Who was Carroll LeFon?
The best description of Lex that I’ve heard is “Imagine Hemingway flew fighters…and liked people.”
Rhythms the Compendium
Welcome to the “Rhythms” home page, a blogvel of sorts in several parts. The author’s attempt was to reveal elements of life aboard an aircraft carrier on the line. He had no idea it would take so long, and leave so very much untold.
— Carroll F. “Lex” LeFon
Continue readingIn Memory of CAPT Carroll “Lex” LeFon, and the Wonderful Community He Fostered
Welcome. The idea was floated that a ‘talk amongst yourselves’ blog would be a good addition to for the Non-Facebook Crowd. Here it is.
Filed under Best of Neptunus Lex
Jaws 51st Anniversary
I just returned from seeing a 1975 summer blockbuster on the big screen. I remember the excitement when it came to theaters the first time. Hardly anyone thinks of swimming in the ocean the same way since that movie.
A friend of mine, who was a master diver and a divemaster, talked of times when his friends would talk about night dives on the boat and asking “who wants to go”? And inevitably this movie would come up. Of course, it was always said as a joke, but nothing beats the figure of a Great White in the inky darkness of your ocean dive.
The movie opened with a talk with director Steven Spielberg. He was talking about the fact that this was only his 2nd movie at 27 years old that he directed, and they had so many problems on the set, that he thought this movie would be a flop and the end of his Hollywood career.
Continue readingFiled under Movie Review
A Question about Filmmaker David Lynch
June 17, 2026
OK, I acknowledge that I may be very well in the minority. Maybe my film tastes are too plebian to appreciate his films.
But my local theater shows classic films periodically and lately in an attempt to see what all the brouhaha is about his films, I have now seen 3 of them.
Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway and last night, Inland Empire. In all of them, I get to the end (except for Inland Empire) and wonder just what did I just see?
Last night, after 2 hours I had had it with Inland Empire. I just left. I learn today it is a 3 hour movie.
All I saw was a bunch of disjointed scenes, a bunch of women dancing to the early 60s hit by Little Eva, the Locomotion, a movie star trying to make a movie with a leading man continually hitting on her, A flashback (?) to a simple suburban home, on and on.
Just to see what I missed it is on the free streaming platform Tubi. But I doubt that I will have any revelations.
Lynch, who died 2 years ago, was famous for refusing interviews. He wouldn’t talk about his films, saying “They don’t need me to help them out“.
How wrong you were, David.
Filed under Movie Review
Movie Review: Pressure
June 15, 2026
It’s been said that there are only 2 professions for which one can be wrong – a lot – and still keep your job. That is economists and…weathermen.
When I used to fly years ago, we referred to the weathermen at the FSS (Flight Service Station) as the weather guessers.
Even today, forecasting isn’t an exact science with satellites and super computers. Is it going to rain tomorrow? There have been times on my iPhone weather app that it will give me a 100% assurance that it will rain the next day. The next day comes and it is dry.
Filed under Movie Review
Shame on Warner Brothers
There are two directors that I will automatically go to the big screen to see their movies. Ron Howard and Clint Eastwood.
Both have made some spectacular movies but all of them have been good. I don’t think you could say any of their movies have been “duds”.
The last Ron Howard movie I saw was Eden which I reviewed here.
I would say although not seeing the numbers but it probably had a limited box office success.
And I have learned that box office success has little to do with a movies greatness or mediocrity.
Titles can make or break a movie at the box office.
Continue readingFiled under Movie Review, Uncategorized
A Sign of the Times
Today we had a wonderful car rally to the Napa Wine Country. Our destination was the Sculpture Ranch, where some surrealistic things such as an old Nash Metropolitan are suspended in the air.
As with most of our drives, we took some roads far less travelled, thanks to the efforts of our host.
Our club is a local affiliate of our national Mercedes-Benz club. We started, so the story goes, over a pitcher of Margaritas one Central Valley summer in 1969. Some enthusiastic owners wanted to form our club and have some joint activities.
It ended 57 years later with this drive.
In the interim, did we have some activities. Activities from which I formed some life-long friends.
Our rallies were legendary.
Continue readingFiled under California, Friends, Good Stuff, In Memoriam, Other Stuff, Small Stuff, Travel
South Pacific Adventures II – 40 Years Later
May 18, 2026
This was a trip I had been eagerly waiting for the last year. Specifically, I wanted to see what was on one stop – Komodo island in Indonesia.
40 years ago this December, I had been fired from a job and I figured getting another in December was unlikely. And, I always wanted to see the South Pacific and a travel agent friend of my parents knew of a great deal from QANTAS airlines. For $1200 I could get a ticket that would let me map the route – up to 21 stops in the Pacific – I just couldn’t backtrack to the same place.
So, I started with Tahiti – staying at the Club Med on Morea Island for 2 weeks – just 11 miles across a channel from the capital, Papeete. I took probably the world’s shortest airline route there (11 miles across the channel – it was that or waiting a day for the ferry).
In New Zealand, I went with this youth group touring mainly the South Island. Towards the end I was a bit tired and while a tour of the North Island of the Bay of Islands was offered, I didn’t go.
And I regretted that for the last 40 years.
Continue readingFiled under Ships and the Sea, Travel
Traveling’s Dark Companion
A few days ago, I returned from a trip that I had been looking forward to for the last year or so. A good friend of mine suggested it. He is a cruise ship veteran, having accrued some 40 voyages and is feted appropriately by the cruise ship line. Anyway, he has a select group of friends – some 8 or so, that usually accompany him on these voyages. (a flip side of this is that he works like a dog much of the year, to the point I have worried about his overall health).
Anyway this voyage was going to stop at a place that has held my curiosity for years – Komodo Island in Indonesia. It’s the home – the only home – of the famous Komodo Dragon. I learned that only 20,000 people a year are allowed to visit and if you do visit, it must be under the supervision of a park ranger.
After being “up close and personal” with a few of these things (the one shown I would just call a 10’ lizard, but I digress), and knowing how the occasional urbanite tourist can be around wildlife, I understand and respect the rules. This dragon shown was perfectly still by his watering hole, waiting for some prey.
Ever see someone touch a similar reptile like a crocodile that is seemingly lifeless?
They are fast.
Not that I wanted to touch this guy…
Continue readingThings I’ve Had to Relearn Traveling
April 1, 2026
Ever since 9-11 I’ve really hated traveling by airline.
The whole thing of taking off your shoes, emptying everything for the x-ray machine, and the long lines.
By my camera roll the last time I flew was in October 2019 when I flew up to Calgary Alberta to attend my nephew’s wedding at Lake Louise.
On that front I had a happy discovery recently.
Continue readingFiled under Uncategorized
Rethinking Past Assumptions On … Auto Parts
March 22, 2026
I had for many years a friend – a British expatriate – that I would describe as a master mechanic in the classic sense. He used to talk of times when he would be in a pit crew at places such as Riverside meeting people like Dan Gurney and Jim Clark.
Found out through a third party that it was true. Although I also suspect that fixing today’s cars would probably stump him if the problem wasn’t purely mechanical.
I once attended a talk by a shop foreman of our local Mercedes-Benz dealer – he and a fellow technician together with 5 others from US dealers forming “Team USA” won a biannual international competition in Stuttgart with Daimler for problem solving.
Among the sample questions given to us were all “bugs” involving network problems – not one problem involving mechanics.
Filed under Car Pr0n, Other Stuff
The Nuthin’ Went Right But It Was Still A Good Trip – 50 Years Ago
February 8, 2026
To the reader: I wrote this post on the Lexicans website (under a different title) 11 years ago – in 2015. I noticed someone was reading it last night, and pulled up the post to get refreshed. Something that always bothered me – the pictures were too dark. They were shot with Kodak Ektachrome (for those who remember film) – a film that tended towards the bluish side. They were scanned from slides some years ago and they were always too dark by the time they were on the web. The decades also affected the colors.
Since this tale isn’t related to the story I’ll just get to the point. In trying to edit and upload the new pictures, I hit “save” and it saved the new picture all right – and deleted the post!
So I am rewriting this story – which happened 50 years ago this upcoming September. There was more to add, which wasn’t in the original story. So I’ll make it more complete this time.
I’ve had a friend since I was 12 years old – also named Bill. He is the kind of friend that can resume conversations years later after an absence.
I have told this little story to people lately just to show how much my town has changed.
Individually we were good boys, but together we were like a catalyst. We never really got into serious trouble, but his line to me was always “Shut up and let me do the talking!”. Which I would usually do but it rarely made a difference. “Mischief” is what I would call so many of our activities.
Continue reading
The Lexicans 
