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Boats and Bikes ~ Island Line Trail

an elegant classic sloop shoots “The Cut”  in the video

 direct video link

 

Back when Burlington began reclaiming the waterfront, one of the first things they did was reacquire the old railroad bed running along the shore, a strip of land that effectively put the lake behind a fence. Once in public hands again, not only was access restored to most of the shore, but the graded bed provided a perfect foundation for a walking and biking trail. That’s how the Island Line Trail was born, and it now runs roughly 12 miles north out of Burlington.

 

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Boats and Bikes ~ Shelburne, Vermont

 

What you give up with airbnb is the comfort of predictability. There will be no desk clerk paid to wait for your arrival, no bellhop to take your bags, no beige carpet or generic art on the walls identical to that in 200 other identical rooms. What you gain is the unexpected. You typically stay in people’s private homes, with no formal checkin process, with hosts who have a natural interest in meeting other people. That was certainly our experience.

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Vera’s ~ Wherein I Abandon Ship for Pleasures of the Flesh

The Lure of Sirens

 

The tradition of sailors abandoning their quest for the comfort and pleasures of shore – both real and imagined – is a pretty long one. I’m in good company. Or at least lots of company.

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Sotterley Plantation

View from the Veranda

 

After a short night of sleep, morning came a little early. The first thing I heard after daylight – besides whippoorwills, gulls, bobwhite quail, crows, turkeys, crickets and cicadas – was Ken’s outboard chugging up the creek. Kevin M and Ken were already putt-putting across the water in LIttle T and the O’Day with everyone else on board.

 

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Seventeen Year Cicadas

 Seventeen Year Cicada, midway through transformation

 

direct Youtube link

A few days ago, the hatch of Magicicada Brood II began here in Virginia. These are the periodic cicadas on a 17 year cycle. It’s pretty amazing how many there are. They’re everywhere.

They’ve only started tuning up on their “singing” – in another week the noise will be deafening. Almost literally. At close range, a cicada can pump out 120 decibals. That’s enough to do permanent damage to your hearing.

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Potomac River Float Trip

Emily in her kayak 

 

One nice thing about a big loop in a river… It doesn’t take much driving to set up the shuttle to float it. Saves a lot of time.

On Sunday, we left Emily’s car at the ramp at Four Locks, then loaded up the boats and headed over to McCoy’s Ferry. It’s a short trip, but we passed through tunnels under two canal aqueducts and a really high train trestle to get there. The ramp at McCoy’s Ferry isn’t in great shape, but we got loaded and launched without too much trouble.

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This is Random

But it’s not just TVs. Who really likes the “software” in their car, microwave, or blu-ray player?

All of this software is terrible in the same handful of ways. It’s buggy, unresponsive, and difficult to use. I actually think the second sin is the worst one, especially when it comes to appliances and consumer electronics. Dials and knobs respond to your touch right now. Anything that wants to replace them had better also do so.

Amen.

via: Daring Fireball

I’ve made my living by hanging around the leading edge of technology for over 40 years. What I have learned is this: When software sucks, it sucks on a whole nuther level that analog stuff just can’t. And software is showing up in more previously simple things every day.

It’s probably why I like 19th century technology so much.

Duly noted.