The Minorcan Factor

In need of some suggestions...

2010-11-26T13:51:00.003-05:00

You know, it's been over a year since I posted on The Minorcan Factor. Wow, how time flies.
A lot of things have happened in my life since then...It would take many posts to update you.
I have been writing intermittently on another blog called Omnes Hones et Gloriae Est.
I'll warn you ahead of time, it's a little "religious-y," but that's just how I am :-)

For now, I need your help! Back in August, I turned twenty years old. Thus, the name "HurricaneTeen" no longer suits me! It's a sad day. I've used HurricaneTeen as my internet screen name for...well...seven years now...but now I must part with it.

So, what do you think I should be called?
Any suggestions would be helpful.
I'll be changing my name soon, and will be posting some updates!

But that's all for now. I'll leave you with a picture of me and some of my friends from school. Do we look sufficiently nerdy?

From left: Anna, Will, Paul, Pineapple, and Me

Oh hai! I can has right answer?

2009-09-28T19:57:00.007-04:00

Don't be worried by the title!! I am not under the influence of any substance, I promise. The spelling and syntax of the title can be attributed to the internet phenomenon "LOLcats." If you have never heard of them, go ahead and perform a Dogpile search on "LOLcats," and you will quickly learn what I am talking about.

Every Monday and Thursday, my friends and I have a "physics party" to celebrate the wonders of electricity and magnetism. (You know you go to a tech school when the only parties you attend involve physics.) Truthfully, we are not really celebrating, but actually working together to complete our online homework which is due twice a week. We always get good grades, and also manage to have a lot of fun along the way.

At tonight's physics party, we decided we would have a little fun with the online homework system itself... We would place a funny little phrase into the answer box along with the actual correct answer.

After working out the correct answer to one of the problems, I came up with the playful little phrase that comprises the title of this post. Unfortunately, the software that our school uses for physics homework does not accept long strings of letters like that as part of an answer. No problem; we know binary!!!

So I converted the phrase into binary and inserted it into the answer box along with the correct answer using this syntax:

(6C/11) * (01001111011010000010000001101000011000010110100100
100001001000000100100100100000011000110110000101101110001000000110100001100001 0111001100100000011100100110100101100111011010000111010000100000 01100001011011100111001101110111011001010111001000111111
)^0
I color-coded the binary so you can more easily read the answer. How can that possibly be accepted as the correct answer, you ask? Well, just in case you don't remember from high school algebra, anything to the power of 0 equals 1, and anything multiplied by 1 equals itself. So essentially the above expression simply equals

(6C/11)

which is the correct answer. But there's just a little hidden answer embedded within it for anybody that cares enough to translate the binary back to English.

We are nerds.

A New Perspective

2009-09-20T10:52:00.004-04:00

So, how many people get to have this perspective of a swamp? More on that in a later post!

Well, it can probably go without saying that I am back at school, considering September's mostly past us by now. Wow, how time flies. For much of the last month of summer, I was really anxious to get back to school. Not because I got sick of home (that never happens!) but because I was ready to start learning again and definitely ready to see my school friends again.
What does this school year have in store?

Differential Equations - The next step for most scientists and engineers after Calculus 3. I have found that once you get to this level in mathematics, it doesn't get much harder, but you're just learning applications. As for me, differential equations are everywhere in meteorology, so this class will be very useful for me.
Writing about Literature - Probably one of the most hated classes at FIT. I love it, for the most part. It is definitely nice to have a break in all of my science and math courses to study literature...Especially considering we studied William Faulker and Flannery O'Connor, two of my newly favorite authors.
Probability and Statistics - Wow. There are people who succeeded in all levels of calculus that are having trouble with this supposedly simple course. All of the theory is nearly incomprehensible, but the applications can be fun sometimes.
Physics 2 - Electricity and magnetism! It's really fun and interesting, but my exam this Friday has 3 problems on it...Covering 3 chapters...and a study guide with 300 practice problems, on much more than 3 topics. God only knows what 3 problems he will pick.
Physics 2 Lab - I really hate general lab courses, but this one really isn't that bad. My partners are great and the GSA who oversees the lab is actually a friend of mine who plays the keyboard at church. Can't complain!
Meteorology Research - As of now, my work-study job under one of my professors has only involved updating forecasts and plotting tropical storms/hurricanes on the tracking map in our department's building. Soon, though, I will be cursing one of the computers in the lab trying to figure out the source of the error in some program that I wrote to make some calculation to describe some meteorological phenomenon. I love that job so much.
School Newspaper - I have been given the honor of being the "Weather Columnist" in this year's edition of the school newspaper, The Crimson. Though the newspaper goes largely overlooked on campus, it's still nice to be published on a regular basis. I will post my writings on here every other week with each edition.
Campus Ministry - I have also been given the honor of being employed by Catholic Campus Ministry as the Social Jusice Coordinator for this school year. This job involves organizing community service projects and events to help our community and raise awareness of social justice issues across the globe. Cool beans.

And all of that is just school-related stuff! I haven't even started talking about tree climbing yet!

Florida Folk Festival!

2009-05-21T23:21:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! Uncle Stu and I will be set up under our oak tree at Steven Foster State Folk Culture Center in White Springs, demonstrating castnet knitting, telling stories, and playing music. We'll be there all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hope to see you out there!

Miss Sarah N. Dipity

2009-05-19T19:16:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I stole that title from Florida Cracker, but it's fitting because this post has a little something to do with him.

I arrived at the Florida Institute of Technology last summer ready to be on my own and ready to learn. My main goal was to go there, be there four years, and return home armed with a degree in meteorology. During this time, though, I hoped to meet others who shared my interests in science and, to an even greater extent, Florida. Though FIT is in the state of Florida, it is not really Florida in my mind, though there are still some hints of real Florida away from the coast.

I didn't realistically expect to meet any fellow Florida crackers at a school mostly populated by out-of-state, technologically-oriented city dwellers, but I still kept my hopes up.

After a whole semester of hard studying, I came home for Christmas Break with many great friends, but none who shared my interest in Florida's wildlife, culture or history. Hm.

Things rapidly turned around one night this past semester, though. [Patience, FC, I'm getting to you soon :-D]

One night, our school's chapter of the American Meteorological Society held a "movie night" on campus to watch weather-related movies and "geek out" about various meteorology stuff. I spoke with a fellow that night who found out about my interest in Florida through my Facebook page (if you don't have one, get one.) He's a fellow weather whiz and was in my Aviation Meteorology class this past semester. Through our conversation, I learned that he is from FC's part of the state.

A little background...
I have been following Pure Florida for over three years now after finding it through Google, and actually met Florida Cracker once at the Florida Folk Festival. At this meeting, I learned his REAL name *gasp* and deduced that we are actually kin to one another somewhere along the line. As a matter of fact, we have a series of interesting connections in our families.

So I asked my new friend if he happened to know anyone by FC's last name, and to my complete astonishment, he said yes. As it turns out he is friends with FC's son and his oldest daughter. Another thing to add to the list of interesting connections!

The last thing I expected to run into at FIT was a friend of a blogging pal.

Through this new friend, I met two girls who are also from Florida - both identifying themselves as "crackers." So in one night, I went from having no cracker friends at school to having three. As an added bonus, we are all meteorology majors who are very interested in our field of study.

Alright!

Thanks, Sarah N. Dipity!

Hello Again

2009-05-17T17:48:00.004-04:00

It's been a while hasn't it? Four months to be exact. Well here's a cursory summary of the past five months of my life, in outline form, some of which I might decide to write about in the future:

Christmas Break
- Family
- Woods
- Geocaching
School
- General Physics 1
- Physics Lab 1
- General Chemistry 2
- Calculus 3
- Aviation Meteorology
- Weather Briefing
- Class
- Studying
- Volunteer weather research
- Campus ministry, pizza, video games, grappling hooks, and llamas
Summer
- Pretty much nothing

More posts upcoming :-D

Epic Camping Trip Part I - Lost in Wal-Mart

2008-12-11T21:54:00.004-05:00

About a month ago, I went with the Newman Club on a camping trip to Blue Springs State Park.

The Newman Club is an organization for Catholic students, and it just so happens that it's full of ourdoorsmen/women, too. It's great to be involved in a group full of students who I know will only build me up as a person, and not tear down my character and morality...Those groups are hard to come by on a college campus.

So we set off one Friday night after our classes were finished for the hour-and-a-half drive to Orange City.

Lucas (Caesar), HurricaneTeen (Octavius), and Hunter (Cassius)

Our first stop was to be at the Super Wal-Mart down the road to pick up some charcoal, lighter fluid, and ice. My friend, Hunter, and I were sent into the massive store armed only with a HAM radio and our wallets.

After about 15 minutes of searching, we could not find the charcoal. We searched up and down the store, probably walking upwards of a mile, in futility. Embarrassed, we radioed our situation to our friend and club president, Paul:

Hey, Paul...We're lost. Send help.
You're lost??
Yes, we can't find the charcoal and we don't know where we are.
At this point, everybody in the van is laughing at us.
Alright, ummm, I'll send Francine in to rescue you.
Thanks.
And might I add that we're thoroughly enjoying your predicament here in the parking lot.
Thanks, Paul.
I chuckle when I think of some local HAM radio operator listening in to our conversation. What must have been running through his head....

We find our way to the front of the store and meet our savior. Of course, within five minutes of her arrival, we find both the charcoal and the lighter fluid (who knew they were outside, right next to each other????) and pick up the ice at the front of the store.

Any wise person would abandon a camping trip after such a sketchy start, but we are college students, so we pushed wisdom aside and pressed on.

We chattered on the HAM radio with the other carload of people going on the trip and with Paul's dad, who was stationed on the coast to watch the space shuttle launch. HAM radio is one of the things I have picked up since coming to FIT. It is great in more ways than one.

We arrived at Blue Springs State Park to find the gates to the park closed. Again, any wise person would have turned around and called it quits, but we're college students. We followed another guy in after he punched in some secret code on the gate entrance. I'm sure he felt perfectly comfortable with that. After all we DID have reservations.

Just after we arrived and checked in with the campground hosts, we turned our eyes to the eastern sky just in time to see a bright fireball ascend into the heavens. What a view. No pictures. Sorry, I was too caught up in the moment.

NEXT INSTALLMENT:

Epic Camping Trip Part II - "It looks like a waterbed."

The Atomic Toilet

2008-11-27T22:26:00.019-05:00

Come on and take a walk with me. We're going to the Crawford Science Tower...I have a secret to share with you.

Years ago, Dr. Lynn Edward Weaver, a professor here at FIT, was performing experiments in using ionizing radiation to treat wastewater. He used Cobalt-60, a mildly radioactive isotope, to destroy bacteria in sewage. The experiments were scientifically successful, but the public had a somewhat irrational fear of "radioactive water," so the idea was scrapped in the 1960s.
A problem that the school faced, though, was finding a place to store the harmful radioactive materials after they were used. So they dug a hole. A deep hole. This is where the atomic waste would be stored, and it would come to be known as The Atomic Toilet.

Alright come on and hurry. It's 9:00 PM, and there won't be too many people in the building at this hour, but we still do not want anyone getting curious. Come through the door. Let's go down the stairs.

Here, turn your flash light on, it's dark in here.

Come on inside...Try not to kick the door...It's not in very good shape.

Oh, also, don't step in that smelly, rusty water on the floor. It's groundwater seeping onto the floor, rusting out all of the metal in here. It'll stain your clothes.

Welcome to the Atomic Toilet. It is pitch black in here, I know, but the camera's flash will allow us to survey the damp room more easily.

There's the old typewriter underneath the big "DANGER: RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS" sign.
Nobody knows why it's here, but it hasn't been touched in years.

There's the doorway through which we entered. Our three friends are studying the ventilation system of the "outer toilet."

This is the back portion of the "outer toilet." You can see the trolley controls on the right wall and the Geiger counter back in the corner.

This console controlled the overhead trolley that was used to move the Cobalt-60 into and around the "inner toilet." A system of mirrors and the big gauge here were used to determine the position of the radioactive material. DON'T TOUCH THE KEY! We don't know what will happen if it is turned, and it may lead to trouble if we do turn it.

Here's the Geiger counter. It's hard to read in the dark, but we can clearly make out 1 millirem/hour...About 1000 times the normal background radiation on earth. That sounds bad, but it's really nothing to worry about...Notwithstanding the orange WARNING light.

Now let's go into the "inner toilet." This is where it starts to get really interesting. Just walk right past this big sliding 1-foot-thick concrete door. Now we're inside the place where the actual radioactive material was stored. This room was filled to some depth with water and the Cobalt-60 was stored under the water.

You see the trolley track on the roof up there? Also, you can see that the school has started using this place for storage...The tables and the overhead projector all came in after the Cobalt-60 was removed.

Our friend is studying something over in the corner. Let's go take a look.

Alright, we've been down here for at least 20 minutes now. Even though there's not enough background radiation in here to seriously harm us, it's best if we don't spend too much time down here. Let's go on back up the stairs.

Hmm, look at that chart over there. Being engineers, our friends absolutely must study any chart they come across.

It's a security sign-in sheet. Okay, we didn't see any DO NOT ENTER signs, but maybe we're not allowed down here after all. According to the chart, the last security sweep was at 5:00 PM. Following the pattern of past days, the next sweep should be at 9:30. What time is it anyway? 9:29!!!!

BREAK!!

Life at FIT

2008-11-24T12:22:00.007-05:00

A picture tells a thousand words...

Every one of these pictures has a unique story behind it.

Take a wild guess as to what the circumstances were when these pictures were taken.

I'll tell the whole story later.

(Thanksgiving break begins tomorrow!!)

Cloud Chasing

2008-10-27T09:27:00.003-04:00

Another reason why I hate politics!!!

2008-10-25T19:59:00.002-04:00

You know that woman who allegedly had the "B" carved into her face? You know, the issue that I was so thoroughly "P-Oed" about this past week?
She did it herself.
Now she's the one I'm "P-Oed" at because I spent a good half-hour fretting about it and feeling sorry for her.
What a crazy fool.
Agh.
But right now I'm gonna forgot about politics and go enjoy the COOL weather and NORTH FLORIDA air with my friends.

I've Had It...It's the final straw

2008-10-23T17:46:00.004-04:00

I generally don't talk politics on this blog.
But I've had it.

Just the latest in a line of McCain supporters being physically attacked by Obama supporters:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_594853.html

That's right. A 'B' carved into a woman's face simply because she had a McCain bumper sticked on her car.

My humble question...And, as an American citizen of voting age, I have a right...A RESPONSIBILITY...to ask this.

How can we possibly even consider electing a man like Barack Obama to the most powerful position in this nation?

1 : He has no experience. 4 years in the U.S. senate and 4 years in the Illinois legislature does not prepare a man to be President of the United States.
2 : His ties to people who are...
Blatantly racist (Jeremiah Wright)
Unrepentant terrorists (Bill Ayers)
Commiting election fraud in his favor (ACORN)
3 : His obvious socialist views: "When you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

I'm not even going to mention his naive view on taxes and the economy...I really don't have the time for any of this tonight, but it's got to be said...I've seen too much of this...
...And I've seen too much of the liberal elite media neglecting to call any of these serious issues into question. They're in the tank.

And now this...A man's home shot up because he has McCain signs in his front yard:
http://www.local6.com/politics/17784129/detail.html
What if McCain supporters were perpetrating these sick crimes against Obama supporters? The public outcry would be DEAFENING! WHERE THE HELL IS THE OUTCRY?!?!

Our nation is in serious danger. WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!!!!

A peek inside my brain...

2008-10-22T16:55:00.003-04:00

asjdhfjkashdfkjahsdjhaudhfsdFORTRANsdjhfsajdlhfuweyuwoeyruwerhjwebfhdfjkdfPARTIALFRACTIONDECOMPOSITIONhjhsdfkjhyeurhywefbdfQUANTUMMECHANICSydhfkjsdlfhywueryjkdhfbasdjkf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A peek inside my stomach:

*empty*

Thank You!

2008-10-05T22:14:00.003-04:00

I want to send out a special "thank you" to Mr. Ernest Jones for purchasing Ms. Latrell Pappy Mickler's new book for me! There were some problems with the postal service, so Ms. Mickler hand delivered it to Uncle Stu, who passed it on to me when I went to visit him while I was at home.

I can't wait to absorb all of the information in Gaspar Pappy and Ana Pons: Their Lives and Descendants, and I may actually use it as a source for an upcoming research paper!

It is encouraging to know that there are still "phantom readers" out there who appreciate and enjoy my ramblings.

Thanks, Mr. Jones!

Caught Up!

2008-10-03T14:38:00.006-04:00

After last weekend's visit home, I found myself quite bogged down in the school work. After a couple of late nights sweating out page-long calculus problems and writing out Fortran programs, I now consider myself completely caught up. Even better, the free time of the weekend beckons me to move even further ahead in my studies! ...But not before indulging in my Friday night shenanigans :-D (Don't worry, they're completely harmless, completely legal, but completely fun. You may see a post about that in the future.)
More importantly, however, I now have enough brain power left over to write a somewhat creative post here on the Minorcan Factor!

One of my most urgent needs upon returning home last friday was to get out in the woods. So my friend, Phill, and I did just that. Here's a video of us going out to perform a maintenance check on one of my geocaches. Caution: Sarcasm, random quips of humor, and weird voice inflections are common when in the company of me and Phill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-7yQS4IVQI

...I was serious about swallowing the mosquito, though.

If you don't know what geocaching is, you need to learn...Especially if you are an outdoors enthusiast like me. I see geocaching as an excuse to go wander around out in the woods and other out-of-the-way places. It's a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. http://www.geocaching.com/

Have a great weekend!

It Smells Different...and an excuse

2008-09-27T00:17:00.006-04:00

Stepping out of Mom's car at my Grandma's house yesterday, I was struck by a sudden realization.

"Oh my gosh! I smells like St. Johns County!" I blurted.

Having never been away from home for more than a week or two, it has been quite a transition living down in central Florida for the past month-and-a-half. Though Melbourne is geographically close to St. Johns County, the lifestyle is worlds apart from that of my home. Maybe that difference can be connected to the difference I sense with my olfactory nerves.

Maybe it's the live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Maybe it's the expansive pine plantations. Maybe it's the smell of the soil.
I couldn't tell you for sure, but it smells oh so sweet.

And now for the excuse...
I have been trying to keep up with the "post every other day" routine on this blog.
However, this past week, some things called "Calculus" and "FORTRAN" and "Chemistry" got in the way of that.

I got an 84% on a calculus test...acceptable, but nothing to rejoice over...just means I have to work even harder (if that's possible)
I got a 6/20 on a chemistry quiz...In my defense, most people bombed that quiz...But I still need to study more.
Had a FORTRAN midterm.
Finished writing a 3-page program for FORTRAN.
Wrote a 4-page paper entitled MEMORIES OF A CRACKER CHILDHOOD.
etc.....

I love my home, and writing on this blog helps to connect me back with my roots...
...But gettin' learned is more important.

This weekend, though, is about re-fueling on family, friends, wilderness, and rurality.
I hope to share some of that with you over the coming week.
GOOD NIGHT!

Into the real world

2008-09-20T11:40:00.004-04:00

"Somewhere beyond the sink-hole, past the magnolia, under the live oaks, a boy and a yearling ran side by side, and were gone forever."

-Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

...Studying most of today...

Tacos are pleasing to me...

2008-09-18T10:42:00.002-04:00

To my astonishment, the art community has not accepted my concept of the Linear Dog, but I know that, with time, they will come to realize its genius.

I drew this on my Puerto Rican roommate, JJ's, dry erase board Sunday night. I am making a genuine attempt to learn Spanish, but sometimes I have to resort to this phrase and "Lucy you got some splainin' to do" to get me through everyday conversations.

Knee-slamming happiness

2008-09-16T10:14:00.000-04:00

Around noon yesterday I strolled into my FORTRAN class and delightfully plopped into the office chair in front of a computer terminal. I was fresh off the high of receiving an "A" on my first of three chemistry exams, so my morning was off to a good start.

As I always do, I opened up my FIT "Squirrel Mail" account to check on the daily happenings around campus while waiting for my professor to begin his lecture. Before my eyes was a message with the simple subject "greetings."

When I saw the name of the message sender, I gasped. I let out a stifled "Oh my gosh!" Trying to remain somewhat quiet and controlled while other students worked around me was nearly impossible. I pumped my fist and inadvertently slammed my knee against the side of the desk I shared with another terminal. The monitors rocked, and the guy across from me glanced up. I didn't care. Opening the message, my eyes devoured the text before me:

"HurricaneTeen:

"Lauren tells me that you are majoring in meteorology and hope to work at the National Hurricane Center one day. I think that's great. We still have room for a lot of improvement in hurricane forecasting and need all the help we can get...."

The message went on much further; it was long! I didn't expect this type of extended response.

The former director of the National Hurricane Center, a man who had been a household name during the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, a man whom I have idolized since I began closely studying hurricanes when I was 12, has sent me a personal email!

He went on to tell a story of a young high schooler who came to visit the NHC about 10 years ago, and said he would some day work for the Center. I immediately recognized the name as one of the newest Hurricane Specialists at the NHC, Eric Blake. His story is very much like mine. It struck a chord.

"...I wish you the best in your pursuit of meteorology. Give my friend George Maul my regards at FIT when you run into him.

Best regards,

Max Mayfield"

Looks like Mr. Mayfield is friends with my department head, too. I love the connections that college has suddenly given me!
I jokingly told my roommate, JJ, that I was going to enlarge the text to poster size, frame it, and hang it on my wall...It was a joke...But now I wonder about actually doing it...

I owe my sister many thanks for getting this to happen. A student in the bible study group that my sister leads is friends with Mr. Mayfield's daughter. My sister spoke to her about my interest in meteorology, and the rest is history!

There's few things more exciting than getting an email from a professional that you look up to. And, yes, I would rather meet Max Mayfield than any movie or tv celebrity that ever lived. Weird? As I've always said, I kind of like being "weird." :-D

My Life

2008-09-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

You might be curious, so here's my schedule for this semester, along with some color commentary:

University Experience: Perhaps the biggest waste of a credit-hour I have ever seen. It's very laid back, I like the teacher, and the topics are easy. I just think it's a waste of time to tell us the obvious things about college life such as: "It has been proven that students who study perform better in their classes than students who don't." Pffft.

Composition and Rhetoric: Great class. Strict grading, but the essay topics are interesting, a couple actually very exciting for me. You'll hear more about this class in the future.

General Chemistry 1: Study and reading. Nothing hard, just a lot of time. Blowing up hydrogen balloons in class is fun. Flushing sodium down the toilet to make a "geyser" is even better.

Calculus 2: This is the math that makes some aspiring engineers (and meteorologists) contemplate changing their major. It's hard. There's nothing you can't do without hard work and commitment, though.

Computer Programming with FORTRAN: [CAUTION: NERD CONTENT AHEAD!] Yes, Fortran still exists. Believe it or not, it is still quite prominent in some government work and in numerical weather forecasting (which is why I'm taking the course.) And, contrary to popular belief, Fortran does support object-oriented programming (as of 2003). However, we are using Fortran 95, so we still get to deal with the wonderful world of Unix.

The courseload has been bearable, but it does take a lot of time. Fortunately, the courses are interesting, and it's cool to obtain a higher edumucation.

I'm off to go try hyperbolic trig functions again. It's just not sinking in yet.

"Florida Lacks Character"

2008-09-12T22:59:00.004-04:00

Those were the words of one of my roommates who happens to be from a certain state in the Northeast U.S. I will share with you the full discourse of our short conversation that occurred tonight.

...I'll give you some time to guess how the conversation went...In the mean time I'll share some more thoughts...

When I decided on attending FIT this past summer, I knew that I would be in the minority here. This is an acclaimed private school well-known for its aeronautics/astronautics and marine biology programs. Private is the key word there. This school is packed with northeastern students from affluent families...Now my family's not poor, but we certainly couldn't afford FIT's astronomical tuition if scholarships didn't help ease the pain...And we all know about my little Southern streak.

...Have you guessed how the conversation went?...

"Florida lacks character. Up North we have all of the colonial buildings and everything that adds character."

"You've never been to North Florida. Melbourne has no character. My hometown does."
"No it doesn't. Florida has no character."
"Ummmm...My hometown is the oldest city in the U.S. It was established in 1565. We have some old buildings and a little history, too."
So? [Something was said here, which I forgot]"
Well, [classic St. Augustinian line here] my hometown was undergoing urban renewal when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock."

"Yeah, but they have Southern accents where you're from. I hate Southern accents."

Are some of my northern readers getting a better understanding of why it's hard for me to erase the word "yankee" from my vocabulary? This was not the first time blatant ignorance has reared its ugly head, and I know it won't be the last :-D

I was going to post some beautiful pictures of my characterless hometown, but I just realized that those pictures were left behind during my annual seasonal migration.

Change

2008-09-10T10:17:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that it has already been a month since I left my home and came down here to South Florida to get an edumucation. My life has changed drastically - more than I had expected.

Naturally, this change in lifestyle will translate to a slight change in the way this blog is oriented. My feet have not come in contact with the soft muck of a swamp in over a month...
Actually, I haven't even left the city since I arrived here.
What a change.
Therefore, you may see more philosophy, reflection, and thought on here than before...
College makes you think about a lof of things...
I'll share some of those thoughts with you.
But, as always, every one of my thoughts and actions contains some form of a Minorcan Factor, so the title of the blog will remain the same.
I'm still the same old Minorcan Florida Cracker, just in a different habitat!

I'm excited about sharing some of my experiences with you, but for now I'm off to my chemistry lecture and my FORTRAN software development class.
Wednesdays are my busy day.

TROPICAL STORM FAY - LIVE BLOG

2008-08-19T11:38:00.002-04:00

I will be keeping a live blog of Tropical Storm Fay as it passes through or very near to my school here in Melbourne, FL.

www.tsfay.blogspot.com

Go view live updates as the storm approaches!

A Problem With our Alma Mater?

2008-06-07T06:35:00.000-04:00

While listening to the names of my classmates being called to receive their diplomas at my graduation ceremony yesterday, I got to thinking about my school's alma mater. The lyrics were printed in the back of our programs, and the school chorus sang it beautifully at the start of the ceremony. There was something about that alma mater that just will not fit with the school anymore - Something that will need to be changed in the very near future.

First, a little background information about my school.

My high school sits in the vast pine flatwoods of north Florida on what used to be a small road named after a portion of my family. The only things to be seen outside of my school's campus are pine trees...And lots of them. It really is a peaceful place when there are not 2,700 raucous teenagers rampaging about the campus.
Recently, though, that road has been widened to four lanes, extended farther south to connect with another highway, and renamed to "******** Parkway." This new "Parkway" is only a small part of a huge development that is slated to completely envelop my school's campus within just a few years. Now, here comes the predicament for my school.

The first two lines of our school's alma mater are:

"Oh, **************, our alma mater,
Set around the mighty pines..."

What is my school to do when those "mighty pines" are torn down to make way for more and more homes? I guess those pines aren't so mighty, after all! But, really, this will be a problem. It will be no longer relevant to have those lyrics in our alma mater when there are no more "mighty pines" surrounding the school. So what is to be done?
I suggest re-tooling the lyrics to something like this:

"Oh, *******, our alma mater,
Set around the mighty developments."

...or even better...

"Oh, ********, our alma mater,
Set around the urban sprawl."

As sarcastic as it may sound, this will become a real predicament for my school in the future. What do yall reckon will happen to our alma mater?

Next Chapter

2008-06-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

The waiting is over, Paintsmh.

Click on the logo of my future ;-)

Stepping back in time

2008-05-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

Anybody that has read my blog at all knows that I try to spend the majority of my time away from modern society. The Florida Folk Festival, while filled with many modern comforts, is a place where I sometimes go back in time

At first glance it seems that these pictures could have been taken 50 or 60 years ago. Sitting underneath our ancient tent looking out over this spectacle and listening to people square dance in the distance, I can imagine being back in old Florida. Back in a simpler time. Back when people had a sense of identity and a sense of place. Back when Floridians didn't have to put a disclaimer on our heritage.
This feeling overcomes me even more while at the annual Battle of Olustee reenactment. Dressed in gingham and wool and warming my hands near a fire in the middle of an ancient longleaf pine forest, I can hear "Dixie" and the yells of people joyously dancing echoing through Old Florida. For a time, I have an inkling what life may have been like for my great, great, great grandfather.

Standing in the middle of a tick-infested battlefield sweating by the gallon while being rocked by cannon and musket fire all around me, the sulfurous smell of black powder thick in the air, the screams of men giving orders, the screams of men falling around me. I can, for a moment, feel the terror, the confusion, the treachery that my ancestors experienced while fighting in battle. I am humbled as I fully realize the courage of the men in that war, Southern and Northern, who stood honorably in defense of their families and country while their boyhood friends died in agony around them.

We don't need time machines to bring us back in time. All we need to do is seek out places like the Florida Folk Festival and the Battle of Olustee reenactment, and we can imagine what it was like to live years ago.

Have you ever experienced something that brought you back in time?

Florida Folk Artists

2008-05-27T13:44:00.000-04:00

In my first post about the Florida Folk Festival I stated that the friendships and connections I make with other people are some of the most valuable results of the time I spend there.

Last year I met an older man who made an impression on me with his outstanding performance and honest advice. Carl Sharp, "Florida's Cracker Cowboy Poet," recites his original, humorous poetry about life as a cowboy so expertly that all of his poems seem to blend together into one big story.

Last year I asked Mr. Sharp to critique the poem I then called "adirolF" and told him, "Be honest." He was honest, and pointed out all of the errors in meter and poetic agreement that needed to be changed. He caught some sharp words from Uncle Stu due to his seemingly harsh criticism of some parts of my poem, but that is the way artists critique each other...Telling me "It's good" does not help. I later posted an edited form of that poem on this blog under the original title. Since then, however, I have changed the name to "The Cry of a Cracker" and changed the wording and verse in multiple areas of the poem. In Mr. Sharp's own words, I "Douched it."

That picture does not do it justice. Some Florida readers may recognize this work of art by Regina Stahl Briskey from the cover of the book Wiregrass Country by Herb and Muncy Chapman. I had never heard of the book until I talked to Mrs. Briskey and purchased this, which caught my eye as I sifted through a stack of prints of her artwork. It will hang, along with other Florida paintings, in my dorm room this coming year.

Where will that dorm room be? Don't worry, you'll find out soon!

Folkin' it up

2008-05-25T19:58:00.007-04:00

How did this teen spend his first weekend of the summer and celebrate the unofficial end of his high school career? He spent it with the best folks in America, of course, at the Florida Folk Festival.

I was disappointed when my Uncle Stuart Pacetti informed me in the end of April that he would not be able to make it this year, as he would be visiting his son in Tennessee. Unfortunately, by that time it was too late for me to sign up as a participant, so I could not set up a little castnet display of my own. Therefore, instead of spending the weekend working on castnets under our usual sprawling live oak tree, I spent the weekend with my dad talking about reenacting with passing spectators. Of course, we had a great time doing that, too.

The Olustee CSO's old tent has seen better days, but that worn look caught the attention of a lot of people. It respectably held its own against Friday morning's driving downpours of rain. Nonetheless, it will probably be replaced soon, and this nice A-frame tent will likely end up in my hands in exchange for a donation to the CSO. Yet another step soon to be taken to become a full-fledged authentic reenactor!

This is a first-person view of how I spent much of my weekend. Shaving down a cow bone for a catnet gauge stick, working on my net in progress, and spinning embellished tales with some old crackers were favorite pasttimes. I really seem to fit in better with these old folks than with people my age. It's not that I'm a loner at school...That's a post for another time.

The 7-foot mullet net, my first, is nearly finished! Two more hours of work, and it's ready for the water! I finished attaching the leadline and eight pounds of sinkers at the festival, and it will be completed as soon as Uncle Stu returns from Tennessee.

The most valuable results of attending events like the Folk Festival, besides the experience of being among kindred spirits, are the connections and friends that one makes. My dad and I happened to be set up next to the Save our Suwannee organization, and I had a good talk with the people there about the river. When one of the members heard that I cast my own sinkers for my castnets (I melt down scrap lead and mold them into sinkers), he came over and informed me that that he had two buckets of lead he needed to get rid of. He used to be a diver and a stained glass artist, both of which required lead, and he had a lot of scrap that he was willing to give to me. I came home with about 40 pounds of good scap lead that will make about 500 sinkers.

In the absence of his father, Sam Pacetti awed the crowds yet again with his amazing fingerstyle guitar picking. I will post some videos of him playing soon, but you can visit his MySpace page and hear his amazing work now if you wish.

I have rambled enough for tonight. More on the Folk Festival will be posted on Tuesday. HurricaneTeen's officially returned for a nice long summer of hopefully blog-worthy events.

FREEDOM!!

2008-05-22T20:30:00.002-04:00

My high school years are over, I am afraid. I am overjoyed right now, but I am sure once the realization sets in that I will never return to my school as a student, I will be a little saddened by it. But for now, I have three more exams I need to take next week, and I am finished permanently.

I WILL BE SPENDING ALL THIS WEEKEND AT THE FLORIDA FOLK FESTIVAL IN WHITE SPRINGS, so if any of my Florida friends want to visit me down there I would be happy to see you.

Update

2008-05-09T05:54:00.000-04:00

No crackerism today as I run off to school and then work afterward and then to my brother's house and then I'm gone all day.
Just a little update:
Datil peppers are coming in like crazy. Just how many, you wonder? You will find out.
Squash and collards are growing beautifully next to each other! But the collards will be gone soon.
Okra and bush tomato plants are still growing...no flowering yet.
The AP Calculus test went off pretty well. Some of the questions were impossible to even comprehend after three hourse of pure, rigorous math, though.
Yes, I do know where I am going to college. Yes, it is in Florida (i'm sure that comes as a shocker!). Yes, you will find out where soon.
I went to the Sons of Confederate Veterans Florida Division Reunion in Ocala this past weekend, and met one of my heroes. You will find out who in a later post.
I am finished knitting on my castnet, but there's still a good bit of work left to do on it. It is currently hanging with 80 pounds of weight on its bottom outside Stuart Pacetti's garage.
There will be many updates when I am free from school...
10 SCHOOL DAYS LEFT!!

Suluclac

2008-05-07T05:02:00.002-04:00

Today, I will take the biggest exam I have ever taken in my life. It shouldn't be that bad, I don't think, because I did really well on the practice exams. If you condsider scores of 65% good...But there's about a 40 point curve on the test :-D Wish me luck...And only eleven more days of school left!

Frantic and Foregetful Friday Florida Crackerism

2008-04-25T23:06:00.000-04:00

AHH, I FORGOT IT WAS FRIDAY! Here's one that leaped from my memory just a minute ago:

"Don't bring a rope into a house that's had a hangin'."

Help!

2008-04-25T01:24:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure this is some kind of Lupine, but what kind??
Found this nice little specimen in Julington-Durbin Preserve.

Shovel-breaking work & other related rambling

2008-04-24T06:58:00.001-04:00

School has a way of preventing me from doing important things that I want to get done...Such as blogging, gardening, READING, WRITING, getting out into the woods, and working. It seems that teachers want me to be in school all day long considering all of the homework I have been assigned this year. By the time I am finished with homework, all daylight has drained away, and, considering most of my life is usually spent outdoors, this seriously limits my leisurely lifestyle, and often leads to my going slightly crazy (as is evident by that last sentence.)

I have been determined this spring break to be as productive as possible and get much of the things done that I have wanted to do for a couple of months now. Many of these things are enjoyable to me, and just knowing the fact that I am getting things done is very pleasing.

Tuesday, after having a delicious breakfast at Huddle House, my mom and I drove the whole length of our county to get to my uncle's/(soon to be) my property. I have been wanting to get some topsoil to load up in 5-gallon "grow bags" in which I will be planting datil pepper plants. We chugged on down through the "Potato Capital of Florida" and pulled up to my uncle's/my 1.25 acres.

I commenced shoveling, and ended up with about 600-800 pounds of wet, mucky, fertile topsoil out of the ditch. Even though this amount is only about half of what I will need to plant all my peppers, I was satisfied with the days' work. Unfortunately, our old shovel fell victim to the heavy dirt, and will bury itself behind the house tomorrow. It has served our household well, and will be sorely missed.

Involuntary Shovelslaughter.

On our way home, we passed through the tiny hamlet of Molasses Junction. If you have ever seen the movie Moving McAllister, you have seen parts of Molasses Junction. Here's one star's account of the town, during an interview with Parade Magazine:

Mila Kunis: I saw some really odd places. We were shooting in spots like Delta, Utah, that no one has ever heard of that were awesome to visit. These little towns are like characters all in their own. We went to Molasses Junction, Fla., It’s right outside of St. Augustine.
Parade: That’s a real name?
MK: Yeah, Molasses Junction, Fla., They were the nicest group of people I’ve ever met. This town maybe had a population of 75. It had one building that was the post office, a restaurant, a grocery store, a convenience store, a pharmacy and a gas station. And it was hunting season. They were like, “We will treat you guys to a dinner.” And we were like, “You realize we’re 150 people.” And they were like, “No problem.”

Molasses Junction Country Store's wall is adorned with newspaper clippings and photographs documenting the shooting of the film, and a picture of the owner, Dave Doan, with Mila Kunis. It is an extremely charming and friendly place, with its old-style southern food and feed/farm store-like feel. I entered the tiny building, my favorite store in the county, to get "lunch" for mom and myself. I picked up a coke and peanuts for my mom (remember this), a sweet tea for myself, and two bags of these:

A bag of Bulls-Hit Ranch's Datil Flavor Bulls Chips getting back to its "roots." For more on these, you can visit Florida Cracker's blog post about them.

I also talked to Dave about selling something in his store this summer.

I got home and unloaded all of the soil into the yard. Hopefully, by sundown tomorrow, I will have 49 transplanted Datil pepper plants.

Why so many? That's for the next post.

Weird

2008-04-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was the first day of spring break. Every high schooler was down at the beach soaking up the warm spring sunshine and making a general commotion. Everybody, that is, except me.

Nope, I spent the day running around like the Energizer Bunny, saving the beachgoing for sometime in the future (Personally, I think a farmer's tan fits my personality perfectly.)

I slept in (by my standards) till 8:00 AM, and made my way down to my Uncle Stu's house. I guess it's weird for a 17-year-old's best friend to be 58 years his elder...But I've never met any other person whom I have more in common with than this cracker-wisdom-loaded cousin of mine.
After tying over 600 knots on my mullet net-in-progress, we headed down to Tommy Allen's Feed Store just a minute down the road.

After parking the truck in the gravel "parking lot," we made our way up the creaky front porch steps, through the wide-open doors, and into the non-air conditioned shack. Saying "hello" to the attendant and explaining our reason for being there, we made our way over to the seed counter. Bags upon bags of seed were strewn everywhere, and after rummaging around for a few minutes, we found what we came for: Yellow straight-neck squash. Uncle Stu measured out his seed on the decades-old scale, put them in an sack, and brought them up to the check-out counter. All measurements are "on your honor.". A business based on the honesty of its customers? That's weird.

Later in the day, I went over to my mom's old high school sweetheart and datil pepper farmer, Randy Haire's, house. I showed up with the intention of buying 15 plants for $15, and ended up leaving with over 100 plants for $0, but not without some objection on my part. We had a very good talk about growing peppers, agriculture in general, and its quick ongoing disappearance in our home county. While we were talking, his daughter, who appeared to be slightly younger than I, approached gripping two painted turtles bound for their front yard swimming hole. She looked at me, and I could read her mind: What's he doing hanging out with my dad? That's weird.

When I finally got home late that afternoon, I mowed the lawn and took out the rest of my turnip greens. Some of them were starting to get that white mold on them, tipping me off that it was just getting too hot and humid for them. I had bush tomatoes to replace them with, anyway. I then spent the entire evening sorting, washing, blanching, and freezing the last of my crop of turnip greens.

As you can see, there was no shortage, and upon offering some to the neighbors across the street, they did not know what I was talking about; they had never heard of eating turnip leaves. That's a weird thing to do.

Yep, instead of spending the day at the beach like everybody else, I spent mine hanging out with old people, talking about old things, planting squash, harvesting turnips, and speaking with an old datil pepper farmer like he's an old friend.

I kind of like being weird.

A Different Kind of "Remote"

2008-04-20T23:26:00.005-04:00

I found my television remote yesterday.

It was buried in a drawer full of school papers.

I will need them soon when the time to study for exams comes upon me.

But for today, I can bask in the glory of not having to get out of my comfortable chair to turn the TV channel.

Ahhhh, spring break is FINALLY here!

Writing a Paper

2008-03-18T20:11:00.002-04:00

I am currently writing a process essay for my English class, and I am diverting my attention toward it. An update about my very exciting weekend will come hopefully early tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon.
I will have nice, long, rambling post coming soon, don't worry.

"What's your essay about?" you ask.
I'll give you a hint. The title is:
How to Castrate a Mature Boar-Hog
I'll explain why I chose this topic in the upcoming post.
Now I'm back to work!

Favorite Famous Floridian Friday Florida Crackerism

2008-03-07T06:39:00.000-05:00

The follow crackerism was made famous by one of my favorite famous Floridians of all time.

On this one, I would like two answers:

What does it mean AND who made it famous?

A little research may be in order for non-Floridians :-D

"Tha ol he-coon walks just afore the light a day."

Initiation

2008-03-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

"Private HurricaneTeen, front and center!"

The words sent a wave of unexpected confusion over me. They didn't warn me about this, I thought. Vacating my place in the ranks, I marched clumsily to the front, facing the captain.
"Hand me your rifle," said the sergeant at his side.
Promptly, I handed it over.
The captain spoke again.

"Spit in your hands."

As I followed his orders, I could hear my fellow privates jokingly mock me by making snorting sounds with their throats.
"Ah, that ain't enough! Can we get a donation?!"

A couple of my fellow privates eagerly stepped out of rank and, bending over my cupped hands, spit in them.
"Now hand me a cartridge."

Reaching into my black leather cartridge box, I pulled out one of the paper tubes filled with black gunpowder and handed it over to the captain. He took it, ripped off the top, and emptied the contents into my hands.
"Now rub that around. Make a good paste."

I rubbed the concoction vigorously, watching my hands turning a slimy black as the men behind me stifled their snickers.
"Ah, yeah, that's good. Now rub that all over your face. Make yourself a nice beard."

I looked up and spotted the disgusted faces of the spectators who had been watching us form up as I rubbed the body fluid of three different people onto my face.
"Now wash the rest of that off."

The captain took his canteen and washed SOME of the powder off of my hands. The sergent handed back my borrowed 1861 Enfield musket.
"Right about face!"

I turned, and a cheer rose from the ranks - a rebel yell.

I am officially a member of the 7th Florida Infantry Volunteer Regiment, Company B of the Confederate States Army; also known as The Straw Hats.

Final February Friday Florida Crackerism

2008-02-29T06:34:00.000-05:00

"Even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes!"

No hints on this one. Sorry.

Punishing Pencils, Camp Commotion, and the fever that results

2008-02-27T11:52:00.006-05:00

Due to the fact that last Thursday's post was so rudely cut short by an incorrigible mechanical pencil, I did not get to finish telling you about where I would be this past weekend. The pencil has been relegated to a dark desk drawer until it screams its apologies...It will be there a while, that danged pigheaded writing utensil.
...Now I will continue that post, saying it aloud as I type in order to further frustrate my former friend (the pencil.)

...Ahem...

Every summer for as long as I can remember, I have been volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities...or, to put it the way I prefer to, people with different abilities.
This doesn't make me special or accomplished because volunteering there is not a sacrifice for me, it is a joy. The camp involves pairing up high school and college-aged people who bear (and contribute to) all the problems of this world-"buddies"- with those who are blessed with the joy of God no matter where they go-"campers."
(HINT--------> I'm definitely a buddy :-D)

Just starting this past year, two camps were set up to take place over the weekend during the school year. The first one occurred in October, but I balked at volunteering because I was afraid I would have too much school work, and would not be able to finish it if I was gone all weekend...I didn't have but an hour of homework that weekend.
Feeling bad about that, I decided to volunteer for this weekend, and, of course, I ended up having about 5-6 hours of homework and studying to do this weekend.
Teachers can be unpredicatable and goofy.

Camp was great fun as usual, and the weekend went by very smoothly with the exception of one blip on Saturday night...The details of which I will not share so I don't interfere with anybody's privacy. Everything turned out okay, though.
I would love to post pictures and tell you more about the camper I became friends with, but once again, I don't want to break anybody's privacy.
I'll just end that by saying it was a great time.

Pencil: My weekend was just dandy! ...Sitting in this danged drawer all weekend.
I don't want to hear it unless it's an apology, pencil!
You BETTER hope I don't get out of this drawer!
Shut up, pencil!
*grumble*

Where was I? ...Oh, yes.

I returned from camp Sunday night with the full expectation of studying literally all night. Now I don't do this a lot, only when it is necessary, but I had three energy drinks on standby to help me through the night. I was determined to ace that calculus quiz the next day...

I woke up.

"Dangit, it's already 6:30 (A.M.) and my throat's sore," I thought.
"And, whew, does my body ache!"

So started three days of a continuous 100+ degree fever that I still am carrying right now.
This is my third day straight absent from school...And unless I kick this fever by this evening, it looks like tomorrow will be my fourth.

I don't even want to THINK about all the work I am going to have to make up when I return.
But I still wouldn't trade this past weekend for anything :-D

Calculus: My anti-sleep, anti-time, anti-sanity

2008-02-21T20:06:00.002-05:00

Yes, I had a completely amazing time at Olustee this year, and I can't wait to share it with you.
However, I am studying my behind off for a
HUUUUGE math test coming up next week...
On everything we have studied since we returned from Christmas break.

Just a moment ago, I managed to tear a large gash into my hand with the mechanical pencil I have been using to study all day. In an attempt to not bleed on my keyboard, I am going to cut this post short and find a Band-Aid.

Good night!

Froggy Friday Florida Crackerism

2008-02-15T06:46:00.000-05:00

I'm off to the Battle of Olustee Reenactment for the weekend. I hope maybe some of my Florida readers can make it and see some lage explosions while learning about the largest battle in Florida during the WBTS! I'll be back Monday morning! For now, today's crackerism is not quite as hard as last week's.

"God a'mighty, what a toad strangler!"

Hint: Meteorology

Have a great weekend!
http://www.olusteefestival.com/

Morningtime

2008-02-13T18:32:00.001-05:00

I woke up a little earlier than usual yesterday. I glanced at the clock, and it read:
4:50
I usually like to be out of bed between 5 and 6 AM, but waking up before my alarm at 5 is unusual. It has happened before, though.

I fumbled in the dark while still lying in bed and flicked on my desk lamp. I grabbed a piece of loose-leaf paper from the stack I keep handy on my desk, and a pen from my aluminum can/pen holder labeled Allen's Sunshine Cut Italian Green Beans.

Still lying in bed, I scribbled out a poem. I was finished by 5:00.

Immediately thereafter, I got out of bed and tied about 800 knots on my castnet.

After my fingers were warn raw by the monofilament fishing line, I made a pot of grits and read the newspaper.

All before nearly everybody else my age even thought about getting out of bed.

The morning is the best time of the day. I don't know why so many people choose to miss it.

Poem posted next week!

Meow

2008-02-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

FCAT - The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test

I know one Minorcan Factor reader who has strong feelings about it. Maybe even two.

For my out of state readers, FCAT is a test to see how well Florida public school teachers teach to the book and fulfill the beaureaucratic "Sunshine State Standards" for edumucation. Though it seeks to do so, it does not come remotely close to testing how much a student has learned in school. In my humble opinion, it only holds back true learning and creativity.

...But I am not here to complain about bureaucracy and the freedom of teachers to teach...

No, on this occasion I am here to proclaim my JOY over the administration of the writing portion of the FCAT that is occurring today at my house of learning. Being in my last semester of high school (whew!) exempts me from having to write a requisitely bland essay to "Persuade your parents to raise your allowance" (to which I would respond: "My parents do not pay me to live under their roof and eat their food")

Today I have a day off!

Maybe I'll go fishing when the moon gets high...
Maybe I'll finish planting some collard greens...
Maybe I'll edit the poem I wrote early this morning...
Maybe I'll leave it just as it is...

Maybe I'll...relaaaaaax...

HERE'S TO BUREAUCRATS!

Friday Florida Crackerism

2008-02-08T05:08:00.000-05:00

This is the start of a new series called the "Friday Florida Crackerism," which will consist of different "cracker wisdom" sayings posted on the Friday of every week. I will get most of these sayings from my own personal experience and also some from literature such as that by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. I will also do my best to spell in the vernacular so that proper pronunciation can be achieved by my friends from other geographical areas. I hope you find this both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Today's Florida Crackerism is:

"Ya cain't git all yore coons up one tree."

Anybody want to take a stab at what this means? There's a popular corollary that has something to do with baked goods...

Answer Posted 2/12:
"You can't have you cake and eat it, too."
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" would be acceptable, too!

Note: News on my property-purchasing plans will come soon.

Coke n Peanuts

2008-02-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

My travels often bring me past this little pit-stop near my home, which used to be owned by one of my numerous cousins by the name of...you guessed it...Weedman. Though our kin do not own the store anymore, I still often stop by there to buy gasoline and sometimes breakfast when I am traveling especially early. It is a typical rural southern store with the typical crowd and the typical country music loudly playing over the radio. Naturally, it's my kind of place.
One of the great things about Weedman's, as with many other rural stores, is that it sells everything under the sun inside its cramped quarters. From motor oil to "Yoohoo" in glass bottles to boiled peanuts and tractor parts...I mean everything.
One of the many unique things about Weedman's is that is still sells Coca-Cola in those little glass bottles that my parent's generation are always reminiscing about. REAL glass bottles...no screw-on lids here...yes, you actually have to use a bottle-opener!! (This comes as a shock to much of my generation.)

Whenever I stop in there it is often tempting to me to buy a glass-bottled Coca-Cola and some roasted peanuts, and do something that is also unique to little rural southern areas: Coke n Peanuts. Yes, the peanuts are actually poured into the GLASS bottle and the two are....dreaten....simultaneously.
Today, as my mom and I were heading down to take a look at the property I am buying, I caved in to this temptation and bought a couple bottles and a jar of peanuts.

One thing here is that it is simply not the same with a plasic bottle as it is with a glass bottle. It's just something about an ice cold glass bottle that completes the equation. Oh, and another thing is that the rough peanuts take out the carbonation of that little bottle very quickly. So enjoy, but don't prolong the experience too much!

It's delicious! You should try it!!

Exciting News

2008-02-02T16:03:00.000-05:00

HurricaneTeen's got some exciting news, and it has a little something to do with this...

I'd like to give you more photographic hints, but I figure I can leave this open-ended and have ya'll guess what's going on here. The news will be mentioned in THE VERY NEXT POST I PUT UP.

Until then...Have an outstanding "National Men's Grooming Day!"

"Adirolf"

2008-02-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

Before you read this entry, I would like you to read the previous one, especially the last section. It can shed some light on this poem.

adirolF
By: (HurricaneTeen)

A gravel road
cut out of swamp and pine
winds through the memories
of my mind.
My thoughts wind down
this road of memories,
taking me back
to that family of mine.

We lived humbly
among the
cows and swine.
We ate a few gophers,
and a gator
from time to time.
Old folks sat
in rocking chairs,
waving as I
passed them by.
I loved them all dearly,
and I considered them
mine.

Our house was
built of cypress,
and our spirit of
heartwood pine.
But our life was
soon to unravel,
like a spool
of cotton twine.

That gravel road
is a highway,
and the pine exists
nevermore.
The rocking chairs
sit empty,
and the people crave
more and more.

I do not recognize
this place
without the hammocks
of palm and oak.
The gophers were
buried and suffocated,
and the land
covered with houses
like a cloak.

Our swamps now sit empty,
The panthers no longer run free.
Our river is choked with toxins,
And shredded are the backs
Of the manatee.

Our culture is dying,
Our Southern flag
No longer can we see.
Our house now sits empty,
No old folks left
To wave at me.

Oh!
How the heart aches
Inside of me!

Take me back
to my road of memories!
Take me away
from this place!
My people are gone,
but not forgotten.
The extermination
of a race.

An Explanation and a Disclaimer

2008-02-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

I have hardly been on the computer recently.School work that eats away at my time may be the reason for this. Working on my castnet may be a reason. My pure addiction to the book The Yearling may be the reason. My large growing projects this year may be the reason.
But the real reason is...

I've been trying to unhook myself a little from the internet. I'm still networking with my friends on Facebook and keeping up with the national news, but for the most part, I am disconnecting myself from the World Wide Web. I haven't read a single blog except PureFlorida for months now (Which doesn't help, because after devouring the neverending creativity on that blog I always think "I cannot possibly be that good of a blogger" and become dejected. It's not your fault, Florida Cracker, it's my own complex :-D) It's kind of nice being away, but I would like to start reading again. So if I've been strangely absent from your blogs, it's not that I don't like you, I'm just trying to unhook myself :-D There's many times I wish we did not own a computer.

...Now on to the main attraction...

Tonight I will be posting a poem entitled "Adirolf" that I wrote in the middle of one night this past November. It's received positive feedback from my friends, family, and "Florida's Cracker Cowboy Poet," Carl Sharp, but I've been sitting on it a while for fear that it's too negative..
All that is said in it is true, but I fear that my writings on here are too pessimistic when it comes to Florida. Living where I live, though, and witnessing the urban sprawl and seeing people become less and less respectful, I frankly have a hard time being optimistic about it. (There I go again!)
I would love some feedback and/or constructive criticism on this poem. It's appreciated!

Scientists Discover New Elements

2008-01-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

Global warming and the skyrocketing price of oil are proof of
the existence of a new chemical element. A major
research institution has recently announced the
discovery in 2007 of the heaviest element yet known
to science. The new element has been named
Governmentium. Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25
assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198
assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of
312. These 312 particles are held together by forces
called morons, which are surrounded by vast
quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert.
However, it can be detected, because it impedes every
reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute
amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that
would normally take less than a second to take over
four days to complete. Governmentium has a normal
half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead
undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the
assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange
places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually
increase over time, since each reorganization will
cause more morons to become neutrons, forming
isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some
scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed
whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This
hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical
morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes
Administratium -- an element which radiates just as
much energy as Governmentium since it has half as
many peons but twice as many morons.

Stuck in the mud?

2007-12-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

Have you ever just felt like you were stuck in the mud...

...not making any progress at all?
That's where I stand.
I need to write on here more often!

Datil Daze and Homework Craze

2007-11-27T19:29:00.000-05:00

AS BUSY AS ALL GET-OUT AND YOU WILL SOON FIND OUT WHY...

In the meantime, here's the bit of humor for this week:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1047241

Apparently, Massachusetts lawmakers are debating a ban on "spanking" in their increasingly-crazy jurisdiction. Wow.

I was on the receiving end of some good licks as a child, and I can't remember a time when I didn't deserve it. My children will receive the same...As long as too many crazed Massachusetts residents don't relocate here and outlaw it 8-0

*Disclaimer*: This is not to suggest that ALL Massachusetts residents are crazed, but apparently there are enough of them to cause this kind of stir. We don't want to hurt any feelings here on The Minorcan Factor.

Anomalous Ape Antics

2007-11-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

A little town that I pass through every now and then on my way to various festivals (including the recent Florida Folk Festival) is getting its 15 minutes of fame this week. It seems that a strange ape-like animal has appeared around Glen St. Mary, and has everybody wondering where it came from. The story has been featured on Drudge Report, and is getting a lot of press. Here's the link to the article...

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=95548

This reminds me that I told you all that I would post my research paper about the Florida Skunk Ape on here a while back. It's not my best work, but I suppose I will post it anyway. Keep an eye out for that, and I will keep an eye out for smelly, hairy bipeds other than those who are related to me.

HAH!

2007-11-13T06:26:00.001-05:00

IN YOUR FACE, GREEDY DEVELOPERS!

If you scroll down a little on this page, you will see a picture of a sign that advertises a "41 Unit Approved Subdivision" for sale. I see this sign every day on my way to school, and I have wondered when and how this subdivision could have been approved. You see, I read the agenda and the minutes of every county commission meeting in my home county, and I never remembered having a development approved on this piece of land.
Just this past month, a meeting was held and that development was on the agenda.
They were....SHUT...DOWN!
The newly-elected county commission here is not lining their pockets with developer's cash (unlike the prior one,) so they have put a stop to development in much of the county. God bless them.
The real kicker is that one of the commissioners wondered aloud about why the sign out front said a "41 Unit APPROVED Subdivision" was for sale. He also wondered whether it needed to be referred to the state government as a matter of false advertising. HA HA!
Good for them. I love this county commission!

Sweet Serendipticiousness

2007-11-12T15:24:00.000-05:00

As yall know, I was in White Springs, FL this weekend regaining my sanity. I am becoming increasingly fed up with the suburban lifestyle, and going to the Florida Folk Festival is a great way to quench my thirst for culture. Yeah, that's right, all these new hoity-toity bistros, cafes, and art galleries popping up around me are NOT culture. You often have to look closely for true culture in modern Florida, and this is one of the few places where you can be completely surrounded by it.
As my dad said about me at the Festival, "He's in Heaven."

I spent most of the weekend with "Uncle" Stuart Pacetti knitting and throwing castnets. I have now passed over 4 feet, 6 inches on my net, aiming for 7 feet. Lots of work to be done still.

I had a great time with the man I consider my 3rd grandfather, but that was not the highlight of my weekend. No, Mrs. Sarah N. Dipity had very nice plans in store for me.

Saturday afternoon, I sat under the sprawling oak tree where our castnet demonstration was situated. I had spoken with hundreds of people that day about the long, laborious, sometimesfrustratingsometimesrelaxing craft of castnet knitting. I had people of every race, nationality, and profession descend upon me, eager to learn about my craft and my culture. As you can imagine, I was more than willing to share. When somebody approached me, I generally gave them a nod and a quick hello, leaving them to watch me feebly attempt to work monofilament line into mesh, waiting to answer any questions they may ask. Like I had so many times that day, I noticed a couple of people approaching out of my peripheral vision. I looked up...

Whoa, that girl definitely looks familar. And do I know that goofy-looking guy with her?
"Hi," I said, continuing my knitting.
Can it be FC and his daughter, Emma? It sure looks like her, but I can't be sure the guy with the sunglasses covering his face is really FC.
I kept knitting, looking off to the side, trying to get a better look at them without staring. You know how daddys are about boys staring at their daughters. The guy knelt down and started snapping pictures with one nice-looking camera.
Yup, gotta be them.
"Gonna put me on your blog?" I asked.
"Yup, is that okay?"
I stood, we shook hands, introduced ourselves using names other than FloridaCracker and HurricaneTeen, and we had a good conversation. I've been a loyal reader of PureFlorida for over a year and a half now, and I feel like I have gotten to know FC and his family. It was thrilling to see them as living human beings and not just images and writing on a computer screen, though :-D

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! More on the Festival in later posts.

Folkin' It Up

2007-11-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

HurricaneTeen will be in White Springs, Florida all weekend for the Florida Folk Festival. I will be set up with Mr. Stuart Pacetti pretty much the whole time working on castnets, so if you're planning on coming out, be sure to pay us a visit; I'd like to meet some blogging friends. A cousin of mine, Sam Pacetti (Stuart's son,) is a headlining musician with his amazing fingerstyle folk guitar picking, and you definitely don't want to miss him, either.
If you can't make it, you're missing out :-D

I've got some interesting posts coming soon that you won't want to miss, including:
A newly-written poem
A article I wrote that was published in The St. Augustine Record
A trip to Durbin Swamp after a couple weeks of rain
Recap of the Florida Folk Festival...etc.

I feel like I'm advertising. I do not have a creative bone in my body right now. Sorry. Hope to see some of you this weekend!

DOH! And other news...

2007-10-28T13:11:00.000-04:00

I had a new reader on my blog today, Eyemkmootoo, who left a comment about my prior post along with a link to some of his writing. I went to his blog and enjoyed it very much, so I decided to add him to my blogroll. When I went to edit my blogroll, *DOH!* I noticed some serious omissions that needed to be corrected. Therefore, along with the addition of Eyemkmootoo, the following very worthy bloggers have been added to my blogroll:

Rural Wat - Fascinating entries written by a biologist specifically focusing on Carolina Bays (a kind of swamp) along with other interesting natural things.

Florida Native Musings - Interesting blogging from a fellow native Floridian. Haven't seen much of him lately, unfortunately.

Buckin' Junction - How I did not have my most loyal reader on my blogroll, I will never know. Interesting reading about life on a dairy farm from my most northern fan :-D Also involves more information about the PBR circuit than I could ever imagine.

In other news, my grandma had her annual halloween taco party yesterday. This tradition involves cramming over 20 Floridians into a tiny house eating large amounts of Mexican food...Just the way I like it :-D I rarely have the chance to see much of my cracker side of the family, but the Halloween party is one of the times I get to reunite with them. Let's just say it is very loud, it involves huge amounts of food and large amounts of football (Florida-Georgia game!), and everybody is in everybody else's way...If that is not the perfect definition of my family, I do not know what is. I love that side of my family...I feel really at home there. The point of telling about this is to try to find out if there is anybody else out there who has an annual Halloween taco party. I submit that we are the only family in the world who does such a thing. One of our many idiosyncracies.

Ghost Light Road

2007-10-22T21:49:00.000-04:00

Back before "development" began "improving" our quality of life in this part of the county in which I live [extreme sarcasm in use here], there was an old legend floating among the endless pine farms that used to exist here. I'm sure you've heard of haunted houses, haunted libraries, and maybe even a haunted lighthouse, but we like to do things a little bit differently here. We had our own haunted road.

The road's original name was Bombing Range Road, as it provided access to an airfield and bombing range operated by the U.S. Navy in the years before and during World War II. A few years back (before I came into the world) the road was officially renamed Greenbriar Road for "real estate reasons". Regardless of what the road was officially named, we locals had only one name for it: Ghost Light Road.

Ghost Light Road was a perfectly straight, limestone and sand road that cut through the pine plantations and cypress swamps of my beloved home. If you visited this area back in those wonderful years, and happened to venture onto Greenbriar Road at night, you were met with a very interesting phenomenon.

Driving down the bumpy dirt road, your first thoughts would be "where the heck does this road go?" It would have been the darkest of night, with the light of millions of stars and the moon filtering through the tall pine trees being the only relief from the pitch black. The fresh scent of pine would fill your nose, and the cool air of the swamp would provide relief from the otherwise muggy weather. As you bumped along, you would begin to notice a light - a single light, as if a motorcycle's headlight - approaching you. The light would approach for minutes on end, and as you wonder what such a light could be, it disappears into the blackness. Are my eyes deceiving me? you wonder. You witnessed this a few times that night, in unpredicatable intervals. It was as if the phenomenon was teasing you.

About a decade ago, the road was paved and traffic began to increase as more people moved to the area surrounding. Three schools popped up near the road, and traffic increased greatly. "House Farms" took the place of pine farms toward the eastern end of the road, where thousands of yankees were planted. The ghost died; yet another piece of local history and culture lost to overdevelopement.

If I were to stand in front of all the 2700 students who attend my extremely overcrowded school and ask who knew what Ghost Light Road was, MAYBE 5 or 10 would raise their hand... A relatively small symptom of a deadly disease spreading through the lifeblood of Florida.

Muller Part Four: A Recipe for St. Johns River Mullet

2007-10-12T05:10:00.000-04:00

As I have stated in prior posts in this series, the St. Johns River Mullet (freshwater mullet) has always been known as an inedible fish due to its extreme fishiness. A good old Florida cracker and good friend of mine, the famous (or infamous) Stuart Pacetti, has related to me this recipe, however, to prepare freshwater mullet. I have not tried it yet...I will have to sometime.

A Recipe for St. Johns River Mullet
Related by Mr. Stuart Pacetti
2007

INGREDIENTS:
1 St. Johns River Mullet
2 Datil peppers, finely chopped
A bit of bacon grease
A pinch of salt
1 heartwood pine board

Prepare a fire out of hickory or any other wood you prefer for smoking, but do not prepare the fire in a smokehouse; keep it outside. Prepare to the mullet to your liking, filleting is recommended for thorough and even cooking. Lay the fish out on the pine board, lengthwise, so the entire fish fits onto the board. Liberally coat the fish in bacon grease. Spread the Datil pepper and salt evenly onto the fish. Let sit for a couple hours, and allow the fire to die down to small flames or hot coals. Lay the board close enough to the fire to receive enough heat, but far enough away to avoid being lit itself. Cook fish for 1-2 hours over fire. Remove the board carefully from the fire, and bring it into your kitchen, with the fish. Throw the fish away. Eat the board.

This is the only recipe I have ever know of for St. Johns River mullet. Enjoy!

Mullet Part Three: What to do with your mullet

2007-09-27T16:47:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note: I'm sorry it has taken so long to write and post part three of this series. I have already written 3 papers for my English class alone this year, so my writing time and skill is usually taken up by those. One I am writing right now is about the Florida Skunk Ape, and I may post it on here when I finish. I'm still aiming for at least one post per week throughout the school year, though. Now, let's get started on part three of our series on the mullet.

So you have your mullet and you're wondering what to do with them. Many people at this point will take this great food source, butcher it in many horrible fashions, and use it for bait to catch other fish. My very resourceful family does not see the logic in this...Why catch fish to bait other fish when you can just catch fish and eat those fish instead of going through the trouble of catching the other fish? Know what I mean?

Many people will argue that mullet tastes bad. These are the same people that will tell you catfish tastes bad. I believe that they are just judging the fish on the people that eat it: The mullet (along with the catfish) is widely considered a "poor man's fish." This is partly true, as I have never seen a rich man order the fried catfish or smoked mullet at Singleton's Seafood Shack. Well I guess I've never seen a rich man at Singleton's Seafood Shack, but that is beside the point...You will be hard pressed to find a rich man anywhere who will lay their soft hands on this fish. This does not mean the fish tastes bad! Mullet is not nearly as powerfully fishy-tasting as tuna, and I know you will be hard-pressed to find an American who has never eaten tuna before. Mullet simply suffers from a bad image, this does not mean it's a bad fish!

Getting away from that rich man/poor man spiel, the point is, DO NOT USE THIS FISH FOR BAIT.

COMING SOON: Mullet Part Four: A Recipe for St. Johns River Mullet

Mullet Part 2: How to Catch Mullet

2007-09-13T06:29:00.000-04:00

Naturally, after reading Part One of the series on this great fish, and becoming enlightened about its extensive history in Florida, you will want to go catch one for yourself. There are three things that you must have or know how to do in order to catch this prize fish:

1. Saltwater anywhere along the Atlantic or Gulf coast (in the U.S.) south of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.
2. A good, durable castnet with 1-inch mesh. At least 6-foot radius recommended. You also must have the knowledge to throw the net.
3. The knowledge of how to "snag" mullet?

1st Requirement: Saltwater
Mullet are considered saltwater fish, but they can also be found in brackish rivers, including the St. Johns River, which flows slowly through my homeland. They can be recognized as the fish that leap out of the water for no apparent reason, and fall back down with a nice splash. It is thought that they may jump to get away from predators or to be able to breathe better when they are living in waters that have a lower oxygen concentration. Although mullet can be found in brackish river water, I have been told to NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, eat a "St. Johns River Mullet". I've been told that they are disgusting...Horrible...Foul...Rancid...Abominable...Repugnant. On the contrary, my good friend and cousin, Stuart Pacetti, has shared with me a recipe that tells how to prepare St. Johns River Mullet. That recipe will be posted in a future instalment of this series. However, the recipe can only be successfully made be Minorcan Crackers (the recipe calls for Datil Pepper), so others should only attempt to prepare mullet caught on the beach.

2nd Requirement: Castnet
My mom has fond memories of going to the beach when she was a child. She and her family would drive right onto St. Augustine Beach in the middle of the night to go "turtle eggin'" and mullet fishin'. (Turtle eggin' is something for a future post.) To catch mullet, my grandfather would stand at the ready with his net in hand, while my grandmother would shine the headlights of the car into the water. The bright light would spook the mullet, and they would begin jumping, indicating where their schools were located. My grandfather would throw his net so that it fell over where the mullet were jumping, and hopefully would haul in a load of fish for the dinner table. Today, the beaches are, for the most part, closed to vehicular traffic, and this method can no longer be used. However, native Floridians still catch mullet with castnets on the beach. The video below shows how a castnet is thrown. [I'm sorry for the poor video quality, but it's the only video I could find that uses the same technique I use. It was filmed casting for shrimp in the St. Johns River.)

Most nets today are handmade, but I am learning how to knit castnets by hand from Stuart Pacetti. Coastal Living Magazine featured him in this article in June 2006, and I also wrote about this dying art in this archived post. This is my castnet as it stands right now: coming up on 4-feet-long and aiming for a goal of 7 feet. I'll have it finished by next summer.

3rd Requirement (can take the place of 2nd requirement): Snagging Mullet

I had not heard of this technique of catching mullet until today in my English class. My English teacher said he used to tie two large fish hooks together, cast into a school of Mullet, and "snag" one of them with the hooks. It is necessary to do this because a Mullet will never (okay, rarely) bite a baited hook, as they are bottom feeders. He did not eat the mullet, though, he would use them as bait for snook and other large game fish. This leads into the next instalment:

Mullet Part 3: What to do with Your Mullet

Mullet Part One

2007-09-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago, I was driving down the road on my way to visit some family in the city of St. Augustine, and I came across this advertisement for our local newspaper:

You Floridaphiles are probably having a nice chuckle. Oh, how that fish has defined our culture here in north Florida! For those of you who are not enlightened on the subject of Mullet Culture, please allow me to tell my story...

When my ancestors came to Florida in 1768, they were treated as slaves for nine years on the plantation of the tyrannical Englishman Dr. Andrew Turnbull. They worked year-round in the hot, humid, mosquito-infested hell that Florida was years ago. The majority of the Minorcan colonists died of dieases and famine, and those that managed to survive barely did so. The mullet, a species of saltwater fish that "runs" in schools along the beach during the summertime, was a very important part of the Minorcan diet during those rough years.

When the mullet "ran" along the beach, it meant that food would be pleantiful, and that life would not be quite as miserable as usual. This led to the common Minorcan expression "Mullet on the beach!" which means "Good times ahead."

This is the beginning of a multiple-part series on the Mullet. I will add that this is likely the only blog in the blogosphere on which you will find a multi-part series on this fish...Only from a Minorcan! You will find out why later.

Have a good Sunday! Go Pittsburgh Steelers!

A Birthday Post

2007-08-30T16:22:00.000-04:00

Today I turn 17-years-old.

I feel like I am turning 35-years-old.

I want my childhood back :-0

Now I am off to do homework for the rest of the night }:-(

A Month Passes Quickly

2007-08-14T16:23:00.000-04:00

I have had great joy in allowing a month to pass without a single post here on The Minorcan Factor (NOT!) I have been fairly busy during this last month of my freedom (i.e. summer) School starts a week from this coming Friday, and believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to it. Yes, a high schooler that actually enjoys learning! Ha ha, we're not as rare as many people think we are. Here's just an update on the happenings in the life of HurricaneTeen in the past month:

Work at the local Publix Supermarket. Where shopping is a pleasure!!
Datil peppers produce nicely.
Datil peppers catch sick.
Datil peppers stop producing.
Volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities.
Sons of Confederate Veterans...Meetings...Cleaning up the Kirby-Smith House
Home-grown okra fried in corn oil.
Pilau.
Minorcan Clam Chowder.
Datil Pepper sauce.
Datil Pepper vinegar.

Any questions as to what culture I come from? No? I guess there never really were.

Right now, though, I am in Hurricane Mode, as I am tracking a Tropical Storm Dean that could threaten Florida as early as next Tuesday...but that is mostly speculation. This time of the year, much of my free time is devoted to tracking tropical sytems...If I began listing all of the websites I use to derive my "homegrown forecasts," it would take you quite some time to go through them. However, Dr. Jeff Masters' (not Minorcan!) blog is a great source for somebody who wants more in-depth scientific information about storms than The Weather Channel or even the NHC Public Advisories provide.

This past month, my family also gave up all hope of selling our house and moving somewhere quieter. I am fine with this, because I was tiring of all the people kicking me out of my house so they could look at it for a few minutes...This is especially undesirable when you are in the middle of cooking a pot of greens.

My parents have taken to my little Datil Pepper enterprise very well, and have agreed to allow me to place a greenhouse in our back yard. This will be very helpful when it comes time to plant this coming November. It will help to keep my seedlings nice and warm till it comes time to sell them in March...My days of lamps and plastic bags are over! Also, I will be able to load that greenhouse up with full-grown plants when I go off to college, keeping them nice and warm on those cold nights when I am not there to baby them.

A new discussion should be coming out from NHC about TS Dean any minute now. It looks weaker than it did this morning, which can be attributed to 15 to 20-knot wind shear, and probably the diurnal minimum. We should see him strengthen overnight tonight and through tomorrow as he moves out of the wind shear and into even warmer waters. This means it is tome for me to depart. Have a good day!

Finding hidden treasure...right around the corner!

2007-07-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

My parents tell me from time to time that I have too many hobbies: Kayaking, hiking, growing vegetables, meteorology, geneology, castnet knitting, storytelling, The War Between the States, reading, writing, blogging...the list goes on and on. I suppose they are correct; I often have so many things I need and want to do that I simply don't know what to do with myself! Well you can go ahead and tack on another thing to that list:
Geocaching.
I was reading through SophieMae's Florida Cracker Crumbs blog a few weeks ago, and I came across her link to geocaching.com. I'd heard of geocaching before, and I had always thought that it would be intersting, but never had the chance to try it out...So I thought I would go check out the website and see what I could do.
This seemed to have opened up a whole new world to me! A search revealed over 3000 "hidden treasures" within 10 miles of where I live, one of which I actually walked by many times every day at work, oblivious. "Geocaching" is the use of a GPS to find caches ("hidden treasure") in some remote and some not-so-remote areas of the world. It combines being outdoors with a sense of discovery: Two of my favorite things! I was immediately hooked.
I excitedly entered the coordinates of a few caches into my GPS, and away I went! Here's some of what I found (more to come later today):

If you like the outdoors, and love adventure, then you will love geocaching. This sport is becoming accessible to most folks now that the price GPS devices are dropping so quickly...The Garmin eTrex Legend that I bought less than 2 years ago for $180 can now be bought for less than $110. So go out and find yourself some hidden treasure!

Global Warming and Al Gore

2007-06-30T15:36:00.001-04:00

I found an excellent article about Al Gore and "global warming" today. You can read it here. The following is my personal opinion on the crossing of science and politics, which is exactly what has happened on the issue of global warming.

As a blooming meteorologist, I have great interest in the SCIENCE of meteorology and climatology. Being a true scientist, it sickens me to see the ways of science cross with the ways of politics. Crossing these two fields is like trying to cross a datil pepper with a satsuma...It just doesn't blend! Science is all about trying to solve the mysteries of the universe through unbiased research and experimentation. To be a scientist, one must approach an issue completely unbiased, and answer one's questions ONLY through research. When science intertwines with politics, though, it is corrupted. If a person has a preconceived political belief and tries to "prove" it right using "science", the person is not performing true science. Their preconceived political notion clouds their judgment, effectively preventing them to see all of the evidence that both sides of the issue present. The scientific study of global warming has been infiltrated by politics, and one can see the fruit that this cross-pollination bears: It's bitter, sour, tainted. Politics MUST be separate from science, or scientific "fact" will be based only on belief, and not on the natural ways of the universe.

A Pictoral Summary of my life this summer...

2007-06-27T23:56:00.000-04:00

That's me in the penguin suit.

As soon as the shutter clicked on this picture, this little wild hog darted into the woods.

Withlacoochee River

My Sons of Confederate Veterans camp's color guard...No, I'm not in this picture :-D

School never truly ends.

They keep me sane.

TO BE CONTINUED...AND MAYBE I WILL MAKE IT INTERESTING NEXT TIME!!

Busy

2007-06-10T12:52:00.001-04:00

I am stopping in very quickly to inform all of you that I am indeed still alive, and that I have been slightly busy lately. I was off volunteering at a camp for people with disabilities this past week, catching sick in the process, and am now packing for a trip to South Carolina for a retreat for teenaged Christians. Hey, I'm not complaining, I had a great time at camp, and I will construct a post about it soon. I didn't expect this summer to be quite this hectic...

On another note, not only did I become ill while I was at camp, a couple of my Datil plants dropped some new growth and a couple really nasty looking pods while I was gone. I suspect Phytophthora Blight, though I hope that is not the case because it could be passed on to future generations through seed...That would not bode well for my future spicy endeavors. A couple of this year's newborns are also infested with aphids that I must take care of before I leave. I don't feel like doing any of it, but I have a long list of things to do before I leave tomorrow morning. Ugh.

Have a good week!

The End Is Near

2007-05-14T22:43:00.001-04:00

I can see it!

Yes, I can feel it!

I can taste it!

...The end of the school year...

SOOO CLOSE!!!

Exam week is in full swing, and I am studying my hind quarters off for the dreaded Precalculus exam on Wednesday. Ugh.

Thursday will be the last day of school for me, but I have an event in Ocala from Friday-Sunday that will have me occupied (don't worry, you'll hear about it.) So do not expect any posts from HT until next Monday...I will post again afterward; including the Florida Cracker play.

The good news is that my blogroll has now expanded one line to allow for the indroduction of Rural Wat, a blog that I have been enjoying very much for a couple weeks now. Be sure to check it out; especially if you like swamps.

Also, if would be nice if my fellow Floridaphiles will visit and encourage the new guy on the block, Scott, at Florida Native Musings. I'm sure you will all agree that it's much easier to maintain a blog when you know you have people out there actually reading it!

Well I am off to increase my hygiene points with a hot shower :-D
Have a good night!

Defending Florida's Cracker Culture

2007-05-11T23:50:00.000-04:00

This is for my fellow Crackers out there...It would be great if you could just take a minute or two and put your two cents in here, at my former English teacher's blog. A student wrote the original post, which I responded to, and there were some....uh....ignorant people that responded to my response. I think it would be great if we got a couple non-students in there to respond and explain to these people that the Florida Cracker culture is not based on "oppression and enslaving people."

I am off to watch Gods and Generals for the quintillionth time.
Good night!

Tomorrow's Looking Very Swampy

2007-05-09T22:06:00.000-04:00

This is where I will be tomorrow...Quite possibly into the nighttime...Finding the inspiration for the final portions of my play about Florida Crackers in the 1800s. It's due Friday, and it WILL be posted on the internet on Friday. I shouldn't need a kick for this one, but thanks anyway Paint...I know you want to kick me.

Currently...

2007-05-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

Those two pictures are probably a better description of what my life if like right now that what I could write on here...I know, it's not angled right...Turn your head 90 degrees to the left :-D

I am commencing preparations for exam week, which is quickly approaching (just over 1 week!) and I have a lot of preparing to do! The good thing about that is that school is almost over, and I will be free to excercise ALL of my creative thought on here!

"Florida Attacks"

2007-05-02T17:58:00.000-04:00

So, I had something happen yet again today, something that has been plaguing me increasingly over the past two years or so. This something is a thing that saps my strength and completely prevents me from concentrating on anything else.

...Yes, it's love...

A spurt of loving pessimism (ha ha) that I have come to know as a "Florida Attack."

Sometimes these Florida Attacks can be good (such as when I strike inspiration in the swamp), and sometimes they can be bad...
Today's was bad, and, as usual, it happened at a bad time.

I stepped out of my 5th period class into a choking haze of smoke blown down from the land of Georgia (God help them.) As I began my daily walk outside toward my 6th/7th period block class, it hit me like a sack of p'taters....
I can't really descibe the feeling. Just thoughts like "Once it's gone, there's no turning back," and the likes of that.
I walked into my freezing cold chemistry classroom and immediately went back outside to lengthen my walk and to think.

...What I thought...I can't put on paper (er, keyboard?) right now, so you will have to wait on that...

However, it did succeed in putting me in a bad mood all throughout 6th/7th block, to the dismay of the people sitting around me (sorry, guys.)

When I walked outside to the parking lot after my Chemistry class period was over, I was beginning to cool off. I was just glad the school day was over and I could go home and have some time alone. Then I heard the THUD and BEEP, BEEP, BEEP sounds of construction (the developer's word for "destruction") behind my school, and this set me off on another loop. My school is currently situated in the middle of the woods, in the remnants of this once rural area of my county. That will not be true in a few years, as the expansive pine plantation surrounding my school are slated to be clear-cut for yet another development.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, I spotted a raccoon wandering in the palmettos just outside of the parking lot, and I thought Where is HE supposed to go? Where's a cracker supposed to go? I suppose we're both slated for extinction, just as that development is slated to destroy.

Just another day in the life of a Floridaphile.

Wow, this post was so horribly written, it ought to not even be posted. However, I must put it out there. This is the way we humans think sometimes.

Tick, tock, tick, tock

2007-04-22T18:33:00.000-04:00

HurricaneTeen is waiting for his brother to send down the cables required to upload pictures from his camera. He is getting impatient. When he gets them, he will have lots of pictures for you.

A Victory for Minorcan Heritage in Florida

2007-04-15T21:32:00.001-04:00

The St. Johns County School District is constructing a new middle school on my family's old land grant in Mill Creek, FL. The school is located in the World *choke* Golf *gag* Village, and will serve those residents and the kids from the rural areas (the remaining portion of our land grant) surrounding it.

I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.

At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School

Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School

....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL

It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...

I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.

Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being forced out to make way for fairways and "World Golf."

You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.

I'll have more on this tomorrow with:

The significance of Pacetti Bay.
My comments on "World Golf Village" beating out "Ward's Creek"

A Victory for Minorcan Heritage in Florida

2007-04-15T21:32:00.000-04:00

The St. Johns County School District is constructing a new middle school on my family's old land grant in Mill Creek, FL. The school is located in the World *choke* Golf *gag* Village, and will serve those residents and the kids from the rural areas (the remaining portion of our land grant) surrounding it.

I have wondered for some time what they would name this school, and an elementary school they are building in the same area. I always thought that it would be cool if they named the school after my Minorcan family (Pacetti) in some way.

At a school board meeting last Tuesday, these were the main proposals for the two schools:
Elementary School
Ward's Creek Elementary School
World *choke* Golf *gag* Village Elementary School

Middle School
Pacetti Bay Middle School
Fairways Middle School

....And the winners are....
WORLD GOLF VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PACETTI BAY MIDDLE SCHOOL

It's a good thing that Pacetti Bay beat out Fairways, because I would just have to go bang my head on a brick wall if they caved in to naming BOTH schools after golf...

I look at it this way...
Golf has been in Mill Creek for 8 years.
Pacettis have been in Mill Creek for 203 years.

Thank God they let us keep this little sliver of culture in a place where culture is being pushed out for fairways and "World Golf."

You can read the whole story at http://staugustine.com/stories/041107/news_4525033.shtml.

HurricaneTeen Has Made History

2007-04-13T23:35:00.000-04:00

I believe I made history a couple weeks ago while I was in St. Augustine (what better place to make history???)

I (think) I was the first person EVER to come home from a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting and immediately watch hockey thereafter.

Please tell me if you know of anyone who has done this. I am considering contacting Guinness World Records (okay, not really.)

Speaking of hockey, it's playoff time in the NHL, and my Pittsburgh Penguins are in contention. I'll keep you posted on how badly we get our behinds whipped (we have a VERY young team.)

Speaking of being very young, I am going back down to Flagler Estates tomorrow to scout out some more property to buy. Yes, I just might be making mortgage payments when I am 16-years-old. All those years of penny-pinching and saving money appear to be paying off.

Goodbye, my friends. I must get to bed early if'n I want to be up at 5:00 tomorrow morning! Fare thee well!!

FloridaCracker, I feel your pain...

2007-04-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

If you read FloridaCracker's Pure Florida blog, you know that he recently completed his huge series of essays required to attain a certain certification for teachers. I am feeling quite overwhelmed right now, just as he felt (so overwhelmed, he actually GAVE UP BLOGGING for a while!!!)

My predicament is very similar in that I have a big story (somewhere around 20-40 pages) due Monday for my creative writing class...And I have a whopping 3 pages written.

The story is supposed to be a kid's story using creative and/or humorous writing as a way to teach specific morals, without the kids even realizing they are being taught. Sounds a lot like Brave New World, eh?

I chose to write about my dog's life on the street, in which she traveled the country on the rails as a "hobo puppy." I have had such a lack of motivation, though, that I do not enjoy working on it that much.

In order to fuel my creative thoughts and help me focus, I had planned on going out to my #1 place of inspiration...The swamp. But........get ready.......are you sure you're ready??......hold onto your seat because you may just fall out of it when I tell you.......I DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT. I know, the end is near. Since when does HurricaneTeen not feel like going out in the swamp?? Ugh, maybe I am just too ready for the school year to end.

So why does a person who loves creative writing so much have so little done, even though he has had a week now to do it? Well, in the past couple months I have been in a writing lull (hence the lack of blog posts), and I do not find myself enjoying it as much as I usually do. However, I feel like I am pulling through, and I think I am ready to get cracking.

My goal is to get ten pages done tonight, bringing my total to 13, and if I don't get that done, I will feel that I let ALL OF YOU down...So if I don't have that amount done by my next post (tomorrow) PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me some encouragement and/or a scolding. I REALLY need it.

Thank you.

(And I am not kidding...YELL at me. I am going to tell my parents to do the same.)
And the fact that I am working from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, then I have church till 11:30 does not help my situation, either. But I WILL get it done!!
Now I am off to write before I get distracted.
Good night !

Wow...Amazing parallels...

2007-04-06T01:18:00.000-04:00

The Old Elm Tree by the River
By: Wendell Berry

Shrugging in the flight of its leaves,
it is dying. Death is slowly
standing up in its trunk and branches
like a camouflaged hunter. In the night
I am wakened by one of its branches
crashing down, heavy as a wall, and then
lie sleepless, the world changed.
That is a life I know the country by.
Mine is a life I know the country by.
Willing to live and die, we stand here,
timely and at home, neighborly as two men.
Our place is changing in us as we stand,
and we hold up the weight that will bring us down.
In us the land enacts its history.
When we stood it was beneath us, and was
the strength by which we held to it
and stood, the daylight over it
a mighty blessing we cannot bear for long.

So What's HurricaneTeen Been Up To?

2007-03-21T21:10:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have posted.
Time flies faster every day, doesn't it?
Well, I've been conjuring up a lot of schemes lately, so I have been busy...and this is the latest:

School
Swamp Trekking (post about this soon)
Reading
Castnet Knitting (post about this soon)
Hanging out with friends (post about this soon)
Tending to my Datil Peppers (post about this soon)
Buying a piece of land in Flager Estates (post about this soon)
Starting to work A LOT more to help pay for the above plan.
*Trying* to get a second job as a reenactor in St. Augustine...more on this, too.

I am going to get to writing these posts TONIGHT so I can post them in rapid succession (one every two days!)

...But first...I must go study for a precalculus quiz tomorrow and take a shower...School and hygiene take precedence over blogging...

Short Swamp Spulunkering

2007-03-10T23:17:00.000-05:00

After school yesterday, I went out into the swamp for a little relaxation time and to break in my new (used :-D) pair of Civil War Reenactor's boots. The green is starting to come back on the trees, and the flowering plants are starting to pop up! It has always been my philosophy to look down at the smaller things in order to see the real beauty in nature. Sometimes while we're out searching for that big cypress tree, or that huge gator, or some other big thing, we pass by the beauty right under our noses. That is what I often like to focus on in these swamp trips, so that is what you will see here...Things we may otherwise overlook, but still hold great beauty. (NOTE: If I am mistaken in my identification of some of these plants, PLEASE tell me. The only way to learn is knowing when you're wrong!!)

Swampbottom Skyscrapers

Net Fern?

Durbin Creek...Still too low for an enjoyable through kayak trip. It's been nearly a year since our last full trip!

There's more pictures...But I am tired...And we are turning forward the clocks tonight...And I am going to church early tomorrow...and then taking a kayak trip on Sixmile Creek. So I must hit the hay. Have a good night!

A POST!! And a great quote.

2007-03-02T18:33:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger lately. It's already been over a week?!?! Well, I will be back soon enough; I have just been lazy lately.

My dad pointed me to an article in the Florida Times-Union about one of my favorite bands, Mofro. Mofro hails from north Florida, and they (specifically the lead singer and songwriter J.J. Grey) are Floridaphiles like me. They often sing about Florida and its ongoing destruction, and the destruction of the simple way of life in general. One quote in particular stood out to me, and I thought "I HAVE to post this on the blog!" Here it is:

"I asked Grey how he would describe Mofro's sound and he said, 'I'd have to throw in towel on that one...In the end, I'd just say it's from the South, because that was where I was born and raised. That doesn't make me better than anyone else, and it certainly doesn't make me any worse. It just makes me who I am."

Amen, Mr. Grey.

You can hear some of Mofro's songs here, here, and here (my favorites are "Lochloosa" "Fireflies" and "Florida." Be sure to check those out, and be sure to check out their newly-released CD, Country Ghetto.)

Have a Dixie Day!

"Uh oh..."

2007-02-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, a crisp, breezy day in the Osceola National Forest, was the first full day my dad and I spent at the Battle of Olustee Reenactment. We had spent the first part of the morning wandering around the various sutlers, walking part of the Florida Trail, and just enjoying the beautiful weather...more on that stuff later. When the time came for the "unofficial" reenactment (the true, historically accurate one is on Sunday), my dad and I wandered over to the battlefield to see some explosions. We got some good pictures (later!), and had some good times, but we had to leave after about a half hour in order to make it to church on time in Lake City.

On our walk back to the campsite, one of our friends stopped us and said we needed to go back to our campsite immediately. He gave us a reason, but for the sake of suspense, I will not tell you right now.

Farther along on our walk (it's about a 1/3-mile walk back to camp), another one of our friends told us the same thing. We were a little worried.

When we got there, we found our campsite taped off and two US Forestry Service officers standing around our tent. We looked up and saw a 3 to 4-inch diameter tree limb hanging by a thread above our car, swaying in the breeze.

Yikes.

We talked the guys a little bit, took some pictures (none of the ones of the tree limb turned out very well), and headed off to church.

When we returned that night after engorging ourselves on Ken's Barbecue (a delicious local restaurant,) we found two tree limbs laying at the base of the tree. Why we did not get any pictures of those, I do not know.

You'll just have to take my word for it :-D

I will be posting about Olustee over the next few days, so be sure to check back for updates and little "journal entries" about our weekend!

Puzzler

2007-02-19T15:30:00.000-05:00

Why did the United States Forest Service tape off our car and campsite at Olustee?

Going Away...

2007-02-16T05:50:00.000-05:00

I will be gone until Monday afternoon, as I am headed off to the Battle of Olustee Reenactment for the weekend.

Go ahead and read the story about my swamp treck a couple weeks ago, and as you read, keep in mind that Jimmy wrote it.

I hope y'all have a good weekend! Easterners: STAY WARM!!!!

Swamp Trekking: Jimmy's Story

2007-02-16T05:44:00.000-05:00

As y'all know, my friends and I recently went out into the swamp so that I wouldn't go absolutely crazy with cabin fever. We had a very nice 2-hour hike, and Ben and Jimmy (both of whom had never been into this swamp) seemed stunned by the natural beauty of the place, and the way it just seems to drain all stress and the worries of everyday life...and people wonder why I love Florida so much!

Also, as you know, Jimmy has a great talent for writing rather strange stories. If you have not read his reflections on square bagels and toilet paper yet, I highly recommend that you do. I was going to write my own little boring story about this trip, but I decided to use Jimmy's more interesting one instead. I will need to edit some parts out and censor some stuff, as Jimmy has some....ummmm....inappropriate comments in his original post. I like to keep things clean here on the Minorcan Factor.

Today seemed to start off just as any normal day would, but any alert teenager would know that this wasn't just a normal day. Today was a very good day. A day commonly referred to (by the commonfolk) as an "early release day".
And it was good.

As the shortened school day came to an end, Phillip, Ben, HurricaneTeen, and I met up and decided that we should go on a magical journey as to avoid the boredom of having an extra two-three hours to sit at home and do nothing.

We went on a journey to destroy the one ring of power.

As we made our way out to the mystical woods of doom, and settling inner conflict, we made mental note of the horrors which we would have to endure on such a journey, and we prepared ourselves mentally (as well as physically) for the task that lie ahead.

Entering the forest, we immediately made our way up the river at a good speed.
After traveling non-stop at a good speed for 3 days, we decided to travel across the "bridge-log thingy of no return" for absolutely no particular reason. But Phil decided to try something really stupid (hand me my camera), and he ended up losing the camera off the "bridge-log thingy of no return". So me and Phil decided to have a duel to the death.

Me and Phil, having a duel to the death.

Needless to say, I won.

Me, proclaiming my ultimate victory and Phillip's ultimate demise.

So we continued on our merry way, and 27 days later, we ended up at the ancient and mystical landmark that has been referred to as *censored* (NOTE: The name of this place is not really that bad, but it could be considered offensive and derogatory by some, so I have taken the high road on this one)

HurricaneTeen at *censored*. That's me planning his ultimate demise in the background.

Me, revelling in HurricaneTeen's ultimate demise, which can be credited to me.

Phillip, coming back to life (not at all uncommon).

At this point, I decided that this story really isn't going anywhere. So I'm going to put in some cool elevator music and a montage to pass the time. Since this whole writing thing kind of hinders my ability to do so, put on your own elevator music and imagine a montage of me, Phil, HurricaneTeen, and Ben running through a forest.

He almost died. ***TRIVIA*** -------> That's not my foot. (HurricaneTeen note: It's mine :-D I put it there for perspective, but it is still kind of hard to see the 5-inch-deep hole.)

This is the huge cypress tree the HurricaneTeen is always talking about.

HurricaneTeen made friends with Phill's family. (Note: That's an inside joke.)

Ben, going on an angry rampage and destroying the forest in a blind fury.

We finally destroyed the ring. Because we were getting kind of tired and wanted to go home.

Then Phil and I got into a fight about whether it should be legal to put stem cells in your breakfast cereal or not (Phil likes to eat them raw for some reason), so we had another duel to the death.

Me and Phil dueling to the death (again).

Ugh... this story sucks.

Long story short, we destroyed the ring of power and then went to Burger King.

Phil, at Burger King. I don't really know if he was hungry or if he was contemplating the best way to get on the slide on the playground.

So uhh... the ring was destroyed... our stomachs were filled... Middle Earth was safe from the clutches of Sauron (again)... and... uhhh...
There really is no point to this story.

Moral: Don't argue with Jimmy, because he always wins duels to the death.
Cameras + swamp water = unhappy?

Finally

2007-02-15T07:05:00.000-05:00

Finally, I have posted again. It's not been homework or other work that has kept me from posting lately. I've just been taking it easy, enjoying this relatively easy semester of school. So I encourage you to read the post below about Minorcan Knitting.

I need to get ready for school. It's funny how I get up before 6:00 every morning and still sometimes end up rushing to get ready to leave the house at 7:40 to be at school by 8:30.

By the way, I still need to show ya'll that post about our recent swamp adventure. I'll post that later :-D

Minorcan Knitting

2007-02-15T06:33:00.000-05:00

Since this past June, I have been taking up the craft of knitting. Yes, yes, I know, this is usually a woman's pasttime, but you men our there don't have to worry about me being a little "sweet." I am here to officially declare: "MEN CAN KNIT, TOO!"

My knitting consists of home-made "needles," straight, uniform whittled sticks, and monofilament fishing line. I know you may be asking Who the heck's gonna wear a pair of socks made out of fishing line?! Well, you know, it's the latest fashion trend in Hollywood, and....

But seriously, folks, men in my family have been doing this kind of knitting for centuries, and their life practically depended on the produce this art during bad times...which were all too common for them.

Yes, I am speaking of that old tool, the castnet. People across the world use castnets to catch baitfish for their fishing excursions, but my family has always used it to obtain food directly. Why the heck catch fish to use as bait and then have to go catch other fish, when you can just catch fish and eat THEM? Castnets were made by master netcrafters for thousands of years until machine-made nets became common in the past century. You can find castnets in any Wal-Mart or megamart or any marine supply store.

So, wait, HT, why waste your time MAKING the castnets when you can buy them in the store? Well, Phantom Reader, to put it lightly, the castnets you buy in the store are steaming piles of alligator dung compared to a well-crafted handmade net. Yes, Alligator dung. Anybody who has cast both kinds of nets and stepped in a pile of Alligator dung (many native Floridians) will tell you that, yes indeed, the machine-made nets aren't worth the water they are cast into.

NOT TO FEAR CASTNETTERS! There are still a few netmakers out there who can sell you a real castnet, a castnet you will use for the rest of your life with minimal repairs. And the net won't have that little pucker at the top of machine-made nets that just refuses to flatten out.

I am learning the art from a man who is considered to be the master castnet knitter in Northeast Florida (quite possibly all of Florida.) He's an old Minorcan Cracker and one of my cousins, Mr. Stuart Pacetti. Yes, you've heard of him before...I've only mentioned him about 3 or 4 times on this blog already. As a restless retired man, this is one of the ways he keeps himself busy, in addition to his involvement in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and his beautiful Florida Folk guitar picking. Coastal Living did an article on him this past June, and you can read it online here. Be sure to listen to the songs at the bottom of the page, too, especially This Land I Love.

Mr. Pacetti giving me yet another castnet knitting lesson at his house last the Friday before last. He is working on my 6-foot mullet net here, using tools that I carved by hand (very badly, I might add) this past summer.

Currently I am making a 6-foot Mullet net with 1-inch mesh to catch those delicious fish that my family has enjoyed for so long. I will post later with pictures of me working this net down, and with a better description of how and why I do it.

HAVE A DIXIE DAY!!

Minorcan Datil Pepper Sauce

2007-02-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

I did not have school last Friday, so I spent practically the whole day in St. Augustine, doing some of the stuff I enjoy most.

In the morning I stopped by my grandma's (a.k.a. gram gold shoes...named after the metallic gold shoes that she takes a liking to) to visit. She had been almost completely out of Datil pepper sauce, so we had planned to fix up a batch while I was there. (More on where I went afterward is for a later post.)

Datil Pepper sauce is a recipe known by a few Minorcan families in St. Augustine and other parts of Florida and Georgia. These families tend to keep their recipe closely guarded, so as Florida's culture continues to be isolated and destroyed, so does the knowledge of how to make this delicious condiment. Fortunately, I am hell bent on being a Minorcan, so I guess it won't completely die out as long as I am living...And God knows I may really be the only one in my generation who cares [I guess I'll put a whole post about this later.]

Anyway, more about the sauce itself...Each family's recipe tastes a little bit different; some taste sweet as sugar and others will cause every cell in your body to scream "AGGGGGHHHH HOT!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" Our recipe lies somewhere in the middle, spicy enough for you to get a good kick and to feel it for about a half hour after you finish eating it, but with a nice herbal/sweet type flavor. It can be eaten on pretty much anything except ice cream and cereal, but here are my favorite ways that we Minorcans use them:

Fried Shrimp. There is nothing like a nice pile of fresh-caught shrimp breaded and fried up to perfection. Mixing the sauce with mayonaisse makes a perfect seafood dip.
Fried Mullet or Catfish. Use the same mixing technique described above.
Hamburgers. My favorite burger: Fresh beef (venison will do, too), ketchup, mayonaisse, barbecue sauce, Datil pepper sauce, tomato, lettuce, onion, and cheese. Messy, but the most delicious burger I have ever had.
Okra. Okra is delicious dipped in the Datil/mayonaisse mix or just plain Datil sauce.
Fried Chicken.
Cold or Allergy Remedy. (I guess this isn't really the sauce, but I thought I would share it anyway.) Finely chop up a Datil pepper and spread it on a piece of bread. Eat it, and it will clear up any sinus congestion that you may have. I'm not joking with this one. I have heard stories of a Minorcan doctor that used to prescribe this for a number of ailments...I don't doubt at all that it worked.

Puzzler

2007-02-05T18:45:00.000-05:00

10,000,000 Blogger Points if you can guess what we're cooking up here.

My Obfuscatory Sentence

2007-01-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

Obfuscatory Sentence - A long sentence with no apparent meaning, often containing made-up words and a straying from the original topic.

I had to write an "obfuscatory sentence" for my creative writing class this week, and I was so pleased with it I thought I would share it with you. I am delaying the post about the hard freeze because my pre-calculus homework took a long time to do, and I don't have time to write it tonight. (In case you haven't figured it out, I write my posts ahead of time and just publish them early in the morning.) So, now for my obfuscatory sentence...

The capitulating water ventriculated through the incredible bolzaca of sitrentoc trees, through the compenzulation of yufurbenators that bolezened high into the menzaca, through which the flewbers flewbed and the geebers geebed, as the bloibers bleebed and the bloobers bloobed, as if they had some kind of happiness unknown to man, but kind of known to women, especially to liberal femenists who delight in the kind of bleebing and bloobing that so many find beautiful, but so many others find as disgusting as the pile of feces that was left by your little dog in the living room over one week ago, and the smell and the stain that is left behind afterward.

Brrrrrrr...

2007-01-30T17:51:00.000-05:00

Gone Away...

2007-01-27T18:03:00.000-05:00

Work, school, moving, cleaning, etc. etc. I REALLY needed to get out into the swamp and I finally did yesterday. More on that later.

Wow...

2007-01-23T18:58:00.000-05:00

This is a part of an article that appeared in the December 14th issue of the San Francisco Chronicle. It is a truly intriguing and amazing story...

A humpback whale freed by divers from a tangle of crab trap lines near the Farallon Islands nudged its rescuers and flapped around in what marine experts said was a rare and remarkable encounter. "It felt to me like it was thanking us, knowing that it was free and that we had helped it," James Moskito, one of the rescue divers, said Tuesday. "It stopped about a foot away from me, pushed me around a little bit and had some fun."

At about 8:30 AM on Sunday, 11 December 2005, a crab fisherman working the open waters east of the Farallon Islands, about 18 miles off the coast of San Francisco, spotted a whale that had become entangled in the nylon ropes that link crab pots. The whale was a female humpback, about 45 to 50 feet in length and weighing an estimated 50 tons, who had likely become snared while traversing the humpbacks' usual migratory route between the Northern California coast and Baja California.

A rescue team was hastily assembled, and by 2:30 PM divers had evaluated the situation and determined that the imperiled whale was so badly entangled in the crab pot lines that the only way to save her was to dive beneath the surface and cut the nylon ropes that were ensnaring her. As James Moskito, one of the rescue divers, reported:

"I was the first diver in the water, and my heart sank when I saw all the lines wrapped around it," said Moskito. "I really didn't think we were going to be able to save it."

Moskito said about 20 crab-pot ropes, which are 240 feet long with weights every 60 feet, were wrapped around the animal. Rope was wrapped at least four times around the tail, the back and the left front flipper, and there was a line in the whale's mouth. The crab pot lines were cinched so tight, Moskito said, that the rope was digging into the animal's blubber and leaving visible cuts.

Four divers spent about an hour cutting the nylon ropes with a special curved knife, a risky undertaking since a single flip of the gargantuan mammal's tail could easily have killed any of them. Eventually they freed the humpback, a feat that a representative of the Marine Mammal Center (MMC) in Marin County described as the first successful attempt on the West Coast to free an entangled humpback.

The divers told a San Francisco Chronicle reporter Peter Fimrite 14 December 2005, that the whale seemingly thanked them for its deliverance once the rescue operation was complete:

The whale floated passively in the water the whole time, Moskito said, giving off a strange kind of vibration. "When I was cutting the line going through the mouth, its eye was there winking at me, watching me," James Moskito said. "It was an epic moment of my life."

When the whale realized it was free, it began swimming around in circles, according to the rescuers. Moskito said it swam to each diver, nuzzled him and then swam to the next one.

"It felt to me like it was thanking us, knowing that it was free and that we had helped it. It stopped about a foot away from me, pushed me around a little bit and had some fun. It seemed kind of affectionate, like a dog that's happy to see you," Moskito said. "I never felt threatened. It was an amazing, unbelievable experience."

Just a "Thank You"

2007-01-22T00:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe this is a desperate way to conjure up something to post, as I am trying to keep a steady record of daily posts going. There are a few things I'd like to say...Let's have fun with the bullets shall we?

It is amazing to see my blog grow. Every week I get more and more visitors coming, and it's amazing to see an average of 40+ views a day on here now. It is a cool feeling to know that 15-30 different people a day are reading your ramblings.
I am sure Google is partially to thank for all the readers, but I know that my blogging friends are truly to thank. I would like to thank all of you who read my blog, especially those of you who have linked to here. I truly appreciate it.
For now, as I cannot think of any particularly interesting post, I really encourage you to take a look at the blogs on my blogroll. It is TOUGH to get on my blogroll, and I only put a few of the blogs I read every day on there. If there is a blog on my blogroll, you know it is a good one.

Thank you all very much for reading, and I'll be sure to have something at least remotely interesting to post within the next couple days :-D

Okay, I am Breaking the News

2007-01-21T13:19:00.000-05:00

If you read my comment on thingfish's Taming of the Band-Aid blog, you already know this news, but just in case...

...ahem...

I am moving. Don't fret, though, I'm staying in my home! I am leaving my house, but staying in my home. I will be moving to somewhere here in my part of Florida...hopefully to a place with less people and less traffic (for now at least.) My parents want a bigger house (God only knows why) and both my mom and I want a more peaceful place than where we are now...we want to live on a swamp.

So, maybe, hopefully, my surroundings will include more of nature than it does now.

For now, though, I apologize for the fact that my posts have been rather un-interesting in the past week or so. I have not been in the swamp for 3 weeks now, so I don't have too many stories to tell you. My dad and I are planning to get out next week, and maybe I can get some interesting stuff for you.

The Dream

2007-01-20T08:32:00.000-05:00

By: Wendell Berry

I dream and inescapable dream
in which I take away from the country
the bridges and roads, the fences, the strung wires,
ourselves, all we have built and dug and hollowed out,
our flocks and herds, our droves of machines.

I restore then the wide-branching trees.
I see growing over the land and shading it
the great trunks and crowns of the first forest.
I am aware of the rattling of their branches,
the lichened channels of their bark, the saps
of the ground flowing upward to their darkness.
Like the afterimage of a light that only by not
looking can be seen, I glimpse the country as it was.
All its beings belong wholly to it. They flourish
in dying as in being born. It is the life of its deaths.

I must end, always, by replacing
our beginning there, ourselves and our blades,
the flowing in of history, putting back what I took away,
trying always with the same pain of foreknowledge
to build all that we have built, but destroy nothing.

My hands weakening, I feel on all sides blindness
growing in the land on its peering bulbous stalks.
I see that my mind is not good enough.
I see that I am eager to own the earth and to own men.
I find in my mouth a bitter taste of money,
a gaping syllable I can neither swallow nor spit out.
I see all that we have ruined in order to have, all
that was owned for a lifetime to be destroyed forever.

Where are the sleeps that escape such dreams?

Arachnophobes Beware

2007-01-19T22:33:00.000-05:00

I found this guy out behind my grandma's garage in October. He had strung his web between the garage and the chainlink fence next to it. For size comparisons, he is about the size of the palm of your hand...slightly larger with his legs spread out.

Banana Spider: I never learned the scientific name, and don't care to look it up right now.

While I was back behind the garage, I saw some old cane poles hanging on the wall. I used to use those old cane poles to catch catfish, bass, and brem out of Bernie's Hole in St. Augustine. They are now bonded (permanently, I believe) to the wall with spiderwebs. I really ought to throw out our fancy rod/reel gadgets in favor of these...There's just something about fishing with a cane pole that makes it special...not to mention easier.

So you really wanna know?

2007-01-18T07:15:00.000-05:00

This is my OPINION! I want to lay that out on the line. This is not a factual statement (of course, most of this blog isn't.) You can take this or leave it, but I feel that I must clear up my belief on this for all of you.

So, the difference between a Yankee and a Northerner.

If you have read yesterday's post, you probably took note of the fact that I compared this latest developing boom in Florida to The War Between the States, and called it an "invasion."

This, in my opinion, is the fundamental difference between a Yankee and a Northerner.

A Yankee is someone who invades a land with the express purpose of taking advantage of it for their own personal gain (I am NOT referring to Iraq here, by the way.)
A Yankee is someone who comes to a land and tries to change things, to mold them into how things were where they came from, with complete disregard for the inhabitants of that land.

A Northerner is somebody who had the misfortune of not being born in the South. They are a person who respects others, who works hard, and who does not take advantage of others. Basically, they're Crackers without the good food, the....no, scratch that....they're not even close to Crackers...but they're pretty dang good!!

Abraham Lincoln was a Yankee.
Ted Kennedy is a Yankee.
Bruce Maguire (former St. Johns County commissioner) is a Yankee.
Unfortunately, it's the Yankees who control most of the power in this nation. People like developers...

Paintsmh, you are a Northerner.
My sister-in-law is a Northerner.
Ya'll are not Yankees.
I can sense in both of you a respect for others and a hardworking spirit.
And that is a BIG complement.

That, in MY OPINION, is the difference between a Yankee and a Northerner. Take it or leave it :-D

Thank you all for reading,
And I love you for taking the time to read my ramblings...
No matter how wrong or screwed up they may be :-D