Wisconsin Ship Building

Bay Ship announced that they've secured a contract to build a couple of these boats.

This is a PSV - Platform Supply Vessel - to be built for delivery to the Gulf Coast supporting off-shore drilling activities.

Fincantieri Marine - the Italian owner of Bay Ship - is doing pretty well.  Sister company - Marinette Marine - is building ten of these.

This is an LCS - Littoral Combat Ship - built for delivery to the US Navy.  One of two LCS designs - this boat will support littoral (close to shore) operations.  It's a stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats with an emphasis on speed and flexible mission capability.

This puppy can move at a walloping 50 knots at sea!  That's a mouthful - but you can get the straight scoop here.

Then there is this vessel.

This is a 60 foot research vessel  - designed by naval architects at SeaCraft Design in Sturgeon Bay and built by Burger Boat of Manitowoc - for delivery to the State of Wisconsin.

Sturgeon Bay will be home port to the R/V Coregonus.  Duties will be conducting research in Lakes Michigan and Superior to support commercial and sport fishing. 

Sport fishing alone generates about $420 million annually and sustains 5,000 jobs.

The Coregonus will replace the the aging research vessel Barney Devine - originally a fishing tug - also built by Burger 75 years ago.

Research Vessel Coregonous is a thoroughly modern vessel.  Powered by a pair of Caterpillar C12 diesels its semi-planning hull will allow it to cruise at up to 20 knots.  It also sports modern safety features such as watertight bulkheads and compartments, an automatic fire suppression system in the engine compartment, heated rear deck (to prevent icing), cold water survival suits, a USCG-approved ten man life raft and emergency positioning beacon. 

Learn more about the Coregonus here and be sure to click on the videos detailing the assembly process.

Boat building in northeast Wisconsin appears to be doing fine.

Smile For the Trail Camera

Caught on  the trail camera while out doing chores earlier in the month.

The piece of black tail on the right edge of the picture is Girlfriend leading the way.

Racing the four-wheeler is among her most favorite things to do.

Doppelbock

Brewed and bottled by Spaten-Brau, Munich, Germany for more than 600 years.

When you finish a day outdoors in the snow there is hardly anything better to wet your whistle.

Where'd the Spring Weather Go?

That's Girlfriend in the picture.

And there's a good six to eight inches of the white stuff on the ground.  Deep enough in some spots to reach the top of my tall rubber boots.

It certainly hasn't dissuaded any of the spring song bird arrivals.  I spied a couple of finches. 

Feeders came out today.

Fate

Berkshire Hathaway may be less recognizable as a company than Warren Buffett, its Chairman and CEO, one of the most successful investors in the world.

How well has the company done under Buffett's leadership?

In the Berkshire 2010 Annual Report to shareholders, Buffett noted the following: "Over the last 46 years (that is since present management took over), book value has grown from $19 to $95,453, a rate of 20.2 percent compounded annually."

Buffett credits much of his success to the value investing approach taught to him by the legendary Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School. This philosophy has served Berkshire investors very well.

Lucky for them Buffett was denied entrance to the Harvard Business School or things may have turned out very different.

Update on the Frau

The Frau had her cast replaced.

She still cannot put any weight on her broken ankle but the good news is she doesn't have to have surgery to stabilize the fracture.

Three to four more weeks in the cast and maybe she can graduate to a immobilizer that she canactually walk hobble-in.  You know - one of those boot-like things.

Come to think of it - we have one in the family bin of orthopedic devices.

Reuse - recycle.

Truth in Advertising

How can you possibly label something as a 'saltine' cracker and not put salt on top of it?

Everyone knows that if you want to snack on King Oscar sardines or home-smoked fish you have to have salted saltines.

Right?

Spring Chores

By lunch time yesterday all 56 nest boxes have been cleaned-out.  There would have been 58 but two were broken and have to go back to the shop for refurbishing.

An observation.

Many more of the boxes were occupied by mice than would be considered normal.  A box inhabited by mice is easy to detect.  It stinks.

It will smell of urine and you can catch a whiff of it from a distance.  Lifting the lid you will find it filled with fluff and mice.  The base of the box will be soaked and I typically have to evict the nest (with mice), up-end-it for a couple of weeks to dry it out and air it out.

As of yesterday all the mice boxes had been vacated.  Curiously, about a half-dozen of them had been occupied by mice but the mice perished before building their nests.  There they were - the corpses of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse sometimes with other mice.  As near as  I can figure they were squatting in the bird box when a cold snap killed them.

Before hitting the sack I let Girlfriend out to do  her business.  Standing on the porch we both heard the alarm call of a deer.  I swung the flashlight to the west and caught a pair of whitetails probably 40 yards from the house before they bolted.

Alone in the dark we could hear the peent of a solitary woodcock.

Super Moon

The largest moon of 2010 occurred more than a year ago.

It was pretty spectacular.

It's going to be even better tonight for sure - if you have clear skies.

Because of the elliptical nature of the moon's orbit this year's big moon will be 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon as it is actually closer to  the earth than usual.

As a matter of fact this is the closest it has been in 18 years!  For this reason some observers call this a Super Moon.


The moon is at its perigee - the closest it will get to the earth - a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers).  Plus, the moon will officially be full.

Apogee is when the moon is at its farthest from the earth. Perigee and apogee generally occur in every month - but the moon's wobbly egg-shaped orbit means that the precise distance at each of these events varies throughout the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each perigee and apogee event.

For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low-hanging moon looks incredibly large when hovering near trees, buildings and other foreground objects. The fact that the moon will be much closer than usual this weekend will only serve to amplify this strange effect.

Learn more about the moon here.

Spring is For Sure

Girlfriend and I got out late yesterday afternoon to start cleaning-out nest boxes.

Our plan was to hike-up to the north end of the property and gradually work our way back to the house.  It's going to take awhile.  We cleaned-out a total of 18. 

One of them was demolished.

Bent post, deep scratches and busted box.  My guess?  Adult buck was sparring with it.

Dang deer.

Thank goodness for standardized bird boxes.  I can attach replacement parts, slap-on another coat of sealant and  get it back in service pronto.

How do you know  that spring is here for sure?

That's easy.  The red wing blackbirds and meadowlarks have arrived.

Ahhhhhh....

Stunning News From Japan

The technical staff here at The Platz has been reflecting on some amazing stats and sobering interactive before and after photos from last week's earthquake and tsunami that has battered the country of Japan.

And no looting and rioting from the populace.

The American Red Cross is accepting donations to assist in the recovery effort.

Reach deep.

Give generously.

Sick Dog Better - Mystery Comes Clean

Girlfriend looked much better this morning and wolfed a couple of cups of her bland diet of boiled rice with boiled chicken.

And it stayed down.

She wasn't running a fever so I figured it best to wait and see how things progressed today before calling the vet.

I enjoyed a steaming cuppa joe with the papers while the dog snoozed beside the chair.

Figuring I better get my act together and find my way to the day job I turned on the tap and climbed into the shower.

Glancing about I'm thinking - Where'd the soap go?  It was here yesterday.

Mystery solved.

And by afternoon Girlfriend was back to her normal self and we both walked down to the parkway to throw the tennis ball in a wild game of fetch.

It's nice now that it stays light longer.

Man Servant

I was lamenting my predicament to some of my day job colleagues the other day and got this response-

Swamp, you need a man servant.  That's exactly what you need.

It would seem I have my hands full lately with long hours at work as we near the conclusion of rolling-out a new business unit. 

Friday, the Frau broke her leg walking Girlfriend and Gilligan.  Girlfriend stopped at the street crossing to sit and wait for the command to cross and Gilligan tugged ahead causing a slip on the ice and ...snap!

I nice clean, unstable fracture that crunched as she hobbled home. 

After six hours in the ER the Frau has a terrific cast on her non-load bearing leg and I've been doing the cooking, laundry, cleaning, care giving, picking-up dog poop, shopping, errand-running and general upkeep.

Today the dog started puking.

Dogs puke all the time.  Even though our species love each other unconditionally the fact of the matter is that dogs sample and eat all manner of gross and disgusting things when you're not looking.

Which is why they periodically retch and hurl in places you least expect them too.

Tonight I tried the universal bland diet of boiled rice and chicken.  Girlfriend loves boiled rice and chicken but it didn't stay down.  She isn't running a temperature but she's still looking all hang-dog-like.

If there's no improvement by tomorrow AM - I suspect a visit to the veterinarian.

I'll bet you're thinking - Swamp a guy like you could really use a man servant under the circumstances.

I suppose that would be nice, but considering how tough people have it in places like Japan and Libya it's hard to feel too sorry for yourself.

All things considered I have it pretty damn good.

Spring Has Sprung

Old Man Winter is making his last gasp.

It snowed yesterday - fast and furiously.  About an inch of wet stuff.

Spring is just around the corner.

There were seven sandhill cranes walking across the frozen surface of the pond.

They're back.

Better Living Through Google

Google recently made headlines when it announced that it would digitize - and make available for free - every issue of Spy Magazine.

Launched in 1986 and shut down in 1998, the monthly magazine was known for its combination of investigative journalism and over-the-top satire.  Its quirky Separated at Birth feature has been mimicked countless times.

Check out an NBC Sports version which highlights sports figures who often bear an uncanny resemblance to celebrities.

How Good You Say?

I spied this in a parking lot the other day.

The staff grammarians here at The Platz remind everyone that it is technically:  sehr gut

Nonetheless, the phonetic spelling works.

A Flip of the Switch

When the history of the fall of the Mubarak government is written, it will surely cite the power of the Internet as one of the Egyptian opposition's most potent weapons.

But at the height of the revolution, the Mubarak government's desperation to stay in power led to a technological achievement that many had thought impossible in the age of global connectedness. In a span of just minutes – and lasting for five days – a technologically advanced, densely wired nation with more than 20 million people online was essentially severed from the global internet. While the tactic did not save Mubarak, it has captivated the worldwide technical community and raised concerns that other sinister blockages may lie ahead.

Take a fascinating look at how Mubarak's government was able to "pull the plug" on the internet.

Update From the Platz

Postings here at The Platz have been few and far between.

I have been absolutely up to my elbows in paperwork with a big project at the day job.

Here is Girlfriend with my business partner and her newborn son.

Girlfriend says to tell you that she's helping at the office and looks forward to returning to The Platz.

Spring is in the air and turkey hunting is right around the corner and I suspect that as demands on everyone's time diminish there will be more to write about here.