Creamy Powder

Star Trek

2009-05-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

* Very minor spoiler alerts *

We went to see Star Trek the other day. I liked it. In particular the guys who played Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) were very good. As soon as I'd heard they were making a Star Trek movie, I thought playing Kirk would be tricky - Shattner's rendition being such a unique mix of stiltedness, bravado, contained enthusiasm and obnoxiousness - and he pulled it off great.

The story was interesting, and Star-Trekkish (with a time travelling them, and a bit by Leonard Nimoy) yet much richer and coherent than a typical Star Trek episode. It had about the right mix of 'origin' narrative and new plot. It introduced some new, non-Star Trekkish elements of Space Opera (the baddy is pretty awesome in that respect).

Special effects are excellent, as can be expected. The movie has a few weaknesses, but overall is definitely worth seeing.

When life imitates art

2009-02-17T23:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight cover of the New York Times online

Grand theft indeed...

Prop 8 passes... because of Obama?

2008-11-06T07:16:00.001-08:00

I was talking to my friend Sam yesterday, and he said something I thought was very insightful: prop 8 passed because of the huge increase in turnout from the black community. Looks like he was right. From the LATimes:

Black and Latino voters critical to same-sex marriage ban's success

Torn between Obama and McCain

2008-10-18T09:30:00.001-07:00

Another excellent article, this time gleaned from RCP.

The Election

2008-10-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

This marathon election is coming to a close, and it's been fun. From Hillary's cratering to Obama's emergence, from Mike Huckabee's witticisms to Palin's nomination, it hasn't been boring. Recently, a little article got me thinking.

I was watching Colbert the other night, and Tina Brown, of Vanity Fair fame, was talking about her new site The Daily Beast. I was half-listening, half-hacking when my ears perked up: Christopher Buckley had confessed, in an article on her site, that he was going to... vote Obama.

As a lifelong fan of Buckley père, and a fairly regular reader of the NR, I was intrigued. I looked up the article, and I liked it. It shouldn't be surprising, as Buckley fils shares the core political philosophy of his father, and essentially my own:

I am a small-government conservative who clings tenaciously and old-fashionedly to the idea that one ought to have balanced budgets. On abortion, gay marriage, et al, I’m libertarian. I believe with my sage and epigrammatic friend P.J. O’Rourke that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away.

The Buckley piece articulates many of the things I've felt about the election recently. How McCain used to be interesting, courageous and straightforward, and recently has slid into a do-whatever-I-need-to-do-to-placate-the-base mode. And some of Obama's attacks, like the one that McCain acted erraticly, seemed on target.

And then there is the Palin business. Some of you know that I was an early supporter of the Palin decision. I even speculated over the summer that it would be a great boost to the ticket and a way for McCain to further his cause. She has a great life story, is not from Washington and seemed like exactly what McCain needed. She's spunky, has strong principles and is attractive to boot.

But that was before she self-destructed in front of Gibson and Kouric. There is no question that the interviewers themselves were partisan and had their own agenda. They were at times condescending, looking for 'the trap' and what not. But that doesn't excuse anything. A smart politician would have been able to navigate this easily. The newspaper question is a good example:

COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?

PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —

COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.

PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

COURIC: Can you name any of them?

PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.

Let's set aside the issue of grammar for a second. I don't know why she floundered. It maybe that she was intimidated but I find that unlikely: she seems like a fearless woman, and is considerably more accomplished than Katie Kouric. So we have to look elsewhere for an explanation.

Someone who actually had read a significant amount could simply have answered the question. Someone who hadn't should have been able to say the New York Time and the Wall Street Journal. Someone smart who have said: "Katie, I don't remember you asking the same question from Senator Obama. But never mind, I'll answer your question anyway - in shaping a rich and balanced world view I find a mix of the major dailies (NYT, WSJ), and a few weekly magazines, like The Economist, Business Week and Fortune. A few of the TV programs are good and I was very sad to see the passing of our good friend Tim Russert, even if I didn't agree with his positions most of the time. Yes, all of those are pretty good. I must confess though, to never watching the nightly news. I'm sure you'll understand. So again, why not ask this of Sen. Obama?"

Her followup performance at the debate was simply that of someone who learned all the lines, and had a bunch of pre-canned attacks. I also find it unsettling that someone who is literally a heartbeat away from the presidency got her first passport in 2006. Many conservatives share my opinion on this topic, including Peggy Noonan from the Wall Street Journal, David Brooks from the New York Times and Kathleen Parker from the National Review.

To go back to the Buckley article, his main point about Obama and one I agree with fully is that Obama is, unlike most people who get to or near the presidency, very smart.

I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate. He is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books. Imagine.

I am not however nearly as optimistic as Buckley is about Obama or an Obama presidency. His character and more importantly, his politics are the real issues. On the character front, I have always thought that his association with Reverent Wright would have disqualified him from being nominated: you don't listen to drivel every week-end for 20 years without being influenced by it. You don't grow up in the Chicago political machine and rub elbows with Tony Rezko without cutting some significant ethical corners.

As far as his politics are concerned, they are uninspired and generally worrisome. He's never done anything significant politically (other than arrive at his current position), and he's voted with the Democrats along party lines for the vast majority of his short career. Whenever he speaks, whenever he talks about an issue, his first instinct is to conjure up a government solution.

Considering the prospect of a Democratic super-majority in Congress, I am profoundly uncomfortable with the prospect of Democratic president, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi running things. But then again, Bush has doubled the debt, exploded the deficit and grown the government more than any president in my lifetime. So who knows.

Buckley is more optimistic:

But having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect, President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren’t going to get us out of this pit we’ve dug for ourselves. If he raises taxes and throws up tariff walls and opens the coffers of the DNC to bribe-money from the special interest groups against whom he has (somewhat disingenuously) railed during the campaign trail, then he will almost certainly reap a whirlwind that will make Katrina look like a balmy summer zephyr.

I hope he's right, but I'm not holding my breath.

The Chevy Volt

2008-07-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

Arts and Letters Daily recently had a link to an Atlantic Monthly article on the Chevy Volt. It's a fairly long piece, and the author followed the development of the Volt from the decision to invest in it to the most recent R&D cycles.

Of note, from the article:

1. GM realizes what dire straights they're in, and they're seriously trying to do something about it. If they succeed it will be another great American success story. If they fail, some will point out (rightly or wrongly) the short-sightedness of US corporations, especially when it comes to markets with long R&D lifecycles and hard-to-time trends (such as the appetite for cars that consume less gasoline). They will contrast it to the approach of foreign firms, like Toyota.

2. The plug-in electric drive hybrid is an interesting technology. The Volt is aiming to go 40 miles on electricity alone, and has a gas engine that doesn't direct power to the wheels, but simply recharges the battery. That engine can also be replaced by an E85-driven plant or even, in the future, by a fuel cell.

A worthwhile read.

Learning to Sail in San Francisco Bay

2008-07-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sometime in May I decided to learn to sail.

Sailing has a unique appeal - a connection with the ocean, travel and adventure. A mix of skills, pure enjoyment, history and romance. This particular decision to learn sailing was, however, precipitated by the fact that we'd decided to go on a sailing vacation in July so I had a little over a month to learn to skipper a larger sailboat.

I had minimal experience sailing - when I was 16 and 17 I used to spend time in the south of France sailing little 420s, and some experience windsurfing.

I called around the various sailing schools in the Bay Area. All were appealing in one way or another, but only one (OCSC Sailing School) was able to accommodate what I needed: three courses in a row (5, really) in the space of a month: the US Sailing certification of Basic Keelboat (1 & 2), Basic Cruising (1 & 2) and Bareboat Cruising. Some of the schools offered free instruction, but the classes depended on volunteers and the schedule was, to say the least, loose. Others didn't have the right classes scheduled at the right time. OCSC is one of the largest and best organized schools in the Bay and offered what I needed.

One of the interesting facts about OCSC is that it's located in Berkeley, smack in front of the infamous San Francisco Bay's 'Slot', which features strong and consistent winds (15-25 knots), and some strong tidal currents. Some of my buddies, sailors themselves, told me I was nuts to learn to sail there. I thought, 'Whatever doesn't kill you...'

I spent a total of 22 days on the water, plus six 3-hour seminars. It was very intense and enormously enjoyable. The time on the water was always fun, from cruising on a sunny day in Clipper Cove to putting a reef under sail in 25 knots of breeze and chop out by Southhampton Shoal to rescuing Bob, the orange juice can that serves as our man-over-board victim. Learning the theory and practical skills was also very satisfying: how to read the wind, how to trim the sails, how to navigate, all the procedures for departing, docking and so on. And last but not least spending time with all the people I met and learned with, instructors and students alike.

I wouldn't recommend doing it exactly in the way I did (and neither, I believe, would OCSC). Take some time off between Basic Cruising and Bareboat Cruising to get some experience sailing (in OCSC's case, on J24s). I would recommend the week-long courses as opposed to the week-end ones if you can do it. You don't forget what you learn and you spend more time on the water.

I'll conclude by saying that learning to sail is a big investment, of self, time and money, but an extraordinarily rewarding one.

A Great Read

2008-07-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

During my vacation I read Endurance, Alfred Lansing's masterful retelling of Ernest Shackleton's expedition in Antarctica. Lansing was a journalist, and the book is a very readable story of survival against incredible odds. Two years trapped in Antarctica, locked in a sea of ice, sailing across some of the most violent seas in the world and crossing daunting glaciers.

While the Shackleton's story has become somewhat of a stereotype (think management seminar motivational nonsense), it remains an great story of leadership and grit. Highly recommended.

The BVI Trip

2008-07-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

Prelude

A while back, Cydney and I had a conversation that went something like this:
- Where should we take our vacation?
- What about Europe, like say Greece? I've always wanted to go there, and then maybe we could go sailing in the islands.
- Sure I've always wanted to go to Greece too and sailing sounds like a lot of fun!

The vacation starts on July 4th. It's May 15th, so between now and then I need to learn to sail. I spend June doing just that at the OCSC Sailing School in Berkeley. Great people and great experience - it'll be the subject of an upcoming blog posting. By the time we leave for our trip I'm 'Bareboat Certified' which is less kinky than it sounds and US Sailing's way of telling the world you can competently, if not always gracefully, skipper a 30ft+ sailboat.

In the course of learning to sail, I found out about various sailing destinations and based on difficulty, distance, cost and overall fun we settled on the British Virgin Islands rather than Greece.

The British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands is a delightful set of islands in the Caribbeans, made up of four main islands (Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Anegada) and over 50 smaller islands and cays. They enjoy beautiful weather year-round, consistent trade winds, gorgeous beaches and lots of fun places to visit, eat and drink.

The Crew

Benjamin	Cydney
Skipper	First Mate

Welcome to Paradise!

The flight in is long, but manageable. San Francisco-Miami-San Juan and finally, a puddle jumper to Tortola. It's raining a little when we land, a warm and gentle rain that stops quickly. In the taxi on the way to the harbor, we get a sense of how mountainous and steep the island is - the road go straight up, then straight down, maybe 1000 ft. It give us a great view of the islands all around and it's gorgeous.

As we get to Wickhams Cay II where the main Sunsail base is, we're struck by the sheer scale of the operation. Sunsail leases out over 1000 yachts in the BVIs, and we can see dock after dock of gorgeous catamarans and monohulls, just waiting to be taken out. We have a noon start; we didn't want to waste time hanging around Road Town. First order of business though is to get some provisions and we head to Bobby's Marketplace, a funky little supermarket nearby (note: Deer Park water taste horrible. Avoid it like the plague)

The Boat and the 'Briefing'

When we get back to base, we put away the provisions. I had originally booked a Sunsail 32 but later upgraded to a Sunsail 39 (price difference: $400). The boat is gorgeous. I believe it is a Beneteau Cyclades 39, 12m (39ft) long with a 4 m (12 ft) beam. This one is about 2 years old. It's big for two people for sure, but completely worth it.

Sailing note: It's a fractional rig, and the main is large. It has a double slab reefing system, and a dual helm. The jib winches are very close to the helm, making handling the boat double-handed easier. It has a roller jib and a partially battened mainsail (w/ lazy jacks to make life easier - I know you'd disapprove, Bruce). The electronics are nice, with the familiar Raymarine depth/speed, a compass and wind indicator as well as a Navman GPS. One thing I'll find out later is that the speed on the Raymarine doesn't work (a very widespread problem according to a tech I talked to) so I relied on the GPS's SOG feature. I run a full inventory of the boat, including charts, manual nav gear and all the safety equipment.

The boat's full specs are pretty close to to what can be found in this PDF document.

A guy shows up to brief us. He is nice enough but doesn't know everything he should about the boat. There is no boat manual or through-hull diagram, and we have to go hunting for all the seacocks. He doesn't really seem to know how the battery switches work (they look different from the trusty Catalina's I learned on). I ask about prop-walk, and the answer he gives me will later prove to be incorrect. Surprisingly, we don't get any kind of 'chart briefing', where to go, where not to go or anything of the sort. I have to ask for a current weather forcast.

Eventually I get all the answers I need and we're ready to cast off. I give Cydney the final instructions on taking the boat out, and we're on on our way! Before long we're on a beam reach heading to Norman Island to moor overnight at The Bight, and the adventure truly begins!

The Art and Science of Picking up a Mooring Ball

The sail over the Norman Island is delightful. As we approach The Bight we lower the sails, and I brief Cyd on how to pick up a mooring ball: 'cleat this line to the bow cleat, use the boat hook to grab the ball, stick the line in the hole and tie it back up again.'. The sailors among you (and the non-sailors as well, perhaps) will realize that these instructions, in light of the fact that this is Cyd's first time on a sailboat, are not, in fact, sufficient.

The good news is - we do find a mooring ball. After trying to hook it 3 or 4 times Cyd just gets frustrated with the whole thing and simply jumps into the water. I immediately put the boat in neutral, I walk up to the bow to grab the line from her... and we're moored! We'll need to work on this. But we made it, and we make ourselves a couple of cocktails and kick back, watching a beautiful sunset and enjoying a warm breeze.

Willy T's!

The Bight is home to Willy T's, one of the coolest bars (and restaurant) anywhere. It's a 100ft steel-hulled schooner, and later in the night, it really gets hopping. After a couple of cocktails on our boat, we head over there in the dinghy. Unfortunately they stopped serving food so dinner is two bags of salt and vinegar chips. A few Painkillers and Dark and Stormy later, we're dancing the night away and having a good time!

Needless to say, a few cocktails help make a bumpy, noisy and crowded anchorage feel like a flat lake in middle of summer. We had a very good night.

Snorkelin' in the Rain

We woke up the next morning to gorgeous tropical blue waters, 85 degrees and a bit of a hangover. Next to The Bight is a nice snorkeling spot called The Caves, so we got out our fins and masks and hopped into the dinghy for a bit of underwater exploration.

On the way back the only real tropical downpour came down - hard, dense, fast and loud. Very shortly thereafter we were back to normal.

On the Way to Dead Man's Bay...?

Next stop is to be Dead Man's Bay on Peter Island. Looking at the itinerary, I decide to try to southern route, as it looked like it will have slightly more favorable wind angles and I want to see what it is like to sail outside the channel. The wind is blowing pretty hard - 15 to 20 knots, with faster gusts. We get ourselves on a close reach, heading out to sea and we're soon making 7 and 1/2 knots. Sailing Note: I decide to put in a reef. Slab reefing is ten times better than conventional or single-line reefing.

Then the swells really picked up. We later realized that we were hitting Hurricane Bertha's northern swells. I am no expert at measuring waves but these were easily 3 and possibly 4 times what my instructors told me were 3 to 4 foot swells in San Francisco Bay. By this time, I was having fun and really enjoying the sailing, but the OCSC-trained skipper in me kept a keen eye out for the well-being of my passengers. Holding on to the high-side, ashen-faced, crying 'Honey! I don't like this!' was my cue that I should turn around, further reef and put us on a broad reach straight back out towards Norman Island and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. So that is what I do.

By that time there isn't enough time to make it Dead Man's Chest so we head for Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island. In the evening, we decide to live it up a little and head over to the nice restaurant onshore, the Cooper Island Beach Club. After a short ride in the dinghy, we get to the restaurant. The guy who runs the joint is a young Brit who's very nice and helpful. We get choice seats on the edge of the water, a beautiful view with a great sunset. Cyd gets the Mahi-Mahi and I order the honey/spice pork speciality. The moon is out. It's very romantic...

Mooring Practice

In the morning we practice mooring. After an exhaustive briefing and a demonstration, we practice 3 moorings and nail every one of them.

A nice note about Sunsail: the night before the DC inverter had stopped working because of a blown fuse (a story unto itself), but I couldn't find the fuse box and didn't have spare fuse in any case. I called Sunsail and they had promised to send someone in first thing in the morning. Right around 9 am, the 'Sunsail chase boat' shows up. He's the guy that deals with everything from missing corkscrews to overheating engines. He's fast, very nice and incredibly efficient.

It turns out the fuse panel is the switch panel, and a couple of screws off and voila, the entire panel is revealed. As I thought, the DC outlet needs a new fuse, and he puts one it. Kudos for Sunsail.

Spanish Harbor

From Manchioneel Bay we decide to sail up to Spanish Harbor on Virgin Gorda. There can replenish our ice, food and water. We managed to go through 69 gallons in 2 and a half day.... Cyd likes her showers. We have a very nice sailing day, tacking our way up the Sir Francis Drake Channel. As we approach Spanish Harbor, I raise the port ops on the VHF, and get a slip assignment.

A new challenge for the day: an unknown Marina, and a docking. Plus it's blowing hard - probably more than 15 knots. We rig both sides of the boat, and we go in. The slips are marked using a beige-on-beige carved wood plank that supposedly indicates the letter of the dock and the number of the slip. It turns out our assigned slip is on starboard and in a very awkward position, downwind and with a large unprotected metal pole separating the two slips (all the other poles have rubber on them, but this one doesn't).

Across from it is another slip, upwind and in a much better position. I decide to take that one and we dock (side barely touching) with Cydney on the rail, off the shrouds and handling the bowline. She handles it like a pro. Some guy on the dock help us out. We rig a spring line and we are all set. Then it's our turn to be helpful as another boat, a nice Dutch couple and their two-year old pull in next to us. I thought it was cool they were able to sail around, two-handed, with a small child in tow.

While in Spanish Harbor we fill up on water, and necessities including some food and ice. That night, we decide to barbecue and we make an great dinner of barbecued lamb, couscous and salad. The little barbecue works well, and it's fun to do.

We spend a quiet night in the well-protected harbor.

The Baths

In the morning, we decide to go to The Baths. The Baths is a famous location in the BVIs, perhaps 1 nautical mile south of Spanish Harbor.

The Baths are also where the first occurrence of The Curse of the Dinghy takes place. It is well known as a beautiful day anchorage, with great views, good snorkeling and access to The Baths themselves. Hence, while I'm told that getting a mooring there in the winter is next to impossible, even in July it is very crowded. As we approach the mooring site, we spy a mooring ball on the far end of the mooring area. The problem is I see a catamaran to starboard and he's clearly got the same idea, so I gun the engine and we go from 5.5 knots to 8 knots in no time.

We zip up there and get there first. We position ourselves to pick up the mooring, but we're going a wee bit too fast and miss it the first time. Cyd comes back aft for a sec, when a look of complete bewilderment overcomes her. "Where is... where is... the...the...where is...............the dinghy??!" I turn around, and sure enough the Dinghy is 600 yards in the distance, hanging out on its own. I immediately put the boat into neutral (I don't know where the dinghy line is). I then pull the remnants of the line onboard - it is gently floating behind the boat, and turn around to get get the dinghy. Long story short, the 8 knot ride and a couple of sharp turns exercised what was already a very frayed line and it had come apart. My first opportunity to use a bowline and a sheet-bend (thanks Eric and Carl!) - the towline is now fixed.

Of course the catamaran sneaks in and steals our mooring. But no matter, a couple of minutes later we get *the best mooring in all The Baths*, right up to the swimming area. We pick it up (on the first try) and moor for a delightful afternoon. The weather is perfect, the location gorgeous. We have a leisurely lunch of tuna salad sandwiches and a glass of white wine. Then we go snorkeling. The snorkeling is great - amazingly clear water, cool fish, small and big. We make use of our poor man's underwater enclosure ($35.00 from an Amazon) and it works quite well! Then on to The Baths themselves.
It's a network of giant boulders forming natural pools and grottos, and it's very beautiful. The light shadows and reflections through the boulders and off the natural water pools are magical.

The Bitter End

Next we decide to head for the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, to the The Bitter End. The wind is coming from ENE, so we raise the sails and get on a northerly course. We have a wonderful sail for most of the afternoon, with calm seas and winds between 10 and 18 knots. The destination is straight upwind, and I decide to stay on a beam reach for comfort, so we cover the roughly 10 miles in slightly under 4 hours. The approach to North Sound is well marked, but surrounded by reefs so you need to stay aware, and in the channel. We arrive in front of The Bitter End. The sun is starting to go down. And that's when things got really exciting.

Cyd is up on the bow, lying down, boat hook in hand. The dinghy is tight against the boat. I position the boat upwind and approach the mooring slowly on starboard. Cyd asks for some reverse so I give some. Then I hear something wrong with the engine so I immediately shift it into neutral and turn around. Sure enough the dinghy had slung around the stern with a sharp bump, and the line-shortening slip knot had slipped. The line had gotten loose, sucked down and wrapped around the prop. I immediately shift the engine into neutral.

Lesson learned: when bringing the dinghy up for close quarter maneuvering, use a very secure knot.

At this point the wind is blowing hard out of the NE, about 15-20 knots. I have no engine power. The sails are down. I am surrounded by several other yachts. The dinghy is floating away fairly fast. I hurry to the bow with the idea to dropping the bow anchor. As I walk forward, I notice another free mooring ball on our port side, and I knew our bow would very soon start getting blown down towards it. I hoped that perhaps with a little luck we'd be able to pick it up. I tell Cyd about it and in a great display of sang-froid she picks it up, gets line through and hands it off to me. I tie it off - just in time. The boat rights itself. I check the knots and walk back to the stern to assess the dinghy situation. It's getting away.

At this point I reflect that I could either go after the dinghy, or un-foul the prop, get the engine started and go after the dinghy in the boat. The second option has too many unknowns (how long will it take, what if there is something more problematic with the engine?) Then we'd have to go hunt for the dinghy on the south shore of an unknown bay at dusk. In far less time that it took me to write this sentence, I decide to go after the dinghy. Cyd gets me my snorkel and fins and I jump in, and I start swimming hard. All the while I have to worry about boat traffic (the light is getting somewhat low). It takes me 20 minutes to catch up with the dinghy.

As I motor back to the boat, I realize that I had jumped in with my wallet (Soggy Dollar Bar, here I come....) So while Cyd takes my wallet below to get it and its contents dried off, I jump back in to have a look at the prop. The line is loosely wrapped a couple of times around the axle and I carefully unwrap off until it looks right. No sign of damage or warping. I then go to the engine compartment to check the oil; it looks shiny and nice - no sign of overheating. I start the engine, and test forward and back - all is well.

After all this, we deserve a nice evening so we hop into the dinghy and head over to The Bitter End (http://www.beyc.com/)'s restaurant for a great dinner - grilled Ahi, steak, tropical salads and some nice bread pudding. A lovely evening, again at a table right on the edge of the water with a great view of the Sound. The band is playing. A magical evening.

That night the wind is blowing hard and we're getting bigger swells than usual but after a day like today, I sleep like a stone.

The Curse of the Dinghy

In the morning, The Curse of the Dinghy returns. Before we depart, we decide that we need a few things - some better water and some paper towel. I'm also hoping that the chandlery might have another dinghy line. I hop into the dinghy, start it off, go for about 5 yards and... the engine dies. I restart it, but as soon as I give it any gas, it dies. I restart it, it idles, I give it gas slowly and it dies again. Before long, I am 200 yards from the boat and the engine won't start at all. At that point I suspect the engine is flooded, and I start rowing back. Only one of the oars is missing its lock attachment so I have to paddle three times on one side, switch side then paddle three times again. The wind is still blowing hard and head-on, and progress is extremely slow. Thankfully, after 20 minutes of this a fellow boater (from San Francisco, it turns out) notices me and comes to help out. I hop in and we tow my dinghy to the fuel dock.

There there is a guy who works for Sunsail at the dock, and takes a look at the dinghy - sure enough the engine is flooded. He cleans it out and we're back in business. The Bitter End Yacht Club is a vast complex, with hotel, a couple of stores, a grocery store and a couple of restaurants. I pick up the groceries, and a couple of 'The Bitter End' Ts and make my way back to the boat.

Long Sail from Virgin Gorda to Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay is a bay on the north-western side of Tortola and it, along with Jost Van Dyke (an island a few miles the northwest of it) had been highly recommended by friends. We have a great sail from North Sound to Cane Garden Bay, mostly on a broad reach finishing on a close reach with fair winds all the way down. It takes us most of the afternoon. As we sail into Cane Garden Bay we pick up a mooring ball on the outside of the bay. As a testament of how comfortable we are picking up moorings by now, we then give it up and pick one up one further in to get better reception of the local wi-fi network (helpful for the local weather report).

We decide to spend the night aboard - the sail had tired us out. We cook ourselves a nice dinner - salad followed by pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce. That evening I read to Cyd the first chapter of 'Endurance' by Alfred Lansing. It's the story of Ernest Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica. The contrast between the idyllic setting of Cane Garden Bay in the middle of the summer and the hell Shackleton and his men had to go through makes a vibrant story even more powerful. We watch the beautiful sunset and retire early.

To Moor or not to Moor

In the morning we decided to head over to Jost Van Dyke. We set sail for first for Sandy Cay, a beautiful little island that looks like a caricature of a deserted island: long white beaches, turquoise reefs and a single palm tree. Then a jibe behind the island, and broad reach all the way up to White Bay . White Bay is a gorgeous bay of superb white beaches and some unique BVI landmarks, including the Soggy Dollar Bar, where the Painkiller was invented. The name 'Soggy Dollar Bar' comes from the fact that the bay has no dock, and patrons sometime swim to shore with dollars in the their pocket.

It has also a bunch of other little shops and shacks. The one that stood out is Ivan's Stress Free Bar, a wonderful and funky little... establishment.

The problem is, there is only a handful of moorings and they're all taken. We try to pick one marked 'private' but it is too close to the beach for comfort and we give it up. I consider anchoring but since we haven't practiced it and since the anchoring area on the western end of the beach is already very busy, we head out with a mind to come back the next morning.

We simply motor back to Cane Garden Bay, and after a nice morning cruise we're back at Cane Garden Bay by early afternoon. We straighten out the boat, and head to shore in the dinghy, taking care of garbage and such. We go to Quito's Gazebo for a late lunch, a drink or two or three, and spend a very pleasant afternoon, hanging out looking out onto Cane Garden Bay and listening to 80s' tunes. Cane Garden Bay is a charming little town, with a cute police station and, like in many other towns in the BVI, chickens running around everywhere.

That night we fire up the grill for hot-dogs and couscous, and another good night sleep.

A Glorious Last Day

Our last full day here! We wake up good and early and head out to White Bay. We get there at 8:30, pick up a mooring and have a fantastic last day. We spend time hanging out on the beach, at Ivan's Stress Free Bar, snorkeling and swimming and we wrap up the afternoon sitting in the shade at the Soggy Dollar Bar, sipping Painkillers and Carib beers. In the evening we decide to head over to Foxy's, in Great Harbor, one bay over.

Before we get going, we break out a bottle of champagne we brought (2005 Iron Horse). Then we hop in the dinghy (along with our PFD, a flash light and some snorkeling gear for safety) and head out to Great Harbor, the next bay over. Foxy's is great fun. We meet a older couple from Maryland and have a couple of drinks with them. Then we meet a young British couple, and have another couple of drinks with them. We hit it off and decide to grab dinner together. We head out to Corsair for dinner where we have a spectacular looking but average tasting lobster.

Later that night as we are dinghy-ing in the night back towards White Bay, just as we get clear of Great Harbor and into the open ocean, The Curse of the Dinghy makes its final appearance. Suddenly, no matter how much gas I give it, the engine will only put out minimal (idle) level of power. So we're going very, very slow. Thankfully the swells are minimal and keeping our wits about us, we make it back safely to our boat.

Epilogue

We made it back safe and sound, and very happy. It was a fun adventure, and I'm grateful to all the people who, in one way or another, help make it happen, Mike: you were the first one, when you told me about your vacation down there. Paul, Patrick, the OCSC teaching staff and my fellow students (thanks Drew and Charlie!)

Sex And The City, The Movie

2008-06-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

When Sex and the City was on I watched it on occasion. It was a pretty good show. It was about human relationships, the vagaries of life and 20 and 30 somethings' trying to make it in an exciting city. Something me and most people I knew could, in one way or another, relate to. For sure women were the target market. The obsession with brands, shoes and handbags seemed like a funny sideshow which knew existed but did not really understand.

But the show had universal themes. The main plot lines I remember from the show were things like Carrie cheating on Aidan, Charlotte dealing with her new husband's numerous 'issues' and unfortunate in-laws. Miranda's accidental pregnancy. Those were pretty realistic, tense, real issues that real people may and do face everyday. That was the center of the show.

The movie flipped all that around, putting the materialism and frivolity of the show front and center and turning relationships and personalities into caricatures and noxious ones at that. It reduced every character to the essence of their character flaws. Big's lack of passion. Miranda's bitchiness. Steve's spinelessness. Samantha's pointlessness. Carrie's meekness in not going for what she wants (marriage) and not going for it with someone who is, fundamentally, uninteresting (Big). The movie seems to confuse depth of character with the abundance of character flaws. Charlotte and her husband might be the only likable characters in there, but they're not interesting.

And it's not like the movie didn't have the time to develop characters: it's 2h15 long!

Excuse me, I must have the wrong country

2008-05-20T12:43:00.001-07:00

Today, on my daily internet news roundup, the following headline caught my eye on the Drudge Report: House passes bill to sue OPEC over oil prices. It turns out our Democratic Congress, in cahoots with a large number of Republicans have decided to subject a handful of sovereign countries to the same laws that corporations operating on U.S. soil must follow.

Where to begin?

Let's start with the notion that it makes sense to sue other countries in order to force them to obey U.S. law. I know - let's sue Spain and Russia until they post the Federal Minimum Wage in their place of employment. Then can also go after China to adhere to proper OSHA guidelines on keyboard placement and keyboard distance (memo to Hu Jin Tao: they are available here).

Then we can stop and consider the fact that OPEC is a self-described cartel, whose primary (indeed some would say sole) purpose is to fix oil prices. It's convenient when they bow to pressure from us to keep prices low, but apparently not when they figure that they can profit from a boom in world demand.

Finally, we can marvel at Congress, an institution even less popular than George Bush. Instead of working to end our dependency on oil, instead of drafting legislation to make nuclear a viable energy option in this country, instead of pouring research money in better batteries, they come up with this.

Too bad Johnny Cochran isn't here to see this.

Next thing you know, the price of a baguette will be set by Congress.

The Wrong Decision

2008-05-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Once again activist judges have stomped all over the stated will of the voters. I am supportive of gay marriage and gay adoption (there are way too many kids in need of loving homes for us to exclude any), but I find this decision very problematic.

It's the same activist judges who come up with rights that are not in the Constitution, and decisions that, like Roe v. Wade, will only serve to further polarize and tear apart the fabric of our polity.

The Wall Street Journal had a great editorial on this.

And I thought this quote, from Judge Baxter's dissenting opinion, captured the essence of the issue nicely:

Recent years have seen the development of an intense debate about same-sex marriage. Advocates of this cause have had real success in the marketplace of ideas, gaining attention and considerable public support. Left to its own devices, the ordinary democratic process might well produce, ere long, a consensus among most Californians that the term “marriage” should, in civil parlance, include the legal unions of same-sex partners.

But a bare majority of this court, not satisfied with the pace of democratic change, now abruptly forestalls that process and substitutes, by judicial fiat, its own social policy views for those expressed by the People themselves.

In it to .... hope something horrible happens to the other guy

2008-05-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

On Meet The Press this morning John Harwood summarized Hillary Clinton's hope to win the Democratic primary race: 'Stuff could happen to Barack Obama. If we found out that there was a secret poker game when Tony Rezko was paying Barack Obama to write Jeremiah Wright's sermons and to organize Muslim English professors for a new Weather Underground chapter, maybe Barack Obama could be stopped.'

Libertarian Paternalism

2008-05-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

I just finished an interesting article I got off of the oft-excellent Arts and Letters Daily compilation site. It's about how people make economic decisions, in the larger sense. More specifically it's about behavioral economics, a relatively new field, and two of the professors who played a significant role in creating it.

Behavioral economics is the notion that people are not, as neoclassical economists would have us believe, optimal self-interest-maximizing machines, but instead flawed decision-makers who make many irrational choices in their every day lives.

One of the topics they're interested in is what influences (in their words, 'nudge') people towards one decision or another. The article provide several examples, such as putting fruit at eye level in a cafeteria (25% more uptake), drawing a the picture of a fly on a urinal to provide patrons with a target (80% less spillage) or making 401k contributions an opt-out instead of an opt-in.

One of the implications for these theories is that a government that is smaller but offers better governance may be possible. Imagine a government that nudges people in particular directions in light-handed ways, and without taking away alternative choices. Other than the 401k example, they don't go into a lot of detail about how that would be done, but the thought is interesting.

As a side note they are peripherally associated with the Obama campaign as advisors (one of the guys teaches @ the University of Chicago), which I thought was interesting given Obama's clear penchant for big-government solutions. If he's elected, I hope he listens to these guys.

This is a link to the article.

This is a link to Arts and Letters Daily.

Nikita

2008-05-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

I just watched Nikita again, the first time in many years.

It's still a great movie. It's by Luc Besson (of The 5th Element and The Big Blue fame) and arguably his best one. It came out in 1990 and is in French. I first saw it when I was 18 years old and living in Paris. I had blue hair, I wanted to be a spy and that movie was essentially the greatest thing I had ever seen put on screen.

The storyline is that of a down-on-her-luck drug addict who ends up being conscripted as a government spy and assassin. On this preposterous premise, Besson builds a beautifully paced, fun, tense and emotionally rich action flick.

The acting is excellent. Anne Parillaud (Nikita) is beautiful. Not in a classical, or drop-dead gorgeous way but in a very genuine and simple way. She's a great actress, and she's supported by an outstanding cast, including Jean-Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo, Jean Reno and Jeanne Moreau.

Jeanne Moreau has a couple of outstanding scenes where she takes Nikita from graceless punk girl to elegant, graceful and feminine French woman. A priceless quote: 'There are only two things that have no limits: feminity, and the ways to exploit it'.

Jean Reno, of course is outstanding as Victor, the Cleaner. For those of you who saw The Professional, which came out many years later and is also an outstanding movie, this was the inspiration.

The dialogue is wonderful - concise, funny, touching.

The cinematography, as always with Besson, is amazing.

The action scenes are raw, fast-paced and a lot of fun.

The movie does contain a few goofs (documented in the IMDB entry for the movie) but they don't distract from the film.

A quick note about the subtitles. They are absolutely atrocious. It's as if they were done for a different movie. I didn't listen to the dubbed version, but the subtitles gratuitously lose all the subtlety, humor and creativity of the original. They are almost - almost - enough for me to recommend against watching this movie if you don't speak at least some French. But not quite.

The American remake of this movie ('Point of No Return') is not nearly as good as this one, but it's ok. Harvey Keitel plays Reno's role, and is excellent. The TV series should be avoided like the plague.

2 New Albums

2008-05-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Two new albums I like a lot:

Vampire Weekend, new band, first album. Excellent pop/reggae/new new British invasion band (think Depeche Mode meets Bob Marley). Recent Columbia grads, with a strong East coast sensibility. All songs are excellent. We saw them in concert at The Independent. Great, great fun. They're also getting some great reviews. This is one in Rolling Stones and the New York Times.

Accelerate, the latest by the legendary band R.E.M. has made it on my playlist. Short album, fast, deep, pure R.E.M. One of their best ever, and the best since Automatic for the People in my opinion.

Can You Become a Creature of New Habits?

2008-05-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

I thought this article was fascinating. It's a New York Times piece on creating new habits.

I related to it because I've always liked the idea of developing new habits and new tastes even as I got older and more set in my ways. I had a chance to test this out recently when I decided to get in back in shape. For starters, I forced myself to adopt new tastes like drinking my coffee black and enjoy food without adding sugar. It took me a few weeks, but eventually I got there. Now I find lattes to be incredibly rich and I have a hard time working myself through a small one. I also eliminated pasta from my diet, after having it at least three times a week every week for my entire life. More recently I've started bicycling, something I'd long found painful and hard, and now I love it :)

While developing new tastes and enjoyment for physical activities has obvious benefits (healthwise, for sure) I think expanding one's horizons along more 'cultural' lines, like the authors, directors or musicians you like could pay off even more. More on this soon.

Dancin' with Gershwin

2008-05-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see Dancin' with Gershwin, a Smuin Ballet production at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. It was my first Smuin Ballet and it was entertaining.

The show is a series of dance numbers, to music by Gershwin interpreted by some great artists including Lenna Horne, Nat King Cole and Sting. The choreographies alternate between couple or solo numbers, and Broadway-style musical troupe numbers. One of those ('Do It Again' by Marilyn Monroe) has an over-the-top Marilyn in a red velvet dress surrounded by loving men waving giant feathers all around her, forming successively a fancy dress, a walkway, a dais, a bridge and many other feathery creations. The only downer on that one is her wig.

Generally the rhythm is right on, and the choreography is fun and creative. The set, while minimal, is nice and makes great use of light. A segment based on 'It Ain't Necessarily So' sung by Cher has a shadow theater rendition of notable Biblical moments. David and Goliath, making use of perspective, and Moses on the Nile in particular are very well done. The Egyptian girls have a lovely figure... Other entertaining moments include a tap dancing number with the entire cast and an opening number with a gifted and athletic dancer (Ikolo Griffin) dancing around and on top of a piano.

The show has an intermission, and the second part does slow down, perhaps a little too much. It opens with an interesting set of visuals - old posters of Gershwin shows - but features a overly long number (based on 'Piano Concerto in F Adagio'). Overall, the only thing that distracts from a very entertaining evening is the weakness of some the dancing, particularly when more than one or two dancers are involved. The stars are good, but some of the younger dancers are not well synchronized and lack either experience or enough rehearsing or both.

Nonetheless I definitely recommend it, and it is well worth the $55 bucks we paid for Orchestra tickets.

This is a review of the show in SF and this a review of the show when it went to New York in 2003.

The Right Decision

2008-04-19T20:33:00.001-07:00

Today Patrick and I decided to go for a ride in Marin. So late this morning I load up the car, and get going. Halfway there, it hits me: I forgot my helmet at home.

Now I have to decide whether I go back home (and be half-an-hour late) or go on and rely on statistics (odds are, I won't fall). Many of you know my general antipathy towards helmets, particularly towards paternalistic helmet laws.

I love skiing in part because I love the wind in my hair and the feeling of freedom that comes with it. My childhood hero, Guy Lafleur, played in the LNH (the NHL, in Quebec) without a helmet for his entire career.

But, for some reason, I decide to turn around and get my helmet.

As we get going, we turn left on Mason and go a block or two, and we're heading down a nice San Francisco hill when a driver in a minivan decides to pull out just in front of Patrick, with me following. As I pull up next to Patrick, my front wheel falls into the groove of the cable-car rail and I (along with the bike, since I'm clipped in and don't come out) go flying out. I fall hard on my right side and my head hits the pavement with substantial force.

All I can say is that the helmet was $25 dollars well spent, as was the time I spent futzing with the straps and all to make sure it fit snuggly. Also God bless my mother for eating lots of sea urchins when she was pregnant with me. Lots of calcium. Helps explain my hard head.

Some scrapes on my hand, a sore hip and a bruised ego but no-guts-no-glory, if-you-don't-fall-you're-not-learning, and all that so - I get my derrière back in the saddle and we start down towards the Golden Gate.

Shclick...schlick...schlick...schlick...schlick...schlick...schlick

Something's wrong with my derailleur. For those of you who care about the technical details, the hanging derailleur bolt had bent (as it is designed to do in such situation) and the derailleur was bent towards the wheel. We found a great little bike shop (Citizen Chain) in North Beach and Henry the owner (that's him in the picture) fixed it and even threw in some extras! Highly recommended. 30 minutes later we were on our way.

Except it was freezing cold. And windy too. So we headed back, got in the car and headed out to the East Bay. We went on a nice 2-hour ride on Old Tunnel Road and Skyline.

A nice ride.

I got back just in time to see one of the best third periods of playoff hockey in recent memory (even if the Habs lost).

Annie Get Your Gun

2008-04-17T15:48:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama's recent remarks at a 'closed door' fund-raiser in San Francisco led to a particularly humorous Daily Show segment the other night.

The part about Hillary's insincerity on the issue of God and guns in particular was priceless. On the heels of that came last night's debate, where both Obama and Clinton performed little jigs on the topic of the gun rights. An op-ed piece in the Journal picked up on this morning. The opening paragraph:

"Imagine an election race of Pat Robertson versus James Dobson, each of them appearing at organic grocery stores and Starbucks throughout Massachusetts, with each candidate insisting that he alone deserves the vote of gay-marriage advocates. An equally silly spectacle is taking place these days in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky, as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama compete for the pro-gun vote."

The full text of the article is here.

My New Bike

2008-04-17T15:46:00.001-07:00

The Gear

Got a new bike last week. After a comical series of events, I managed to extract it from the FedEx distribution center. It is a Tommaso Velocita, a quantum-leap upgrade from my trusty $170 Jeep Cherokee mountain bike.

It's Ferrari-red and it looks fast, especially going downhill.

It came in pieces, though the hard parts, such as the cabling, were already installed. On Monday I put it together and on Wednesday I took it in to the Sports Basement at Crissy Field and had them tune it up. They did a fine job, even though I had to negotiate for them to do it the same day, and even then I had to come back and pick it up in the evening. They are a bunch of disorganized hippies, but they are nice and knowledgeable about bikes. Since the bike has some of those funny looking pedals, I also bought some bike shoes (Northwave Vertigo Carbon). And a helmet too (red, of course). And to complement all that, the new hydration backpack I bought at Costco, a High-Sierra Kahuna 70. After a couple of uses, I love that pack.

The Ride

This morning, at 8 am, I was supposed to meet a riding buddy at the same Sports Basement by Crissy Field, but a SMS sent at 3:48 that morning ('can't make guarantees about tomorrow morning. trying to sober up') suggested I might be doing this inaugural ride solo. After 10 minutes and an unanswered SMS, I took off across the Golden Gate bridge.

Last time I did this ride, the GG was open to cyclists on the West (ocean) side of the bridge while the East (bay) side was reserved to pedestrians. I discovered that this set up is only good on week-end and after hours. During business hours maintenance crews use the west side of the bridge while pedestrians and cyclists share the bay side. It was fine though, because there was hardly anyone there. The morning was chilly, with the fog making its way across the bridge.

Once on the other side of the bridge I made my way across the little tunnel and up towards the Headlands. The sun was shining, and the ride was awesome. Once I got to the top, I took a picture or two.

I then made my way down the very steep and twisty road on the other side. It was completely fogged in and the road was slick with dew. While you might think that the cold and lack of pedaling might have cooled me down, my heart was going and I stayed warm. Very exciting ride down. I took the short way back, through the tunnel and across the bridge. By the time I was on the bridge, the fog was gone and I had a great view of the City.

The bike performed beautifully. Last time I had done this ride (on the aforementioned mountain bike) I was ready to die and donate my lungs to Goodwill. The new bike made a huge difference. Even though it has a compact crank, I had no problems making it up the hill. In fact, when I got to the top I was sort of surprised I had made it there so soon. And going downhill, even in dodgy conditions, the bike felt safe and precise.

All in all a wonderful first ride.

Creamy Powder

2008-04-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Creap is a Japanese non-dairy creamer. It stands for Creamy Powder. This picture proves that I am not making this up.