June 2011 Low Pressure

Storm posted up for the weekend – which was quite an anomaly for June. And check the satellite pics – this storm would look more at home in the Gulf of Alaska. Any case, the storm stripped the surf so that it was nothing but victory at sea. Today, the ocean was back in shape, but the leftover wind swell just didn’t look that inviting – although there were plenty of takers.

Steve Looking Up

Surfed south at Tiburones – It was fun, if a little windy. As expected, the shenanigans are ramping up – ill mannered LB-off-the-tail idiots, a new crop of kids, newcomers taking off on the left – going right (there’s no left here!), it’s a beginner-spot-I-graduated-from-surf-school, and the regular crew just trying to get by. Yes, school’s out, it’s summer, and the living is easy. A second day of Sharks was still fun – a bit small at waist to shoulder high – looooong waits. The kids were having a blast on the left. They were yelling and screaming, giving each other shit, and apparently holding a contest amongst themselves. I’m not sure, something about completing a 360-rail-gab or another. Anyway, it was fun. Then, next thing I knew, two LBoys paddled out, and in no time, one of the unknown LBoys started screaming at the other – shenanigans. It was fucking waist high! So to pass the time, one of the crew treated me to a story of further mayhem that concerned an LBoy, a boarder, and disparaging words concerning the boarder’s mother – who left the world when the poor boy was twelve. Seems there are some working to bring it lower – evermore lower – new lows. On the bright side, looks like Steve’s got a nice one.

South showing on the buoys tonight – May 31, 2011, Harvest Platform is showing a swell at 3.1 feet from 175 at 20 seconds. The swell is showing on buoys up the coast at 2.8 feet from 185 at 20 seconds – the right size, but a bit steep for Tiburones. Of course, I am hopeful the swell direction will slip into la Ventana de Tiburones as the swell evolves.

Memorial Day: In 1865, freedmen (freed -enslaved Africans) exhumed the bodies of 257 Union soldiers from a mass grave at Washington Race Course and reinterred them in individual graves – “Martyrs of the Race Course”. The site had been used as a temporary Confederate prison camp for captured Union soldiers. The freedmen built a fence around the graveyard with an entry arch and declared it a Union graveyard. On May 1, 1865, a crowd of up to 10,000, mainly black residents, including 2,800 children, proceeded to the location for events that included sermons, singing, and a picnic on the grounds, thereby creating the first Decoration Day-type or Memorial Day celebration.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said traders James Dyer of Oklahoma’s Parnon Energy, and Nick Wildgoose of Europe-based Arcadia Energy, amassed large physical positions at a key U.S. trading hub to create the impression of tight supplies that would boost oil prices. Later they dumped those barrels back onto the market, causing prices to crash and racking up profits from short positions they had accrued in futures markets, the suit said. “Defendants conducted a manipulative cycle, driving the price of WTI (crude) to artificial highs and then back down, to make unlawful profits,” the lawsuit filed in New York said. Of course, this is no different than what Goldman did with mortgage-related securities – sold them to the bitter end while at the same time betting they would crash making money cheating up front and then betting the cheating would be found out – Of course, it’s typically not against the law – just morally corrupt. But, if you can get away with it – indeed, seems to be a cornerstone of business – cheat, greed, insensitivity and selfishness, and a good measure of deceit – over and over again. So – we trust the insurance corporations (cheat, greed, insensitivity and selfishness, and a good measure of deceit) for our health care? It’s unbridled capitalism (the invisible hand of cheat, greed, insensitivity and selfishness, and a good measure of deceit) or bust? So – Medicare would remain unchanged for those 55 or older, including the millions who now receive health care under the program. Anyone younger would be required to obtain coverage from a private insurer (cheat, greed, insensitivity and selfishness, and a good measure of deceit), with the government providing a subsidy to cover part of the cost of premiums.

And there’s more – in the face of the suit claiming market manipulation of oil prices, the EPA’s Jackson stated problems of high oil prices are controlled by global supply and demand and can fluctuate with little control from the U.S.

“Warren, a Harvard law professor who previously served as a watchdog for the government’s $700 billion financial system bailout, has run into strong opposition from Republicans, who say she would be too confrontational with the financial industry.” You’re fucking kidding me, the financial industry just got done destroying millions of people – again – cheat, greed, insensitivity and selfishness, and a good measure of deceit – read the The People vs. Goldman Sachs | Rolling Stone Politics story – are we hostages to these corporations? Guess so.

Everyone is paying for health care – every penny of the healthcare dollar is coming from Americans. Right now we’re paying—60 percent of it is financed through taxes, 20 percent out of pocket, and 20 percent for private insurance premiums. That’s all coming from us. We either give up higher wages, or we pay higher prices for goods, or we give up paving our roads. All of those things go into financing the healthcare system now.

I’ve heard plenty of Republicrates say that the “Ryan Budget” is the only budget on the table – and if you don’t like it, provide one, or lets play negotiation. Of course there is an alternative, but its been hidden from the public. It’s the “peoples budget”

While China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, foreign countries actually hold only about 28 percent of the $14 trillion debt. The latest Treasury bulletin shows that the biggest holder is the U.S. government itself (i.e., Social Security and Medicare), while U.S. pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies and state and local governments hold almost as much as foreign investors.

Last Word: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

In Between Days

The upwelling was in full force the last couple of days, and as expected, so was the wind. Still, I surfed wind swell at Segundo Bol – real small with long-cold waits, Segundo Bol and BolPrimero with a small south mixed with windswell, and, today, even smaller south swell at Segundo Bol and BolPrimero. At least the sun was out. The usual talk circulated in the water – and my favorite – “heard a swell is due in a few days…”

Friday and Saturday surfed the glide at TIburones and the Cave. Saturday was a beautiful day with large clouds hanging over the bay – and you could see all the way down the Salinas Valley. The surf scraped the reef, jacking little walls that were perfect for nose riding. Amazingly, I was the only one partaking in the splendor. Of course, Second Bowl was packed. No matter.

We have so much stuff – and we want more. I mean everything around us screams – MORE STUFF. Daydream about stuff. More later, but now the breaking news….Starting today, May 18, 2011, an internet swell arrived. Although the ocean hasn’t cooperated just yet, there was a chest high wind swell out of the west, and the buoys are showing a significant swell from 180 posting up. This evening, the Point Conception buoy is showing 3 feet from 180 at 20 seconds – this swell is sure to push and run from 20 seconds to 14 seconds for a few days. I start the swell story with a quip regarding the internet swell because I was surprised by how crowded the lineup was on a mediocre wind swell. Tomorrow will be another day – a day that promises south swell. And so it has. The south showed, maxing out at about 5 feet at 17 from 180. Tiburones was at it’s best, and even with the internet crowd stacking, it was fun. By Saturday, the swell had abated a bit, but still some good sets. Check Kane and some of the other boyz at Drain Pipe.

I understand a new study estimates nearly 44 million Americans would lose health insurance over the next decade if the House Republican budget plan were to become law. So, if these folks don’t have health insurance, does that mean the cost just disappears? More shell game – these folks will still require and get health care, but delivery will be at the hospital – the most expensive result for most needs. And, the public will still pay – way more than necessary. Instead of a transparent system under which we all know the costs, services are efficiently provided, costs are negotiated by the largest possible group of consumers, and burden is knowingly shared by all, we will have a system under which we pay inflated bills that reflect hidden costs for unnecessary hospital visits by folks who do not have insurance, hidden costs associated with health problems that could have been addressed with preventive care or earlier visits to a physician, costs for advertising, costs for over-paid executives who provide zero value to health outcomes, costs for corporate lawyers who limit liability, costs for lobbyists, bank costs for health saving accounts, and all costs related to a health industrial complex that has no competition nor need to negotiate with consumers. It’s okay – isn’t it?

Ranch Wave

Surfed knee-high south/wind swell mix over the last two days – a must given the weather and overall beautiful conditions. I tried a friend’s hull on the first day out and focused my attention on inside Second Bowl, where the swell lines piled up at the higher tide and created some fun little ramps with push. During the session I decided hulls are not for me – just not enough feedback off the fins, bottom, and rails. It seemed to me the wave was riding me versus I was riding the wave – a little more passive and not as much control. Anyway, it was good for the experience. Took the Phalsa out on the second day and was rewarded with what pleases me – a good board that works with me to do what I want. The last few days have been abuzz with Osama’s death. I didn’t feel the passion I saw in other parts of the country – but I’m still a student of life and death. What really caught my attention was the story of the man’s 19-year old son, who was caught walking down the stairs as the SEAL team made their rounds. He was shot. When you’re growing up, there are always a few kids at school, or in the neighborhood, who you envy for one reason or the other. You come to wonder at the life they have, the things they have, the wealth they have, or the places they go. You daydream about what it would be like if you were born into that family. How lucky those kids are – right place at the right time. Thinking back, I can’t recall a time when I was glad not to be that kid. Maybe I just purged those bad thoughts from my mind. I’m like that. Now, I’m thinking about what all the kids thought about Osama’s son who was just killed. Trippin’ down the stairs, maybe heading for some food – food is on your mind quite a bit when you are 19 – I know from current experience. Anyway, trippin’ down the stairs and……..It wasn’t his fault- right place at the right time – nor do I blame the soldiers – they had no other choice in the situation – it wasn’t a Hollywood movie – yet. It just happened – it makes me wonder.

It’s flat – but the days are beautiful. I hung around the house, did some gardening, some garden art, played music, listened to music, and just daydreamed. Just a thought – are work credits and other tax breaks for low-wage earners corporate welfare? Those low wage earners would not be able to make it without tax breaks, health care subsidies, food stamps, and the like – and, corporations don’t have to pay the difference. Wages stay low and profits stay high. Without welfare to the low wage earners – they wouldn’t be able to make it, wouldn’t have money to spend, and wouldn’t be productive – hence, no consumers, low productivity, and social unrest. Also, there wouldn’t be a host of folks to go into debt. Pay just enough to get into debt and leave the rest to government programs. Looks like corporations and lenders come out on top.

Former Senator Bob Kerrey, referring to Rick Santorum, once memorably said, “Santorum? Is that the Latin for asshole?”

Surfed yesterday and got some fun Tiburones with an early south swell – waist to chest high, northwest wind, and the typical wait. So, I thought maybe we might have more of the same, or a bit smaller, on Friday. Got back from work and checked the surf on the way home. Looked like there was still some swell, but nothing special. I grabbed my stuff and went to JTH. Looked okay, and then a set – south had picked up. I bolted down to Tiburones and paddled into some gems. And the swell picked up throughout the session. This evening the buoys show 2.7 feet at 17 seconds from 190 to 2.5 feet at 14 seconds from 205. Watching the buoys – now it’s 3.1 feet at 14 second from 215. What will tomorrow bring? More south swell – in fact, surfed south swell through the weekend and Monday too. Surf at Tiburones was chest high with head high sets up until Sunday – Monday was clean waist to chest high. Today – wind swell dominated with the occasional small south set – I sat it out and rested.

Just a thought – regarding climate change, I’ve heard skeptics – those who say climate change is debatable, and if it is occurring, technology will same the day, Curiously, these same folks have ties to powers who are just fine with things as they are – oil and gas industry and all things related. These same powers are also pushing hard for deficit reduction under a menu of actions that pretty much attach the ball and chain to the greater population. What is interesting is that when it comes to climate change, the power brokers claim technology will save us (consideration of the greater ecology is not evident), but when it comes to deficit reduction – innovation and technology – booms of industry and business – jobs and government revenue – are not even in the discussion. Somehow, while I think deficit reduction is important, it seems the power brokers are using deficit reduction as an excuse to rearrange the social landscape to something more aligned with their vision.

I’m still in Colorado, and what do I spy – the buoys are showing a south swell just in time for Spring Break. As I sit thousands of miles from the ocean, I see the swell is 2.8 feet from 190 at 17 seconds. Those numbers are music to my ears – but I am separated from the symphony. Tomorrow I head home – and possibly, I’ll be in the water by the afternoon. New figures show the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the developed world, while ranking ninth worst in social spending. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States imprisons 760 of every 100,000 citizens, more than five times the OECD average.

Last Word: We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same. -Carlos Castenada, mystic and author (1925-1998)

Wood Beard

The River

Natural Gas Drilling

Two weeks ago, the surf started off strong. More recently, the crew has been relegated to under performing wind swell. At its best, the  buoy showed swell at 9.8 feet from 290 at 17 seconds and 1.8 feet from 215 at 17 seconds. I surfed Tiburones early in the swell push, and Segundo Bol during the waning days. The swell was really fun, and heading into last weekend, the swell push continued. I surfed through the weekend – sampling Segundo Bol on a very chilly Friday evening and Tibrounes on Saturday – then off to Colorado. My trip went by way of Carmel Valley, and while driving out of town and through the Salinas Valley, I noticed some graffiti – rough – but interesting. Latin gang one-upmanship, initials of ownership, and scrawl is the usual fare, but at two locations, with similar cursive paintmanship, was: Unicorns are Real and Money is Everything. I don’t know – just struck me as different. Metaphoric and sarcastic. Bookends – and what’s in between? Surfing definitely involves some Unicorns and, for most of us, money isn’t everything. But looking around, Unicorns are dead – or at least being stalked and mangled, and money is everything. For surfing, the intersection is best illustrated by Nike 6.0 – whatever that means. Well, it’s up to you – got to make a living, don’t want to sell out, but……

I’m in Parachute, Colorado – a boom town that is experiencing its second natural gas drilling and production boom – mostly production. During the week – lots of trucks and able bodied men. It’s like watching an ant hill – the definition of human industriousness. Dirt, grading, digging, gravel mining, moving water, pumping, dehydration, compression, trains, big trucks, little trucks, welding, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona….The weekend is here, and now there are signs of family life. As if hidden in the mines, the women and children have appeared after a week’s labor digging out treasure. I get the impression that after it’s all said and done, the town will be back to some indigenous townsfolk and all the ants will swarm to the next natural resource boom. A tsunami economy. Passing time, I hiked around the Colorado River. I saw Osprey in action, Blue Heron, and plenty of geese. Out on the ranch, I saw deer, elk, and a couple of Eagles; and spent some time collecting weathered bones. On one venture, I stopped to ask a youngster who was fishing what kind of fish he was catching. He told me he didn’t know, which I found hard to believe because he looked like he was between 12 and 14 years old. Anyway, just as he finished with his answer, he hooked-on. I watched him fight the fish with light tackle and land it on the shore. He quickly picked the fish up and began trying to dislodge the hook. He had caught a nice Rainbow Trout, about 12 inches long, and I told him so. Well, he struggled with the treble hook, and with a quick wiggle, the fish left his grasp and slid down toward his crouched legs. I was afraid he was going to pick up some of that treble hook, so I lent a hand. I pulled the hook, and the lad eased the fish back into the water. He gently stroked the fish, allowing it to regain some oxygen, and then let it slip out of his hands. The fish looked no worse for wear, and took off. The boy turned to me and said, “Thanks mister.” Never heard anyone, let alone a boy call me “mister” – dude, yes – kook, yes – “mister”, no.

The Rant: I was listening to interviews regarding taxes and listened with amazement as one contributor suggested that tax subsidies – i.e. work credits – were just a transfer of wealth from productive people to low-wage earners. What are productive people relative to low-wage earners? Upper management at McDonalds – are they productive, whereas hourly workers at the counter are, are what? Yes, it is likely the hourly worker qualifies for work credit – just to keep another $400. Nevertheless, does this categorization based on wages somehow imply one group is productive while the other is not? WTF kind of arrogance is out there. Is the entity financing construction of a building more productive than the laborers building it?

Yea! Worldwide military spending edged up in 2010 to a record $1.6 trillion

Joseph Stiglitz: “..much of the wealth of this one percent comes not from hard work, not from innovation, but from good investments in Washington, investing in political capital. And you saw that in the financial sector, where they first got deregulation, and they got a massive bailout. But it’s true in lots of other areas. A lot of the natural resource companies—mining, oil—get access to natural resources that are in public lands at a discount price. So, if you can buy—if you can get access to these resources at a very low price, sell them at a high price, you make a lot of money. It’s actually like money being stolen from the public.” And; “One is that a successful economy requires collective action. There are lots of things we have to do together. We have to have infrastructure. We have to have an educated population. If you have a divided society, you start worrying more—if you’re in the wealthy and you have an electorate system that can use your wealth to affect the politics, you say, “I’d rather have a small government that isn’t able to redistribute money, take money away from me. I don’t need public schools; I have private money. I don’t need public parks; I have private—you know, my large land.” What you have then is an erosion of the kind of collective action, and that makes a society less efficient, less productive. And you see that already happening. We are competing in education with countries in Asia that were much poorer than we were not that long ago. And the second one is that obviously a house divided can’t stand, that you start getting tensions, you start not paying attention to the things that make us cohesive as a nation. And that’s what you’re seeing in Wisconsin. And you also see that in the budget messages that are coming across, saying, “OK, we’re going to cut back on healthcare for aged and for the poor, but we’re not going to do anything about overall healthcare costs.” What does that mean? It means that if you’re going to cut back on health expenditures for the aged and the poor, and you’re going to let health costs continue to rise, that says rationing. They’re not going to be able to get healthcare. Already, we spend more money with poor health outcomes than those in other countries in the advanced industrial world. And it’s going to get worse as the poor and the elderly can’t get access to healthcare.”

If we decided that we want to destroy every national park and coastal region, we may be able to increase production by 1.0-1.5 million barrels a day in 5-10 years. At the high end, this would be a bit less than 2 percent of world supply. Given normal assumptions about how demand responds to price, we would be very lucky to see a 6 percent decline in the price of oil. This means that in the most optimistic “drill everywhere” scenario we would save less than 20 cents from our $4 a gallon gas. What is unsaid in this analysis is externalities. Pesky considerations such as the cost in losing every national park and coastal region, the cost on the ecology, the cost on the social fabric, and the cost in raw materials and natural resources to name a few. So, we may save 20 cents using traditional economic analyses; however, the real truth is it would likely cost way more than $4 per gallon gasoline.

Recent judgments have solidified the concept that corporations are treated as individuals under the law and constitution. You cannot stand in the way of their first amendment right to free speech – i.e., buying elections. But when it comes to paying taxes like the rest of us peons – no fucking way. Get this – G.E. skirted paying, any taxes on $5.1 billion in profits in 2010–in addition to claiming a $3.2 billion tax credit. Indeed, there’s mounting evidence the government is failing to collect taxes from wealthy individuals and corporations – no way. Dude, seriously. And how are some of these profits reinvested? First amendment rights baby! Status quo! But wait, there’s more! Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009, paid no federal income taxes, and received a $156 million rebate from the IRS; Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, even though it made $4.4 billion in profits and was handed a nearly $1 trillion bailout by taxpayers; Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after taking in $10 billion in profits in 2009; Boeing received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon and a $124 million refund from the IRS last year; Citigroup made more than $4 billion in profits last year and paid no federal income taxes—it also received a $2.5 trillion taxpayer bailout.

Lat Word: 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)

The Picture Speaks

Einstein showed us that time and space are relative given one’s view point. The moving train experiment is always used to pave the way for our understanding. But no matter what imaginary train you are riding, no matter what your frame of reference, it seems there are always markers that anchor space time – constants – like the speed of light. I never really paid much attention to her, maybe the folks did, but today I realized that Elizabeth Taylor was such an anchor. Of course younger people won’t see it that way, but it’s about frame of reference. I didn’t see all her movies, and her history is on the peripheral of my experience, but I will never forget her straight-up beauty, her eyes, the way she spoke, and her character. Mix in love affairs, several marriages, and AIDS advocacy when the word was not spoken. A movie star. Time moves on, but there are mileposts we pass on the way.

I was always interested in the Sacred Craft gathering, but wasn’t willing to travel south to see it. Now my interest has been satisfied – Sacred Craft was here in town on Saturday and Sunday. A weekend of south wind and rain did not thwart a good time. I walked in and instantly heard my name – the boyz were all there, and we weren’t jockeying for waves. It was fun to see guys I hadn’t seen for a while, gaze at all the cool boards, run my hands over some rail lines, check the latest tech advances, and groove on all the art. Whether it’s boards, drawings, paintings, fins, pictures, movies, stories, food, or music – the art of surfing was on view. It was also cool to see some of the historical aspects of surfing that were on display. People brought in old boards to get appraised, and give the rest of us a view of what was. Similarly, there were pictures of days past set up in the area to honor Doug. I was impressed with the asymmetric boards from Carl Ekstrom, the Rainbow Fins booth, and The Meadow booth. Yes – The Meadow is Source (Nick), FogCity (CJ), and GP (Gordon and Palandrani)- I’ve added a link to their web page – they’ve got great pictures of their stuff and the Craft going on. After a fun weekend, there was some good surf Monday, and although work kept me from partaking, I heard it was pretty fun – double-overhead. It was a one day swell – the swell slipped and wind and rain slipped in. And stormy conditions are cued for the rest of the week.

And stuff: the economic cure – a massive program of privatization with enormous windfall profits for private investors and the banks and financial institutions that finance the purchase of everything from soccer fields to national parks. Those profits, in turn, fuel political machines that use money and media to dominate the narrative that greedy pensioners, lay-about teachers, and free loaders are the problem. And austerity is the solution.

So – I said I saw the boyz over the weekend – but one guy I haven’t seen for a while is TC – the style master is shown on concrete – solid style on sea and on land.

Last Word: “I like the rapid punch of solid-state for the bottom, and the rodent-gnawing distortion of the tubes on top.” John Cipollina

Puerto from Jackson

There has been surf this week, but the title swell pushed in and built throughout the day. The surf was clean with long lines and a slight breeze. I surfed a nameless bowl that, on the right wave, shoots through the Gate. I got a couple of solid walls with speed, but finally lost to a set that seemed to break across the point. When the set finished pushing, I found myself paddling on this side of Trees. I walked back up the point and called it a day. Later in the evening, I parked above Capitola and watched some insane sets break through Privates, Trees, Toes Over, Capitola Jetty, Bombora, and New Brighton. Seriously – corduroy to the horizon. Definitely a strong finish to a less than spectacular winter.

And Japan – If the reactor(s) in Japan meltdown, explode, and release radioactive material to the atmosphere – and it is very possible some small aspect of this scenario has already occurred, it could mean problems for us. And, there is no place to run. It would take roughly seven days for the radiation to reach Anchorage, eight days until it reached Honolulu, ten days for Seattle and eleven days before it hit Los Angeles, according to figures calculated by Expert Senior Global Meteorologist Jim Andrews.

Thinking about Bob Nesta Marley – Born February 6, 1945. His last words, “money can’t buy life”

But money votes – money talks the loudest – money can be heard. Fidelity noted the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans hold more than 55 percent of the nation’s wealth. So, is it a democracy? Majority $ rule?

The January nonfarm payroll number was 130.5 million – a figure first reached in November 1999. And that is the encouraging part of the story! Way back then, there were 72 million “breadwinner” jobs in the U.S. economy – that is, jobs in manufacturing, construction, distribution, FIRE, information technology, the professions and white-collar services. Average pay levels were about $50,000 per year in today’s dollars. A decade later in February 2011, there were only 65 million breadwinner jobs – 10% less. To be sure, this large drain was nearly offset by a 6 million job gain over the decade in the HES Complex – health, education and social services. But the 30 million total jobs in HES Complex have much lower average pay at about $35,000 per year – so we are trading down – and their funding is almost entirely derived from the public purse – which is broke.

Isn’t living a worthy life an incentive? Isn’t being a good member of the community an incentive? I read a wonderful quote the other day — it said the great thing about money is that it will buy you all you want of anything in the world that is totally unimportant. It cannot buy you what is important.

Surge Out

Surge In

With small surf the sampling for the week, the predicted internet swell for the weekend was building day by day. I reckoned by the weekend, the masses would be worked up into a feverish pitch – pulling at the leg rope. Then Friday dawned with terrible news. I was working late Thursday night and flipped the TV on to round out the evening. First thing I saw was a tsunami marching across the Japanese coastal lowlands – live real time video. A pan to the ocean showed macking lines stretched over the entire visible coastline. The scenes from the lowlands showed a wall of debris engulfing everything in its path. Nothing was spared – I knew I was watching people like you, me, and our families being swept away. I wrapped up the evening by listening to the prediction for when the tsunami would hit our coast – waves traveling at the speed of a jetliner. I didn’t expect much when I woke up Friday morning, but I went down to JTH to check it – I was amazed. The ocean had a weird look to it – unsettled. I witnessed incredible surges where the tide essentially went from +2 to -2 within a couple minutes. Pictures included. While at the rail, I heard the harbor was getting trashed. Sure enough, a friend who lives on a sailboat in the harbor said he spent the whole day fending off pieces of dock, untethered boats, and debris. Of course the swell showed up and mixed in with the tsunami. I watched the pack sway back and forth across 70 yards of lineup; the term “shifting peaks” didn’t seem to capture the random nature of the intersection of tide and swell. I surfed Saturday at the Steps, thinking the surge had diminished. Nope. It was all I could do to stay lined up, but many times it didn’t matter as the peak shifted with the tide in a matter of minutes. I got a couple, but it was a lot of work. Also disconcerting was the water quality. A silt plume stretched all down the point, and various manner of debris was intermixed in the batch. I also paddled out Sunday, and while the ocean was a bit tamer, it still seemed as if it was a bit unsettled. It’s day by day now.

Last Word: As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests. -Gore Vidal, writer (1925- )

In The Water?

So I heard a three-star Army general in Afghanistan ordered his team to conduct “psychological operations” or “psych ops” on US senators to try to get them to push for more troop funding. Wow! just the sound of it. Almost like cyclops – a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. Anyway, it sounds interesting.  PYSOPS – Propaganda operations to convey selected information and indicators to an audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of groups or individuals. Heck, my wife pulls of PYSOPS on me all the time – my children are pros. But the possibilities! What about in the lineup? PSYOPS = more waves? I guess such a program would take some time to convey the proper propaganda, but once executed, just think of the rewards. You are in the lineup and all the boyz are out. Nice sets are coming through second bowl and you just say some trigger word, like – “the second wave is fuckin’ mine” and everyone sits tight while you paddle in. When the crew comes back to earth, you’re already making your second hit off the top. Now that I think of it, are there guys out in the line up that are already PYSOPSing us?

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It’s flat again – really flat. Nothing on the horizon. Flat. Picture proof. So, we won’t discuss what doesn’t exist. Instead, I want to revisit a subject first discussed years ago – voles. During a similar flat spell, we logged a lot of time at the rail, watching the “voles” track through their busy day. Of course like everything else, there was controversy.  Were we observing voles or rats? For my part, I posted several pictures of voles and noted that they looked cute, whereas rats are – well, rats. Nevertheless, whether they were rats or voles, they are no longer scurrying up and down the cliff – no entry or egress – small mammals thwarted by a 24-inch thick wall of concrete. But the voles at the Hook are not the only ones with environmental problems. I recently heard the voles of Scotland have it rough too. Their plight is linked to minks that have escaped Scottish mink ranches. Not native to Scotland, the minks have setup shop and are ranching the voles. And, where did the vermin minks come from? – USA. But Scotland has a plan; they are trapping and killing the mink escapees and trying to relieve the pressure. Voles have friends. Back in the USA – the question is “do workers in the US have friends?” The answer is pretty much unchanged. John Lennon spoke of it long ago – Working Class Hero – check it.

As soon as you’re born they make you feel small

By giving you no time instead of it all

Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school

They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool

Till you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules

A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty odd years

Then they expect you to pick a career

When you can’t really function you’re so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and T.V.

And you think you’re so clever and classless and free

But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see

A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

There’s room at the top they are telling you still

But first you must learn how to smile as you kill

If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me

If you want to be a hero well just follow me