Gary

PS - "live through season changes" will take on a new meaning for you if you read Ice. In his second arctic winter, his boat is foundering in a storm so he sails her hard up onto an iceberg to keep from sinking. This bends his propeller shaft. He spends the arctic night alternatively beating ice off the rigging to prevent the rig from collapsing under the weight of the ice, and using his limited hand tools to try to straighten the propeller shaft. All the while living with Nelson and they eat this stew that he has continuously cooking. This was the 2nd arctic winter he and Nelson endured, on a two-year voyage in which he had I think 2 ports of call! Jones had to be the most self-sufficient, indefatigable and persevering man I've ever heard of. He had limited formal education, so the writing is direct and easy to read...as I said, great bed-time adventure stories.

In engineering school my fluid mechanics class had a 'show-and-tell' lab where they demonstrated this phenomenon, as I recall they called it a "hydraulic jump".

Tristan Jones, in his book The Incredible Voyage, wrote of this phenomenon occurring at the mouth of the Amazon River. This book, and another of his called Ice, are some of the best bed-time reading ever!

In TIV, he somehow got in his head that he was going to have a voyage to take his little boat on a sailing trip that would navigate the lowest (Dead Sea) and highest (Lake Titicaca) bodies of water in the world. The hydraulic jump part occurs near the end, after he portages up from the Pacific to Lake Titicaca, sails across Titicaca (evading patrols for crossing the border), and sails down the Amazon back to the Atlantic. This guy made McGiver look like a mere Boy Scout.

In Ice, an even better read, he set himself the task of sailing further north than any other documented sailing vessel. He converted a tug into a sailing boat (astounding enough), and then set off with a 3-legged 1-eyed dog that his friend had bequeathed to him before his friend passed away. Seriously, it's sooooo strange, you can't make this stuff up!! He spends 2 winters locked in arctic ice, through months of darkness, and manages to return with the dog.

Great for bedtime reading as each chapter is only 3-4 pages. Hilarious, astounding, and highly enlightening. You won't regret reading these books!

http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/23568/ … ive+miles/

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2010/11/09

Times are tough, everybody is in debt and living on credit.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.

The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times

and has had to offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.

No one produced anything.

No one earned anything.

However, the whole town is now out of debt and looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a "stimulus package" works

Defence Attorney:
Will you please state your age?

Little Old Lady:
I am 94 years old..

Defense Attorney:
Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened the night of April 1st?

Little Old Lady:
There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening,   when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.

Defense Attorney:
Did you know him?

Little Old Lady:
No, but he sure was friendly.

Defense Attorney:
What happened after he sat down?

Little Old Lady:
He started to rub my thigh.

Defense Attorney:
Did you stop him?

Little Old Lady:
No, I didn't stop him.

Defense Attorney:
Why not?

Little Old Lady:
It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Albert died some 30 years ago.

Defense Attorney:
What happened next?

Little Old Lady:
He began to rub my breasts.

Defense Attorney:
Did you stop him then?

Little Old Lady:
No, I did not stop him.

Defense Attorney:
Why not?

Little Old Lady:
His rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. I haven't felt that good in years!

Defense Attorney:
What happened next?

Little Old Lady:
Well, by then, I was feeling so 'spicy' that I just laid down and told him
'Take me, young man. Take me now!'

Defense Attorney:
Did he take you?

Little Old Lady:
Hell, no! He just yelled, ' April Fool!' And that's when I shot him, the little bastard

The old man headed straight for the only saloon to clear his parched throat. 
He walked up and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.  As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... Never really wanted to."
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said,  "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet.

The old prospector --not wanting to get a toe blown off-- started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.  Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.
The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. 
The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.
The crowd stopped laughing immediately. 
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.  The silence was almost deafening. 
The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever licked a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... But... I've always wanted to."

There are a few lessons for us all here:
Never be arrogant.
Don't waste ammunition.
Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
Always, always make sure you know who has the power.
Don't mess with old men, they didn't get old by being stupid.

To the first mother, Mary, he said, "You are obsessed with eating.  You've even named your daughter Candy."

He turned to the second Mom, Ann: "Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turned to the third Mom, Joyce: "Your obsession is alcohol. This too shows itself in your child's name, Brandy."

At this point, the fourth mother, Kathy, quietly got up, took her little boy by the hand, and whispered, "Come on, Dick, this guy has no idea what he's talking about. Let's pick up Peter and Willy from school and go get dinner.