Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Evanston: an impressive row; WILD, WILD COUNTRY; good wind; a First World Problem


        Bryce Carlson, a 37 year old school teacher, has just rowed alone across the Atlantic in 38 days, 6 hours and 49 minutes, breaking the former record by slightly more than 15 days, an impressive improvement and achievement.
        An article in the NY TIMES states that the row cost $130,000.  I wonder about that.  I have no idea what his custom built boat cost, but other than shipping or trucking it to the starting point, I don’t see any other substantial expenses, although he did eat a lot more freeze dry food than I do, but hardly a hundred thousand dollars worth.
        Well done.

————

        A friend told me about a Netflix documentary, WILD, WILD COUNTRY which as this review from THE ATLANTIC accurately points out is “ostensibly the story of how a group led by the dynamic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh purchased 64,000 acres of land in central Oregon in a bid to build its own utopian city. But, as the series immediately reveals, the narrative becomes darker and stranger than you might ever imagine.”  Certainly more than I ever imagined.
        Carol and I have only watched four of the six episodes.  We’ll watch the last two tonight.  The series is riveting, original, and about important matters as timely today as when these events took place more than thirty years ago. 
        Highly recommended.

--------

        I have started checking the wind forecasts for the mid-Atlantic coast.  This is an excellent week to sail from Hilton Head to the Chesapeake.  South wind all the way all the time, except for perhaps a day or so of calms.  Unfortunately I’m not on GANNET this week.  
        I'm running the photo to remind myself what she looks like.

————

        My iPhone links to my hearing aids via bluetooth and automatically transmits telephone calls to them which is very useful.  I can hear telephone voices really well—except…
        I usually take off my eyeglasses and hearing aids when I work out.
        I usually work out in our second bedroom which is my day room and is located toward the back of our Evanston condo.
        I had just completed my workout when I heard my iPhone ring.  I had left it in the living room which is in the front of the condo.  Almost no one has that number, so I assumed it was Carol and dashed to the living room, picked up the phone, said “Hello” and heard nothing.  I said “Hello” several more times and the line went dead.  I saw that it was in fact from Carol and called her back.  Again I heard nothing.  Just before I  started to try a third time, I realized that of course I heard nothing because the sound was being routed to my hearing aids in the back bedroom.  I fetched them, put them one, called Carol and we conversed.
        A very First World problem.