Job Search

The job search is moving really slowly, partly due to the weather. Right now, it's too cold to leave Zoe on the boat without a heater, and I'm not comfortable leaving it on when I'm away, so I'm sorta stuck here. I've found a few people willing to watch her, but nothing definite at this point.

I am getting several emails a day, but many of the jobs are too far away to consider. My only real option is Manhattan, or possibly the Bronx. However, it will still take me at least an hour each way to commute to Manhattan, which means I'd need to find a place to keep Zoe for at least 11 or 12 hours. She's a great dog, but that's still a lot to ask. My search right now is confined to putting out my resume and letting people contact me. However, once it gets a bit warmer and I can leave Zoe on the boat, I'll be more proactive and start contacting the better firms directly or through friends who work there.

The cold, and wet today, weather is also preventing me from working on the transmission and chainplates. However, I still think the heater will make a big difference. Hopefully, the parts will arrive today and I can get it installed this week. I taped up all the drafts the other day, and put a rolled up towel along the base of the engine cover, which has really helped keep the boat warm. It rarely drops below 60 in the cabin now, and is well over 70, at chest height, right now -- it's 36 outside.

Kindle watch:

I really love my new Kindle. I've been alternating between it and the ARRL Handbook ever since I got it. I downloaded a bunch of public domain books I'd always wanted to read, and since there's not much else to do, have spent most of the last few days reading. Right now, I'm about half way through Slocum's "Sailing Around the World."

One of the nice things about Kindle is it's built-in dictionary. If you run into a word you don't know, you can just move the cursor under it, and it will display the definition at the bottom of the page. You can select a different dictionary for each work, so I found a french one and use it for the french books I found on the Gutenberg site.

I haven't started reading any of them yet, but did load the dictionary to test it out. I works pretty well, but sometimes has trouble with conjugation and the l' prefix, e.g., it thinks "l'une" is the "moon" and not "the one." Hopefully, it will get better with time, but since the book and the dictionary were both free, it's hard to complain.

I plan to concentrate on Verne, Dumas, and Hugo. I might try some Spanish too, but that'll be much harder without a good dictionary -- my french is pretty good, but my Spanish is practically nonexistent.