Went to St. Augustine FLA for the annual visit to moms on the beach. My sister, bro-in-law and the three kids meet me there. Good times. The kids are a little more grown up so less tantrums, more fun and great conversation. THis is how i know they are related. After eating at about 6ish we took a walk on the beach. Of course the kids all want to go so i take them off my sisters hands for a bit. We are walking when my 6 year old niece pick up a sand dollar and asks me "Uncle Jeff are sand dollars money for fish?"
Yes. Yes they are.
Great kid.
We went to Marineland to see some dolphins. We sign the kids up for the paint with dolphins program. They actually hang out at the edge of the tank and hold the canvas over the water. The trainer gives the dolphin a bottle of paint and they go at it creating some sort of abstract art which the kids get to take home. Of course i leave my camera at home. Idiot.
I find an Irish pub on the way back so we drop the kids off and i take my brother in law out to lunch. if you are ever in the are check out Finnagins Wake. Awesome fish and chips and even better assortment of Irish whiskeys. Malt vinegar right on the bar. i didn't even have to ask. It's the little things that make my day.
I got to cook for the family a couple nights which surprises everyone but my mom. "I told you he cooks better than you girls ever did" referring to both of my sisters. Just a note on that: my oldest sister burned spaghetti once. She was in the kitchen the entire time as well. So really, boiling hot dogs could really out do her on the cooking front.
Kids are being really good so we take the 2 oldest ones on a sea kayak voyage for about 2 hours. We stay in the estuary which is where the sea and fresh water meet. Apparently it has the more biomass than anywhere in the world. Things growing everywhere especially the water. The guide is great and i got a list of the tours he runs. I think next year its going to be the astronomy kayak tour. Go out at night and the guide lets'er rip on all the constellations and how the sky moves season to season. I cant imagine it being a whole lot different from here but seriously how bad ass would it be to see dolphins and manatees from a kayak at night? Very. Thats how bad ass. Hopefully the youngest will be able to make it by then too.
The next day we rent a pontoon boat by the Lions bridge and take it down the intercostal waterway. Or intracostal water way. how ever it is was spelled. After seeing about 8 dolphins one of which being a baby one we get to the opening to the ocean by fort Mantanzas. Cool little fort that acted as a look out for the bigger fort castillo de san marco. As we approach the mouth of the waterway we anchor to get out and swim. As i am swimming i notice a large shadow approaching the boat. It turns out to be a manatee. So technically i swam with wild sea cows. He probably thought he knew me or something. It was so big but moved so slow so i just said "hi" as it passed. I was a little scared at first but it was pretty cool anyway.

All in all it was a fun time and as usual my mom asks me about when im getting married and did i stop hating people yet. Not sure and not really but im getting better. I would feel much worse if she didn't already have 5 grand kids. One great thing that came of this is that i did decide i wanted to go into a shark cage so i think that trip is going to get booked soon for next year. Anyone want to come?

Anti-shark cage. You go inside the cage? Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.

Yes this I will be dropping Jaws lines like a fucking mad man.

I know i sound old but where are the bartenders who know what 3 fingers mean? Where are the ones that know the difference between Scotch and Irish whiskey? How about a double 0 tumbler?
In case you didn't figure out i miss some of the old days. Older than myself i guess.

http://3rd-day-design.com/farming_images/2008-WU/

In case you dont know what im talking about exactly, check here http://www.farmingthelegacy.com/
This is a photo project i have been doing with a  friend for the last year and i think we will be doing it for another 2 at least. These are the year end wrap up images. Check them out and the web site if you have the time.

I lost a friend. I thought that a year may give me enough time to not be caught up in his death but i was wrong. Its amazing how some people effect you so much while others seem have little to no effect. I will always miss you jay. 

1. the Low Faith and The Raw Intent CD is finally done. If you want one let me know ill send it to you. Fo FREE! Creepy indy rock with subjects that range from Witken to Joe Coleman to Rabbits to things ill never understand. its an 11 song, 23 min epic journey through the heads of some people. Not sure who those people are though. There is a new song up on the site with Jeff Lowe lending a hand with the vocals. Lets all thank Dean one more time. Without this there would be no recording, no songs and no CD.  THANKS DEAN!

B. I play bass in a new band. We will be opeing up for our friends the Lifeguard nights at Bar 6 in Hackettstown on the 27th of Dec. Come hang out and buy us beers. It would be oh so awesome.

Today i walked into a bar with the thought of getting some mozz stick and a beer for lunch. I kind of wanted to forget about the morning. It didn't go too well, or at least as well as i thought it should but i digress. I sat down and ordered at the bar. Through the door walkes a couple in their forties who sit a bar stool down from me. We make conversation over the games that are going on. Making fun of Mets fans and noticing the difference in the Jets jerseys for the day. We talked of fishing and hunting for a while as another lady comes into the bar and sits at the end. As we are all sitting there watching TV the guy starts to choke on his food. He starts to make these really high pitch noises and i ask "Are you OK?" he shakes his head no. By this time he is bright red and panicking. I go behind him and take the chair out and perform the Heimlich maneuver. after the fourth thrust, that i am sure im braking this dudes ribs, he coughs up the crab cake that was lodged in his windpipe...if thats even close to the medical term for it. His girlfriend thanks me with tears in her eyes as he states that my food and beer are on the house. Tom and Kathleen lived happily ever after and i got free stuff. This day is fucking kickass.
Oh I was asked where i learned this and i had to tell them about the cartoon panels on the wall of most restaurant's. You know the ones...the people have bad 80's hair and totally androgynous. So kids...cartoons save lives. Just throwing that in there.

Friends of mine asked me to play guitar in this project a while ago. Check it out if you can.

 http://www.myspace.com/monstertruckfanclub

We have a 5 song CD that i will send you fro free. Just drop me a line with your address and ill ship it out. 

The band i play drums in is called Low Faith and the Raw Intent. Download it and check it out. Go to the site at the bottom. this si our myspace site http://www.myspace.com/lowfaithandtherawintent

add us. take a listen.


DIF010 - DIVERSITY IS FORBIDDEN COMPILATION

25 Works of art from 25 different artists. Chiptunes, noise, hardcore, punk, electronica, ambient - it's all here.


Songs by:
facundo, Suicide at WTC, AV01D, Four Fingers, Red Hero, The Bloodreds, Sister Waize, Low Faith and the Raw Intent, ChipHydra, Unopposed, Albino Ghost Monkey, Fuck Plants, Mecha_B.E.A.R., Rip It Up, Vulture Moose, The Robot Nothing, Minusbaby, Interior Decorating, Oxygenfad, The Flash Attacks, OxygenStar, B.A. Pariah, EVILskull, This Place is Haunted, and XJ.


http://dforbidden.blogspot.com

and you think that you are failing at an aspect of your life...miserably. Then you hear soemthing, as little as 5 words, and you realize its not as bad a you thought.
Sometimes i feel presure that is nonexastant and it gets rough.


 Fuck that shit i knew i was right..........well i know now.

So yesterday the 27th, the Farming the Legacy crew (Matt and i) headed down to Cumberland Community College to see their facility for growing Talapia for commercial sale. The Aquaculture program down there is absolutely amazing. We met up at 5am and started the treck. It seems like all these people get up so freaking early. I never though that that getting up at 6am for work would be sleeping it..but it is....for now.
We get there right about 730 to watch the prep work for the harvest. We meet Dan there, a teacher as well as one of the 2 who run the fish barn. When we enter we are hit with 85 degree weather as well as like 4 billion percent humidity. Ok not that bad but its pretty crazy. Being the fat kid, my teeth start to sweat. The fish smell is almost non existent but the the water isn't. Pretty gnarly but its bearable.
we get briefed on whats going on as the second of the crew from the fish barn arrives with donuts.  FUCK YES! kinda. i wasn't all that hungry.
The second person there was George. As nice as the first and basically running the place and teaching as well being the distributer of the Talapia  to the most of the A&P's on the eastern seaboard. If youa re reading this on the east coast and you bought a full Talapia from A&P then it came from here.
4 tanks in the main room each holding up to 30,000 gallons of water as well as about 9,000-10,000 fish each. It was like fishing heaven. I wish they would have allowed me to bring my fishing pole because i would have never, ever left. Seriously they would ahve had to call the cops on me. So many fish you could poke them...not that i did but you could.
George gives us the tour for the next hour. The was a collection of plumbing, pumps and filters that were nothing but high tech. I was ligittamly amazed when i was told that the buildings and grounds crew basically installed it. the bio-sumps were a work of art. Good stuff.
We get down to the harvest and The sweep the tank with a giant net to coral them to one side as they force them into a pvc cage that is constructed to let the small ones out and keep the big ones in. They are scooped out with a huge scoop and put on the sorting table. Any fish under 1.25 lbs gets thrown back in the other side of the tank to fatten up. These fish are chilled to death basically. Pretty much the most humane way, or so im told. I believe it might be because if im gutting a fish it's alive when i start. Im pretty sure some were alive when i finished too. Yeah im barbaric i guess. Either that or fast with a knife. So they are dead with in 10-25 minis and the are chilled for an additional hour. Around that time we get to talk to the third guy, also Dan, but a bit younger. hes only about 21. He went to the school after his fathers commercial fishing business was sold. He had fishing in his blood and when i asked him if he got paid to do this he looked over his shoulder and said "Yeah i do, but i would do it for  free"  Classic farming response. THey  love what they do.
Unfortunately  love is not enough to sustain this place. In the last 5 years they have been swamped with energy costs and are going to have to shut down by the end of the june. This is a shame but im glad i got to be a part fo this before it went under. It was a great time and we learned a bunch. If you have time check out the Farming the legacy web site at http://farmingthelegacy.com/ and check out what we are doing. thanks for your time.