Grant

The whole weekend a grant application hung over me like a cloud. So i came home last night to complete it until 3:30am, only to wake with the dog sleeping at my feet to get right back on finishing the document. I made the deadline with an entire hour to spare. But four hours of sleep followed by fifteen hours of work does not make for very creative writing tonight. So more will follow tomorrow when I am relieved and rested, and back to my more manageable routine.

One thing that got me through the whole application process was listening to the Grateful Dead performance at Woodstock forty years ago (and one day) to the day. I listened to the forty-eight minute version of Lovelight three times as the anxiety grew and the deadline loomed and the last minute changes were "suggested."

Neverland

So we are motoring around the San Juans yesterday, since there really wasn't any wind to speak of, and lo and behold, we come across this island with all sorts of animals grazing on the grassy southern end. After looking through the binoculars, we saw all sorts of funky animals like Big Horn Sheep, elk, rams - all grazing on the side of the hill that looks like the rolling grass hills of Central California (I said around Paso Robles). All these strange animals though, and we labeled it the Neverland Ranch, due to all the exotic animals we saw on the island.

And although I never really liked going to Orcas Island, I have grown a fondness towards the island. Yeah, I can bitch about the tourists rushing to the island only to relax, but I am one too. And to think this weekend I really didn't relax too much because I had this grant/loan application hanging over my head (and it still is), which is due tomorrow by the close of business.

So I should probably get back to work. It's one a.m. now and hopefully I can finish up tonight and not be all stressed out tomorrow. I might actually get this done with some time to spare. Fortunately, a 1978 Grateful Dead concert is keeping me anchored to my desk. And coffee. And many reflections of what a great weekend it was. And although a person of modest means, I sometimes feel like the richest person alive. Now back to work at 1:15am on a Monday morning.

Deer Harbor

Tonogh was an interesting series of events, ending in Disney World. After getting the R60/6 started after some carburetor mischief, I rode down to the ferry and took it over to Orcas Island. My friend got delayed in Portland - evidently they have something called traffic down there - and I wan't able to get on his boat (the HR46), so instead I opted for seerage aboard his old Islander 32 (he's trying to sell this one) in the back of this picture. So I rowed over in a sagging Achilles dinghy, dropped my minimal gear off, rowed back in an old wooden tender, towing the dinghy, rode my BMW into town, had some food at the Lower Tavern (or something like that), returned to the little wooden boat with a single oar, and rowed back to the old Islander. And then the amazement began.

No moon, but a million stars accented by the anchor lights in Deer Harbor. But paddling through the water stirred up all these little plankton that lighted the water green with every stroke of the paddle. Literally, I was seeing trails. Bright green trails through the water. I wanted to stay in the little boat and play with the little minially-celled creatures in nature's display of its awe. But instead I climbed aboard and tried to recall some of the infinite stars above and their constallations. And tomorrow is supposed to be better...

Calm seas, not too chilly, and my friend called from the ferry landing. He's towing an airplane that he building, but that's another story for anohter day.

Bantam Rooster

So it's quite obvious at this point that Sid (in the video) is a rooster. Hi morning crowing begins around six a.m. on sunny days, and a bit later on days like today (not so sunny). So far the neighbors haven't complained. And hopefully we can keep him and not send him the McNugget route.

Another Wednesday night at the Honeymoon, which turned into a late evening. Although I've demonstrated many times that I can get by on virtually no sleep, I have grown accustomed to a full night's rest. Fortunately I do not go out at night too much. So I don't know if it's age or just taking better care of myself. Back to the salt mines at 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon.

Credit

A few points that may or not be related.

• The chart indicates that consumer credit is reduced during recessions. One could surmise that this is due to belt tightening in tougher times with consumer sentiment being generally negative during uncertain economic times,versus taking on additional debt in time of aplenty.
• Consumer credit has decreased in eight of the past nine months (as of June 2009, according to the Federal Reserve, a privately-held entity that I consider to be a racket).
• Around 70% of the GDP is driven by consumer spending.
• In a time of stagnating (or declining) wages, money is spent on debt reduction, or buying shiny wheels for their SUVs or flat-screen televisions or vacations to Wally World, but not both.
  
• As easy credit has a tendency to inflate asset prices, the opposite would logically hold true that tight credit will deflate asset prices, especially in the extreme sense that we've seen easy credit for years while suddenly credit on all levels extended to anyone (other than the federal government) is virtually non-existent.
  
• Although deflation is caused by tightened credit, once the other component of inflation is the need for the US to effectively peddle its increasingly risky debt to foreign entties by increasing the interest rates on it debt instruments. Also, deflation will be offset by the increasing demand of raw materials by emerging economies Consequently, deflation will be distorted by this tug-of-war.

An interesting post (click here) yesterday on a web log that I read frequently. Imagine the day that consumers find out that a huge home or many vehicles and other material goods only lead to increased angst and strife in their lives? Obviously, these people are not wealthy, but consumers. The former will invest or hold on to liquid, non-depreciating assets; the latter will invest in items that either lose value, or lag other investments that potentially generate returns that exceed those of the market. Houses are really unwise as an investment (unless they cash flow, like rental properties) and have historically lagged most other assert classed. (But that goes back to the easy credit distorting asset prices.) People that feel they will rely on their homes as retirement assets would've been better off putting money into a CD.

Just some meanderings from my home office on a sunny morning in Bellingham, although some clouds are rolling in for an afternoon shower.

Qwest

After finally realizing that my broadband is dismally slow, I finally gave up my Qwest 256Kbs cheap-o DSL (ye, they do make it that slow) to go with Clearwire (now called Clear). So for the same price, I will get 3Mbs (or 3,000Kbs) and hopefully allow me to work a bit more efficiently and listen to Grateful Dead bootlegs without have web pages load painfully slow. And my housemate will be happy that she can watch Family Guy online again. And oddly enough, why do companies likw Qwest offer to reward you with deals when you threaten to leave? Where were they for the past three years when I diligently paid my bill on time and never asked for a thing? Oh well, good riddence. They must be awash in cash since they could afford to purchase naming rights to a baseball or football stadium down in Seattle. So maybe it's now time to upgarade my low-end ASUS router. Why, now, is it fluctuating between 18Mbs and 54Mbs?

But a refreshing day to awkaken to the sound of rain on the roof, and rain all day. A good soaking rain that was welcomed by everyone with plants in the ground. And more rain is forecasted. I remember what fall and winter feels like. But summer will return soon.

Another picture from the wonderful garden tour last weekend.

Jerry Garcia

Another day of clouds. But warm. Sitting here trying to get over the hurdle that sometimes prevents me from writing a lengthy document. And the internet is a good distraction, but I need to start writing.

As I sit here listening to a 10/31/87 JGB LaFontaine show in NYC on Sirius, I realize that today was the day Jerry died fourteen years ago. This band has had quite a profound impact upon my lfe, as I began going to shows in the late eighties while in undergrad and follwed the band somewhat intensely for almost a decade. Although I only saw fifty shows, I was able see the diverse venues where they performed in almost twenty different US states, and Canada too.

The carefree lifestyle of making it to the next town with nothing more than the contents of your VW and a dwindling wallet realizing that if you didn't think of something to sell, you'd be stuck in some place in god's country with no money to get home. But whether you sold Grilled Cheese in Alpine Valley (WI), Veggie Tempeh Sloppy Joes in Kansas City or Busch Beer in in St. Petersburg, you always made it. I think the Grateful Dead parking lot scene was the last vestige of pure capitalism in the United States. Adam Smith would have been proud, had he participated in this market.

But I've stopped going to any concerts by the remaining members of the band. Instead, I keep the memories fresh in my mind, and listening to a show from the past evokes the same memories that a photo album that I frequently take down from the shelf might. So much has happened in my life since Jerry's passing. And predominantly things in my life for which I am quite grateful.

"Its a far gone lullaby, sung many years ago.
Mama, mama many worlds Ive come since I first left home."
- R Hunter