ARIZONA TO ALASKA

I did Google that site and it is very interesting. Have never seen a rig like that to be able to lift a boat and transport. Must be very effective. Kulluk should have hired them in the first place for transport to Seattle.

It looks like this with a regular oil platform taking a piggyback ride…



Something tells me that with the solid form of the Kulluk on board she will appear even less stable for a heavy sea crossing. I'd be terrified to be on board that ship!

If you can get decent photos and video footage of the loading and leaving Joe you could have a MAJOR Youtube hit on your hands.

Good luck!

That is one impressive ship and apparently a very busy one! Just a fast look-up on her: she sails under Chinese registration and I notice that COSCO is lettered along her hull. COSCO is a huge international (read that "Chinese") shipping and logistics company.

They are just another symbol of why China may very well "eat our lunch"; we didn't even think to bring a picnic basket. I am frankly awed by a shipping company that could conceive of such a vessel and moreover, build and market it. Of course, a huge difference is that China, in spite of all her faults is run by engineers and other highly educated individuals instead of the gang of boobs and rubes that we have inflicted upon ourselves.

I am very pleased that your kitties are taking the big adventure with you, to a point, and that osdianna will care for and shelter them until you can resume.

I am a little sad about kitties tonight. In the past two weeks, we have had to see two of ours put down. Not our pampered personal pets thank God, but two neighborhood cats that came to us for help. One was a huge (=FAT) tuxedo that we called Baby Black. BB was abandoned by his owners who had to move abruptly to Wyoming for work. The left their house with furniture and even two cars and two cats, doors and windows open with one day's notice.

Baby Black was a wonderfully house trained lap cat who hopped up in Muriel's lap and wanted petted and groomed the first time he came into our house. But, he suddenly sickened; he had Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus, FIV. He really had no chance of surviving and it would have cost us a fortune to even attempt to keep him going. Worse, he was a carrier and a constant danger to all the other cats.

The other cat was a small all black kitty who actually had sort of responsible owners down the street. But, they couldn't afford his vet bills. His teeth failed him and all needed to be extracted along with gum surgery which would have cost almost $2,000. He simply could not eat any regular cat food without crying out in pain.

I kept him alive for an additional three months by processing kitty pate in my Vitamix until it was total soup which he could lap up without any chewing at all.

Well, a few days ago, he was having trouble even with that. Pus was draining out of his mouth and his face was a smelly, crusty mess. I had tried to persuade the owner to have him put down but she and the other adults in the household just wouldn't/couldn't do it.

So, I did something I'd never done before: I called animal control who offered them the choice of either taking him to a vet under legal order or surrendering him to her to be put down. The latter would be done humanely at the county shelter in Dublin at no charge. So, that is what happened.

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but the vets here in the Bay Area are obscenely over-charging, especially in light of the depressed economy. Pro Bono: never heard of it! I mean, Crikey, it cost us over $600 just to have poor Baby Black tested and euthanized. I think a good "old timey" vet would have just determined the most essential facts and done the whole job for less than $100.

I've been thinking a lot about this vet business ever since. When I was a kid, all the vets in those hick towns where we lived were basically large animal vets. They made most of their income from doing things to cows and horses, with some chickens tossed in.

The farmers and ranchers could afford big bills as legitimate operating expenses. These same vets took care of our fluffy pets as a pro bono side line. I don't remember Dad ever paying more than $50 to a vet to have old Freckles sewed back together after he got in a dog fight. It was a kinder, gentler world then.

Dave, you and Muriel are saints for being compassionate and empathetic to those 2 cats. Can you imagine the kinds of deaths they would have had without you? There is a special place in heaven for those who care for the innocents among us. Thank you for what you did. I am proud to know you.

It's never easy losing a cat Dave, you have my sympathy. They are the strangest beasts, yet the most pleasing to be around...for me that is. I always thought that I could easily become one of those crazy cat ladies who takes care of any stray that comes my way. Luckily, reason prevailed, and I usually leave it at two or three. The two I have now are strays that came my way...although I sort of stole Sadie from her feral parents. They certainly worm their way into our hearts.

What a fascinating-looking ship! I hope you get to film some of it Joe. My take on the trip across the Pacific though is one of, "Glad it's not MY decision!"

If the Cards can make it to the Final Four, they should be able to go all the way; their bracket, with Duke, Mich. St., and St. Louis U., ia a killer!

We are waiting Joe for pics and commentary! Cards don't "go" until Thursday.

KY Wildcats sweating it out in the NIT tonight.