My anchor alarm went off at four o clock, two minutes to four actually, if we're going to be accurate.
The tablet had become unplugged and the battery went down. and although I had not moved the alarm went off anyhow because I was down to 2% battery on the tablet and the program was worried that it would turn off shortly and leave me unprotected. Great of failure is why I run the alarm on two devices, but it doubles the number of false alarms.
Goes to show I'm actually a pretty cautious guy. In spite of my rather unconventional way of living send the apparent risks I take, I do calculate the puts and try to ensure they are on my side.
This is day 12. I've looked at the numbers and it seems very clear that most if not all infectiond show up well before day 12 and typically around day 6 to 8 at the latest, so 14 days seems punitive.
I'm also seeing articles indicating that a very large number of people are ignoring the order to self isolate but in my case I'm being scrupulous. That's partly because as a sailing instructor I am in a situation where in the very remote possibility that I became ill and infected people, that would reflect very badly on the company.
British Columbia, right or wrong, has taken the approach of trying to avoid infections and largely, it has seemed to work. And, seeing as I'm in British Columbia who am I to go against their plan?
COVID-19 cases in British Columbia
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british- ... -1.5655625
Will I wear a mask, though? Not any more than I have to. Society forces all kinds of strange things on people. When I was in high school the girls had to wear skirts to school with bare legs in spite of the fact that some had to walk to school in -30 weather. I had to wear a suit to church. When I went to sit in the gallery and Parliament to observe democracy in action I was required to wear a tie or would be turned away so I had to borrow one. I guess that's sort of like a mask isn't it? In some countries women have to wear head coverings or even burkas.
To my mind and from all the good evidence I have seen, the masks most people wear are of little value in protecting against the virus. They are just a badge, a sign of belonging, virtue signaling, and a fashion statement. And worse, the evidence suggests that they are a signal of unreasoning subservience to social pressure and authority.
Why have some authorities chosen to make masks mandatory now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be over? My guess is that it's to assert control and also to provide some comfort for the kind of people who need to do something, anything, about something that they actually can't do anything about. This urge makes little practical sense but it was ever thus and those who want to retain power know it. They don't want to be accused of doing nothing even if there is nothing to be done and nothing is the proper course of action.
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Anyhow, I found I was up now and not tired so I'm up for the day. For now at least. I'll pack and get underway.
I'm about four hours from Vancouver and I don't have to be there until sometime after lunch so I imagine I'll stop for a nap along the way somewhere.
Surprisingly, the boat battery held up overnight so maybe I was squandering power earlier by leaving the propane solenoid on or by some other power consuming activity. I suspect these phone and tablet chargers draw a fair amount of juice.
Is COVID-19 Causing Broken Heart Syndrome?
https://www.verywellhealth.com/is-covid ... me-5071348
Does humanity have an unseen ally against COVID?
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby- ... inst-covid
This article is an absolute must to read and the comments are every bit was good.
The Left is Now the Right
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-left-is-now-the-right
By six, I had raised the anchor and was motoring across to Plumper Cove. I wanted to see how full it was and I discovered that the anchorage is quite full. It's a popular spot. I need to know this sort of thing for when I am acting as a guide for teaching a course.
The sun is just coming up and although the night was warming up that I left the hatches open I'm wearing my toque and long underwear and a jacket. I'm even wearing shoes. This is definitely not Mexico.
By seven I was rounding the northeastern tip of Bowen Island and I'm on the home stretch. I am two hours from Vancouver with as much as 10 hours on my hands. I think I may stop and drop an anchor in Mannion Bay and chill for a while.
I did not get as far as Mannion Bay. I dropped anchor just before the point and I'm going to stay here an hour or two and do a few odds and ends.
I'll be pulling into Vancouver about 2 o clock. Meantime I am anchored here in Enchanta Bay. I've been cleaning up this boat and doing a bit of reading and I came across these articles.
Considering all the other things I've read, to me these seem slanted, dishonest.
Recovering from the coronavirus has its own negative health impacts
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/ ... 442730002/
Sweden's COVID death toll is unnerving due to herd immunity experiment
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/ ... 472100002/
As is so often the case the writers seem to be cherry picking the worst examples and focusing on unrepresentative or out of context statements to make a case, rather than to discuss honestly the pros and cons and serious difficulties did every action or inaction engenders.
It seems to me that very many in the mainstream and politicians are waiting for the savior to show up to bail them out.
Typically, although not always spoken out right, they expect salvation to come in the form of a vaccine and there are many hopeful reports of partial successes. Howevert many actual experts say that developing and proving a vaccine that actually worksmore than sporadically and does not turn out to be harmful is far more difficult to do in practice than it is to do in magazine writing and TV programs.
Strangely the people who emphasize rare enduring side effects that have been occasionally associated with covid neglect the rare and enduring side effects that occasionally are blamed on vaccines. In fact the same people encourage cutting corners and accelerating the distribution of unproven vaccines.
I'm not an anti vaxxer. In fact I'm the first in line when the flu shot comes out. I'm not an anti vaxxer but I am someone who believes in looking for the whole truth and not just pieces and I know there are risks to anything if enough people are involved.
I'm starting to get fairly good at using this phone for searching writing and editing although I much prefer a grown up computer. I wonder when my laptop will show up in Sidney
Around 11 I heard a chopper overhead circling and I thought that's very close and very odd. I wondered if I should take it personally so I went up top after a while and took a look. It seems a fishing boat had pulled up to the strip of land at the head of this Bay that is joining the island to the mainland and unloaded a casualty. The chopper loaded the casualty and took off. That's all I know.
Well, that's what I thought because most of them was taking place behind the landing out of sight. soon I notice however the helicopter returned and started lifting building materials onto the island. I'm ordered around and looked at the other side and could see there was one house up there already and they're building another one. It just goes to show how easy it is to get the wrong impression.
I motored back to Granville Island. I seriously considered stopping at Bowen Island and going up to get a case of beer and some groceries cuz I know perfectly well nobody would ever bother me. I decided against it and was tied up at Granville Island shortly before 2 o clock.
I packed all my things up and found out I was having a headache so I had a nap. Has seemed to help a lot. I'm still waiting to find out whether I'm going to stay on this boat or go to another boat.
Colin says that maybe I'll be taking this boat to Sidney on Thursday in which case the side trip to Vancouver might have been unnecessary. We'll see because apparently there's a prospective buyer who wanted to see the boat.
Meantime I'm sitting here with time on my hands. It's only 5 now but I think I might just watch the rest of Petticoat Junction. I'm tired from my time out in the fresh air.
I watched more of Petticoat Junction and then started on McClintock.
Watching these old films from the 60s is very interesting and instructive. The underlying assumptions and social conventions of the time are quite different from today.
The underlying message seemed to be that everything is fine and people all get along and are tolerant of one another. Just the same watching McClintock and how this very rich Rancher was getting along with everybody and being a friend to the poor and the Indians and helping the Comanches stand up to the government was somewhat self-congratulatory and disingenuous. I assume that huge cattle ranch that he owned head belonged to the same Comanches not too long before. And there was reference to Indian wars not too far in their past.
Just the same it was a bit of a morality play that's set an example that led away from the kind of discrimination and exploitation that was and is ongoing and historical.
Personally I doubt that things will ever change, only who's on top and the mood. As the who said in their classic,
Won't Get Fooled Again , "Here comes the new boss just like the old boss".
It would take a lot of thinking and a lot of words to try to tease out and explain the underlying power structure and fallacies back in those days and to get a really honest look at what's happening today.
our current Canadian government scandal is a perfect example of extreme privilege being so taken for granted that the Prime Minister and his cabinet didn't even realize what a huge conflict of interest they were in.
Looking back, things were just as confused back then as they are now. I think I'll leave that alone for now.
Regardless of what society we look at there is a hierarchy and there is a power structure and those in power don't see it as being as clear and distinct and privileged as it is or take it for granted, but those out of power are always chipping away at it. Entitlement is invisible to the entitled but much more obvious to outsiders.
One thing that's clear to me is that this will never change and any attempt to change it will just change who is privileged and who is not. It is impossible to create a level society as it runs against human nature and the nature of closely related animals. The best we can hope for is a benign intolerant and sharing society.
I heard from Colin and it seems that I am staying on this boat and sometime tomorrow I can start out to return this boat to Sidney.