Heather Neill announced her plans to circumnavigate the globe in s/v Flight of Years, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka last year. This was a rather unusual announcement, given that Heather was not a sailor, and had relatively little experience sailing at the time of her announcement. You can read about her and her preparations at [...]
On a sailing forum, the question of capsize or pitchpoling a multihull came up recently. That’s a good question, how common is capsizing a cruising multihull? The poster was talking about two trimarans that had pitchpoled. I’d like to look at that now.
The risk of capsize on a cruising multihull is miniscule, provided the boat [...]
One of my on-line friends, Alex, recently posted this message in response to the killings at Virginia Tech.
I have been watching the news here in the US… What drives young people to go to a school and shoot people like that??? And its not the first time either… God help America….this is so crazy…..
Why???? [...]
One of my favorite blogs to read is 37 Days, by Patti Digh. A recent post of her talks about the movie “March of the Penguins”, and talks about a young woman named Meta.
The story really hit home for me, since Meta was about the same age as my identical twin and, like him, [...]
Over on Dear Elena, there is a post titled “Blame”. It is about whether Daniel or Kim is responsible for their daughter’s death. Elena died from a bacterial infection about six months ago. I can understand this behavior. I went through much the same thing after my twin brother, David, was [...]
Since this is a sailing blog, at least to some degree… I should probably write about sailing at some point. As part of my plan for long-distance passage making, I was taking a Macro Cruising Course over at the Boston Sailing Center. I’ve also posted some photos, per Tillerman’s request. I hope [...]
Define: Terrorism
This is the definition according to Wikipedia.
Terrorism is the systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change.[1][2] Terrorist attacks are designed to influence the broader society to which those killed, injured, or taken hostage belong. The dramatic focus of mass media [...]
There’s a post on a blog I read called Fear of Death. The post is about the fear of death, and of dying that was caused by her friend’s diagnosis with a particularly nasty form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
The author writes:
“And it was only then, maybe ten minutes before they arrived, that I finally recognized [...]
What makes a good leader? I was watching a movie the other night… a tacky apopcalyptic movie titled, “10.5”, about an earthquake that devastates the west coast of the United States. The President of the United States in the movie is playing a game of basketball with an old friend when he is [...]
Over at Dear Elena, there is an article on identification, and it set me to thinking about who I am. As my life has progressed, who I am has changed. During my life, I’ve had two identities which have really defined who I am.
The first is when I was a child, I [...]
“The wonder is always new that any sane man can be a sailor.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
Here are a collection of short posts that all seem to have a common thread—Republicans misbehaving. Whether it is lying, intimidation, spying, breaking the law, or stealing, it all seems to point to a definite lack of moral values by the party of the Moral Majority. How sad. Even worse is that the American people continue to allow such behavior to continue endlessly.
Wandering the internet, I came across an article with an excellent and sane response to terrorists and terrorism. America could learn alot from this. My thanks to Emergent Chaos for the link.
I recently read an article that pointed me to Dr. Lawrence Britt’s essay on the Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism. Now let’s take a look at each of Britt’s fourteen points, and how America, in 2006, under the Bush Presidency regime is faring.
There’s a very good post over at Not Bad For A Cubicle on Airport Security. He is one of the few that I have seen writing on the subject who realizes that most of the highly visible security measures that have been implemented in the United States are also among the least effective. [...]
Technology, being used for technology’s sake, rarely is effective, unless it is done with a thorough understanding of the underlying issues and requirements. That is not the case here. RFID technology is not a technological panacea that will make national security or identifying the bad guys easier, unless it is properly used. In fact, it is more likely to make national security, especially for our citizens abroad, far lower, and make them more easily identifiable by the bad guys.
Well, glad to say that GWB did not disappoint (see my previous post).
The government of the United States is officially in default. They’ve exceeded the debt ceiling of $8.18 trillion dollars, and are now at $8.19 trillion dollars, as noted in the Homeland Stupidity blog. Of course, what would you expect from a [...]
The Irregular Times blog, one of my regulars, has an excellent analysis on the differences between Al Gore and Hillary Clinton’s take on democracy and the actions of the Bush Administration. You can read the whole article here. I’ve quoted the conclusion below. It is one that I strongly agree with.
Whereas Al [...]
Apparently, the Democrats have realized that George W. Bush has broken the law. Al Gore denounces GWB in his speech on Martin Luther King Day. In his speech, he and Congressman Barr, a conservative Republican, both denounce the actions of George W. Bush. Barr has also stated that we are close to becoming a totalitarian society here. I have quoted Gore’s speech below.
I often get asked if I run anti-virus software on my Mac, and if I do, why do I bother. The reasoning of the people asking me is usually something like: “There are no viruses for Mac OS X, so why waste the time/money running an anti-virus package on a Mac.”
The weather the past few days has been pretty strange. It has been unseasonably cool for Virginia in August, and much rainier than is usually the case. We’ve got green grass here in Virginia. Normally, by this time of year, the grass is dead and brown without some serious lawn watering. [...]
Boston has appeared to be invaded by iPod People
I am outraged. Apparently Denver has just passed a law that makes owning a “pit bull” illegal. This law gives the city the right to seize and kill dogs based, not on bad acts or behavior, but purely on their appearance.
Today, I’m waiting for a truck to show up. It is pickup day for me. PODS is sending a truck to pickup the POD that I’ve had sitting in my driveway for most of the last year. A lot has happened since I decided to move. The whole moving process has been one difficult. As I said previously, when I originally bought this place, I had planned on raising a family here. Now, I am leaving the first real home I’ve ever had. This weekend, I’m heading up to New England, to return to where I grew up.
I would like all the readers of my blog to hold a moment of silence. This moment, 11:00 A.M. on June 11th, marks the fourth year since my married. I do hope for all of those who read my blog and website, that you will someday find a person who you both love and are loved by in the way Gee and I shared.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the way the justice system in the United States works. I’ve come to the conclusion that the whole thing needs to be re-worked. Not the actual courts, but the much of the law, the ideas of what constitutes crime, the idea of punishment, and the idea of the rights of the accused and the convicted.
Nearly 40 percent of all traffic fatalities are caused by drunk driving accidents. An estimated 16,654 people were killed due to drunk drivers last year alone….over five times the number killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Isn’t it about time the government stepped in and did something about these highly preventable deaths.
There was an interesting article on www.csoonline.com about whether we should declare a victory in the War on Terrorism. It is an interesting argument if you consider it from a return on investment viewpoint. Since much of the additional money being spent on the military and the Department of Homeland Security isn’t going to increase our security by any significant amount, wouldn’t it be better spent increasing the actual quality of life of Americans as a whole.
With identity theft and consumer data as a growing concern, is Congress taking the right steps to truly protect the consumer?
It has taken me a few years to see the joy and happiness of Easter once again. Spring is the season of re-birth, and Easter is an important symbol of spring. I was recently received a story in e-mail. It was from a friend I haven’t seen in about five years. He and I e-mail each other, but I haven’t had a chance to see him since my wedding. The story is about a soldier who was finally coming home from the war—very fitting for our times, given the current war in Iraq.