I don’t recall any leaf blowers last year, so maybe they waited.
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The banner is already up as of last season. Don’t know if they’ll cover it up and have some sort of unveiling.
Great time last night. It was great to see so many familiar faces again and to watch an Astros win with people that understand the game. Thanks to @NeilT for hosting!
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I’m so glad Jordan hit that homerun for you to see.
Great seeing you and the others that joined.
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Lots of fun to see everyone. I’m still laughing at Chuck’s story about the Panama Canal tugboats.
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Story? I thought that was a parable.
I don’t remember where I saw that they piloted the things across the ocean in reverse, but they did. Here’s something that touches on that a bit:
The tugboats themselves are a problem, especially the 14 new boats purchased from a Spanish company, mostly for the expanded locks. To maneuver safely, they must be precisely controlled, but according to captains, they are so unstable that they operate best going backward, something that cannot be done while towing ships through the canal.
“The Spanish tugs are perfectly awful,” said Iván de la Guardia, the head of the tugboat captains’ union. Confidential documents obtained by The Times show that the canal authority bought the tugboats for $158 million from a company later represented by the son of Jorge L. Quijano, the canal’s administrator.
Another thing - the quality of the concrete they used was so poor that it began to crumble and leak just months after it was poured, if it in fact took that long. Speaking of concrete, now that I’m thinking about it, the three bidders for the project included Bechtel, some equally qualified German (I think) conglomerate, and some Spanish outfit no one had ever heard of who were awarded the project with a bid so low that one of their competitors observed, I can’t even pour concrete at that price.
So, yeah, when shit goes sideways over in Egypt we feel like it’s a good idea just to keep our collective head low.
Absolutely great time last night. Thanks for organizing Neil and thanks to everyone that showed!
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Indeed! Good to see everyone, and thanks, Neil!
I went through the Panama Canal once on a cruise ship so wide only inches separated it from the locks on each side. Getting stuck never entered my mind, but it should have.