On the lake, events seem to happen in pairs. First I rescued birds two weeks in a row, and then I was stranded two weeks in a row. Yes, it happened again. A week after my battery went dead on me the last time, Chris and I were going to try out a new lake and I wanted to be absolutely sure that the battery would last all day. I bought a brand new battery and charger, but I didn't anticipate that the trolling motor would break. We were moving along the shoreline far from the boat launch when the propeller hit a small rock. I've hit plenty of rocks in the past without incident, but this time the drive pin (the little metal bar in the picture) shattered. The motor still worked fine but the propeller would not spin. I pulled it into the boat and inspected it. We didn't have a spare drive pin so Chris and I were forced to go MacGyver on that bad boy. We scoured our tackle boxes for anything that could be cut into a drive pin. Eventually we ended up binding three fish hook shanks together with some braided line and superglue. Believe it or not, it worked. We were so confident in our handywork that we fished the rest of the day with our jimmy-rigged motor. The fishing was not so great, but we'll be telling that story for a long time. When we got home I ordered the spare parts for the motor you see pictured here, which I will now take with me every time I'm out on the lake. I call it my "oh sh*t kit".

Tocci Ponders: Why do they call it "common sense" when so few people have it?

That same weekend we went to the Jersey shore and had some fun on the beach and Chris's family's boat. The ocean water was ridiculously cold for July so unfortunately we didn't do any swimming. Next time. We did end the day in spectacular fashion with a feast of crabs, clams, steak, tuna, corn salad, etc.

Tocci Ponders: If Bear Grilles, the Man vs. Wild guy, finds a fly in his soup. Does he bother to take it out?

In other culinary news, the Tocci tomato harvest has begun. The plants are huge and some of the fruits are starting to turn red. It's about that time of year to eat tomato salad until we're sick of it.

Tocci's Simple Tomato Salad: Cut 1-2 large tomatoes into wedges, discarding any hard parts near where the stem was attached. Add about 1/4 cup chopped red onion and a handful of finely chopped fresh basil. Drizzle liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Optionally add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Give it a generous sprinkle of garlic salt, stir gently to mix, and enjoy.

This past weekend we attended a small cookout at Dave and Meri's home. We had a lot of fun but the highlight for me was their daughter Myla. A little more than a year old, she's already talking up a storm. She's a big fan of the movie Enchanted it seems, because she would often interject any conversation with "true love's kiss". But the best moment for me was when we were able to get her to say "use the force". Too funny.

Tocci Ponders: Why is there Latin writing on American money? Last I checked, we speak English here. There are no native Latin speakers. If there's going to be a second language on money, I would figure it would be Spanish like the signs at the Target stores.

On Monday, we attended a beer distributor's party at the Saw Mill on the Seaside Boardwalk. The food was pretty good but it was overcrowded as usual. We still had fun and walked the boardwalk afterwards. I won a box of fun dip on my first dollar (I always put my money on "white sis"... because I have one) and got to play my favorite punching game.

Summer links. Actually, all're links... even if there are only some of them.

• 20 Everyday Items If They Were Designed For Batman - There are some funny ones here. Incidentally, Heath Ledger is going to win an Oscar posthumously for his amazing performance in the Dark Knight.
• Weirdest Ice Creams Ever - Click on the beet flavored ice cream with shrimp to see the rest.
• Bowser's Minions - Mario's enemies have had enough of their restrictions. Poor Mario...
  

We're officially house hunting. For the past few weeks Jenny and I have been putting the wheels in motion to get our first house. We've seen a bunch so far but none of them really caught our eye as a true prospect. There was one house that we both really liked but it was right up against some high tension wires. We were both a little disturbed by that. I have no idea how long this process will take but the longer it goes on the cheaper these homes seem to get, so I guess I shouldn't rush it.

Random Quote:
A peasant to King arthur: "Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony". - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

As beautiful as it is out on the lake, fishing sucks when you wind up stranded on a boat with no motor a mile from the boat launch. To make matters worse, I was officially "skunked" having not caught a fish all day. I intended to fish the deep side of the pond first and the shallow side second, but I never made it to the shallow side. I was at the end of the deep side when the battery for my trolling motor died. Luckily I always bring an oar with me for emergencies such as this (my fishing boat is really a converted rowboat) so I wasn't completely stranded, but I never anticipated breaking down so far from the launch. Standing up in the middle of the boat, I paddled first on one side of the boat and then the other, doing my best to go in a straight line. It was taking forever. About half way back, two guys in kayaks spotted me and asked me if I needed help. I didn't want to impose so I said, "No, thanks. Enjoy your day. I'll make it." They said it would take me forever and wouldn't take no for an answer. Before I knew it I was being towed back to the bank with pure manpower. It was actually pretty amazing how fast they were able to get the boat going. At the end of the trip, I had caught no fish, but I did find some really nice people to strengthen my faith in the human race. Besides, I had two other successful fishing outings since my last blog entry so life ain't all that bad.

Random Thought: "Skits" on rap CDs only exist to mess up the random play feature of my ipod. Come on, Wyclef. Cut me some slack.

Yesterday Jenny and I went out to scope out some new marine batteries for my boat and on the way home I noticed something flying in the sky ahead. It was a B2 Stealth Bomber! You just don't expect to look up and see a Stealth Bomber flying over your town. I still have no idea why it was there, but it was pretty crazy to see. [Update: The bomber was in the area for a flyover during the National Anthem at the all-star game in Yankee Stadium. Thanks, Justin.]

Tocci Ponders: Why is "ammo" short for ammunition? Shouldn't it be "ammu"?

Links: Take two. They're small.

• Animatronic Stuffed Animal Skeletons
• Things Younger Than McCain

I saved another bird today. The story begins miserably with a rather unsuccessful attempt to go fishing from the shore. I tried two spots that were off the beaten path. At the first spot, where I had never been before, I broke one of my rods in half. The water was way too shallow there anyway, so I moved on. The second spot was a hidden pond that I haven't been to in 10 years. It's located way back in the woods behind one of my regular lakes. If I had remembered how far it was I would have worn better shoes and probably not have lugged my entire tackle box. I also forgot my hat so the biting insects in the woods had a field day on my shaved head. To add insult to injury, when I finally reached the little pond it was all overgrown with weeds, trees, and thorn bushes. I returned to my truck blistered, bitten, scraped up by thorns, and sweating profusely.

To try to salvage the trip I decided to give the main lake a few casts before leaving. I'm glad I did, because I noticed a Canadian goose across the lake flapping his wings and swimming frantically trying to stay with his flock, only he wasn't moving anywhere. I asked the two other guys near me if the goose looked stuck and they agreed, so i said, "I'm going to try to save him." The one guy asked if I was going to go swimming. "We'll see," I replied.

I went around to the other side of the lake and sure enough the poor thing was stuck, probably on some old fishing line. There were a few people over there were visibly concerned. I tied a jigging spoon with a treble hook to some 20 lb test braided line and watched to see which way the goose was tring to swim. I cast behind him and let the lure sink, then reeled it in and was able to snag the old line. I figured my braided line had to be stronger than whatever line was under the water, so I wrapped my line around the reel mount and started pulling. The old line started to give way and for a moment it appeared as if I was trying to land the goose with my fishing rod. Soon after, the tension on my rod released and the goose swam away to rejoin his flock as the people across the lake cheered. I didn't even lose the lure. :-)

Despite the miserable fishing trip, the experience with the goose made the whole trip worth it. I wish I had some pictures of these birds but there never seems to be a good time to snap a photo in these situations. I'll just have to rely on my memories, and since that's not a very safe bet I'm glad it's all written on the ol' blog.