Captain Jim

Yer just havin' way too good a tyme at this, ain't ye Love? Kass and Co., the one-stop pyrate shop. Now, what do ye have in the way o' ships, or do I have to get that by meself? Oh, that's right...Pyrate!

Sorry to hear this, but of course we all understand. Our loss is RFIII's gain. We'll just have to coordinate this better next year.

That's one of Harry's friends and may work at the fort as well. Re-enacts Civil War (note the belt) and yes, he was making noise. But, seeing how that appears to be a cap-gun, no pan flash to take the hat. Damn.

I second William's comment. Perhaps next time.

Thanks for asking. The latest update: The kids are fine and making progress to catch up developmentally. The boy has gotten over his separation anxiety at day-care. All is well. The Dyspeptic Duo (as I collectively call the Sponer and the niece) had a joint, supervised and monitored visitation on Thursday. The Sponer had been telling DCF and CPS that he had been living with us in the months leading up to the intervention and placement. It was obvious to the observers that this guy has had little or no interaction with these kids, ever. The “play” between him and the son (sorry, no names here, juveniles, court case etc.) was disjointed and rough. Meanwhile the niece ignored the son and played with the daughter almost exclusively. They brought gifts in contravention of the rules. The Sponer went ballistic when told he was to be interviewed separately from the niece, and the niece refused to stay and be interviewed independently after the visit. How ballistic did the Sponer get? Slamming doors, foul language and abusive (but not physical) actions/language toward the staff. And that was before the Sherriff’s Officer showed up to serve him (and the niece) with an order to appear and explain to a judge why he shouldn’t pay child support. (Now, how do you suppose that the officer knew where to find them? Mwahahahahaha!!) Then the staff told him that the support would go to us. Ballistic again. Then he refused his drug test; goes on the books as a positive and puts him in non-compliance with visitation rules. Observations of the interaction between the Dyspeptic Duo led the staff to conclude that the Sponer is being abusive, verbally if not physically, to the niece, which is one of the reasons they tried to separate them for interviews but to no avail. Next day (Friday) the niece was spotted, by me, walking in the parking lot of the day-care center, away from the center. As it happens I was there early to pick up the boys (mine and hers), go home and have a visit from a DCF rep who is preparing the court case against them. If I had not been there early…? She knows that this is the place where the day-care is and knows she is to have no unsupervised contact. Stupid move. No sign of the Sponer. Meanwhile I have been told that the Sponer is making death threats against us, for “ripping his children out of his arms.” How dramatic. Until he does so directly to us or in writing the authorities can/will do nothing. I remain, Armed and Avuncular.

Yer all daft. POtC takes place in the Golden Age of Hollywood which, as we all know, is whene'r you want it to be.

Welcome to ye, and yer crew as well.

Dammit, Patrick, why didn't I answer it that way? Dammit for missed opportunities. Good one, by the way.

Second post and a commitment to PiP! But then I see you've been there before. Welcome aboard, to you and your crew.

Actually, I do like the idea of having the flag "in camp" but not flying. At PiP last year, my flag was used to cover non-period stuff in my tent, which was open to the public. That is until the last night:

Promised she'd call you, didn't she?

I do prefer the "primitive" nature of Blackjohn's graveyard skull. I was looking for something like this to suggest the change. Thanks, Blackjohn. The skull on mine is lifted from the Emmanuel Wynne flag, but I like this one, or something similar, better. On the subject of flying the flag in camp: I suppose it would depend on the situation and the audacity of the captain in question. If you're trying to go unnoticed, don't fly it. Under attack, no question. Hoist away and let fly from the shore mounted cannon you set up in advance of grounding the ship, or from that line of cannon facing inland and loaded with grape. In a secluded anchorage in the middle of nowhere, why bother? There's no one there to see it. But in a situation where anyone visiting a pub in town already knows what and who you are, it would serve as a welcome mat (let's trade) and a warning (-but as at sea, muck about with us and you won't live long enough to regret it.)

An official Pub crawl? Can it be worked into a benefit to aid the Fort? A sort of "Go dirinking with the Pyrates" sort of thing? If not, not to worry. We Pyrates can party by ourselves. Might be safer fer the lubbers that way.

Not so strange, as both are distributors for Windlass Steelcrafts and that's who makes the blade (I think).

We're all still playing with this scenario. Right now we are imagining that we are careened near a sympathetic town and so both trade and work can occur. Our sympathisers would also warn of any official activity. Imagine that we arrived before the optimal tide to set up defenses, did some trade. Worked like hell on the boat in the days before the spring tide and, after refloating, we "unwound" a bit with the local female entertainers.

This would be what he's going on about. Found here.

It’s all very simple actually. Join a group, obey the rules Don’t like the rules? Get ‘em changed. Can’t change ‘em? Start your own group.

I would suppose that most of us would be. For my own part, the character history that I have for my persona is one of a merchant who, caught in the act of operating a smuggling ring was forced to flee on the ship of one of his “business” partners. A wanted man ashore (killed one of the King’s men escaping) I took to the sea, learning the ropes and becoming a valuable seaman. But as a merchant I also spoke the language of trade and helped boost the ship’s earnings by shrewd bargaining ashore. My knowledge of bookkeeping elevated me to Quartermaster. A natural tactician, I was eventually elected Captain when our Captain was mortally wounded ashore. Of course for the Mercury, I would be willing to just be an able seaman, forced by circumstance and/or greed into Pyracy. Keeping the stories simple is usually best.

A ship careened is going to be noticed and investigated, especially by any authorities that come sailing by, provided that you haven’t picked a secluded enough site. This is back in the day when ships passing at sea would back sails and stop in mid-ocean for a "gam", exchange letters, open a bottle of rum, have a "captain's" dinner. Any ship aground is going to be offered aid. Also, remember that the world was smaller then, with fewer people, and while communication was not what it is today, folks generally knew who was in the neighborhood. You are going to be investigated. And if you’re trading with the locals at cut-rate prices they already know who and what you are. Might as well make the introductions formal and fly your flag. And as a warning that we are not to be trifled with.

There never seems to be an end to the stupidity of some people. Astonishing.

There is the Bennington Flag: And the Alamo battle flag: The USPS Centennial Flag: Some state flags also. Yes, all OOP. Anyone have anything earlier?

Well, lets see about that. You're a pirate right? So when you reply "that's my car" what you are really saying is "That's Mike. Arrr." So your car is really named Mike.

I think I like the wings attached to the skull (7 & 10), not loose below it. Gives a better impression that the skull is flying. The other way looks like the body (or something) is missing. I like Williams wings better because they have a simpler shape and are less likely to lose detail at a distance. As for the date, it doesn't reflect the "current" year but the year the articles for the ship and crew were drawn up. So it could be backed up a couple of years, say 1718 (am I right, William?)

I am definately planning on cooking this year. Simple stuff, stews and maybe steaks. Roast a bird maybe. Grilled veggies, corn on the cob. I will be practicing in my back yard until then. One meal every other weekend gives me 28 practice sessions to renew my pit skills.

Further South: The storms passed through south of Tampa Bay fairly quickly, between 7 and 8:30 AM. High winds and locally heavy rain, much lightning. No major damage to report.