Lostnoiz.com

It's been a long time....

2012-01-08T01:37:00.001-05:00

Today was the first day of my vacation. It's been a

long, few months and it seemed like a good time to take

some days off. I woke up this morning and decided to go

see my sister Deatra and her family. They live roughly

3 hours from me, near Yanceyville, NC. When I

arrived, shortly after, my other sister Donna showed

up. Below is us together again...it's been awhile.

Deatra is married and has 2 sons, a step son and

daughter and is expecting another in April. She's

on the left. Donna has a son and a daughter...

she's on my right. Below is a picture of me with

my nephews and my niece. From left to right:

Jeremey, Wesley, Grayson (all Deatra's) and

Simona (Donna's)

We went to lunch and afterwards decided to

go see the old house we grew up in. It's located

in Southeast Guilford County...just outside Greensboro.

I personally haven't been in the place in at least 20

years. My Mom and Step Dad have long since passed

and we haven't had much reason to go back. The old

house had fallen into other hands and owners and we

had always heard of it's dismal condition....but I

have always wanted to go back regardless.

We got there around 5 pm. The yard had actually

been cleared (it used to to be too grown over to see

the house) and lucky for us, was vacant and the front

door was unlocked. Below are pictures I took inside...

click to enlarge....

The stairs up to my old bedroom...

My old bedroom...notice the short door...

it's only about 4 1/2 feet tall...

The beams on the vaulted ceilings upstairs...

A wall in my old bedroom...

We used to call this room the 'Orange Room'...

not sure why. It's a small room off of the master

bedroom. Me and Deatra used to share this room

during very cold nights...

The front corner of the master bedroom.

Behind the house, is a hill. There is a pond at the

bottom. This is a view from near the pond.

Me and Deatra used to climb this tree...

it's in front of the house, to the left. A lot

bigger now....

Spent many an hour playing basketball

on this dirt court...

Another childhood pass time....climbing to the

roof....I still have it!

Me, Jeremey and Wesley scaling the house as

Deatra watches...

The old front door....

Jeremey on top....

Great to see the old place. It's a shame no one

is really doing anything with it though. Tons

of trash inside but all it really needs is to be

cleaned up....that and, I'm sure, a ton of work.

But it's still standing. Seems to still be solid.

Was a great way to spend the day....it's been way

too long.

Until next time....

Nassau...part 3

2011-11-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

Below are more pics taken in Nassau. We're

back home now, work in the morning..dammit.

It was a very nice trip, we had a lot of fun. I have

more pictures to post as soon as I get them developed.

We had to buy a dispoable camera for the 'bubble

sub' ride and I'll get them up asap...click to enlarge..

Until next time....

Nassau....again

2011-11-05T17:41:00.001-04:00

More pics from Nassau...click to enlarge

Nassau..Paradise Island, Atlantis Resort

2011-11-03T16:36:00.000-04:00

Below are various picture taken while at

the Atlantis Resort in Nassau....day one.

Click to enlarge....

The water really is that blue...

...until next time.

Strabismus surgery

2011-09-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

I just got home from eye surgery. I've always had a

'lazy eye' (..the left eye...) and today, they fixed it.

They actually adjusted both eyes. Kinda weird. They

did most of the procedure while I was under, but they

woke me up to do the final adjustments. Not very

painful at all but a little discomfort. My eyes look like

hell though...the blood should be gone in a week or

two. My face is a bit swollen as well (as should be

expected..). Below is the picture I just took, about

2 or 3 hours after being under the knife.....

Happy Halloween!

Until next time....

Finished Deck....

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

Around 5 pm yesterday, in the blazing hot sun, I put the

finishing touches on the new deck. I added the lattice below,

finished screwing down all the deck boards, and attached

a access panel for underneath storage on the deck.

Lessons learned:

1. You never have enough decking screws...always buy twice as

much as you think you need.

2. Don't build a deck during the summer....it's way too damn hot.

3. Screw the budget....it never falls with in it.

After 3-4 days working in the hot sun, I did finish the project.

I woke up today to nice, cool 65 degree weather....perfect for

working outdoors....D'OH!

Until next time.....

September Vacation

2011-09-14T19:47:00.000-04:00

September vacation....

Two days into my time off, I decided to rebuild

our deck. Below is the before picture....

I removed all the old decking boards. Then I replaced them with

new ones and put up a rail. Then I added new stairs that were

relocated. I'm still not done...I'm going to add lattice below

the deck tomorrow morning.

Up next: recently we took in a neighborhood

cat who was pregeant. Long story short: she

had the babies. The below pictures were

taken on the new deck.

You need a cat.

Until next time......

Vacation part 2

2011-06-17T19:15:00.000-04:00

A few more various images from our time

off......click to enlarge.

The Train museum in downtown

Wilmington.....definately not worth $8...

Not a very good picture but a full moon

over Carolina Beach....

Today....overcast day but a nice at the beach

Some old dirty Hobo's at the Train Museum

A Sloth skeleton at the Cape Fear Museum

Until next time................

Vacation part 1

2011-06-12T19:39:00.010-04:00

We are actually taking some time off. No real

plans, just relax and do...whatever. Below are

some pics of whatever....

I actually pass this place every time I go to

Charleston (not a vacation destination...), I don't

know if it offends me or amuses me....both I guess..

Ever wonder what's at the top of the giant

dude at South of the Border? Well, it isnt a

working phone.......

...just this view.... We scoured South of the Border for something, anything worth buying.....I found this....score!

We then hit 501 and took the 'Deliverence' route to

Myrtle Beach. The place is so different now from

when I used to go...but then again, that was roughly

20 years ago. I always wanted to take the helicopter

ride...so we did. $20 it ain't, don't let the billboards

fool you. We opted for the 'Garden City' route...

south of Myrtle Beach over the coast. Below are

some pictures...click to enlarge.....

Video below

Until next time....

May 24th....

2011-05-24T20:10:00.003-04:00

Burn, Outer Banks, Burn!

I smell a riot goin' on!....

Okay.....I woke up in OBX to nice conditions.

Around noonish, I went to the Kill Devil Hills

store and by the time I left the store, the

'smoke' had rolled in. Apparantly, some

swamp or something is on fire west of the

Outer Banks and the wind is pushing the

smoke onto the island. Below are some pictures

I took...

Approaching Roanoke Island...

The picture below is somewhat editted.

You can see where the smoke is rising from

the distance..the source of all the bad

conditions......

________________________

I am at home now. Good to be home, if only

for about 12 hours......

Back to Chucktown tomorrow.....

Until next time......

May 23rd

2011-05-23T21:35:00.002-04:00

Day 2.....went to Virginia Beach to Norfolk and

then onto the Outer Banks. Below are the pictures

I took......

This sign is about 3 blocks from the

Virginia Beach Oceanfront....

Leaving Virginia, I took the old 'historic

Albemarle Highway'.....$2.99 Watermelons!

Off the Albemarle Highway, lies a beast

known as...GRAAAAAVE DIGGER!

...more monster trucks....

...then, onto the Outer Banks. This is the bridge

that takes you directly into Kitty Hawk...

.....tomorrow, I'm coming home.

Until next time.....

May 22nd

2011-05-22T19:46:00.002-04:00

I'm on a swing thru Virginia and the Outer

Banks. There's really not a lot to see on 95

North....virtually nothing. I started to see

a few things of interest when I was looking

for gas in Williamsburg. The pics are not

that good but, again, they were done while

driving. Up first:

This is a tunnel on the Colonial Parkway..

...and yes, my windshield is cracked.

It happened about the time I sent the last

payment off. Next, is the sign at the

entrance to the Parkway....

Tomorrow, it's Virginia Beach area and then, hopefully, onto Kitty Hawk....I made reservations tonite, so with a bit of luck, I'll make it by 6 pm... Until next time.....

May 13th

2011-05-14T08:15:00.002-04:00

Just got back from another road trip.

This time, I hit Florence, SC, Amelia Island,

Florida, St. Simon Island, Georgia, Hilton Head,

SC and back home (Wilmington, NC) all in about

39 hours. Below are a few pictures I took

when I could.....click to enlarge...

_________________________________

At an intersection near the Florida/Georgia border

South of the Border, SC (day break)

Approaching the bridge to St Simons Island

_________________________________

Two reasons South Carolina rocks harder

than your state.....

1. Hot Dog Buffets.....

2. Big Al's Lawn Service....Old Skool prices...

_____________________________ The prior mentioned deck in our backyard...

with roof completed.....

Ol' dirty butt Thomas.....

....until next time.....

May 5th

2011-05-05T18:51:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I actually had Saturday

off. The building bug bit me and I decided

to put a roof on our free standing deck in

the backyard. Below are some pictures of

the progress.......

On Sunday, I worked a half day and came

home to finish the project. I did finish it but

I failed to take pictures.....I get 'em up soon

enough.......

Next are pictures I've taken while I've

been driving in Virginia. I've been in Wlliamsburg

down to Norfolk and only a few pictures were worth

putting up.....maybe even these aren't that good

BUT it's something....click to enlarge ANOTHER traffic jam in Norfolk (Downtown tunnel) Getting ready to enter aniother tunnel....

....until next time....

Dashboard photography

2011-04-27T18:12:00.003-04:00

I think I've figured out a way to keep this site

alive. I'm not much for continuous updates

(obviously) and it's not like I'm gonna decree

some deep shit here (unless you count my

dreams....deep maybe, weird, yes..). During

my travels on the new job, I've meant to

stop and take some pictures. The stopping

part always screws me.....BUT...I still

always have the camera with me. I have

found that I am quite capable of taking pictures

while driving at highway speeds. Below are

some I just took while on a trip thru

Charleston, South Carolina......

Click to enlarge....

___________________________________

Storm clouds forming over 17 South...somewhere

around South Myrtle Beach...I think.

________________________________________________

..the 'Skyway' that connects Mt. Pleasant to Charleston...

_______________________________________

Until next time........

Dream last night.........

2011-03-21T19:37:00.002-04:00

I had a dream last night….a weird one. Lately, I’ve been dreaming of work so the day blends into the night. Not last night: I was at the house I grew up in, an old log house (yep, log house) in Greensboro, NC. I have not been in this house since about 1993ish. There was a bit of panic in the air, like the type when a tornado warning has been issued. It was me, my Mom (RIP for a while now..) and another person, who seemed to represent my girlfriend (Robbin) and my sister (Deatra) combined. I went to the top of our driveway to investigate the ‘panic’. Where we lived back then, the driveway was at least 500 feet long, this was the country. In the distance, to the right (from the Mills Point Road direction…..personal reference..), there was a disturbance coming. The religious ‘End of Times’ was coming. For an Atheist to have a vivid dream of this, IMO, is odd. It felt real…..really REAL. Leading the disturbance, was a catholic-esqe garbed guy, Complete with robe and all. People were marching with him, along with children. They were shouting things like ‘the end is near’ and there was a certain ‘doomsday’ feel to the whole scene. The children marching with this guy were spouting bullshit, like “all you KIA drivers are going to DIE!” (like owning a foreign car decides your faith….though this does play into current events, kinda…). While the over-realous religious youth often have their facts all fucked up, not in my dreams, DAMMIT! But yet there they were……coming down my childhood driveway….. I (in dream world..) ran back to our house….the log cabin. They (my family) were packing up. It was like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and Dorothy saw the storm….. They were heading for higher ground. The end was near. No shit, like on Some religious ‘the end is near shit’. Outside, the skies started to get dark. Inside, we were scrambling to get our shit and get going. Apparrantly, the YMCA was a safe haven, and it was and is, very close to the old house in Greensboro. Inside the old house, my family was grabbing very little, and just wanted to get going. The procession outside had cycled out and was well on it’s way to warn others. The end was near for us. Inside the house, I was going around, carefully turning off lights, when my Mom said, “It doesn’t matter, it’s all going to be destroyed anyways”. She believed that the end was upon us, and even in my dream, the Athiest in me emerged and I smirked and answered, “Okay, but I’ll just turn the lights off anyways….” Thinking that tomorrow, we’d be back, un-packing our stuff after the false alarm. Out in front of our home was an old 4 door Chevy-Buick….whatever.. an old car that was there to devise our get-a-way to the YMCA…. again, a safe haven during the apocalypse….this is when I woke…the first time……… This is one of those dreams when you wake up……and go back to sleep…. And resume your dream……. When I returned to the dream, we were trying to get everything important Into the get away car. This is when the ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ in me emerged. We had ourselves packed into the car and I saw ‘Graycie’, our current baby, rubbing against my leg (amongst the chaos). We grabbed her and put her in the car. Then I looked around and saw cats everywhere. I climbed to the second floor of the old house, from the outside, to try and retrieve some of our cats. The end was near, we wanted our cats to come with us to the YMCA. Then I saw ‘Blackie’ our newest cat…she got picked up. We started to look frantically for ‘Bat Man’…our beloved cat whom passed about 2 months ago. I saw her, and started after her. I was ripping thru sheetrock and studs to try and get to her. Meanwhile, the car, the Buick…or whatever, with my Mom and everything in tow, was really getting anxious to leave…. After all, the end of times was upon us. I looked at the ‘Robbin’ in my dream, and we both uttered, “We love you Bat Man.” And we both started to cry while she got in the car. We thought we were going to have to leave her……. then I turned around and started to rip away at the house, trying to find Bat Man. I became frantic and was tearing away studs and sheetrock. I could not find Bat Man. The skies really started to get stormy and the end was nearing quickly. I looked around and the car was gone! I stopped to look around and to my right, where the old wood pile was at, lay Bat Man, licking her paws. I cautiously approached her, thinking she might run if I came up on her quick, and when I got to her, I reached down, snatched her up, and started to run towards the woods behind our old house…if you went thru these ‘woods’ behind our old house, eventually, you would end up at the YMCA….and, in my dream, the safe zone…….. …the end. Did we make it? I don’t know….blame fucking Model Store Walk for the lack of an ending…… ….I had to go to work when I woke up.

Bat Man

2011-01-08T12:40:00.010-05:00

A little under 3 years ago, Robbin and I bought a house in Wilmington. After a few days in the house,

we discovered something that came with the house

that wasn't advertised: Bat Man the cat.

Ol' Bat Man quickly made herself at home with

our other kids, JuneBug, Beettle Juice and Tom Tom.

She did establish herself as the Queen quickly, though.

We never knew where she came from but we quickly

realized that we had scored big time: Bat Man was an

awesome cat! She (yeah....'she'..) 'talked' in many

different tones, she snuggled like nobody's business,

and loved her some milk.

Bat Man coming in on a warm day.....

Bat Man was a scrappy cat. She was a bit 'high maintenance'. We had to take her to the vet and have some surgeries done periodically, but she always rebounded. Within a day or so, she was back to waking us up in the middle of the night, talking to us, especially Robbin, telling us in her many 'tongues' what was on her mind....sometimes with the accompanyment of of bite or a touch on your lips with her paw. She was never at a loss for words.

Bat Man 'high stepping' thru the kitchen.... When we were watching TV, Batty (one of her many nicknames: Bat Bats being another common one...), she'd waltz into the room and 'wave' to us as she entered. No shit, she'd wave. When she was placed on the bar stool, she'd get all cocky and swat at us...playing, of course. When she was napping, she liked to press her forehead against something, whether an arm or a wall. Most times, you could find her in the daytime, spread out on the living room floor, under foot, in her own little world. As long as you played by her rules, things would be okay. Her rules weren't hard to follow.

She loved catnip. Whenever she heard the 'cling' of the catnip jar being opened, she ran like a fiend to the roomwhere the sound eminated from. She was protective of us. Whenever she heard aggressive sounds, she came running, ready to protect her Mom and Dad. An ideal day in the world of 'Bat Bats' would probably consist of waking up to cat treats (she liked 'Temptations Creamy Dairy Flavor'....), chasing June Bugs for a bit, then going outside for a sunny cat nap on her deck. Then she'd wake up, more treats, some milk, and a romp around the house (..she'd chase me around the house as if we were playing tag...). Then Tv time, lay on her back on the floor, spread out, until bedtime. Then go to bed, tell Mom about her day and go to sleep, after pawing at Mom's face. Most days were like this. I am fortunate enough to say this. Batty was a gift...we often say she 'came with the house' much like someone would speak of a hot tub or something like that. We got the better deal. We scored.

Last spring, we put a few water features in our backyard. Alongside these, we built a free standing deck. Bat Man declared this area her own. Many a day (...night...morning...) you could find her in the chair to the right, taking a cat nap. This became her domain.

Bat Man on her deck.......

Bat Man laying in the sun.......

Today, I had to have Bat Man put down. She had developed a tumor which was hendering her breathing and she was struggling to enjoy life. I would've given anything to keep her around, she made our lives rich. On of the best cats I've ever had...if not the best. She made our life better.

I guess we have nothing to regret. We always kept her up-to-date on her vacines, regardless of our financial situation. She always had treats. She had run of the place. We always expressed love to her. She had a good life with us. You just hate to see it end but that's how things go. We did our best and I know that she knew we loved her more than life itself. RIP, Batty......you were the best companion. We love you..........

Enjoy your rest and I'll save the chair on the right for you, Batty, we'll remember.....

December 31st at the Outer Banks.....

2010-12-31T19:46:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning in Kitty Hawk, NC.

North of Kitty Hawk, I drove thru Duck and

saw these images below.....click to enlarge...

...not often you see snow and ice

at the Outer Banks.

Happy New Years!

Until next time.....

December 26......

2010-12-26T18:57:00.004-05:00

It's the day after christmas. It's snowing

in Wilmington, NC. Graycie is enjoying

her first snow.......

.......happy holidays!

Until next time.......

From Virginia to Florida....

2010-11-20T18:25:00.002-05:00

With my new job, I travel a lot......

A LOT. I cover roughly Williamsburg,

Virginia down to Amelia Island Florida.

This past week, I hit every store I have

(39) in between. I always carry my

camera though I rarely have the time

to take pictures. Occasionally, I do remember

that I have the camera with me and grab

a few shots. Below are some of them....

The Outer Banks....Kitty Hawk

Suffolk, Virginia....beautiful fall colors here..

....we all know this place....

.....as I get better with my time

management, I'll get more pictures up.

There's a lot of cool things to see in this area.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Until next time........

Saturday afternoon at Beaufort

2010-10-16T19:48:00.003-04:00

Downtown Beaufort, NC

Below are from a graveyard in

Beaufort......grayscaled in

honor of Halloween....

click to enlarge and enjoy

Happy Halloween!

Until next time........

Malcolm

2010-10-04T13:20:00.001-04:00

....rest in peace, Malcolms.....

Mid to late September at the beach....

2010-09-22T15:58:00.002-04:00

....first things first: it's STILL really

nice here. If you have the chance, this,

to me, is one of the best times of the year

to come to the coast. The water, still

VERY warm and the air is a bit cool

though still warm enough to enjoy a

day at the beach.

Lately, there has been a lot of

rough surf (rip's have been bad for

the past week or so...) but a bad day

at the beach is still better than a

good day at work.....below are

pictures from the past week......I

hear there was a hurricane somewhere

out in the Atlantic (plus some lunar

activity..) that caused the unusually

high surf action.....click to enlarge.....

......until next time......

September morning.....

2010-09-14T09:54:00.002-04:00

....until next time.....

September......

2010-09-11T19:18:00.007-04:00

It's been roughly 3 years since I

moved to Wilmington. Three YEARS.

Before I moved here, I used to

vacation a lot around Morehead

City and I always loved September

at the beach. The crowds were gone,

the air was cool, the water was still

WAY warm and the rooms were

half price! It is an absolutely great

time of the year here at the beach.

Below are some pictures I've taken

around the area the past few weeks.....

First: Fort Fisher

I ran out to Fort Fisher a few days ago...more

like a week ago.....I discovered that at the end

of the road, there is a jetty that one can walk

across......with decent shoes, mind you, it is

very slippery....... Click to enlarge....

...it will take you to an island! I did'nt

know this existed until last week.

I did not make it to the island on

this day but I will......

Next.....Carolina Beach.

We went today, after work. Cool air,

warm water, no crowds.......excellent

conditions.....click to enlarge.

...and finally, home sweet home.

Below are pictures from the backyard.

The state port is visible from the backyard.

You can see a distant shot and a zoom

of a ship being serviced at the port....

...and last but not least.....

The obligitory cat picture of

the week......

Beetlejuice in the backyard.......

...until next time.....

Hurricane Earl...part 2....Now with Video!

2010-09-02T19:54:00.014-04:00

After work, I ran to the

beach for further updates.

First stop.......

Carolina Beach.

Big ass waves...rough surf.

Below are the pictures....

click to enlarge.....

Next stop...Kure Beach Pier.....

click to enlarge.....

...and then....

Fort Fisher.....

After coming home, I stayed

awake until roughly 10 pm.....

it never even rained here.

Below are a few videos I

grabbed while at the beach.....

...enjoy.

Hurricane Earl....part 1

2010-09-01T16:15:00.003-04:00

Alright now.......I went to the beach

today around noon. The great parking spot

kinda foreshadowed what I found: very rough

water, big waves, bad ass rip. Red Flag

Day. Not a whole lot of folks on the

beach (though there were a few...).

Other than that, it was beautiful out

there. The water is still very warm

and clear for the most part. It may

be hard to tell from the pictures, but

the waves were huge (by Carolina Beach

standards) and the water was washing up

(very noticeably) higher than normal.

I stayed about 2 hours and as I was

leaving, the life guards were instructing

everyone to get out of the water.

I hope to get back out again, tomorrow,

after work.....things should be impressive

considering what I found today and, also,

considering Earl isn't that close yet....

Enjoy the pictures......click to enlarge...

The above picture shows best the scale

of the waves versus people while the

below shows someone who doesn't

seem to mind at all.....

...until next time......

Getting old......

2010-08-29T17:30:00.004-04:00

First things first.....

Hurricane Danielle's effect on

Carolina Beach is evident below.

High rip currents, very rough surf.

I went out today after work to take

a peek even though I knew I wouldn't

be able to swim (red flag day). Big

waves and a horrendous rip was what

I found.....below are the

pictures...click to enlarge...

....and that brings me to this.

This past year has been a year of

reunions. Thanks largely to Facebook

and Sidney Smith (whom encouraged

me to join Facebook), I have been able

not only to reconnect with a lot of

friends online, but I have been able to

meet up with a few here in Wilmington...

living at the beach has it plusses...about

everyone comes here at some point....

This past week, I got a message that an

OLD friend was coming to town (or close

to it...Wrightsville Beach...). I got his

phone number and called the next day.

It's been about 20 years since I saw

Brian Plaster....we met up, hung out,

and had a good time. He currently runs

Johnny's of Carrboro....in, oddly enough,

Carrboro.....and is doing very well....check him

out on Facebook (search 'Johnny's of Carrboro')

Below is a picture of us then (1988) and

us now (2010)....very good to see him.

...until next time.

Mid August.....

2010-08-23T18:49:00.004-04:00

Not much to say...just

enjoy the pictures.....before

you know it, it'll be cold as

hell and we'll all be bitchin'

about how we

'wish it were summer'

again.....I'm gonna enjoy this

beach thing until I'm sick of it!

Click to enlarge......

Don't take shit for granted.....

...until next time.

Late Morning Rain....

2010-08-18T16:03:00.005-04:00

I landed in Carolina Beach today

around 10:45ish am.....over cast but

the rain never lasts long at the beach,

seemingly, so I plopped down and

waited it out.....it came and went a

few times, keeping it cool, which was

nice seeing as to how it's been hotter

than hell lately. I caught the pictures

below between downpours (as not to

get my camera wet...).....

Click to enlarge and enjoy....

New pictures......

2010-08-09T19:34:00.004-04:00

The first few pictures were taken...well...a few

days ago. Not sure exactly when. These were

taken on Carolina Beach. I was surprised at

how close the boats were to the shore...there

seemed to be (and I am NO expert) a few

shrimp boats that went back and forth and

a few 'fishin' boats....hell, for all I know, they

were looking for tar balls...

Click to enlarge....

.....and then onto today.

Beautiful day. Short day at work, packed up and

went to the beach. Clouds were wild....

.....there was a 'rip current' advisory....

really wasn't that bad......

....rain was looming on the horizon.....

...rain did not come...just a wild sky.

Enjoy the pictures......until next time.

Day off.....

2010-07-28T19:07:00.003-04:00

Latest.....

2010-07-21T18:18:00.004-04:00

Angry Top Sail surf......

Return to Topsail.....

2010-07-06T09:30:00.004-04:00

After a very long and rough weekend

(Fourth of July weekend is absolute HELL

in a grocery store....), we finally had Monday

off after working everyday since Thursday.

Seeing as to how the last trip to

Topsail was so nice and I figured Carolina

and the other places here would be crowded

beyond belief, we hit the road northward.

After about 35 mintues (give or take...), we

landed in Topsail. It was crowded as hell too

but we did find a good parking spot (..a

FREE parking spot....). The water was

the cleaniest and clearist I've seen in years.

Perfect day for the beach....around the low to

mid 80's...both water and air. We stayed

for at least 4 hours or so, maybe longer...

wasn't paying attention to time.....below

are some pictures.....click to enlarge and

enjoy.....

Oh yeah, believe it or not, another

Sand God made an appearance....same

spiel.....'Beach House Fund'....blah, blah....

....silence again.....

......'beer..beer'......

And this one looked a bit like the

"Welcome Back Cotter' dude....a bit

less threatening than the other one....

or it could that bastard 'Oates', back

for revenge....

.....I hope the waves took care of him.

Anyways, great day at the beach....Topsail

is pretty kick ass, don't let anyone tell you

otherwise.....

Obligitory Cat Picture

....someone smells food.

Until next time.......

And up from the sands, burst the Sand God.....

2010-06-28T17:21:00.002-04:00

....and he beckoned to all to

donate to the 'Buy Randy Suits

a Beach House Fund'......

....then there was silence..... ....after a moment or two, he started to rumble again....

....."and furthermore" he continued,

"...thou shalt buy him beer, too."

Ya'll better listen to him....he kinda

looks like a cross between Rush Limbaugh

and George Bush Jr...and THAT can NOT

be good...for ya'll......

Until next time.....

Topsail Island

2010-06-14T17:41:00.003-04:00

Today, we took a quick trip up to

Topsail Island....we've never been

during beach season and I wanted to

try something different. We loaded

up the car and headed up 17 North....

First thing I noticed....FREE PARKING.

Love it already. Beautiful day, water was

great. The waves were great, they just

roll in long barrels...or whatever you

call it.....shells everywhere. I even

found a star fish but let it go when I

discovered it was still alive....no picture

though. We ate at this ocean front

place called 'Buddy's' (I believe that

was the name...). Good food but over

priced....but the view was great....it

overlooks the ocean and neighbors

a pier.....

I loved it, I will go back the next

chance I get. I just can't beilieve it

took us sooo long to finally go....

Click the images to enlarge...

....until next time....

June 10th.....

2010-06-10T19:40:00.003-04:00

A few things.....

Caught some cool pictures today on the

back deck of a storm system rolling

in......check 'em out below and click to

enlarge.......

.....I forgot to mention that Bat Man

was present and helped out....

....and lastly, below are pictures of

my latest project in the backyard. So far,

3 ponds (each with pumps and a feature),

a buttload of river pebbles, a few palms,

and a new free standing deck/platform

to look at it all......the cats dig it, too.

This has been my first update

since upgrading to the new laptop.

I've uploaded with imaging stuff and am

still getting used to it..so far, so good.

Until next time....a lot of new stuff

to look at.....

A day in the life.......

2010-05-19T17:52:00.004-04:00

Not much going on today....did some yard work, listened to some old favorite CD's while re- painting the shutters ('Illmatic' and 'Yo, Bum Rush The Show'), mowed the yard, etc....then I realized how f'n hot I was. Hosed myself off, put on the trunks, packed a bag and went to the beach. Stopped at the Food Lion (my loyalty runs deep....) for a case of beer on the way....(god bless Carolina Beach for allowing such behavior..public drinking....with in reason). I planted my ass right on the edge of the water (high tide peaked today around 12:30ish), popped open a brew, grabbed my book ('Kalki'), and just...relaxed.....see pic below...

....but anyways....as always, I took some pictures while there. There was a storm coming into Wilmington about that time, though it never made it the beach...thankfully. From the beach, the clouds appear very threatening....you keep thinking 'I better pack up now' but I was holding out, hell, I had a book to finish, not to mention a few beers left (I did NOT take the case with me onto the beach...even I have limits..). Below are the pictures...click to enlarge.

Well, the rain never came to the beach, I finished the book (and a few beers) and got some quality swim time in. The water is roughly 70 degrees now and today, the ocean was perfect...not too rough and just enough waves to make it fun. I got used to the temp pretty quickly too. I really need more days like this. Until next.......

Random stuff.....

2010-05-15T13:34:00.004-04:00

We just got this picture...it's hanging in the master bathroom....really. It was found somewhere around Whiteville in a second shop....I wasn't there but I would've been all over it had I been there. Take a moment and check it out.....

Does anything about this picture make sense? I haven't been able to crack the riddle..if there is one...nor do I 'get it'. Cats smoking in the boys room in what appears to be old school cop outfits. It does amuse me though so it is a certified 'Great Find'..... Next is more sky pictures from the back porch....they HAVE been editted....enjoy and click to enlarge as always....

...and lastly.....the notorious B-A-T.....Bat Man... ..came with the house....one of the best cats I've ever had......she (yeah 'she'..) doesn't smoke though.....or wear cop outfits...

...until next time......

First swim......

2010-05-06T18:23:00.004-04:00

Today after work, we went to the beach. Around 85ish inland, on the beach...roughly high 70's....though VERY NICE. Today was the first day that I actually jumped in overhead and swam. New record.....May 6th, while the prior was around the 15th (I think..).... It is still pretty damned cold, but it depends on how much you WANT IT. I want it. So I survived. I got used to it quickly. Below are the pics I took while there.....enjoy. Beach season is HERE!!

Beach Report

2010-04-27T10:11:00.012-04:00

We went to Fort Fisher yesterday. Very nice day, about 80 degrees but the water is still WAY too cold (for me, anyways) though there were some guys waist deep in it. Got a very good 'sand blasting' as the winds were whipping around.....butt loads of seagulls, too. We're thinking of switching to Fort Fisher this year as 'our beach'...Carolina raised their parking fees again (bastards) and it's free here....we'll see how the crowds are in season..... Anyways, below are the pictures...enjoy and 'click to enlarge'...

BTW....the cats have taken over

...until next time.....

It DOES Snow at the Beach....

2010-02-13T17:39:00.009-05:00

The above picture, while blurry as hell, was

taken last night (2-12-2010) at Carolina Beach just to the left of the Pavilion/Boardwalk area.. ______________________ Last night, after getting my ass handed to me by various 'snow scared' customers until 7 pm, I came home thinking "It's not gonna snow." Got a call from Broman (old friend) and while talking, Robbin (my girlfriend) told me that we were getting 'flurries'....see below....and click on the images to enlarge....

It really started to come down. I got off the phone and thought that we should go to the beach, I mean really, how often do you get to see snow at the beach? So, we bundled up, grabbed the camera and took off towards Carolina Beach....the closest to our house. The time was roughly 11 pm, maybe a bit later, but we arrived intact. Below are the pictures we took.....snow at the beach...

The above were taken at the Boardwalk area........

Snow meets ocean...above...

ME.......at the edge of the world, during a snow storm......with a Penguin hat on...

I climbed a 'Life Guard Stand' to take this picture (above)......

Then we came back home. We got roughly 4 inches of snow. Below are pictures of when we got home.... about midnight....

While dumping these pictures on the PC, I discovered a few more......below.....

..another sunset in the Dubbya Eye Elle Emm...

'June Bugs'....ready to help with dinner...

'"Cranes, Trains and Blue Skies"...generally....

One fat bastard of a cat named 'Thomas"....

Thomas and "Juice"...who is a bit camera shy.... _________________ Until something else comes up..........

Possibly the best ending to a movie ever made....

2010-01-08T10:02:00.003-05:00

I fell asleep last night while watching IFC (movie channel on satellite..) and then woke up around 12:30ish to the below scene. I wish I had known the movie was coming on and I would've found SOME way to stay awake (or DVRed it, whichever...) to catch the whole thing again.....love this movie. The ending, while super violent and graphic, is almost emotionally moving, in a fucked up kinda way. The song mates up perfectly with the characters and the situation that they are in at this point of the film....... Great movie...The Devil's Rejects.. enjoy....

I might be insane......

2009-12-30T08:46:00.002-05:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I updated the site and this is a weird ass picture to kick things off....but, it amuses me. First things first: I quit smoking thanks to Chantix. One of the assumed/warned side effects of Chantix is vivid dreams. When the doctor told me this, I explained to him that I normally have crazy dreams anyways so, hopefully, Chantix may normalize them (such as 'speed' calms a hyper child...see Ritalin...) For a few nights, I did actually sleep better and have somewhat normal dreams (or at least what I'd consider normal). Months later, I quit taking the Chantix and am still NOT smoking (thank you, Chantix, I did not think it was possible......) but at times, my dreams remain vivid. SUCH AS LAST NIGHT. During the course of my sleep last night, I dreamt (is that a word?) that I was involved in an 'Insult contest' with Oates (of Hall and Oates fame). There were rules to this contest as well, as one had to present the other with a phony 'certificate' and follow it up with an insult to compliment the 'certificate'. I don't recall the initial joust but I remember nailing him with this one: as I handed him a folded piece of paper, I said "Here's a gift from the 'Puss'n'Wuss'...it's for a facial and a moustache trim'....." He gave me this super smug 'fuck you' smile and replied "Oh yeah..? That's because you smoke sooo much pot!" John Oates is not known for his zingers, obviously. And, for the record, I have NOT SMOKED WEED in years. So fuck you, Oates. I woke up just at this time....trying my damnedest not to laugh out loud...hell.. it was around 3 am. I can not recall the last time a dream woke me up laughing.....I've woke up freaked out and all but not laughing. And damn, like he didn't smoke pot, too....he's probably at the 'Puss'n'Wuss' right now getting his 'stache trimmed....your welcome, Oates!

More sky.....

2009-10-03T16:16:00.003-04:00

Old comic strips....

2009-08-02T17:32:00.005-04:00

Years ago, I used to make small press comics (from around 1995-1998..). A small press comic is a self made, self produced, self published comic. You make NO MONEY doing this shit. Anyways, I got he attention of this guy in Louisiana, who did the same but wanted to put together a group comic...importing talent from across the USA and he'd publish it and send it out to any and all interested. This is what I sent him.......it's fucking weird.....

Click on images to enlarge Yeah, it don't make a lot of sense. Basically, there's this stupid kid who plays with pots and shit and while playing with them, he gets one stuck on his head. The end. It was met with mixed reviews. Some thought I was bashing retarded people...maybe...not really bashing. There is a back story here but I don't feel like telling it now. There is more to the Scotty McPottie saga...go to may facebook stooge page and see.....

Sunsets in Wilmington (from the backyard...)

2009-06-11T15:47:00.004-04:00

Where we live in Wilmington, we are located just behind the state port, which is directly on the river (Brunswick..Cape Fear...whichever one hosts the Battleship..). One of the nice things about this area is that there is a lack of 'backyard neighbors' (unless you consider trains and a port neighbors..) and you get a great view of the sunsets during the year. Below are some pictures I've taken of three different sunsets over the past month or so... You can click on the images to enlarge them....

Renovations

2009-02-04T15:05:00.008-05:00

A few before pictures

The kitchen was covered in old tongue and groove panels with a bizarre islandish bar thing sticking out in the middle of the room. First thing was to rip it out and open up the wall into the living room......

Underneath the paneling was original plaster which had to be cut out. I saved what plaster I could but certain walls had to be completely torn out, as below.. Had to hang new sheetrock on the ceiling as well as most of the walls..... Ran new lights (5 cans,1 ceiling fan, and a bar light), built two pantries on a wall where there formally was 2 old non-working wondows, moved back door and replaced it with a new one, moved window and replaced it with a bigger, new one, made a permanent built in cat door.....

Crown molding then came next....

Then the cabinets arrived....

Then the install of the cabinets (thanks Bob!)

Then the paint goes up.....

...oh yeah, and hung a microwave...

Then the floors went in...

This is about all the photos I have now but there's a lot more to see. The counter tops have been in- stalled and the floor, for the most part, is finished. I'll post more when time permits but for now, here's a fairly dramatic before and after comparison...

September 12th, 2008

2008-09-12T18:04:00.014-04:00

Last night, we just back from a small vacation upon which we traveled to upstate New York. While we were there, we drove up to Niagara Falls (on Tuesday the 10th). Everyone I spoke to told me to go to the Canadian side of the falls but I lacked a passport. I figured that seeing it from the American side would have to do and we drove into Niagara Falls, New York anyways. First things first: the city of Niagara Falls, New York is a shit hole. Dirty and ghetto. Nothing to see there. While trying to find our way to view the falls, we accidentally pulled into the entrance to Canada (Ontario to be exact...). We thought, what the hell, and pushed forwards. We paid a toll of something like $3.50 and pulled towards another booth, where a guard quizzed us on who we were, why we were there, where we were from, etc. You can get into Canada if you have a driver license and a birth certificate and/or a passport. All we had were driver's licenses. The guard instructed us to pull aside at the imigration office and told us to go inside. We did and after presenting them with our ID's and a 10 minute wait, they told us to enjoy our visit to Canada. YOU DO NOT NEED A PASSPORT TO GET INTO CANADA! After hitting the Canadian side, we traveled back to the American side to view the falls from there. The American side is much more like a natural park, as opposed to the Canadian side, which is far more commercial. Both have their pros and cons. The best views are from the Canadian side, though you have to put up with all the foreigners....well...uh...I guess we were foreigners on that side but dammit, at least we speak English! All bullshit aside, both were nice. Below are pictures of the American side..... Click on the image to enlarge...

Below are pictures of the Canadian side.

Click on the image to enlarge.....

The images may be a bit foggy but it is due to the mist that comes off the falls (particularlly the Canadian side on this day..). The falls emites a mist that practically 'rains' upon you. In some of the pictures, you can see a boat that will take you into the falls (called the Maid of the Mist) though we did not do it due to time constraints. Great trip, definately worth the 2000 miles traveled.

Hurricane (or Tropical Storm...) Hanna pictures...

2008-09-05T20:02:00.004-04:00

Today is September 5th, 2008, and (yeah, I suck at updates..) Tropical Storm or Hurricane Hanna is fast approaching. I went to Carolina Beach to try and get a few pictures of this up coming storm and they are posted below. The waves weren't that damn big but the ocean did look rough. This being my first major storm since arriving at the coast, I was some- what intrigued.......enjoy.

The Russian Bear, April 26th, 2008

2008-04-26T22:30:00.003-04:00

Tonite, April 26th, 2008, I had the pleasure
of meeting Ivan "The Russian Bear" Koloff. He
was performing at an ICW show here in Wilmington
against Marc Ash in a Russian Chain Match.

He was very approachable, considering he is a
legend. This is the man who beat Bruno Sammartino
for the WWWF title way back when. I used to see
him wrestle at the Greensboro Coliseum back in the
early to mid 80's. He was always a top draw and
one of the top heels everywhere he went.

I approached him with caution, not wanting to insult
him with my petty wish to have my picture taken with
him. He was extremely welcome to the idea, stood up
beside me, and said something to the effect of "How's
my hair look?" Really a nice guy. It was great to
see a true legend and have a photo taken with him.
I have more pictures of the show but none are more
important than this one. Thank you, Ivan.......

April 21, 2008: USS North Carolina

2008-04-21T17:08:00.002-04:00

Today, we went to the battleship USS
North Carolina, the famed tourist
attraction here in Wilmington. It is a
challenging, self guided tour thru an
true World War II battleship. It was
cool and a bit of a work out. It has
numerous tight staircases and
corridors and, from what I've heard,
is miserably hot in the summer. Take
a bottle of water. Definately worth the
admission if you think you'd want to see
a battleship up close. I've only uploaded
a few pictures here but if you go back
to Channel Zero, there is a video playing
on the Photography channel.

April 19th, 2008: Carolina Beach State Park and the Zoo

2008-04-19T17:40:00.009-04:00

Today, we hit the road and went south, towards
Carolina Beach. The first stop was Carolina Beach
State Park. Below are a few pictures of the place.
They offer camping, a boat ramp, fishing, and
hiking. And it's FREE, a rarity around here. It's
a pretty big park and grab a map at the visitors
center. Even with that, you'll probably get lost on
the trails, though it is a pleasant hike along "Snow's
Cut". To get there, upon entering Carolina Beach,
across the bridge, look for the signs to the right.
It's right there....easy to find and a decent way to
spend an afternoon.....

Next, is this Zoo that is off of 421, headed towards
Carolina Beach. You can't miss it; going South, it's
on the left, just before the "Snow's Cut Bridge".
The admission was just $8, which compared to
all the other places we've spent $8 on, it was a
pretty good deal. A surprisingly varied collection
of animals, alot of which I've never seen, even at
the Asheboro Zoo. The thing I hated about the
Asheboro Zoo was that it was so large, and too
few animal sightings between all that walking
you do. This place offers many sightings of
creatures (Giraffes, alligators, Lemurs, Tigers,
Monkeys, Bears, reptiles, and a lot more..)
all within a very short walk. It only covers about
10 acres and is open from 10 am until 5 pm.
For the money, well worth it. One of the better
Zoo experiences I've ever had.
Below are some pictures.....

April 12th, 2008 Orton Plantation

2008-04-12T19:10:00.006-04:00

Today, we travelled to Orton Plantation. It's about 3o minutes
outside of Wilmington, going towards Southport/Oak Island.
It costs $9 to tour the gardens. Is it worth the admission?
Nope, but if you were to travel here, you could also visit
Brunswick Town, which is pretty much a neighboring
attraction which is free and then the price doesn't seem so
bad. The gardens are nice, though, it only took roughly 45
minutes to tour. Below are pictures I took of Orton Plantation,
there are no pictures of Brunswick Town.

To get there, take Highway 74/76 West from Wilmington and then
exit onto Highway 133 towards Southport. Keep going until you see
the signs.

Thanksgiving Day at Wrightsville Beach

2007-11-22T17:03:00.001-05:00

November 10th, Topsail Island

2007-11-11T20:26:00.001-05:00

October 31st at Fort Fisher

2007-10-31T18:58:00.000-04:00

Something different

2007-10-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

Click to enlarge

October 15th

2007-10-15T21:40:00.001-04:00

October 11, 2007

2007-10-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

October 8th

2007-10-08T19:04:00.000-04:00

Went to the beach today after work.
It's still hot as hell, like about 90 degrees
today, but the temperature is supposed
to drop around Wednesday, so
I figured I had better go down to the
beach while the weather permitted.

The water
is still warm enough to swim in, though.
Surprising that's it's October. A lot of
people on the beach at 5 pm, too. I took
these pictures while I was there....

September 28th

2007-09-28T22:47:00.000-04:00

Below are pictures I took
in downtown Wilmington

September 22nd

2007-09-22T20:40:00.000-04:00

Went to the beach today after
work. There was a storm system
coming towards the beach while
I was there. Meet a bunch of
pigeons, whom are a hell of alot
more friendly than the sea gulls...

New pictures

2007-09-15T18:30:00.000-04:00

I recently traveled down to Fort Fisher,
took a ferry to Southport and kicked around
Oak Island (Yaupon , Caswell and,
I believe Long Beach). Took a few pictures
while I was there......

a tree in Southport

A lighthouse on Oak Island

A seagull hitching a ride to Southport

Caswell Beach (Oak Island)

Wilmington area pictures

2007-09-08T20:02:00.001-04:00

Wrightsville Beach

Kure Beach Pier

New home

2007-09-08T19:17:00.000-04:00

I have landed in Wilmington, NC. New pictures of my surroundings as they become available.
Stay tuned

Defsville Daily News

2006-10-07T20:17:00.000-04:00

Once Upon A Time, I Was A Rapper....

The other day, I was going thru some crap in my home office. It was a bunch of cables and shit, you know, like RCA's and USB's and the like. I came across this audio jack I bought years ago, it's one of those headphone type of jacks. I bought it at Radio Shack so that I could hook up my stereo to the PC via headphone jack to the audio input on the back of my computer. I wanted to be able to upload old tapes of mine to the computer, so that I could clean them up, edit them, and ultimately, save them to disc, so they'd be available later on. The main objective was this old tape I had of this rap group called the "NuBreed".....

'NuBreed' was an un-signed group hailing from Highland Avenue, Greensboro, North Carolina. The members of this group were MC Roo (Anthony Earl Roland aka Chewy), South Paw (Dwayne Hamlet aka John Brown) and Lostnoiz (yep, me motherfuckers.....). Once upon a time, I was a rapper.

The approximate timing of this recording was 1994. These were crazy years for me, as I was full swing into my drugged out phase. Weed was as regular as food and water, not to mention the acid, shrooms and 'x'. MC Roo and Lostnoiz shared a rental house in the heart of the ghetto, right besides 'Smith Homes', near the Greensboro Coliseum. South Paw, affectionately reffered to as Bru-man (from the Martin Lawrence show..forget the name...) practically lived there with us. Every night, we'd sit in the small living room, smoking bongs and blunts, playing techmo bowl and listening to hip hop. We LOVED hip hop, particularly and all wanted to be a part of it. So wwe started our own group, which I named 'NuBreed' (NU...derived from 'NUbian, and BREED meaning our [Roo, Noiz, SouthPaw] kind..).

I went out and bought a mixer, a microphone and 2 shitty turntables (which I quickly returned when I discovered that I could 'scratch' with..) and hooked all this stuff up to my stereo, an old rack style, silver faced bastard. Me and Chewy (and Bru-man most of the time...) would sit in the 'Florida Room' (our plant filled dining room) and write lyrics for hours with the smoking bong setting between us. All the prior mentoined equipment resided in this room as well. When we felt we had written enough material, we'd turn everything on and burn the mic, usually recording everything we did on cheap cassette tapes, until early in the morning. The neighbors didn't seem to mind too much, the crack house across the street straight didn't give a fuck.....

Needless to say, 'NuBreed' never got signed to any label. Hell, we never even completed a demo. South Paw is suspiciously absent from these recordings as well, as, I assume, he was at his girl's house at the times of these recordings, whomever was his girl at the time. Erica, I would imagine. Most of these recordings are forever gone. Again, this was 1994, 12 years ago, about 5 or 6 moves from the present, and seemingly, a lifetime ago.

In, I believe 1997, MC Roo, Anthony Earl Roland, died.

He died in that same house on Highland Avenue, in Greensboro, North Carolina.  The same house we'd shared for more than a little bit.  He died
in his and Pam's (his girlfriend) bedroom, laying on his back with the phone off the hook, with a connection to 911 still live, from what I was told.
This era is still a blur to me, as I hadn't completely sobered up yet.  South Paw had called to tell me, though I had foreshadowed this in my own
creative outlets in my new life in Winston Salem (more on this later...).  On the way to his wake, I smoked a fat ass joint, which I shared with Jody,
my girlfriend at the time.  She questioned it, and I told her,"He would've wanted it this way....." and I still to this day, believe that.  When we arrieved
at the funeral home, I saw people I hadn't seen in years (Chewy and I went to high school together...Southeast Guilford High School..).  I
walked into the viewing area and saw Pam.  I walked up to her, without words, and hugged her strongly.  "He thought the world of you..." she said.
I then went over to his casket.  He was laying in there with a football jersy on (he loved the Washington Redskins more than life....).  I put my hand
on his chest for a moment, hoping that whatever energy was still there, would suck up into me, so that he could live on...within me.
I don't remember a whole lot about the rest of the day.  He was taken back to Waldorf, Maryland, where his Dad lived, to be buried the next day
(at least that's what I recall...)

Years later, I don't know where Pam is (Pam Ingold!!!! dammit), Bru-man moved to Atlanta years ago and has a new life with kids and everything (Dwayne Hamlet, John Brown!!!) but we haven't talked much
since I moved to Winston Salem.  I do, though, have this cassette tape of MC Roo and Lostnoiz, 2 of the 3 MC's of 'NuBreed' in my possession.
The last few days, I hooked up the stereo to the PC with that aforementioned Radio Shack jack, and uploaded this entire recording and I have
started to give it the final mix, the 'NuBreed' demo.

It maybe 13 years late, but it's now getting the attention it deserves.  When it's done, I'm not sure what I'll do with it.  I've lost contact with
everybody who would probably care and, maybe, that's why I'm now doing it.  When you die, who's gonna remember you?  10 years after
you fucking die, really, who's gonna remember?  What are they gonna remember?  Why are they gonna remember?  What if all folks remember
is the mistakes you made?

MC Roo made alot of mistakes.  Anthony Earl Roland made alot of mistakes.  Chewy made a ton of mistakes.

Don't we all?....

MC Roo made a rap group that was ahead of it's time. Anthony Earl Roland made Pam Ingold happy. Chewy made alot of friends.

This one's for you, Roo, I remember you and I'm sure alot do too. Soon the world will have access to your music and then you will live on forever....

NuBreed is coming......

Thanks...........