@FukuyamaFrancis is wrong!

Who am I to take on Dr. Fukuyama? A bored American sailor.

I read a recent interview with Dr. Fukuyama  (whom I respect - I have read every one of his books.) He tells of his concerns for the globalization movement and the rise of the mini-Trumps (his description) in Europe. He describes popuarism and nationalism as damaging the globalization movement.

I think he has it wrong. (Whew.) The enemy of globalization is multiculturalism. Dr. Kissinger in "World Order" and Samuel Huntington in "Clash of Civilizations" suggest that it is religion and cultural identity that are the primary source of conflict in the modern world. Popularism and nationalism are not a reaction to global economic events. They are a reaction to being force fed by governments, the media, and "social justice warriors" the absurd idea that all cultures are equally valuable. Cultures that do not respect the rule of law; treat women as property; engage in female genital mutilation; "honor" killings; the pervasive surveillance state; genocide; slavery; rape; - yes we are told - these cultures are equally valuable and valued as liberal democracy. IMHO society reacts by voting out the idiots who proclaim these views. Unfortunately like for President Trump the alternative (Hillary) is frequently worse.

Dr. Fukuyama postulates that political power derives from two sources: genetic overlap and reciprocal altruism. Reciprocal altruism works when both players understand the rules. We call that law and culture. Are you going to embrace governance by people who go out on a gang rape party and then have the women murdered by their families for "dishonoring" them? I think not. Particularly if one of the women is your daughter.

Globalization will never succeed until universal human rights are the norm, not the exception. The rise of nationalism in Europe was a direct result of importing millions of "refugees" who.are seen as degenerates by much of the population, not a reaction to globalism.

The interview:

https://global.handelsblatt.com/politics/mini-trumps-are-coming-up-all-over-europe-869856

Fair winds and following seas :)

Re: Source for part

Let's try again.

Looking for a source of the metal version of this.

Roger J Jones s/v Reboot

On Dec 29, 2017 10:16 PM, "Reboot Agent" <rebootagent@gmail.com> wrote:

Looking for a source of the metal version of this.

Roger J Jones s/v Reboot

Source for part

Looking for a source of the metal version of this.

Roger J Jones s/v Reboot

Beyond Epic!

https://usaaflyover.com

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Roger J Jones s/v Reboot

Finally

My boxes arrived!

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Roger J Jones s/v Reboot

Floating

Reboot is back in the water after bottom paint and polish. She looks nice.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Bummer Day

I have been planning to sail to a Penang over Christmas. But I have been waiting for boat parts that were scheduled to be here two days ago. Customs is holding them up for some reason. And of course closing for Christmas. 

The good news is I cleaned the threads on the maxi-prop so I can put the New anode on.

Fair winds and following seas  ;)

Winter Solstice

In the Northern hemisphere so today is the shortest day. Near the equator so it doesn't matter. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Have bag, have cat

Fair winds and following seas  ;)

Shiny (2)

Bottom Paint

The sides are polished. The new transducer is installed. And the first coat of bottom paint is on. My girl is getting pretty again!

Fair winds and following seas  :)

On bullshit

Wonderful book on the theory of bullshit.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit

Fair winds and following seas :)

Two factor authentication stupidity

I programmed all my adult life. It never ceases to amaze me how the average programmer is ignorant. The current example: two factor authentication. I am going to send you a text message to your phone. What if your phone can't receive text messages? You know, like Skype, land lines, etc.? Duh.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Big Breakfast

I remember a thread about McDonald's prices. A "Big Breakfast" in Malaysia is $ 2.48 USD. Can't beat the price!

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Reboot is on the hard

Which I hate. Five days for bottom paint and back in

Fair winds and following seas :)

The two fly problem

For some reason Reboot always has two and only two flies buzzing around. Never three..kill one, another shows up. Weird

Fair winds and following seas  :)

XO and Rain

Of course it is the middle of the night. Ferral cat episodes 2 and 3. Trying to get back to sleep. XO outside on leash. Each time I locked him in with me he sat on the companionway steps and howled. I put him on his leash and let him curl up outside. Thunderstorm. He fouled his leash and is caught in the rain. I go get him getting soaked in the process. Leash is wet, I figure he will stay in cockpit. No, he goes out and sits in the rain. Now totally wet he comes back inside and wants to groom sitting on my chest. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Repel Borders

XO has a couple of voices. There is the I want attention meow. There is the I need food meow. There is the clean my box meow. And the always unpleasant I am about to puke noise.

I was sitting in the salon at 3:30 am this morning when I heard one I have not heard in years. Hissing, screaming, spitting. Running up into the cockpit I found XO hissing at one of the local ferral cats. I don't know if it had gotten up on Reboot but it sure beat feet in retreat. We (the marina) were then subjected to 5 minutes of "take that you ...; this is my boat noises.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

XO's Latest Trick

Since we are in a marina I rented an air conditioner. The primary reason was to keep XO cool when I left him shut up inside Reboot. He has now taken to sitting on the air conditioner. He is heavy enough that his weight resets the controls. Usually turning the unit off. Well, I tried.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Conundrum

Human knowledge is expanding, apparently at an increasing rate. That is, not only are we getting more knowledgeable, we are getting more knowledgeable faster. Underlying this growth is the unprecedented access to information brought about by the Internet.  The English language version of Wikipedia has over 5 million articles. It appears that every major scholarly journal is also online. Yes, there is chaff in the wheat. But my perception is the wheat greatly exceeds the chaff.

Why then is ignorance celebrated on Twitter, Facebook and the like? Being ignorant and spewing your "feelings" seems to be the definition of "expertise." How did this come to pass? Why is it tolerated? No, not tolerated - applauded? How did it become an acceptable substitute for fact based analysis in the "scientific" community? How did it become socially unacceptable to point out the facts? Worse, how did it become socially acceptable to engage in ad hominem attacks in the crudest possible language against those who point out the abject failure of emotional reasoning? (I think "emotional reasoning" has eclipsed "holy war" as the greatest English language oxymoron of all time.)

A simple and very "politically incorrect" example. (It doesn't matter - Big Brother - Google and Facebook et al have already filed me in their databases as in opposition to the "narrative.") Take the statement "gender roles are culturally assigned." Five million years of the history of homo sapiens doesn't support this view. Intense studies of our closest genetic cousins - chimpanzees - doesn't support this view. And yes, chimpanzees have elaborate social organizations. The roles of male and female chimpanzees are consistent across all bands. The genetic mandate for men and women is different and in fact in opposition. None of this is new news. None of these facts take more than a couple of hours of research to validate. If I were to suggest this on Twitter I would be inviting a shitstorm from the ignorant. (I guess I just did as this blog entry will eventually end up on Twitter. Fortunately I have few followers and they rarely retweet.)

One of my mother's favorite expressions was "if wishes were horses beggars would ride." Who are these "experts" who share the drivel that gender is a "social construct?" Who are the blind that agree with them? (My apologies to those with less than perfect sight.) As a child I went to a Disney production in Madison Square Garden. Tinkerbell dies. Someone, probably Mickey tells the audience that if they clap real hard Tinkerbell will come back to life. And they clap their little hearts out. I named this the "Tinkerbell effect." If I want it badly enough it must be true. Like gender is a social construct.

(Disclaimers follow - feel free to take a pass)

Nothing that I have said supports inequality of the two genetic genders. Nothing prevents workplace equality, choise of sexual partners, modes of dress, ad nausium. Social acceptance of individual rights that do not infringe on the individual rights of others is a laudatory goal. Building the argument for such social acceptance on delusional wishful thinking is a best counterproductive.

Fair winds and following seas :)

P.S. With all this knowledge why do we still not have a clue about gravity? :)

What happened?

Twenty-five year ago I tried to encrypt my email. It didn't work. My recipients laughed and ignored my emails. Twenty-five years ago I cautioned my sons "be careful what you post on the Internet, it is forever long after the initial context is gone. They laughted. 

A couple of days ago I posted a relatively passive commentary about the tax bill. I received a response that I thought was lucid and insightful. I asked the respondent if I could post their response without attribution. The answer was no. What was shocking was the why. 

Paraphrasing "I am unwilling to expose myself to the hateful attacks of the left to include physical danger to myself and my family." What saddened me was that I could not disagree.

Paranoia? I thought about this and the results were frightening. It was already all over. Google had read the text of his email - as they do to every email to a gmail account. Somewhere without any privacy regulation his political views were available to Google's AI. And Googles' employees. We could chat on the phone. I am in a foreign country. Do i teally believe that NSA would not sweep up the call? Do I need to start every telephone call to the States with "I am a U.S. Citizen and monitoring this call is illegal?"

This is America. I need not be concerned. Only if I am an idiot. Daily I read of corruption at the FBI, DOJ, IRS, State, and the office of the special counsel. I read ludicrous statements by politicians that illuminate their ignorance and partisan bias. I feel like a spectator in the colosseum in ancient Rome. Kill, kill, kill! The unbridled hate on Twitter is overwhelming. Kill me because I am white. Kill me because I am a man. A conservative. Not confused about my gender. Because I believe in evil people in the world.

How did we get here?

Wedding View (With picture!)

Newlywed couples stand in line to have their pictures taken with this background. I joked that we should put up a velvet rope and charge admission. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

A forest

Last night 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Tax Bill

Some random thoughts:

1. There was an opportunity to greatly simplify the tax system. Based purely on the length of the bill that didn't happen.

2. Historically business reacts to tax cuts in three steps:

(1) Executives feather their own nests.

(2) Money goes into dividends (raising the value of your 401(k)) and stock buybacks (raising the value of your equity investments and stock index funds.)

(3) Money finally gets to the workers as the economy heats up (3.9% 3rd quarter growth.)

3. 2027 is an interesting year. By then we will have had 5 new Congresses, potentially 2 new Presidents (President Trump gets 2 more, next President gets 4, next President gets 4, Next President gets 4 or 8,) and very possibly 3+ new Supreme Court Judges. So from the government side a lot of change (even seesawing) is possible.

4. Also in 2027 half of the first year baby boomers (born in 1946) will be dead. (That is my birth year so I am hoping I am not one of them.) For the next 20 years (until 2047) each year will see half of that age cohort already dead. And of course the previous cohorts will continue to die off. Since boomers are the largest consumers of government health care and pensions the outlays should start to drop. (Actuaries could give us a chart, I am just mussing.) Since pensions and health care are consuming more than 50% of the total Federal budget this is a big deal.

5. Interest on the Federal debt will become a big problem even if this tax cut fails to pass. The economy has been growing above the 3% rate. That means interest rates are going up no matter what. And the interest on the debt (not to mention paying back the principal) is a big number.

6. The Defense Budget will go up (or other Government "entities" will be created and funded.) Cyberwarfare is real. And as we are seeing every day it costs money to secure the Internet. (The original Internet was designed by academic geeks with no concern for security. The whole thing is built on mud.) It is going to take big bucks to police it and even bigger bucks to fix it.

7. There will be a continuing clash of the four major civilizations: Russia, China, radical Islam, and Euro-American. See Henry the K "World Order" for background. How this plays out with respect to expenditures is anyone's guess.

8. There will be major advances in "simple AI" and workplace automation e.g. ordering kiosks at Micky "D's." This will result in many more "unemployables."

In summary I have no real idea what the impact of this tax bill will be. Nor does anyone else.

I just depressed myself. Time for a beer and watching the sunset.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Sayonara

I just finished reading "Sayonara" by James Mitchner. I have read quite a few of his books but this was the first I have read in years.

The story is a romance set during the Korean War. The theme is similar to the Puchini Opera "Madam Butterfly" which is referenced several times in the text.

Plunk plunk plunk na be ba  bump  (as the sun rises.)

This link will take you to the history. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madama_Butterfly

Beautifully written and tender. I learned about the "Takarazuka Girls", an entertainment that survives today. The word pictures of the theater performances had me closing my eyes and visualizing. A most enjoyable read. 

Fair winds and following seas  :) 

Mohammad 's Birthday

Today is December 1. This is the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. Since my  knowledge of Islam is very scant I don't know the proper way to acknowledge this fact. I did not, however, want it to pass unacknowledged. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Rinse, No Wash

It has been raining for the past couple of days. Reboot is getting a great rinse. Unfortunately it needs a wash first.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Return of the deluge

I was thinking about returning to Reboot after I finished my beer. No such luck. The deluge has returned. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

The rise of the useless class

No, not politicians...

https://ideas.ted.com/the-rise-of-the-useless-class/

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Afternoon deluge

The weather pattern has been morning sun and afternoon deluge. With the cyclone off Indonesia we now have higher winds in the mix. A good time to be in a marina.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Interesting point of view. Trump Brings Foreign Policy Back to Earth- The Wall Street Journal.

Trump Brings Foreign Policy Back to Earth https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-brings-foreign-policy-back-to-earth-1511825878

"Mightism"

Def: The selection of the one possible outcome, however improbable, that advances one's political agenda.

Syn: "Couldism"

Example: Passage of tax reform MIGHT (could) end the universe. Women and children hardest hit.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Slow

My 4G 300 baud internet connection is slow this morning 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

3 AM Mystery

Every morning at about 3 AM XO wakes me up and wants to go outside. He takes a turn around the deck, makes cat noises, returns to bed. This morning the wind was up so I stepped of Reboot to adjust the dock lines. Into the local ferral cat morning coffee klatch and gossip. Mystery solved.

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Constitutional Republic (Like the USA)

Great article with some interesting twists:

http://www.constitution.org/soclcont.htm

Thunder

The marina provided shore power cable shorted out. The electrician who came to fix it is s ham radio operator. We got to fixing and talking. He told me that Reboot means "thunder" in Malay. Appropriate as we are experiencing a big thunderstorm. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)

Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving  (which here was yesterday) let me share some of my faith with you. Not the Judeo-Christian kind, but faith in my fellow Americans. Whatever you think of the slogan #MAGA are there any of us who don't want to make American great for our children and the next generation? Don't we all aspire to do deeds that will give them a better life?

We live in a time as Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter noted of "creative destruction" a.k.a. the "gale." Although his work in the 1950's addressed economics the underlying concept is that one needs to tear down existing institutions in order to build new and better ones. We live in a time where a UW / Dallas Cowboy football player raises $38 million in disaster relief on a go-fund-me page and the old media rather lauds another NFL player who disrespects our flag in a juvenle cry out for attention. When every day there are new revelations of malfeasance and sexual harassment by those in power. When a form of governance that has killed 100 million people and is killing more every day in Venezuela is promoted on college campuses and by a former candidate for President of the United States.  When the objective of the media seems to be to create hysteria in order to get "clicks." Yes, there is a lot of #fakenews. Some is psyops by foreign nations, some is lies to support the "narrative", and some is mentally ill people craving attention. We now are required to think, to analyze, to sort through the muck to get to the gold. You know, the facts.

Don't you want to #draintheswamp? Don't you want all those in government, industry, and the media who have used their position and influence in a self serving way to be exposed and castigated? Isn't that the dream of "of the People, by the People, and for the People?" To prevent the back room deals, the power of K Street, the principle of party over Country?

I am thankful to be an American. And I am thankful that for most of the last 20 years we have had a free and unregulated Internet. I absolutely believe that the desire for Internet regulation is the first step in Government control of the Internet. And that the purpose of that regulation is so the "swamp" can regain control of  the "optics" and the "narrative." The idea that "We the People" could have access to the truth scares them to death.

The world is a mess. The country is a mess. But for the first time since the New England village square the People can bypass the establishment to get to the truth.* To me this is the silver lining. Or perhaps a better metaphor the bedrock foundation of a better world.

Today I called my sons to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. They have a tradition of cooking their turkey together. But not this year. My younger son was invited by his girlfriend's parents to join them for Thanksgiving. When they found out about the Jones tradition they added a few seats to the table and invited the rest of the Joneses. There are loving, giving people in America and the world. I have faith that they will work us out of the mess we are in. Quietly, individually, with no fanfare or tweets. They are every day making the world a better place.

Happy Thanksgiving and

Fair winds and following seas :)

* The last time we cut out the middle man was the Protestant Reformation. Nope, didn't need a Priest - you could talk direct to God. IMHO that worked out pretty well.

Pangkor Internet

For some reason the Internet in Pangkor has been very slow the past few days. This is particularly frustrating as I have been trying to get an order together from Defender. It seems to be a wide area problem. 

Fair winds and following seas :)

Marine Directory Asia - A useful resource

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Anthony Gates (MDA)" <anthony@mda-media.com>
Date: Oct 21, 2017 3:54 PM
Subject: Marine Directory Asia
To: <rebootagent@gmail.com>
Cc:

Dear Roger,

 

My wife and myself sailed to Asia aboard our yacht in 2004 and we are still here.

 

Recently we developed an online Marine Directory for Asia.

 

Our aim is to assist Cruising Yachties like yourself find the Marine Business you need; in your location.

 

Feel free to check it out at:

www.mda-media.com

 

Currently we have +770 Marine Business Listing in Asia searchable by:

+60 Marine Categories

+20 Cruising Regions.

 

If you can recommend a marine business we have missed please let us know.

 

Also please feel free to spread the word about Marine Directory Asia to other cruising yachties.

 

Attached is our flyer.

 

Wishing you fair winds and safe passage.

 

Kind Regards,

Anthony Gates

Marine Directory Asia (MDA)

 

M : +66 (0)81 893 9985

E : anthony@mda-media.com

W : www.mda-media.com

Mailing Address : 124/598 Moo.5,

T. Rassada, A. Muang, Phuket 83000

Thailand

 

 

Outside

XO is on the  ompanionway steps meowing. Wants to check outside. Wakes.me up. He goes out, comes back in, lays down. Awake I make coffee. Then notice it is 2 am

Fair winds and following seas :)

Rain water

This tastes so much better than my bowl.

Fair winds and following seas:)

Masts

Been a long time since this has been my view. Malaysia has marinas!

Fair winds and following seas:)

Schrödinger's Cat

XO needs a rabies shot. A recommended clinic was Schrödinger's Cat.

Pangkor

After a trip that included a severe thunderstorm I am here on Marina Island in Pangkor. At the moment I am anchored out but expect to move into a slip tomorrow. I expect to stay here about a month and give Reboot an in depth review and overhaul. At the end of the month I will do a haul-out and paint the bottom. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Wind instrument revisited

Things have calmed down quite a bit so I went up on the foredeck. Amazing. The Garmin wind instrument is still there. Now to find out why it is not transmitting. In port. One of "Roger's Rules" is to avoid fixing things underway. One might make things worse. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Wind instrument

Last night saw strong winds and thunderstorms. Apparently at some point my Garmin wind instrument decided to depart Reboot. Very frustrating but not quite as bad as when the radar dome decided to fall from the mast to the deck. 

Sailing is always an adventure.  

Fair winds and following seas:)

Prices

I have been here in Port Dickson for about a week. I just paid my marina bill. Including my laundry it was less than 2 nights in a U.S. marina. Quality!

Fair winds and following seas 😁

Departure

Planning on a 2 pm local departure from Port Dickson. Destination Pangkor Marina, Marina Island, Pangkor. About 155 nautical miles. With currents about two full days. 1 POB + 1 Cat. 

Fair winds and following seas:)

Why you never say goodbye.

I am in Port Dickson, Malaysia. I have had a fun week: met some fellow cruisers, enjoyed the music and company of the current band at the Sailor's Bar; and got some work done on Reboot. My plan was to head off this morning to Pangkor, a plan I had shared with a number of people. The trip is pretty short but with adverse winds and currents will take two days. (I learned to just anchor when the adverse current exceeds 1 knot, otherwise I burn a lot of fuel and don't make much progress.) During my final workup I checked the weather and discovered that severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for tomorrow. Thus I will wait until Monday to depart. I am just waiting for the "I thought you left" comments." 

Fair winds and following seas:)

The front of all wisdom

I lovingly call my brother "the font of all wisdom." Here is his trivia comment for the day:

The Germans call today, 9 November, the "Schicksaltag" - the "Day of Fate."  Not only did the Berlin Wall come down (1989), but also Kaiser Bill abdicated (1918), Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch took place (1923) and, most notoriously, the Nazis conducted their Kristallnacht pogrom (1938).  I wondered in 1989 if the East Germans let the Wall open on the same day as the Kristallnacht to drown that memory, but in fact it's pure coincidence - a result of an unforced error by the DDR's press spokesman.  The Germans considered using November 9 as their reunification date, but opted not to do so - so that the event would not overshadow the memory of the pogrom.

In "To the Sun for Freedom," Peter Siefert goes through the Wall at the Bormholmer Strasse crossing at about 10:30 PM.

BTW "To the Sun for Freedom" is one of Al's (unpublished) books.   

Fair winds and following seas :)

Weekend getaway

Admiral Marina. Spent time in the pool to wash off the transit dirt. Nice Place.

f

Fair winds and following seas :)

That look of contentment

Some days are like That.

Fair winds and following seas:)

Cold in Johor, Malaysia

The time here in Puteri Harbor Marina has been a mixed bag. On the one hand it has been nice to be able to wash Reboot, head into Singapore for parts, and be able to go out on the evening without having to dinghy back in the.dark.

On the other hand it has been debilitatingly hot making it difficult to get things done. 

Why is it that almost all of the restaurants serve their hot food cold? Yesterday I discovered a great breakfast buffet at the Hotel Jen. Went back this morning. Everything was cold: eggs, sausage, potatoes. It was inedible. Why?  

Fair winds and following seas :)

Relearning Cruising

The gang has gone on in the Malaysia Rally. I am here for a couple of reasons. First, I am tired. After 6 months of continuous cruising from Sydney, Australia I needed a longer break. And because I wanted to spend some time in Singapore and needed some boat parts. So now I am alone. 

It dawned on me how much of a crutch Steve (Chandara) has been. Since we met up in Cairns I have stopped doing much of the research I would normally do. Steve would say "here are the waypoints to the next destination." I would add them in and off we would go. He also maintained the schedule - "we need to leave on Tuesday." "OK." And we would leave on Tuesday. 

Of course as I have noted before he was the person who, after my dinghy died, ferried me around for about three months. 

So as I sit in Starbucks actually reading and downloading again I need to publish a big THANK YOU to Steve.

Fair winds and following seas :)

--

CAPT Roger J. Jones USN (ret.)

Sailboat Reboot (MMSI 366 958 630)

411 Walnut Street #9700, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-3443

Reboot's Agent's Email: and phone Rebootagent@gmail.com (201) 925-2581

Reboot Email (in port only) rogerjohnjones@gmail.com

Reboot Phone:

+1 (414) 326-9562 (US - Forwards to wherever I am)

+60 017-7462716 (Malaysia)

+65 91635427 {Singapore)

Satellite Phone  (870) 776-4111-46

Web Site: www.sailboatreboot.com

Blogging: blog.sailboatreboot.com

Reboot position http://www.winlink.org/dotnet/maps/PositionReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=W2ZDB

Ham Radio: W2ZDB via Maritime Mobile Service Net 14.300 Mhz

Ham Radio Email: W2ZDB@winlink.org

 This email is sent from an infrequently monitored mailbox.  It may take several days or weeks before REBOOT and I are in port where I can receive it.  Should you have an immediate need please contact me via Reboot's agent.

They know where you are!

When I joined the "Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia" I thought it would be fun to keep track of the other participants.  I upgraded my Marine Traffic account and added all the boats. It turned out to be a bust as there are almost no Internet linked AIS receivers in Indonesia. But wait, there's more.

Near the end of the three month rally I was sitting with the Government representative. I casually said: "I wonder where boat 'x' is?" He opened his phone, scrolled down, and told me. He knew, and known, where every boat in the rally was every day. Don't ever think that you are incognito. 

Garmin GLO

Bought a Garmin GLO as I needed a Bluetooth GPS. My major reason for picking Garmin over cheaper alternatives was my excellent experiences with them. Delivered to Florida.  Shipped to Malaysia. Doesn't work. Finally do a web search. GLO is not compatible with Windows 10. What? 

Not happy.   

Fair winds and following seas:)

The ugly temporary fix

My Catalina has three water tanks. They are selected on a manifold. Over time the manifold valves rusted. I go replacement valves and set about installing them. Unfortunately they are bigger. They don't fit in the space for the old valves. Since I don't have easy access to parts here is the ugly temporary fix.  

Fair winds and following seas:)

"CRUISERS HELPING CRUISERS"

Sitting on a dock or being in an anchorage the answer is pretty simple. Volunteer to help the boats around you. But what can you do if you are a dirt bound wannabe? (No offense intended, we were all there once and most of us will end up there again.) If you have spare time and ambition the answer is to be an information source. Adopt a cruiser or two

I was very fortunate that when I started full time cruising 10 years ago I made friends with 3 extraordinary people via the Maritime Mobile Service Net (http://mmsn.org) They have followed me and supported me for ten years and still do (with the exception of one we lost to cancer.) With a special mention of Bill Sturridge. What do they do?

1. Receive my sailing plan and make sure I get to my destination. 

2. Coordinate with International rescue authorities when necessary - like when I lost my lowers 1200 nautical miles from land in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, we saved Reboot.

3. Send me "heads up" information on weather and destinations.

4. Contact and coordinate with vendors to help me acquire parts (Nuku Hiva is not a hotbed of spare parts sources.)

5. Research destinations, find the best deals on necessary parts, offer advice on repair options.

6,  Be good company on long transits  (I am a solo sailor. )

7. Just be there for me.

True story: about half way soloing the Atlantic I told Bill about the great conversation I had in the cockpit the previous night. He quietly said "you do realize you are alone?"

So adopt a boat or two!

Fair winds and following seas:)

Over the freaking top!

I grew up in the New York City area and lived on Manhattan Island for the better part of a decade. I have been to London, Paris, Vegas. Nothing prepared me for the Casino Bay Sands in Singapore.  To call it "Over the top" is (I know this is hard to believe) a gross understatement. Floor after floor of every high end shop you have ever heard of - and at least twice as many that you haven't. This must be the same kind of shock one gets when visiting Abu Dhabi in the UAE. I am blown away and I haven't even made it out of the hotel complex! 

Having a bite to eat and off to the Art & Science Museum. It comes highly recommended. 

Fair winds and following seas  :)  

http://www.sandscasino.com/singapore/casino-marina-bay-sands.html

Free at last

After several of having to depend on others for transportation my new dinghy arrived.  Yea!

Fair winds and following  seas :)

Ashamed or Proud

So my Facebook account was locked for suspicious activity. Right after I replied to a post by my Congressman. I didn't agree with his point of view. My account was locked and my post deleted. It contained no ad hominem attacks, no foul language etc. It was a referral to principles of Economics 101. The thought police in action.

Am I ashamed or proud? I am ashamed that I am proud to be another American victim by opposing King Mark's propaganda machine.

Culture Shock

Yesterday morning was my last day after 3 months in Indonesia. This morning I officially checked into Malaysia, a process that took 15 minutes vs all day in Debut, Indonesia. It is about 5 miles from the Indonesian border to Purteri Harbor. It feels like a trip from the Moon to Earth.

A first step in any new country is to get a sim card for internet access. I traveled to AEON Shopping Center, Jalan, Indah. I felt like I was back in the USA. Clothing, computers, household goods, restaurants with global menus (but no pork.) Malaysia is a primarily Muslim country and there are head scarfs in evidence. But most peoples' clothing would fit in any U.S. or European (or Australian or New Zealand) shopping mall. There is certainly an Asian bias in products with Japan being a major source. But the product lines are international.

I was reminded of Dr. Francis Fukuyama's comment on the study of adjoining countries with different economic outcomes. It appears that Indonesia and Malaysia would be a good research set.

Tomorrow off to Singapore. That too should be interesting.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Singapore Strait

Just a few boats

Puteri Harbor

In Puteri Harbor Marina in Malaysia. It is a very modern marina, hotel, and mall complex. Just across the river is Singapore. We are upriver from Raffles Marina but on the Malaysian side. Will be here for about a week. Reboot is on a dock. How strange after all these months. New time zone. Decent restaurants. Women's knees. Wow. Tomorrow will sort out Internet and do a currency exchange. Currently using free WiFi in a bar. Crashed after arrival and dinner. Now 1 AM and wide awake.

Crazy day passing through the Singapore Strait. Just a little boat traffic. Plus "me and my shadow." Singapore patrol boats everywhere to make sure you don't cross the line. And at the turn into the Johor Strait one has to navigate through an anchorage. Pretty tiring. Of course the marina does nor show up on my "new" chart. But glad to be here.

Hope a beer will put me back to sleep.

Fair winds and following seas :)

In Malaysia

In Puteri Harbor Marina. Beautiful place. Last time Reboot was at a dock was 14 February 2016!

Across the transit zone

Made it across the Singapore Strait transit zone. Fun! NOT!!! Continuing to Malaysia.

Anchored

Hook down for the night East end Singapore Strait.

Dragging anchor

Look at the status and the speed!

Underway

To Malaysia. One overnight stop. 1 pob + 1 cat

Indonesian Coast Guard

Just got back from a visit to an Indonesian Coast Guard patrol boat. Very beautiful. Immaculate. Great fun with lots of selfies with crew. Biggest difference - the decks are all carpeted so everyone is barefoot.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Local Help

This morning we were on shore when a strong thunderstorm came through the anchorage. We were concerned about our boats dragging. The very heavy rain obscured our vision and the rough surf suggested it was not a good time to hop into the dinghy to check.

After several hours the skies finally cleared. We headed out to check on the boats. One was missing having dragged. Where was she? Nuzzled up against and tied to one of the large fishing boats. Apparently some of the locals had rescued her and secured her until the owners could come.

These kinds of selfless acts help restore faith in the kindness of people.

Fair winds and following seas :)

TJ

Made it to TJ. Right near the equator. Getting daily heavy rain. Annoying.

Fair winds and following seas :)

At anchor Tanjung-Pinang

All safe. Horrible harbor. Shallow approach. Waked by a fast ferry. Harbor full of floating garbage. Lots of boat traffic. Not reassuring.

This is the place we are scheduled to check out of Indonesia. I think they could have picked a better place.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Crossing the line!

At
060810ZOCT2017
Reboot at

00 00.000 N/S
105 00.000 e

Appropriate activities and honors made to King Neptune and God Poseidon. (Not my first, already a shellback.)

Its fall!

Fair winds and following seas :)

Light Air Sailing

06000ZOCT2017
00 25.772 S
105 19.118 E

Most sailors prefer the westbound route around the world. Dubbed the "coconut route" it has much to offer. The prevailing winds are from the Southeast as are the waves. This gives a rocking chair ride. It also requires little in the way of constant sail trim. The downside is that since you are running away from the wind it takes a stronger wind to achieve the same boat speed.

This is what I expected on my current trip. But I am very near the equator (about 25 miles) so well north of the easterly trades. What I am instead experiencing is light northeast winds. The good news is that I am going upwind. Reboot 's speed generates apparent wind so the wind seems stronger than it actually is. The downside is I have to constantly trim to keep Reboot in the "slot." So far I have been able to maintain an average speed of 3.8 knots in about 6 knots of wind. That is great. About 100 nautical miles to go including "crossing the line." As a "Shellback" not quite the same but a memorable experience none the less.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Underway to T-J

050029ZOCT2017
S 01 41.651
E 106 06.878

With virtually zero wind i am motoring at 1800 rpm. This is a problem as Reboot can not motor 202 nautical miles on the available fuel. On the other hand this trip will take 48 to 72 hours. The odds are the wind conditions will change during that time.

The beginning of any trip is frustrating. One knows how long at various speeds (3 knots, 4 knots, 5 knots) the trip will take. And about how many hours one can motor (for Reboot with my current deck fuel about 150 nautical miles.) But experience proves this can all change. So one is conservative. To use fuel at the beginning of a trip is troubling since there is no way to resupply.

Geography has a major impact. The winds and waves near land are influenced by the land. This can be beneficial. Or, as frequently happens after hours of light wind the wind rises near the anchorage as you are trying to get the anchor down. In order to get away from the island I am motoring until I get enough wind to sail. Hopefully soon.

Fair winds and following seas:)

Tanjung Pinang

Departing. 1 POB + 1 Cat. 202 nautical miles. ETA 2 to 3 days depending on wind.

Banka-Pari

At anchor. All safe. Miserable trip. Light winds. Heavy rain. Limited visibility. Many fish aggregation devices as hazards. almost invisible on radar. Hazards invisible on radar during rainstorms. Arrived in rain. Anchored. Reboot rolling 20 to 30 degrees as is everyone else.

Departed with wet laundry. Expected to be able to dry in transit. That didn't work out. Entire interior and exterior sopping wet. More rain expected as we are almost on the equator.

Fair winds and following seas. :)

Underway to Bangi Pari

ETA 24 to 36 hours. 1 POB + 1 Cat

Belitung, Indonesia

At anchor. Long trip. Averaged 3.7 knots vs normal 5 knots. Beautiful harbor. All OK.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Local knowledge

I am closing in on Beltuing, Indonesia after a frustrating multi-day transit. Reboot does not have the"legs" to motor 500 nautical miles so I sail what I get. Which has been a lot of 2.5 to 3.0 knot speeds. That adds extra days to the trip.

On this approach to the island one has to navigate through some off shore reefs. Now we know the charts are not good so I picked a wide route and plotted it. As I approached I noticed a tug in front of me on the AIS. He was heading in the same general direction but picked another route. So now I am following his breadcrumbs.

Fair winds and following seas :)

And God said...

"Let there be light."

Dawn is always a special time.

Fair winds and following seas :)

In transit

At

05 42 E
112 39 S

Starting the next long transit of the Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia rally. Technically we should have left Bali for Borneo but Chandara and I decided to skip Borneo and head direct for Beltuing. This reduced the number of long transits by one. It is also giving us an opportunity to get back on schedule. We only get 90 days in Indonesia and we have been repeatedly advised not to overstay. We are already behind so we need to catch up. Not to mention that getting away from the volcano Agung was a good strategy!

There have been two long transits already. From Thursday Island in Australia to Debut, Indonesia. And from South Buru to Maumere. This is the third - from Bali to Beltuing. Technically over 540 nautical miles. Chandara and Reboot stopped after about 200 nm in Bawean for crew rest. XO and I needed it. I slept 18 hours. We ran into Jaga II and Althea who are a day ahead of us.

Unfortunately we will arrive in Beltuing when we are supposed to be leaving. But the next few hops are shorter so we can make up some time. The organizers didn't plan the transit times well.

We have about 340 nautical miles to go. Give or take three days and nights. And no, even the nights are NOT better. The water all the way is shallow - usually about 200 feet. This means the bane of all Indonesian sailors: fishermen and fish aggregation devices (FOD's.) They are super nice people but it requires a good lookout to stay out of their way. It adds a lot of stress.

So off we go. Not much to do. No Internet. Reboot pretty much sails itself. This is of course good and bad. The bad is if I fall asleep we just keep going no matter what. I will read and play cards and nap all I can.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Beltuing

Underway to Beltuing, Indonesia. ETA 3 days. 1 POB + 1 Cat.

Fair winds and following seas :)

More on the Indonesian volcano. We are now 300 nautical miles west of it. We met many nice people in our visit to the area. We hope the are all safe.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41395831

Fair winds and following seas :)

Bawran, Indonesia

At anchor. Pretty bay. All OK.

Underway

Underway to Beltung. 548 nm. 5 to 6 days or more dependent upon wind. 1 POB + 1 Cat

Fair winds and following seas :)

Here is a new twist on my cruising experience... Bali volcano: Thousands evacuated, travel advisory issued as Mt Agung threatens to erupt - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-22/mt-agung-bali-volcanoo-hundreds-evacuated-amid-eruption-fears/8976224

Fair winds and following seas :)

Irony

In Indonesian"Hati" means "heart." " Hati-Hati" means "caution" or "danger." In English "Hottie" means .... at least in my experience ...

Fair winds and following seas :)

Lovina, N Bali, Indonesia

At anchor. All safe. Big festival until the 19th. Should be fun!

Fair winds and following seas :)

Departure

Heading for N. Bali, Lovina, Indonesia. 1 POB + 1 Cat. 46 nm, Eta late afternoon.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Need a survey

Better picture of the multi-function display. See we are not on shore!

Fair winds and following seas :)

Arrival

In Amed. All safe. Fast trip.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Amed

Underway from North Lkmbok to Amed, Bali, Indonesia. 1 POB + Q Cat. ETA late afternoon.

Medana Bay Marina

Lombok, Indonesia. Sunset.

Fair winds and following seas :)

North Lombok

Last part of trip 25/knots on the bow. Not fun. At anchor. All safe.

Fair winds and following seas :)

North Lombok, Indonesia

Underway to North Lombok. 1 POB + 1 cat. 41 NM. ETA late afternoon.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Leapfrogging

I first logged onto what is now the Internet with a 300 baud modem and a green CRT monitor. There was no World Wide Web, no graphics, certainly no "social media" (and its unrelenting commitment to invade your privacy for its economic gain.)

I am now cruising in the land of 2G. Web pages take 30 seconds to load. Forget video. It is quite the reminder of how far we have come in speed and usability.

Why leapfrogging? As the net got faster the content got more complex. This drove the need for an even faster net. Which facilitated even more complex content.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Gili Lawang

At anchor. All safe. Lots of Wonderful Sail to Indonesia company.

08 17.72 S
116 41.44 E

Quiet. Almost no wind. Hot. Several fishing boats in Selat Sungain.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Underway

To Gili Lawang, Lombok, Indonesia. 1 Pob + 1 cat. ETA ate afternoon today.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Medang Island, Indonesia

At anchor. Rocking and Rolling. After a day of light winds got 20 knots and 4 foot seas on approach. Still blowing. Hope ot will calm down after sunset.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Underway to Medang Island

ETA tonight. 1 POB + XO the Wonder Cat.

With Chandara, Gambol, Kinabalu, Vague A Bond, Indigo II, Sedna.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Kilo

At anchor in Kilo. All safe.

Voyage

Departing Wera Bay for Kilo 1 POB. ETA late afternoon.

--

CAPT Roger J. Jones USN (ret.)

Sailboat Reboot (MMSI 366 958 630)

411 Walnut Street #9700, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-3443

Reboot's Agent's Email: and phone Rebootagent@gmail.com (201) 925-2581

Reboot Email (in port only) rogerjohnjones@gmail.com

Reboot Phone: +61 (0) 476 468 335

                       +1 (414) 326-9562

Satellite Phone  (870) 776-4111-46

Web Site: www.sailboatreboot.com

Blogging: blog.sailboatreboot.com

Reboot position http://www.winlink.org/dotnet/maps/PositionReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=W2ZDB

Ham Radio: W2ZDB via Maritime Mobile Service Net 14.300 Mhz

Ham Radio Email: W2ZDB@winlink.org

 This email is sent from an infrequently monitored mailbox.  It may take several days or weeks before REBOOT and I are in port where I can receive it.  Should you have an immediate need please contact me via Reboot's agent.

Weir Bay

At anchor in Weir Bay, Indonesia. All safe.

Saw pictures of the hurricane hole in Tortilla, BVI. Lots of charter boats wrecked. My thoughts go out to all who have been hurt and wishing luck to those in the path.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Dinghy Woes

My dinghy just collapsed. All three tubes are not holding air. I guess it had a good run.

So, another $4,000 to $5,000 unplanned expense. Complicated by the fact that it is near impossible to buy a new one in Indonesia. Not to mention the 70% tariff. The good news is that I am still on the Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia Rally so I can grab rides.

Fair winds and following seas :) My thoughts are with those in the path of the hurricane.

Underway

Weir Bay. XO & I. ETA tonight late.

Daddy

Are we there yet daddy?

Fair winds and following seas :)

Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia

At anchor. Most of the gang is here!

S 08 30.927
E 119 52.141

Fair winds and following seas :)

Chuck E. Cheese

Tell me it isn't so!

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/23/545333203/say-goodbye-to-the-pizza-time-players-chuck-e-cheese-retires-its-band?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170824

The Catskills

When I was a Boy Scout our camp was in the Catskills (Northwest of New York City.) This article was a "blast from the past."

http://dcist.com/2017/08/abandoned_postcards_poconos_catskills_animations.php

Underway

Destination Ruing, Flores, Indonesia
One POB
ETA late afternoon today

Ciendeh Bay, Indonesia

In Ciendeh Bay, Indonesia. Nice overnight stop from Rock and Maurole. With Althea, Chandara and Gambol. Gambol is in need of ATF for transmission. Intend Ruing tomorrow.

Took trip to town in search of ATF. Last bit of harbor is a mud flat with all sorts of obstructions. Fortunately it was high tide - the only time one can make it to shore. After a futile search for ATF returned to boats. Even small tidal change resulted in tide rips across the mud flats.

The town was small with a couple of shops. We visited both car (motor scooter) shops with no luck. We tried to buy a dozen eggs for Daisy U. Johnson but were only able to find six. The town has mostly dirt roads. Quite a bit of new construction was in evidence. The most remarkable thing was that every structure was fenced. The people were friendly without being aggressive.

Summary: Good overnight stop, not much point in going ashore.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Too Close?

Don't worry that I dropped my anchor right next to you, We all know that all boats in an anchorage swing the same way. NOT!

Fair winds and following seas ;)

Deep cleaning

This young man came out and helped clean the interior of Reboot. He also made a friend.
Fair winds and following seas :)

Winch Repair / Lubrication

Taking it apart. Replacing the broken ring. Then back together.

Lava

Indonesia was formed by volcanoes. We (Steve, Daisy and I) visited the famous three lakes - volcanic cones filled with water. I joked "if it starts boiling we had better run. Imagine my surprise when Steve called me on the radio to go look at the lava flow coming down the mountain into our anchorage area! I tried to rake a picture but night from a pitching deck gave me a big smear. And yes, thank you for asking, I do feel safe.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Dawn

The Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia Rally. Maumere, Flores, Indonesia.

Fair winds and following seas :)

My boat guy Jimmy

And son.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Windows 10 decrapification

A great article:

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/uninstall-restore-windows-10-builtin-apps

Fair winds and following seas :)

Vendor induced chaos

My frustration grows. In the beginning I had control of my stuff.
Granted the screens were green, there were no graphics, and a fast
modem (Hayes SmartModem) operated at 1200 baud. But I least I knew
where my stuff was. And vendors weren't downloading useless crap in
the background. And monitoring my every move. And installing useless
apps that both monitored my every move and downloaded even more
useless crap. Of course they also make it impossible to delete their
useless crap without a PhD in Computer Science. Not to mention
uploading my stuff without my permission to who knows where. (Only a
fool thinks the "cloud" is safe.)

Now that is bad enough. But it is not the focus of today's rant. (It
did get some airtime however.) I rant today about vendor induced
chaos. By this I mean the system where each vendor links their
equipment to only their apps. I take a picture on my Amazon Fire. Can
I upload it to my Google Drive. No. I have to upload it to the Amazon
Drive (which I neither need nor want.) I download a free book to read
on my Kindle. Does it get added to the library of all the books I have
downloaded from Amazon. Of course not. It gets buried so only with the
help of a third party application can I find it and read it. The list
goes on and on.

Of particular aggravation is the theory that I have unlimited access
to a reasonably quick internet at little or no cost. Not! Rural
Indonesia is not brimming with high speed free WiFi access.
Particularly a couple of hundred miles offshore. Joy of Joys when my
entire Kindle library of books that I have purchased and paid for is
rendered is rendered unreadable since the digital rights management
has expired and needs the internet to be reset. But that is another
story.

I would share some pictures of beautiful Flores Island in Indonesia if
I could figure out which vendor stashed them in which proprietary box.
Bull.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Carrying a dinghy

I was asked the other day how I carry the dinghy on Reboot. I replied on the foredeck. Some cruisers choose davits on the stern. I can't. The Monitor™ steering vane is in the way. Even if I could I would not. I have heard and occasionally seen the results of a dinghy ripping the stern off a boat from severe wave action in high seas.

So that leaves the foredeck or a tow. Towing might be reasonable in sheltered waters for short distances. I would never try to tow on a multi-day offshore passage. That leaves the foredeck. Not a great place. It is in the way every time one goes forward, e.g. to anchor, set up the whisker pole, set up or douse the asymmetric spinnaker.

A more critical problem is that it takes a beating in high seas going upwind. That green water across the deck is bouncing off the dinghy. It needs to be very secure. Over time my system has evolved into the setup in the pictures below. The stern of the dinghy is attached by two crossed straps attached to the stern of the dinghy and the deck. The center is held down by a tie down strap. And the bow is held down three ways: the painter and two diagonal lines to either side. These lines help keep the bow from shifting sideways.

This works well with one exception. The lee jib sheet tends to catch under the dinghy. It is thus important to assure a clear run before tacking or gybing.

Fair winds and following seas :)

Excellent Article on Politics in America

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/267603/democrats-dangerous-dolchstosslegende-daniel-greenfield#.WZX46TC3NfR.twitter

Internet

Proving it is not easy to get internet and phone service that keeps working in Indonesia.

Fair winds and following seas :)