World Cruise - Day 78 - Mar 30 - At Sea

We have been sleeping with the balcony door open for the past several nights.  Krissie likes the sights, sounds and smells of the fresh ocean air at night (and I typically like the quiet and darkness of the room with door closed, but I love my wife and want to make her happy).  Last night there was a big thunderstorm at 3a that woke up both of us.  Quite the light show.  But now we’re both up at 6a and still a little sleepy.

I tried taking pics of the lightning, but I’m finding out that it’s about as difficult to do as photographing a breaching whale.  Here is the best photo of the morning of lightning (although it is way off in the distance):

That is a lighthouse on the left side, then you can see the lightning in the distance further to the right—I know, not very visible.  But the lightning (and the storm) moved much closer to the ship (which I blame on the captain…) and I kept trying to time it to catch it just right to capture it in a photo.  Then I finally snapped exactly at the lightning flash and here was the result:

I know, all you can see is a flash of white light, you can’t actually see the lightning bolt.  If it makes any difference, this was shot while it was still totally dark outside, the lightning literally lit up the entire image.  I had the shutter speed at 1/20 second, f-stop at 4.5 and ISO at 6400, thinking that the lightning flash would need a longer shutter speed in the darkness.  Not so.  I actually needed a much faster shutter speed to capture it without filling the entire frame.  So I experimented with shutter speeds of 1/200 to 1/4000 and f-stop at 3.5 (max aperture) for the next half hour, but I was never able to exactly time a lightning bolt the way I had previously, so no really cool lightning photo for you.  Sorry.  Maybe next time.  Or maybe it will be like the ever elusive whale breach, there to be seen with the naked eye, yet never to be captured on film (or just the tail or splash).  At least not by this amateur photographer.  But I will keep trying.

Weather is bad this morning, cloudy and rainy.  I personally blame the captain.  Our other captain would have sailed around this storm.  Although it was a lot of fun going through it.

Internet is finally back on as of last night, so I’ve got a few blog comments to get caught up.

Rebekah, thanks as always for the feedback on the blog.  I will let Mom know that you think she looks so nice and tan.

Susie, yes, I was thinking about how tame the tigers were and wondered if they were drugged or just naturally that tame?  They did carefully pose us first by walking us around the back of the tiger and then sat us behind the tiger and placed our hands in the right location on the tiger.  Neat experience.

Patti, thanks for the comment on half of the pictures missing on Laem Chabang Part 2.  I went back to check and you were right, they were not there.  So I deleted that blog entry and uploaded it again, it appears to be correct this time.  So if you would like to see all the pics, just go back to that entry at the website.  I think the stuff Krissie was feeding the deer, goats, and donkeys was like really long string beans, not sure exactly.  Krissie says her best days are when animals are involved.  So I’ve got to work more animals into our itineraries.  On the trike bike, I think the whole front end of it steers (albeit slowly).

Sonia, the hand gestures that people make (thumbs up, peace sign) are typically people doing them naturally (it is very common to see those from this region doing a peace sign in posed photos), although the pic of the four schoolgirls yesterday was prompted, since I asked them if I could take their picture and they were a little flustered about it and how to pose (since they were just sitting on the subway), but then I said you can just give me the peace sign and that’s what they did.  It can be a little awkward for a 50-ish guy to ask four young girls if he can take their picture, but it’s better when I have my wife with me, so it doesn’t make me look totally creepy.  I just thought their neckties were interesting and wanted a photo of them.  But I can also understand how it might creep out some young girls that a guy is asking to take a picture of them.  Thanks for all of the feedback on the pics, that is really helpful to me in developing my eye for a good photo.

We tied one other team at 16 out of 20 in trivia this morning, then lost on the tiebreaker (I think our tiebreaker record is now 2 out of 19) question:  How many bones in the human body?  They had 206 (the correct answer) and we had 126.  Here are the four questions we missed?  How far can a red kangaroo bound in a single leap—15, 25 or 40 feet?  25 (we said 40).  What 1995 dating advice book included the line: “Don’t call him and rarely return his calls.”?  The Rules (we put Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars, even though we didn’t think it was a dating book).  What is the nickname given to NBA head coach Phil Jackson for his calm, philosophical approach?  Zen Master (we put Philosophical Phil).  What is the arena where the Iron Chef America show takes place?  Kitchen Arena (we put Madison Square Garden).  Other interesting questions we got correct:  What native rodent is an important source of protein for many native Peruvians?  Guinea Pig.  What is both a Greek god of music and a longtime NASA program?  Apollo (although we debated whether Apollo was actually a god of music?).  What famous mausoleum contains 5,900 pieces put together like a giant LEGO set?  Taj Mahal.  The tallest waterfall in the US is located in which national park?  Yosemite.  Who did Gordon Brown replace at Prime Minister of the UK in 2007?  Tony Blair.  What is the color pigment of most cephalous creatures such as octopus and squid?  Blue.  According to the song with the line: “His name is my name too…” what is his name?  John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (Krissie taught me that song).  What US state led the country in obesity for five years in a row in 2009?  Mississippi.  Who was the first former head of state to be tried in The Hague?   Slobodan Milosevic.  What is the only bird that can fly backward?  Hummingbird.  Was the first book sold on Amazon.com a book on artificial intelligence, French cuisine or parakeets?  Artificial Intelligence.  Until Michael Phelps broke the record 36 years later, who held the record for the most gold medals in the Olympics?  Mark Spitz.  What species of whale was Moby Dick?  Sperm.

I saw someone on the ship with the following on his t-shirt:  “Half of programming is coding.  The other 90% is debugging.”  He used to work for Cisco.  I thought Brandon would enjoy that one.

Since yesterday started a new segment of the cruise, today there were two drawings:  Spa drawing and the treasure hunt drawing.  In the spa drawing, you just have to be present to win.  In the treasure hunt drawing, you have to go to eight different locations on the ship to get stamps (hence the “treasure hunt”) on your card, then they draw for prizes from each of these locations (like the spa, boutiques, Internet café, Sabatini’s, etc.).  It always amazes me that people who spend thousands of dollars on a cruise will spend all that time on their cruise to go to a drawing for a gift certificate.  And yes, I was at both (Krissie makes me go, hoping she will win something, we never do).

I see in the Princess Patter that we will be having a piracy safety drill on April 2^nd.  That should be interesting.

We got 10½ out of 20 in trivia this afternoon, winning team got 15½ out of 20.  Question we missed:  Which artist had the most hits simultaneously in the UK in the top 30?  Elvis Presley (we said Elton John, we broke the “if-you-don’t-know-the-answer-to-a-music-trivia-question-put-Elvis” rule).  What monarch was officially insane for the last 9 years of his reign?  King George III (we put King Ludwig).  Where did chili con carne originate?  Texas (we said Mexico).  What body parts are the humerus and gluteus maximus?  Upper arm and buttocks (we put elbow and buttocks).  What is the family relationship between Francis Ford Coppola and Nicholas Cage?  Uncle and nephew (we said father-in-law and son-in-law).  What mammal’s pregnancy lasts longer than any other?  African elephant (we said whale).  What type of surface would a bandy match be played upon?  Ice (we said grass; bandy match is Russian ice hockey).  In what decade did sliced bread first appear?  1930s (we said 1920s).  What famous musical, debuting in London’s West End, was based on stories by T.S. Elliott?  Cats (we said Mary Poppins).  What does terra cotta mean?  Baked earth (we said earth ware, got ½ point).  Other interesting questions:  What spiritual song was the anthem of the civil rights movement of the 1960s?  We Shall Overcome.  Who ate poison cakes and was shot twice, but only died after being thrown in a river?  Rasputin.  Who wrote The Godfather?  Mario Puzo.  What did Mary Mary Quite Contrary have in her garden?  Sliver bells and cockleshells and pretty maids all in a row.  In an opera, what is an aria?  Solo song.

Tomorrow is Phuket, Thailand.  We are doing a tour with a local tour company (Paradise Tours) with Jim and Pat Wilcox and Dennis and Roberta Beckman.