This will hurt me...

I've utilised the zoom a little bit to see what's happening up there on the bridge. If you look very closely, I think that you can just about see Captain Stubing chastising "Gopher" Smith for another of his whacky, harebrained schemes. I do like the fact that Gopher somehow made it into Congress after The Love Boat went off air. It seems odd to me that Captain Stubing didn’t somehow end up President though. Similarly, it seems a great shame to me that Barack Obama became the first African American President, instead of Jimmie Walker (J. J. Evans in Good Times ). Don’t tell me that the inauguration speech couldn’t have been livened up with a “ Dy-no-MITE ” and a spin.

Here is a photo from a bit further back to give you an sense of scale. The Love Boat was quite popular in my household. As a family that had a tradition of seafaring, it gritty, realistic portrayal of life at sea appealed to the salty sea dogs that are the McCracken clan. My brother had a theory that Bartender Isaac Washington had bedded more ladies than Wilt Chamberlain. The reasoning behind this was that he was so slick with the one liners, could handle any cocktail request thrown at him, and was essentially unflappable despite the shenanigans around him that his essential goodness would mean that he was just so darn nice to reject a lady who propositioned him, as it was all about making their holidays something special . You just don't see professionalism like that these days, and more is the pity.

The Diamond Princess is back in Hobart. No, not uber -moron Paris Hilton, the ruddy great ship! Registered in Bermuda, primarily cruising in Alaska and the Mexican Riviera during the northern summer, like Paris, she does spread her charms around. Also like Paris (maybe), she entertains 2,674 passengers and 1,238 crew at a time! [Ahem.] You can't miss this one on the journey into work, as the ship itself tends to tower over most of Hobart's buildings. It's a biggun. A quick look at their website tells me that this Ship has more to do than most Tasmanian towns and cities. Just some of the stuff includes FOUR swimming pools, a spa and fitness centre, a theatre for Princess' original Broadway and Las Vegas-style productions, a cinema, a Casino, FOUTREEN bars, an atrium with shops, two bars, art gallery, library and writing room, a wedding chapel, Internet cafes, a hair salon and a nine-hole golf putting course and two computerized golf simulators. Why bother leaving the b...