The TriFoiler, at last

September 10, 2010 by osteoderm | 1 comment

Finally got the TriFoiler into the water today. Conditions were perfect, probably even better than we thought they were: NNW 10-15kts, light chop. Being a first sail, we erred on the side of caution and unzipped the reefing panels from the sails. The book suggests 16 kts as a reasonable reefing windspeed. In hindsight, I now feel that the boat can take much more, and that it would probably be easier to spill air from full sail rather than curse and fight and flail away with reefed sails when the windspeed is just a little light. Full sails would have made for a much more entertaining day, but safety first, right? Bill pushed me out into chest-deep water, I slid off with remarkable leeway on, and spent almost the entirety of the next 3 hours trying to beat back in to shore.

As it was, the wind fell through the day, and it became increasingly frustrating to sail in displacement mode, underpowered and dragging so much structure through the water. Impressions? Hideous to tack, the forward foil latches need reworking, low-speed steering like a shopping cart full of rocks… But just once, I wore ’round right into a puff, the sails popped over, the boat lurched off a wave, and the windward outrigger jumped out of the water, closely followed by the leeward one. I dumped the windward sensor line, and the boat leveled off. I sheeted in, as fast as I could, somehow managing to pop the leeward sensor line… and whoosh, the stern came up, the rigging shrieked, the unplugged pitot tube spurted a rooster-tail… Sheeting in nearly to the centerline on a broad reach and Oh. Sweet. Beard. Of. Zeus, acceleration like nothing I have ever felt on the water before. Full-on overblown powerboat acceleration! On foils, the boat was transformed; steering well-damped and precise, ride smooth as glass, zero fuss from the rig, completely dry.

The sailing season is winding down here, but I’m hooked. Gonna try to get as many sails in before the water cools down too much, then onto next summer!

Super Sauce

August 24, 2010 by osteoderm | 1 comment

Now that both our tomatoes and herbs are at the height of their production, I’ve been harvesting both and churning out this awesome super sauce. It is simple, tasty, versatile, and keeps in the fridge. It couldn’t be easier!

In a food-processor, blender, magic bullet, etc, puree equal parts (by volume) garlic, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh basil leaves. That’s it. It comes out fairly orange, and very garlicy.

I use it for a basic pizza sauce. I smear it on toast. I use it for a bruschetta drizzle. I add sautéed onions and mushrooms for a killer pasta sauce. Leave it in the fridge and it will separate a bit, but mix it back together and enjoy; it only gets better with a few days of cold-aging. It’s so good, you’d think it had to be harder. It’s not! Enjoy!

My Papyrus Obsession

August 21, 2010 by osteoderm | 2 comments

In college, I knew a woman named Wendy Martin who owned a local business, Rooftop Futons. In her high-ceilinged 2nd-floor south-facing office, she had a magnificent pot of giant papyrus growing, at least 6′ tall, the image of which has stuck in my head ever since. I can’t be certain, but I’m reasonably sure her plant was an “Umbrella palm”, Cyperus alternifolius. Now that I have my own ridiculously-high ceilings (16′!), I’ve bought a few papyrus plants to try my own hand at.

After an afternoon spent trolling garden centers and nurseries with my amazing gardening friend Kent Russell,  actually ended up with five plants. In addition to a pair of great Cyperus papyrus “Giganteus”, I now have three smaller varieties: Cyperus involucratus “Baby Tut”, Cyperus albostriatus “Variegatus”, and Cyperus isocladus.

Being late in the season, I bought them all root-bound in 4″ pots. I re-potted into 6″ clay pots with a good gunky potting soil, with a little fish meal worked in for good measure. I aggressively cut back any stressed stems. All five pots were then placed in a large plastic tote, which was filled with water up to within an inch of the tops of the clay pots. I top up the water every three days or so, dosing once with a teaspoon of 15-30-15 fertilizer.

Growth in just the last two weeks has been fantastic! The C.  papyrus and C. involucratus have been putting new stems up at about 1″/day. The C. papyrus is showing crazy root development, already snaking little white rootlets around and over the edges of the pot. The C. isocladus isn’t so much growing up as it is growing out. The poorest of the bunch is the C. albostriatus; It was well into seed when I bought it, so it may just be a phase. The existing growth seems stagnant, but there are quite a few new shoots starting out!

I had at first envisioned an indoor water garden, in a large tub or ideally a small cast-iron slipper-style bathtub. Researching more thoroughly, I see that these plants would do best with summers outside, so I’m trying out more portable ideas. Also, the small varietals really seem to want to spread out; they might share space with the very vertical C. papyrus, but don’t play as well with companions of their own stature. I think I’ll leave them in standard clay pots, which I will in turn submerge inside sealed larger pots, preferably something nicely-glazed. The bathtub idea might still happen, but probably as a strictly outdoor feature.

I’m not exactly sure why I find these so fascinating. There is something neat about these primitive old-world sedges, that can look like both grasses and palms, with leaf-like flowers and flower-like leaves. And of course, the attraction of a plant that is practically impossible to over-water!

Equal Rights

August 15, 2010 by osteoderm | No comments

Name a fundamental human right, whichever one you can think of. Don’t worry for now whether it’s a legal or constitutional right; just shoot from the hip and name something broad and basic.

Now ask: does this right apply to you? Do you feel that have this right? Do you feel that this right is protected? If you’re reading this, the answer you’ll probably reach is “yes”.

Now think: Does every other human being in existence also have and share this same fundamental human right? The likely answer is “no”.

Realize: Unless a “right” is universally recognized, upheld, and applied to all, then for those who do enjoy that right, it is not a right right at all, but only a privilege.

Of course, many people would prefer to limit the application of human rights to some particular jurisdiction, such as the citizens of a country. While these rights might be lofty, they are not fundamental; they are legal and constitutional. In a democracy, it is the citizens themselves who (in theory) define their own human rights and the protections thereof. These definitions and protections are subject to change upon the will of the people. Far too frequently, some group will assert a moral prerogative, and move to exclude another group from some legal or constitutional right. Not only does this discriminate against the excluded, but it by extension diminishes the rights of the included. Unless the guarantee applies to all, there is no guarantee!

Privileges may be earned, but they can also be bought and sold. The same cannot -and should not- ever be said of basic fundamental human rights and equalities.

« Older entries § Newer entries »