The Steamtug Blog

Of course, the world’s greatest sports car morphed from the roots of the classic C1 and dynamic styling of the C2, to incorporate European style sexy curves to create the greatest and sexiest car ever made!

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Look out!! There’s an alligator on the port quarter! Which is worse than a clingon on the starboard bow! Grumps (Ian) and Whackie Jackie are here to visit me from Geelong, Australia, and we did an airboat ride in the Atchafalaya basin looking for gators… and oh boy, did we find some! (continue reading…)

When I was just a school kid, all I wanted when I grew up was a Chev Corvette. So when I came to the USA with no money, all I could afford was a 40 year old car… so I bought that old Corvette and furfilled my boyhood dream. And after months of fiddling with this n that, she was ready for a 2000 mile adventure to see the Atlantic Ocean. I wonder if I should also plan a trip to California to see the Pacific Ocean? (continue reading…)

Ethyl, well she’s my old corvette. And she loves nothing better than a parade! And now that it’s Mardi Gras time, what better excuse to polish up and roll out and wave to all the girls in town, than a Mardi Gras parade, right? (continue reading…)

The wall of beer!

I was having a quiet ale at McFarlane’s Irish pub here in the Lake Charles resort community when the barman, who had noticed my taste for beer was “different” to the local palate, offered me to try something completely different, that only a foreigner would understand. (continue reading…)

As you now know, we are building 3 new LNG trains here in Southwest Louisiana, USA. My position is the shift manager and I have 24 troublesome little ducks working for me. So just like a good mother duck, I took them out from the nest in the offices as we were tired of shuffling paper, reading documents, and working out how all this is going to work. We went for a walk out on the construction site to see some of the major pieces of equipment which are being lifted onto freshly poured concrete foundations. It’s hard keeping them all together as their enthusiasm often has them walking off in opposite directions when they spot something interesting, like one of our new 130,000 horsepower gas turbines! (continue reading…)

Another year over already? I invited a few friends around to my place as a house warming and NYE party combined. Pete had just arrived from Australia, and we had a great evening planned. Then after our hang over recovered, we were going to leave on a road trip to Tennessee! (continue reading…)

Pete finally arrived from Australia after being lost in Texas and having me worried sick! It was Boxing day and I had volunteered to work the Christmas holiday period so my local colleagues could have the time with their families. I was only going home to a cold empty house, so it didn’t matter to me. As Pete flew into Dallas airport, a mini hurricane appeared from nowhere and smashed through the area leaving a wake of destruction and 11 people dead. Pete was hovering over the Dallas Fort worth airport spinning in mid air with the pilot trying to figure out where they would land, eventually diverting to Austin. (continue reading…)

I remember working at Shell Geelong and a crew got sent to the world famous Texas A&M fire training school. I said I needed to go too, but was told… “Mark, you will never, ever, ever go there! Forget it!” (continue reading…)

I have finally moved into some almost permanent accommodation. Its a lovely little 3 bedroom cottage which recently underwent total restoration. The best part is the big garage for Ethyl, and a whole third of an acre to stretch out in! (continue reading…)