September 8, 2006

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Toybox

Seems like i’ve been on a real toy-buying kick lately! Over the past 6 months or so, i had been considering a few purchases for myself, primarily a new digicam, a new PDA, and a new casting rod. In the end, i figured that i’d get just one of the above, and call it quits at that. I settled on the fishing gear, and special-ordered it from Island Marine.
Well… During that wild spur-of-the-moment getaway that Gillian and I took to St. Maarten, the prices on cameras were so good that i couldn’t resist… I did, however, resist buying that new Palm T|X!
The rod, a silly custom-order Quantum rig, was seemingly back-ordered forever! I’d just about given up on it, while at the same time my laptop died, and i was left without my all-important internet access! That cinched the issue, and i ordered the new Palm T\X off the internet.
Of course, the PDA showed up within a couple days of the arrival of (you guessed it) the rod and reel! So much for my budgeting…
Yesterday i made what i hope will be the last toy purchase for awhile; a new toybox! I picked up a great little foam-lined everything-proof Pelican Case for the Palm, keyboard, camera, memory cards, chargers, and batteries. About the size of a lunchbox, and ought to keep my toys in good shape through a sailing lifestyle.
So that’s it, i guess… Uh-oh… What about a tacklebox?

Bookish

Just started Reading “Snow Falling On Cedars” by David Guterson. I saw the movie adaptation some years ago, and quite enjoyed it. At the time, i wasn’t aware that it was based upon a book; feeling that the book is almost always better than the movie, i’m really looking forward to this read!
Propr to this, i re-read Farley Mowat’s “The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float”; only my second read of this great tale, the first being many years ago, before i was much into sailing at all. Also, many years before i had a proper appreciation for the sorts of serious rum consumption that Mowat describes therein…
I’ve also, after much pressure from friends and family, finally gotten around to reading “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse. It was good, but… After taking in many Alan Watt books, as well as the whole of the Dhammapadha, it was a bit of an anti-climax. Still a very good story, but for me at least, less illuminating that many other readers have found it.
Of course, i’m still regularly re-reading Bob Griffith’s “Blue Water” and Adlard Coles’ “Heavy Weather Sailing”, but it’s nice to get away from my usual diet of technical treatises and sailing manuals.

Bias

On my boat, i’ve taken to listening to the local NPR station quite alot. Now, over these last few weeks, i’ve been house-sitting a place on a weird little hollow of hillside with no radio reception. Furthermore, the utterly basic cable here consists of two New York broadcast tv stations.
Now, my personal politics lean towards the liberal. Still, i like my media as un-biased as i can get it. So many months of listening to NPR programming had left me feeling that it had a definate, if not substantial, left-wing bias.
But just a few viewings of “mainstream” American broadcast journalism has gotten me right back to loving NPR! When the broadcast news isn’t allowing itself to be an outright puppet of the right wing, it simply isn’t covering any issues of actual importance.
Of course, i really like the good ol’ CBC, excepting that in the last few years since i’ve been able to live and listen in Canada, it seems that the guts have really been knocked out Canadian radio.
The next best i’ve found is the BBC World Service, on cable… Which i don’t have on the boat! My cheap MW receiver can’t manage to pick up much either.
Say i manage to get a decent radio and decent antenna… Is there really any media out there worth the bother?