Jon's Blog

Today's Recommended Reading List

2011-03-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Compelling articles I found valuable today:
Donald Miller - Ten Characteristics of a Disciple
I love the notion that you don't have to wait until you become the exact right person to be a disciple. Note to self: get moving.

Randy Elrod - Why Creatives Are Fleeing Their Day Jobs In A Search For Meaning
A connection between desire, making progress and creativity?? Wow, that works for me. I'd prefer that he had used examples other than celebrities to illustrate those who have shifted toward a search for real meaning, because celebrities are definitely not my role models. But the point is still taken. Convicting challenge here. Favorite quote: "Let’s not simply SURVIVE, let’s LIVE."

Michael Hyatt - Five Consequences of a Life Out of Balance
Been there, unfortunately. Far too many of these consequences are familiar. Great list. I challenge the absolute truth of this statement, but won't throw the baby out with the bathwater: "The number of hours you work has almost zero correlation with your effectiveness." Favorite quote: "You can’t afford a divorce. The cost is incalculable."

Jon Acuff, Stuff Christians Like: Running into famous Christians. (AKA, the "Michael W. Smith Incident.")
Jon Acuff is funny. I'm so curious to know how much time he spent writing this post... Wonder if it is really as easy as he makes it look. Favorite quote: "In a few minutes he’s going to start laughing so loud that the pilot is probably going to need to make an announcement asking him to quiet down."

CIO Article By Meridith Levinson - How to Network: More Tips for Shy People
I was offered a revelation a few years ago, the notion that being an introvert might not be a character flaw or evidence of brain damage. What a concept. I have had people who meet me for the first time, and say to me in that first meeting: "you are pretty quiet today." Really? Compared to what? From the article and associated book.... "listening is as important as talking when it comes to networking, and introverts tend to be better listeners than the extroverts who run at the mouth" 2 Favorite quotes: "Real networking is about creating meaningful, mutually beneficial connections, one person at a time." and "Introverts go deep. They like deeper connections and they think [in order] to talk, whereas extroverts talk to think,"

Photo Copyright © 2010, Jon McDermott
Location: Laurel, OR

Missing 7 year old boy in the Portland area

2010-06-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Please familiarize yourself with Kryon's photo, and spread the word. Let's pray for his safe return.

More info on the ChildSeek Network website.

Verizon Wireless Call Quality

2010-05-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

It seems that each time I get a new cellphone, it has new non-call features and functions (camera, music player, full keyboard, web browsing, etc.). Despite the 'advancements', the newer phone is usually worse than the phone I previously had in terms of making a clear phone call! This is making me crazy.

In an ongoing effort to resolve my poor cellphone call quality, I came across these instructions from Verizon Wireless. They recommend performing these steps 'every few weeks'.

Updating Preferred Roaming List(PRL)
Verizon Wireless is constantly advancing its roaming technology to provide you with superior roaming capabilities. By updating your PRL every few weeks, you can be sure you have access to our enhancements. As a result you may experience:

* Longer battery life
* Fewer dropped or blocked calls
* Clear, crisp connections in more areas across the United States
* Ability to connect to the digital network in more parts of the country

Instructions for updating your PRL:
1. Power on your phone within any Verizon Wireless digital service area.
2. Dial *228 and then press SEND (this call is airtime free).
3. When prompted, press option 2 to update your phone's roaming capabilities (the update may take up to 2 minutes).
4. Once completed, a confirmation message will appear to inform you that your phone has been re-programmed with the new PRL.

These steps copied directly from the Verizon Wireless Website, posted here in case this is useful to you also.

Photo 1 courtesy of K!T, used under the Creative Commons License.

Seth Gogin's Latest Free eBook

2010-01-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Seth Godin recently published a new, free eBook called "What Matters Now". It is an interesting and thought provoking collection of thoughts from 70+ authors and 'big thinkers'. Because it is a collection of many different viewpoints, it is easy to consume a little at a time. Check it out.

Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud - Part 1

2009-11-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

This book is deep water. I expected a discussion on how honest and forthright behavior contributes to success in life and business. I'm getting so much more. Here are a couple of example quotes:

"When you empathize, you feel for the other person, but still know that its not your experience. In that way, you can be a bridge to a new and different experience from the one that they are having… such as hope."

"True listening and understanding occurs only when this happens... The other person understands that you understand. And that only happens when your character is connecting enough to get you out of your own experience, and into the experience of the other. To do that requires a makeup that is not detached, or self-focused."

Dr. Henry Cloud in Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality

My new project

2009-11-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

It needs a little work, yes. But it will be so cool when it's finished! I'm thinking that I'll need an extra thick coat of paint on those floorboards, or maybe it would be better as a Flintstones car, where you can put your feet on the street to stop and go!

Photo Copyright © 2009, Jon McDermott
Location: Central Point, OR

2009 CMBC Car Show

2009-08-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Aug 8 CMBC hosted our 2nd annual car show. Our goals were to have a great show, provide an opportunity to connect and reach out to the community, and collect food donations for the CMBC food pantry. The show exceeded my expectations. We had over 70 cars, and a good mix of church member cars and cars from outside the church body. We met a lot of great people from the community. We collected several shopping carts full of donated food. We had great music led by Larry Haggin and his band, and a great BBQ lunch that was organized and cooked by Jay and his volunteers. The weather forecast was for rain on Saturday, but God had a better plan (he always does). The weather was absolutely perfect, warm and bright, with filtered sunlight behind the clouds. Kudos to the car show committee (Ron C, Tom, Ian, and Dave Mc) for lots of great planning. Thanks also to several others who volunteered their time to ensuring a successful event (Jay, Larry, Curt, Mazie, Dave M, Miles, Jerry, Tim, Liz, Melissa, Kari, Ted, Robin, Ron, Chuck, Greg, others I missed?)

Following are my pictures from the event. There are 2 albums. One for the casual viewer, who wants to get a quick flavor for the event. The other is for the serious car lover, many more pictures of the cars.

Abbreviated Car Show Photo Album (57 photos)

Full Car Show Photo Album (128 photos)

Harry Marsh also has a great photo album of the event, available below:

Harry Marsh’s DLight Photography Car Show Album

2009 Luau

2009-08-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our 4th annual Luau was last weekend, it was a good time. It was the tail end of our Oregon heat wave, so it was a hot day, nearly 100 I think. We had lots of umbrellas, a mist system, and tons of cold bottled water on hand. Robin did a great job with the food again this year, we had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, meatballs, fruit salad, cole slaw, potato salad, ‘Orange stuff’ (a recipe from Louisiana), and more. We had huge help from John & Barby Ellerbrook again this year, they helped prepare the yard, decorated, cooked, served, and helped clean up and tear down. Melody, Kelsey and Jared came over to help also, they washed all the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen while we ‘caught our breath’ and relaxed at the end of the evening. What a great gift to us. Our neighbors Fran and Wendy pitched in on the tear-down the next day, and it went pretty quickly.

Fran amazed us with his juggling, Kennedy told a few jokes, and there was a rousing game of ‘name that tune’ as the sun went down. (Jon survived a couple of disputes over the rules) Special thanks to Chuck who gave me the hat off of his head!

Thanks to all who braved the heat to join us. It was great to spend some relaxing time together and good to see some new acquaintances being made.

Pictures from the 2009 Luau:
Gallery View

Slideshow View

Twitter

2009-08-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

It took me a while to warm up to Twitter. Like many people, I worry about the temptation to use it as daily nutrition to feed the appetite of narcissism. I was absolutely stunned by the power of these paragraphs, written by John Piper in his blog post titled "Why and How I Am Tweeting".

Now what about Twitter? I find Twitter to be a kind of taunt: "Okay, truth-lover, see what you can do with 140 characters! You say your mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things! Well, this is one of those ‘all things.’ Can you magnify Christ with this thimble-full of letters?"
To which I respond:

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky
Puts camels through a needle’s eye.
And if his wisdom see it mete,
He will put worlds inside a tweet.

So I am not inclined to tweet that at 10AM the cat pulled the curtains down. But it might remind me that the Lion of Judah will roll up the heavens like a garment, and blow out the sun like a candle, because he just turned the light on. That tweet might distract someone from pornography and make them look up.

Photo Copyright © 2009, Jon McDermott
Location: Newberg, OR

More 2008/2009 Blazer season memories

2009-07-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

I remember this play distinctly from this past season. Ryan and I watched this game at Ruby Tuesday's that night, because we didn't have tickets, and the game wasn't on broadcast TV. I like these clips because they give multiple angles of the same play. Some things to watch for in this video... Watch the amazing and under-appreciated no-look pass from Sergio to Rudy that gets the whole thing going. Also watch Rudy's eyes when he sees the inbound pass after just completing the 3 pointer. Good stuff.

(Hint, click the tiny red play button at the bottom left of the video frame above)

Choose to be in touch...

2009-07-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Randy Alcorn posted this on his Facebook page today. Brilliant. I can't add anything to it...

My heart and character won’t change until my daily habits change. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Col. 3:16 Holy habits such as meditation, prayer, and church should be determined commitments. Our choices show what we value most. TV, internet, or God’s Word? A fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We already know what the world thinks—do we need to hear more? Choose to be in touch with the mind of God.

Photo Copyright © 2009, Jon McDermott
Location: Lopez Island, WA

Lyrics - Part 2

2009-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd installment in my argument that contemporary Christian music, like hymns, can contain some serious theology. This one is from the song "So Long Self" by MercyMe (Coming Up To Breathe Album).

Believe it or not but life is not apparently
about me anyways...
But I have met the One who really is worthy
So let me say

So long, self
Well it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me farewell
Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry
So Long Self

I love this phrase: “believe it or not but life is not apparently about me anyways…”. What if I had learned that when I was 20 years old? I also like the quirky way the phrase is put together (for some reason).

Life is not about me anyways. This is on the short list of ‘things I hope I know now, and wish I had known when I was young’.

One reason I love the NBA

2008-11-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

How can you not enjoy this 4 minutes of basketball? I could watch this clip over and over....

Lryics - Part 1

2008-11-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

I've heard more than one person say that the old hymns contain some serious doctrine if you listen to them closely. I can't and won't argue with this. I have noticed recently, however, that some contemporary Christian music also contains some profound messages, assuming you are willing to listen closely.

Case in point: "Lose My Soul" by tobyMac (portable sounds album). What makes this song even more amazing is that it is what we in the over 45 crowd would call "Rap Music". Normally I can't turn it off quickly enough, but this song has me hooked.

Anyway, back to my point. "Lose My Soul" has some deep water in it, such as:

"Man I wanna tell you all something, Man.
Man I'm not gonna let these material things, get in my way, you all.
I'm trying to get somewhere.
I'm trying to get somewhere,
That's real and pure and true and eternal."

Amen to that. And another example from the same song:

"Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
That fight for our love, and our passion,
As our eyes are open wide and on You.
Grant us the privilege of Your world view,
And may Your kingdom be, what wakes us up, and lays us down."

Grant us the privilege of Your world view. Yes.... please do.

The 10 "Cannots"

2008-11-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

The 10 Cannots
By William J. H. Boetcker

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.

And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

This kind of thinking is conspicuous in its contrast to the popular culture of America today. I long for a day when this philosophy is prevalent in our country again.

You were created...

2008-11-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

Dan Miller does it again - another fabulous blog post.

"This is beneath your dignity. You were created to house the fullness of God."

Facebook

2008-10-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

When a young person's parents get an account on Facebook, and then ask to become their friend - I wonder if they have a "There goes the neighborhood" experience?

Photo 1 courtesy of zappowband, used under the Creative Commons License.

Did You Lose Your Horse Today?

2008-09-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

This story feels particularly relevant this week...

Did You Lose Your Horse Today?

Made it to Astoria!

2008-09-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

John and I recently completed a journey that we have talked about for some time now. We made the trip from Portland to Astoria in our boats. I took the Arima, and John rode his Waverunner. 95.19 miles in all, down the Columbia River, starting at the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, and ending at the John Day Park ramp in Astoria. It took us 8 hours in all, including two fuel/rest stops in Kalama and Cathlamet. Ryan took these pictures, and did a great job. Our plan called for about 4-5 hours on the water, but we didn't anticipate the rough water that we encountered for nearly the full length of the trip. Near Cathlamet we ran into some 4+ foot waves, the third picture shows John meeting one of those. Our wives towed the trailers to Astoria, and helped make the trip easy for us. I was surprised by the amount of beautiful scenery along the way.

We particularly liked the Elochoman Slough Marina in Cathlamet, a very picturesque and peaceful place, I'd like to spend some more time there someday.

I used my Lowrance chartplotter extensively on this trip, and had good fun doing so, although I realized just how much I have to learn about it. I also realized for the first time why it would be advantageous to have a displacement hull vessel rather than a planing hull, so that you are in the water, rather than on top of it (where the waves can beat you to death).

It felt great to complete the challenge, we will surely have to do it again someday.

Photos Copyright © 2008, Jon McDermott
Location: Columbia River, OR

Quote for 3-Aug-08

2008-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

"Live out of your imagination, not your history." Stephen R. Covey

Photo Copyright © 2008, Jon McDermott
Location: Fort Stevens State Park, OR

Zig

2008-07-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Zig Ziglar. In case you aren't familiar with Zig Ziglar, he's a motivational speaker and author, and an expert on selling. Zig is an inspiration to listen to, he is a master at capturing and holding an audience.

Zig is 80 years old, and last year took a bad fall down some stairs. He suffered a serious concussion, and had some problems with short term memory loss. In true Zig fashion, however, he has written a new book named "Embrace the Struggle" about the ordeal, and is anxious to get back to work.

To give you an idea of Zig's optimism, while recovering and waiting for the doctors to clear him to go back to work, Zig commented: "You know I'm optimistic. I'd go after Moby Dick in a rowboat, and I'd take the tartar sauce with me".

Godspeed Zig.

Ryan on YouTube

2008-06-26T19:12:00.001-07:00

A couple of months ago Ryan and the high school group at church performed a drama to the song 'Everything', which was performed live by the Christian group Issakar.

Ryan and the whole group did a fantastic job, and there weren't many dry eyes in the house at the end of the performance. Now the video of their performance is available on YouTube. Thanks to David Fishback for the great video, and for sharing it.

Y2K at the pump?

2008-06-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

I've asked this question at several gas stations over the last several weeks, and mostly have just received a confused look as a response. I've asked every station where I have stopped to refuel whether they have tried to set the gas price at $10.00/gal, just to see if it is possible. Am I the only one who remembers when gas went above $.99 for the first time? The gas stations all had to cut a hole in the metal to the left of the 'price per gallon' numbers in order to add an additional digit to price gas at $1.00 for the first time. Shortly thereafter we started to see digital gas pumps.
Now I am wondering, did the manufacturers of the newer pumps allow for enough digits in the price to support $10.00/gal? It seems on the surface that it should be no problem because of the digital display, but the software/firmware may not be programmed to allow for this number of digits.

I must be the only one on the planet wondering about such things. The 2 common responses I get to this question are:
1. Huh?
2. Oh, I don't think it would ever get that high.

Really?

Photo 1 courtesy of KB35, used under the Creative Commons License.
Photo 2 courtesy of Afroswede, used under the Creative Commons License.

Partial Zero

2008-06-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Does it bother anyone else that our language now includes the phrase "partial zero"? I understand what they are trying to say, but....... really.

Photo courtesy of Marcin Wichary, used under the Creative Commons License.

Quote for 31-May-08

2008-05-31T08:58:00.000-07:00

"The more that things change, the more you need to depend upon those things that never change."
Rabbi Daniel Lapin

Photo Copyright © 2007, Jon McDermott
Location: Lake Billy Chinook, OR

Zappos

2008-05-20T18:59:00.001-07:00

I read an article today on Harvard Business Publishing blogs about Zappos, the online shoe seller. Actually, Zappos says that they are a service company that happens to sell shoes.

This is the kind of company that I like to think I would create. Some of the company policies that I particularly like:

Under-promise and over-deliver. They promise 4 day free shipping, but often deliver overnight. (they set up their warehouse near a UPS distribution hub)
Put the company toll-free phone number on every page of the website. Love it. It sounds trivial, but most companies deliberately bury or exclude their phone number from websites, so that they don't have to talk with customers.
Empower customer service agents on the phone to do what it takes to help customers
Fanatical focus on customer service.
Don't just satisfy customers, amaze them
"Bribe" new employees to quit after the 4-week company training and 1 week on the job. The idea is that if they will take the $1000 offer to leave the company, they aren't bought in to the company vision, so you don't want them working there. $1000 is well spent to weed out those who aren't going to help you win.

I am inspired by this company. It will be fascinating to see if they can retain the culture as the company grows larger, and to see how they pull that off if successful.

Other Blogs - part 2

2008-05-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here's part 2 of my list of other blogs you might find interesting:

John Eldredge Walking With God Blog
(John Eldredge is also author of one of my favorite books "Wild at Heart")
http://www.walkingwithgod.net/Blogs.aspx

Chip Ingram Keep Pressin' Ahead
http://chipingram.typepad.com/blog/

Ancestry.com Blog
http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/

The Ancestry Insider
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/

re:PDX
(Ron Ares is a Portland real estate agent with a good blog)
http://www.repdx.com/

The Housechick Blog
(The Housechick has such a great blog, you will want to buy a house in Tucson)
http://www.mytucsonblog.com/

Bad MLS Photo of the Day
(A daily listing of bad photos in MLS real estate listings)
http://reagentinct.com/blog/

Hillsboro Realtor
http://stonewateratorenco.blogspot.com/

More later

Stephen King Remark

2008-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

Author Stephen King, pictured at left, was speaking to a group of high school students recently about the importance of reading. He made the following remark:

"The fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t, then you’ve got the Army, Iraq, I don’t know, something like that."

Congratulations Stephen King, you win the award for saying the most ignorant thing I've heard said this month.

Photo courtesy of 416style, used under the Creative Commons License.

Quote for 16-May-08

2008-05-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea."

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Photo courtesy of mikebaird, used under the Creative Commons License.

Obama

2008-05-15T21:04:00.001-07:00

I was looking through Barack Obama's position on the issues recently to better understand his campaign promises. I was struck by the absence of an issue that I fully expected to find. I re-read the list 3 times to make sure I didn't just overlook it.

Where the heck is the war on terror? His list discusses Iraq and Homeland Security, but I can't find his position on the war on terror. Is the war on terror over? I've been out of town recently, so maybe I missed the news about this.... Did we win it while I was traveling?

Inquiring minds want to know...

2008-05-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?

Photo Copyright © 2008, Jon McDermott
Location: Mt Vernon, WA

Media

2008-05-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was going to blog about Dancing with the Stars, but a meeting at Ryan's High School last night changed my plans. I attended a presentation by CJ Hitz of MediaTalk101, who talked about the impact of media on your spiritual life. He put into words some things that I have been anxious about for a while. His presentation on media covered a broad range of media influences, not just TV but also music, the internet, blogs, movies, video games, "social media" like Myspace, etc, etc. Some things I wrote down that I thought were particularly impactful thoughts presented by CJ:

What do your media choice indicate about your relationship with Jesus?

He talked about how we often consume media almost constantly, several hours a day. One possible explanation for 'staying constantly stimulated' by some form of media is that we are avoiding some real issue on our plate. (if I avoid silence, I can avoid hearing what God might say to me)

Another thing he said really hit home with me. "All media has a message, and the message has an impact on your life." (it's not just entertainment)

Finally, he used a great illustration of being in a large, well lit city, and complaining that you can't see many stars at night. The light 'distraction' and 'pollution' keeps you from seeing the stars. The stars are overhead in a big city just as they are in a pitch dark canyon in the middle of the country, the only difference is that the environment that you have immersed yourself in is preventing a clear view. He then asked whether the media influences that we consume every day are preventing a clear view of God. Great question.

I'm not preaching, I found these questions very convicting.

Photo courtesy of dailyinvention, used under the Creative Commons License.

Tour de Lopez

2008-05-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we rode in the 'Tour de Lopez' with our friends John & Barby on Lopez Island in the San Juans. The weather on Lopez was amazing! It was rainy and cool for a week before, but sunny and warm on the day of the ride. What a blessing it was. There were 3 routes: 10 miles, 17 miles, and 31 miles. We chose to ride the 10 mile, but ended up with 14.51 miles by the end of the day (including the ride
back to the truck). The ride ended in the village, with a catered lunch and live music.I had just received my bike back from a tune-up, and unfortunately it gave me problems most of the day. If the guys down at Bike Gallery are reading this, I'll be in to see you soon.

Some tips for those interested in riding in the Tour de Lopez next year: 1.) Register early, the ride was sold out this year about 3 years prior tothe event. 2.) Reserve lodging early. There aren't many hotels on Lopez, mostly rental vacation homes and B&B's. We couldn't get a place, so we stayed in Anacortes (worked out fine). 3.) Test ride your bike after getting it back from the bike shop, in plenty of time to return it for repairs on the repairs.
It was a great day. The ride was not competitive, so we had the opportunity to take our time and enjoy the views.

Photos © Copyright Jon McDermott - Taken in Anacortes, WA and Lopez Island WA

Boeing Tour

2008-05-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend on our way north to the 'Tour de Lopez', we stopped to take in the Boeing tour, and the Future of Flight exhibit. We got to see Boeing roll one of the first Dreamliner 787's out of the assembly building, pretty cool.

Photos © Copyright Jon McDermott - Taken at the Boeing Future of Flight, April 2008

Other Blogs - part 1

2008-04-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

As you might expect, there are blogs available on just about any topic that you can imagine. One of the interesting things about blogs is that it is lowers the hurdle for having your point of view 'heard' on the web, so blogs are available from 'professional authors' and 'regular Joes' alike. Here are a few blogs that you may find interesting:

Dan Miller's "No More Monday's" blog:
http://48daysblog.wordpress.com/

Slidell Katrina Relief Blog (Our friends the Sweetland's at Faith Bible Church):
http://web.mac.com/mjsweetland/Katrina/SlidellBlog/SlidellBlog.html

Betty Crocker's Recipe Blog:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/tools/RSSFeeds.htm

Lauren Brooks Photo Blog
(Lauren and Lincoln were the photographers who shot Laura's wedding)
http://www.breathe-deeply.com/

Lincoln Barber's Photo Blog
http://www.lincolnbarbour.com/ides-of-may/

More later

Photo: © Copyright Jon McDermott - Taken on the intracoastal waterway, Florida. Feb 2006. (it has nothing to do with the topic of this post, I just thought it was a cool Grady White pic)

Blog Readers

2008-04-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of feedback that many don't "get" blogs. What is the purpose? What is the advantage of a blog? I think one of the issues behind this is that folks who are new to blogs don't yet know about blog readers. If you want to keep up with the latest posts on a few or many blogs on the internet, it can be a big hassle to visit each blog website individually, checking to see if anything is new.

Enter blog readers. A blog reader is an 'aggregator' of blog content. You 'subscribe' to one or many blogs in the blog reader, and let it do the work for you. The blog reader pulls the newest posts from all the blogs that you have subscribed to, and it pulls all those posts into a single "inbox", much like your email inbox. You can then browse and read all new blog posts in one list. Any time you find that you are no longer interested in the blog, you just "Unsubscribe".

Avid blog fans almost never visit the individual blogs that they are interested in. They let their blog reader do all the work.

Where do you find a blog reader? As usual, there are many choices. Some are used on a website, so there is no software to buy or install. Others must be downloaded and installed on your computer. Here is an incomplete list of popular blog readers:

Google Reader (this is the one I use, I like the fact that it uses my existing Google/Gmail account to log in, no new username/pw required)
http://www.google.com/reader

Bloglines (like Google Reader, you use this one on a website)
http://www.bloglines.com/

Newsgator (they offer both a web based reader and one that you download and install) Note that blog readers are sometimes called "RSS Readers".
http://www.newsgator.com

As blogs become more popular, they are being supported in software/websites you may already use. Examples include:
Outlook 2007
My Yahoo
Windows Live
My AOL

Once you have selected your blog reader, go to your favorite blog, and look for the "Subscribe" link. Sometimes this link is also labeled "RSS" or "ATOM".

On Jons Blog you will find a subscribe button on the right hand column, below the archives. Click the colorful "Subscribe" button, then choose the reader you have selected.

There are other cool things that you can do with a blog reader, but I'll save this topic for a future post.

Quote for 17-April-08

2008-04-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."

Harry Emerson Fosdick

Photo: © Copyright Jon McDermott - Taken on the Road to Hana, Maui - August 2006

Verse for 15-April-08

2008-04-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
And they were amazed at him.

Mark 12:13-17 (NIV)

Portland Area Real Estate

2008-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

This Spring we are 'celebrating' the 2nd anniversary of our home search. It has been a frustrating process, and I've been particularly mystified about the Portland area real estate market's apparent disregard for the law of supply and demand. The number of houses on the market continues to grow, the number of days on the market grows, and yet there is no significant pullback in prices. A post on the Hillsboro Realtor blog today has a perspective on the market that I really appreciate:

The Hillsboro Realtor: Weekly Mortgage Matters!: "Many of us are anchored to home prices and mortgage application processes in vogue four years ago. But that's not today's market, and no amount of wishing will turn back the clock. If buyers are only willing to pay $200,000 for a house bought for $250,000, the $50,000 difference is gone. Listing the house for $250,000 is a waste of time for everyone involved. Same can be said for applying for a subprime, non-verified loan.

This isn't to say that home-price appreciation and more relaxed lending standards aren't in the future; they very likely are. But if someone needs to sell a home or get a mortgage today, he has to play by today's rules. The sooner everyone realizes that fact, the sooner the housing market will begin its recovery."

We must go out

2008-04-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

"A young man beginning his work with the Coast Guard was called with his crew to try a desperate rescue in a great storm. Frightened, rain and wind pounding his face, the man cried to his captain, "We will never get back!" The captain replied, "We don't have to come back, but we must go out."

Spirtual Leadership, Chapter 8, by J. Oswald Sanders

Why Blog - Part 2

2008-04-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Reasons to Blog (cont'):

3. It is cathartic. Something about writing down my thoughts that helps me work out what I really think about something, and brings clarity.

4. It brings some sort of 'closure' and enhanced enjoyment of a recent event. Remember when people used to create scrapbooks or photo albums with captions for each photo? They did this both to share the experience with others, and to 'relive' it one more time for themselves.

5. It is very easy. Despite what my friend Tom says, creating a blog post takes no more time than writing an email. There is some one time setup involved to create the blog in the first place, but once that's done - you can create a short post in less than 1 minute.

6. Something unexpected may come of it. I like to try out new stuff, often I find value or usefulness in it that is totally unexpected.

Enough already.

Why blog?

2008-04-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine called me over the weekend in response to my "Anyone out there?" post. (following instructions must not be his strong suit, I asked for a comment to my post, he called me instead).

In any case, he asked me why the heck I blog. He implied that it 'looked like I was going to a lot of trouble' to blog, and wondered what the motivation is. Given that I was absent from my blog for over 2 years, the motivation still remains to be proven out, but here are the best answers I can give off the top of my head:

Reasons to blog:

Kindof / sortof a substitute for sending cards or letters to friends and family (which I never do). As a kid, I remember that my Mom's side of the family would make a tape recorded 'letter' on the new fangled reel-to-reel tape recorder, and send the tape through the mail to other members of the family. It was a cool way to catch up on family happenings, and it was so much richer than a paper letter because of the addition of the voices and sounds. I don't have the patience to do a recording, but a blog is richer than a paper letter (albeit not as personalized), because it is easy to include text, photos and videos in your blog.
Quick and easy way to share pictures. I use Picasa to manage digital pictures on my computer, and including one or more pictures on my blog using Picasa is literally a 'one click' exercise. Click the "Blog This" button, write the optional narrative/caption/text, and click submit. Picasa takes care of posting the thumbnail picture and text to your blog, and even takes care of making a full size version of the picture available through a link.

Wow, this has gotten verbose already. Blogs are intended to be short and sweet... easily consumed. I'm going to stop here, and pick up with reason #3 in a future post.

Quote for 8-April-08

2008-04-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

"As no scripture is of private interpretation, so is there no feeling in a human heart which exists in that heart alone -- which is not, in some form or degree, in every human heart."

George Macdonald

Anyone out there?

2008-04-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

The strange thing about blogging is that it sometimes feels like a monologue, because you can't always tell if anyone is paying any attention to your blog. Anyone out there? Leave me a comment if so. Just click the nn comments link just under this post, and have your say. You don't have to register/login to do so, either choose the Name/URL option and enter your name or handle, or choose Anonymous to be mysterious. Thanks.

First Catch-up post, for Feb 2006

2008-04-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping I can post a few "catch-up" posts of major events since I stopped blogging, in an attempt to fill in some gaps. No, I don't intend to cover every day since Feb 2006, but just some stuff that I'd like to write about. I left the Daytona trip hanging right in the middle, so I'll start there. Robin and I went to the Daytona 500 in Feb 2006, our first trip to a Nascar race. These pics are from race day. Even if you aren't a Nascar fan (I wasn't particularly), the Daytona 500 is an amazing event. A quick run-down on these pictures, Robin standing in the infield of the track, Robin signing the start/finish line on the track before the start of the race, Robin with some of the untold number of Goodyear tires used on race day, and the cars just after crossing the finish line (Jimmy Johnson #48 won that day). Jay Leno drove the Z06 Corvette pace car for the race, what a cool gig. There is nothing quite like standing near the fence as those cars go by at 180 mph. It's even louder than those Honda's you enounter at a stoplight (the ones with the massive subwoofers being driven by a 17 year old).
The other thing that amazed me is how the folks at Daytona can get over 100,000 people in and out of the facility in a reasonably efficient manner. They actually use several offsite parking lots, and use the dirt service roads that run under the power lines to run Buses back and forth to the track (no other traffic on these roads, no stoplights, etc.). These folks clearly know how to handle a crowd.
All in all, it was a great experience. We'll do it again.

Quote for 2-April-08

2008-04-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Begin to act boldly, the moment one definitely commits oneself, heaven moves on his behalf." John Wayne

Quote for 1-April-08

2008-04-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

"No wind blows in favor of a ship without a destination " BC Forbes

Sanders

2008-03-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a spiritual leadership class at church (2nd time around), and we are studying a great book written by J. Oswald Sanders. Sanders has a great way of packing a truckload of wisdom into a small number of words. He also wastes no words in an attempt to be politically correct. Here's my favorite example:

The young man of leadership caliber will work while others waste time, study while others snooze, pray while others daydream. Slothful habits are overcome, whether in thought, deed, or dress. The emerging leader eats right, stands tall, and prepares himself to wage spiritual warfare. He will without reluctance undertake the unpleasant task that others avoid or the hidden duty that others evade because it wins no public applause. As the Spirit fills his life, he learns not to shrink from difficult situations or retreat from hard-edged people. He will kindly and courageously administer rebuke when that is called for, or he will exercise the necessary discipline when the interests of the Lord’s work demand it. He will not procrastinate, but will prefer to dispatch with the hardest tasks first.

Spirtual Leadership, Chapter 8, by J. Oswald Sanders

Mom & Dad's 50th

2008-03-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Last night we went out to the Portland City Grill for a belated celebration of Mom & Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary. The restaurant is on the 30th floor of the US Bank tower, the view of Portland is amazing. Happy 50th Mom and Dad!

(yes, that flash reflection in the 3rd picture bothers me as much as it bothers you. I started to fiddle with it to remove the bright spot, but lost patience.... On a rainy afternoon someday I may try again)

I'm back

2008-03-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Over two years without a blog post? Are you kidding me? Yes, I sortof fell asleep at the switch regarding keeping my blog up to date. I was recently inspired by a podcast on blogging, and decided to get this going again. In case you are wondering, yes, we did see the Daytona 500 race a couple of years ago, it was a great time. We will do it again someday. So much has happened in the last couple of years. I will try to post some 'catch up' entries with a few pictures.

Daytona trip - Day 4

2006-02-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

Today (the day before the Daytona 500) we decided to visit Daytona Beach to see the things that we probably won't have time to see on race day.

We toured "Daytona USA", which is a museum and interactive speedway center with lots of historical information about Daytona International Speedway, and a very cool IMAX theatre movie with great moments from previous races.

We also walked around the outside of the speedway, and visited the exhibits and collected some free stuff. This is the official pace car for this year's race, a Z06 Corvette (505HP, 190MPH top speed... soooo cool).

Tomorrow..... Race Day!

Daytona trip - Day 3

2006-02-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

On day 3 we started the day by visiting Bass Pro Shops "Outdoor World" (also known as the Fisherman's Mecca). It's a good thing that we don't have an Outdoor World store in Oregon, else Jon would surely be bankrupt. We then traveled to the "space coast" of Florida and toured Cocoa Beach, the village of Cocoa, and Titusville.

We did a little boat shopping (this one is too small).

It's amazing how many shells are just laying around on the beach here. The weather has been great, sunny every day, with highs between 70 and 80 degrees!

President Bush was in Orlando on Friday, and we saw Air Force One parked at an Air Force base on the space coast. That explains the fighter jet escorts and the armed military folks all around.

Daytona trip - Day 2

2006-02-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

On day 2 we stayed in the Orlando area, and had a full day. Robin rode along in a
race car at the "Richard Petty driving experience" at Walt Disney World Speedway (she is a longtime Richard Petty fan). Pretty cool, she went 145 MPH on the oval track!

Next we took an airboat ride on Lake Tohopekaliga (Boggy Creek Airboat Rides). We saw 3 gators, a bald eagle, and several other kinds of birds. The airboat was cool, powered by a big block Chevy motor that is mounted high right behind the fan. Amazing where they can take that boat, at one point we were riding on weeds and mud, with almost no water beneath the boat.

Finally, we took in a show at the 'Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede'. It's a horse show/dinner theatre, with lots of trick riding and a "North versus the South" theme.

Daytona trip - Day 1

2006-02-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

Will try to post updates and pictures here during our trip to the Daytona 500. It's Wednesday morning at 9am, we are waiting at PDX for our flight to leave, and taking advantage of the free wireless internet service at PDX. More to come!

Dec 2005 Christmas Tree Trek

2006-02-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

We rented some snowshoes and headed up to Mt. Hood in December in search of the “McDermott Family Christmas tree”. We ended up at Frog Lake, it was a beautiful sunny day. The snowshoes (rented at REI) were awesome, they make it easy to walk in deep snow, and also have a serrated pair of blades on the underside that allow them to grip in packed snow or ice. We found a tree that we liked and ended the day with some hot chocolate at the Mt. Hood Brewing Co.

Book report - 9 Things You Simply Must Do....

2006-02-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

I heard about this book from Dr. Henry Cloud on a radio show, when Dr. Cloud was being interviewed. Henry Cloud is a high profile Psychologist and author who is probably best known for a book called Boundaries.

The premise of the book is that Dr. Cloud noticed through his interaction with highly successful and effective people that they share a number of traits. In fact, he calls them "Déjà vu" people, because each time he encountered one of these people, he thought sure he had met them before. He figured out that these folks all shared a distinct set of behaviors and attitudes that made them very familiar. He set out to study these behaviors, and understand why and how they contribute to the effectiveness of these very impactful people.

What are these 9 “things”? Well, you are going to have to read the book. But following are a sampling of the 9 things that I found most compelling:

Pull the tooth
Act like an ant
Play the movie
Be Humble

These are obviously metaphors for a set of behaviors and attitudes, but this gives you a sense for how the book makes the 9 things easy to remember and think about.

This is an outstanding book!! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It is very readable and practical. Dr. Cloud makes use of lots of stories, anecdotes and analogies which made the content interesting. 246 pages, and I found it to be a quick read. I plan to read it again shortly and perhaps once every couple of years to refresh.

Go get this book!

Multnomah Channel

2006-02-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

We spent the day before Thanksgiving cruising the Multnomah Channel. It was an amazingly beautiful day, cold but sunny and clear. We put in at Scappoose Bay marina, spent an hour fooling with Jon's dead battery, then cruised the 20 or so miles north through the channel to the Willamette. This is a beautiful trip, can't believe we waited so long to do it. John suited up and rode his Waverunner the whole way, he got some strange looks for being out this time of year.

Photos Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Multnomah Channel, OR

21-Nov Quotes

2005-11-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

"I hate to have to tell you this, but whether you like it or not, you're a man. You're stuck with it. You're gonna find yourself standing your ground and fighting when you oughta run; Speaking out when you oughta keep your mouth shut; doing things that will seem wrong to a lotta people, but you'll do them all the same. Your gonna spend the rest of your life getting up one more time when your knocked down. So you better start getting used to it." John Wayne

Quotes - 20-October

2005-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

'They say when one door of happiness closes, another opens. But the problem is -- we look so long at the closed door that we never notice the open one." -- Helen Keller

"Live out of your imagination, not your history." -- Stephen Covey

"The good is often the enemy of the best." -- Unknown

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- Buckminster Fuller

"From the glow of enthusiasm I let the melody escape." -- Ludwig van Beethoven

Television

2005-10-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

Nielsen Media Research recently announced that during the 2004-05 season, the average American household watched TV an average of 8 hours, 11 minutes per day.

Per day! Average! Arghh! I can’t stand it. I’m stunned. If you don’t believe it, the press release is available here:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/newsreleases/2005/AvgHoursMinutes92905.pdf

In a related statistic, Nielsen reports that the average American household receives 100 channels of TV programming.

On a completely unrelated topic, I’m searching for a study that would explain the mysterious root cause behind the following maladies plaguing Americans:

Decline in physical fitness, increase in obesity
Decline in student achievement, particularly in math and science
General “lack of available time” to:
Focus on relationships
Spend time with God

If somebody could identify the root cause, they would really be on to something.

This week's quotes

2005-09-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

"Treat every person with kindness and respect, even those who are rude to you. Remember that you show compassion to others not because of who they are but because of who you are." Andrew T. Somers

"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. " Unknown

"Adults devise a plan and follow it, children do what feels good." Dave Ramsey

"If you can't control the wind, adjust your sail." Unknown

"If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again; it was probably worth it." Unknown

Houseboat

2005-09-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

This was our home for the week, rented from Antler's. Despite some initial problems (generator failed and had to be replaced before we could depart), and some other minor annoyances, it worked well for us. In my mind, bigger is better, the flybridge is a must, and having a place to sleep on top under the stars is a 'must have' for selecting a houseboat.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Lake Shasta, CA

Pit River

2005-09-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

We towed the Searay and John's Waverunner all over the lake behind the houseboat. Found a very cool cove (behind the boat in the background of this pic) in the Pit River arm that was just inside the 5MPH zone, so it was peaceful.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Lake Shasta, CA

Smile

2005-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Flybridge stress relief clinic

2005-09-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's one pic from our trip to Shasta. Love the flybridge, the only way to captain a large boat as far as I'm concerned.

More pics coming soon!

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Lake Shasta, CA

Quotes that resonate...

2005-08-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've not been consistent about posting new pix... I have several of our trip to Shasta, and other stuff that I need to post, will do so someday soon.

In the meantime, I've been obsessing on a couple of topics:

Personal finance
Personal productivity

For personal finance, I have been revisiting Dave Ramsey's books and radio show (http://www.daveramsey.com/). I love good quotes, here are several that I have jotted down from Dave's materials:

"Reading one non-fiction book per month and giving away 10% of your income will change your life." Dave Ramsey
"Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still" - Dave's Grandma
"You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie Tremendous Jones
"91% of all new car transactions involve some sort of financing." and... "The average new car loses 60% of its value in the 1st 4 years." Dave Ramsey, don't remember the source he cited
"Work is a surefire money-making scheme.” Dave Ramsey
"As Americans, we buy stuff that we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people that we don't really like." Dave Ramsey

On the personal productivity topic, I've been studying David Allen's "Getting Things Done" book and methodology. (http://www.davidco.com/)

Some great quotes from David's book to come shortly.

Green Peter Kokes

2005-06-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

We tried Green Peter for Kokes again last Saturday. We left home at 4:30am (yawn..) and fished all day, what a blast. John perfected a technique where he yanked the fish straight into the boat from 50 yards out, that's one way to keep them from throwing the hook near the boat!.

2005-06-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

The weather was crazy as usual in June, but the boat worked out great. When it was particularly cold and wet we zipped up the vertical curtain and stayed dry.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Green Peter Reservoir

2005-06-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon we tried one of the big arms on the north side of the lake, and started having better luck. Ryan caught the biggest koke: 14 inches.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Green Peter Reservoir

2005-06-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

We brought home 14 fish, about half Kokes and half rainbow trout. We barbequed all of them, and tried some with olive oil, and some with butter (the Olive Oil won the taste test) We lost at least 9 fish, most very close to the boat, the bigger kokes are very smart and know how to get off of a hook.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

2005-06-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

First fish scales in the boat! Last Saturday Ryan and I went to Green Peter reservoir near Sweet Home to try out the Kokanee fishing. The fishfinder worked pretty well, in fact in the early morning there some schools that I thought were 'normal', but those schools disappeared later in the day. Wish we had stayed put and worked the area were we saw them early. It was a good time, we put 4 fish in the boat, kept 3 of them, and lost 2 before we could get them to the boat.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Green Peter Reservoir

2005-06-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't know exactly how to cook them, so we put them in alum foil with lemon slices, lemon herb spice and butter, and put on the BBQ. Turned out great!

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

2005-05-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Tank area after polishing. There were some stops on the forward side made of 3/4" plywood, I decided to replace them with 'seaboard' (from Tap Plastics) instead. I also replaced the nylon tank strap buckles with new stainless buckles that Don at Arima was kind enough to send me.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

2005-05-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Tank re-installed. There was an "L" shaped shim made of plywood on the starboard side used to keep the tank from sliding sideways. It was broken, so I built a new one out of seaboard, and severely over-engineered it.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

2005-05-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

After getting the boat put back together (tank installed, new fuel hoses, etc.), Ryan and I took it out Sunday afternoon for a shakedown. As is typical for Portland in the Spring, it poured on us for a minute, and then a few minutes later we were squinting in the bright sunshine. That's the Fremont bridge, did I mention that when I was a kid we watched them lift the center section of the Fremont bridge into place? Pretty memorable.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Portland, OR

2005-05-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

2005-05-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

2005-05-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ready to load up at Willamette Park. We cruised a lot farther than originally intended. We started at Willamette Park and went to the Columbia, and made a loop around Tomahawk Island. I had only put about a half a tank of gas in before we left, but I thought it would be no problem since there are gas docks at Tomahawk Island. For the record, the gas docks close at 5 (or earlier) on Sunday, also Fred's Marina on Multnomah Channel closes at 5. We made it back, but I was pretty nervous not knowing how much gas the boat burns... Next time I will fill the tank.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Willamette Park, Portland, OR

Cleaning up the boat

2005-04-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Did I need a project? There was a couple of years of leaves and dirt built up around the fuel tank, so I decided to pull the tank out and clean it up. I also was very curious to see how everything is put together near the transom, so this was another reason to do this. Finally, the straps that hold the fuel tank down were pulled loose, so they need to be replaced. That bucket is full of the crud that I scooped out.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

2005-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

After cleanup. I'm going to use Meguiars to scrub and wax the area under the fuel tank, so that the crud that washes into this area will hopefully keep moving around the tank to the big hole that drops into the bilge, and out the dran plug.

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Beaverton, OR

Our Arima SeaChaser 17

2005-04-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try this as a way to share some photos. I'll start with a couple of photos of the new fishing boat. I did a lot of research, and wanted a very versatile boat that was smallish and easy to handle, was immune to salt water and abuse, was easy to maintain, and was both seaworthy and suitable for a river or lake. I did a lot of research and found out about Arima boats. They met my criteria, and are very popular with Pacific NW fishermen. I found one in Seattle for a fair price, and my good friend John E and Ryan and I traveled north early last Saturday morning to check it out.

After I bought it we took it out in the Puget Sound for a spin. There was a pretty good wind at first, and a healthy chop. After a bit of cruising it settled down and was downright sunny and warm (warm for April anyway). Can't wait to go fishing!

Photo Copyright © 2005, Jon McDermott
Location: Seattle, WA

2005-04-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

2005-04-20T21:51:00.000-07:00