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BeezleBub and I headed out on The Boat yesterday evening and made our way down to Alton Bay for their 4th of July fireworks show. On board we also had three of BeezleBub's co-workers from the farm: Rafael from Brazil, Yulia from Ukraine, and Irina from Russia.While Rafael has been with us out on the lake before, it was the first time for Yulia and Irina. It was quite apparent they had a great time. While fireworks weren't foreign to them, it was the first time any of them had experienced viewing them from a boat.
The trip back from the bay took longer that the trip there because it was dark and there was a lot of wave action generated by a couple of hundred boats making their way up a narrow bay after the show was over. Once we were back on the main part of the lake we were able to pick up the pace a bit, but still had to be mindful of the wakes from boats ahead of us.
All in all, it was a great time.
BeezleBub made the suggestion that we go out again tonight for the fireworks in Meredith Harbor, but I'm not sure I'm up to dealing with the wakes from a couple of hundred boats. In the dark. Again.
It's tough enough during daylight hours. Once a year is enough for me.
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Next, something of a bummer.Factory orders for durable goods dropped in May, something not unexpected. But it was how much orders dropped that caught folks unaware as the falloff was three times larger than expected.
It looks like Obama's master plan for economic recovery have met up with reality and have been found wanting. Of course he could do something radical (for him), like get government out of the way (and out of people's pockets) and let the economy fix itself.
Yeah, like that will happen.
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Oh, there's something I forgot to mention earlier this week.BeezleBub got his driver's license this past Wednesday.
I admit, yet again, that I am of two minds about this. I'm glad that he now has the means to get himself from place to place without our help. I'm also sad that he now has the means to get himself from place to place. I guess he doesn't need his old man as much as he did only a week ago.
On the other hand, he is still incapable of getting up when his alarm clock goes off, leaving it to me to drag him out of bed to get ready for work at 5:50 in the morning.
Somehow I think it's just an excuse on his part, not wanting let go entirely of what his dear old dad can do for him. I just wish it wasn't quite so early in the morning, specifically on my days off!
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If you've ever wondered about cats, and more specifically cat physics, then Bogie has a primer explaining the unexplainable.**********
As Instapundit notes, why is gas so cheap now?I've noticed it as well, seeing local gas prices hanging around $2.58 per gallon, down almost 20¢ since the end of April. We usually see prices start rising around Memorial day as the summer travel/vacation period starts. But this year it's been just the opposite. Marine gas prices on the lake are also lower than I would have expected them to be.