Monday, September 29, 2008

9/29 Glad Tidings Church


Around 8pm tonight I made it over to a church off of S. Newtown in Norfolk. It's one that can be seen from I-64 right before the I-264 exit. On the weekends this place is ridiculously packed with kids... both in the TLs and the surrounding field. SO naturally, it seemed like the place to be.

When I showed up it was dark, but within 15 minutes, the street lamp looking things came on, illuminating the area. I started with the much larger tot lot. And besides the craptacular amount of trash, I was getting nothing. As I was finishing up that area, three teenagers showed up. Two guys and a girl. One of the guys and the girl ascended into the large TL structure, probably sinning their pants off (haha) while the other guys just sat on the curb. Apparently three was a crowd.

While they did their thing I hovered over to the smaller tot lot, and started pulling some clad. This play area I knew had been here much longer than that new fangled large one. After a quarter and a few memorials I got a very solid penny reading, down 8". Well at 6" I found the target, and was pretty surprised. It was a metal beetle, or scarab if you will. The back had the tell tale stainless disc that always means a watch. In the dark I could tell this thing had hinges, so I was sure it opened. After a minute of examining, the two front "legs" act as levers to open the wings and display the time. Rather ingenious. Unfortunately the silver backing is the other precious part of it. It seems copper in color, but the outside flakes off leaving kind of a rusted mess under. It seems as though it was once very gold in color, as the area surrounding the clock and underneath the wings are very brilliantly gold. The face of the watch appears to have the name, "Collezio" and is stopped in the classic Simpson time of 3 o' clock.

A Google search shows that Collezio has been a watch mfg since 1983 and has many other styles than the classic wrist watch, including necklace and pocket watches. I would reckon this is one of those types. I haven't found this exact one anywhere as of yet... maybe some help?

After that find, and a couple of nickels later, I was at the swings... when a large white van with a trailer drove up on to the grass and around to a storage area. A guy came out and walked over. He just simple said, "Hey, finding anything?" I told him other than some pocket change, no. He said he didn't figure I'd find much in a children's playground, of which I told him he would be very surprised what one might find in these areas. He wished me a good night and went on his way.



Shortly after I packed up and left, with the sinners finally rejoining their buddy on the curb and leaving as well. I walked away with $0.65 across 9 coins and the pretty rad scarab watch.

Chicago Dual Drum Tumbler: TWO THUMBS UP

After dropping off the lil' one at school this morning I was dead set on hitting up the local Harbor Freight. I've never been to one before, and honestly, in my naive opinion, I figure most of what they sell is cheap crap, so that's probably reason number one I've never stepped foot in one.

So I drive on over, thankfully only maybe 5 miles away... walk in and wow! This place is like man heaven, haha. They pretty much have everything a guy could want in that store. So really having no clue where to start looking, I just browsed around. I go down the aisle with home safes in it and low and behold I find the highly sought after Cen-Tech "pinpointer". Two on the shelf. A little farther down the same aisle and I come across some jeweler style magnifying glasses... I pick one up... further down, coin rolls and coin sorters... I couldn't resist. I did also see plain white nail aprons for like $1.99, can't beat that. When my TC's and White's aprons get too trashy, I know where to go for a backup!

I end up looking all over for that Chicago Dual Drum tumbler. Nearing the power tools, I see it. Up on the very top shelf, only two of them. I'm tall enough so I scooped it up. Turns out it was on special for $36 (I think regularly around $50-something?). So I bought that, but couldn't find the replacement belts or the abrasive to put in it anywhere, even though it was advertised in their store flier. I didn't have time really to browse much more, so I purchased and left.

The Chicago Tumbler, IMO, is pretty sweet. It gets the job done quite well and doesn't hurt the wallet. I tumbled about $3 in pennies, $5 in dimes, $2 in nickels and $10 in quarters... each for about half an hour with no abrasive, just water and dish soap. And jeebus, I was very surprised at how much brown came out of those things, haha. I know with abrasive it would have been better, but at least they are much cleaner than when they went in.

Two thumbs up for the Chicago Dual Drum Tumbler!

9/28 Bayview @ Oceanview


So this past weekend I ended up house sitting for the g/f's sister in a much older area here locally. It's in a section of Norfolk called Ocean View... well the Bayview part of OV, a block from the beach. Anyhow, included in my stuff to take over there, was my X-Terra 30 and my BHID 300. It wasn't until late that I got over there Friday night, so I held off on the detecting until Saturday.

Saturday started off pretty normal. I slept in, went to the mall with a friend, walked the dog, filled up the eXtreme Big Gulp cup... all was good. Around 830p my buddy Matt and I were headed back to the house where the g/f and some of our younger chica friends were getting ready to go out. We were just waiting for them to leave, so we went out in the backyard to walk around. And here you have the wildlife. All of these pictures were taken in the dark... you sure can't tell though. Crazy good pics though right? If anyone is all zoological or entomological, and can ID those spiders... that'd rock!








So the girls left, and we started hunting around the yard, and the little grassy areas between the street and sidewalks... those areas are goldmines! Most of what you see in the group image was found in those areas except for one of the wheats which was in the side yard.



As you can see there were plenty of targets. The wheats were all 50's... but I just thought it was awesome that I quadrupled my wheat count in one night!



The only other curious find was this piece of metal that looks like the state of CT... my guess is a trigger... anyone else?



We did not hit up the beach out there as planned. Ocean View isn't exactly the friendliest of areas, especially at night.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

9/25 City View Park


So as my local Virginians know, most of the day Thursday we spent with high winds and tons of rain. I was inside all day playing GTA 4, and all the mindless killing of authority figures on the behalf of Irish gangsters was getting to me.

So around 930p tonight there was a lull in the downpour, I strapped on my GorTex Matterhorn boots (watertight the whole 11" up AND made for sub freezing temps), a big puffy jacket, my X-Terra 30 got plastic wrap around the box, and my backpack o' goodies which included my new Lesche Digger I received on White's tab.

I decided to hit up the far end tot lot that is surrounded by softball fields on the backside of City View Park right behind my place. I've never had any luck at this park, the tot lots are always slim on the pickins... but I had never hit this one, so I figured maybe I'll get lucky.

I searched through the TL and found 99% of what you see pictured. And five of those memorials were in the same hole. I was getting ready to leave when I decided I'll swing behind a few of the bleachers. The bleachers are set on concrete, so I figured the grass behind them would be good. The first set, zilch. The next set nothing... until... I got a 40-44 hit and the X-Terra was reading between 6 and 8 inches. I wasn't gonna pass up a hit like that, even though it was deeper than I usually dig.

So I cut a plug the depth of the blade on the Lesche, and stick the VBP 570 in... it's close at the bottom. I take out another inch or so and I see kind something... but not what I expected. I pick it up and I'm like, "WTF? A penny? At this reading?" So it's really caked with dirt and I field clean it the best I can and it feels really different in my hand. Almost, lighter? I got enough off the face to determine it was Lincoln... but the coin is very badly deteriorated, and the date I can't make out, but I swear it's 194? On the back side, I started rubbing with some spit, and then I realize there is no memorial in the middle. I can't see wheat stocks, but no memorial. I then feel I can read what looks like UNITED STATES in the MIDDLE of the coin and I'm like, WOOOOOHHOOOOO!!!




I come home, run it under the tap, take a paper towel to it, and sure enough, on the left side of the back of the coin you can make out the wheat! MY FIRST WHEATIE!!!! I'm super psyched and once I half realized it at the fields, I just left to come back and verify.

Super sweet! Bout time I found one! Now I don't feel so bad having 2400 posts and no straw!


UPDATE: Turns out to be a 1946 Wheat Penny.

9/24 Laurel Cove Parks

Yesterday evening around 615p I called my buddy Matt (the one who I introduced to detecting this past weekend) and told him I was on my way over to his place, about a 17 mile drive. I knew there was this community park near him that I just realized had a big tot lot wayyyy in the back.

So I show up just shy of 7p, loaded down with backpack 'o goodies, 64oz eXtreme Big Gulp cup full of Dr. Pepper with a twist of Mountain Dew, and two detectors, the ACE 250 and the X-Terra 30. He says, oh, there is another park in the neighborhood and directs me to it. It turns out to be Laurel Cove Neighborhood Park. It was small, but had a TL and seemed promising.


Now Matt is still in the learning stage, and I try and coach him as much as possible. It also didn't help I only had one digger with me and we had one flash light So though we covered the area, I wouldn't doubt there is still a bit more than may have been missed. I'm pretty methodical about my search routine, slow walk, overlapping swings, really try and make the most out of it. Matt was pretty much everywhere I gave it to him though, he was not of clear mind if you smell what I'm smokin’...errr, what he was smokin' I got bored with that park and then we drove off to try and find the entrance to this other park I knew of, and could see from Great Neck.


This park turned out to be Colonial Oaks Neighborhood Park. The TL was MUCH larger, and this place also has a very large recreation field. It was very dark by now, so we just did the TL. Same errant swingin' by Matt, but what are you gonna do So in the last image you'll see our finds for the night. Trash and clad... a decent amount of clad that I'll take any day.

This outing was more of a getting Matt used to detecting, so we can take the two beach machines out this weekend to the resort area and hopefully find something worth our time.

BTW... the two park pics were taken with Google Maps StreetView, haha. I had my camera last night but soooo didn't take any pics. So that was the best I could do.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

ACE 250/Minelab X-30 Review!

Alas, the long awaited ACE 250/X-Terra 30 comparison review! So here it go!

Price:
When considering price as a variable, I really had to take in what you get for the money. Obviously in looking at the initial price tag, the Minelab would seem to be all that much better.

The ACE 250 ranges anywhere from $180 to $250 brand new. When I purchased mine, I got it at an unbeatable price. The machine itself, with it's graphic ID, depth meter, pre set discrimination modes and pinpointing, the price was well worth it. I think any of you out there considering the ACE 250 as a first machines, pick it up for that $212 bundle price and you'll be happy.

The Minelab, though roughly twice as much, really in all is NOT twice the detector. Great machine, but for the low end model in the X-Terra line, less money would be great.

Category Winner: ACE 250

AVG USER RATING:
After reading over 100 reviews at numerous online vendors, information sites, blogs etc...

Category Winner: X-Terra 30 (94% approval rating)

Usage Type:
The ACE 250 is a land machine, simple as that. It thrives at playgrounds with wood chips and even sand. Hunting open fields, not a problem. But word to the wise, DO NOT think the ACE is a beach machine. Sure, dry sand it will work just fine. But once you pass the cut and hit the wet stuff, you're wasting your time. Even with the sensitivity way down, it's just a hassle.

Unfortunately, the X-Terra is no different. It thrives in the same areas the ACE does.

Category Winner: DRAW

Weight:
For a lot of people in the hobby, weight is a big issue. These machines are both just under 3lbs, which by hobby standards is quite light and both are very well balanced on your arm which help in lengthening those outings

Category Winner: DRAW

Depths and Depth Accuracy:
The ACE has a "Coin Depth" scale on the right hand side of its screen to indicate depth. It is in 2 inch increment starting at 2", and ends at 8"+. The depth at less than 4" is very accurate, surprisingly so... but anything shower deeper than that is a tossup for the most part. It could be 5", it could 10"... sheesh, depending on what it is, it can be 1" under your coil lying on top!

The X-Terra 30 has a slight edge here. First off, it has 5, 2" depth increments. Anything up to 6" in depth is generally spot on. Past that, sure, you know it's deeper than 6", you just don't really know how deep. I do tend to trust the depth gauge on the X-Terra a little more, and sometimes will double check ACE readings by passing over with the X-Terra.

Category Winner: X-Terra 30

Target ID and its Accuracy:
The ACE uses a graphical target ID in where it places a block underneath a word or graphic representing a certain coin or metal type. There are 12 of these segments. Up to 4" it is VERY accurate. Unfortunately the areas between foil and gold... and penny and dime seem to be grey areas that include lots of different things and it can be hard to really know what it might be.

The X-Terra also has 12 ID segments, but instead uses a numbering system from -4 up to 44, in increments of 4. I cannot begin to say how much more I love this type of ID. 99% of the time, what it reads, is what you get. If I hit a -4, it's nearly always some old rusted piece of iron or a nail. A 32, I'll be expecting a penny, 36... a dime. There is some grey area with the 16, 20, 24 and 28 signals, but in general, most of those are trash (though not always!) It ID's coins VERY accurately, and other types of metals are pretty consistent as well.

Category Winner: X-Terra 30

Battery Type and Swing-time:
Both machines use 4 AA batteries, and can last upwards of 30 hours of swing-time, but expect between 20 and 25.

Category Winner: DRAW

Discrimination and Tones:

The ACE 250 comes with 4 preset disc. modes; All Metal, Jewelry, Relic, and coins. It also has a Custom mode which lets you program to your own liking. It's relatively accurate, more so at shallower depths. There is only one volume with this machine, but there are three distinct tones. Mid range tones for nickels, pull tabs and gold, high range for silver and most coins, and the low tones generally represent trash (but not always!)

The X-Terra only comes with 2 preset modes; All Metal and then a separate setting that can be used to illiminate iron signals. It also has the ability to edit and use a custom setting. This machine does have a volume control, and does give different volumes of signal (or at least it seems to). It also has the three main tones that are the same as the ACE.

Category Winner: X-Terra 30 (Presets don't justify a machine, but being able to pick up faint signals, and along with volume control edge out the ACE)

Pinpointing:

When I first got the ACE, pinpointing was a feature all new to me. Sure I could do the "X Marks the Spot" style of pinpointing, but that's not very accurate. But the ACE has a button that you hold down, and slowly move the coil around to listen for the strongest signal, and visually see that all 12 segments illuminate. It's relatively accurate, definitely get's you close. I just couldn't get center coil with the feature. It would always be closer to the rear or off to the right side.

The X-Terra's pinpointing feature is a god sent. Not only do you not have to hold down the button, but it's super accurate. I would say 95% of the time the item is center coil, and if not, just behind it. Similar to the ACE, you're listening for the louder tone and for the segments to be filled completely.

Category Winner: X-Terra 30

Other Stuff:

The ACE 250 is not complete just by itself. Garrett offers a larger coil for large coverage areas, and also a small 4" sniper coil for those small trashy areas. Sun Ray also makes one of their popular in-line probes, the YF-1, that can be used in conjunction with the ACE.

The X-Terra, well... is pretty much WYSIWYG. I do believe there is an aftermarket coil for it, but the 9" coil it comes with is a good size and works well.

Category Winner: ACE 250

Overall:

The ACE 250 is a wonderful machine, and don't let anyone tell you different. You don't get to be the #1 selling machines in the world by being crap. It does have its limitations, but for your average guy hunting around parks and playgrounds on his off time, and with a small budget, you can't do much better. It has great features and all in all is accurate and easy to use.

The X-Terra 30, though much more pricey than the ACE, is only slightly worth the extra money. That being said, the superior pinpointing alone is enough to sway me. That and the much more accurate number based visual ID are top notch. Greatly accurate, and very easy to use... if you can afford the higher price tag.

Overall Winner: X-Terra 30

NOTE: All air and ground test up to 6" showed nearly identical, accurate readouts by both machines. At 6" there was a little more variance with the ACE, but still relatively accurate. Air tests were done with one each of a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, $1 coin, 14k Gold chain and a .925 thick banded women's ring.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Swingin' With a Friend


Only in metal detecting can one post something with a title like that and it not be taken the wrong way, haha.

Anyway, last night my buddy Matt came over for a bit. He has expressed a little bit of interest in wanting to go out with me, so last night, with about 30 minutes of light left, we went out.

I had mt ACE 250, and Matt had the X-Terra 30. We just walked right behind the apartment to my frequent grounds of Tallwood Elementary. I took him right over to where I knew some memorial pennies where, and after a little coaching, Matt was pulling a few pennies out.

Just as it was getting dark we hit up the playground and found the nickel, the jewelry items, and the trash.



The two flowery pendants are necklace pendant from Lucy Lu Designs. I think they have since gone under, as their online presence has not been updated since 2006.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

SMOOTHSAILOR41

So today, while I'm just sitting on the couch, doing my thing, I feel my phone buzz. Seems I got a text message from someone. I see the sender is 265-080, which means it's from an AOL IM account. When I open it, it's from the user SMOOTHSAILOR41.

SMOOTHSAILOR41: Hey
Me: Who's this?
SMOOTHSAILOR41: u dont remember me a long time ago i met u at lynnhaven mall then we went to the beach and played football
Me: Doubt it. I've never met anyone at the mall and went to the beach. Plus I'm a dude. And you sound like a dude.
SMOOTHSAILOR41: i have a long term memory
Me: Apparently it's long term crap.
SMOOTHSAILOR41: haha oh shit my bad lol

Just thought I'd share because it was random and stupid.

Monday, September 15, 2008

9/14 DF Surf PI Trial

On this day I ended up at beach with the g/f and the little one. It was the perfect day out, sunny, not retarded hot, and a great breeze. I brought along the Dual Field Surf PI to give it a short go while we were there.

So as it turned out, we parked on 47th street, and walked up to the beach. Now this section of beach has what seems like at least 100yds of dry sand before you even reach the cut. But down this end, though crowded, everyone is usually really close to the water.

Most of my day ended up entertaining the lil one at the water line rather than getting much needed practice with the PI. I did however give it a go for about 15 mins, maybe a little longer and DID pull a few items. As you can see in the first attached image, it wasn't much... oh, and it was right at the cut. I was just glad I found something, as this end of the beach get's about 1/4 the action as areas 10 blocks away.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

9/13 Trantwood Elementary

Last night around 8p I left the house with my X-Terra and BHID. I had a plan to hit up an elementary school that I know has been around at least since the 50s, and then scoot over to the beach.

When I got to the school, I noticed there were two newer tot lots built alongside the two older ones that had been there. All of my finds you see below are from these TLs, as they are all I hunted. I really want to hunt the actual fields, because I feel it's a safe bet I can find some wheaties or mercs here.



I never did venture out to the beach, but might hit it up this afternoon. All in all, $1.27 in clad, a bullet charm, a charm bracelet, and a neat button.

INFO ON THE BUTTON:
"The belt surrounding the shield bears the motto of the Order of the Garter, "Hon Y Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" or "Shame to him who evil thinks." The motto below, "Dieu et Mon Droit," means "God and My Right."

The middle shield would represent post Victoria, so 1837 to present... and appears to be the coat of arms for the British Royal Family.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

BHID 300: First Impressions


So having the new detector, and being curious about it's dual purpose use, I decided to take my new White's BHID 300 behind the house to Tallwood Elementary, where I usually hunt with my ACE 250 and X-Terra.

I went straight into the playground and was amazed at everything I was finding. Nearly everything you see pictured above, most likely has been there awhile, as I've hit the place up many, many times before.

This outting was really just a familiarization event. Learning how to ground balance, listening to the tones, and understanding what they mean in conjunction with the lights.

I've pretty much made it a rule of thumb to dig ALL Yellow and Green lighted signals. These generally identify any and all coins and/or jewelry. Accept for the pennies, and the one nail shown above, everything in that image was hitting as a Yellow light. Glad to see those nickels show up! Only 8 coins, 3 nickels and 5 pennies.

My initial thoughts of the BHID300 are that it's heavy, but balances very well on the arm. Not sure how deep it CAN go, but only found items up to 6". The lights and tones are much more difficult to read than VDI, but pretty accurate. Though the yellow light (Jewelry) is the most deceptive and you really never know what will come up when digging a Yellow signal. In the pic, everything was a Yellow light except the pennies, and the one nail (yes, the nickels came up as Yellow, not in Green for "coins") Depth is pretty easy to tell by the intensity of the beep.

I just hope it does well on the beach like everyone says.

Anyone else have insight into what finds match up with color?

Friday, September 12, 2008

Let the MDing Commence: Back Home!

Made it back home in the early evening on Wednesday, and couldn't think of anything else other than getting back to digging holes and finding stuff.

Thursday afternoon I drove out to Hampton to meet up with a fellow named Reid, who I purchased my two newest detectors from (the ones pictured above with the yellow coils). Now armed with some beach machines, I'm hoping to up the quality of my finds.

Anyhow, last night I went out for about an hour to the school behind my apartments. I took the X-Terra with me and started swingin'. You can see in the image there was no shortage of targets, and I'm glad that my recovery time with the X-Terra is quick, or else I wouldn't have bothered with all of it.

Managed $0.56 out of 23 coins and also what appears to be a nice silver ring with a ping heart, but I don't see any type of marking on the inside other than a recangular stamp with what could be a .925, but I'm not positive.



Saturday, September 6, 2008

Neptune TLP

Today was a pretty neat day. We've been running around and passed the BHP Neptune TLP for the past month, but this time we got much closer. So to remember the occasion, i thought I'd share a good pic from this afternoon as we passed it and the Western Neptune and Kylie Williams passed on the other side.

Offshore Drilling, WOOHOO!

President Bush has lifted the ban on offshore drilling. The map above shows where current drilling can be done, and where it is being done, in the blue/green areas. The light green are protected areas... and the yellow... well that's all black gold waiting to be found, YEE-HAW!

Not only would it help with out with foreign dependence on oil, but it will make me more money searching for it... so I support it all the way!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Not only 1 new MD, but 2!

Good afternoon all. A few of you might have known I put myself in the market for a beach detector. There were a few to consider. Both the models you see above, from White's... as well as the Excalibur II from Minelab and even the Sea Hunter Mark II from Garrett.

For the past month I have really been researching all of the machines, and I really had decided from the beginning, that after my success with my X-Terra 30, I was going to continue on with the Minelab brand. Only thing that stopped me was the $1200 price tag.

I had also started reading lots of reviews of the Beach Hunter ID 300 and how well it was performing. Many reports even hinted to it going deeper and overall being better than the Excalibur! So my interest had been grabbed. I started looking at the BHID300 more and more, and just kept reading more great things. Even people I correspond with on a daily basis and had recently purchased it were going on and on about it.

But...

Then came the new Surfmaster Dual Field PI PRO from White's. Seeing thread after thread of this thing in action online, really started to make me a believer. Sure you can't discriminate, but results are what matters!

I shopped around online and called a few places. I wanted one of these detectors, but man, the price tag wasn't cheap either. But after a month of looking, calling, talking, researching... I found my deal after placing a Craigslist ad saying how much I was willing to pay. Not only did this dealer contact me with a great deal, but it far surpasses any deal i had heard of up to that point.

So I got both. That's right, BOTH. I'll be back on shore September 10th, picking them up at the shop on the 11th, and ready to do. Be assured you'll get a nice comparison review on these detectors, as for most people I realize the choice isn't to get both, but which ONE.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

MilSpec Hairstyle takes over the Odyssey

After my shift on Tuesday, I felt it was time for a haircut. I've been cutting my own hair since for the past 11 years or so, almost always opting for the high and tight military style. Having been an Army grunt for a few years, it just stuck.

I typically like my hair longer on the top, so I can gel it forward and flip it up in the front, but that's just me.

After I did, two of my fellow shipmates, Craig from South Africa and Olav from Canada, both got in line for their shot under my clipper'd hand.

Craig claims he always wants this style of cut, but in SA, he can't find a shop that will do it. So there you have, the new recruits, haha.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

WINNER: Odyssey Summer Table Tennis Tourney

And the tourney has come to an end. On the final day of the competition, Ronnie overtook Egil in the finals, winning 2 sets to 1.

Hats off to the winner, Ronnie Villon, Handling operator from the Philippines.

Your prize: 10 QHSE points (= $20)

WTG!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

GlassBooth.org Helps You Choose



Are you still up in the air about who you are going to vote for in the 2008 US Presidential Election?

Regardless of your answer, check out GlassBooth.org to help you decide.

To figure it all out, the start you off with 20 points, of which you assign different totals to various issues regarding the campaigns. Afterwards, you are asked how strongly you oppose, or support certain issues. When this is all done, a comparison is displayed, showing how you stack up with each of the candidates.

It's a great way to get yourself up to date on current policy and learn a little about what's going on in the US and make your vote count. Remember, it doesn't matter that Obama is black, or the McCain is gonna die soon and has a chick running mate. What they stand for is what matter to us all.

Here are my results:

Barack Obama shares a 73% similarity with your beliefs


Very Similar: Trade and Economics, Abortion and Birth Control, Environment and Energy, Taxes and Budget, Health Care, Iraq and Foreign Policy, Civil Liberties and Domestic Security

Similar: Education, Medical Marijuana and Drug Policy, Crime and Punishment

Different: Social Security, Immigration

Very Different: Gun Control

QT3 Health Campaign: STRESS


So today in the conference room we had a little get together in regard to our quarterly health issue, stress. It was a quick, informative presentation that will quickly be forgotten. But on the upside, we had two brief stress tests that measured how susceptible we are to stress-related illness.

The first test was a list of 40 "symptoms" if you will. For each of these you needed to rate yourself on a scale of 0-5, excluding 3. These number coincided with how much a problem these "symptoms" are for you.

For example, one of these is "Obsessive Worrying." You can rate it not being a problem for you, up to it being a severe problem that happens often.

Out of the 40 things, and with a high score (which would be bad) of 200... I only scored 18. Anything more than 20 would indicate you should participate is some sort of activity to help lower the stress in your life.

The second test was a list of 42 life events that may have occurred to you within the past 2 years. Each event was given a point total. You make a mark by each event, and total up your score. I scored a 127, which means I have a low susceptibility to stress-related illness. Anything over 300 would have been very bad.

If you are curious about you own stress level, there is a great online test over at StressLess.com. Click HERE to get there.

Monday, September 1, 2008

GUSTAV: Not Our Problem Anymore


As you can well see, since Gustav has made landfall, it's not a threat to us anymore. I made a little arrow showing how I would assume we'd come right up the ass end and get back to work. Still dunno, but it seems logical.

Unfortunately is just really sucks for all those folk who just had their asses handed to them by the hurricane.

Here's to smooth sailing, getting back on the prospect, finishing the job, and making crew change on time!