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I'm up at six. Went up to the cockpit and watched the pelicans for a while in the half-light before sunrise.
I had breakfast and spent time discussing Cassiopeia with Steve who is doing Cooper maintenance. He wants to replace the rudder bearing. I doubt it is necessary, but I'm not there. At eleven, we, Marion, Osso, and I got into the dinghy and went across to the beach past Tesoro where we figured not to attract attention as the shutdown is still in effect here. We walked the beach and talked to the owners who were out visiting, then returned to the boat, had lunch and siesta. Later, I motored over to a neighbouring boat and said hello.
Researchers Find At Least 7 Different Strains Of Coronavirus Circulated In California
In the late afternoon, we heard a call to Baja Magic on the radio. Jack on Azure-Te had arrived and anchored nearby so we invited him for supper. I picked him up in the dinghy and we all had a feast. Marion can make a good meal. By the time were finished, it was dark and when I looked over, I could see jack's boat had moved quite a distance. He was dragging anchor toward the shallows. Fortunately it was high tide. We dinghied over in the dark and he pulled up the anchor which turned out to be fouled with a rope. He got it free and we motored out to deep water where he anchored again. The moon was not up yet, so conditions were pitch dark. Fortunately, I know this bay. Otherwise the job would be quite confusing. This time the anchor held. I returned to Baja Magic and when I glanced at the clock it was midnight.
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I spent the morning corresponding with Steve, the boat maintenance crew at Sidney about Cassiopeia's rudder. Midday, we dinghied over to the three tents and beached. M went looking for shells. I snorkeled.
When I returned to the beach, M was talking to Juan Luis who, as it turns out, is the watchman living there five days a week.
I helped him stretch out a gill net before we left and returned to Baja Magic. After siesta and later in the afternoon we dinghied back over to see if he had caught any fish. he hadn't yet and said, tomorrow. From there we went snorkeling. It turned out that the stretch of coast from the beach to Punta Colorado is excellent compared to other spots I've been. The water is clear and there is a variety fo coral and fish. M picked up another sea urchin, intent on cooking it. The last effort was a bust and my thoughts are to just leave things alone.
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I woke at 0530 after a good night's sleep. There is a heat warning at home. That is ironic, since 29°C is a cool day here in La Paz.
Next, I'll raise the outboard and get ready to go. The tide turns at ten but we'll likely leave here before then.
We raised anchor at 0945 and were back at the dock an hour and a half later. I docked and tied up, then M went to get her papers in order. On the way in, dolphins joined us for a few moments. I noticed a mom and baby beside us for a few moments.
I had lunch and am enjoying the peace and quiet. She called and is on her way back, so that peace won't last long.
"Rice, the staple food for half of world's population is becoming increasingly unaffordable..." A must to read This part of "Defund the Police' I definitely support. seems the police are the criminals here. It is hard to believe, but obviously true. There are many parts of American "Justice' that are simply unjust. One has to wonder how this travesty could go on this long. Unbelievable! Anonymous Berkeley Professor Shreds BLM Injustice Narrative "...As a final point, our university and department has made multiple statements celebrating and eulogizing George Floyd. Floyd was a multiple felon who once held a pregnant black woman at gunpoint. He broke into her home with a gang of men and pointed a gun at her pregnant stomach. He terrorized the women in his community. He sired and abandoned multiple children,
playing no part in their support or upbringing, failing one
of the most basic tests of decency for a human being. He was
a drug-addict and sometime drug-dealer, a swindler who preyed
upon his honest and hard-working neighbors. I agree. Read the whole thing. She left me with Osso and promised to be back by four. That would allow me time to get to the chandlers before five. I washed the boat and did chores. She finally showed a little after four-thirty. She asked about going out later this week and if she should leave her things. I said take everything. We'll talk.
By the time I was off the boat I had time to go to Sea Mar and that was it. They had nothing I needed and Lopez was closed by then. Until Monday. I walked back and she was still sitting at the gate to the docks with her dog and her bags. I went aboard a while then walked out on my way to Oxxo. She was still there. I said hi and went to Oxxo, bought some beer and walked back. By then she was at the gate. I said hi again. She said she was waiting for Uber. That's a surprise. She said she did not have Uber. I wonder if she suckered someone into calling one for her. She is good at that. I went back to the boat and cleaned out the fridge. It is 95 in here. Makes me think of my Finn family and steam baths. As much as I enjoy company, it is great to be alone again. I can be myself. I cleaned out the fridge, did some cooking and reading and went to bed at nine. The temperature never dropped below 82 degrees all night, so I slept with a fan pointed in my direction.
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Today Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk
of a thunderstorm. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light this
morning. Wind becoming southeast 20 gusting to 40 this afternoon.
High 29. Humidex 31. UV index 7 or high. I slept poorly and was up at three for two hours, then slept until almost time for net.
I have things to do today now that i have the boat to myself. I should write M, too, and explain that i am okay with going out sailing again but we need a new contract. I could phone, but she would just argue and not listen.
I'm a lazy beekeeper and I also like to work with
the bees, not fight them.
It is warm today: 92°F or 33.3°C at the moment. I have my fans on. I poked around, drank cold beer, and washed a cockpit bench slip cover (dirtied by the dog) and had a nap. I spend a few hours watching the trainwreck that is The United States of America and wondering about the copycats in canada.
Next, started emptying the locker to attack the fresh water leak again--as soon as the day cools a bit. I'll also walk up up to get gas for the outboard later. Inflatable Bob says that the paint for the dinghy came, so now I can count one week (again) until I take possession. This one, the loaner, works, but leaks a bit and goes sideways when on a plane. I also wrote a note to M laying out my concerns, and we'll see how that goes. She seems really smart.
Now begins the countdown. Oh, my! That is still a month away! What have I done? I usually came here for a moth at most and now I have been here since Feb 12th. That will be 144 days! I could try to fly back via Mexico City and Dallas, but that is a long and tenuous trip compared to SJD to YYC direct. My major challenge will be getting to SJD unless the shuttles start again. There is always Uber. For $100.
Okay. Here we go. This is the real story. I was thinking of writing and article about this obvious fact and someone saved me the effort. Central Banks Bailed Out Markets To Avoid Trillions In Pension Losses It is that obvious. Huge amounts of 'wealth' are tied up in the 'markets'. Same with real estate. Paying the pensioners depends on maintaining stock prices and a liquid market for them. If real estate prices drop, suddenly everyone counting on it for retirement or with a mortgage is trapped and much poorer. Ponzis are fun until the growth stops. Ever wonder why the central banks insisted on avoiding deflation at at any cost? In inflation, debts decrease as a burden, but in deflation, they become impossible very quickly as the underlying assets shrink in value but the debts don't. The current inflated prices are a trap with no way out except growth and there is not real growth to be had, only fake, monetary growth is possible. The pension promises could never all be honored anyhow, but as long as 'growth' continues, that can is kicked down the road. We are now into desperate measures and the central banks are going wild trying to prevent a total collapse. The Canada Pension Plan is invested in stocks. What if they decrease in value and dividends are cut for a decade like the 60s right now when many are retiring and real estate is also in collapse? Bonds are not paying much. * * * * * China was allowed to grow into a huge problem during previous administrations and has been ransacking the US and Canadian tech for decades with impunity.
Hi Allen,
* * * * * Thanks. Interesting that they were called out.
The other images are used illustratively, but are taken literally by many who don't understand that photographs are all deceptive because of their very nature. They only look one direction at one point in time. Moreover almost all are all cropped and adjusted. Some are photoshopped. Nonetheless, it is long past time for all the media to be called out for their irresponsible and deceptive use of emotive images, clipped videos and altered sound bites. They (almost) all do it (almost) every day. Sometimes, I am sure, the deception is due to oversight, but other times it is a deliberate attempt to distort. You can say things with pictures you could never say with words. I have long been bothered by the habit of media to just grab some stock image and use it to illustrate an article to draw views. Typically, the image will be emotive and if, say, the article is critical of Nancy Pelosi, the picture will be of her grimacing. If it is as puff piece, she will be smiling benignly. Sometimes they caption the shot saying it was taken at some irrelevant time. Sometimes not. I seem to recall not too long ago Fox was calling out several MSM media outlets for using a picture from a European hospital and claiming it was a hospital in New York. Citizen reporters, checking out MSM pictures of huge line-ups at New York hospitals found no one lined up and empty emergency rooms. This reminds me. After a brief exposure, deep fakes have gone back into the shadows. I expect we'll see more as November approaches. Will we know? The American Press Is Destroying Itself I had a headache, but can still smell, so assume it is not the dreaded WuWHOFlu. I watched a bit of a Netflix movie, Trauma Center, and then a bit of a new series, Space Force, both of which were horrible, and went to bed. Good/great movies are getting scarce. Gone With the Wind is ... Gone.
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Today Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness near noon then
60 percent chance of showers this afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm
this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. Wind becoming
northwest 20 km/h this afternoon. High 22. UV index 9 or very
high. I slept poorly again. The morning is cool, however, and the day promises to be less hot than yesterday. Job one is to try to solve the leak before the day gets too hot.
I can't keep up with the insanity. Check it out.
Matt Tiabbi refers to 'Robespierres', so I am not the only one who sees the ominous implications.
Well, I fixed the pressure leak. It was just another pinhole leak a little further down the same line and responded to Rescue Tape the same as the first.
Sometimes I think I must be stupid. I have put up with this daily nuisance for almost a month. However, my excuse is that there are two leaks and the second one is not as easy to find and that second one camouflaged the first. Nonetheless, that second leak is only an issue when filling the tank to overflowing and is something I could live with. I have things torn apart now, though, so will keep trying.
Hi Allen,
I've been looking into George Floyd's criminal past. I understand he was a star basketball player in high school, went on to play basketball in community college for 2 years, and then went to university for a year. Unfortunately for him, though, he and his single mom lived in an extremely poor and predominately black neighborhood where black men and youth were routinely harassed and rounded up by police. His first conviction was for theft (not armed robbery as is often cited), and his following convictions were all for less than 1 gram of cocaine (again, non-violent offenses). His final conviction, after more than a decade of these several other non-violent offenses (for which he went to jail every time), was for a home robbery involving a gun with a number of victims including a woman (there is no evidence that she was pregnant, which is often cited). Was he a criminal? It appears so. But then again, if you are an young black man going to school, playing basketball, doing pretty much everything (or mostly everything) right, with hopes for a decent future, but you are continually harassed, followed, rounded up, stopped, threatened, frisked, searched (and there's even the possibility that contraband may be planted, you will be treated harsher by police, and receive a more severe sentence from a judge for anything you might be charged with than, say, a white person might, and so on), well, how many kids would be caught doing something wrong and sent to jail for it if they were always under such a microscope, always under such a cloud of suspicion, always being stopped by police, just for stepping out their front door? After years of such treatment, and seeing all your family, friends, and neighbours also being treated this way, day in and day out, wouldn't you see your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations just fade away and then disappear completely as you stacked up arrest after arrest, conviction after conviction, jail sentence after jail sentence? How many kids would have their lives ruined before they'd even started? Where does a black person with multiple (or even one) convictions and jail time go after that? How do they get a job? Find a place to live? Feed themselves? How easy would it be to turn into a more hardened, a more desperate criminal? Become a drunk? Use drugs more than just occasionally at a party with friends? You also need money, even just to live. If you can't do it legally, you will do it illegally. How long before you get a gun and do something really stupid? Here's a story I came across recently that helps explain, just a little bit, what it might be like to be a young black man in the U.S. (or even a young native in Canada), doing nothing out of the ordinary but being harassed again and again by police with the possibility of being picked up for anything, everything, and nothing, just for not being white - how would anyone, and especially a young person, cope with that? Was George Floyd a criminal? Yes. Did the system TURN George Floyd into a criminal? Possibly. The story: https://franklywrite.com/2020/06/01/a-white-woman-racism-and-a-poodle/ Also, an excellent (and quite different) video on discrimination (and its affect on those being discriminated against): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGvoXeXCoUY Cheers, Catherine p.s. Focusing on a criminal past in order to discredit people of colour (especially when there is a white person to "protect") is a common practice (as is trying to present any woman making a rape charge as promiscuous), and with POC being disproportionately charged with crimes it usually isn't hard to do. Floyd had had zero arrests since his release from jail (for armed robbery) in 2014 when he also left Houston and moved to Minneapolis for a fresh start. He was known as a good guy, helpful, kind, hard working, on the right path, etc. Floyd had worked in his new town, Minneapolis, with the officer that killed him. They'd both worked as bouncers/security guards where Floyd was known as being able to talk people down while the cop was more violent - and especially so with black people, according to his boss - and they'd, apparently, butted heads at some point (the cop also has several/many? complaints from the public on his police record). But there's little mention of Floyd's most recent, criminal free years, or his promising start as a young man amid all the focused police harassment of black males in his community (that eventually resulted in his first (and several subsequent) arrest(s) for non-violent charge(s)), OR the questionable history of the cop that killed him. One last thing, the level of drugs found in Floyd's system after he was murdered only indicated he'd taken them at some point prior - possibly days before the counterfeit** money incident - and that he wasn't "high", as has been reported, at the time of his murder. Lots and lots of people that no one would ever consider an addict or serious user take all kinds of drugs from time to time or on occasion. White people tend to be considered recreational users, whereas black people tend to be considered criminal users. **The machines used to check bills for authenticity can decline
for any reason. A bill that has simply gone through the wash, for
example, or is super wrinkled, or has been written on, etc, can
show as "counterfeit". Sometimes they show as counterfeit without
any discernible reason. I always wondered why Obama turned out so badly. Guess that explains it. White privilege and bad cops.*See note.
While working on these jobs, I defrosted the fridge. On a 90 degree day, that went quickly with a fan and a heater helping. It is three-thirty already and I have yet to reassemble
the cupboard. On the right we can see one side of the refrigerator.
Below the cupboard is the water tank, water pipes, and electrical wiring. I finished the job other than the carpentry, which will wait until tomorrow, and had a cold shower. Today was to be cooler, but at five-thirty it is 96°F in here and that is with three fans running. I am beginning to appreciate the sun shades some boats have had built to reduce the sun on deck. M phoned to chat but these Telcel phones have bad audio and she does not have Whatsapp. We agreed to talk later. I opened the fridge to check on it and found an inch of water in the bottom again. That makes me wonder, but I am assuming that it must have come through the wall at the electrical outlet below the remaining leak, over the counter and in via the lid when I refilled the tank. I cannot see any other way for it to enter. Miguel had set the bilge pump up to drain the fridge, assuming I suppose that it will be used sometimes as an ice box, so that feature came in handy to remove the water.
Oh, goody. The fake emergency is (almost) over. In Cabo, anyhow, but I gather the pretence continues here a while.
We don't need a nanny state to tell us to be careful.
I'm 75 and although I am in good health and active, long before
the lunatics running the asylum went bananas and put everyone under
house arrest, I had already cancelled my flight to Vancouver (potential
hotspot due to Chinese ties), canceled my trip to see Mom (102 years
old), and holed up in semi-isolation here in Mexico. (Hot, humid
climate). Well, it is eight and I'm done for the day and a good day it was. Hot, though. It is still over 90. Damn DST. It is still daylight and I'm ready for bed before long. I'd watch Netflix, but Netflix is a wasteland. Maybe I'll watch Tucker Carlson, or a Trump press conference. More entertaining. "I hope you find this funny :-) Fox News (you can't make this stuff up!) had a segment on Seattle that ran with a Reddit post that Fox takes as proof of the Antifa establishment. The Reddit post in question is quoting a John Cleese, Monty Python movie line LOL! You'll have to pause the video to read the full Reddit post. I've forgotten the title of this particular Monty Python movie, but I remember it was very, very funny :-)
"Could be. But it could also be nothing at all related to anything Antifa. It might have been about the guy put in charge of snacks.
"It's still funny though, hearing Fox News read lines from a Monty Python movie script as though this was the credo of an org :-) "The Reddit post may have been in reference to Raz Simone (a singer/songwriter/activist from Seattle). Perhaps someone isn't crazy about his being center stage there, doesn't agree with him being in a leadership position, etc.
"Forbes has an interesting article on the fellow, if you're interested. But apparently someone didn't vote for him :-)
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I slept well and woke at four. Since I was wide awake, I got up. It is cool enough that I put on sweats, 24°C/76°F. There is a breeze. June is half-gone!
I had coffee and breakfast and now am thinking of catching a bit more sleep. But, first, some light morning reading:
The other side? I went back to bed for an hour and had a nice nap. with interesting dreams.
I'm tired these days. I think it is partly the heat and today promises to be over ninety again. I have not dealt with M yet. I'm of two minds about that.
* * * * * *
I called the dentist and got an appointment at 1330. Chewing on the right side of my mouth has been uncomfortable lately. Bob showed up with the dinghy and I mounted the outboard and called 'Rock Bottom', Tim, the scrap dealer with several boats anchored out at the Magote, then ran out to get pulleys for the davits. I got something that should work, then had a brief swim in the shallows before returning home. On my way out I realised the slight migraine I had before was getting worse and by the time I headed back I was becoming slightly disoriented. Along the way back I ran out of gas until I leveled the gas tank. This outboard seems to be using more gas than I recall. I always put off buying more gas as long as possible because it evaporates and goes bad in the sun. I usually leave the gas tank it in the dinghy but really should shade it or take it onboard, but having gasoline on a boat is smelly, and can be dangerous. * * * * * * In spite of the headache, I went to the dentist assuming I don't have the dreaded WuWHOFlu. She ground several teeth to adjust my bite and said call in a few days if it still bothers me. No charge. I had my temperature taken coming and going, so I guess I don't have the WuWHOFlu, yet anyhow, just a migraine. Just the same, I was scatterbrained and left my empty pack in the Uber. Getting things back from Uber is hard because the drivers speak Spanish and I speak English. There is some overlap, but on a phone, very little. I was looking at buying a new sack anyhow. That one was getting torn. * * * * * * I spent the afternoon on the boat with three fans pointed at me and took 1,000 mg aspirin after looking it up. Migraines are very unusual for me and usually due to eating something, like one particular sort of dried jarred peanuts. The dinghy is not quite all I hoped. One seat won't stay put and the tubes feel soft. It does not plane up as well as some, either, so we will see... I wrote to M this morning but have not heard back. She is not big on email. Frankly, I am enjoying my solitude. At five, it is still 95°F, but I feel better, even with a slight remaining headache. This afternoon, even though I was up town, I hardly felt like staying there and enjoying it. Now, in the evening, I walked to the Pemex and bought twelve litres of gas. On my return, I stowed it in the chain locker by the anchor where it is shaded and also sealed away from the cabins. Now, I may go to Chedraui for a few things. I went to Chedraui and returned around nine. I had bought bread, something I seldom do, to make poached eggs on toast so I made up a batch. It turned out that the Orowheat premium bread I had expected to be real bread was sweet and did not toast well. By then, my headache had pretty well cleared. This was the second in two days, so i wonder what is up. I left the salon in a mess and went to bed.
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I slept right through. I guess I'm dehydrated in the 95 degree heat in spite of drinking lots of water.
Finally,
sensible advice.
I think I'll get a life. There was a huge and very damaging hail storm in Calgary area last weekend. Apparently it flattened crops around Acme, but word is my place is okay. Annoyingly, although there are pictures of everything else, I can't find good illustrations of where it went. Of course most of the coverage is from the major cities because the parts of Alberta outside of Calgary and Edmonton simply do not matter. The countryside's purpose is just to separate the two cities, ship in food, and supply customers for city stores.
Catherine sent me several messages debating several points and I might reproduce the dialogue here, but basically all the exchange illustrates is that people are different and different people are going to think what they are going to think. The Boxer For each of us, whatever comes along is quickly and unconsciously sorted into whatever convenient box is there to receive it, according to long-established rules from our late childhood, regardless of fit and told to stay there. Or to move on and shift metaphor, all input is seen
through a mask, a fence, a filter, a matrix of preconceptions and expectations
and self-interest that obscures some parts of what is behind it and exposes others. For each person that mask is different. For some the mask is almost opaque while in others, the young especially, and the fool, almost wide open. What we experience is a flow of data in various forms from our nerves, in the form of a torrent of raw input. We have to process this flow into matrices of meaning and transform them to fit our running narrative in real time, and do the garbage collection at night in sleep. The normalization process is called 'transformation' and we do it automatically, rotating each new matrix through our protective cognitive filters automatically. These filters are firmware and seldom get an upgrade after youth. * * * * *
Me, I like my rose-tinted glasses, wiped clean often, and treated with with glare-gard, but eyes wide open is not something that appeals to everyone. And, besides, people tell me my glasses are scratched and broken and distorting what I see. Looks okay to me. * * * * * I'm having a better day today. It is two and I am not overheating. Whatever had me yesterday seems to be gone. After lunch, I made spaghetti again. Later, I realised just now that I have mild diarrhea. I had some short gut pains yesterday after i left the dentist and wondered if I needed to make a run for un bano, but they passed. I'm assuming this is related to the migraine. I wonder if I had mild heat exhaustion? Headache, sweating, diarrhea... Or maybe I have some bug. I did not have a detectable temperature, assuming those heat guns they pointed at me coming and going actually work. * * * * * I agreed just now to let Windows install the latest version. Word is this is risky. I'll see you on the other side of the upgrade. I hope.
I realised just now there is no remaining reason to sit here and sweat when I could be at anchor in the bay except my ambivalence about M. While my computer tore out its guts and reconfigured, I walked to Bandidos and had a beer with a tattooed biker marketer from Vancouver who knew who my brother is--and was impressed. In fact he had worked for one of the MacDonald Realty franchises. I walked on to Oxxo and bought two cold twelves of Tecate Roja and carried them home in plastic shopping bags which I save carefully now that they are scarce. They fit easily into my cargo shorts pocket without a bulge. Walking down Antonio Navarro I passed a woman sitting on the sidewalk in front of her house on a lawn chair, as is the custom here.
Gotta love Mexico. I am getting to where I can converse a tiny bit now. I really should knuckle down and get more fluent. Being deaf does not help but am too stubborn to get a hearing aid. I walked home, being lasered with a thermometer gun as I passed the gate Neither I nor the guards bothered with the mask charade. We know one another by now. If we knew of anyone who died, we would maybe change, but, I haven't heard of anyone. I boarded the boat and noted the Windows update had completed by now and the laptop was blinking hello. That's a relief. I cracked a beer and called M. M said, "Hello", and we chatted. She had been under the weather, too, but due to asthma. She is also still working on buying that house, so had been busy, as I had figured. She suggested we meet for lunch tomorrow here, so that is good. We can talk. I guess I am not casting off at nine AM tomorrow. I have to go to the bank anyhow.
This seems to confuse people. I generally don't judge quickly or at all. I wait, but that does not mean I don't have a working hypothesis or don't supply a running commentary of contradictory observations and thoughts. It is never over until it is over.
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I woke at four again and got up. I'm making toast in th oven. It is going to be lousy toast, but I'm having poached eggs on toast again until this bread is gone. Good bread is hard to find in Mexico, this part at least. So is real butter.
Enough of that. On with the day!
It has been uncomfortably hot here this week and I don't recall that from 2018, so I went back to when I was here in June 2018 and see that we seem to be well over what we had then and above the norms. I guess I was spoiled that year. Reading back is refreshing. Life was simpler, with no draconian governmental lockdowns and other such tomfoolery. Makes better reading than my recent posts in many ways. It's six and I think I'll nap a bit. Then I have to go to the bank at nine and meet M for lunch.
Speaking of arbitrary restrictions shifting unpredictably, I received a cancellation notice for my July flight to Canada just now. Seems our brain-dead PM and his crew of kindergarten advisers has decided to continue the closure of the border to the US for another three weeks. Is this embargo doing any real good? Is this virus any greater threat than the flu and colds already in circulation? Seems arguable, but the slanted reporting makes it seem so. Fact is, at some point we will have to learn to live with it before the entire economy goes down the toilet. 'Herd immunity' is taking longer to develop than hoped, but that is the answer. Vaccines are just guesswork. I note that Sweden has lower measure of antibodies than the areas in Italy that were hardest hit. Of course, whether this means anything is simply conjecture. Are they measuring the right antibodies, and are these an indication of actual resistance? It is all conjecture. All this is guesswork and the powers that be would rather believe spreadsheets and guesswork than look at and face up to the evidence of real and obvious and damage that they are doing right in front of their eyes daily. Their actions are comparable to swerving to miss a rabbit and rolling the car into the ditch. Instinctive, but exactly wrong. I went to the bank and withdrew funds. I was distracted and did not object when the teller failed to count the bills out in front of me, but just indicated the counter display and handed me the stack. Later, I noticed i am two bills short. I went to Waldo's, the drug store, and the Modello store, then caught a ride home. I was expecting M and had called her ten times with no luck, but finally she turned her phone on and said she was headed to MLP shortly.
I hooked her up with Yolanda. If anyone can straighten this out, Yolanda will. Yolanda is a bilingual realtor, paralegal, notary, and real straight-shooter. I met her back when I was trying to get a TIP (legal import certificate) for Charlotte Alane, now known as Baja Magic. The appointment with Yolanda was for five-thirty so we decided to take the new dinghy for a spin. We headed over to the beach on the Magote where i had a swim, then motored around the back to look at the condo complex.
The Magote is a huge sandbar forming a low peninsula across from the city. It is largely uninhabited and quite vulnerable IMO, due to being sand and very low to the water. We returned. I dropped m off at Marina Cortez and went back for a nap. When i awoke, M was back and says she will see Yolanda again tomorrow. She stayed a while, then left. I napped again, was up for a while, then that was my day.
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I woke at five-thirty. I'm having poached eggs on toast again and another day or two until the bread is gone. I was reading back and I can see I have actually done quite a lot. There are still a few things to do, but the boat is fine the way it is. I am expecting m to show today. I have not decided what i am going to do. I could stay in town and wander. I could go to Falsa to swim and hike. * * * * * This is priceless.
Anyhow, I think I am done with the news binge for now and have to find a new hobbyhorse. I think I've worn the main stories out. The virus thing is old hat and the revolution is still forming. The financial collapse is well underway but no one knows where the fragments will fall and who or what will be left standing--other than the billionaires. * * * * *
Bob came over and took the dinghy away for repair. H also said he has fixed my old dinghy and will return my money and my dinghy if I prefer. I think that may be my solution. I'm not all that impressed with the dinghy I bought and which is leaking already. * * * * * M called and she is still bogged down in the house buying. Seems a second buyer has shown up It is all confusing. She is stressed and could hardly breathe for asthma last night. At any rate, she won't be going sailing for a while. So, I am waiting on Bob and then I'll head back out where and how far? I don't know. * * * * * I've been reading back over the last weeks and months and it seems i am actually making progress. On the boat, I fixed the toilet, the washdown pump, the shower pump, the water leak and changed the oil in both the outboard and the diesel. * * * * * Around noon, I called Bob to see what he had in mind and he said that he had exchanged dinghies and the old one is behind Baja Magic. I readied, untied, sprung off the dock, and motored out to Falsa. On arrival, I was surprised to find that I was the only boat in the anchorage. At one time, there were nine of us. I had a swim and made soup, then had a long nap. * * * * *
This Rumble episode on Spotify is a surprisingly good discussion by the creators about their motivations for making and reactions to Planet of the Humans. They bring up and discuss questions that likely have no answer. The genie is out of the bottle, and attempting to force it back in would be a grim and futile task. I doubt there is any turning back. Once a genie is out of the bottle, it is out. This present pandemic may well be the work of a few people tinkering with high tech and only the beginning. What comes out of AI is likely to be equally perilous and threatening. The scary thing is that unlike many historical disasters, which by virtue of the laws of space and time were local and limited, a few people with the right tools can have planet-wide effects. * * * * *
Talk of African-American and 'people of color' is as much BS today as it was fifty years ago when the term was 'colored people'. What is that anyhow? The black-skinned kid I used to take to the park had a mother who is as white as white. How can skin color matter???
I see the same sort of people acting as trouble-makers on all sides and playing identity politics As for the policing issue, excessive regulation is a real underlying issue and attempts to enforce invasive laws affect some communities more than others, especially ones where people have less private space. Some communities are better sheltered from enforcement than others and in some regions that tends to run along race lines. These matters are not simple, but people love to generalize and make things black and white. Oversimplifying is dead-easy, but leads to no solutions. It seems clear that many don't actually want solutions. They like the conflict. My goal tonight: read back from January One without getting bored of falling asleep. it is 96 degrees F. in here right now, but having had a swim or two and under the fan, I am actually cool. At six, I went up top and noticed about six men wearing bright construction vests up on the hill to the south waving at me and shouting. I could not make out what they were saying, but got the impression I should leave. I had heard there is blasting on the road and had half-planned to go out to Punta Colorado to anchor in the lee there anyhow, so I raised anchor and motored out.
I had meant to to set up the davits, so got to that job and had the dinghy swinging by dusk. The setup is not ideal or permanent but it is a start. Lifting the dinghy forestalls barnacle growth, discourages theft, but also hinders my swimming. I'll have to tune up the system.
The transport ship came in and anchored north of me. About then I heard a long clear announcement on the marine VHF radio mentioning El Tecalote, El Tesoro, Pichilingue, and other nearby spots. Although the announcement was in perfect, beautiful, clear Spanish I hardly understood a word, but I gather it was about blasting on the road. I have to work on my Spanish. Minutes later I heard a muffled blast, so my guess was right.
This should be a good test of this anchorage. I chose it for being sheltered, away from noisy trucks, and within a short swim of good snorkeling. It is good to be back out here. It's been a strange time. Right now, I suppose I could be in Canada doing something. Don't know what. From what I read, things are restricted. Fact is, about now I am realising there is no way home. My government, bless their souls, have decided to extend the border closure. Again. That's Canada. No US package bees even though they are just as safe as any other bees. No 'non-essential' travel across the border although the other side is little different. All because of the COVID-1984 panic. Duh! Some of us will die no matter how they sacrifice the economy and freedom. Liberals they call themselves? They are the opposite. Welcome to 1984. * * * * *
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I basically did very little all day, but I swam several times and made a few phone calls. At one point, I ran over to Deerfoot II and said hello.
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M
got up and discovered it is Friday so M wants to go back to La Paz to
renew her visa and talk to a real estate agent. That is a huge switch
from insisting on going Isla San Francisco, but that works perfectly
for me. 
I also finally
bought a direct flight to Calgary via Westjet for July the 5th. 
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