Mucho Tiempo

The month closes and a new year begins. Mucho tiempo closed in a small space, or so it seems. Swells kept the surf coming through most of the month For example, between 12 December and 15 December the swell ranged from 10.8 feet from 215 at 17 seconds to 15.9 feet from 285 at 14 seconds. That span of swell alone accounted for some great surf all along the point. I surfed the Steps, Tiburones, Boils-in-Between, and Privates. Shoulder-high to over-head and reasonable water temperature. I got great bottom turns, pitched over the falls, run in to, snaps off the top, floaters, I dropped in on guys, I got dropped in on, I got yelled at dropping in on guys, I got yelled at for dropping in behind guys. I pulled cutbacks, off-the-lips, screamed down the line, and got a great third bol dry barrel (DYSM approved). It was like a reflection of the whole year squeezed into a week. The swell cooled a little, but began to crank back up for Christmas hitting 25 feet from 310 at 12 seconds with strong offshores. I saw an insane wave breaking in front of the sand plant - of course no one was out. My last day of surf before an injury time out was 20 December, the day before the winter solstice. The days are only getting longer from here, and my injury getting better. I had shoulder surgery on the solstice. Short time swells continue to appear, and though I can't partake, I have watched the boyz having fun.

I'm sure you noticed one of the crew hasn't been with us lately. There have been some great beach days, but no 'cue - Where's Lance? Well, Lance is giving back. Sacrificing his way of live, he has gone down to New Orleans to help in the post-Katrina reconstruction effort. With tourism at a low and plenty of construction to be done, our own went into battle. I understand he wasted no time contributing to the cause. Checking into a room strategically located across from a T&A bar, Lance started pouring money into the economy beginning with cocktails, dinner, and dessert at the bar. I'm proud to know this American. I'm not sure what Lance is up to now, but Fly Trap has been in touch with him. I'll post as soon as I hear something.

It's comforting to know that our Beltway Leader has decided to listen to the experts. I guess God has ceased talking to him. While on the surface there has been quite a show to convince us the Beltway Leader is not only the Decider, but the Listener, I am not convinced. Yes, after years of war an investigation commission was formed, report issued, and recommendation made - but as far as I can tell, the Listener is working the shell game to distract the public from the recontamination, stretch some time, and change the name but stay the same. The way forward is like moving forward along a circle. We wait for the Listener to become the Decider and speak. With a new Congress, you'd think corporations would be riding the tide of uncertainty. The stock market infers that is not the case. Why not? I thought Demopublicans ride roughshod over the corporate world. Well, upon closer inspection one realizes the corporations don't worry because they are the government. War will continue to create profits, and then when the destruction is over, profits will be reaped in reconstruction. The marketing boys don't sleep. How about equipping the back of your eyelids with a thin LED screen the corps can use to make your life better? The screen would be input/output, and be connected via wireless to a chip injected just under your skin. The chip would also communicate with wireless hubs located through the country - fuck it, the world. Receiving constant input from the consumer, the corps will tailor an infomercial just for you, instructing you about every aspect of your life in an effort to make it better - and have you comply. The Beltway will be stoked because it will allow them to identify terrorists and other nefarious persons, and better protect its children. Sound wild? SPB will go along because, "why should you mind unless you are doing something wrong..." Corpordinatio (ordinatio is Latin for government)is here now and it's no longer hiding in the shadows.

A couple of pics included. One shows a highlight for 2006. I've been to Maui several times and never saw the top of Molokai until this year - it was worth the trip. The second shows an idea for a shirt I'm putting together - going back to go forward.

A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink. In our age there is no such thing as "keeping out of politics". All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer. -George Orwell, writer (1903-1950)  ¶ 3:56 PM