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Well, it has been one week since I caught the Ebola... I came back from vacation on December 28 and on December 29 I caught some sort of nasty little bug. Not the flu or stomach variety so I won't complain too much, just a cold...but a nasty one. Sore throat, congestion, stuffed nose (fun for all you CPAP wearers like me), more sore throat, more congestion that moves from head to chest to face and then takes another lap. But I digress. The point of this is that I kept smoking during kids naps and one a night before bed for the last week despite the condition my condition was in. I know, I know, not the best idea but it was still relaxing which is important at this stage of my life. So today, I decided to lay of the cigars until I am well. It felt as if I was just rolling up money and watching it burn as I could not taste a thing and likely prolonging my plague. So, what do do with two hours at midday on weekends and an hour or two every night for the next week? During the kids nap today I was quite productive. I stopped keeping track of my cigars long ago but decided to inventory my stock. I was able to set a simple little excel spreadsheet with each box, number of sticks, box codes, etc for my desktop, two 150 qt coolidors, and my OLH. It was fun to see what I have and be able to sort it so many ways to check out the data it contains. It also helped me make a wish list that was surprisingly short...but surprisingly expensive. But, no rush, I will just keep an eye out for Rob's sales and coupons I am looking forward to tonight. I am going to clean my...errr...bows and arrows? Haven't had a chance to get to it since the last trip to the...errr...woods? I should be able to knock out all of the dirty ones in an hour or two. Tomorrow I am going to take advantage of the lovely SoCal weather. Should be in the low 70s here tomorrow with a few clouds. Perfect motorcycle weather. I will be able to get in a nice ride in two hours. I can't wait! I may even get to take out the ole' pickup truck. I picked up a 1993 Ford F150 for $500 bucks that I have been rehabing. Nothing fancy but a fun truck to run errands with the dog and a place I can smoke cigars while I drive. Can't manage that in the minivan I should be able to keep myself busy during the weekend smoking times but I may have to get creative at night. I may even have to spend time with my wife!! Good thing we still like each other and who knows, if I don't stink like cigar I might get lucky (oops, forgot about the ebola/plague). I need to make a list... 1. Camera work on the DSLR; 2. Look for more...errr...bows and arrows; 3. Figure out some cigar trades; 4. Start my pilots license studying; 5. Look for more Harley parts/mods 6. Work on the F150; 7. Fix the patio heater. Well, that wasn't hard. Looks like I have plenty to keep myself busy. I will keep you all posted as I am sure you won't be able to sleep tonight wondering what I am doing. If there is anything worth taking of picture of I will post it here. ---------------------------------------------- What are you up to this weekend?

In the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarines So we sailed up to the sun Till we found the sea of green And we lived beneath the waves In our yellow submarine "Yellow Submarine", "Revolver", The Beatles, 1966 It's funny with song lyrics. You find you've been singing them for 20 or 30 years, but the meaning of the original lyrics can still be lost. Take the Beatles 'Yellow Submarine'. You know the words, and those acoustic guitar-inspired simple chords (I-V-IV and ii and vi). So you think you're singing a kids song, but the song reflects on how the Beatles, by 1966, had started in the music business by building on the greats they admired in the past (Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Motown etc.), however, in doing so it entailed living normal life in a bubble, that is, a yellow submarine, for playing these simple songs can bring an unexpected cost, notoriety and fame and all that goes with it. Likewise, a cigar can be such a simple thing, but smoke one, rate one, and if you are brave enough, try spending years cataloguing one (or two, or three) and pretty soon a simple thing can become complex. And so, it was in the middle of this week that I had the pleasure to meet up again with @ATGroom, the proprietor of Cuban Cigar Website as he was up in Sydney for business and together, we ventured to meet up with the founder of Cuban Cigar Website @Trevor2118. We didn't stride there in a yellow submarine, but as it was 40°C (104°F) mid-week in Sydney, it might have been handy. As it was, it was a supreme pleasure and honour to drive out to the northern suburbs with Alex and complain about the Sydney traffic and compare Sydney's urban planning, in regards to roads, to Melbourne (which is way, way better). Still, we managed to get to Trevor's place easily enough. And so what better way to start proceedings then to light up a PFY Nov 05 Cohiba Coronas Especiales and 'wax lyrical' about the hot weather, professional life, family and the Christmas holidays, cigars and of course, Cuban Cigar Website? Alex mentioned how unfortunate it was that members with large inventories lost count and records of their stock, and the frustration of losing the site. Trevor and I encouraged him, how can one expect what occurred in December, 2016? Alex resolved that such a situation will not happen again. I brought up some fun ideas with the inventory which we discussed such as changing the 5-star rating system on cigars smoked to include 1/2 star allocations (thus making it a 10 point rating system instead of 5), and linking ratings of cigars smoked to individual boxes so a user can track progress in how cigars are smoking over time. We all agreed that such data would be very useful information. The old CCW was built on 2008 code (I think - Alex and Trevor, feel free to correct me), the new 2017 CCW will provide an opportunity to rebuild better. Alex was grateful to many fine supporters of the website here who have donated in the last month, and of course, to Rob Ayala and the team here at FoH for promoting CCW. We ending the first cigar-smoking session with us all mutually laughing at me trying to nub the '05 Cohiba Coronas Especiales. Yes folks...I got down to a quarter of an inch! (Or maybe I exaggerate, it was a third!) Lunch was inside on account of the heat and Trevor's wife, Therese's hospitality was as supremely pleasant as the 24°C (75°F) air-conditioned weather inside. Thank you for your wine, California, Thank you for your sweet and bitter fruits. "Sweet Virginia", "Exile on Main Street", The Rolling Stones, 1972 Give me little drink from you loving cup. Just one drink and I'll fall down drunk. I feel so humble with you tonight, Just sitting in front of the fire. "Loving Cup", "Exile on Main Street", The Rolling Stones, 1972 One thing I admire my Sydney cigar brethren for is their love and appreciation for fine wine and today was no exception as Trevor had provided us with an exemplary '99 Penfolds Shiraz, every bit as good as the '05 John Loxton Cabernet Sauvignon I enjoyed last Sunday, thanks to @Fuzz. We proceeded to come outside again to the 'fire', yes the Sydney 41-degree heat (105°F), and we enjoyed some TOS Nov 15 Diplomaticos Asia Pacifico Regional Edition Bushidos. Those Nro. 109's taper so beautifully at the head, and of course, they were such a quality smoke. Again, we all had a laugh at me trying to nub mine again, it was all in good fun, and the fine cigars, wine and laughter detracted from the weather. Trevor and Alex thanked me for the Bushidos but I felt so humble, I could do nothing but respond by thanking them for their time and knowledge over the years, as well as their encouragement of me in this noble hobby. Trevor mentioned that I should write up about our meeting for the benefit of our members to help with my post count, and we all had a very good laugh again! We came back inside to air-conditioning to enjoy some coffee and sweets and very, very cold water, when we set off again in the afternoon to 'sail up the sun', Alex and I drove to where he was staying in Sydney, and we resolved to be well until we all met up the next time. In the car Alex and I had good laughs in regards to his Dusky Beauties site (which Alex hopes to bring up again once he starts to re-build Cuban Cigar Website this year), thanks mate, getting that story first-hand about the dysfunctional workplace where no-one bothered to turn up Fridays while others sat watching cricket for hours on end in company worktime was such a good recollection. 'Exile on Main Street' was playing on my car audio and I was sharing with Alex how I was thinking of putting some form of Beatles show as an end-of-year production at school in 2017. He had fond memories of his high school musicals, I wonder if he'll mention them in a Dusky Beauty blog in the future? Angels beating all their wings in time With smiles on their faces And a gleam right in their eyes Whoa, thought I heard one sigh for you Come on up, come on up, now Come on up, now "Shine a Light", "Exile on Main Street", The Rolling Stones, 1972 I dropped off Alex and we discussed catching up again in Sydney when he is back for work/business. We are grateful for the current Canadian back-up of Cuban Cigar Website, but Cuban Cigar Website will be back, with search functioning, re-built database and updated inventory options. In the midst of peril springs forth new opportunities, fortitude and resolve.