High Tide, No Really

I went for walk tonight. I should say I went for two: one with Joey earlier and one tonight scoping out a place to do tai chi.

I got a little derailed, though, when I walked by Waterfront Park and saw that Charleston Harbor coming all the way up to the paving stones that line the walkways. It was about to start lapping into the parking lot of the Pilot's House. This is a good 5-10 feet above the usual level, which means the water is 30-50 feet farther up the slope of the banks than normal.

When I got home I checked my weather widget for advisories, and sure enough, found this:

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
342 PM EDT MON APR 7 2008
GAZ117-119-139-141-SCZ048>051-080400-
/O.NEW.KCHS.CF.Y.0001.080407T2300Z-080408T0400Z/
COASTAL BRYAN-COASTAL CHATHAM-COASTAL LIBERTY-COASTAL MCINTOSH-
BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-COASTAL JASPER-
342 PM EDT MON APR 7 2008
...COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A COASTAL
FLOOD ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT.

TIDE LEVELS CONTINUE TO RUN HIGH DUE TO A RECENT NEW MOON...
APPROACHING LUNAR PERIGEE AND STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS THAT ARE
PUSHING WATER ONSHORE. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO TIDE LEVELS ON THE
EVENING HIGH TIDE NEAR 7.1 FEET IN CHARLESTON HARBOR AND 9.2 FEET
NEAR SAVANNAH. HIGH TIDE IS EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 10 PM.

TIDES AT THIS LEVEL WILL RESULT IN STANDING SALTWATER IN LOW-LYING
AREAS OF DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON SUCH AS MORRISON DRIVE AND IN MOUNT
PLEASANT ALONG LONG POINT ROAD.

A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY INDICATES THAT ONSHORE WINDS AND TIDES
WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE SOME FLOODING OF LOW AREAS ALONG THE
SHORE. SHALLOW COASTAL FLOODING BEGINS ALONG THE LOWER SOUTH
CAROLINA COAST WHEN TIDES IN THE CHARLESTON HARBOR REACH 7.0 FEET
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER AND ALONG THE NORTH GEORGIA COAST WHEN TIDES
REACH 9.2 FEET AT FORT PULASKI.

Compare tonight to high tide 4 days ago, on April 3, 2008:



I took the picture on the right largely because I thought the water was crazy high and I wouldn't get a shot like that again for a while. Looks like tonight is about 2 feet higher (check the bolts on the posts in each photo).

Compare these to March 27. You can barely see the water at all in this photo of the same spot on the pier, admittedly at low tide:



Anyway, the ocean is scary. Grendel and I walk on this bed of dried reeds all the time, and tonight the whole stretch is just rolling in the waves!

Wakka Wakka Wakka

Clearly rickrolling was rampant on April Fool's Day, particularly on YouTube.

So why is it now April 3 and I just can't stop watching this nugget that pwnd a lot of Farkers (me included):



Because Muppets rarely fail to make me happy, that's why. And this is pretty well edited. Kudos, person from the Internet.

Prowling

Please Don't Jump in the Water, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Stinky looks like he's about to pounce like Shere Khan onto some unsuspecting dancing orangutan, but in reality he was probably about to fall into some very thick mud on the banks of the harbor.

There are no orangutans in India. This is among the numerous problems with Disney's adaptation of Kipling's Jungle Book.

Amigo de Pedro

Amigo de Pedro, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

On the way back to Charleston after a few days in Fayetteville.

Since my obsession with having and documenting fun with Grendel recently, I decided I couldn't pass up a few pics at South of the Border.

For those uninitiated, South of the Border is a mass of tourist crap near the NC/SC border on I-95. It grew from a gas station and a fireworks stand in the 1950s into uncountable shops and restaurants selling... well, Mexican stereotypes, I guess. Anyone traveling the East Coast on 95 has surely seen the numerous signs, some just hokey and others vaguely offensive, encouraging travelers to come and spend some pesos on plastic sombreros in South Carolina. After dark, you can also spend some pesos on cheap liquor, hookers or getting stabbed.

We didn't stay long, and not just because I was eager to get back home.

Grendel Ftagn

Grendel Ftagn, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Grenny had to drink a lot of water, and subsequently pee often, Sunday night at the folks' place, with a bit of a respite from this increasingly common pattern on Monday. To add to his distress, he can't quite jump onto the bed in the spare room. Tuesday night, I decided to sleep on the couch so he could be comfy and I could be ready for bathroom escort.

Grendel Meets Albigensis

Grendel Meets Albigensis, the Close Up, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Albigensis is not Grendel's twin from the Negative Universe, but you could be forgiven for thinking so. He reminds me of a young Grenny, only bigger and more Boxer, no Bulldog. They had a good time on a bad day.

Off camera somewhere is Alby's companion Prunella, the French Bulldog. She's probably about to leap off that porch in the upper left and onto Grendel's face. Quite the taskmistress.

Good Times and Bad Times

IMG_0067, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

On Saturday I got some bad news that would send me shortly up to Fayetteville. I had to get some things squared away for work first though, namely getting a rip of Gegen die Wand ready to stream on WebCT for colleague Morgan Koerner's German Pop Culture class. It looked like a great film, and I can't wait to watch it at my leisure, instead of trying to get it to play, rip and get a decent hinted stream out of it on a short and collapsing timetable.

Sunday morning, while I left my 5 or 6th attempt with the troublesome DVD compressing, Grendel and I had an outing in Waterfront Park. I am really trying to treasure my time with him and make sure he has some good quality time everyday, since he may only have a few weeks or months left. We played catch with some palmetto bark we found and strolled along the boardwalk where the tourists congregate. I think he really enjoyed it.

Later that day, Gegen die Wand being taken care of and the boss being emailed, we headed out for the drive up to Federalburg.

Saturday, We Dug for Treasure

Digging for Treasure, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Treasure = Cat Poop

I can has flickr?

Grendel, the 1st Person Shooter

Grendel, the 1st Person Shooter, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

He's running away from me with the camera.