Top 3 moments of last Summer - My No 3

My own selection for the second runner up is the swallow frenzy in Iin Röyttä. They were many and they were fast. So much excitement and irritation.  I explain the situation in detail in my earlier post "Fast objects in my mast" in August. 

Top 3 moments of last Summer - Crew's No 3

Here comes the post series on highlights of my Summer - I will let my crew to announce their Number 3 first. In couple of days I will post my personal Number 3.

In the crew's selection the second runner up is the sunset sailing from Vatunginnokka to Kemi. This was really the first serious sailing on our vacation as we had to wait for the weather window in all the marinas we stopped in the beginning of our vacation sailing. There was enough wind left, and we tacked with a good speed. Towards the sunset. That was just exactly what we needed after hanging around in marinas for good number of days. Brisk wind. Bright skies. Last but not least the feeling of freedom and independency that progression with the wind can give.

Returning to the concept of sailing to the sunset. That has great symbolic value to my crew. What that value is I have not yet figured out but if it is important to them I can manage with it.

The material has arrived

...that is the Xmas installation material from the forest. I've been busy chasing the bugs that resurrect from their hibernation in the warmth of my lair on land. 

I will keep you updated as the material turns into installations...  I do my best to ensure that the two attributes will be involved in them, the sea and the cat.  

Meanwhile I plan to publish my top three moments from the last Summer. As a considerate chief of the vessel I will allow my crew post their own top three moments, in case our selections won't match. Talk to you in couple of days about the summer again!

Powerful pilot

My thoughts on work, Part 5/5 Closing

Fifth, closing. Reflect your experience - how you performed, what are happy about in the set, what shall you improve next time, any new ideas you might have gotten from this set to try next time. Inform your crew or team mates that you are done. And most importantly, enjoy your achievement! My personal preference is to retrieve onto my favorite window sill to relax, with open mind for any nice birds that may appear to entertain me. Or I may go mono-railing on the sofa.

Closing. Monorailing.

My thoughts on work, Part 4/5 Monitoring&Controlling

Fourth, monitoring & control. This is the phase which differentiates a true pro from beginners - you can fast adapt to the the changing situations in the set itself or the environment, collect all the relevant data for decision making and change the plan if needed, still executing smoothly.

Concurrently with the execution you monitor your performance and adjust and immediately if needed. Receive continuously data on the environmental factors, detect any anomalies and analyze if they require actions, adjustments to your plan. And of course keep polling the priority one interrupts from ornithological aspect - working on the play track is not an excuse to miss any important real life bird sightings. In the pics you can see how superfast I change my position and continue from that without disruptions in the ball movement.

In the last part of the production I tell you how to conclude the set on the playtrack, that is Part 5/5 Closing.

Reflecting

Let's skip the work related posts on Friday night... We'll prepare for the week on Sunday.

My thoughts on work, Part 3/5 Execution

Third, executing. You have prepared yourself and you have the plan. Time to serious business! Relax your body and concentrate your attention to the limb you use for the ball management. I like to lay on my back and relax my back body totally and just use left, right or both hands depending on the situation to manage the ball. Be in the moment, carpe diem! I totally concentrate and focus on the ball. It is the only thing my senses are detecting. Well, of course I have sophisticated cognitive systems so I can handle some other processes too like monitoring and controlling I explain in the next part.

Execution. Prepare to hit the ball.

Execution. Score!

Vessel maintenance

I break the philosophy series for one post for the boat maintenance update. A seacat's winter is not just about personal preparation for a new season but there are certain responsibilities: training one's crew and maintaining one's vessel. Exter is now in Kokkola, where we sailed her in late Autumn, in the boat yard. Two jobs have been done: The old lacquer has been removed from the toe rail, the sun and weather will then turn it silvery gray like the teak on the deck. The bottom has been refinished and is now gorgeously painted, ready to perform. 

I am very pleased with the results. 

In the next post I return working on the playtrack, part 3/5 about Execution.

My thoughts on work, Part 2/5 Planning

Second, planning. Analyze your selected position on the track: The curve of the track, the size of the openings, your position's relation with the openings and total length of the play track. Consider all the environmental factors like lighting, voice scene, temperature, possible disruptions. For example if your crew is present at the location, check their current activity level (sleep, standing by or active on a task) or probability of receiving a high priority interrupt by a bird observation in a window in your sight. With all this data create your plan. Again, discuss the plan with your team mates if you have such and consider their inputs. 

Planning. Define the openings' relational position.

Planning. Measure the openings' length

Next part in the series is Execution.

My thoughts on work, Part 1/5 Initiation

I am now ready to publish my first production on Feline Philosophy. In this series I would  like to provide you with insights on work. As a case I use my rather typical task, working on a playtrack. I got my playtrack delivered to my lair on land in May so I am not an expert yet but I feel that I have now enough experience to discuss the basics. In case you are not a practitioner I explain the idea of the playtrack: it is a curvaceous track that is covered by see-trough cover with long openings to it. There is a ball in the groove and the purpose is to play with the ball through the openings.

To summarize, there are two approaches to a set on the playtrack:

1. Aggressive approach with lot of movement, noise and show-off but less accuracy (recommendable at 4.30 am when waking up with all the energy and the crew sleeps and sleeps)
2. Elegant approach with little movement but diamond hard concentration with exact results

In this series I concentrate the second one, and describe five phases that I have identified to be necessary in a successful set of playtracking. Today I start with the first phase, initiation, and then one at the time I post rest four of them. I hope you enjoy about this production!

o o o o o 

First, initiation. Select a good position on the playtrack. Ground yourself by relaxing your body, paying attention to the breathing and focusing your mind. Think about what kind of set you would like to perform today: Duration, any specific ideas you would like to try, other key requirements you may have in mind. If you belong to a gregarious species, like my crew does, you should consult your with team mates about the requirements. If you are an individual hunter/sailor like me, you just consult with yourself.

Initiation. Position yourself.

Initiation. See the concentration in my eyes.

Next part is planning. Talk to you about that in couple of days!

Watching and touching TV

Benefits of temp crew

I have had to make some negative notes on my crew performance records lately. Not only the boat season closed but it seems like the daily hunting and gathering routine has gotten some unwanted extensions - The daily routine may last over night or even several nights! The both crew members, one at a time, have been away from my availability which I find unacceptable.

As a solution I invited some of my temporary crew members to help me. This is of course extra effort but there are certain benefits to them - the temps don't any other tasks than to attend me! And they are very playful! Specially I would like to state that they don't sit glued to the computer like the captain and first mate quite often do (however I do know how to get their attention from the computer ...).

So I would like to extend my warm thanks to the temp crew members working for me during last weeks! Welcome again!

Xmas Season begins

It's November, it's the start for Xmas season in the first mate's time domain. 

No, it was not me who adjusted the declination of the Xmas light house last year...