Jim Dabrowski

That’s Clingmans Dome overlook at Great Smoky Mountains National Park over yonder!

View of a cypress forest in Congaree National Park

An orange house in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia CA

What a precious kitten.

#abstract

Training camp is over. Teams have been pared down to 53 and the bottom of the roster shuffling has begun. I’ve listened to way too many podcasts and read way too many articles about how the Bears and other teams have looked. It’s time to update my win prediction ranges for each team in the NFC North.

Lions 9-11 wins I just don’t know what to make of the Lions. Their coach is fun, they still make curious player decisions, but they look to be on the upswing.

Packers 8-10 wins Much to the dismay of Bears fans, Jordan Love will be good and despite some ups and downs due to the team’s overall lack of experience, the Packers will be a team to watch in 2024.

Vikings 7-9 wins Coming down to earth a bit from last year’s over-achieving, they still have talent and will look OK but their future is uncertain.

Bears 6-8 wins Six to eight wins is a dramatic improvement over last season’s 3 wins but they’re still going to need more help on their lines, both offense and defense.

Unfortunately for me, this is how I see the division playing out. I think my beloved Bears wind up in last place again, but with 2 first round picks next year—theirs and the Panther’s—they should be in a good place to add even more talent to the team.

Wait til next year! (said every year)

Go Bears!

JIm

Running Lights The ship gets red and green running lights on the sides. I ended up losing the die cast ones that came with the kit so I bought the little brass ones and stuck a red and green glass bead in them. Then I built the little platforms they rest on and finally got them mounted.

Third Time’s a Charm

Once again the jib is done and rigged! My wife and sailmaker was unhappy with the previous one. The sewing of the lines stretched the fabric out of shape and she was really unhappy with it. So, cut it off and re-do it! We think we’re happy with this one.

Today I was asked a question about how important Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is in the workplace. And while I think I did OK answering it, my feelings on the matter are a bit more complex and I wanted to take some time to write them out.

We all grow up in a culture. By that I mean all the things we’re told are right and wrong, good and bad, the right way to dress, the wrong way to behave, etc. All these lessons come from a variety of sources: our immediate families, extended families, the television, the friends we hang out with, the churches we attend even the country in which you grew up and even the region within that country. As we grow up, we incorporate all these concepts into our being. They shape how we think and how we feel. This is all perfectly normal.

However, the cultures we’re in change. Sometimes they change because we move. Maybe to another country, or to another region within our country. Maybe you change churches or change friends. When we do that, we’re exposed to different cultures. But even if we stay put and never leave our home town, the culture there still changes over time. The things that used to be “right” are now “wrong” and some of the things that used to be “wrong” are now “acceptable”. I’m sure everyone reading this can already think of examples of this they’ve experienced in their lifetime. Again, this is normal.

The thing is, most, or maybe all, of those things we grew up with, that we’ve incorporated into our belief system as being the right way or the wrong way of doing things or behaving, or looking aren’t absolutes. They’re a product of the culture we grew up in at the time we grew up in it. The culture of today, that is shaping the lives of children right now, is no better or worse than the one I grew up in. It’s just different.

And here’s the thing, my goal is to be accepting and tolerant of those people who grew up in different cultures because their way of doing things isn’t wrong or bad simply because its different from what I grew up with, it’s just different. And I hope their goal is to be tolerant and accepting of me because the culture I grew up in is different from theirs.

This, in my opinion, is why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is so important, not just in the workplace, but in our lives. By being exposed to different people with different thoughts, different behaviors, different clothes, different skin tones, we start to grow as human beings. We start to learn a different perspective. It doesn’t mean we’ll adopt those other perspectives, or behaviors, or dress but we can if we want to. We may learn different ways of looking at situations. Be exposed to different ways of doing things. Expand our minds and our horizons to become better, more tolerant people.

To me, this is why DEI initiatives are so important in the workplace, in college admissions, in our communities, in our elected officials. The more exposure we get to different ideas, the better we become as people.

JIm

Finished the Jib Got the jib sail back on and completely rigged. We discovered we messed up the stitching on the first one we did so had to take it off and re-do it. Kudos to my wife for being a sport and remaking the sail. 2 down and 2 to go! It’s looking good.

And the in haul and down haul at the front of the sail.

And the topping lift and sheet

Close up of the halyards at the top

Jumbo Jib is Finished

Brief hiatus while Dena and I were off on a little vacation for the last couple of weeks. More on that later. Now back to the boat and was able to finish off rigging the Jib

Working on the jumbo jib. Had to remove the jumbo jib boom so I could lace the sail to it. Now I get to reattach it and re-rig it.

Working on the jumbo jib. Had to remove the jumbo jib boom so I could lace the sail to it. Now I get to reattach it and re-rig it.

Up top showing the blocks for the jib halyard. I think this is so cool looking.

Where it attaches to the bowsprit.

Jib in place

I got the jib all “hung”? My wonderful seamstress wife made it for me and I just got it attached. Still need to do the lower corner but I’ll do that after I get the next one up there, the jumbo jib.

Up top showing the blocks for the jib halyard. I think this is so cool looking.

Where it attaches to the bowsprit.

Jib in place

I got the jib all “hung”? My wonderful seamstress wife made it for me and I just got it attached. Still need to do the lower corner but I’ll do that after I get the next one up there, the jumbo jib.

**I got my flying backstays untwisted! **

I had such trouble with them. As soon as I put a little tension on the lines the blocks would twist all around. A little wax, a little weight on the lines, and tying them off to a different place and they look good!

**I got my flying backstays untwisted! **

I had such trouble with them. As soon as I put a little tension on the lines the blocks would twist all around. A little wax, a little weight on the lines, and tying them off to a different place and they look good!

And behind all those templates you saw the main sail. It’s huge! Over 14” at the base where it’s lashed to the main boom. My wife has graciously consented to see them up for me. I’m so lucky!