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R e p o r t s

Hi,
Given the fact that you're new grandparents thought you might get a
kick out of the attached photo. It's my granddaughter Sydney in a Baby Kate, stable enough for the living room floor and as a toy box. My best for the holidays.
Steve Fisher

this is going around again and i assume you've seen it.....
Bruce Armstrong

This photo is from a posting on www.skiffamerica.com Check out journeys (Lake Mead) and is one of many from Donovan's last trip. (Lake Mead) As usual, very nice pictures of a great trip.

Kilburn Adams


"A man came out in a dugout canoe like this and told us he could easily have us killed by a bolt of lightning. All he needed was a strand of hair from each of our heads"

Recent report from cruisers in the South Pacific.

Whew! That's some heavy JuJu.

Chris Ostlind


The Truth about Tools

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing seats and motorcycle jackets.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes in fenders just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the original sin principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16" or 1/2" socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your coffee across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to say, "Ouc...."

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering a motorcycle to the ground after you have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front fender.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering a motorcycle upward off a hydraulic jack.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.

BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under motorcycles at night. Health benefits aside, it's main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 40 years ago by someone in Sindelfingen, and rounds them off.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

Contributed by Bruce Armstrong


boat test...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 12 -(New York Times)- When the 250-foot Odyssey Explorer docked here this week to unload a trove of gold coins and valuable artifacts from the wreck of the Republic, a 19th-century steamer, the Explorer's deck was a blur of activity, bristling with the modern technology now necessary for the recovery of sunken treasure.


Gerhard Seiffert, above, right, uses video monitors on the Odyssey Explorer to map the location of shipwreck sites. Above, left, an underwater research vehicle is used on dives to the Republic.

A seven-ton submersible robot held pride of place. Its flexible arm was equipped with tiny suction cups made of soft flexible plastic for carefully picking up rare coins that can fetch up to half a million dollars each. The robot is one example of the sophistication and technological precision of this salvage effort, which leaders say surpasses any previous shipwreck salvage.

Among the treasures brought to land this trip were coins, ceramic pots, 600 glass bottles and some samples of technology from another time - a telescope and the ship's barometer, which probably fell rapidly as the storm grew in strength.

The recovery has not always been smooth. When the robot gingerly picked up its first gold coin, it fumbled, dropping it back onto the seabed instead of into the impromptu holding tank, an old chamber pot.

One year and more than 52,000 coins later, the team has set new records in deep recovery. From the disintegrating hulk of the sidewheel steamer that sank in 1865 about 100 miles off Georgia while battling a hurricane, the robot has plucked gold and silver coins valued at more than $75 million. And it is pursuing billions more in lost treasure.

"We've gotten really good at picking up coins," said Greg Stemm, director of operations for Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. of Tampa, Fla.

The Republic lies a third of a mile down in the strong currents of the Gulf Stream. The main wreckage lies scattered over an area nearly the size of a football field, making its discovery and recovery a challenge.

Finding it took special sonar. Photographing it for archaeological surveys and artifact collection took powerful lights and cameras. Mapping the position of each artifact took precision gear linked to a network of sonic beacons set up around the wreck. And lifting 52,000 coins and 12,000 artifacts - the haul so far - took the precise control of a tethered robot nearly the size of a tank, its arms dexterous enough to thread a needle.


More than 4,600 digital still photographs of the Republic's wreckage were turned into a detailed photo mosaic. The main wreckage lies scattered over an area nearly the size of a football field.

"It's all about computers and digital technology," Mr. Stemm said. "It adds a whole lot of archaeological capability to the operation."

"We're doing it to an extreme that nobody else has taken it to," said Tom Dettweiler, the project's manager and a deep-sea veteran who helped discover the Titanic's resting place.

Clad in dark blue overalls, James Andrade, a supervisor of robot operations with a weight lifter's build, showed off a high-tech control room crammed with panels and video monitors. At sea, the recovery work can go around the clock, day and night, tedious despite the high stakes.

"Most important," he said, "we have satellite radio and an espresso machine."

The Republic sailed from New York on Oct. 18, 1865, bound for New Orleans with families, businessmen and a diverse cargo of trade goods meant to help the shattered South recover from the Civil War, its passengers brimming with optimism and a sense of opportunity.

The storm hit off Georgia. For two days, the steamship fought wind and wave. Then the engine failed. The crew and passengers threw cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But the pumps failed and seawater poured in.

Most people made it into lifeboats and a raft. Of 59 passengers and crew, 42 survived. But the cargo of money - $400,000 in coins, as described in newspapers of the day, including The New York Times - went down with the ship.

Mr. Stemm and his partner, John C. Morris, began looking for the Republic in the early 1990's. Nothing came of the periodic hunt until July 2003, when, some 100 miles southeast of Savannah, they picked up a tantalizing image on sonar screen. Within a month, the team had positively identified the decomposing wreck by retrieving the ship's bell.

Experts estimated the current value of its lost coins at up to $150 million. Odyssey, a public company, hopes to make a profit mainly by selling coins and setting up shipwreck museums and exhibits.

Late last year, team members flew the tethered robot about 15 feet above the wreckage, taking more than 4,600 digital still photographs and turning them into a detailed photo mosaic.

"We can zoom in on domino stones and see the dots," Gerhard Seiffert, the team's data manager, said as he demonstrated the technique at a computer, zooming in on an old domino made of wood and ivory.

USCG Auxiliarists spear-head:
"Operation Phone Home"

Members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary in the Fifth Northern District, are showing their support for the thousands of Active Duty and Reserve Coast Guard members who are serving their country away from home this holiday season.

"Operation Phone Home" entailed Auxiliarists, who are America's volunteer Lifesaver's to purchase out of their own funds telephone cards. The Campaign closed on 31 October with more than $4,100 collected.

This represents in excess of 310 phone cards purchased, each with 200 minutes of talk time.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians that assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. You'll find these men and women on the nation's waterways, in the air, in the classroom and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, Safety Patrols, Vessel Safety Checks and Public Education.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the volunteer civilian component of Coast Guard Forces. Founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the US Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated the Auxiliary in 1941, the 35,000 members donate millions of hours in support of Coast Guard missions.

For more information about boating safety, contact your local Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla, by contacting your local Coast Guard unit, or look us up on the Internet at https://www.cgaux.org.

Wayne Spivak

Press Release:

Progressive Epoxy Polymers Announces It’s Two Part Aliphatic Linear (LPU) Polyester Polyurethane Available in 100 Colors

Pittsfield, NH - Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. today announced it will now offer two part aliphatic linear polyester polyurethanes in over 100 different colors. The product will be called PARKER POLY™. Packaging is 1.5 gal units (1 gallon of the Part A and half gallon of the Part B). The product is approximately 50% solids (50% VOC). A color chart is available online at www.epoxyproducts.com/parker.html or can be purchased for $6. PARKER POLY™ will sell for $155 per 1.5 gallon unit.

Two part urethanes are considered the most durable of brush/roll/spray on coatings and Polyester Polyurethanes are considered the most durable of the two part urethanes. Commercial and industrial users often use these chemical resistant urethanes in chemical plants and waste water facilities. They also are commonly applied over epoxy floors because of their durability, long lasting gloss and color stability. Companies and products like Awlgrip™ have established polyester polyurethanes as the premium grade yacht finish in the marine world.

PARKER POLY is a major addition to Progress Epoxy’s existing polyurethane line which includes a white polyester polyurethane called LPU 100™ ($135 for a 1.5 gallon unit) which is 60% solids (40% VOC) and Acrylic Poly UV Plus™ ($80 per gallon) which is a clear two part acrylic polyurethane with maximum possible UV blockers. The UV blockers are rare additions in clear-coats but keep epoxies and other surfaces from yellowing and other UV related damage.

Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. is a multi-vendor supplier of epoxies and other coating products for marine, industrial, and residential customers. Their business is primarily from their web site on-line catalog and storefront. They can be found at: www.epoxyproducts.com. For additional information email them at
info@epoxyproducts.com

============================================

PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal
info@epoxyproducts.com
https://www.epoxyproducts.com
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