Back Home! February 29, 2016

This picture is from the HAL Oosterdam, my home for the past 10 days.
Its one of the larger in the fleet with 1,800 guests and 800 crew members. The picture shows the three story, open lobby.






While I was there to do shows I also worked on the new Odd'l Rocket Break-Away instructions and a new show promotional video.

I usually do a pencil drawing or two.
This is one of the bar stools at the Ocean Bar on the Lido deck.

Back to the HAL Oosterdam

The last cruise shows went very well.
I called my agent the day I got back home to give a report. A half hour later I had a return engagement, this time from February 19 - 29.
So . . .
If there is free Internet at a port, I'll do a post or two. Back to normal on March 1!
This cruise is the same route as before, the Caribbean.

February 2, in Bonaire!

A ship letter to family and friends - 

This has turned out to be a LONG one. I perform on Friday, seven days after meeting the ship. Yeah, it's interesting. Some cruises have you perform the day you arrive.

Typical of Holland America tho - 7 to 10 days, one or two shows.

In Bonaire today, Wednesday.

Read two books, on my third now. Watched a few movies.

Practiced and now working on my new promotional video editing.

Lots of time to practice.

Saw a few whales along side the ship.

I didn't get off in Semana. 20 minute tender ride with nothing on the island.

There is an outbreak of the Vika virus there so I stayed on the ship!

I've attached pictures. First one is the Eurodam, next to us at a previous port.

The Eurodam is the same size as the ship I'm on, fairly big with 2,300 guests.

The other pic is the main showroom where I perform.

Grand and gaudy! A fellow comedian called it a big floating bowling alley, a great description.

Cruising Until February 9

I just picked up a last minute Cruise on the Holland America Oosterdam!
I'm leaving Friday, January 29 in Fort Lauderdale and returning on February 9, 2016.

So, no posts until I return. As I've mentioned before, Internet on the ships is ridiculously slow and expensive. I refuse to pay for it.

If I'm at a port with free Wi-Fi, I'll drop in a build post.                                                 All aboard!

I've gone ahead and posted the Quinstar steps 4 and 5.
Assembling the "cage" seems to be where some have had problems.

We're Back!

Ten days and no posts! My cruise shows went well.
My ship cabin? Probably the worst accommodations ever.
The Prinsendam is an older ship. While the guest rooms are routinely remodeled, in my room I felt like I was going back in time. Everything was old, worn and moldy.

I did have a chance to hang out with old friends and entertainers. Comedian Gabe Abelson was a former head writer for Letterman and Leno. That's always a highlight of cruising - telling show horror stories and writing new material.

No Blog Posts!

I'll be entertaining on a cruise from December 19 through 28.

Sorry, there won't be any blog posts during this time and probably a day or two after I return.
I used to keep up with the blog when I was away. Now I refuse to pay for internet time. Holland America has raised the fees for it's employees to the point where I can't justify it! Ship internet "wait time" is frustrating.

I've done my yearly "TOP 10" list early this year. You'll find that post below.
So if you miss the daily post, CLICK HERE to see previous year TOP 10 successes and failures.
Follow up with searches under "Finished" or "Tips".

We'll pick up again when I return. Until then - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
If you take offense to a Merry Christmas greeting, you're probably not much fun at home either!

Alaska Update - Trip Home

I'm in the Juneau Airport awaiting the long flight back to Orlando.
The internet is FREE here, I'll take advantage of it while I can.
Hopefully when I get back home the blog posts will be regular again.

I ran into fellow entertainer Mike Robinson when leaving the ship. Mike is a great magician, comedian and ventriloquist. I apologized for not emailing him when I got on the ship. We sere supposed to meet for lunch on June 17 when I replaced him for the week. His response: "I wouldn't pay for that overpriced ship Internet either!"

I did have the chance to do some drawing, that's a feather I picked up while walking around.
I've started a major re-write of the "How To Build Model Rockets" feature now on the NAR website. New pictures will be taken to better match the new copy.
The fins for a new Carded Downscale were made. The body tube skin will be rolled on and test flights will be make when I get back to Orlando.

Update: It's 6:00 p.m. at the airport in Seattle. With a four hour layover I wanted to stop by the nearby Museum Of Flight to see the Model Rocket display. Great idea but I'm too late. They closed at 5:00 p.m.

Alaska Cruise Nonsense!

I joined the HAL Zaandam in Skagway, Alaska on June 17th. I spend a LOT of time preparing for these shows. My band books are very involved. I packed for the standard Holland America five piece band - Piano, Bass, Drums, Guitar and Sax.
When I checked in at the Cruise Directors office I was informed that the band format has changed.
No Sax! The band now has a second keyboard, a synthesizer.
I have a synth book but didn't bring it.

The show length had also changed. Six months ago there were three 35 minute shows. Now there is two 45 minute shows. It took three hours and a few cups of coffee to change and write up some "get-by" charts for the show the following night.

There's a good reason why there hasn't been any posts over the last four or five days.
The HAL Corporate office has changed how you buy internet time.
Before you'd pay $20.00 for 200 minutes, enough to get you through a seven day cruise.
Now you pay $55.00 for 500 minutes!
No unused time can be rolled over to another cruise or different ship. I refused the offer.

I'm in Seward, Alaska today at the National Park Office using the free internet.
I'd rather make a donation to the park service for their help.

Rant Over!!!

Cruisin' in Alaska

I'm off to Alaska on the Holland America Zaandam from June 17 - 25. I bring this up as blog posting and comment replies might be interrupted. Internet connections on a ship can be spotty.

I join the ship in Juneau and go North to Seward. New passengers join and then travel South where I disembark back in Juneau.

I don't get hired for ships as often as before. Cruise lines continue to lure younger audiences. Producers try to make smaller shows appear bigger, but in the end are tacky and insipid.
On my down time, I'll be working on Odd'l projects and another carded downscale model.

I Booked A Cruise!

I'll be on the Holland America Zaandam from June 16 - June 25.
I'll meet the ship in Juneau, Alaska and go to Seward, then back down to Juneau again.

Just for fun I looked up a bad Zaandam review on CruiseCritic.com:

"HAL seems to be a generation behind in the areas of on-board entertainment, restaurant décor, and mid-ship sculpture. The comedy and dance presentations could compete for the Lawrence Welk audience. The fancy restaurants looked like 19th century brothels, complete with servers sporting costumes and a level of fake formality calculated to encourage heavy drinking. A hideous, organ-shaped sculpture consumes the middle of the ship, unavoidable on decks three through five. HAL would make more friends if it traded the artificial opulence for brighter, more contemporary furnishings and service." 

Oh boy, wait until they get a load of me!

I'm glad to get the work. The job promised at Disney World should have started the middle of March. Now they tell us it'll be after July 4!

Cruisin', January 2 - 12

I haven't entertained on a ship in months!
The cruise lines are cutting back on everything from food, services and entertainment.
I'm glad for the work. It's a new line for me, this time on the Ocean Princess.
It's a 10 day cruise, out of Ft. Lauderdale. It travels through the Panama Canal then South down the pacific coastline finishing in Peru.
One great thing about cruising, I get to work on the art for a new carded model.
Don't expect a post everyday, I'll do my best!

Air and Space Museum, San Diego

While the ship was docked in San Diego I took a shuttle to Balboa Park. I'd heard of the Balboa Park for years but had never been there. It was a great surprise!
I stopped in at the Air and Space Museum for a quick tour.

In front was the predecessor to the SR-71, the Lockheed A-12.
I'd always thought the corrugations on the Estes SR-71 Blackbird were too shallow. But, when you see the wing surface up close, the Estes kit was about right.

While the museum features more historic planes, there are some rocket displays.
Someone built a beautiful Saturn 1B. There were a few shims around the fin root edges and scalloped shroud.

An Apollo Command Module and Gemini space suits are displayed.
In the center rotunda are a mock up of the Mercury capsule and tower.

All the miniatures were well made except for the two Saturn V models.
They looked like the wooden models made in the Philippines and sold on Ebay.
I'd rather see a Dr. Zooch Saturn V in this display window! It would be much closer to the truth.

Back Home from a Cruise

My cruise is finishing up today, May 3 - 15. I'm at the LAX airport waiting for my flight back to Orlando.
Here's a quick drawing of the mountains surrounding Skagway, Alaska.
Tomorrow will be hectic. I have a "land" show tomorrow night, there may not be a blog post.

I should be doing some model building over the next two weeks before heading to Mexico. I want to get ahead in blog posts.
Mexico will be a LONG engagement, all of June and July.
While there I'll be starting the new Odd'l Rockets website which will be blog based and much easier to update.
New BreakAway kit instructions are in progress, this time built around a heavy walled BT-50.
While on the cruise, other kit instructions were updated and improved.
The combo kit will move away from the Quest FLIC Shuttle and include a conical stability model.
A new kit will be started - "Little Green Man" based on the success of the Pigasus model.

There is a LOT going on, more Odd'l stuff is on the way!

Back On A Ship!

It's Saturday, May 3 and I'm back on the Holland America Zuiderdam.
With all the entertainment cutbacks I haven't been on a cruise ship since last November!

This one goes from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Diego.
Then NO PORTS until Vancouver B.C. The ships are re-positioning for the Alaska cruise season.
After that, I was extended five more days cruising Alaska. I return May 15.

So if the ship Internet works (it's never good) blog posts will continue!

Rockets on the Cruise?

On this last Grand Asian Cruise I made a point of hitting a few toy stores to see if any rockets were for sale.
I thought there would be some Chinese made Sky rockets but none were on the shelves, at least in the stores I visited.






I did find this "Tin-Tin" styled rocket outside a T.G.I.Y. Fridays restaurant at a large shopping center in Singapore.
On one fin was a badly stenciled Apollo 1 patch with the astronaut names White, Grissom and Chaffee.
On the right is a clean image found online. Enlarge the upper inset picture to see how badly it was reproduced.

Cruising Art

Sorry, I ran into a small snag on the Centurion Project build. I'll be back on it again tomorrow.
Until then, here's some blog filler.

While I wasn't able to do any rocket building on the last cruise, I did do some pencil drawing.
This is a rusted ship in the Mohogany Bay in Roatan.
I think it was left there for effect (not an actual sunken ship) for the tourists and scuba divers to explore.
A member of the crew remarked: "Oh that's just another one from the Carnival line."

Show Business Is Not Pretty!

Normally I wouldn't comment about anything outside of Model Rocketry on the blog but this was pretty ridiculous!

Yesterday (Tuesday, February 26) I was to meet the Holland America Ryndam in Curacao.
My flight from Miami arrived at 4:00 p.m. I went through Immigration and got my luggage - two large instrument cases and my two suitcases of clothes and "stuff". I was tired and hot.
I got the first taxi to the ship, about 20 minutes away.
It was 5:00 when I got to the ship.

First stop, the front desk to check in.
A guest saw my cases with my name on the side. He said: "We're looking forward to the show tonight!"
My response: "Well, I'm probably on later this week." He then said: "No, according to the schedule, you are on tonight!"
Slight panic mode -

The event manager met me and said the band is in the showroom waiting to start rehearsal! The first show was in less than 1 1/2 hours at 6:30 !!!

I dropped my music scores with the band and went back downstairs to get the rest of my luggage. I wanted to hang up my tuxedo for an hour to let some wrinkles out.

The event manager stopped me again to let me know there was a life boat drill in the bridge. What? Not now! I've got rehearsal and a full show in a little more than an hour!

The life boat "drill" took an extra ten minutes as an officer showed me how to put on a life vest. (Like I haven't been through it 100 times before!)

I ran downstairs to the showroom an did a quick rehearsal with the band. Luckily a few of  them knew my act.

Upstairs for the quickest shower of my life and into the tux.
No time for dinner. Back downstairs at 6:25 for a quick tuning of the banjo.
The show started at 6:30.

Sorry, show business is far from glamorous.
Sometimes they don't pay me for doing a show - they pay me for showing up!

Onboard the Amsterdam with Ronn Lucas

Most of you know I entertain on the cruise ships.

One of the great job perks is working with and getting to know the other variety acts.

On board this week is Ventriloquist Ronn Lucas.

That's Ronn on the right, Buffalo Billy is between us.

Ronn is looked on a one of the best, if you've ever seen his television work you know why he is held in such high regard. He has done Command Performances for the Royal Family, live shows for three Presidents and had his own headline show in Las Vegas.

I wouldn't normally post about work but Ronn flew rockets in his teens and was interested in where the hobby is today.

We've had a few conversations about the old Estes and Centuri product line.

Rocketry Items from Alaska

I'm heading home after a two week cruise.

In this Anchorage Alaska hotel, the Internet connections are a little faster than the ship.

Wherever I go I keep an eye out for rocketry related items.

This morning I was killing time waiting for transportation to the hotel. 

Paging through the June 18 issue of Newsweek magazine, this HP ad was inside the front cover.

It shows the launch of a MPR stretch Alpha style model. The copy reads:

"If you're going to do something, make it matter"

Watching the float planes take of and land in Ketchikan, I was checking out the colors schemes. I especially liked the white, red and copper colors on this one.
This scheme would look great on a 4 fin, nose cone model.



It seems the Odd'l Rockets kits are popular with school groups. While I was away, I got a HUGE order for kits.
Once back home I'll be bagging kits, finishing up the Thor Agena B and a Zooch SLS build for a client and starting another build for the blog.

Alaska Cruise Diversions

Normally I'd do a little carded rocket building on a cruise. Printed card stock packs flat!
I did find some out of the ordinary things in Alaska.

This Shamu walk around costume was in a jewelry store in Ketchikan.
(I guess I can't get away from Sea World.)

This was probably a generic killer whale costume but is very close to the Shamu walk around character at the Sea World park
.


In my spare time I did some pencil drawing, something I haven't done for years. I was surprised I still had a flair for it.

The skies were clear in Skagway. Some of the mountains really do look like this.