Author: Low Wattage

Expat Welshman, educated (somewhat) in UK, left before it became fashionable to do so. Now a U.S. Citizen, and recent widower, playing with retirement and house remodeling, living in Delaware and rural Maryland (weekends).

What does a redneck do with a golf cart?

I was given a golf cart as a birthday gift this year, the first mate decided I needed help getting around the property, the mailbox is about half a mile away at the end of the driveway and up a steep hill, it is quite a hike but not one that I make every day. The gift was greeted with a sigh and as much oh! yes and ah! perfect as I could manage on the spur so to speak.  Anyway it’s a two-seater gasoline powered 1994 model and has the thing on the back where one would keep the bag of sticks if one gorfed which I of course do not, and incidentally never have excepting for one game in the full innocence of youth when convinced by my Scottish uncle James MacDonald Millar that this would be a useful skill to have in later life I attempted a round (he lied).

The Metamorphosis

On This Day Forty-Two Years Ago.

L. Wattage and the late Mrs. Wattage wed barely two years before, left the UK for a life in Canada.  We stayed ten years, it seemed longer than that at the time (a single Canadian winter seems to last almost a lifetime).  Some recent work reminiscences have led me back to the slender dusty records of those distant days.

Continue reading “On This Day Forty-Two Years Ago.”

Irene, Goodnight Irene.

I’ll see you in my nightmares more like.

Looks like we creek dwellers are in the path of Hurricane Irene, the storm may just graze the Delaware beaches on its (her?) way north.  The beach areas are under compulsory evacuation. Current predictions here on the eastern shore are for 70 MPH winds, 10 inches of rain and an eight foot tidal storm surge.  Depending on the state of the tide late on Saturday that may put water three or four feet over my dock and could completely submerge my pilings.  Right now we have no water at all in the creek, it went out like water down a drain today and will probably come roaring back almost as fast late tomorrow with the wind.
Continue reading “Irene, Goodnight Irene.”

We’re Talking Crabs – part 1

It’s the peak of crabbing season here and this is all about crabs and crabbing. I am told that when get on a subject that interests me I often have to be brought up sharply with a loud “Shut up man! You’re boring people”.  So don’t say you were not warned.

The crabs in question are the Atlantic Blue Crab, more specifically those that thrive in what H. L. Mencken (one of my favorite drunks) called “that great protein factory, Chesapeake Bay”.

Here’s a bushel basket of blues just to set the scene

Continue reading “We’re Talking Crabs – part 1”

Bin ‘ot ‘ere

Our second week of 100 degree plus days and when the air conditioning on one’s car fails one is forced to get creative.

The window unit air conditioner was easily “foamed” into the right rear window, getting mains voltage requires the trunk mounted generator, a few sheet metal screws and she’s ready to go.
All-in-all a simple and elegant solution to an overheated commute.

On this Day 66 Years Ago.

July 16th 1945.

At 5:29:45 am at a place in Central New Mexico already known as “Jornado de Muerto” (Journey of Death) Richard Feynman, barely 27 years old, removed his protective glasses because he doubted anything would happen, he saw nothing of the event but a purple blotch on the floor of the armored vehicle he was in.

I. I. Rabi said later “It blasted, it pounced it bored its way into you”

There was a crack like a rifle shot which startled a New York Times reporter, “What was that!” he shouted. “That’s THE THING!” replied Feynman.

Nearby, Enrico Fermi tore pages from his notebook into quarters and dropped them slowly from his hand, mentally calculating the strength of the pressure wave from the fluttering leaves.

Feynman at last could see, and what he saw were clouds “What have we done to make clouds in the desert?” was his first thought.

Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavid- Gita
“Now I am become death, the destroyer of Worlds”
He was closest to the truth.

The experiment was code named TRINITY and was the defining event of the 20th Century.

Within three weeks the two other bombs then in existence were exploded and the childhood of mankind was over.

How to Acquire an Australian Accent

I was planning to post a blog about crabs and oysters today and had made some progress towards getting it straight when Donald’s post advising Mr. Mackie about acquiring some proficiency in Strine reminded me of a happening from many years ago, it has something to do with oysters albeit indirectly and may have a significant bearing on Mr. Mackie’s endeavour.

Many years ago when my old dad was still alive, he and my mother came to visit us in Maryland, he and I decided that we would take a couple of days on our own and sail down the Bay visiting a few fishing places en route. A few days after setting out we were a hundred miles or so down the eastern shore and stopped for a night at the town of Tilghman on Tilghman Island. This quiet little place is the home port for ten or twelve skipjacks, wooden boats of forty or fifty feet in length employed in the oyster dredging business and one of the last fishing fleets powered solely by sail. Continue reading “How to Acquire an Australian Accent”