Tims Blog

Summer in Marblehead

2008-08-10T00:23:00.002-04:00

Marblehead to Spectacle Island

2008-07-30T23:11:00.002-04:00

Very nice sail, took almost 8 hours from Marblehead Rock to Spectacle Island.

The winds this time of year are mostly south-westerlies, so it blew basically straight into us all the way. On a way back obviously it was directly behind us so it was a long run, may be 5 hours or so.

Fun. I love the summer!

Its that time of the year again: Newport Boat Show

2007-09-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

We did the annual pilgrimage to Newport to mostly check out new X-35, not the Joint Strike Fighter, but equally impressive X-Yachts production boat. It was just named the boat of the year by the "Sailing" magazine so we felt it was worth a special look. We weren't disappointed, it is a gorgeous yacht that deserves the award.

This is how the the thing looked in person

Other than that we spent some time talking to old friends from couple of dealerships, saw new Catalina 27 and Hunder 25, both were quite likable boats but nothing too earth shaking there.

Short account of the incedent off Catt (Childrens) Island

2007-09-13T15:04:00.000-04:00

We ran into a bit of a trouble during the overnight trip on Saturday, September the 1st. This is a short account of events during that difficult night.

What went wrong ?

We ran out of gas at about 5 miles offshore:

It got dark really fast and we didn't want to sail back for a variety of reasons (a)almost no wind, b)everyones tired, c)kid is cranky. Motoring didn't go too well because all of the sudden the thing chocked and then died. Sure enough there was no gas. How this could happen is beyond me, most likely I underestimated the gas consumption of the engine. I also didn't have spare fuel because I didn't think I would need it on a short sail.

So I had to head to the closest land which was a small island and set the anchor and get in touch with Salem Harbormaster (Steve Levesque), who was kind enough to loan me a canister of gas. It took him a while to find us because it was quite late and we were sort of tucked in the cove, not really visible. Also, the island was tagged as a "Catt Island" on my chart, whereas the local name is "Childrens Island", which introduced some more confusion into already messy situation.
We lost our anchor:

Anchor line got tangled up around the board and wouldn't let go. I had to dive to try to get it going. It was cold and I wasn't very happy. I end up cutting it lose. Why did it get tangled in the first place ? Because harbormasters boat was running at a low speed and it sort of circled around the anchor few times. We didn't realize it at a time, when I tried to get the anchor going then it became apparent at what happened
We hit a shoal on a way back:

To finish the night in style I managed to ram the shoal on a way back.
Why ? Because it is dark at night and the navigational markers are not lit and one does not expect a shoal in the middle of the channel. Sure I should have double and triple checked the map, which will go down as a lesson.

There was some damage to the boat, thankfully we didn't take any water and I managed to get it out from the rocks without calling the Harbormaster again or having to go into the water. The Shoal was across the Peach's Point in Marblehead.

What were the lessons ?

Unlike Blanche DuBois in the "Streetcar Named Desire" who depended on kindness of strangers, I really dislike to depend on anybody. Particularly strangers. So the first lessons was to get the Sea Tow contract with a reputable company.

Try to have redundant systems in place, spare fuel, plugs, etc.
Try not to sail during the night
Get a GPS or memorize the charts
Leave the junior at home if the conditions are going to be less than 100% perfect

New mooring

2007-06-12T18:00:00.001-04:00

I managed to locate someone who was willing to sell me his mooring. I will spare all the boring details, the negotiations, etc, but at the end it came down to Marblehead approving the transaction. To much of my surprise they sure did. They didn't even blink. It is like in the chinese communist joke, under communism everyone is equal but some are more equal than the others. I am not complaining, I am perfectly happy with the mooring.

(The photo is courtesy of Sheldon Brown)

Next, getting the boat...

Trailerable sailboats reference point

2007-06-03T21:10:00.001-04:00

Just a reference for comparisons between various trailerable boats that I am considering:

Constraints:

1) Maximum weight is 4,000 lbs, my truck will not do more than that

2) Maximum width is 8.6'. This is because many state laws require you get a permit if you trailer a wider load. The permits are a hassle to get and although they generally don't enforce them if the boat is not that much wider but if you were to get into accident and the lawyers get involved, well we all know how that story ends.

3) Good owners association: I would love to get a "Class Zero" 6.5 meter (21 feet) boat. I love those things. They race Atlantic in them, the famous mini-transat race, 4000 miles from France to Brasil. Single handed no less. Brest-Tenerife-Martinique. One of the most reliable, versatile boats ever built. And it is trailerable. Where do I sign up? Not so fast, it is a "European" thing mostly, there is no association in the United States. I don't understand why, but the reality is if I ever need spare parts or advice I need to stick around with what has been selling in this country for a while.

4) Trailerable means no 7 feet fixed keels, period. It is either a shallow keel of sorts, or a centerboard, or a swing or a combination thereof. Catalina 27 is out.

5) Realistic size given the weight and width limitations are probably between 22 and 26 feet, less is too small and more is too heavy.

Potential trailerables:

J/22
J/24 - Old spec ( new ones are too wide)
Benetau 23.5
Macgregor 26
Precision 21 or P-23
Hunter 23
Hunter 25
Catalina 25 Swing keel

J/22 One design spec:

LOA 22.5'
LWL 19.0'
Beam 8.0'
Draft 3.8'
Displacement 1790 lbs
Lead Keel 700 lbs
Sail Area (100%) 223 sq ft

J/24 Specs

Length overall

24' 0''

Length at Waterline

20' 0''

Beam

8' 11''

Draft

4' 0''

Displacement

3,100 (lbs)

Ballast

950 (lbs)

Sail Area

261 (sqft)

Precision 23

P-23 Specifications

LOA 23' 5"
LWL 20' 0"
BEAM 8' 6"
DRAFT, Board up - 1' 11"
DRAFT, Board down - 5' 4"
Displacement - 2,450 lbs.
Ballast - 850 lbs. (Internal fixed lead)
Sail area - 248 sq. ft.
Mast height above DWL - 35' 4"

Mission Impossible: getting a mooring on the North Shore

2007-05-29T01:00:00.000-04:00

I would like to get a new mooring or better yet slip on the North shore so house my new project boat. Ok, sounds simple enough, the only parameters are it should be within reasonable distance of Swampscott and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, so I start calling mooring companies. The first thing is a surpirse. All moorings are actually owned by the local towns who have a wide leeway in setting terms and prices. Actually it is only half true, the ACTUAL mooring, defined as a few thousand pound blob of concrete and attached to it chain, called a pennant is owned by you, the customer. But location on a sea bed on which the said concrete lays is owned by the town. The real valuable thing here is of course the location, I don't care for the concrete in any shape or form. You can't sell the mooring. You can't swap it. If you don't want it you give it back (the location that is, not the concrete). In most of the cases the mooring is actually tied up to the boat, when you sell the boat you are supposed to give it back. The only possible way for you to keep it is to give it to someone in a immediate family, and even then it is a special permit.

The administration of locations is done through something called harbormasters, a loosely organized cooperative on the North Shore.

Now, the findings:

Swampscott: The cheapest available moorings on the North Shore. There is a small wait list for the sailboats, may be 6 boats long as of this writing. The harbor is very small unfortunately and not the best protection compared to Salem and Marblehead. Also, the parking situation is very tight.

Harbormaster is Larry Bithell, a quite decent guy. The dock is populated by a bunch of guys who look exactly like him so it is a bit of challenge to identify him from distance. The facilities are open Saturday and Sunday, 10 to noon, phone is useless, it is better to show up and talk to him. The club facilities are disgusting, the operation is run off the "Fish house", which to much of my surprise is a actual fish house. Commercial fisherman store their staff there, and it literally stinks so bad I was surprised people could use the offices or other facilities. I had to evacuate within 15 minutes and I had to wash down my car to get rid of the smell. I seriously considered burning the t-shirt, but it was salvaged by couple of wash cycles with bleach.
Lynn: Hands down the best option for slips. Harbormaster is Jim Perry. The operation is smooth, facilities are in good shape. The wait list status is unknown, they don't keep one. People give up their slips with the last 2 weeks of November so I've been told that is the only realistic time to inquire about a slot.
Marblehead: The most arrogant town in terms of mooring that I know of. First of there is a bunch of yacht clubs that I can't figure out the purpose of. Ok, I get it that they have socials, dinners, some have tennis courts and pools, its a good place to hang out etc. But they don't have their own mooring or parking. That pretty much invalidates the whole purpose of a club for me, it is nice to have a place for transient storage with a hotel and a tennis court but whats the use if you can't park your boat or car ?

Moving to harbor masters. They informed me with a glee that the wait list is 12 to 15 years. Excuse me ? no, you heard it right, 12 to 15, with 15 being most realistic. Because it is so hard to get a mooring people just don't want to give them up, so they get a little dinghy to tie up to a mooring and keep it in the family forever. There is no free market so you can't buy one either. Ouch.
Salem: A bunch of B-rated yacht clubs (again with no mooring of their own) that provide launches in and out of Salem harbor. Some spaces could be available, I haven't figured that out yet. This is their page on the moorings in the harbor, they claim there is availability but I haven't verified that yet.
Beverly: Not very realistic for me, a bit too far, but I did ask. It looks like the waterfront is totally dominated by one large marina called Beverly Port Marina. I haven't really investigated much further other than visiting them couple of times, but from what I understood there is also no mooring available. There are also quite expensive, meaning closer to Ft. Lauderdale/Stuart than North East.

Next, mooring companies and fees ...

Wishlist for the next boat

2006-05-19T00:29:00.000-04:00

OK, lets sort out whats important for the next boat.

Dimensions

LOA: 36 to 40	LWL: 30 to 38	Beam: > 11'
Displacement: 11,000 to 18,000	Draft: 4' to 5' (or variable)	Ballast: > 4,000 (up to 7,000)

Engines

Engine(s): Yanmar/Universal	Engine Model: Diesel	Hours: under 5,000
Max Speed: 5/6knots is Ok

Tankage

Fuel: 50 Gal. or better

Water: 60 Gal. or better

Electronics/Gadgets

Integrated GPS, autopilot, compass
Radar is nice to have but not a deal breaker
Chartplotter, nice if integrated
Redundant GPS (as a backup)
The usual (heel angle, wind direction, speed, range, bearing, target speeds, layline, VHF radio, compass(es), depth sounder)

Electrical

Circuit breakers with appropriate amperage
Explosion proof battery selection switch
50 Amp alternator on engine
Heart Interface Inverter

Other

Sail area > 600 sq feet (700+ ideal)
Step-through transom or a swimming platform
Non-skid deck
Self-tailing winches
Powered windlass would be very nice
Dodger
Bimini would be nice
Generators (wind or solar) would be nice

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On iPod: Don't Wait For The Sun 3:50 American Hi-Fi American Hi-Fi Rock

Summerton, South Carolina should be bulldozed.

2006-05-02T09:54:00.000-04:00

Here, I said it. Why ? Because the only reason this town exists is the I-95 going through it. I understand that while back there might have been other reasons for this towns existance, such as farming and other pastoral agricultural activities. However, as of today most of the towns revenues are derived from taxing cars traveling on the busiest US highway.

You know you are in trouble when town cops use unmarked Mustangs as primary means of transportation, offer to give you a deal once you are pulled over, and insist that the only acceptable form of payment is cash, money orders or beer. Truly disgusting. Some towns should be taken out of the map, and Summerton is one of them.

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On iPod: Swept Away 1:16 Phish Billy Breathes Ambient Alternative

HMS Lady Nelson Completed

2005-11-29T00:05:00.000-05:00

HMS Lady Nelson was a brig used by British Navy to explore the coast of Australia. This article on Wikipedia has a complete background on her, there is a mistake however. Even though she was designed as a brig, she was rigged as a cutter. Gaff cutter, to be precise. Big difference.

I've purchased an Amatti replica of her in February, and started building whenever I've had free time, may be 3-4 hours a week. The model was fairly challenging, as the hull was a true planked bulkheads, in fact double planked (with limewood first and then walnut strips). There were half a dozen very large blueprints, taken from the historical records stored in Royal Admiralty and scaled down for this particular model. The kit came with all the wood and rigging I ever needed, I did purchase some other parts on the ebay however.

I uploaded the Construciton pictures , they show the progress from assembling the keel to the final riggings.

Took me 8 month from start to finish, but I learned a great deal, and it was a truly labor of love.

Too bad she is done. Time for the next project.

---

On iPod: Estimated Prophet 9:00 Grateful Dead Dick's Picks (vol 3) (disk 2) Rock

Boston Boat Show

2005-10-03T13:59:00.000-04:00

Boston In-Water Boat show left a sad, "no child left behind" feeling. Why ? It was poorly organized and badly executed in a typical Boston's unfriendly and proud of it manner. I didn't realize it before, but Boston's "World Trade Center" doesn't have parking. One is redirected to vulcher spots around the venue. Quite a few cars where towed by Massport while we were looking for a place to park (apparently Massport has authority over the WTC). Once inside, your $12 admission buys you a visit trough half empy exhibition halls, quiet enjoement of dirty carpets throughout and conversations with bleary-eyed vendors desparate for any kind of sale.

The in-water part of the show wasn't that bad, although it was more biased towards power boats than sailboats. There were may be 5 sailboats on the dispplay, and most of them we have seen earlier in Newport. We ran into some old friends from Newburuport Marine Services and that was the highlight of the day.

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On iPod: Close Cover 3:12 Wim Mertens Café del Mar, Vol. 5 Club-House

Newport International Boat Show

2005-09-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

Quick notes from the Newport Boat Show :

The most favorite boat award goes to, without any questions, the Finnish built Nauticat 321. Amazing boat in so many ways, every single detail of the boat is carefully thought of, analyzed and built right. We were blown away by the quality of both the structure, exterior and interior.

The layout is bit unusual, it is a pilothouse boat more common in northern Europe than the U.S., but we liked it nevertheless. She sleeps 6 without having to do any conversions.

Some things we didn't like included the very high price (she could be had for a show special price of $220k), lack of GPS, lack of in-mast furling and some minor things (whatsup with those one-speed winches ? Is it hard to put a two speed or better on a boat that costs almost quarter of a million)

Mike of Prestige Yacht Sales of Stamford, CT has the listing.

Bavaria 33 Cruiser came close to Nauticat in the quality of the build, this was a new model which we haven't seen before. Large manufacturers tend to replace popular boat models every few years, for one reason or another, and from what I understood 33 is a replacement of a very popular 32. The figures are somewhat misleading because 33 is actually 35 feet in length. This boat had the best space management of any boats we have seen on the show. The layouts are thought off, organized with german precision, the boat left a very good impression overall.
This is a cruiser/racer, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. People who look for just cruising shouldn't look at Bavarias, these boats are narrow, sit deep (at almost 7 feet draft these are the deepest boats in the category). These boats are fast with sail area at ~700 feet and mast sticking up at almost 50 feet. I absolutely loved this boat, the couple next to us absolutely hated it.

Catalinas were omnipresent, as expected. It is amazing how badly these things are built. It is also amazing that people buy them. Structuraly the boat is, shall we say,feels flimsy, the interior leaves impression of a Wal-mart in Lynn, and yet these remain popular with the boating public. It is a mystery because Catalinas are not cheap either. The price of a Catalina 36 is comparable to any of the similar class Bavarias and Hunters.

Hunters were a step above from Catalinas. We semi-liked Hunter 36, the interior left a good impression with teak throughout, matching grains, good layouts. The exterior is borrowing heavily from europeans, with step through transoms, rotating steering wheels, they even started using kevlar throughout, similar to bavarias. Nice quality, solid boat overall. What we didn't like were mostly the small things, the welded shut hatches and portholes, el cheapo plastics, trying to save a little $$ here and there.

Jeanneaus and Beneteaus had a big display, 20+ boats on show. We checked every single one of them. We liked Jeanneau Odyssey 35 (except the fact that one never knows how to properly pronounce the name) and Beneteau 343. They are similar to each other, even though they are designed by different architects (Marc Lombard designed Odyssey and Berret designed Beneteau) . Both are fast cruiser/racers, very comfortable to sail for both the crew and the passengers. Beneteau has finally gone away with their trademark dark interiors, the boat is much better appointed and better lit. There is a reason Jeanneae Group sells more boats than any other manufacturer in the world, and I am sure that quality and good design have to do with it.

IPY or Island Packet Yachts had a new model on the display, the IPY 370. I understand why people buy those things, by the same token I understand why people buy RV's. It is a very comfortable cruiser designed for senior citizen crowd, she is a large, very wide, very heavy, very shallow boat that I will never set my foot into. It was interesting to see the electronics though, as IPY's are stuffed with various gadgets and widgets.

The most hideous, repulsive boat on show was, without any doubts, Stevens Custom 53. Designed by Robert Perry, chinese built, marketed by Stevens, this thing was ugly. There should a nautical law against boats like that. The thing looked like a brick with a mast sticking in the middle, fishing poles welded to the transom for some unknown reason, and whole bunch of other random things that shouldn't be on a sailboat.

I will post post some pictures when have time.

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On iPod: Off

Marblehead to Halifax Race results

2005-08-13T00:44:00.000-04:00

I am a bit late with this, the results are finally tabulated and posted at the official page. What's interesting this year ? Well, for starters there was a suprise in my favorite category. Campbell's Sloop, a beatifull Jeanneau 38 has taken the first place in Cruising. She completed the race at just under 81 hours. She has beaten much larger and better equipped boats. 81 hours is a good time, but to put things into perspective compare this to the best time of the Multihull category where 60 feet St. Maarten finished in under 37 hours. In other words, the best Cruiser finished the run in about 3 and 1/3 days, and the best Catamaran ran for just 1 and 1/2 day.

I have about 2 years before I have enough experience to compete in this. Meanwhile, BYC has a bit more relaxed event, annual Cruise to Nantucket and the Islands. Fun.

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On iPod: Easy Livin 2:37 Uriah Heep The Ultimate Collection Rock

Of ACLU, NYC and the police state

2005-08-05T16:58:00.000-04:00

After the bombings in London, police in NYC started randomly searching the bags of the riders. NYT has an article (registration may be required) with more details.

I am thoroughly disgusted by this development, I would quote some of my favorite authors to illustrate why:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"
-- Benjamin Franklin

and

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
-- George Orwell

What people don't want to hear is that random searches are not increasing our security in dangerous time. Sacrificing the rights or people who use the public subways is not going to stop a determined terrorist from exploding the bomb or causing harm, but is going to increase the goverment powers in direct violation of the 4th ammendment. And as another great American said:

"As government expands, liberty contracts."
-- Ronald Reagan

ACLU is filing a lawsuit against the city of New York. As strange as it may sound, I am finding myself supporting ACLU on this one.

---
on iPod: off

Of Google, Capitalism and Omid Kordestani

2005-07-14T17:36:00.000-04:00

There was an interesting internal discussion today which centered on the fact that at $300/share, everyone's favorite Google is valued roughly at $70 Billion/USD. This is more than GM and Disney combined, measured by GDP an independent naiton of Google-astan (or Googlia) would rank in the top 50 wealthiest nations on earth.

The question is whether such a rich valuation is justified; as everyones favorite Jeremy Grantham recently noted “If profit margins aren't mean-reverting, then capitalism is broken.”

Well, there is a tidbit of what insiders of Google actually think about the situation. Mr. Omed Kordestani, a senior VP of stuff at Google, has recently (June) sold almost 43% of his internal stock. And cleared cool $259 million for doing whatever the senior VP's of stuff are doing.

Unlike the general investing public which tends to actually purchase their stock on the open market, insiders such as Mr. Kordestani are given said stock options from the big black magick hat, out of the thin air they come and into the frenzied markets they go. No personal funds of Mr. Kordestani are involved, nor does he have to take any particular risks, except for obviously the risk of not selling out.

$259 Million is a great vote of confidence in the company, its direction, valuation and serves as a hint of what smooth market operators think of capitalism. It ain't broken. It is merely full of hot air and will come down crashing, similar to countless other dot-has-beens.

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On iPod: Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight 3:44 Jefferson Airplane Hits (CD 2) Rock 1 2/19/2005 10:54 AM

Tracking Armenian DNA: Part 2

2005-07-01T22:33:00.000-04:00

My test results finally came back. Here is my full DNA profile:

Main Haplogroup: R1B M343
STR's
Location Number

DYS393 12
DYS19 15
DYS391 11
DYS439 13
DYS389-1 13
DYS389-2 15
DYS388 12
DYS390 25
DYS426 12
DYS385a 11
DYS385b 14
DYS392 14

What does this mean ? Well, according tto the report R1B is the main European lineage, some 70% of men in England are R1b. In parts of Spain and Ireland that number exceeds 90 percent.
However, there are many sub-lineages within R1B that are yet to be defined.

From what I understood the R1B is split into 2 main groups based on the DYS393 marker. These two groups waited out the last big European glacier at opposite ends of the Mediterranean (Iberia and Anatolia.) Iberia group predominantly has 13 at DYS393 whereas the Anatolia group has 12.

There is a study on Anatolian Haplogroups called Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia; according to this study the most frequent haplotype in Armenia (Weale et al. 2001) is R1a1-M17 and it is also the most common type in Turkey.

Some of interesting tidbits from this and another paper, appropriately named Armenian Y chromosome haplotypes reveal strong regional structure within a single ethno-national group

Most Armenians, Georgians and Greeks are genetically very close (most Greeks (22.8% Greeks/14.3% Macedonian Greeks) belong to J-M172 and its subclades which is associated with Neolithic population movements

Armenians are about 25% J - M172 , Georgians are about 85% J - 172

Armenian genetic patterns suggest a high degree of genetic isolation in the mountainous southern and eastern regions, while in the northern, central and western regions there has been greater mixture with populations from neighbouring countries.

Georgia, to the north of Armenia, also appears genetically more distinct, suggesting that in the past Trans-Caucasia may have acted as a genetic barrier.

My particular lineage is not very common Armenian, based on the number of samples available. As a matter of fact, based on Anatolian patterns data, it is not common in Turkey also.
This suggests that either the turks succeeded in wiping out my family lineage back in 1915 or that there isn't enough data available yet to properly track the genotypes.

I will hold off with the conclusion untill there are more samples available for research.

---

On iPod: Tea For Two 3:19 Fats Waller Piano Solos (1929-1941) (CD02) Jazz Piano

Tag: Armenia
Subject: Armenian DNA

Tracking the Armenian DNA: Part 1

2005-06-23T14:19:00.000-04:00

After watching Spencer Wells's "Human Journey" on PBS I've decided to participate in the National Genographic project. The premise is simple: there are approximately 18 major paternal lineages (also known as haplogroups) in the world today. The National Genographic will collect your DNA sample, run series of tests and determine to which of the lineages you belong. The results are accompanied by an analysis as well as the short description of the evolution of your lineage.

" The test identifies the major human paternal lineage to which you belong and the geographic regions associated with this lineage through the analysis of SNPs and bi-allelic markers on the non-recombining portion of the Y-chromosome.Your $100 DNA kit buys you a personalized genetic analysis,including an online overview of your ancestral history. The analysis reveals where and when your haplogroup originated and how they lived. "

This sounded like an interesting thing to do, so I sent my DNA kit over in April and today I got the results back. Basically they determined that I belong to a rare European ancestry and they need more time to perform additional testing. Huh ?

So far what I've known about my heritage could be summarized as:

I am of a Armenian heritage
The earliest reliable accounts of my family history indicate that my ancestors lived in the area near lake Van (historical Armenia, now Turkey)
Due to the series of tragic events in Armenian history (such as being massacred by turks) my family is now dispersed throughout the world.

I will post more results as they become available

---

On iPod: Swamp Music 3:32 Lynyrd Skynyrd All Time Greatest Hits Rock

Tag: Armenia
Subject: Armenian DNA

HVAC on E46

2005-06-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

It took me about 8 month of reading the manual (and watching the instruction DVD many many times) to finally figure out the A/C logic on my E46.

Basically, it is a German thing, when they say Air-Conditioning they don't mean cooling things off. (which, incedentally, is what majority of the earth population things the A/C stands for).
They literally mean "conditioning" of the air. At any given time it's a good guess whether the air
is going to be cooled off, heated or otherwise "conditioned".
To make things more interesting, there is no way to switch the "climate" control in the car in less than "4 easy steps". Actually, the number of steps varies, it's a factor of the temperature inside
the cabin.

Now, if I only could figure out how to get the passenger side mirror to function again, I will be a happier man.

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On iPod: Krasny Shaposhka 5:02 Boka 48 Tari Armenian Rabiz

First RedSox game

2005-06-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

Gregory's first RedSox game. He did well, he rooted for the team at the top of his lungs, although that could be because he was also hungry.

Los Angeles end up winning, but only after we left; they scored 11 runs in the last 3 innings,
including a three-run homer by Garret Anderson. Coincidence ? I think not.

--

on iPod: St. Louis Blues 5:23 George Thorogood And Johnny Johnson Blues Story - Vol. 10 / Concert Vol. 1 Blues

Democracy on PBS is illegal

2005-05-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

...
Two congressional Democrats called Wednesday for an investigation into recent activities by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, suggesting that efforts by the Republican chairman of the private nonprofit to add more conservative programs onto PBS may violate federal law.

In a letter released Wednesday evening, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., asked CPB Inspector General Kenneth A. Konz to investigate the contracting, hiring and policies of the corporation, which distributes federal funds to public television stations. Both congressmen are ranking Democrats on committees that have oversight of public television.

They called recent actions taken by CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson ``disturbing'' and ``extremely troubling.''

A CPB spokesman could not be reached for comment. But in a recent interview with the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Tomlinson defended his efforts to expand conservative perspectives on PBS, saying he merely wants to increase the network's audience.
...

Once again the liberals show their true colors, you can have any opinion as long as it is compliant with the official party line.

EU Constitution and Turkey

2005-04-27T21:31:00.000-04:00

One interesting aspect of a likely French 'No' vote on EU constitution uis the fact that it will decrease Turkeys chances to EU ascension.
Why ?
Even though there are no technical reasons preventing Turkey joining the EU, the pyschological blow from the "no" vote could be very big. If a EU can not agree of a fairly straighforward issue, then a huge, controversial issue of admitting an entire country with an alien to EU history, population, religion and mindset will likely fail. As French polls indicate, the EU process has lost the credibility with the constituent population, and no matter how much the ruling elites try to repackage and sell the idea, the public is not in mood for buying.

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On iPod: The Yankee Doodle Blues 3:03 Jack Roth, Jazzbo's Carolina Serenaders, 1922 Anthology of Jazz Drumming1 Jazz

Indian idea of an IP Protection

2005-04-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

India's statement from the UN WIPO Conference:
....

The real "development" imperative is ensuring that the interest of Intellectual Property owners is not secured at the expense of the users of IP, of consumers at large, and of public policy in general. The proposal therefore seeks to incorporate int international IP law and practice, what developing countries have been demanding since TRIPS was forced on them in 1994.

The primary rationale for Intellectual Property protection is, first and foremost, to promote societal development by encouraging technological innovation. The legal monopoly granted to IP owners is an exceptional departure from the general principle of competitive markets as the best guarantee for securing the interest of society. The rationale for the exception is not that extraction of monopoly profits by the innovator is, of and in itself, good for society and so needs to be promoted. Rather, that properly controlled, such a monopoly, by providing an incentive for innovation, might produce sufficient benefits for society to compensate for the immediate loss to consumers as a result of the existence of a monopoly market instead of a competitive market. Monopoly rights, then, granted to IP holders is a special incentive that needs to be carefully calibrated by each country, in the light of its own circumstances, taking into account the overall costs and benefits of such protection.

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Basically, we will take everything that we could get away with because of "our circumstances". People who talk about Chinese and Indian century don't understand the asian mentality

on iPod: Institut Jan 7:10 Hay Tgherk - Hay Tgherk Armenian Rabiz

Conventional Wisdom

2005-04-12T20:22:00.000-04:00

Conventional Wisdom:

The US dollar is going to get weaker.
Asia is leading worldwide growth.
Tech stocks are too expensive.
The US is in the midst of a jobless recovery.
The world is in the midst of synchronized economic expansion.
Meddling by lawyers and regulators is the new reality and negative for growth and profits.
Corporate balance sheet scares are over. It's back to EV/EBITDA and P/Es.
The developed world is losing its competitive advantage in manufacturing and services to China and India.
The US is the only developed country with high productivity growth.

Bets Against the Conventional Wisdom:

Buy USD, sell Euro.Sell Asia exposure, esp. commodities.
Buy expensive tech companies with good/improving fundamentals.
Buy government bonds, sell TIPS.
Buy staffing companies, consumer cyclicals and sell all other equities.
Buy industries with increasingly tough regulators (financials, energy, Europe).
Buy basic US and European industries, sell Infosys and Wipro.
Buy lower margin Japanese and European competitors (e.g. financials, retail, and transport) as they will soon show huge productivity gains already enjoyed by US companies.Sell their US counterparts.
Sell US and European consumer stocks, buy Asian consumer stocks; buy dividend yielding stocks and bonds, sell select pharma as elderly will demand price controls on drugs.

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on iPod: All Grown Up - 1958 1:55 Johnny Horton 1956-1960 CD2 Country/Rock

Are we there yet ?

2005-04-11T23:12:00.000-04:00

First post, just to check out the software...
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On ipod: Pot Blessed Dinner 2:39 Wynton Marsalis Septet In This House, On This Morning Disc 2 jazz