I have just published a book about the Roman Centurion who met Jesus Christ during his 3 years of ministry on earth before the crucifixion.  I've put it out where anyone can read it at this link (SkyDrive on Windows):
https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=documents&cid=5ff8d6ef7e02d8c2#cid=5FF8D6EF7E02D8C2&id=5FF8D6EF7E02D8C2%21105&sc=documents

I invite you to read it - I have decided because of it's nature and content to make it a free read - no charge - I will make any money that can be made from any film rights it might generate or more books that I now feel I am allowed to write.  I took 10 years to write this (my job eats up a lot of time).  I was prompted to self-publish this way on May 25th, 2012.  Future events may prove I was justified to do so.

G-Force - a ship model in progress

This is a photo of my current project (Nov 2011 to sometime in 2012). I'm doing this for my nephew, Craig Workman, who wants it for his home in Fontana, WI. Craig has sailed this boat and he's given me numerous photos of the boat and I've taken some as well. I don't have the model far enough along to show a good photo yet. It is on my workbench in two main parts right now while I paint the stand - that's the boat hull and the stand itself. When I get it mounted on it's stand and the hull outfitted with the main items (rudders, keel board, G-force decal) I will photograph and hopefully remember to post it to this blog!

Model of HMS Surprise from Master & Commander

I built this model in 2005-2007 of an actual British 24 gun frigate (known as a six rate gun ship) for my niece, Colleen Underwood, in Brick NJ. The actual ship is the HMS Rose - it is a full working replica of this type of British gun ship circe 1812. This ship was used in the filming of the movie, Master and Commander, the Far Side of the World starring Russell Crowe as Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey. His ship in the movie (and the book it's based on) is called the HMS Surprise. HMS stands for "His Majesty's Ship" - 1812 was the time of the Napoleonic wars - the movie is a cat-and-mouse chase between the HMS Surprise and a French 50 gun ship. It's a great movie - I own it and my sister Ann gave me a CD about how it was made. I used both to help me build this. In this portrayal, it is under full sail with these extra sails that were put on the outside of the main sails to get more wind power. They were sailing away from the French ship which was trying to run it down to attack it. My sister, Sandy, Colleen's Mom, has the model by her front door - Colleen will eventually have a fireplace mantel for it I'm sure!

Model of Rouse Simmons famous Christmas schooner

This is a model I completed by Thanksgiving 2011 and I gave to my sister-in-law, Ruth Workman. They are displaying it in their home next to their son, my nephew, Craig Workman, in Fontana, WI. The Rouse Simmons was a Great Lakes lumber schooner that was used in December to bring Christmas trees from the Wisconsin shores down to Chicago. It sank off the coast of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan in 1911. The wreck sits on the lake bottom and I used the photos at NordicDive.com from an exploratory dive to help me do varioius details on the model. I have it depicted in Christmas mode with a load of trees, a small tree on the fore mast to indicate it's coming with trees and two wreathes on the cat heads (anchor posts).

Frigate X is now HMS Serapis

I've now finished the Serapis and I presented it to the Wheaton Barber shop in November of 2010. It sits up on a bookshelf near their door where everyone can see it. Rick and Bob Lopez, the primary owners tell me that everyone who sees it for the first time is impressed and want to know more about it. I gave the barber shop a complete history of the Serapis and how John Paul Jones captured it from the British in 1796 from his ship, the Bon Homme Richard. His famous quote "I've not yet begun to fight" is U.S. Naval legend.

This is my current project - a 50 gun frigate I am calling "Frigate X" until I determine if the United States Navy had such a gun ship - if I can't find one in the history I have from the library then I'll make it a British gun ship - they had 100s of these from the 1700s through into the 1800s. I want it to be a real ship that actually existed.

This is what I'm working on now for a friend - building this model of a Chesapeake ship