_BeachWeb_for_June_2020_
One 'Benefit' to the 'virus-thingie' is that there are some (definitely not ALL) businesses that are making 'refunds' (or coupons) or 'fare-reductions' - I don't really care what they call it but if I benefit, I guess it's like 'free-money'... two things come to mind:
1.) on my car-insurance I've already gotten two 'refunds' (or whatever they want to call it) - and I've been assured, by both e-mail and paper-letter that I'll get more - that's pretty nice
2.) has to do with the car, again.. - since 03 January, this year (2020) I've driven just a hair less than 1,000 miles - and that includes some trips to the airport and other places, and I've bought gas 3 times - 27 February, 25 March, and 28 April - each for less than $10 - my total gas cost for the year (if I extrapolate) should be right around $100 - not $1,000, but $100 - that's pretty cheap for gas for a whole year - Now I'm certain that I'll drive later this summer - but for now - for a January - June bill - I think I'm doing pretty well -
3.) eating-out - we used to do this 3-6 times a month - we went to our favourite Seafood place several weeks ago - and it was our first-time-out for dinner in something like 10 weeks, - so that was pretty good, also.
SO - EVEN though the virus causes us not to go "OUT" a lot - it is have certain benefits on our 'lifestyle'?!
===========================================================================================
I've tried several other times - none 'hugely' successful, but I'm
Getting There... slow but progress - given time it will 'get
better'...
we
were in Hawaii in January to build a pottery-kiln; when there we went
to Maui for a few days and did a LOT of WATCHING, Learned a LOT...
BUT
we have ordered something called the 'Ozone
"Wasp" - (5.0) '
-
which is, in essence, a board sailing 'sail' with no 'hard-parts' - no
mast, no boom, no universal joint -
Late February Update and Mr. Bill does 'not so well' (two separate tries on two separate days) on / with "Wing Sail" ( http://www.ozonekites.com )
but
he's put-in some time with his 6.0 boardsail,
and has confidence when the wind speed and direction are 'RIGHT' that
he'll do well.
-
but it's now LATE May
ONE
Limitation for the foiling thing - is that there is (ESPECIALLY WHILE
LEARNING - another couple of 'variables' that one has to deal with -
over and above the variables that come with sailing, boardsailing,
kiteboarding, swimming, etc. etc. etc. - NOW I have to
add-in-to-the-equation the depth of the water - and is it a rocky or
sandy bottom (sand at high-speed probably won't hurt your foil, but
ROCK surely will - and there is also the wind-direction, which MAY be
a much harder thing to deal with UNTIL I / we get ourselves
'organized'?! - so - LOTs more variables to deal with!
some other pictures of disparate age and subject:
this is the 'bottom' of the 'foiling' board and foil and it's little 'tail-foil'
this is the sailboard sail that mostly makes the foil 'go' - but learning boardsailing and learning foiling at the same time is probably NOT the way to go?!
this is Mr. Bill with his friend the "Pool Bear" - this picture is - what - 10 years old or something like that - taken on the Celebrity (cruise-lines) Cruise-ship when we went to (well tried to go) to Antarctica... - YEARS ago, but still a good picture - I might have been younger and more fit back then?
E-Books: - do you read with an 'e-book-reader' either a dedicated piece of hardware, or like me with some piece of software on your iPad?
E-books are - no question a 'good' way to go - BUT: - here's a few things about e-books that might change your mind?
a link from a Computer-Magazine I read (make sure to 'struggle-through' the part about the "Panopticon" - it seems irrelevant, but it is not - but you may have to 'stretch' your imagination to understand the 'similarities'...???):
some newer stuff:
My Abandonment by Peter Rock - I'm just finishing this up - it was made into a movie - available on "Amazon Prime" but the movie is called 'Leave no Trace' - about a veteran with PTSD and his daughter living in the national park near Portland, Oregon... - has some interesting moments in it - the two are caught by the police, taken into custody (and housing in concrete boxes, in essenc). It gives one a different perspective on what might be considered a "Crime" in our society and what is not - and the plight of Veterans who are attempting to raise a family on 'disability' pay''??? - VERY interesting book, told from the daughter' perspective, very very good
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester This author wrote several books about global and regional commerce and trade, "Pacific Rising" was one i read shortly after moving to Hong Kong - he's quite a good author... - This book is about how the 'Oxford English Dictionary came to be and the 'leader' of the Project (The Professor) and that "Madman" who was a licensed US doctor (and US Citizen) but who lived in the UK during the time period... - Very 'little-known subject(s) about a well known fact (the Oxford English Dictionary)...
I've also re-read and re-watched "The Circle" with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks - based on the book by Dave Eggers... - if you have not partaken of this story-line it presents both sides of the 'are we losing our identity / privacy and towards what end - ? - question - and Dave Eggers does a fair job of presenting both viewpoints - the movie is obviously a little more visual -but the book really covers the subject well, also... - "The Circle" is a loose 'cover' for companies like Apple, Google, Amazon - but you don't have to stretch your thought processes too much to glean where Mr. Eggers is going with his story line!
Brandy-new-book: - 'The Engineer's Wife' - by Tracey Enerson Wood - available through Amazon and/or Amazon-Kindle, and/or Hoopla, and/or Axis360 (Libraries)...
this historical novel is about exactly what the title says... When Mr. Wash Roebling has an accident while working on the Brooklyn Bridge, his wife takes-over his role as "Chief Engineer" something for which she has no training... - She then attempts - quite successfully, actually to raise a son, take care of her sick husband, and engineer the Brooklyn Bridge... - a woman who literally 'did it all' ... - against amazing odds and with help from here and there, she made the hard decisions that a built a bridge that still stands today as an icon of American Engineering!
book by Alex Ryan: 'Project Dark Chapter' (yes - it IS AVAILABLE as an e-book) and yes you have to 'wade-through' all the 'social and romantic 'stuff' but the bottom-line is something that just might scare you - especially if you read the link just above first
And YES - there's MORE to this 'issue' of who is collecting what data about what we read and how and WHERE we read it - and who might be putting something into / onto our e-readers and when and and and extrapolate - see where your thoughts take you?
""Hill Women"" by: Cassie Chambers (think lawyer) - this lady has written a book documenting her rise from 'born-poor' to Harvard Lawyer and her career attempting to help impoverished women in Appalachia (Spelling?) - anyway - EXCELLENT BOOK about a lady who's goal to be educated drove her to do things and see places that others couldn't even fathom - an EXCELLENT READ - I found it as an 'e-book' but it is also on audio-books and I"m guessing also in print - I found it through a library - but your mileage may vary...
Try this one: "Permanent Record" by: Edward Snowden - a VERY GOOD book - especially since I'm somewhat of a computer-geek, and what he did / does makes a lot of sense. He couldn't get his management to listen - but there are a LOT OF OTHER THINGS in this book that should be interesting! And if it was not enough that Edward Snowden has now done his own book, there's a new book out about him - I've got it on 'hold' at a couple of libraries for the 'e-book' - but you may want to buy it? - it's called Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman - just barely published so it may be hard to get in any form e-book or print>
Couple of other books: - I have really enjoy _Kathy_Reichs_ books for nearly 15 years - she apparently took some 'time-off' but is back at it again...
newest book is called 'A Conspiracy of Bones' but it is extremely new and, apparently not very available - though I guess that will change a lot in the next few weeks.
the one I just finished last night was "Bones of the Lost" - about her trying to get a handle on an exhumed body in the middle-east-war-zone and trying to solve a local (North Carolina) murder, at the same time - turns out the two cases are related - who would have guessed?
Kathy Reichs and her son Brendan also wrote the 'Virals' series (web-link!) - this series follows the exploits of "Tory Brenan" and her 'followers' in / around Charleston, S.C., and their use of a boat since their are too young, mostly, to drive. - I really enjoyed these books, also
08:48 a.m. (USA-EDT) Sunday, 28 June 2020 by:_Bill_Schell_{Apple MacBookPro(10.15.5 )} revID:2w
