Dutch and such

I came upon the term “Dutch Uncle” on the Interweb the other day and decided to learn more about this curious phrase. That led me to a site with excerpts from the Culture Shock! Netherlands book, where I’m learning about all things Dutch. It’s pretty fascinating, actually. I was quite impressed with the Netherlands when I visited for business a few years back and though I’m not due to return any time soon I do admire the Dutch people and culture.

As a sailor I appreciate that the Netherlands has one of the world’s richest maritime heritages. Also the Dutch’s penchant for travel, and personal freedom. Hmm … maybe I was Dutch in a former life. Who knows?

Ducting

Some WRAL viewers had trouble watching the channel yesterday morning and wondered what was happening. WRAL’s crack team of meteorologists checked into the issue and found a strong temperature inversion to be the culprit. Nate Johnson describes the phenomenon in the station’s WeatherCenter blog.

I worked extensively with radio while in the Navy. Once I was blown away when I tuned in San Francisco FM radio stations from 800 miles away in the Pacific! This phenomenon still fascinates me, if you couldn’t tell!

Annie Louise Wilkerson park

Yesterday morning the kids and set off on a preview of Raleigh’s upcoming Dr. Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve park. I’d heard about it from my Parks board meeting and wanted to see it for myself, so we all got drinks and snacks, loaded the dog in the car, and headed north.

The park is very much like it was when Dr. Wilkerson bequeathed it to the city. A long, winding driveway leads into the middle of a woodsy expanse of property, with two big meadows at the center. Two homes and a barn stand testament that this was the doctor’s home for over 40 years. Tall grass in the meadows long in need of a cut is the only thing that seems out of place.
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A pirate listens at 40

Kelly and I saw Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band again last night, courtesy of a friend’s comp tickets. Jimmy and the band played Raleigh on their “SummerZcool” tour, and while they did play here last summer, band appearances have become rarer in Raleigh lately. I’ve never understood why this is the case, as Jimmy has consistently sold out here. I admit to wondering what we might have done to upset him.

We rolled into Walnut Creek Amphitheatre around 6:30 with a little time to check out the crazy parking lot scene. There were Parrotheads everywhere and we had to scramble for one of the few parking places left in the lot. I was in awe at the kind of machine Jimmy has built in thirty-plus years of touring. The guy gets little or no airplay and yet he still attracts a huge following of loyal Parrotheads.
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Playing for Change

During the “recess” in last night’s Jimmy Buffett show, I was captivated by a music video shown of various international singers singing Bob Marley’s One Love. Watching these talented, diverse singers perform this beautiful song was powerful and spellbinding, so much so that a minute went by before I noticed Jimmy had quietly wandered back on stage, strumming a ukulele and singing to himself with the video. It’s all part of the Playing for Change foundation.

More of this, please!

Owl calling

Around 5 AM this morning I was dozing happily when my attention was drawn to a quiet but repetitive sound outside our bedroom window. A Great Horned Owl was saying good morning from the nearby woods. It may have been the one we’ve seen recently, that last made an appearance in our back yard in March.

I listened to it call for about ten minutes before it meandered away. In the calm, quiet morning, I found this hooting especially soothing. It was a nice reminder that nature is all around us.