Horton Deakins's Blog, page 20

Is anyone out there?

Dear loyal followers–if you exist.  Actually, I know of only one person who regularly follows this blog.  If you (others) are out there, I need to hear from you via the contact link at the top.  Otherwise, I've got a lot hotter irons in the fire than  to waste time playing with this blog. 

As do most people, I 've got a real job.  I might have written a book; in fact, I might have written a darn good book, maybe even one of the best books you'll ever read.  I'll go one step further and say Time Pullers might make into one of the best movies you've ever seen, but that is not in the works, and writing does not pay the bills.  In fact, I've never made even one red cent from my writing; quite the opposite, I've had a lot of expenses in conjunction with my writing.  It has been a rather expensive hobby, and I'm not sure I can even justify taking any tax deduction in conjunction with it, since, again, I have seen no income from it whatsoever.

Unfortunately, writing is a hobby I can no longer afford.  It was, at best, an experiment.  Again, I think there are many who could be quite enthusiastic about my book, but alas, there are few who know about it; thus, there are few who have or ever will read it.

Here's the bottom line, amigos: From here on out, unless I hear from you–any of you, I will update this blog, at most, once a month.   I know that is not frequently enough to sustain a following, but, as best I can tell, I have no following.  So, what's the point?  Only you can tell me if there is a point.  Right now, I can't see it.  BWOT (Big Waste of Time).

Tom, I'm sorry.  I know you read this blog and peruse my photos, but I have to study for the CompTIA Security+ exam.  I'm being forced to get this certification, even though I'm not a network person–I'm a software developer.  This whole deal sucks.  It's a very difficult certification to pass, requiring years of experience, and, realistically, you need the A+ and the Network+ certifications as prerequisites, neither of which I have.  Again, I'm not a network person, and whoever decided that I need this has Acme bricks for brains (I'm being nice), but it's that or lose my job.  Well, all I have to say is that those decision-makers better hope that I'm never made king.  Public burning at the stake comes to mind, and, in case you didn't know, burning at the stake was not typically a quick death.  No–slow roasting was the order of the day.  Just ask William Tyndale.  But I think burning at the stake is too good for them.

I'm not going to take this blog down–for now–but at some point, if it cotinues to be clear that no one is visiting it, I definitely will.

Jetzt–zwischen Leber und Milz, passt immernoch ein Pilz.  Es tut mir leid, aber ich kann es nicht mehr tun, weil alles ab gef***** sein.  Adios.  Sayoonara.  Au revoir.  Dasvidaniya.  Later, gator.

 

Continuing Royale-ly

Good evening, guten Abend, buenos tardes, konbanwa, bonsoir, buona sera. This evening I'll be showing more pics of our Mayan Riviera trip.  If I remember correctly, it was about 25 miles (30 km) south of Cancun.

Beach vollyball

 

Rocks on beach

Protected seawater pool

Fish in protected pool

Free and easy

 

 

Why isn’t there cocoa in coconuts?

There’s milk, at least.  Here’s a few more photos of our Mayan Rivera trip from 2004.

How 'bout them coconuts?

By the by, it’s an urban legend that 150 people are killed each year by falling coconuts.

A pleasant-looking plaza

I don’t know why this picturesque little area was so empty.  Perhaps it had something to do with being January.

 

Another shot of the plaza

Giant chess and ocean from our room

View of main pool from our room

Resort grounds to the southwest

Closer view of one of the pools with a swim-up bar

Jacuzzi tub in our room

One of the moats

Preparing dinner on the beach

Towel rabbit

The housekeeper used little bits of plants to create the rabbit’s face.  That is a rabbit–right?

 

 

Why isn't there cocoa in coconuts?

There's milk, at least.  Here's a few more photos of our Mayan Rivera trip from 2004.

How 'bout them coconuts?

By the by, it's an urban legend that 150 people are killed each year by falling coconuts.

A pleasant-looking plaza

I don't know why this picturesque little area was so empty.  Perhaps it had something to do with being January.

 

Another shot of the plaza

Giant chess and ocean from our room

View of main pool from our room

Resort grounds to the southwest

Closer view of one of the pools with a swim-up bar

Jacuzzi tub in our room

One of the moats

Preparing dinner on the beach

Towel rabbit

The housekeeper used little bits of plants to create the rabbit's face.  That is a rabbit–right?

 

 

El Dorado Royale

El Dorado Royale, an all-included resort

Exactly eight years ago, we concluded our ten-year anniversary trip to the Mayan Riviera on the coast of Mexico, just south of Cancun.  It is a beautiful, all-inclusive spa resort.

Me, snorkling

Here I am, examining the ocean bottom in the clear waters inside the semi-protected area bounded by a breakwater constructed from giant sand-filled bags.  They pumped the sand through a pipe to fill the bags, and at first glance they appear to be beached whales.

 

Beach scene

Here's a shot of the cabanas and grass umbrellas on the beach.  Behind them you can see the type of lodging we had.

Massage area

At these more secluded cabanas, one could experience a massage right there on the beach.

Utility trike

Hotel workers rode these tricycles to deliver fresh towels and other supplies to the rooms.  There were wide pathways everywhere.

Trike in action

And here's one of those workers now!

In the dim light of ...

… the setting sun?  No, I wouldn't presume to insult your intelligence that way.  I'm sure you must know that the beach faces the Caribbean to the east, so this is the pre-dawn sky.  But it would have been nice to have a sunset shot to conclude this installment of our  record of our El Dorado Royale experience.  So, let's just imagine we're looking west.

Results of the readers’ poll

I just found a blog where someone else posted the top ten entries in the Preditors & Editors poll for the Sci-Fi category.  Far be it from me to waste time and space duplicating eeffoorrtt, so here is a link to the other blog.  You will see that my book, Time Pullers, came in fifth place.  Check out the link for the comments on my book.

Results of the readers' poll

I just found a blog where someone else posted the top ten entries in the Preditors & Editors poll for the Sci-Fi category.  Far be it from me to waste time and space duplicating eeffoorrtt, so here is a link to the other blog.  You will see that my book, Time Pullers, came in fifth place.  Check out the link for the comments on my book.

Continuing with the river cruise

Here's a few more pics of our Devon cruise on the Oklahoma River.

Refreshments

Coaches for rowing team

Rowing team

All together now

Captain at the wheel

Stopped at the lock

Lock opening

 

The entertainment was provided by Edgar Cruz

If you're not familiar with Edgar Cruz, he's a world-class guitarist who calls OKC home.  If you haven't heard him, you should make an effort to find one of the many places where he makes appearances.  Click here for his website.  He has made numerous CD's, and his repertoire seems endless–a living jukebox.  He played every request, and played them all very well.  Just be kind and let him get warmed up before you request Malagueña.

 

Edgar Cruz

Edgar Cruz

OKC at dusk

Downtown--before the Devon Tower

One last trip through the lock

Night shot of lock

Night Shot at End of Cruise

We come to the end of the "Edgar Cruz" Cruise.  These lights were attached to the bridge supports and changed colors frequently.

 

 

Oklahoma River Cruises

If you haven't been back to Oklahoma City in awhile, it has changed a lot.  Many years ago we had "urban renewal."  More recently it has been the restoration of "Bricktown," the creation of a canal system, or "river walk," and a new ball park to rival any in the country.

The North Canadian has had several dams and locks added to it, and the section that flows through Oklahoma City is now called the Oklahoma River.

Tonight, I'm going to give you the merest taste of what an Oklahoma River cruise is all about, but it's late, and the point in time when our blue orb rotates  into a position where the lat/lon I'm writing from has a line of sight to ol' Sol is rapidly approaching, and it waits for no man (i.e., I gotta work tomorrow).

Here are a couple of pics:

We rode on this boat and enjoyed being serenaded by Edgar Cruz

The boats carry in the neighborhood of 16 passengers, give or take.  On weekend evenings, perhaps limited to certain seasons, one can enjoy entertainment and refreshments on such a cruise.

Check it out

Go here to see more and perhaps buy tickets.

Can't get enough beach

A few more Hawaii beach scenes.

Beach from the shade

It's been a long time since we were on the beach; even longer since it was a Hawaiian beach.

Calm seas, warm beach

 

Polly want a cheeseburger in paradise?

I probably wasn't supposed to take photos of these colorful creatures–I think someone was charging folks to have their picture taken with the birds.

If you can't swim--float

 

That's one way to get a shower

 

Mmmmmmmmm...