James sent me a link to a short video about the Chinese building the world’s highest 5G base station on Mount Everest.
While this is an impressive technical feat, I wondered, briefly, why 5G is needed near the top of Everest. I soon realized that of course it is necessary so all those who have paid $80,000 or so to be conducted up the mountain can tweet and Instagram while standing in the boring line waiting their turn to reach the summit. Personally I think there are times and places, Cape Horn and Mt. Everest among them, where one should be disconnected and totally in the moment, but then I have always lived outside the herd and not been defined by it.
I half remembered a quote “But what if Maine and Texas have nothing to say to one another.”. I thought it was said by Mark Twain about the telephone. It was not. It comes from Henry David Thoreau, another who lived outside the herd, and was about the telegraph. The complete quote is even better than I remembered.
“We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate... We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad flapping American ear will be that Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.”
While searching for that, I came across Thoreau’s splendid last words which I did not know.
Just before he died of tuberculosis on May 6, 1862 at age 44 he said “Now comes good sailing”, followed by two lone words, ‘moose’ and ‘Indian.’
Of good sailing, I am missing it.
I have now been back in Evanston for two months and normally would have my flight booked to return to San Diego and GANNET. Carol and I do have tickets to fly to Hilton Head this weekend. They are not going to be used. We also have tickets to fly there around July 4. They may be used, assuming that the endless renovation is finally complete, or almost. South Carolina never fully closed and work has continued during the pandemic.
It now appears that I will not get back to GANNET until August at the earliest. Fiberglass has no soul, but many virtues, among them that when left unattended it does not rust or rot.
I have noted that the pandemic has caused people to become more like me. About time. Social distancing, eating or at least hoarding oatmeal and freeze dry food, realizing that security is an illusion and having to live with uncertainty, which most do badly. A few days ago one more. The NY TIMES ran an article headed, “If you can boil water, you can cook.” I knew that.
Freeze dry food, by the way, has come back into stock at Mountain House and partially at Amazon. I expect that a lot that was bought in panic has not been and never will be eaten.
My Kindle died last week. I don’t think I will buy another. I am now using my iPad Pro as my reader. It quite satisfactory.
I bought one of the new iPad Magic Keyboards, which despite the Disneyesque name is excellent and adds the use of a trackpad.
Rare sunshine today. This has become the rainiest May on record in Chicago. The two previous rainiest Mays were last year and the year before. More than 8” of rain have fallen in each, and we have a good chance of exceeding 9” before the 31st.
Today is a standard workout day. I have gone to 100 push-ups and crunches in the first set, and 50 of each in both the second and third sets, for four of my last seven workouts. I need a new challenge.
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