A Long Hiatus....

Hi,Thanks for visiting this Web site.

As you can tell, I've not added any addtional web site recommendations in some time. There just doesn't seem to be that big of an interest in my blog as of late.

I've redirected my energy into writing my first fiction novel. The Clovis Chronicles has just been published!

Please visit www.ClovisBooks.com to learn all about this very first book in a brand new series. By the way, there are a number of entertaining short videos on the Web site.

Kindest regards,
Tom DiFrancesca III

A little Coast Guard history....

If you've never checked out the online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" you should. You can get started by clicking here and see what they have on the U.S. Coast Guard.

Check it out, it's very informative!

I found this image of the patch for Radsta New Orleans on the Internet just the other day.

Boy, did that bring back memories. I served as a Radioman there back in the late 1970's.

I found the image at the "Semper Paratus" Web site. It is chock full of Coast Guard history and images.

It is one site that you can't pass up spending at least a few minutes looking up old unit patches and images. A true walk down memory lane.

Gone Fishin'

I'll be on a brief hiatus for the next 10 days. After that, I will begin making regular postings once again. I appreciate your continued support, encouragement, and patronage!

Another gather place for Coasties....

Have you heard of "Coastie Central"?

Here is how the site describes itself:

"Coastie Central is a community site for members of the United States Coast Guard. Semper Paratus! This site is set up to offer you up to date CG and World related news. We are also here to help out anyone interested in the CG. We have a message board. Some of our forums are open to the public and others are only open to current or retired Coasties."

Check it out!

Tune Into the Coast Guard Channel....

I just recently found a very nicely designed Web site dedicated to everything Coast Guard. "The Coast Guard Channel" contains videos, documentaries, and well written stories all related to various aspects of the service.

The Black T-Shirts are Here!

If you haven't checked out our line of clothing and merchandise in a while, you probably should.

We've just started offering some really sharp looking black t-shirts of different style types.


Click here to visit the "Post Coastie" store!

Historical Directives....

Click here to read a copy of a letter from Alexander Hamilton to the commanding officers of all cutters in the newly founded Revenue Cutter Service. Of course, well all know that the new service eventually became known as the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard and Music - A Strange Mix....

If you're like me, you don't know very much about the official U.S. Coast Guard Band.

Well, click here and learn all about it!

The oldest OOD in the Coast Guard?

Every Saturday, an 83 year old ex-naval officer is in charge of Coast Guard Station Oxnard. He served in World War II and retired in 1976. The man is a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and should be a role model for all of us "Post Coasties". I reckon he proves that none of us are too old to serve the best military organization on the planet.

Click here to read the complete news story about Mr. Coddington.

Great media files....

Click here for access to some great still and video images of the Coast Guard in action. We can thank the folks at the Thirteenth Coast Guard District for this!

Historical Coast Guard Cutter Visit....

The Coast Guard Cutter Legare has just returned home after making an historical visit to Africa. Please click here for the full story.

Recording breaking bust!

Way to go Coasties!

Click here for the details.

Getting back to normal...

Well, I'm back - finally.

I've been on a brief hiatus so to speak. If you didn't already know, I am a full-time college student (at 48 years of age). For spring break I decided to rent a car and drive over 4,000 miles in 10 days.

I was successful.

My wife and I explored parts of New Mexico and Colorado that we had never visited before. We think maybe we found our litt.e piece of heaven and it's located just south of Durango, Colorado.

It was during that traveling time that I also decided to greatly reduce my online exploration. I pretty much limited my access to checking the weather, road conditions, and email.

I think sometimes we need a break from technology. There are times that I feel like my brain is on overload and it is being constantly flooded with new data.

Do you ever feel that way?

Anyway, I'm gonna' start making frequent posts again - maybe 4 or 5 posts a week if I can.

I'm constantly searching for interesting Coast Guard related Web sites that I can share with my readers.

Enjoy Spring!

Top 10 Coast Guard Rescue Videos...

Someone posted a compilation of the top 10 Coast Guard rescue videos on the YouTube.com Web site. Click here to view the collection.

Breaking news about the U.S. Coast Guard...

If you click here you will be presented with the absolute latest breaking news about the U.S. Coast Guard.

I created a search string in conjunction with "Google News", so now it is as simple as just clicking the link above whenever you want to see what's going on with the "Guard"!

Once you are on the search results page at Google News, you can click on the "News Alerts" link. There you will be able to register your email address and then from that point on, whenever a news story breaks concerning the U.S. Coast Guard, you will receive a link to that story in your email.

It's somebody's birthday....

Actually, it's "some thing's" birthday and that is the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

Last month, the USCGR turned 66 years old and it's not showing its age at all!

Click here to read a nicely done news story about the birthday of the Reserve.

Good press for the Cutter Tahoma!

Click here to read a great news story about the recent exploits of the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma.

Keep up the great work Coasties!

Coast Guard Coloring Books...

Do you have "kiddies"?

Click here and you can download and then print out Coast Guard themed images for the young ones to color.

On the same site, one can also download Coast Guard desktop wallpaper, paper models, and various other items.

It's definitely worth checking out!

News story about USCGC Tackle...

Click here to read a news article that appeared recently in the Times-Argus, a newspaper in Vermont.

Hot off the press...

Everyone is always asking me when I'm going to publish my next book, well - here it is!

This book is Volume One of my new "Devos to Go" series. It is entitled "The Mountains Declare His Majesty". If you click here you will be able to read more about this new series of devotions, preview part of the book for free, and best of all - order yourself a copy!

I appreciate your support.

P.S. By clicking here, you'll be able to read a little bit about all of the books that I've published so far.

Do the Tango II

As I was creating "MovieTango" - the "Ultimate Movie Review" Web site, I got the idea to do the same thing with book reviews.

Thus the birth of "BookTango". I've combined the power of the Google search engine with the massive databases of some of the top book review sites on the World Wide Web. I think it turned out pretty good myself. If you are into books like I am, you will quickly appreciate the "BookTango" Web site.

Queen Mary 2 Arrives in San Francisco...

This is an awesome picture don't you think? In fact I made it the background for my computer desktop.

If you click here, you will be taken to the 11th Coast Guard District's Public Affairs Web site, where you can view a much larger and higher resolution version of this picture.

You will also find on that Web site, other great pictures and some good news stories about all of the Coast Guard's efforts on the west coast.

Do the Tango...

I've had a busy weekend. Besides having a very annoying and excruciatingly painful wisdom tooth extracted - I built a couple of customized search engines.

If you are like me, you watch quite a few movies every month; either at the theatre or by renting videos. I often use Google to look up movie reviews and I also have some of my favorite sites that post reviews pretty often.

The problem I have is that I get tired of trying to remember all of the good and useful sites that are out there in Cyberspace. So, what I did was combine the power of the Google search engine and the massive databases of all the top movie review sites on the Internet.

Sure, my new search engine will need "tweaking" once in a while - but it's off to a real good start already. Please click here to visit - MovieTango.com!

Tell your sea stories here...

I just found "The Old Guard" Web site. It is a great place to visit and to read some great stories about the Coast Guard of the past. Posting your own stories is a piece of cake once you register at the site which in itself is a snap.

Have fun!

A Little Humor...

Click here to view a German television commercial which involves the German Coast Guard. You might have to watch it twice to get the joke - but it really is pretty funny.

The Real Perfect Storm...

If for some reason you've never watched the movie "A Perfect Storm", you should rent it now.

If you'd like to see "official" Coast Guard images of some of the dramatic rescue operations that took place during the infamous storm - click here.

A copy of the marine casualty report for the F/V Andrea Gail is also available.

Announcement from the Commandant's Office

"Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen will provide his first State of the Coast Guard Address at 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 13. During this annual address to more than 40,000 Coast Guard members and the American public, Adm. Allen will highlight some of the Coast Guard’s most noteworthy accomplishments in the past year and outline his priorities for the Coast Guard for the coming year. This year, the Commandant will also unveil a new strategy for meeting the Coast Guard’s responsibilities for protecting and preserving America’s maritime safety, security and stewardship interests. The U.S. Coast Guard Strategy for Maritime Safety, Security, and Stewardship describes how the Coast Guard will work to safeguard the nation against all threats, hazards, and challenges in the maritime domain, today and in the future. For more information on the Commandant and a complete transcript of his address after Feb. 13, visit us online at: www.uscg.mil/comdt."

The Coastie Bookshelf

I've mentioned "Fred's Place" in the past, it is a wonderful Web site dedicated to anyone ever affiliated with the USCG. I thought I'd mention a feature of the site that may not get a lot of attention and that is "The Coastie Bookshelf". That particular part of the site contains a listing and description of books written by Coasties.

Check it out.