Just Joined Pinterest

Veronica has been participating in what I would call a "sharing network" called Pinterest.
She talked me into joining. So what is Pinterest??? Pinterest is a web site that you can create "bulletin boards" that can comprise of almost anything that you want...likes, dislikes, travel, photography , favorite places and spaces, art, crafts...just to name a few.
Pictures/photographs are used to share your theme or ideas with others.
These pictures/photos are pinned onto your "board" and others can view them and re-pin them onto their board(s).
The whole idea is basically to be able to share  thoughts, ideas, likes and dislikes with others using the pictures/photographs.
If people like what you are putting on your bulletin board, they can "follow you" and you can do the same if you like what someone else has pinned onto their board.
I created 2 boards on Pinterest....Travel, Photography and Favorite Spaces and Places. I am using many of the photographs that I have taken over the years and have decided on which board I want them to be on.
If you have a moment please stop by and take a look at my boards. Just click on the following link to get there....Follow Me on Pinterest

Our Brief Visit To Manteo

On Thursday Veronica and I had a bunch of errands to run culminating in Veronica getting a body massage at a local business in Manteo... Better Body Massage. Veronica had nothing but great things to say about her massage. She would like to go back there again.
While we were in the Manteo area, Veronica and I decided to pay a visit to the Manteo waterfront area.
The area is on the sound side of Manteo and consists of several streets that have various stores including arts, crafts and other handmade items. There are several specialty retails shops along with various restaurants in the area.
Unfortunately most of the shops were closed for the off season. We were able to go into a couple of shops that were open and enjoyed browsing in them.
We also had a chance to walk the waterfront area.
I took a few photos of the area.
In order to get the most out of a visit there, we will most likely stop be the area again as their season begins in order to find more businesses open.
Just walking around and enjoying each others company and the sunny weather was fun.
Above is a weather tower where they collect weather data and raise the appropriate flag based on weather conditions and wind speed. Below is a posted chart that explains what each color flag means. The center sign also shows how high the water rose at the location where the tower is, during Hurricane Irene. 









Rule number one of photography....never get your photo taken when you are directly facing the sun , especially when you have blue skies and no clouds. Doing so makes your face look all gnarled and squinty...hmmmm...is squinty a word...it is now!



Our drive ended up taking us over a bridge and into Mann's Harbor where we found this boat called the Baby Bug.

The Answer As To Why The Costa Concordia Was So Off Course And Close To Giglio

Below is a copied portion of an article that was written by By Eric J. Lyman and Carolyn Pesce, USA TODAY and shown on USA Today online.
Here is the portion of that article that I copied and tells why the Costa Concordia was off course and so close to the Giglio:


The cruise line operator has said Schettino strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef. The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported.
Half an hour before disaster struck, the waiter's sister posted an entry on her Facebook page saying she had been told the ship was "going to pass really close" and sending "a big hello to my brother."
Antonello Tievoli, 46, the head waiter of the Costa Concordia, is "tormented by a sense of guilt" over the tragedy, his family said, even though he did not ask the captain to perform the sail-by.
His father, Giuseppe Tievoli, 82, said "Antonello called me to say the ship would be passing by the island at around 9:30 and they would come and give us a whistle to say hello. It was something they often did," he said.
"The ship obviously came too close," he said. "I don't know if Antonello asked the captain to come near, but the responsibility is always and only the captain's."
At 9.08 p.m., the waiter's sister Patrizia Tievoli, a teacher who also lives on Giglio, wrote on her Facebook page: "In just a little while the Concordia is going to pass really close. A big hello to my brother who will finally disembark at Savona to enjoy a bit of rest."
Hours later, after the ship capsized, she wrote: "A tragedy, a deadful tragedy. I can't believe it's true. I just hope I will wake up and realize that it was a nightmare. The longest night of my life."
She later posted a black and white photograph of the Titanic, dated 1912, next to one of the Concordia on its side, dated 2012.
She also passed judgment on the captain's claim that the rocks were not marked on his nautical charts. "Not very convincing at all!" she wrote.
The Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera reported that Schettino called Antonello to the deck to say "Come to see it, Antonello, we're right on top of Giglio!" That was moments before the crash.

To view the complete USA Today article, please click here...  USA Today Article

Captain Of Costa Concordia Refuses To Return Aboard Sinking Ship

Below is a link to an article and a video in which Captain Francesco Schettino, the Captain of the Costa Concordia, who had already taken to a lifeboat, can be heard talking to Gregorio De Falco, a coast guard official based in the western Italian port of Livorno.
Coastguard Raged At Liner Captain
Video

Ultimate Sacrifice Or Ultimate Gift

Here is a question...how many out there would be willing to do something like this?
A husband gives his wife the only life jacket that they had because she did not know how to swim.
He told her to jump after he had already jumped into the approximately 8 degree water. After jumping in she called out to her husband, who told her that he would be alright.
She floated on her back until rescued and he was never seen again.
The couples children gave there Mother the Mediterranean cruise as a 60th birthday gift.
For more details about this true story..... Costa Cruise Window Tells Her Story  and Husband Sacrifices Life Jacket For Wife
Our condolences to the family for their tragic loss.

Additional Videos of the Costa Concordia Ship Wreck

Below are a couple of rather interesting videos from the Costa Concordia ship wreck as taken by passengers on board the ship after it ran aground had its hull compromised and an a video taken from the air:






Here is a link to a Good Morning America show that had 2 American survivors from the Costa Concordia shipwreck. The video in this link is pretty interesting as the story is being told by this young married couple who had to tie sheets and rope together to escape to safety.... GOOD MORNING AMERICA story and VIDEO
Below is a video that shows the movement of the Costa Concordia by using data received by AIS vessel tracking system VT Explorer.

Costa Cruise Ship Wreck

Veronica and I have talked about going on a Costa Cruise and more specifically the Costa Concordia with its itinerary was a distinct possibility sometime in the future, but with this incident, I think we will pass and use other cruise lines to see the world.
I am not sure how such a thing could happen other than negligence. These ships have all kinds of instruments and modern technology to keep the ship safe and for this ship to end up so close to shore, run aground and end up with a 165 foot gash in its hull is beyond me.
Here is a link to a USA article about this incident...  Captain Arrested In Cruise Ship Wreck 
Here is a video discussing the Costa Concordia wreck:




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Followup On My Doctors Visit MRI Results

I am kind of behind on this blog entry. Life is full of "stuff" and sometimes you kind of get caught up in it all. Besides "stuff", I also had a cold for a little bit which also accounts for this late blog entry.
This last Tuesday I went to my doctor who had ordered an MRI for my problematic right knee. I had the MRI done about 10 days or so ago.
The doctor spent a solid 5 minutes flipping up the MRI sheets onto the light box. Each sheet had a good number of MRI pictures on them. After looking at each sheet he put them in 1 of 2 piles. I got the impression that 1 pile was the "good" pile and the second was the "bad" pile.
Upon looking them all over, he flipped a sheet on the light box and started to show me a few things that were wrong with my knee.
The doctor showed me where I had a torn meniscus on both the lateral and medial sides of my right knee.
Not exactly what I wanted to hear but kind of what I expected to hear. I had been down this road about 30 years ago when I lived in Lawrence, KS.
The good news was that there was no "water" or liquid on my knee that needed to be drained out and that because I was still able to move about with minimal pain, there is no rush to have my knee scoped out at this time.
The doctor told me that when I have had enough of my knee kind of doing its own thing, being unstable and at times seeming like it is going to completely go out from under me, to give him a call and he would schedule me for surgery.
So right now I am kind of in a holding pattern on the surgery thing.
Because it is still cold enough outside, I have been riding my recumbent bike for about 20 miles in the garage.
Other than a little tightening in my knee pit area, my knee has not started to revolt against me...at least not yet.
The real test will be when it warms up and I try to go for those long walks that I enjoy in the warmer weather.
I will buy me a knee sleeve to help give the knee a little additional stability and see how it does. If I start having a lot of issues with it during these walks, I will then get the surgery done but I am hoping that it will hold up until after we return from our 14 day cruise that is in September.
I am sure that there will be lots of walking during the ports of call that we will be visiting and the worse case scenario would be for my knee to really act up or give out during this adventure.
Only time will tell how and when I will have the surgery done, but for now I will just keep on pedaling on my recumbent bike on a trip to wherever my imagination decides to take me. 
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