox won by underscoring whoever, but the lads felt good anyway since the Boston Celtics won.

Limerick

I once knew a post named Bill
Whose rhyming scheme was quite nil
The post was two two two
And he ate a kazoo
And never decided to thrill.

My little peecee

My little peecee was fixed by a really good tech at Computer Express. I would have kissed her on the spot, but she was too young for me.

Maybe I will have my son marry her.

I really liked her!

Peecee fix

I need to fix my little peecee, so I might do it today.

Bring it in to what's-his-name. Jason. That's it.

He can fix it. I need to get the cd drive to open, and need to get a virus check. Then people can rent villas from www.stjohnvillarental.com, vacation villas on st john usvi.

Red Sox Win Again

The Boston Red Sox won again. They overscored tampa.

6-1.

Actually, the Boston Red Sox have decided to play well. Two more games against a good team, then they get 10 against some crud.

Look for them to win about 9-10 of the next 12.

Red Sox Win

The Boston Red Sox won again, this time by scoring the most runs.

Celtics Win Again

The Boston Celtics beat up the cavaliers last night, winning the series 4-2. The Celtics actually won all 6 games, including the two that they won by underscoring the opponents. The lads will undoubtedly get a villa rental on st john through www.stjohnvillarental.com after the season.

Oops, rain

It is raining. The weather report says that the next three days might be rainy. While we need rain, we don't really want rain while we are sailing.

Celtics and Red Sox Win

The Boston Celtics and the Boston Red Sox both won last night, and each team actually outscored the opponents.

In fact, the Boston Celtics won by 32 points. In cleveland. A big hurting all over the place.

3-2 series lead, and now the lads are at home for game 6. They will obviously win, even if they have to underscore the opponents to do so.

The Red Sox are now 18-16, but the 16 losses are actually wins since they underscored the opponents on purpose.

Caca Ball

Amazingly, there are two other posts with the title "Caca Ball". I wonder what is in those posts. Probably just some poop.

Peecee fix

I might fix my little peecee today.

Have to bring it in and get a virus cleansed, and get the dvd drawer to open.

potrzebie.

Racing today

I am going on Southbound today for the Commodore's Cup. Then I will undoubtedly just go home, take a shower, and finish the trophy plaques.

M is going to the beach for Cristina's 60th birthday.

Trophies Today

I am building trophy bases today.

About 24 of them.

Joe is going to do the sanding I hope.

Grammar

The invitation to the next Yacht Club Social had these errors.

Miles and Susan "Stairs". The correct name is Stair, of course.

Make "you're our taco's". Ouch all over the place. Make your own tacos, of course. This had the wrong word, a typo, and then an extra apostrophe.

This was pathetic.

And the party costs $50 per person.

We're not going. Instead, we'll be sailing. That night we'll be at Leverick Bay.

Har har hardy har har.

Two more wins

The Bruins and the Red Sox both won last night, and each team actually outscored the opponents. That should count as two wins for each.

The Bruins, amazingly, are ahead 3-0 in the series against the flyers.

The Red Sox won their third straight outscoring-the-opponent-win, to add to the numerous underscoring-the-opponent-wins in previous games.

But, a win is a win, I guess.

I bought plants

I bought some plants yesterday.

Orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees.
6 somethings to put near the small pond.
1 orchid.
1 flambouyant to put in the side yard near the addition.
And 2 lettuce ferns to put in the bathroom.

Monday -- New Routine

Monday today.

I have a new Monday routine. Go to www.stjohnvillarental.com and do all the reverse billings.

That's the way to keep up with everything. It should be very simple to do.

Red Sox and Bruins and Celtics and Revolution All Win

The Red Sox and the Bruins and the Celtics and the Revolution all won yesterday, even though the Red Sox and the Celtics actually scored less than the opponents, and the Revolution scored the same.

This was another milestone. 4 for 4. All Boston teams won.

Oil Spill

This was published about the oil spill about to hit the gulf coast. Very bad for the environment.

Everyone should rent a villa from www.stjohnvillarental.com, but instead, they will be cleaning oil spills.

This was in the Vancouver Sun today.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Creeping+slick+slipping+through+growing+containment+effort/2975410/story.html#ixzz0mg2RIw7B

VENICE, La. — Way down near the mouth of the Mississippi River, in a place local fishermen call "the end of the world," John Pope stepped back from the water's edge to snap a few pictures of his day's catch.

It was an impressive display — a dozen fresh redfish that Pope pulled from the still-clean waters of the Louisiana delta.

But he wondered if they might be his last.

"It's a terrible thing that's happening, a terrible thing," Pope, a recreational fisherman from Georgia, said of the massive oil spill lurking in open water just a few kilometres from this fishing village on the Mississippi's west bank.

"I just hope the folks are able to get this cleaned up before it does too much damage."

Ten days after an oil rig under lease to British Petroleum exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the prospects of averting a major environmental calamity dimmed Friday as high winds pushed a vast oil slick to the edge of Louisiana's sensitive coastal marshlands.

The bad weather forced BP to halt efforts to skim oil from the water's surface, adding to the frustration of federal and state government officials who blamed company officials for a sluggish response to a spill that is pumping 210,000 gallons of light crude into the Gulf each day.

"We need to work more speedily to protect wetlands, to protect marshes, to protect our ecosystem here," said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She said the Obama administration "will continue to push BP to engage in the strongest possible response."

Official with BP said they welcomed any ideas and assistance — both from Washington and competing oil firms. But the company also said there was little they could do to stop the spill's spread until the weather improves. The National Weather Service currently predicts the high winds could last until Monday.

"When winds come up and the seas come up, unfortunately we can't do much on the surface of the sea," said Doug Suttles, a BP spokesman. "Because of wave heights we are not able to skim."

BP said it is spending between $6 million and $7 million a day to try and contain the spill.

"Clearly as the oil reaches the shoreline, those costs will increase as we mount cleanup activities," Suttles said.

"Like everyone we understand and completely agree that we need to bring this event to closure as quickly as possible."

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, speaking at a news conference in Robert, La., said booms deployed to control the spread of the oil slick are being overwhelmed by rough water. He said the next several days would be "critical" and called up 6,000 National Guard troops to aid in potential cleanup efforts.

"I do have concerns that BP's current resources are not adequate to meet the three challenges we face," Jindal said.

In Washington, President Barack Obama announced he was ordering a halt to new offshore drilling leases as the federal government investigates the cause of the explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig. The blast ruptured an oil well located about 80 kilometres offshore and 1,500 metres underwater. Eleven rig workers were killed.

"I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security," Obama said at the White House. "But I've always said it must be done responsibly, for the safety of our workers and our environment."

The president has dispatched inspectors to the Gulf to examine all deepwater rigs and platforms for ensure they meet safety requirements.

The Obama administration pledged to provide every available resource to help BP fix the oil leak and contain the spill.

More than 66,000 metres of protective boom have been laid in the Gulf to help block the oil from shorelines. More than 300 Coast Guard and Naval vessels have been deployed alongside 1,900 federal personnel.

While winds wreaked havoc with the response on the water, the U.S. air force continued to dump dispersant chemicals over the oil slick using two C-130 planes. To date, more than 530,000 litres of dispersant have been sprayed into the Gulf.

Some residents of Plaquemines Parish, which includes most of the Mississippi River wetlands, reported seeing the first fingers of oil wash up onshore at Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Reserve — although the U.S. Coast Guard had not confirmed a widespread landfall.

Still, the anxiety is growing among Louisiana residents who fear one of the richest fisheries in North America will be badly damaged — or destroyed — if BP is unable to quickly find a way to close down the offshore well.

The fishing community of Venice, one of the last slips of land reachable by car, has become a hub of activity as the response to the oil spill intensifies.

The Cypress Cove Marina, where shrimp and oyster boats line the dock, was crowded with TV satellite vehicles and oil spill recovery trucks. Coast Guard boats shared the narrow channels with the few remaining fishing charters still plying the delta's waters.

Environmentalists say it's only a matter of time before the crude begins to slip into the hundreds of estuaries and coves that are home to some of the continent's biggest bird, fish and wildlife populations.

"This is the nursery of North America — and we have spilled oil right across its surface," said Mark Floegel, a senior investigator with Greenpeace USA. "Anything that swims, flies or crawls in the Gulf, this is where they feed. They feed on the surface."

While the oil spill is — so far — much smaller than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska's Prince William Sound, the potential for environmental ruin may be higher, environmentalists say.

That's because the oil spilling from the BP well is a light crude that stays on the surface. While Alaska's rocky coastline aided removal of the oil, the Mississippi Delta is full of marshes and reeds that could make cleanup far more difficult.

"Here we've got barrier islands. We've got swamps and bayous . . . It's not like scrubbing rock. It's devilishly hard to get this oil out of there," Floegel said. "And the coastline is exponentially much larger because of all the little inlets."

Worries about the oil spill extend well beyond the Louisiana coast to Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in six counties on Frida

Yesterday

Nothing happened anywhere yesterday.

Red Sox Win by Scoring the Most Runs

Once again, the Boston Red Sox won a game by scoring the most runs. Their record is now 11-11, but they are actually 22-0 if you count all the games they won when they were outscored. If this logic is used, the Red Sox will end up 162-0 this year.

UH Basketball Team

This was in The Honolulu Advertiser today. www.honoluluadvertiser.com. Amaxingly, UH was able to recruit 6 players -- 4 of them high school, and 2 JC. In 4 years, UH might be good again.

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team may have secured its point guard of the future last night.

Bobby Miles — a high-scoring point guard at Workman High School in City of Industry, Calif. — said last night that he is committed to playing for the Rainbow Warriors next season.

"I want to come in there and help the team at point," he said. "I feel like I can contribute right away."

Miles, who is 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, averaged around 28 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists as a senior this past season at Workman. He was named to the All-CIF Division 4A second team.

The recruiting website www.hoopscooponline.com stated that Miles is "good enough to step in and make an immediate impact next year in the Pac-10 Conference, and be ranked in the 50-100 range nationally when we publish our Final Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 later this spring."

Miles was also being recruited by several programs, including UCLA, Nevada, Portland and Santa Clara. However, he said Hawai'i was the only program that was consistently recruiting him over the past month.

Miles made his recruiting trip to the Mānoa campus last weekend. He said he thought about committing to the Hawai'i coaches before the trip ended on Sunday, but he wanted to talk to his parents first.

"I had a great trip over there and came home and talked it over with my parents, and they said it sounded like a great fit," Miles said. "Everything about Hawai'i just felt right."

During his visit, Miles was in the Stan Sheriff Center for the Hawai'i men's volleyball team's exciting five-set playoff victory over Pepperdine.

"That was a great atmosphere — Hawai'i has great fans," he said. "I hope it's like that for basketball."

Miles said he plans to sign a national letter of intent today, when he is honored at his high school.

He will be a freshman at Hawai'i next season, and will have four seasons of collegiate eligibility.

Miles, who said he has a 3.04 grade point average, is already qualified academically to attend Hawai'i.

Miles is expected to fill a need at the point guard position. A lack of backcourt depth haunted the 'Bows last season, when they finished with a 10-20 record.

Senior-to-be Hiram Thompson is the returning starter. Jeremy Lay, who was Thompson's backup last season, recently said that he would not return next season.

Miles is also the latest addition to an ever-growing recruiting class.

Once he signs his letter of intent, he will become the sixth new recruit to join the Hawai'i roster for next season.

The others are:

• Bo Barnes, a 6-4 shooting guard at Westwind Prep International in Arizona.

• Jordan Coleman, a 6-4 guard at Calabasas High in California.

• Vander Joaquim, a 6-10 post player at College of Eastern Utah.

• Josten Thomas, a 6-7 forward at College of Southern Idaho.

• Trevor Wiseman, a 6-8 guard/forward at Golden Valley High in California.

Gib Arnold was named the new Hawai'i head coach in March. Five of the six new recruits — including Miles — committed to Hawai'i after Arnold took over.

Miles, Barnes, Coleman and Wiseman will all be freshmen at Hawai'i next season.

Miles said he did not play against Coleman or Wiseman in high school, but he has heard of both players.

"It'll be cool to play with other guys from (California)," Miles said.

Per NCAA rules, Arnold cannot comment on recruits until a national letter of intent is signed and approved by UH officials.

Dominick Brumfield, a 6-8 forward at Big Bend Community College in Washington, also made a recruiting visit to Hawai'i last weekend. He has yet to make a decision.

Godwin Okonji, a 6-9 forward at Findlay Prep in Nevada, recently committed to play for Loyola Marymount. Hawai'i had been recruiting Okonji since last year.

200th post in this one also

This is just a catch-up post.

Har har hardy har har.

Potrzebie is a real word. Polish.

Axolotl is a real word.

No post

Why are these words pronounced the same

Post
Host
Most

and these words pronounce the same

Lost
Cost

but the top ones are pronounced different from the bottom ones?

NFT Draft Today

Today is the first round of the NFL Draft. The whole world is awaiting the Patriots, as they are poised to go 19-0 again and win the Super Bowl for the 4th time.

I predict Gresham in the first round.

Others say Kindle, Odrick, and a whole bunch of other possibilities.

Everybody makes sense, so nobody makes sense. Does that make sense?

Red Sox Win by Scoring the Most Runs

The Boston Red Sox actually won and scored the most runs in the same game.

The lads need a vacation on St. John in a villa.

Celtics Game Tonight

The Boston Celtics, the Greatest Franchise in The History of Sport, are ahead in their playoff series 1-0, and have actually outscored Miami in the 1 game so far. Tonight is game 2, and the Celtics will undoubtedly win, even if they get outscored.

Sync my itunes with my ipod

I have an ipod which has my favorites on it. And my itunes are missing some of my favorites since some frigging virus got into my system and deleted some files. I think this happened. But I had a brainstorm this morning. Just sync the ipod (which has a copy of Captain's Favorites) with my itunes, and the missing favorites will be restored.

At least I think that will happen.

Worth a try.

Bruins Win a Playoff Game

The Bruins won a playoff game yesterday, even though they actually outscored Buffalo 5-3. The series is tied 1-1, with each team winning a game by actually outscoring the other team.

Plants

I am going to plant plants in planters today.

6 days to NFL Draft

Just 6 days to the NFL Draft, and the Patriots are going to select 4 wicked players.

Running back
Tight end
Wide receiver
Defensive end

================================================

They really don't need any linebackers, since they have about 6 of them, including a 3rd rounder from last year.

They really don't need any defensive backs, since they have a whole bunch, including picks from last year plus free agents from last year.

A tight end is a necessity, since they have only 2, and 1 is old and the other crummy.

They need a receiver, since Welker is still injured.

And they need a running back, since everyone is old, and Maroney has never lived up to his potential. Maybe this year.

They have plenty of defensive lineman for the middle. End is another story. Just Ty Warren, since Seymour was traded. Of course, next year we get a wicked #1 for him.

============================================

Villas in Coral Bay -- Close to these restaurants

When you rent a villa in St. John through www.stjohnvillarental.com, you can stay in Coral Bay. The villas there are very close to restaurants.

Here is a list of restaurants.

Restaurants in Coral Bay

Skinny Legs -- a local institution
Aqua Bistro -- inexpensive and very good
Island Blues -- right on the water
Sweet Plantains – slightly upscale, featuring West Indian food
Big Belly Deli -- pizza, deli sandwiches, breakfasts
Shipwreck Landing -- family dining
Concordia -- very good cafeteria-style restaurant at the Eco-camps
Tourist Trap -- inexpensive lunches near Salt Pond Bay
Miss Lucy's -- on the water, dinners or Sunday Brunch
Donkey Diner -- excellent breakfasts, pizza
Sputnik -- West Indian roti and curry dishes

Mock Draft

I keep looking at the mock drafts for the Patriots. (The first round is 8 days from today, April 22, birthday of the beloved Captain G. Piecost.) Every single person who puts together has a different selection at number 22.

Get this.

The Patriots have pick number 22 on April 22. That is wicked karma.

Red Sox and Celtics Win

The Red Sox and Celtics both won yesterday. The Red Sox won even though they scored fewer runs than Minnesota, and the Celtics won even though they didn't play.

So there!

Har har hardy har har.

How come this stupid blogger software gives me a red underscore for har?

Meetings

I have to meet Architect Robert deJongh and Executive Director Hobson this week. At least I will try to meet them.

Just a quick meeting to thank them for helping St. John do the Enighed Pond Parking Lot.

And later on, we might be able to help them.

This is what happens

See? I told you so. This is exactly what happens. So next time I tell you so, you better believe it.

Taxes

2 items to report.

First, the territory government is going to issue 2 years of tax bills at the old rates, as in the ancient rates from about 10 years ago. The entire effort at revaluation was found by the courts to be too full of errors to be acceptable. To this I say only har har hardy har har.

Second, today M and I will be attempting to do income taxes. I expect it will be fairly easy.

Runners at the corners

Some dink on sports center said yesterday

"Runners on the corners"

which is probably the worst and most incorrect cliche in baseball announcing.

For everybody in the world who reads this, there are exactly 4 corners in the baseball diamond, which is actually a square. home, first second, third. Runners at the corners is meaningless.

As is the exclamation, "at the end of three innings, there is no score."

Noposting here either

I am not going to post here, and am not going to mention the CZM meeting.

April 22

April 22 this year --

Birthday so GHH and Mares and Buddy Rotondi and Jack Nicholsen and Glen Campbell celebrate.
Earth day so all the green people celebrate.
Draft day so all the football junkies celebrate.
Lenin's birthday so all the communists celebrate.

What to do

M is going to Ireland and Scotland in June.

So I am either going to stay at home alone or do something.

Probably I am going to do something. Maybe I will go to St. Croix for a few days and play golf all over the place.

Maybe I will do a house swap with someone and go to a fun place.

Who knows.

Bruins Actually Won

The Boston Bruins actually won last night, 2-1. They are okay, but they can't score. Maybe the playoffs will spur them on.

Looks like they will sneak in as 6, 7, or 8 seed in the East.

Mr. and Mrs. Pants

The official collective noun for Chauncey Pants and Mrs. Pants is a

LOAD

of pants.

Caca Ball

Did you know that there are a whole bunch of ways of saying caca. I had a job at Raytheon early on, and there was a bathroom stall that had a bunch of definitions for caca. They were in a row, with everyone adding on. When someone added MCREC, that was the end.

Talking about Raytheon bathrooms, I was just leaving one when someone came in and started to pee. He did about 8 giant loud and very long farts while standing at the urinal.

That brings up another Raytheon bathroom memory. Some janitor put up a sign saying "Don't put cigarette butts in the uniral." Someone crossed out "uniral" and put in "urinal." That, of course, prompted someone else to cross out "urinal" and re-write "uniral." That went on for a while -- urinal, uniral, urinal, uniral. Finally I crossed out the last one and wrote in "unrail." I think that was the end, and the sign was removed.

Stuff going on

Obama has a lot of stuff going on.

Health care reform.
Nuclear reduction.
Student loan.
Afghan war.
Financial reform.

He should come to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and rent a villa from www.stjohnvillarental.com. That would relax him.

Two crossword puzzles today

Today is Wednesday, so I get to do two crosswords.

The daily one from Boston.com.
The Wednesday NY Times. I also do the Thursday NY Times. And the Sunday.
Monday and Tuesday are too easy. Friday and Saturday are too hard.

Celtics, Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox, Patriots All Win

The Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and New England Revolution all won yesterday, the first time in history that 5 major sports teams from one city all won on the same day.

This was especially incredible, since they didn't all play, and some are not even in season.

But they all won, with an average victory score of 96-0.

What a good doobie I am

Is it DoBee, or dobee, or doobee, or doobie, or just what? It's like spelling potrzebie. There are 17 ways of spelling potrzebie, all of them wrong. However, the preferred spelling of potrzebie is potrzebie.

Bruins Win Again

The Boston Bruins, who used to be the best hockey team in the world, won last night 5-0. The lads deserve a vacation in the USVI, most likely at St. John, using www.stjohnvillarental.com as the web site to google their searches.

I am actually catching up

I almost caught up to my to-do list at st john villa rental. I did all of my billings through February. Now the reverse billings.

Then the accounting.

Then the updating of the listings. Not a problem.

You can find more information about St. John villas at St John Villa Rental. Current listings of villas include over 140 choices of properties all over St. John.

M got home last night

I picked up M yesterday at the ferry, and then we went out to dinner at Aqua Bistro, and then we went home and went to bed.

Catching up

I am catching up with the www.stjohnvillarental.com chores. Yesterday I did half of the February billings. Today I will do the other half. Shortly I will do the February reverse billings.

Then I have to do the accounting.

Then I have to do all the updating of rates and photos.

Reverse Billings

I did reverse billings yesterday for the rest of January.

Today, hopefully, I will do the February billings. Then the next job is the February reverse billings.

Then all I have left to do is the financials.

Of course, then I have to do all the info updates -- photos, prices, etc.

Oops

I think I hit the wrong button on the last post. When I do this, the count gets screwed up. Oh well, nothing much in the last post.

My table is getting better

I think I have solved the table finish problem. About 5 coats of Helmsman varnish already, with more to come. Getting pretty shiny.

I have a separate test underway, with Mega. I will probably just finish with the varnish, then sand the heck out of it with wicked fine grit paper.

Tight Ends

Since the Patriots signed Alge Crumpler (he needs a new name), they don't have much further need for a tight end in the draft. I bet they get one, however, since they need at least two because of injuries/rest. Maybe they will play an offensive lineman at tight end at times. The lads need to go to St. John and rent a villa. Here's how.

You can find more information about Great Expectations and other St. John villas at St John Villa Rental. Current listings of villas include exactly 150 choices of properties all over St. John, especially in areas where villas are rented.

Alge Crumpler

The Patriots, as expected, added a tight end via free agency. And they got a wicked good one. Alge Crumpler. He has made the Pro Bowl 4 times, and was All-Pro twice. Very big, of course. Actually, he might be somewhat of a load. But so what. This means the Patriots won't have to draft a tight end with one of their early picks. Incidentally, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.

Let's See What Happens

I just typed Ctrl V, and nothing happened. I guess I didn't have anything saved. But of course there is always something saved, because you can't delete what is on the clipboard. Unless the peecee is turned off. So I guess I must have turned it off at some time.

Caca ball

What is a caca ball? They are not really balls, more like cylinders.

Bruins Win Again

The Boston Bruins, who used to have a bunch of great players, won last night for the 88th time this season. Yes, 88-0 this year. That is "the best record in hockey". I am pretty tired of analysts predicting "the best record in baseball", because they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Research

Today I am going to go into my little library and do some research. Then, I will sand the table to 220 grit and put on the first application of marine varnish.

Celtics Win 500th straight game

The Boston Celtics, the Greatest Franchise in the History of Sport, won yet again yesterday, the 500th straight win for the lads. What is next? Victory # 501, of course. That will happen the next time the Celtics play.

159?

How come this blog has 159 entries, as do the next two, but the final one has 160?

I guess that after today, they will all have 160.

I am getting posts screwed up today

I have accidentally screwed up my posting system today. They are all supposed to have equal postings, but I did something wrong by exiting with "Dashboard" instead of exiting with "Publish Post." So tomorrow I will balance things with some inanity or other. Good thing bots can't really read.

No time again

No time again today. No posting today.

No time today

Finally, no post here either. No time.

Frigidaire

My new Frigidaire refrigerator stopped making ice about two weeks ago. So I defrosted it totally and tried again. It didn't make ice. So I disconnected the various water lines and tried once more. It didn't make ice. So yesterday we bypassed the filter. Today the water dispenser is working. But I still don't know if it is making ice. We'll see. I can always call Frigidaire service in the Florida Keys. Joe. He's actually good.

Tile to tile

Time to put the tiles down. Maybe I can do some today. Probably not, but that would be a good thing to do. Have to do it sometime. I'll probably call Ellis and get it done.

St. John Historical Society

This article was in The Source today. Read it at www.stjohnsource.com. My friend Chuck Pishko is the head of the St. John Historical Society.

=====================================

Not for Profit: 'St. John: Life in Five Quarters' Released
By Lynda Lohr — March 8, 2010

Life in Five Quarters,' has been released by the St. John Historical Society.
Life in Five Quarters,' has been released by the St. John Historical Society.

The St. John Historical Society's labor of love, "St. John: Life in Five Quarters," is out. The 216-page book includes 66 articles about St. John.

"The book is very broad and inclusive of a wonderful mix of voices and perspectives," historian and Historical Society member David Knight said.

In addition to Knight, it's written, compiled and edited mainly by Historical Society members Eleanor Gibney, Robin Swank, and Bruce Schoonover. It includes profiles of notable people and places, detailed estate histories, articles on science and nature, accounts of important events, and first-hand descriptions of life on St. John long ago. Several of the articles are summaries of information gleaned on various Historical Society outings.

The title is a reference to St. John’s five administrative districts, known as quarters, Cruz Bay Quarter, Maho Bay Quarter, Reef Bay Quarter, Coral Bay Quarter, and East End Quarter. Quarter divisions were first noted in the island’s earliest Danish-colonial tax records compiled in 1728 and are still in use today.

It's the first book about St. John history since Ruth Low and Rafael Valls published "St. John Backtime" in 1985. Both Low and Valls are now deceased.

The book is filed with 160 images, most appearing in print for the first time. The cover is an 1833 hand-painted watercolor of Coral Bay by Robert H. Schomburgk. Schomburgk dedicated a print of his Coral Bay painting to Noble L. Usher, whose home on the point known as Usher’s Cay is featured in the picture.

"The images are important for understanding the island," Gibney said.

There's even a section on old postcards and includes one of what was then called Caneel Bay Plantation, now Resort, circa 1948.

"St. John: Life in Five Quarters" was a year in the making, but the work reflects long-time efforts by the Historical Society to get information about St. John's history to the public. The Historical Society has been around since 1974.

"Our mission right from the start was to identify, document, preserve, and share the wonderfully rich history of St. John," Schoonover said.

Several months ago, the non-profit group urged those interested in what the book would say to pre-purchase their copies to make publication possible. Schoonover said the presale was a big success and raised enough money to pay for the initial printing costs.

The publication comes just in time for March's V.I. History Month.

"St. John: Life in Five Quarters" is for sale at a dozen gift shops and other locations around the island. Additionally, it's available through the St. John Historical Society website at www.stjohnhistoricalsociety.org. The cost is about $30.

The Boston Bruins Won Last Night

The Boston Bruins, who used to be the greatest hockey team in the world, won last night.

Esposito, with Cashman and Hodge
Stanfield, with Bucyk and McKenzie
Sanderson, with Walton and Westfall

Orr and Smith
Green and Awrey

Cheevers, Johnston

They won all the time.

The lads deserve to come to St. John and rent a villa through www.stjohnvillarental.com, which is the best web site for villa rental in the virgin islands.

The Moribund Hawaii Basketball Team

This article was in todays "Honolulu Advertiser" which I read on-line every day.

UH had some good and very good basketball teams when we lived there, with Riley Wallace as coach. Now the team is moribund.

==========================================

By JORDAN RODRIGUEZ
Special to The Advertiser

BOISE, Idaho — Two men's basketball teams fighting for their postseason lives met last night at Taco Bell Arena.

Only the home team showed up for the second half.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team stumbled late in an 82-63 loss at Boise State, and may have fumbled away its chances at qualifying for next week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Reno, Nev.

Robert Arnold scored 19 points and Boise State blew open a close game by hitting eight second-half 3-pointers. The Broncos went from the backseat to the driver's seat — swapping places with Hawai'i — for the final spot in the WAC Tournament.

Hawai'i could have clinched a tournament bid with a win.

Instead, the Rainbow Warriors now need a lot of help as regular-season play wraps up tomorrow.

"It's disappointing," said Hawai'i senior center Paul Campbell, who finished with nine points and nine rebounds. "We knew coming into this game how important it was to come out and get a win, but we just didn't have enough effort on the defensive end to get it done."

The 'Bows still have a mathematical shot at qualifying for the WAC Tournament, but it could be a long one.

First, Hawai'i needs to win its season finale tomorrow at Idaho. Then, the 'Bows need San Jose State to beat Boise State, and Nevada to beat Louisiana Tech.

Hawai'i can qualify for the WAC Tournament only if those three scenarios play out.

Hawai'i is 10-19 overall and in last place in the WAC at 3-12. The 'Bows also dropped to 0-8 on the road this season.

Boise State improved to 14-16 overall and moved a game ahead of Hawai'i at 4-11 in the WAC.

The Broncos led 33-30 at halftime, then outscored Hawai'i 49-33 in the second half. Many of the Broncos' second-half points came on high-percentage layups and dunks or wide-open jumpers from the perimeter.

"In the first half, even though we weren't playing well, we kept the score down and kept shooters in front of us," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "In the second half, to their credit, they made shots and got some separation."

Roderick Flemings, averaging a team-high 16.6 points for Hawai'i coming into the game, was held to six points on 2-of-6 shooting, although he did pass for a team-high seven assists.

Nash said Flemings was battling flu-like symptoms that kept him out of the pregame shootaround.

With Flemings struggling, sophomore reserve guard Leroy Lutu Jr. led the 'Bows with a career-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Adhar Mayen (10 points) was the only other Hawai'i player to reach double-figures.

"I just wanted to give us some energy off the bench," Lutu said. "I was lucky to get some fast-break layups and kind of get us going offensively in the first half, but in the second half we were just sluggish defensively and gave up too many easy looks."

Hawai'i shot a respectable 46.4 percent from the field, but committed a costly 18 turnovers.

Boise State shot 54.4 percent from the field, including 58.6 percent in the second half. The Broncos finished 11 of 26 from 3-point range, including 8 of 15 in the second half.

Hawai'i tied the score at 33 early in the second half, but it was all Boise State after that. The Broncos used an 11-2 surge to take a 56-43 lead midway through the second half.

Hawai'i never got closer than 11 points in the game's final 11 minutes, and Boise State led by as many as 21 points.

Arnold and Paul Noonan each hit three 3-pointers for the Broncos. Forwards Daequon Montreal and Ike Okoye added 13 points apiece.

Arnold, Okoye and Montreal also contributed rim-rattling dunks that gave Boise State the momentum it never relinquished.

"Dunks mean two things," Boise State coach Greg Graham said. "One, it's energy and two, it means we are attacking the basket. We did a pretty good job with that tonight."

Now, Boise State is in control of its own destiny for a WAC Tournament spot. If the Broncos beat San Jose State tomorrow, they will qualify for the tournament.

Hawai'i is scheduled to depart Boise today for Moscow, Idaho. The 'Bows lost to Idaho, 59-52, in Honolulu on Jan. 2.

The Vandals, who are 14-15 overall and 5-10 in the WAC, qualified for the WAC Tournament last night with an 86-76 victory over San Jose State.

"We're just trying to stay optimistic," Campbell said. "We still have a chance, even though it's small. We'd prefer to have it in our own hands, but we don't, so we just have to play hard and hope for the best."

Anchor Text for St. John Villa Rental

Anchor Text For Blogs

You can find more information about Rendezvous Cottage and other St. John villas at St John Villa Rental. Current listings of villas include over 120 choices of properties all over St. John, including one property on St. Thomas, Siren's Song at Botany Bay.

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3-Bedroom Cottages
Coconut Hill Cottage
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From Where?

This article is from The Honolulu Advertiser, printed on-line every day. I read it each morning, right after looking at the Boston Globe Sports Section, the best paper in the world.

=================================================================

Four environmental groups say they plan to sue the St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kaua'i if the hotel doesn't take action to prevent ongoing deaths of rare native seabirds.

The groups Wednesday said the hotel has failed to dim artificial lights and lower window shades to protect the birds, as it had promised.

Bright artificial lights confuse Newell's shearwater and Hawaiian petrels following moonlight out to sea.

Hui Hoomalu i Ka Aina, the Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy allege the hotel is violating the Endangered Species Act.

St. Regis Princeville General Manager Milton Sgarbi said the hotel has been taking steps since 2005 to allow the birds to reach the ocean safely.

Another season starting

Another baseball season starting, and we will have to listen to this poop again:

"Runners at the corners"
"At the end of two innings, there is no score"
"Batting from the left side of the plate"
"Tell you what"
"The best record in baseball"
"The pitch was on the corner"

I hereby demand that all announcers read this blog entry and improve their grammar, syntax, and colloquialisms.

Are there meetings tonight?

Is there an Audobon Society meeting?

Is there a St. John Yacht Club meeting?

Is there something else with M?

I have no idea.

Perhaps it will be necessary to have a UCLA meeting soon.

Three cats, no waiting

I have three cats.

Henry is on my lap right now. Henry is a lap cat.

Chauncy is the main, large cat. Mostly Siamese, so he hates being picked up.

Zelda is the newcomer, arriving April 22. She is black and white, and is still learning to like people. When I pick her up, she purrs -- can't help it. Obviously embarrassed that she is purring.

8 Tuff Miles -- From The Source

This article was in The St. John Source today. www.stjohnsource.com. We watched the runners pass us at the 7-mile mark. The eventual winner was running wicked fast. He broke the record by almost 3 minutes.

=============================

A Brutal Course, But Records Fall Anyway
By Lynda Lohr — February 27, 2010

Indiana native Tom Chorny finished first in record-breaking time.

Among nearly 900 runners, a stateside trio took the top three spots for the men at Saturday's 8 Tuff Miles race on St. John, with the first two breaking the course record.

Tom Chorny, 33 and a personal trainer and professional runner from Bloomington, Ind., was first across the finish for the men. His time was 46 minutes and 26 seconds, bettering the 49 minutes, 20 seconds set by former St. John resident Jeremy Zuber in 2006.

"The course is brutal," Chorny said. "The fourth hill at mile five was the worst."

For the women, a St. Thomian finished first with a time of 58 minutes, three seconds. "It was great," said Ruth Ann David, 36.

David, a trainer, immediately put her finishers medal around the neck of her daughter, Shaiah David, 5, after Shaiah ran up to greet her just after she finished.

A total of 898 people crossed the finish line on the 8.375-mile course from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay. A thousand people signed up to participate but organizing committee member Jeff Miller said the snowstorm that hit the U.S. Northeast Friday prevented many people from getting to St. John in time, while illness befell others.

The participants came from the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and 43 states.

Conditions were cool and cloudy, perfect for running the course, several runners said.

Former St. John resident Emily Engelhoff-Whalen, 18, finished second for the women. Her time was one hour, three minutes and 21 seconds.

"I'm proud of myself and tired. It was really painful. It was the hills," said Whalen, resting on top of a case of water bottles after her finish. She now lives in Raleigh, N.C.

Delene Jewett, 31, of Seattle was third for the women with a time of one hour, three minutes and 41 seconds.

Like the winner, the second place finisher in the men's division, 28-year-old Chris Ries of Cincinnati, also declared the course "brutal." Ries, who manages a running store, knew it was hilly so he said he practiced on treadmill to get familiar with the courses ups and downs. His time was 46 minutes and 56 seconds.

Brian Shoneberger, a full-time runner from Black Mountain, N.C., said he knew what to expect. "You've got to find your grinding gears on the hills and on the downhill, let it rip," he said.

He clocked in at 51 minutes and 30 seconds.

Ries was part of a contingent of 11 runners from Cincinnati that flew down for the race. Organizer Brad Dunlevy, a frequent St. John visitor, said this is the fourth year a group representing the Cincinnati store Bob Roncker's Running Spot participated.

While the top finishers get the most press, the race also brings out hundreds of others who spend hours making their way along the course. On the last downhill toward the finish, one man was spotted pushing a baby carriage and a woman was seen twirling a hula hoop.

Two five-year-olds, Isabella Gatcliffe of St. Thomas and Phoenix Rose of St. John, were the youngest participants. Velma Pullen, a sprightly 81, was the oldest.

St. John resident Evan Jones, 10, was the first youth across the finish with a time of one hour, six minutes and 12 seconds.

"It was good. I pushed myself. Every time I took a breath, I'd say keep going," the Gifft Hill School student said.

This was the second time Jean Hale, 61, of Palm Harbor, Fla. visited in time for the race. Last year, she and her husband, Sam Hale, were vacationing on St. John when they saw signs advertising the event.

"Last year, I just decided to do it," she said. This year they timed their annual visit to St. John to coincide with the race.

Hundreds of people came out to support family and friends who ran in the race.

"We can't believe they're actually going to finish," Tina Newport of Smyrna, Del. said, waiting at the finish with a group of friends.

The 8 Tuff Miles race brings out many, many St. John residents who volunteer to make the race happen. They operate water stations along the race course, work the start and finish line and hand out water and fruit to the racers.

"I thought about what I wanted to do. Do I want to cut up grapefruit or do I want to run?" St. John winter resident Frank Doherty said.

The grapefruit won, and Doherty was out the door at 6:15 a.m. to take his turn with the slicing knife.

St. John resident Moe Chabuz ran for a cause. He said he and Hank Slodden started at the back of the pack. As they passed other runners they asked for pledges to help bring wounded veterans working with the Team River Runner program back to St. John.

Team River Runner visited several years ago, but the program lacked the funding to bring them back again. At the finish, Chabuz said he had pledges totaling $900.

Nothing

Nothing today, since I have to do some research, eat breakfast, and then get down to Centerline Road for 8 tuff miles.

More Petcoke News from The Source

This article was in The Source today. You can read it at www.stjohnsource.com. It looks like every single resident of the Virgin Islands is against the petcoke proposal. Only a very few government employees are for it.

Here's my opinion. Let's get something better for the territory than burning fossil fuels.

WAPA Head Pushes Back at Waste-to-Energy Critics
By Bill Kossler — February 26, 2010

WAPA Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. argued that Tuesday's Senate hearing was biased in its setup.

A Senate hearing Tuesday on the pros and cons of proposed waste-to-energy and petroleum-coke-powered electric plants was biased in its setup, V.I. Water and Power Authority Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. said Thursday. At the end of a WAPA board meeting, Hodge took several minutes to "get on a soap box," as he put it, and say what he really thought of how the hearing process went.
"You had a hearing where Sen. Barshinger said he felt 'the project is dead,'" Hodge said. "Now, the chairman of a committee is supposed to be unbiased."
Private citizens who oppose the plan were somehow chosen to sit in the well and testify all day next to career experts, while other private citizens had to wait until the end to get a brief statement in, Hodge said.
"It concerns me that someone whose credentials consist of being a Vietnam veteran is testifying on dioxins and is treated as if they have the same credibility as someone with 40-plus years of experience," he said. "I mean, I go on the internet myself, but it takes more than that to be considered an expert."
Each of those who opposed the plan were given nine minutes to expound, on the reasoning they had PowerPoint presentations, while he, the utility's director, was given five minutes and had to ask to borrow time from another testifier just to make his case, Hodge said.
"I'm at a loss as to how I get to speak five minutes and someone who has two PowerPoint slides gets nine minutes," he said. "If I had been told I would get twice as much time to talk by showing PowerPoint slides, I'm sure I could have found two slides to show," he said.
The loudest opponents of the plan may be financially better off than many residents and may not represent the real public view of the plan, he said, adding that the Alpine Energy Group petroleum coke and waste-to-energy plan will save ratepayers money, especially the next time oil prices shoot up.
"I hear commentary asking why the plan will only give a 10 percent discount, but I have been saying over and over again it is a minimum of 10 percent," he said. "And while 10 percent might be minimal for some, it is very significant for others. Parents who are trying to put meat on the table, pay to send a child on a school trip, buy new school books and clothes ... that 10 percent makes a difference to them."
AEG's leases come before the full Senate March 8 and 9, and a decision needs to be made, he said. "The leases passed unanimously out of the Rules and Judiciary Committee 10 months ago and then it was tabled," he said. The lease approvals, he feels, are not the venue for decisions about the environmental impact.
"There seem to be a lot of misconceptions about what these hearings are for," he said.
"The lease has to come first, before the professionals at CZM (Coastal Zone Management) and the EPA get to tell you what their position is on your permits," he said.
As to complaints there should have been more public input at every stage of the process, Hodge said there should be transparency and proper environmental review and permitting but "you cannot have a negotiation with 102,000 participants [i.e., all V.I. residents]."
Hodge had some choice words for some of the other senators, too.
"There seems to be an unwillingness to go on the record," he said. "Back in the day, with Ruby Rouse and Earl B. Ottley, you never had to guess their position.… They seem to be guessing everyone's votes. Well, I hope you are guessing correctly, because if you guess wrong, it becomes painful in November."
When done venting, Hodge made light of himself, saying "Well that's it, I'll step off my soap box now," and the meeting was adjourned.

Yacht Club

I almost forgot.

I think today is the day to update the SJYC web site with the new race schedule.

Captain G. Piecost, Immediate Past Commodore.

What's a henway?

I was walking downtown yesterday and saw a henway.

Really? What's a henway?

Oh, about 2 or 3 pounds.

What's a henway?

Time for the electrician to finish

It is officially time for my electrician to finish the work. Waiting for some parts to arrive, allegedly. Been waiting for a while now.

I have a hole in my wall where a fan control switch should be.

And another fan control switch is installed, but it is on/off instead of 3-way.

And that's the truth.

Party tonight

There is a party at my little house in the woods tonight.

Yup, the contractors who worked on it are all invited. Even Nathan, who is really talented at framing, but who is really bad at answering his phone. He will bring his cove, Maya, who he actually married last year.

And I am going to grill some chicken and london broil. M is making cookies and a salad. Other stuff is meatball pupus, and some salads. Chips and salsa complete this gourmet meal.

Tell you what

Tell you what.

What?

What. I told you I'd tell you what.

Beach day today

I am most likely going to the beach today. With Bolyie Boyle and Vickie Vicky. He got in last night and was tipping at the bar when he called me at 9:30. I'll show him the island today and go to Maho for snorkeling. Maybe Skinny Legs for lunch. Who knows what will happen. Undoubtedly my little house for a showing.

Third Haiku

Throw and hit the ball
It's a simple game to play
No lollygagging.

Restaurants in Coral Bay

Restaurants in Coral Bay

Skinny Legs -- a local institution
Aqua Bistro -- inexpensive and very good
Island Blues -- right on the water
Sweet Plantains – slightly upscale, featuring West Indian food
Big Belly Deli -- pizza, deli sandwiches, breakfasts
Shipwreck Landing -- family dining
Concordia -- very good cafeteria-style restaurant at the Eco-camps
Tourist Trap -- inexpensive lunches near Salt Pond Bay
Miss Lucy's -- on the water, dinners or Sunday Brunch
Donkey Diner -- excellent breakfasts, pizza
Sputnik -- West Indian roti and curry dishes

Go to www.stjohnvillarental.com for a complete list of villa rentals.