FreshieBlog

Island-wide WiFi?

2011-04-08T13:27:00.002-03:00

Today I saw some guys on a big lift in town attaching what looked like WiFi base stations to light posts on front-street. The the following press release came across my newsfeed: http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/smart-grid-news/2112-infrax-supplying-wireless-infrastructure-to-bermuda.html. But it didn't say who the client is. City of Hamilton? Government? Belco for smart meters?

Infrax Systems is supplying the wireless broadband infrastructure that will enhance security and communication measures on the Island of Bermuda. The infrastructure will be comprised of approximately forty-five Infrax, TMAX 2000 modular base-station routers that will be used for multiple services including wireless Internet access for the residents and visitors.

Thank You Survey Section

2011-03-17T22:13:00.003-03:00

In a previous post, I wrote about aerial photos of Bermuda from 1940 and 1973.

However, I neglected to give the appropriate credit and thanks to the Bermuda Government Survey Section, which created the georegistered imagery. They did a lot of work to put that data together in a high-quality fashion. The Survey Section and their colleagues have done a superb job of making really good data available to Bermuda; it is an invaluable resource that can help us better understand our tiny coral outpost. I have to apologize to them for this omission!

The aerial photos and metadata are made available courtesy of the survey section, and are copyright the Bermuda Government. The photos and data may not be reproduced, etc. without their prior permission.

Island-wide CCTV?

2011-03-11T07:48:00.001-04:00

I've recently noticed CCTV cameras going up island-wide at key traffic junctions, e.g. Barnes Corner, foot of Trimingham Hill, etc. You can detect these by the appearance of a brand-new telephone pole with power lines running to it, and generally some sort of communications equipment: dish, directional antenna, etc. Invariably they all have a video camera attached, which is generally the smallest piece of all the equipment. And I don't think there has been any mention of this in the press or from the Government. Saw this today over the wires: (from this link)

Micro Technologies to install surveillance systems in Bermuda

Micro Technologies India Limited will install surveillance systems in Bermuda to cater for security through Micro ICCS International Command Control System including CCTV Cameras with 24/7 surveillance monitoring from a common centre point. This system will combine custom built hardware and a security system for the control of an unmanned location.

Bermuda is a group of beautiful islands flocked by tourists. The island will be much safer and secure with the implementation of this surveillance systems by the company.

Bermuda Entrustment: 1968, 2005, and 2009

2011-02-08T00:15:00.006-04:00

This blog entry summarizes the Bermuda Entrustment with the UK and provides download links to current and historical versions of the entrustment. These documents were provided by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and are provided on this blog under the UK Open Government License.

The Bermuda Entrustment (sometimes called the Deed or Letter of Entrustment) is the memo that describes what powers the UK Government has delegated to the Government of Bermuda. Bermuda is a dependent territory of the UK (formerly known as a colony), and as such, the UK is in charge of all of our external relations. However, when the current constitution was created in 1968, the UK delegated certain authority to the Bermuda Government, mostly around trade and commercial agreements.

Specifically, the entrustment states (shortened for this blog entry):

"In addition, ... the United Kingdom Government hereby delegate to the Bermuda Government ... executive authority to conduct external relations on behalf of the United Kingdom Government as follows:-

(a) Authority to negotiate and conclude trade agreements with other countries, whether bilateral or multilateral, relating solely to the treatment of goods.

(b) Authority to arrange or permit visits of up to thirty days for trade or commercial purposes ...

(c) Authority to negotiate and conclude agreements of purely local concern with any independent member of the Commonwealth or the United States of America...

(d) Authority to negotiate and conclude agreements for technical assistance or of a cultural or scientific nature with any independent member of the Commonwealth or the United States of America...

(e) Authority to negotiate and conclude agreements with other countries, whether bilateral or multilateral, relating to emigration from Bermuda to those countries and to emigrant labour schemes."

Download the full 1968 Bermuda Letter of Entrustment (PDF).

The Entrustment was updated in 2005 to specifically add authority for Bermuda to negotiate bilateral agreements about Tourism. Download the 2005 Amendment to the Bermuda Letter of Entrustment (PDF).

In 2009 the Entrustment was replaced with a new version, which tightens the UK's leash on Bermuda. Specifically, it removed the paragraph (c) authorizing Bermuda to make agreements of "purely local concern".

The original Entrustment requires Bermuda to inform the UK of Bermuda's activities under the agreement and provides that the UK may not permit it. However, the 2009 version is much more explicit about this and seems to put Bermuda on a tighter leash. The new version requires Bermuda to provide written reports of all activity under the Entrustment, and requires Bermuda to provide written copies of all agreements to the UK for approval before they are signed.

Download the 2009 Bermuda Letter of Entrustment (PDF) [mirror]

You can find more reports and data like this at the decouto.bm online Bermuda library.

Bermuda Aerial Photos 1940 & 1973

2010-12-27T14:14:00.024-04:00

1940	1973	2010

Happy New Year (almost)!

Thanks to the Bermuda Government Survey Section and the National Museum of Bermuda, I've been able to obtain and put online high-resolution aerial photographs of Bermuda from 1940 and 1973. I've converted them into Google Maps KML tiles format which allows you to use a standard web browser to pan and zoom into the highest level of detail. In some cases this is under 1 meter (more detail than the Google satellite photos, for example). These photos, in combination with today's satellite imagery, are a valuable tool for seeing how Bermuda has developed over the past 70 years. All you have to do is count the numer of white roofs, and the amount of open space available.

These aerial photos and metadata are made available courtesy of the survey section, and are copyright the Bermuda Government. The photos and data may not be reproduced, etc. without their prior permission.

Access the photos here:

The page allows you to fade between the historical view and the current Google Earth satellite view using a slider in the top right-hand corner — to view just the historical aerial photo move the slider all the way to the right, like so:

For the technically curious, the original data was in MrSid format, I used MapTiler to convert the data, and the converted data is made available via Amazon S3. The converted data uses about 8 gigabytes of space (1 gigabyte for the 1940 data and 7 gigabytes for the 1973 data), and was converted and uploaded over the course of a few weeks using a great deal of patience.

Visit my website decouto.bm for more Bermuda data and my library of Bermuda documents.

Bermuda Election Data On-line, updated

2010-12-20T21:10:00.006-04:00

I've updated my on-line Bermuda elections data to include the 15 November 2010 Bye-Election. There you can browse elections results by date, constituency, or candidate, back to 1989.

Frank Manning: Bermudian Politics in Transition

2010-11-29T19:04:00.007-04:00

I've scanned and uploaded a copy of Frank E. Manning's "Bermudian Politics in Transition:Race, Voting, and Public Opinion", from 1978. It is a study of Bermuda politics after the 1976 general election by Manning, a Canadian anthropologist who has written widely on Bermuda and the Caribbean. Download the PDF here

From inside the front cover:

Bermudian Politics in Transition explores the complex process that gave Bermuda's black Opposition a fifty per cent gain of parliamentary seats in 1976, split the ranks of Government, toppled the Premier, sparked a major race riot in 1977 and generated a mass momentum that endangers a white- controlled colonial order that has endured for more than three centuries. Based on survey research as well as intensive fieldwork, the book focuses on two areas: 1) trends in voting and party preference; 2) public opinion on the principal issues that have occupied Bermudian political attention since the inception of party politics in the 1960's.

FOREWORD

Frank Manning has given us a book that has been long overdue in Bermuda: A detailed analysis of contemporary political thought and action.

Bermudian Politics in Transition will be compelling reading for anybody who is the least bit interested in Bermuda politics (and that seems to include everybody these days!), and who wants to learn more about what's what and why.

It will also be an indispensable tool for political strategists and pundits alike, unearthing some interesting, occasionally startling, but always enlightening insights into where Bermudians, the voters, stand on the issues of the day.

This book could literally prompt significant changes in party platforms before the next election.

It contains a veritable gold mine of information which goes a long way to explaining why the PLP picked up five more seats and increased its popular support in 1976, and conversely why the UBP lost those five seats and slipped in popular support.

Frank Manning's most fascinating find - and his surveys uncover plenty - has to be the pivotal role black women played in the PLP's stride forward.

His surveys also put paid to the popular notion that increased support only came from young blacks who were voting for the first time.

They also reveal long-suspected discontent among the white middle class with the direction in which the UBP appeared headed going into the '76 election: background to the movement within the party that toppled their leader, and Premier, Sir John Sharpe.

Bermudian Politics in Transition sets an exciting stage for the next election which could make or break the PLP .

As Frank Manning details, it was their shift to a more 'respectable' image in 1976 - toned-down socialistic rhetoric and emphasis on spiritual values and family life - which won them support from new places.

On the other hand, all is not lost for the UBP. Mr. Manning's book also clearly documents how they can shore up initial support and make inroads into growing support for the Opposition.

It may be, as Mr. Manning's surveys show, that voters believe their Government is only as good as its Opposition and they only wanted a more competitive Parliament.

And, after all, it is the voters of this country who will ultimately decide; and it's refreshing to see what they think for a change - which is what this book is all about.

Bermudian Politics in Transition is a welcome addition to any bookshelf of Bermuda history and the first in what I hope is a long line of its kind.

It also represents a great deal of hard work by an independent outsider whose objectivity makes this work that much more valuable.

John Barritt
Editor, Bermuda Sun

Stem Cell Tourism, platinum style

2010-06-10T17:45:00.002-03:00

I think this is what Ewart Brown is aiming for with his Brown-Darrell clinic, stem-cell tourism with platinum leaf: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-06/offshore-operations-crossing-atlantic-pursuit-stem-cells

"It’s 2:30 in the afternoon in the Dominican Republic, and Karen Velline, a 66-year-old grandmother from Cold Spring, Minnesota, is lying on an operating table, swaddled in sterile surgical sheets. She’s just moments away from a procedure so experimental that no doctor will perform it on U.S. soil. Yet she calmly stares up at the ceiling, more excited than anxious. Despite the controversy surrounding it, Velline believes that this procedure—which she has paid Regenocyte Therapeutic, a stem-cell company in Bonita Springs, Florida, $64,000 in cash to perform—could save her from a debilitating lung condition. After months of anticipation and planning, she’s ready for things to get under way."

Valencia Progress Report Day 2

2010-02-09T17:04:00.002-04:00

Reminder: live updates at http://twitter.com/decouto

On Tuesday we got up late and took the bus to Valencia's old town, a charming district of old buildings, churches, squares, and yes, tapas bars. We walked up into the tower of the cathedral, which treated us to a magnificent view of the city, straight to the ocean. We could see the wing of the BMW/Oracl boat looming over the top of the container port's derricks. It's bloody big!

Another highlight was the central market, full of gorgeous looking fresh produce, cheeses, and of course, the ubiquitous jamon hanging everywhere. We strolled the aisles of the fish section: live eels & lobsters crawling around, fish, squid, whatever you wanted, all laid out on ice. I only felt a little queasy...

It was a beautiful crisp days under a clear blue sky with a fresh breeze, so after lunch we walked back down the old river bed. At some point they diverted the river around the city, and created a park with trails, trees, and sports fields in the old river bed. It's a little warmer than the street as it is sunk down out of the breeze, with the old walls of the river banks forming the sides, and criss-crossed with traffic and pedestrian bridges. The park ends at the palace of arts and science, a stunning collection of way-out buildings rising out of cool blue pools and covered in shiny white tiles. The future is now! Claudio's apartment's balcony looks out over the park, and I am looking at the Opera House all lit up as I write this.

Tomorrow's start is delayed by at least two hours until noon due to weather, so we'll get a little more sleep tonight.

Stay tuned!

http://twitter.com/decouto

Valencia Progress Report Day 1

2010-02-09T16:32:00.008-04:00

Reminder: get live updates (sort of) at http://twitter.com/decouto

What do tax attorneys, NASCAR, and stunt planes have to do with each other?

The answer is, of course, the America's Cup.

It's been a long two days since Somers and I arrived in Valencia, and despite the lack of racing it's been eventful nonetheless.

We woke up at 5am on Monday to watch the BMW/Oracle boat leave the dock, and participate in a bit of a pump-up ceremony. Loud rock music, floodlights, and air-horns all at 6.30 in the morning: bra bra brap braaaaaaaaaaa...... I am not sure the boat's crew appreciated all the excitement as they might have wished to build up to their 10am start more slowly. But the 'Family and Friends' spectators enjoyed it, as long as they didn't get an airhorn in the ear.

From there we bused back to the base in the AC harbour, and then another short bus ride to get on the fast ferry that served as the spectator boat at around 8.30am. However, due to the lack of wind and the delayed start, we sat at the dock until around 9.30. We finally left and went about 20 miles out to the start line, where Alinghi and BMW/Oracle were drifting around. The oat driver did a good job of maneuvering the ferry so everyone got a chance to view the boats up close from either side, as there wasn't a lot of external deck. We even got a 'drift by' from Oracle, so everyone was whipping out their cameras. And of course, Larry's big boat was out there along with a flotilla of very wicked looking RIBs tooling around full of very fashionably dressed crew and support. Apparently this season the fashionable AC crew are wearing all white. Not my first choice in foul weather gear colour, but I guess they can just get new kit if it gets dirty.

At 2pm racing was cancelled for the day and we all raced back to the dock. By this point Somers and I had already been getting familiar with the Coronas, and back at the base there was more open bar to be had, including Mojitos. Many of them. I met a few interesting people, including the team's tax attorney. Apparently he was instrumental in helping them save a lot of money on sales tax when they had their boat built in the US. I also met a NASCAR technician -- he knows nothing about sailing, but was brought in to build the wiring harnesses. I asked him what the difference between NASCAR and the boat was, he said nothing... it's all aviation technology brought to other applications.

After a few more mojitos, it was off for tapas down the street. The bar was empty except for two Kiwi gentleman. We eventually started talking with then and it turns out they were Sir Michael Fay, and his partner from the 1980s Kiwi 'big boat' campaign against Dennis Conner's cat. So we had quite an interesting conversation with him -- he was the financier and motivation behind that campaign, I enjoyed his perspective. He referred to himself as a farmer... Many people knock the America's cup since it is so different from normal sailing, wiht all the drama, legal hijinks, loads of money, and the chase for technology. But as Fay said, if you want a regatta, go to a regatta... this is the America's Cup, and is its own beast. Remember that it predates the modern organization of sailboat races by many years.

Finally off to another tapas bar, where we crashed a birthday party ('Pimps and Hos') full of AC people and hangers-on. And lots of good food! They had a vat of sangria, and a 1-metre diameter paella dish that sits on its own propane-powered burner. Wicked good food, wicked good drink.

And stunt planes? That's some guy I met at the last bar, he comes from stunt planes and worked on the film that covers the wing. He was pretty passionate about it. Or maybe just drunk....?

BMW Oracle getting ready

2010-02-07T13:19:00.001-04:00

BMW/Oracle getting ready for tomorrow's first America's Cup race. They are changing up their daggerboards. Go USA!

Location:Valencia

On my way

2010-02-06T08:50:00.001-04:00

I am now on the plane waiting to fly to New York and then Valencia to watch the America's Cup. I am trying out my new iPhone so look for me on Twitter as well as this blog. My Twitter name is decouto.

Away we go!

Location:Bermuda

Bermuda and the Next Millennium: a view from the past!

2010-01-26T20:44:00.004-04:00

Another addition to the Bermuda Library:

Bermuda and the Next Millenium, by Kit Astwood (1997)

A think piece by J. Christopher "Kit" Astwood, OBE, JP. He lays out questions about the future of Bermuda, using a few bits of data to provoke thought. It's interesting to see how many of today's issues were starting to take root in 1997. View the accompanying data in a spreadsheet. He also wrote a follow-up piece in 2000: The Mid-Atantic Economic Miracle: Bermuda. Both documents Copyright J. Christopher Astwood and posted with his permission.

Browse Bermuda Election Results On-line

2010-01-24T10:56:00.004-04:00

I've just finished the first version of a simple website which lets you browse Bermuda election results on-line, by election, constituency, or candidate. Visit the website at http://webapp.decouto.bm/elections, and let me know what you think.

(This is a newer version of something I did year before last: old blog post)

From the 'about' page:

About this site

This site was created by Douglas De Couto to make available historical Bermuda election data. It uses data pulled from the Bermuda Parliamentary Registrar, which has then been cleaned up and cross-referenced (e.g. the same candidate sometimes appears in multiple elections but under slightly different names).

It was created using Django

How you can help

If you like this site and would like to contribute, I welcome collaboration in the following areas:

Getting pictures for more candidates.
Biographies for candidates.
Catching any errors in names, dates, etc.
Finding and entering election results from before 1989.
Site design... as you can see I am not much of a designer.

If you'd like to help, or just make a comment, contact me by emailing decouto -at- alum.mit.edu. (substitute '@' for '-at-')

Thank you to the Registrar for making the original data available online.

Reporting problems

If you see a problem in the website or with the data such as a misspelling or incorrect election result, please email me.

From the "Bad Ideas" Category

2010-01-16T08:02:00.004-04:00

In today's New York Times:

Creams Offering Lighter Skin May Bring Risks: For years, Allison Ross rubbed in skin-lightening creams with names like Hyprogel and Fair & White. She said she wanted to even out and brighten the tone of her face, neck and hands. Mrs. Ross, 45, who lives in Brooklyn, also said that she used the lightening creams “to be more accepted in society.” After months of twice-a-day applications, her skin was not only fairer, it had become so thin that a touch would bruise her face. Her capillaries became visible, and she developed stubborn acne. A doctor told her that all three were side effects of prescription-strength steroids in some of the creams, which she had bought over the counter in beauty supply stores..... I'm sorry for her, but doesn't this seem like a bad idea just by thinking about it?
A Gangland Bus Tour, With Lunch and a Waiver: LOS ANGELES — The tour organizer received assurances, he says, from four gangs that they would not harass the bus when it passed through their turf. Paying customers must sign releases warning of potential danger. And after careful consideration, it was decided not to have residents shoot water guns at the bus and sell “I Got Shot in South Central” T-shirts..... Sign me up!

Headline: "UK Has Trust Issues with Bermuda"

2010-01-03T13:43:00.006-04:00

Just saw this headline: "UK Has Trust Issues With Bermuda", from Caribbean Life News. I am not sure what kind of outfit that site is: for example, they write that "half the citizenry is expatriate", which is wrong, as a simple web search for "Bermuda Statistics" shows the answer is 17,675 out of 62,059, or 28% according to the 2000 Census. Regardless, this is an example of how Ewart Brown's actions have tainted Bermuda's reputation internationally.

Lovely Moment

2009-10-21T08:41:00.003-03:00

In the morning when the rising sun first reveals the turquoise and purple in the water on the south shore, but it is still slightly translucent.

Racism: it's not black and white

2009-09-19T09:07:00.004-03:00

This is a nice article by Charles Blow of the New York Times: Here We Go Again

In the "political discourse", too many people are focused on blaming everything on racism, or, refusing to acknowledge the role of racism.

Blow writes:

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted in January of last year found that 60 percent of whites agree that they underestimate the amount of discrimination that there is against blacks and 59 percent of blacks agree that they overestimate the amount of racism against them. How can we measure truth when everyone’s twisting it? A better question might be how much racial prejudice are people aware of and willing to acknowledge.

An ABC News poll released in January asked, “If you honestly assessed yourself, would you say that you have at least some feelings of racial prejudice?” Thirty-eight percent of blacks answered yes, as did 34 percent of whites.

Update: check out Bob Herbert's counterpoint in the same paper:

Did we really need Jimmy Carter to tell us that racism is one of the driving forces behind the relentless and often scurrilous attacks on President Obama? We didn’t know that? As John McEnroe might say, “You can’t be serious.”

R.I.P. Keith Young

2009-09-17T21:26:00.003-03:00

Keith Young has just passed away.

I knew Keith as a fellow candidate for the UBP, during the slog up to the 2007 election and the time since. I will remember Keith for his warmth, infectious positive attitude, and his low-key but unmistakable passion for making Bermuda better.

In Bermudian politics, which is filled with self-interested egomaniacs and tired old blowhards, Keith stood out for his genuine commitment to his family, his neighborhood, and his Island.

We need more people like Keith, not fewer.

My deepest regrets to his family.

"Bermuda Night Sold Out"

2009-09-10T07:40:00.003-03:00

From the PLP Blog, we learn that "Bermuda Night" at Fenway Park in Boston was sold out. That's great news, and it sounds like it was a good event.

But, if you know anything about baseball you'll know that every night is sold out at Fenway park well ahead of the baseball season, regardless of what the event is.

Love the spin ball...

505 Worlds Wrap-up: 68 out of 99.

2009-09-09T21:44:00.005-03:00

Well, as they say, better late than never. I

To jump to the chase, here are our finishes in the 9 races. Bracketed finishes are discards:


68    9005 BER Douglas De Couto  Gareth Williams  67 [99/DNF] 59 77 [99/DNF] 41 79 52 45   total points: 420.00

We lost a tie-break for 67th. Full results available here. (sorry for the strange link, I couldn't figure out how to link from the official site as it's a pop-up).

Net-net, it was a grueling, tough regatta that tested us mentally and physically. Although I can't look back and say it was 'fun', like a 'vacation' is 'fun', I have to admit that I achieved my goal of 'mid-fleet', without completely embarrassing myself. And, there were a few hoots and hollers. Importantly, Gareth and I were able to make a strong finish that popped us up into the 60s, and put us ahead of some competitors I was targeting in the boat park -- people about whom I thought 'we can beat them', which is satisfying. That result is in no small part to taking some of Gareth's advice on starting. As someone told me, as is always the case, now we are ready to do a worlds in San Francisco. Maybe next time...

It is over a week and a half since the last race and the last day of the worlds, and it feels like forever. Being back in Bermuda and in the office is a whole different world. Too be honest, it's been a bit of a relief: I get a full lunch every day, I don't have to put on a wetsuit, and my arms are not nearly as tired. Oddly enough, my back seems more sore now!

So let's see what I can remember -- in our last installment, I left us at the beginning of the second last day: two races & one night to go until the end of the regatta, a Friday and a Saturday.

Friday

Friday was forecast to be a light air day, so they pushed the start back to 1:30pm to give the breeze time to come in. It turned out to be a hot, clear day on the beach, an everyone was lounging around, waiting for an AP, and delaying the awful act of putting on the wetsuit in the hot sun. The committee boat was hanging around off the beach, and as they looked like they were ready to go, parts of the fleet started suiting up. Old pros that they are, the RC popped the AP from the committee boat once about 1/3 of the sailors had suited -- those wiley coyotes! If they had raised the AP on shore, they would have to give a 2 hour gap between lowering it and starting the race; by raising it on the water (but while floating off the beach where all the sailors could see it), they only need to give a few minutes. Sure enough, the breeze started filling in verrrrrry slightly, the RC put up the 'Follow Me' flag, and the fleet went into the water for a 45-minute tow out to the course.

Wise skipper that I am, I neglected to tape up the transom flaps before launching. Typical M.O. in SF had been that taping them up was unnecessary, as a) we'd spend most of the time with water sloshing into the boat anyway, and b) we'd be planing most of the time as well. Of course, that was not the case on this day. The end result involved Gareth in a compromising position straddling the bow of the boat while I tried to recycle some used tape to seal up the flaps -- which of course were now wet. Lesson learned...

To be honest, I don't remember most of the race, but here goes. I believe this was the day I said to Gareth, 'If anyone hits the gatekeeper launch, it's going to be us'. Luckily, it wasn't us, but we had an awesome front row start, lots of speed, some space to leeward, etc. One minor problem: the boat to leeward of us was my sailmaker (Ethan Bixby, finished 14), and the boat above us was Mike Martin, you know, they guy who won 6 out of 9 races. Plus he had a 2nd. So, although it was a great start, it ended up being a you-know-what sandwich, with us as the you-know-what. After falling back 15-20 boatlengths, we finally bailed out and tacked to the right about 1/3 of the way up the beat. From that point on, it was simply a question of trying to sail fast, execute maneuvers, and get around the course. This was a 52.

This race had actually had a great moment on the first downwind mark rounding. We came in a massive pack but managed to find a slot inside for the mark to our left, and zoomed around with a great lane while the pack wallowed in a lull. Unfortunately, next time around this was not the case... we touched a boat that had somehow gone from our inside to our outside and then magically appeared right in front of us as i was rounding. I thought they had been gone, but apparently not.... anyway, a few strong words, a 720, and we ended up heading the other way with no wind, no lane, no speed, and very bad karma. Actually, maybe that was another race or rounding -- I can't really separate them all out anymore.

Saturday

Now on to the last race, on Saturday. I had almost decided to blow off the race, and spend the day being relaxed & derigging early; but, I am glad I did not as it was probably our best race. In keeping with the "let's hit the gatekeeper" starting M.O., we had a great start in just-starting-to-get-windy conditions (of course, after SF, my whole definition of 'windy' has now changed). Funnily enough, it always seems to pick up about 8 knots between your upwind tuning checks and the first gun, leaving you to pull on a lot of strings without getting to try them out. Great suggestion from Gareth: put on the flattening reef. This was good and saved us a lot of grief later.

After the start, we were neck and neck with the boat underneath us for a very long time. However, despite a slight lift, the other boat was better at the speed/point tradeoff, and we were forced out. This time, however, we made it much further, and had much better lanes. After we tacked for a clear lane, we headed right, with the strategy of leading other right boats back. When we finally did this, it was magnificent to be sailing on starboard tack, looking up at the top mark, and not seeing any boats in front of our bow. This was not a sight we enjoyed very often. Sure enough, they did all eventually come charging out of the left, but apparently we rounded the top mark in the 20s. From then on, it was our race to drop places. The usual suspects prevailed: a place or two at the hoist, a slow reach, a missed jibe or bad jibing angle, extra tacks to clear for a lane at the mark, missing a shift, not concentrating, etc. For most of the race (and others) we could count on ok boat speed, probably at the 50th percentile level, meaning I think we were faster than at least half of the boats there (weight & new boat & sails helped). Of course, we didn't have the best height. This meant that with enough runway & assuming we didn't pick the wrong direction too badly, we could pick up a few places upwind if we fell too far back into the pack. However, for this last race, we didn't have it for the last beat - I couldn't quite find the grove steering, with the right balance of being powered up, yet not forced into pinching and having to jerk the tiller around. Anyway it still ended up being our 2nd-best finish, 45th, plus we had the experience of being able to look back at big packs of boats for lots of the race, and actually racing in the pack with boats around us. Exhilarating!

The End

The rest of the day was a blur. Gareth had brought Heinekens out to the race course for a celebratory drink on the way home (props to Gareth), but it was too windy to really enjoy them and actually make any progress to windward. At the beach, we rushed to derig, and I was stressing about getting derigged and the boat cleaned up in time to load the truck with the other East Coast teams. I needn't have worried. Loading the truck was a long painful process that meant most of us were very late for the banquet & prizegiving. In fact, Sarah and I weren't even able to attend as we had to leave the city at 8.30pm to head to the airport, return the rental car, and get organized for our flight.

The boat is now sitting at the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, thanks to the hospitality of the local fleet, and I am figuring out what to do next.

Thanks for reading,

Doug

"One More Night"

2009-08-28T12:17:00.005-03:00

Today is the second last day of the worlds, and we are flying out tomorrow night at midnight. One race today, later start at 1.30pm due to reduced wind, and one race tomorrow.

Yesterday was a light day, with racing not starring until 1.30pm and boats having to be towed out to the starting area-- it's a long tow!

The first race was one of our best, and the second race was one of our worst, full of unforced errors by the skipper (that would be me). Due to the light wind and the fact that our dacron jib has been repaired with a piece of webbing on the leech, we took our new, never-before-used, mylar jib. Very sexy.

Race 1 started in about 10 knots with a 1.5 mile beat. I don't recall what our plan was, but we ended up blowing the start and had to tack and clear to the right, taking a lot of sterns. We must have been sailing pretty well as we ended up lifting above the rabbit. I think we had much improved boatspeed against the fleet, and we were working very hard to keep moving fast without giving up too much leeward distance. Certainly the new jib helped... We rounded in a big middle pack, managed to successfully set the kite & execute our maneuvers, and even could figure out the lifted tack. Short of calling the favored end wrong on the reaching finish & giving up one boat, we had a great race and finished 40th. Imagine if we had a front row start... w.r.t. the finish, we finish through a gate to leeward and then reach on port to the finish. We followed the fleet up to the windward end of the line, but it would have been faster to reach straight to the middle -- less distance & faster speed too.

Gareth and I worked well as a team that race, no doubt the fact that we were not physically at our limits really helped. Gareth was really great at giving info so we could cut through the fleet on port at the start.

For the second race, I managed to blow that start as well. Still setting up too early but not pulling the trigger until it's too late & other boats are giving us bad air. Mike Martin setup to leeward of us, reminds me of the old adage, if you don't know who the marshmallow is, it's you... For those who don't know, the marshmallow is the bad/slow sailor you like to start next to who makes it easy to sail past/over/under/faster than into clear air.

The plan for this race was go right for reduced flood current. In retrospect this was wrong, the play was go for velocity which by now was finally starting to increase, and the pattern is that it gets strongest between Alcatraz & Treasure Island first... that is the left. So we rounded in the bottom third, with a not very great run... In fact there was a huge hole at the leeward gate & I managed to do a very bad mark rounding, forced outside, and giving up 10 boats or so. We did work left here, out of necessity, but that meant we went up the port layline through the boats reaching down. Awesome. Managed to touch a boat at the jibe, so that was a 720. More boats passed. I think we may have salvaged something on the beat, again coming up through the port layline with boats bearing down on us with spinnakers up -- awesome again. This time I miced on the offset mark while setting up controls for the down wind (ram off, trap twings off, vang off, board up a touch), and we touched the offset mark. So... 360, see you other boats later. All the time the breeze was slowly building, and I was getting a little bit tired & making bad decisions. For the last beat, it had filled right in to 15-18, and although I had dropped the rig back a bit on the run in anticipation, it wasn't quite enough. Gareth made the call for us to drop back more, which was a great idea, as we were now zooming along, and this helped us catch some tail-end boats from the right due to good speed.

Unfortunately, with the tide I mis-called the layline for the finish, had to throw in an extra two tacks. Twice. The second time I tacked right in front of a ducking port-tacker and fouled him. This was as he was trying to duck us & cross another starboard tacker, who was fouled. We crossed the line, jibed for the 720, capsized, finished the 720, and refinished, losing about another 6 boats, Total cluster. Total circles that race: 5. Awesome. And, the third boat insisted on protesting the second boat (the one I fouled), so they had to protest us, which meant hanging around at the club until 8pm and missing dinner with our hosts. The protest was thrown out because we did the 720s. Feeling bad about my shitty sailing, I gave the guys I fouled some rum. They are young guys who will know what to do with it.

My one main lesson from that race is to not try to make aggressive shortcuts when the downsides are so big with a large fleet. Instead, focus on getting a good lane for yourself, and setting up well ahead of time for roundings & finished. Net result, 79 or something stupid like that.

Worlds Race Day 4: preview

2009-08-27T11:23:00.003-03:00

Today is worlds race day 4, the last 2-race day on which to attempt to achieve our goal of finishing both races.

Yesterday was the lay-day, where all we did was relax & rest, didn't even look at the boat. Sarah and I planned to head out over the Golden Gate bridge & see some natural beauty, etc., so long as it wasn't windy & it was warm.

However, the day was a lot like our sailing days: we got around the corner from where we are staying and clutch failed on the 20-year old Jeep we are borrowing. Can't blame the truck, we've been driving it pretty hard over the hills the past 10 days. So... the first half of our day off was spent hanging out with the tow-truck driver, a very nice guy who gave us a guided tour of the city.

Eventually we rented a new car (silver Dodge Charger, now we ride in super-style), and made it out to Sausalito for a relaxed lunch, followed by a walk in the Muir Woods. Stunning redwoods, I recommend it if you ever get the chance & desire to commune with nature a bit. We topped the day off with drunks & burgers at the St. Francis with my shore team who were doing the Wednesday night racing there.

What's on for today? According to Sailflow, not too much wind until later in the day, so we will likely have problems with boat speed & will need to work hard to keep the boat moving & pointing. It actually helps to have other boats around as they 'keep us honest' & motivated.

Other issue is the start. Early on I was setting up to early & being jammed up above the gate launch, with much maneuvering to try & slip in behind. Recently I have been setting up with a good hole, but not going early enough & boats are swooping down over the top of me. I think I need to punch out more and reach down under the gate launch to achieve max speed.

We will also seek continuous improvement on downwind crew work -- we are finally getting the kite up quickly thanks to new halyard setup (5th time lucky), and I will work on steering & keeping the boat stable during hoists, jibes, and douses.

I've learned to put more board up & let off a lot more vang on the downwind to avoid being overpowered & to stay in control. But, I feel I may be doing too much of it as we are not as powered up as much of the time as I would like. Like everything else, not too much, not too little, juuuuust right!

That leaves tactics & strategy -- going the right way -- which we have undoubtedly not been paying attention to here. Maybe if it's less crazy today I will get some of the numbers to make sense.

Wish us luck!

Worlds Lay Day

2009-08-26T13:15:00.003-03:00

Today is the lay day. That means no racing and a break.

My main goal today is to relax, not see the boat, and spend time with Sarah who flew out here last night. We hit the sack early, slept 10 hours. Left Gareth at the club drinking with other sailors. He's earned it!

Today's blog post is in multimedia format, brought to you by by Sail Groove and Marine Media Alliance.

This below video is me taking about how yesterday went.

Sailing Videos on Sailgroove

The basic theme is that we are essentially last, the exact details will depend on how many races we actually finish. But, no major damages.

Worlds Day Whatever: Worlds Race Day 1

2009-08-24T02:29:00.003-03:00

Today was worlds race day 1. We have yet to meet our goal of finishing both races on a two-race day, but are getting further down that course on the second day before wiping out for good.

It's been a few days since I last blogged, here's what happened.

3rd and last day of NAs: not good. Flips, bad starts, slowness, strong words, etc. Plus, not being able to finish the last race. But we've moved on...

Next two days: free. Gareth off to SoCal to see friends, I was domestic: paperwork for worlds, housekeeping, saw a movie, etc. Went sailing with my friends Jeff & Danielle. You'd think I'd be done with that, but it was easy: hardest part was keeping one hand on the boat and one hand on my beer. It was a Friday night beercan race out of San Francisco Yacht Club, which is, oddly enough not in San Francisco: it's on the other side of the bay. Very beautiful place, if you get a chance to visit or sail there.

I thought I'd give a short picture essay of what's been happening.

Even though we have eaten a lot of food like this:

we've seen a lot of this:

That's the centreboard & bottom of the boat. Note the Sharpie marker for size comparison. Now imagine 2 x 200+ pound guys on it righting the boat. Scary. Because the blade is so high aspect ratio, it needs speed to work. If not, you just stall and go really slow. So the key is to bear off even if you think it's the wrong thing to do: you will go faster, the blde will work REALLY WELL, and you will magically start pointing higher and going faster.

At least we haven't done something like this:

or this:

There are several masts broken like that, including Mike Martin who won the NAs and race 1 of the worlds. So no-one is immune, but we are working on staying safe & sound ourselves. Between today and the first day of the NAs there are probably no more spare masts left in the boat park.

The good news is that there is only one race tomorrow, at 2pm. The bad news is that there is only one race tomorrow, at 2pm. The wind builds all day, until by 2 it's cranking pretty hard. So we will get to head out in the thick of it.

So, final synopsis of our situation is:

* Sometimes we can go fast upwind, enough to be in the top half pack, when there are boats around to keep us focused and honest and we aren't too tired

* We have good starts 2/3 of the time

* We have a lot of downwind work to do. At least we have decided to remove the spinnaker halyard/ram puller concoction, and I can actually pull up the chute right away. That eliminates a lot of time in the 'death zone': running downwind in waves with the tiller between my knees.

* This event is physically grueling.

* We are having fun, even if we feel like we've been in a salt-water washing machine

Worlds Day 4: NAs race day 2, it went better

2009-08-20T02:57:00.004-03:00

We started the day by trying to sleep in a little better, have a relaxed breakfast, and then drive down to the club and not faff around with anything on the boat (since theoretically we did all that the day before).

OK, but:

- Ran into someone Gareth used to sail with in Bermuda, while eating breakfast in the coffee shop. Small world, but had to cut it short.

- Took a slightly different route, got stuck on one-ways going the wrong way from the club, and there was traffic since we were later.

It all worked out in the end, it turns out we had plenty of time, but I was a bit stressed -- all my carefully worked out plans were for nought!

I just had to faff around a bit worrying about tides & my mast ram calibration.

One the way out we realized that one of the turning blocks for the spinnaker halyard was melted away to just the pin on the sheave -- this was actually a replacement for the original block which had too much friction. And I thought I was just being a wimp, but in reality I was melting up all that plastic. We were able to rig it to not use that block, and the spinnaker was much easier to pull up.

My main goal today was to be in the right gear when the wind came up & get a good start. in the first race, we didn't get a good start, but were able to tack and clear behind some sterns. There was a bit of a righty and this worked for us, plus with a lane we got up to the mark in the middle somewhere. Where we really lost ground was downwind: hoisting & jibing the kite, sailing fast with it, etc. I am still too slow and being tired after the beat only makes it worse... Apparently though we finished 36th, which is 12 better than the first race yesterday. As Gareth says, keep this up and we will be winning in 3 races!

On the second race we got a great start: punched way out and sailing next to some of the big guys for a little while. "Looking like heroes". Although we had great lane and speed, you could see that it was still not enough -- basically some boats around us were cracked off more and cooking past us, while I was not depowered enough. I did find out that our board is not calibrated right, so we probably had it too far down going upwind -- sounds like it should be down while going upwind, but as you get over-powered you crack the board up a few inches as you rake back. We also put in a flattening reef, which is a line about 8-12 inches up above the clew, which keeps the boom out of your heads & the water when it gets a little crazy. We did get to the mark in a big pack, lots of traffic (30-40 boats worth), and bounced around trying to get through to the layline. There were some sterns we should have taken. The lesson there is all about traffic management & picking your route well ahead of time.

Then I got my tiller extension stuck to leeward on the hoist & capsized. So we packed it in and went to the beach rather than sail around in last for another hour. Good thing we did, because the trap twings popped out due to the spinnaker faffing around the mast in the water, and the spinnaker had several large rips in it (first day out too...). We had to sail in half of the way hiking out. Not so fast.

Boatwork at end of day:

- replace spinnaker/ram turning block -- we are now using an all-metal wire block with ball bearings, this one ought to last, third time lucky, right?

- pop out trap lines & replace them (Gareth working diligently on that now)

- mark CB positions

- get sails to sailmaker for repair tonight

- bolt in pole fork end that broke at BBR and was lashed in there

Outstanding boatwork before worlds:

- put trap lines back on

- replace junky spinnaker sheet turning blocks

Tomorrow we'll finish both races!

Worlds Day 4: NAs race day 2, morning preview

2009-08-19T11:33:00.003-03:00

Just got up, it's cold, foggy, and windy outside. We are staying way up on the top of a hill in SF, so it's different here from the beach. Key items for this morning: big breakfast (I was hungry sailing out to the course yesterday...).
Think I mislabeled the mast ram numbers, so will need to fix those to make sense.

By the way, good news is that yesterday we actually took some ropes & blocks off of the boat. Always nice to simplify some things...

Key kit here seems to be carbon. Large number of the people have carbon booms & poles. Many have a double-pole system. Key with that is it's not just two poles, one on each side: you have separate guys & sheets, and the guys are pre-wired into the pole with an eye, so there is no putting the guy into the fork. The crew only has to whale on the pole launcher line to put the pole out after the jibe (after letting the old one in before the jibe...)

Will try for pix today.

Worlds Day 3, NAs race day 1: Shotness

2009-08-19T01:22:00.004-03:00

Shot. Busted. Beat. Done.

Two races scheduled for today starting at noon.

Results here , live & replay tracking here.

First race was 2 hours long, started in 12-16kts and ended up at 20-25, maybe more. We were totally busted. Finished the race in a bit of survival mode, looked at each other, had a snack, and evaluated the situation. I suggested to Gareth that we at least sail down and start the next race and see how we go. He looked at me like I was crazy, so we went in. Which was in and of itself a 45 minute beat in what seemed to us to be building wind for 2/3 of the time. I felt bad for skipping the second race but there were already 15 or more boats on the beach by the time we arrived. In fact, out of maybe 60 starters in the fleet, only 25 either started or finished the second race. There were several broken or bent masts, and probably a few broken spirits.

We were 49th. No capsizes, no swearing, no injuries, and nothing serious to be fixed on the boat. Other than too many ropes that have to be managed. Plus we got a hot shower and a beer when we got back while others were slogging away on the race course.

Here's how it went down:

* Our biggest problem was fitness and gear shifting when the wind built. We tuned up before the race in about 12-14 knots or so, and although the start was lousy, managed to get a lane and get going. The plan was to go right as that's the pro-forma thing to do here, but although we felt reasonably fast (esp. given our inexperience), we wound up on the outside of a left shift and rounded not very well. As the wind built I never changed the rake, which is the main gear change for more wind. As a result we were super over powered, beating ourselves up & getting tired, and not going fast. Plus, I think we did not have the board up enough. As far as numbers & tactics go, yeah, we weren't doing that for about half of the race.

* Second was hoists. There is no getting around the fact that I do not pull up the spinnaker very fast. This is slow on mark roundings. You don't want to be wallowing around going downwind trying to hoist the kite, it's much better to have the crew on the wire and try to pass some boats. Realized sailing out (super beautiful scenic sail past Alcatraz, by the way) that if you hit the spin halyard cleat with your foot the wrong way, it uncleats. So I need to observe foot placement discipline.

* Second beat we picked up a nice left shift and passed maybe 10-15 boats, but had a really hard time hoisting and staying high enough on the reach to the jibe mark. Short answer: lift up the board! When wire-running downwind, want board down to keep crew on wire as you try to slide low, but trying to hit the reach mark were just totally overpowered. And the main hits the spin sheets so can't go out.

* Jibing, I am not rotating the spinnaker enough, plus I need to do something with the sheet so it doesn't wrap on the end of the boom. Very slow & dangerous...

* Third beat, is when I started envisioning the cold beer & hot shower back on land. This is when we were just done by being overpowered.

* Apparently there was a run after that. My memory is not so clear... Very interesting criss-crossing other boats both down wind and upwind while reaching along. That would be a spectacular collision.

* Slog to the finish, trying to hike but not doing a very good job of it. Not sure why I didn't feel the need to depower -- some complex about not wanting to put my head in the boat and adjust it. Not like I can see anything else anyway going upwind, so what's the problem?

* Goals for tonight: after taco bar and beer at the club, we are sacked out. Gareth is already asleep.

* Goals for tomorrow: less time messing around with boat, get out there, get numbers for the beats, stay 'in-tune', pull up spinnaker quickly, rotate well on jibes, and have a good start. How hard could it be?

Apparently this was an average day. At least we are getting what we came for!

Worlds day 2: boatwork...

2009-08-18T02:58:00.003-03:00

Today's main problems to solve were threefold:

1. Buy a paddle.

2. Bolt on extra lead and have it inspected by a measurer.

3. Go sailing.

The third was not achieved and we didn't leave the boat park until 8pm. We started the day helping Adam move some heavy pipes, etc., because we needed to go to his office to pick up boat parts like McLube and mylar tape and blocks for the shrouds, that were being delivered there. Then we went to buy a paddle. Next thing you know it's 11.30 and we are at a West Marine down by the airport. Now we were truly stuck in the vortex...

We didn't get back to the dinghy park until 1.30pm, after lunch and picking up my shades from the apartment. Gareth went to work McLubing and mylaring and generally making my boat look like we know what we are doing. I worked on drilling holes in the lead, drilling holes in boat, and joining the two with screws. This took a long time due to the trickiness of getting the nuts on the bolts. This also required taking out the mast, and once that happened, it was clear we weren't going sailing. Disappointing.

Anyway, at that point we decided we could epoxy, so we screwed in new turning blocks for my shrouds, the old ones were the wrong type installed the wrong way, and when we took them off, little ball bearings went all over my boat, since they were all busted up. So glad to be changing that before those blow up 3 miles downwind of the beach.

Importantly, Gareth also redid the chafe guard on his trap twings, the 'old' one (i.e. has 90 minutes of sailing on it) had chafed through already... So this was good, it means he is less likely to fall off of the boat tomorrow.

Had dinner with the two Danish guys next to us in the boat park, and now we are beat.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy.

I haven't had a chance yet to study the tides or even really get the local knowledge.

Not to mention get used to sailing in heavy air.

Wish us luck!

p.s. It's cold here! Jeans & jacket & hat all day.

Worlds Day 2: now we are sailing (and measuring)

2009-08-17T03:13:00.005-03:00

The plan for today was simple: show up early, do some minor boatwork, measure in (as much as possible, given I don't have a class registration sticker or measurement certificate), and go sailing in the afternoon.

Mostly, that's what happened, although running around for the measurement was a bit stressful. Probably didn't help that we started the day off going the wrong way down a street -- that's why that guy was beeping at me! The coffee just hadn't kicked in yet.

We got the club shortly after 8, popped out the rig, put on transom flaps (poor man's style with plastic & tape, not the carbon fibre ones everyone else has), chafe-proofed the trapeze lines -- they are basically day-glow string that is as strong as wire -- and put the sails in line for measurement. I also sent Gareth off down the beach with the boat for it to be weighed and have the spars measured.

We are sailing off a beach next to the club, which is OK, but it's basically wide open to the public, and a 10-minute walk from the club.

Anyway, the boat was 2 kilos underweight (with 10 in it already!), so we have 2 kilos of lead we need to bolt on tomorrow. Also, we are missing a paddle, so add that to the shopping list tomorrow morning.

By the time we got through all that, put the boat in its correct spot by the beach, and got the rig in, it was time for lunch. More boatwork, Gareth tweaking the spin halyard blocks, I was busy putting shock cord on my mainsheet, taping on the tuning guide, etc.

So by 4 we were ready to go sailing -- by now it was super windy with the classic SF Bay wind pattern ramped up to max, and we were both a little nervous. Would something blow up? Would we be able to handle it? How many times would we flip, etc.

We did not get off to a great start, sitting on the beach with the sails up but no vang or cunningham attached. We were tweaking that with my new 3DL mylar main flapping away at full speed, adding years to its life -- that wasn't pleasant. But we launched without any incidents.

It was sweet. Because the tide was coming in with the wind, the water was quite flat, and after going upwind for a bit, we popped the chute and jammed downwind. It was like riding in a limo -- hardly any waves, and moving quickly. I think we even managed a jibe or two without incident.

Of course, between the tide & reaching under the kite, it didn't take long before we needed to head back upwind. Which took about 80% of our sailing time... We were raked about 3/4 of the way back, and spent most of the time with the main out to the corner, or with the top totally inverted. But the boat was flying upwind, and I was working on not pinching, and not being afraid to let out the main to stay flat. Of course, it always feels good by yourself, so the test will be when we are lined up against other boats.

We capsized twice -- once on a tack where I didn't get the main out, and also on a spinnaker hoist. Trying to steer the boat between my knees as it accelerates down waves, while hoisting the kite, is obviously a technique I will need to learn the finer points on.

We only were out for an hour, as the fog seemed like it was coming in, and we didn't want to beat ourselves up too much, but that sail made up for all the other BS. Enjoying a frosty one at the club bar after, we could watch the sun set behind the Golden Gate bridge. Magnificent.

Tomorrow: shopping, picking up boat parts, boat work, a sail, and a relaxing night!

Worlds: Day 1

2009-08-16T02:06:00.004-03:00

Today was the first full day in SF. The plan was: unload truck, stick mast in & do some simple rig work, buy wetsuits, and go sailing. Along the way we would find the measurer and get that sorted out.

Here what really happened:

Guys showed up early to unload the truck, so it was done by the time I showed up at 10am.
Gareth was a little late from a party last night, but since the truck was unloaded I told him to take his time.
Futz around with covers and tools and moving stuff to the storage container.
Measure the rig & black bands, am found by the measurer, he will want to do it all again anyway.
Chat with arriving 505 sailors. Gareth knows everybody. Or at least they know him from when he was living in the container at his previous worlds.
Put the mast in, forget the forestay, tip the boat over and install it.
Pack up tools & sails & car.
Eat lunch.
It is now 2pm, not sure how that happened.
Spend an hour getting lost in SF trying to find the surf shop. At least is very pretty and beautiful weather
Find surf shop, all their suits are very expensive.
Find another surf shop, basically by luck on our way back to the club. I buy the cheapest thing that fits, but Gareth likes what he has relative to what's on sale -- they are only selling full-body suits with long arms.
Back to the club, it is now 4.30pm, we have n hour to work on the boat before heading back to meet our hosts and get keys, find the place we are staying, etc.
In one hour manage to stick on the mast ram calibration scale. Obviously this involved lots of talking to other 505 sailors about various topics, such as "what does this rope do"...
Back to where we are staying, clean up, find grocery store, eat food, write blog posts, and realize body is telling me it's 2am in the real world...

The boat: BER 9005

2009-08-16T01:41:00.004-03:00

As far as I can tell, this boat, BER 9005, is one of the newest 505s in the world. There may be one or two that have more recent sail numbers. Doug Hagan was rigging up USA 9004 across the parking lot from me today.

It's built by Rondar, out of glass & carbon & foam & gosh knows what else they put in them these days. I didn't think I was buying a carbon boat, but apparently they all have that in them these days.

It has the key feature of being brand-new and watertight. Remember that new-car smell? It's like that. When I open up the inspection ports to the buoyancy tanks, dust comes out... That's how watertight it is. Let's hope it stays that way for a long time.

It's a launcher boat -- pretty much all new ones are.

Generally, I've got very simple systems for the 505. I wanted to start with where my last boat left off, and not add a system unless I knew what I was going to do with it.

Single aluminum pole & aluminum boom. Lots of guys have carbon booms & poles, which are now allowed under the class rules, some are trying double poles. I figured, I'd never sailed with double poles, why start now, and why pay the extra expense for carbon when I will never be able to really fix it right in Bermuda & the boat is wicked underweight anyway.
Standard endless spinnaker sheets. A few teams are using lazy guys & sheets, so there isn't a twing, but instead a separately adjustable guy attached near the shrouds. I do have guy adjusters, a purchase on the guy turning block at the back of the boat, allowing me to pull the guy off the forestay even under load, without having to retie the jibing knots in the spinnaker.
Superspar M2 mast.
Ram-up is rigged to pull the bottom of the mast forward when the spinnaker halyard is pulled tight; this helps prevent mast inversion under heavy pressure from the kite (since the spin halyard exit is about 80-100cm above the hounds). This of course is also the system that the spinnaker halyard is getting jammed in. if it keeps acting up, I am going to knock it in the head. I can pull ram-up on myself, thank you very much.
High aspect ratio Waterat blades, carbon tiller. The blades are wicked narrow compared to what I used to have. I think they are less forgiving about stalling & pinching the boat, and need speed to work well. But when they do, they really work. Hopefully I will get my driving technique in gear for them.
North 3DL main & Jib. I used to have Norths on my old boat, and am comfortable with the sailmaker, etc. Although many teams are using Glaser sails.
Fixed jib track with manual adjustments -- no continuous adjustments or in-out sideways adjustments. That's just something else for me to get wrong right now.
Most things are rigged with very small carbo blocks, and thin dyneema or vectran or similar line.
20 kilos of corrector weights... maybe I could afford to beef up some of that rigging...
Mo

I think that's it. Very simple compared with what some of these guys are running. Hopefully much more info about that kind of stuff later one.

Message from our sponsors

2009-08-16T01:33:00.004-03:00

I'd like to take this post to thank some of the people who made this crazy project possible, either directly or indirectly.

- All the 505ers who answered my emails about boats etc., especially Jesse Falsone whose email tipped me over the edge into buying a new boat.

- Tyler Moore for agreeing to do the rigging. As was said to me at BBR by someone, "rigging boats isn't the easiest way to make money".

- John Wyles for organizing the truck to SF.

- My good friends Kenny and Suzanne in Boston, for cooking me dinner and agreeing to store the boat in the driveway for a few weeks. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but they live in Brookline, so it's probably illegal...

- My SF shore crew, Adam & Alicia, Danielle & Jeff, for helping me organize housing & logistics, making me pancakes, and loaning me vehicles.

- My employer -- somehow they pay me enough money that I could buy a new boat, while also giving me enough vacation that I can come to SF for two weeks. Not sure how that works...

- And everyone else who has put up with me talking smack about this recently. You know you're just jealous.

BBR Retrospective

2009-08-16T01:05:00.003-03:00

Last weekend we did a 'warmup' at the Buzzard's Bay Regatta, out of New Bedford. In many ways this regatta soothed my nerves a bit, because I had never taken the covers off of the boat. So there was a lot of uncertainty.

We drove down there (about 75 minutes south of Boston) on Thursday night with the boat behind a U-Haul pickup truck, dropped the boat off at the club, and went to stay with our hosts. The first race was scheduled to start at 10.30am the next morning, so I was a little worried it wasn't going to happen for us.

Up bright and early, we miraculously were able to get parking right next door to the club. Even more miraculously, we were able to get the mast in the boat and all the lines just about connected, and the mast rake calibrated in time to make it out for the first race.

Let me tell you, this is no mean feat. There have been days in Bermuda where we haven't been able to get 8119 off the dock in two hours, with fussing and messing with strings. This is a testimony to the guys (Tyler Moore and Peter Alarie) who rigged the boat, that it went so seamlessly.

The only problems were, the job cloth was missing, and the centreboard downhaul.

Of course, halfway out to the race course we figured out there was a downhaul for the CB, and on the second day w figured out that the jib halyard was adjustable with a handy cleat. So those weren't problems after all...

The goals of this event were three-fold:

1. Get the boat to a place where it could be trucked to the worlds

2. Make sure all the pieces of the boat fit together

3. Practice sailing together in a regatta.

Goal 1 was wildly successful, the boat is now in SF.

Goal 2 was also successful, pretty much everything worked, although there are a few nits, for example our spinnaker halyard jams sometimes, and the spinnaker doesn't like to come out of the tube. I chalk most of that up to the fine tuning that you can only do after you have been sailing a bit -- knowing what chafes on what, and where you need to spray the McLube, and so on.

Goal 3 was successful, in that we practiced together, but illustrated we have a lot to learn. On a pure boat-handling basis, we are far above where I was the first time I sailed a 505, and far better than where we started, but we need to work on communication & synchronization in the boat -- that can only come with time.

On a boat-speed basis, given that we have a brand new boat & brand-new sails, I was a bit disappointed -- we could keep up with most of the people at least some of the time (we even passed a boat downwind once, new for me), but in some clinch situations, couldn't keep the bow up while maintaining speed, etc. Basically, we need to 'find our gears' -- for the wind condition, be dialed in, not overpowered, & driving correctly (e.g. I am still in the habit of trying to point when the boat needs to go fast and then height will come). We also need to work on what to do, say, to switch to point mode at the start. This was inevitable given that we have never tuned up against another boat before, not the least the new one.

That leaves the skipper factor. None of our starts were stellar, many were poor. It's been a while since I drove in a sailboat race, and it's clear that my concentration level needs to kick up a notch. I'd be good on the first beat, e.g. in phase, with a plan, but then spinnaker trouble would blow it all out of my head, and halfway up the second beat I'd be thinking -- "WHY are you going this way, when the whole fleet is going the other way, and you just passed three boats by going the other way..."

So overall, it went exactly as I expected, although not as well as I had dreamed it might...

Gareth was a great team-mate, really good at helping put the boat together and figuring out what goes where. The weather was good, the beer was cold, and nothing really broke (except the mirror on the U-Haul truck).

So I call the event a success...

This is not an Optimist Regatta

2009-08-14T14:28:00.005-03:00

This is not an Optimist Regatta -- and by that I am not referring to my well-known sunny personality.

There will be no yummy mummy to pack our lunch in the morning. No daddy to put the boat in the water for us. And no famous sailor to debrief us at the end of the day. Unless you count Danielle & Adam, veterans of the International One-Design fleet around the world, now based in SF... But I am bringing rum & ginger beer, with which I hope to coax tips out of some of my fellow sailors. Luckily, the 505 fleet is known for being generous & gregarious... There will be a 1-hour sail out to the race course across the San Francisco Bay, and a 1.5-2 hour sail back upwind, when it's windy at the end of the day.

There is no getting around the fact that, in the big picture, we are woefully under-prepared. We have practiced, but less than 20 times, and Bermuda in June & August is not known for its wind. We have a new boat, but we have already broken the end of the spinnaker pole. And, as for fitness, did I mention that I am recently recovered from a slipped disc? No big deal, I have a bottle of Advil & a heating pad.

Hence our first team motto is 'In over our heads'. And the second one is 'More money than sense' -- at least concerning me...

So why are we doing this?

To be honest, despite all the stress in dealing with the logistics, and the pressure of the racecourse, it all is worth it once you are planing upwind with a neutral tiller, cutting through the water. Or you turn the top mark, pop the chute, and start whooping as the boat skips down the waves, spray in the skipper's face. And who can pass up a chance to sail for 2 weeks in San Francsico Bay in 505s, the cadillac of dinghies?

Why Nicotine Patch?

2009-08-14T14:23:00.001-03:00

Why Team Nicotine Patch? It helps to know that the first boat (7839) was christened 'Cigarette Girl' by me, outside of my friend's (first) wedding reception in Larchmont, in the process breaking a champagne glass she probably had to pay for (sorry!). Why Cigarette Girl? Well, it's not a very good story, but it does involve a frenchman and women selling cigarettes on the back of sailboats. I can't remember why...

So Nicotine Patch is the name proposed to me by Howard, who, I believe, is the first person I have ever stepped into a 505 with. The hope is that the patch will help me get over all the problems of the original cigarette...

In the beginning...

2009-08-14T13:11:00.005-03:00

In the beginning, there was grad school. And the realization that sailing Lasers was really not going to be the way forward, at least as far as meeting fun people and having a good time goes.

A little research, and then there was BER 8739. I acquired this boat from Ted Ferrarone. Judging by his 505 trading activity over the past few years, I think it marks the beginning of his role as a "fleet enabler", providing liquidity to the 505 trading pool. I raced that boat actively in the summer of 2002, with Alex Mevay (fellow MIT Sailing alum, and future mini-Transat racer, to give an idea of the sort of company I keep), putting many miles on the Saturn in the New England / Canada area, and even hitting Florida twice for the mid-winters with unsuspecting friends as crew.

Grad school finally intervened, and the boat was stored in the bat cave for a few years whiel I graduated. When I moved back to Bermuda for some reason I decided to take that boat with me. Thanks to the help of a good friend, a little mis-communication, and the trade of a used Saturn to my brother-in-law for driving my boat to NJ, the boat arrived in Bermuda. It ended costing me more to ship the boat than to buy it, but at least it got its own container. Except for the mast. Which got run over by a forklift. And of course, was uninsured. That boat is still in my garage, with the deck half-stripped, and lots of new epoxy after the shroud tackle ripped out of the boat...

Not much happened in Bermuda with me and 505s, I was busy doing other things, but once I caught onto the idea of the 2009 worlds last year, I decided to by BER 8119 -- no more wooden foredeck, 'modern' bow launcher, etc. That was good until I ripped out 8119's shroud tackle as well. Turns out his boat had other problems as well, leaving me with two 505s in the yard.

Fast forward to March 2009. At this point I was crewless, my then crew having decided to move to New Zealand to learn how to make wine (can't blame him really...), and injured with a slipped disk, thanks to a Viper regatta in Miami.

So, will it all work out? Stay tuned...

505 Worlds 2009: Team Nicotine Patch -- "In over our heads".

2009-08-14T12:44:00.005-03:00

I am sitting in Miami Airport, on a 4 hour layover on my way to San Francisco for the 2009 505 World Championships. The next two weeks marks the end of about 18 months of talking smack, day-dreaming, and generally doing a lot of stressing out (actually, my normal situation) to get to this event.

What did it take to get to this stage?

Crew? check. One Gareth Williams, rugby player, two-time 505 worlds crew, secret weapon.
Boat? check. One brand new Rondar, only sailed 3 days, BER 9005.
Sails? check. One set North kevlar/mylar 3DLs and spinnaker.
Tools? Ummm. Three screwdrivers, two pliers, and a leatherman. Does that count? I have duct tape and dyneema rope too...
Knowledge of what we are doing? That's why I brought Gareth.
Friends with houses in San Francisco? check. Re-check at the end of two weeks...

This is the first of a series of blog posts detailing our adventure. Stay tuned...

Tragic lack of judgment

2009-04-06T07:29:00.004-03:00

This weekend has left me in a very negative mood, despite the great weather, spending time with family and friends, and crossing a few big TODOs off of my list.

The reason is that I am beginning to doubt that anyone on this island has an iota of good judgment, or could add one plus one and get three... I mean two.

1) Saturday 11:45am, I am heading east in my car just west of Barnes Corner. I am required to come to a full stop in my lane to make room for an SAL cement truck that is passing a stopped bus while at full speed. He gave me a thank-you honk. Heck, at least I am still alive.

2) Saturday afternoon, I am now heading west in my car on Middle road just past the end of Ord Road. I am required to come to almost a complete stop to make room for a passing car. That car was passing not one, not two, but three cars.

I have no idea what happened on Saturday night to those poor people on South Shore Road -- but with experiences like mine on Saturday, it's not hard to make some educated guesses.

3) This is unrelated to road safety but in the news this morning I learned that Government did deliberately mislead seniors about FutureCare to avoid over-subscription. Has the Government done anything in a straightforward, up-front, and honest way recently? The right thing to do would have been to admit they could only accept X seniors, open applications to all eligible, and have a lottery or some other criteria. That would avoided leaving seniors feeling confused and cheated.

In a similar vein, I now see that Government is mooting a congestion charge, presumably using the Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system. Does anyone remember the promises that this would not be used for congestion charges? Of course at the time it was obvious to see that was likely not the case -- in all of the system manufacturer's press releases, the only application mentioned for EVR was congestion charging and tolling.

Julian Hall makes $200k/year

2009-02-17T07:45:00.004-04:00

Heard on the radio this morning that Julian Hall now makes $200,000 a year as a special consultant to the Ministry of Works & Engineering, up from $119,000. I would love to know what he does for them. At least this time it's a local Bermudian consultant...

What did he mean? Sally Bassett & South Africa

2009-02-16T07:42:00.005-04:00

I wrote a letter to the Royal Gazette about Rolfe Commissiong's latest tempest in a teacup (original link to my letter here, Rolfe Commissong's response here):

February 11, 2009

Dear Sir,

In today's article on the unveiling of the Sally Bassett statue, you quote Rolfe Commissiong as saying that the Governor's remarks were "insensitive and racially invidious", because the Governor drew a parallel between our statue and South Africa's Blood River Monument. It is unfortunate that Mr. Commissiong cannot see that there is more than one way to make a point.

As Government's race relations consultant, he has the unenviable job of helping our island understand the past and present of race relations. But, he only knows how to do this one way: by verbally whipping whites. Predictably, this is not getting the desired response from everyone; we all know that honey draws more flies than vinegar.

To me, the Governor was making the point that despite the atrocious events of apartheid, and the importance of the Blood River monument to apartheid's creators, even South Africa's post-apartheid government could see fit to leave the Blood Rver statue standing. And, if this is the case, whites in Bermuda can try to understand the importance of the Sally Bassett statue, even though they find it an unpleasant reminder of history.

Douglas S. J. De Couto Ph.D., J.P.

Southampton

It could be worse

2009-02-12T07:39:00.002-04:00

Apparently the bad economy is causing ex-pats to leave Dubai in droves, according to the NYTimes.

The Assimilated Negro

2009-02-11T08:05:00.001-04:00

Just came across this blog: The Assimilated Negro. It's funny & pointed & you should read it.

Dynamics of Diversity

2009-02-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

A friend recently pointed me to this pamphlet on the "Dynamics of Diversity". It's about "insiders" versus "outsiders", and although it's aimed at corporations or other organizations, I think it provides a useful way to look at our actions and relations to others when thinking about how to improve race relations. For example, whites can be though of as the insiders and blacks as outsiders, to use the common stereotypical view (we're off to a good start already here, aren't we?), but it can also apply to women vs. men, or other divisions or groupings. Within each group people can be of a different type on a ladder of types. Insiders can be "unintentional offenders", "intentional offenders", "avoiders", or "change agents". Outsiders can be "assimilators", "separatists", "fighters", or "change agents". The goal is to move along the ladder toward being a change agent...

Where are you?

Truth on Tourism?

2009-02-09T21:23:00.003-04:00

I am so confused about what is going on with tourism and air arrivals.

From the Royal Gazette tonight: "Air and cruise arrivals were both down for 2008, Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown announced today."

From the PLP blog, their blurb is titled: "Tourism weathers the economic storm".

Apparently not...

The PLP also writes, "The free publicity and affirmation of Bermuda from an international superstar like Beyonce is worth it's (sic) weight in gold." Well, it wasn't free, we paid a lot of money to get her here.

All I can to say is show me the numbers so I can make up my own mind.

Sally Bassett Statue

2009-02-09T20:51:00.002-04:00

Tonight I was able to spend a brief time at the dedication of the Sally Bassett statue at the Cabinet Office. It was a nice ceremony, if a bit cold outside: African drumming, a blessing, singing, a reading from a play about Sally Bassett, speech from the Governor, Jennifer Smith, etc. Not many whites.

I am still trying to figure out exactly the Governor's speech. He gave three examples of memorials around the world that were not exactly welcomed in their location. His first example was perhaps the most controversial: the Blood River memorial in South Africa, erected by the South Africans to commemorate the Boer victory against the Zulus. It was thought that with the end of apartheid and the change in government, that memorial would be removed but apparently it still stands, although it is not pleasant to all. I suppose then the Governor's words were not that complicated: sometimes we need to remember things that are not pleasant to us.

At the same time, I have to agree with other commentators that there are many other statues that could have been erected that would draw support from whites as well. We ought to have the Sally Bassett statue, but perhaps we can have one about the end of slavery as well. In my view although this government and many of their supporters are correct when they say that "whites" need to face up some unpleasant facts of Bermuda's past, I think they ought to throw some carrot in with the stick...

We can look forward to another sculpture this year, commemorating the Theatre Boycott. This one was commissioned by the Corporation of Hamilton, and is due to be unveiled sometime this year (which was one reason the Corporation could not accept the Sally Bassett statue for City Hall).

How will Obama change how we talk about race?

2009-01-15T07:53:00.003-04:00

This NYTimes article describes how Obama is an ice-breaker for many people to talk about race in a better way. I am not so sure it's been a net win for us here in Bermuda. Perhaps I'm getting cynical -- I didn't even take the time to fully read Rolfe Commissiong's latest piece in the Sun. Oh, and by the way, Obama would win for the UBP in Paget West.

Local "consultants" play role in Siemens bribery scandal

2008-12-21T16:12:00.002-04:00

"The most common method of bribery involved hiring an outside consultant to help “win” a contract. This was typically a local resident with ties to ruling leaders. Siemens paid a fee to the consultant, who in turn delivered the cash to the ultimate recipient."

From NYTimes article on how the German firm Siemens regularly used bribery to win overseas contracts. I'll be thinking twice next time I see a Bermudian acting as "consultant" to an overseas firm bidding in Bermuda. Like, maybe Kurron? Who knows!

Young United Christmas Party

2008-12-17T21:06:00.002-04:00

Young United is hosting a Christmas Party this Sunday 21 Dec @ The Docksiders, 10pm, Featuring DA GENERAL & DJ Black Swan. Also a Live Band performance from the Battle of the Bands BAD CURRENT.

!!!ADMISSION IS FREE!!! FREE FOOD, FREE GIFT GIVEAWAYS, AND EARLY BIRD OPEN BAR, AND MUCH MUCH MORE :-)

Dress Code is smart casual, no sneakers, no caps, and no sports clothing allowed!!! You must be over 18 ID is required!!!

Check it out on Facebook (login required)

Where do old candidates go?

2008-12-16T22:11:00.002-04:00

A reader asks:

Are many of the other candidates from 2007 that lost still involved in the party? I am speaking of Kenneth Bascome, Suzanne Holshouser, Keith Young, Austin Warner, Marilyn Steede, Tillman Darrell, Roderick Simons, Gina Spence Farmer, David Dodwell, Ed Bailey, Sarah Burrows, Donald Hassell. I notice that oftentimes the UBP has candidates that run for one election and then disappear. It makes me wonder if perhaps they are discarded afterwards, or perhaps weren't treated as though they were valued.

That's a good question. Many, but not all of our candidates are still actively involved. For example, Charlie Swan had been canvassing and working in the west end, leading up to his selection as a candidate and eventual election as MP last month. Michael Dunkley was appointed as a Senator by the party leader Kim Swan. Others of us ran for and were elected as UBP party officers, at the most recent AGM with over 100 attendees (or were previously party officers). Others still are actively involved in coming to caucus and speaking up, or are behind the scenes with other activities (committees, canvassing with Charlie, etc.). Finally, some have chosen to take a well-earned break and refocus on their professional activities and private lives, especially since there is no financial remuneration for being a candidate as there is for the positions of Senator or MP. Three or four of the candidates listed in the question have been quite actively involved.

Living in election mode is exhausting and takes up all of your mental and physical energy. During that time, many aspects of life are put on the back-burner. And to be frank, there is no such position in the party as 'failed candidate in the last election.' There are 'approved candidates', which would include everyone who stood for election -- these individuals are free to come to caucus and contribute their views & opinions if they wish to spend the time and energy, or not if they so choose.

They are equally free to continue working and canvassing in their constituencies with their branch, or not. Eventually when election time creeps up on us again, each branch will have to 'adopt' an official candidate that will run in that constituency, potentially with a primary election if there are multiple possible UBP candidates.

At the end of the day, it comes down to how much time & energy an individual has to dedicate to the cause!

Merry Christmas, Portuguese Style!

2008-12-16T08:16:00.003-04:00

They eat a lot of cod in Portugal at Christmas. Fun quote: "I used to make bacalhau the old-fashioned way, but since I discovered Senhor Bacalhau here, I am faithful only to him".

The Way Forward

2008-12-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have heard that I am one of three new Deputy Chairmen of the United Bermuda Party. The new slate of party officers is:

Chairman: Sean Pitcher

Deputy: Jeff Sousa

Deputy: Alvin Wilson

Deputy: Douglas De Couto

Treasurer: Richard Krupp

Secretary: Alberta Waite

One project I hope to work on is improving our communication to the members and public about what is going on with the party, what we've achieved, and what we are thinking. This includes taking better advantage of blogs & other technologies.

If you have any opinions on this topic, and would like to make a suggestion, please contact me.

Wow. So not impressed.

2008-12-13T18:05:00.002-04:00

The PLP blog writes that Government is "helping the economy" by waiving fees for businesses to operate on Sundays. However, Government won't cut the duty on importing food, because "On the whole the duty on food is non-existent or very low and that has been so for at least the last ten years," and "there is little more that Government can do if it wishes to protect its existing revenue base".

I am underwhelmed. Why not take a more radical step and eliminate payroll tax for our lowest earners, who are most strapped for cash? e.g target those workers making under $42k a year, as suggested by the UBP last December. That would directly put money back into those pockets.

As for the groceries, the article states that meat, fish, and fresh veg get 5% duty, while bread and pasta get 10% duty, and frozen food gets 22%. I wonder if that 22% includes frozen veg. If it does, Government should cut that duty, as frozen vegetables actually have quite a lot of nutritional value ("frozen vegetables provide similar levels of nutrition to fresh vegetables") and are convenient to use and keep well. Government should further cut the duty on bread and pasta -- I am not a nutritionist, but those seem like staples to me. And as for "protecting its revenue base", I suggest Government start with cutting its expenses, including: travel, GP cars, throwing parties like the music fest (nice party, but really the best use of taxpayer (our!) money?), expensive consultants, building parking lots for the US consulate, etc.

Let me say here that I am not from the "starve the beast" ideology, and I support Government increasing spending on programs of social importance (youth development, fighting crime, helping the unfortunate get a hand up). At the same time I believe in prioritising and making disciplined, hard choices about expenditures. Because the reality is that Government money doesn't come from nowhere, it comes from all of us -- out of our payroll and out of our grocery & electricity bills, to name a few places.

Happy holidays all!

2008-12-13T18:02:00.002-04:00

Dear readers, I just wanted to wish you luck in your Christmas shopping. I hope that you have a joyous and safe holiday season!

Last weekend I blinked while driving on my bike at 8pm, only to see a car coming right at me in my lane. The car managed to squeeze between me and the bike it was passing. The next day I went out and bought a new full-face helmet.

GovTV & Local Media

2008-12-08T21:19:00.004-04:00

correction: I referred to Beachlime as 'Vexed'. Sorry! All you bloggers look alike anyway. (cya note: I don't actually know who those other two bloggers are...).

Seems like BeachLime is vexed about GovTV. What he suggests, Gov't allocating support to the local broadcasters, is a good idea. My original thoughts on this topic were along the same lines, but I thought the Gov't should focus more on their portal, and I wrote a letter about it 3 years ago. We've seen now that GovTV hasn't been quite the propaganda machine I originally feared, but the principle still holds: that money could have been used to support private broadcasters.

To: Editor of the Royal Gazette
Copies To: Michael Scott, Alex Scott.

15 November 2005

Re: Why a Government TV Station is a Bad Idea

Dear Editor,

While speaking yesterday at the House of Assembly, Mr. Dale Butler provided several examples of how a Government-run TV station might inform the public of the inner workings of the Government. For example, the Minister said, such a station could communicate the details of Government’s 11-million dollar gift to Bermudian cricket, about which most sportsmen and women, taxpayers, and voters would quite like to know.

However, although Government’s effort to communicate information to the people is an admirable goal which meshes nicely with their recently proposed PATI (Public Access To Information) initiative, a TV station is not the right way to do it. Instead, they ought to concentrate on taking better advantage of new technologies like the Internet, and improve the Government Internet portal with real information, above and beyond giving it a facelift.

TV stations are very expensive to build, operate, and maintain. Any video or audio content that might be broadcast on a TV station could be made available much more cheaply ad conveniently on the Internet. It is true that not everyone in Bermuda has access to the Internet at home, but soon they will be able to access it through the Post Office and Libraries. And, Bermudian residents would be able to actively choose among the available videos and information on a website, rather than the unlikely scenario of sitting and waiting for the particular piece of information they desire to be broadcast on the TV station. As a sweetener, Bermudians who are overseas would also be able to access Government information from such a website, which could also act as an electronic archive. And if for some reason a TV broadcast is truly required, Government can buy the time on one of the Island’s existing commercial stations.

Finally, by scrapping the TV station idea and redirecting any earmarked resources to improving the content and services available on the Internet portal, Government can avoid the overtones of totalitarian propaganda which often accompany Government-run broadcast stations, which tell you what they want you to hear, when they want you to hear it. Unless, of course, that’s the point.

Sincerely,

Douglas S. J. De Couto Ph.D.

Before Independence, Let's Have Some Basics.

2008-12-07T19:15:00.002-04:00

“The liberties of a people never were nor ever will be secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” - Patrick Henry

Road Paving Drama

2008-12-06T19:00:00.002-04:00

I had to laugh when W&E started paving the road in Southampton right before the by-election. In the general election, the same thing happened to me with Horsehoe Road, that runs from the top of Camp Hill over to South Shore Rd. by Horseshoe bay. If I had a dollar or a vote for every constituent who told me "I've been telling Stanley about that road for years, but he never does anything about it", I'd a) be rich, and b) would have won a seat in the election!

Speaking of Speaker of the House Mr. Stanley Lowe, I though Peter Woolcock's cartoon in Friday's Gazette was quite edgy, at least for him, with the lizard saying that the small dog in the middle (i.e., the Speaker), can "fit into your pocket".

Charlie Swan Wins By-Election

2008-12-04T22:39:00.003-04:00

(Note: edited to fix my math for the percentages!)

Charlie Swan wins by-election in Southampton.

I'm happy.

The article in the Sun is titled: "UBP hangs on to seat". Charlie won by 427 to 312 against Marc Bean, with 58% of the 784 vote turnout. In last year's election, Jon Brunson won by 548 to 406, with 57% of the 954 vote turnout. The turnout for this by-election was 18% less than last year's general election.

If you like election data, I have a compilation here, or you can browse around the Parliamentary Registrar's website.

Whose Job is it Anyway?

2008-12-02T23:30:00.004-04:00

Last month the PLP had a constituency meeting for Marc Bean, which I attended, and at which Paula Cox, Marc Bean, and Ewart Brown spoke. One of the comments that struck me (and I can't remember exactly which speaker this was -- not Marc) was that constituents ought to select a Government MP, as they would be more effective in addressing the constituents' parochial concerns (roads, lights, etc.).

A charitable interpretation of this statement is that the Government is unable to monitor and maintain these parts of parish infrastructure without some MP breathing down their back and reminding them what's broken.

A more sinister interpretation is that the Government is only interested in helping you if you are represented by a PLP MP. That is, UBP MPs shouldn't expect to get any help from Government or the civil service nor should their constituents. Now, I know this extreme formulation is not true, as many of my UBP colleagues have good relations with the civil service, who they rely on to serve their constituents. But I wonder why the PLP speakers made the original statement?

And, the reality is we have a massive civil service, one of whose jobs is to make sure the roads are OK, the lights are on, etc. It shouldn't take an MP exerting outside influence to get critical repairs & installations done.

Vote for Charlie Swan

2008-12-02T23:17:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder for those of you who live in Southampton West to get out and vote for Charlie Swan in Thursday's by-election. I will be voting for him!

Charlie has a long record of accomplishments both in serving his community and building and running a successful business. Those of you who have had the chance to speak with him know that he is sincere & committed to Bermuda. And, due to his success in the private sector (which not all politicians are lucky to enjoy!) there is no doubt that Charlie Swan will be able to remain an independent thinker who will exercise his best judgment to do what is right for Bermuda.

Vote for Charlie -- it's best for Bermuda.

Slackness

2008-12-02T23:12:00.002-04:00

I've been slack with the blog -- but I think it's good. It means I've been spending time on other, (mostly) healthier pursuits. Like sailing. And spending time repairing my boat (pix here). And learning about twitter (find me here). And so forth.

Marc Bean: Good with money?

2008-11-20T21:49:00.002-04:00

My understanding is that Marc Bean failed to pay around $4,000 of payroll tax. All due to his Government consulting jobs, I would guess.

My question is, is he just bad with money, or is he trying to dodge taxes?

More on Unconscious Bias

2008-11-20T21:30:00.003-04:00

Check out this page for a very long list of references about unconscious bias.

This article is also cool, and explains why whites who think they are acting appropriately may be perceived as acting in a racist or prejudiced manner.

Tackling Unconscious Bias

2008-11-20T08:12:00.001-04:00

This recent NYTimes article gives a good overview of how unconscious bias and prejudices manifest themselves in Medicine. But all hope is not lost -- by understanding what biases we have and their sources, we can prevent ourselves from jumping to unwarranted conclusions about our fellow human beings.

This is Not Leadership in Education

2008-11-19T22:02:00.003-04:00

The RG reports on how Phil Butterfield really feels about the teachers union: "I don't give a damn that the unions are aggrieved." As chairman of the interim education board, he is demonstrating his inability to be a true leader. And without that skill, I am not hopeful that he and his committee can successfully turn around education on this island.

It's common sense that they should be working with the teachers. Like the teachers or not, and whether or not they are doing a good job, we need them to come on board and start doing a good job. Bad-mouthing their union secretary in a public forum demonstrates Butterfield's lack of respect for the teachers.

Good leadership requires many qualities, including respect, tact, patience, humility, among others. It is also true that leadership requires adapting the approach to the situation. By any of these criteria, Butterfield has failed his test of leadership in Education.

Truth in Advertising

2008-11-19T21:29:00.002-04:00

The anonymous authors of the PLP blog recently wrote "The Opposition's Reply to the Throne Speech was about cheap political attacks - not ideas..." To be frank, that statement is a lie -- the Reply was a very good speech which rightly called the Government to account on many important issues, and proposed a multitude of concrete ideas -- 26 by my count. You can read them for yourself in the speech, but for your convenience I summarize them below. So I encourage to think for yourself, and decide, does the UBP have ideas? I think you will find the answer is yes.

Reduce reliance on foreign consultants, thereby reducing costs and involving more Bermudians in running their country.

Provide the people with a realistic & clear-eyed view of the economy, where it is going, and how that may impact Bermudians.

Cut non-essential spending and institute a Government-wide austerity program, including a freeze on public service hiring -- thereby leading by example.

Set aside extra money for Housing and Social assistance in anticipation of the hard times ahead.

Prepare to pick up slack in economy with public projects, but only once the private sector construction boom has ended.

Openly tender Government jobs to "spread the wealth" throughout the economy.

Revive the "Buy Bermuda" campaign.

Be prepared to cut payroll tax for small businesses, especially if Tourism falls with the North American economy.

Aggressively promote energy conservation, starting with the Government.

Repair Government's relationship with International Business.

Do a better job exercising diplomacy in Washington, above an beyond photo-ops in the corridor.

Ban corporate inversions in Bermuda as they are not worth the US political risk to Bermuda.

Be honest with the people about the state of announced hotel projects, given the currently poor state of the US financial system.

Increase Government-Industry teamwork, and "fish where the fish are" in picking up business for Bermuda.

Create a non-political tourism authority.

Start to collaborate with key stakeholders in improving Bermuda's education system: parents, teachers, and students.

Give teachers the tools and training to attack anti-social behavior in the schools.

Implement a fully-integrated technical education curriculum starting in the middle schools.

Create an independent body to assess school performance.

Create a Warwick Police Station to assist in fighting crime.

Increase Police presence in the communities and on the roads.

Install Speed Cameras to attack speeding on the roads.

A whole list of items to help Seniors, such as improving the elder abuse register act, require higher standards of care in nursing homes, and help families care for their seniors at home.

Eliminate payroll tax for lower income earners.

Duty relief for Taxi owners.

Ensure fair tendering of trucking across all truckers, not just the mega-truckers.

In addition, the Reply pledged support for several initiatives put forward by the Government:

Water conservation & production plans.

Support the Government's intentions in education reform.

Support Government's promise to address anti-social behaviour in the schools.

Support the Law Reform commission (as originally proposed by the UBP's Trevor Moniz.

Support the replacement of the Hospital.

Papers, Please.

2008-11-14T08:12:00.003-04:00

ID cards for guest workers? Surely you are joking? Not sure I like that.

Just the Facts

2008-11-13T21:53:00.004-04:00

More fact-checking on the PLP blog. They write:

The response was that 24 members of the House of Assembly who were elected as independents morphed into the UBP in 1964. The electorate was voiceless in the formation, and this is an ignominious blot that forever stains the pages of our Parliamentary history.

That's actually false: the electorate was not voiceless about the formation of the UBP: they could have chosen not to vote for those MPs again. But they continued to, for the next thirty years!

Also, the blog-that-shall-not-be-named accuses the UBP of "racial sins". I guess those sins would include such things as:

Creating the Human Rights Act;
Desegregating schools;
Creating the Small Business Development Corporation to empower small business entrepreneurs, primarily blacks;
Commissioning the Clark Report to work towards improving racial issues in Bermuda;
Creating CURE;
Building low-cost housing throughout the island, such as up in St. Georges and by Morgan's Point.

Vote for Charlie Swan

2008-11-13T17:42:00.004-04:00

Update: look for Charlie on Facebook and give him some support!

Despite what you might hear from the PLP spin, Charlie Swan has been involved in our community for a long time, and has been busy in the Senate this year. Last night I had the chance to canvass with Charlie, and learn what he's been up to.

Charlie's passion is improving training for the trades, and education. On training he says it is "crucial that Bermuda get that in place, so our youth can become productive citizens." As a businessman and past director of the Construction Association, Charlie knows what he is talking about.

As a Senator, he was on the Joint Select Committee on Education. He has also spoken on training and education, the dental practitioners issues, and telecoms and taxi GPS in the Senate.

Here is some more info about Charlie from his letter to voters. He writes:

Having been recently introduced as the UBP candidate in the upcoming by-election in Southampton West Central (Constituency #31), I felt an early letter is in order.

As I did during the last election, it is my hope to see and chat with each and every constituent in Southampton West Central. I sincerely wish to continue as YOUR representative, to serve all Voters and Residents of the constituency in which I reside.

Beyond a personal visit, please judge me based on my record of service, within the communities that I have resided in, spanning the past 40 years. These include 20 years involvement with T.S. Venture (the west end unit of the Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps); helped establish and organize the Bermuda Youth Sports Program (baseball, soccer); numerous projects as a member and Past President of Sandys Rotary Club, a member of the West End Sailboat Club and past director of The Construction Association of Bermuda.

In addition to this, as Managing Director of Batson Swan Limited--Mobile Plumbing and Heating for the past 25 years, I am intimately aware of the responsiblity and challenges involved in managing and motivating staff and running a business.

Like our plumbing services, I am available with a keen ear, and open door, 24 hours a day, all year round. I am at your service.

Please call me on 238-5000 or 234-1408 (messages may be left), or reach me by email at: cjrnswan@ibl.bm

Sincerely, Charlie Swan.

How much racial bias is there, really?

2008-11-08T19:32:00.002-04:00

In the aftermath of Obama's win, there's been a few interesting articles about whether or not predictions of racial bias are really true. Check out Where have all the bigots gone? ("Was this election a landslide defeat for the researchers labeling most Americans as 'unconscious' racists?") and Tolerance over race can spread, both from the NYTimes (and interlinked). Perhaps some of us are getting too worked about things...

Yes They Did!

2008-11-05T06:10:00.001-04:00

I would be proud to be an American.

It's a feeling of great possibility.

NY Times

I'm feeling mischievous today.

2008-10-31T14:48:00.001-03:00

I smell blood..

Proud to be Bermudian

2008-10-30T21:08:00.004-03:00

Trying to be more positive, here's a post listing some things that make me proud as a Bermudian. Please add your own list of what makes you proud to be Bermudian in the comments.

- Bermudians have made an impact in arts, science, engineering, and sports throughout the world that although small is still very disproportionate to our size -- and much more so than a small town in another country that matches our size.

- Bermudians are hard workers. You always hear about the stereotypical lazy Bermudian, and those people do exist, but many Bermudians get up early and work long hard days. I was surprised when I moved back to Bermuda at how early people get moving on this island. Another example of Bermudian industriousness is people building their own houses. True, this is far less frequent than it used to be, and for many Bermudians was a necessity (as they could not get mortgages), but they did the work. Finally, I feel that Bermuda is a nation of entrepreneurs, whether they be a one-man appliance-repair business, or interior decoration business run out of the home.

- Bermudians take great pride in their homes, it is something that our visitors always notice and comment on. Everyday I am still struck by the natural & man-made beauty in Bermuda. Even so-called 'bad' areas such as those around Camp Hill in Southampton are neighborhoods with well-tended gardens and proudly maintained houses.

- Despite all the racial talk and the real issues around race, many Bermudians have been able to cross the color line, whether in their friendships, professional relations, or in their romantic entanglements. Our youth are even more advanced in this area, although they do bring their own problems...

- I was proud to serve in the Regiment with other Bermudians, and I am proud of the almost 150 or so soldiers who are essentially volunteers: full-time staff and everyone who signs on for extra time. Those soldiers give a massive amount of their time and energy to serving the country and whatever issues the Regiment has, you cannot discount that dedication.

That's my 10 minutes of madness for now...

Gambling v2

2008-10-30T20:52:00.003-03:00

I am not that shocked to hear that Gov't is now mooting allowing offshore on-line gambling to occur in Bermuda. Despite my previous post on gambling, I am not as clearly opposed to this concept.

BUT... it strikes me a bit as the Gov't trying to get a free lunch -- and you know there's no such thing. Although on-line gambling will avoid many of the problems I mentioned in my previous post, it does have the obvious downsides of straining relations with the U.S. So Bermuda will need to balance the impact on that relationship very carefully with the possible cash income from gambling.

I'm probably not as hard-line about this as Vexed, but I do doubt the magnitude of the economic benefits. E.g. the Royal Gazette cites Antigua as earning $35 million and gaining 3,000 jobs. I don't think that $35mm number will be very significant to the Bermuda Gov't budget, and I can't really understand where the jobs are coming from -- other than to speculate that Antigua did not already have very many white-collar workers. I don't buy that it will make jobs for Bermudians. I would envision jobs in IT, marketing, accounting, and legal: all areas where our island already has to import talent. Again, no jobs there for our bottom half...

I wish I had the answer for that problem at this time -- it's a very hard problem.

Gambling Away Our Future

2008-10-29T09:08:00.003-03:00

Recently the Government announced that it is sponsoring a study on gambling in Bermuda, that will, usefully, be carried out by a firm that makes its money advising people on how to successfully implement gambling. So no surprises how that will turn out.

Gambling in a Bermuda is a bad idea. It won't solve any of our important problems, but it will aggravate many of our existing problems and bring new ones.

Will gambling improve our educational system? NO

Will gambling reduce crime & usher in more cooperation between our people and the police? NO

Will gambling make our country more palatable for international business? NO

Will gambling reduce the frustration of under-educated Bermudians who watch the glittering world of international business and 'platinum' tourists glide by and wonder why they can't find a place to live and a job that will help them pay that rent? NO

Will gambling help our families rebuild themselves? NO

What will gambling do, you must be asking? It's simple, and the OPC has got most of it down. At the end of the day, the sole positive thing (and this has been debated through the ages) gambling will bring is more money to the island. It will bring more jobs, but not for Bermudians: the hospitality industry on this island is already stuffed to the gills with non-Bermudians. That industry cannot survive while paying Bermudians the salaries they need to live the life they can pay for doing something else.

Gambling will also highlight and increase the gap between rich & poor; increase the incentive for crime; and, very importantly, stress our natural and technological infrastructure.

So, why is the Government pushing this? The answer to this is also simple: they are thinking only about how to get more money to spend. They see spending money as an exercise of power & ambition, and because they aren't very good leaders in the true sense of the word, it's the only way they know how to lead and influence people. And, of course, they get their cut too...

Like so much else in this world, all you need to do is follow the money...

This post brought to you by ten minutes of madness.

Parliamentary Salaries

2008-10-28T19:59:00.002-03:00

10 M-O-M, go!

For the short version of this post, check out The Devil Island.

Parliament will soon be voting on whether or not to increase the salaries of many of the MPs. I believe that part of the reason is to rationalize the salaries so that there are not as many big gaps between e.g. full and part-time ministers, back-benchers, senators, and the Speaker.

Nevertheless, it is clear that on both moral and practical grounds all MPs should vote against the increases. First of all, the Government has just said it will cut expenses by 10% across the board, and has just closed offices and laid off workers in New York. MPs should set the tone and act as leaders for the rest of the Government by refusing to increase their own salaries.

Second, in these current uncertain economic times, many Bermudians will be suffering economically: at the pump, at the supermarket checkout, and when they pay the rent. Also, the downturn will reduce profits of most of the international businesses currently on the island. Government's social services will be increasingly in demand while its tax receipts will be way down, and although the MPs' salary raise would not be a massive proportion of the Government budget, it will be a meaningful amount that can be reallocated to more important purposes.

Some MPs will say that they deserve the increases, that a large fraction of their time is consumed with parliamentary duties, that their job is not paying them for the time they spend politicking. That may all be true, but is no surprise for these MPs: they knew what they were getting into when they signed up for it, and if the financial situation made sense then, it should still make sense now, even without the increases.

Blogs are for people who think

2008-10-27T22:30:00.004-03:00

10 minutes. Ready, set, go!

I have had it up to here with the junk that the PLP blogs are spewing. They are immature, childish, and full of either half-truths or falsehoods. Somehow, the PLP writers seem to think that repetition, alliteration, tiresome adverbs, and ad-hominem attacks help them make their point. I suggest they go read some Hemingway (I know, a white male) to learn how to actually say something with their writing.

The progressive minds blog is particularly childish. I am all for people being able to say what they want, and link to blogs even if I disagree with their point of view. But, I have finally decided that I am not comfortable giving any link to that particular pit of iniquity, and have removed them from my blog-roll. Gasp! Horror of Horrors! They must be reeling from the forceful slap in the face that I have to delivered to them by the momentous act of... removing them from my blogroll!

The regular PLP blog is only one notch up, parroting the most ridiculous spin. I do hope for the sake of his future career that Glenn Jones is not the one behind that drivel. Take for example, the recent PLP blog entry about the by-election in #31, Southampton West. They write that "Charlie Swan is part of the problem with the United Bermuda Party", and then go on to spin about Marc Bean.

The reality is that Charlie Swan is an asset for the UBP. He is a successful businessman in his own right who has been around serving his community for a long time, and who is well known and well respected. Marc Bean is one of Ewart Brown's lackeys: he serves in all of his positions at the pleasure of Brown, and would no doubt be right in Brown's back pocket if by some strange stroke of fate he was to be elected in #31.

As a constituent of #31, to me the choice is clear. A mature, accomplished man who has earned his position, versus yet another henchman to assist Brown in running this country into the ground? My vote is for Charlie.

(13 minutes...)

More Good Rhythms: Clinark

2008-10-27T21:30:00.003-03:00

This is the second in a continuing series of Ten minutes of madness.

I recently picked up Clinark's new album from the Music Box. It's called Journey to Foreign, and I recommend that you buy it. If you like good classic reggae beats, you'll like this album. I've had it on repeat all week -- to me it's the music of summer: the game, the beach, the raft-up. Go buy it.

OK, as far as ten minutes of madness goes, this entry was cheating. But we're just starting...

This blog is not dead...

2008-10-27T21:25:00.002-03:00

This blog is not dead... it's just been on hiatus. It takes a surprisingly long time to get something out on the blog, and the activation energy can sometimes hold me back from getting started. To get things lively again, I am going to try 'Ten minutes of madness', which I first learned about from the busblog. The idea is simple: write a blog entry in no more then ten minutes. Try and keep it interesting too, OK? Let's see how we do, I think I've gone over already...

Secret Po-Po: Go Buy It!

2008-10-06T22:21:00.006-03:00

I just bought the debut eponymous album by Secret Po-Po, one of Bermuda's latest home-grown acts. It's mostly reggae, with a bit of rock thrown in, and I can highly recommend it. You can get it at Rock Island Coffee.

If you can suggest any other good Bermudian artists, feel free to contact me or list them in the comments. I have a few in mind, so might blog on them in the future.

Racism Without Racists / White Privilege

2008-10-05T17:39:00.003-03:00

This recent NYTimes op-ed does a great job of explaining "racism without racists". I've been meaning for a while to post on this topic, and the related one of white privilege, but this article says it much more succintly and clearly:

Research suggests that whites are particularly likely to discriminate against blacks when choices are not clear-cut and competing arguments are flying about — in other words, in ambiguous circumstances rather like an electoral campaign.

For example, when the black job candidate is highly qualified, there is no discrimination. Yet in a more muddled gray area where reasonable people could disagree, unconscious discrimination plays a major role.

White participants recommend hiring a white applicant with borderline qualifications 76 percent of the time, while recommending an identically qualified black applicant only 45 percent of the time.

That is, blacks are sometimes discriminated against even though the person doing the discriminating is doing it unconsciously -- even though the person is not what we would call "a racist".

To my thinking, racism without racists, and white privilege are two sides of the same coin. Racism without racists explains white privilege in the here and now: why whites may be more likely to get certain jobs, not get stopped by police, etc. White privilege as a whole, though, includes more than just what's going on today: it includes history. That is, how did I get here? Was I advantaged relative to my fellow black Bermudians because of the color of my skin (and that of my parents and their parents and so on...)?

I personally believe in both of these concepts, and believe that they affect us in Bermuda today. At the same time, I don't advocate the kind of approach that some (especially white) activists take, which is to beat themselves and those around them over the head with white privilege. I believe the thinking is that whites need to confront their terrible history in order to move past it. That may be so, but making people feel miserable is never a good way to get them to buy into your cause. And, there is no doubt that lots of white Bermudians worked their tails off to get where they are today, even in the face of much opposition from the infamous Front Street families. So those hard workers are obviously not very interested in being told that they got to where they are today solely on the color of their skin.

To me, it makes more sense to approach these whites (that you hope to convince about the reality of white privilege/racism without racists) using concrete examples like that I quoted above. Because the reality is that most people (black and white) are concerned about being truly fair. And if you can show to them examples of unfairness & how it can be promulgated by even well-meaning people such as themselves, I think it will start them reflecting upon and truly examining their day-to-day interactions. And they can do it at their own pace without being bullied.

My last point is that although I believe in these concepts, I don't buy into the "racism as power" orthodoxy that comes from North America, which holds that blacks cannot be racist. There is not doubt that racism as practiced in the U.S. was significantly about power. But our reality here and today in Bermuda is different: there are many blacks with power, especially in Government, who by virtue of their position have the ability to act in racist and xenophobic ways that negatively affect other people in Bermuda.

By the way, check out this post earlier this year from politics.bm.

Psychology Research on Whites in Bermuda

2008-10-05T11:29:00.004-03:00

Carol Simmons is doing a psychology research project on "how personality traits and patterns of social interaction influence interracial attitudes among whites in Bermuda" (link). If you are white, over 18, and live in Bermuda, I encourage you to participate in her survey. See here original blog post & link to the survey here.

XL Layoffs: Canary in a Coal Mine?

2008-10-02T07:00:00.002-03:00

For a while now I've been thinking about the XL layoffs, and what it means for Bermuda and Bermudians thinking about their careers. I have thought about the most constructive way of expressing my opinion, and I believe it is this:

Bermudians who go to work in the (re-)insurance sector and who desire long-term success and stability need to evaluate their opportunities very carefully, and be willing to go above and beyond their employers' expectations.

What do I mean by this? The insurance industry has been touted as a gateway to success for many Bermudians, with promises of training and pathways to advancement within the industry. One of the premises is that you can start at the bottom and work your way up, even if you have no special insurance skills.

For example, you can start by working in IT, accounting, claims processing, or other jobs that support the industry but aren't at its core. And in fact, I would speculate that the vast majority of Bermudians are in these areas, and at a relatively low-level (since corporations are generally hierarchical).

And that's to be expected: you have to start somewhere, right? But the irony is that by definition, those jobs that are most accessible to Joe and Jamahl Bermudian without any experience are in fact the first jobs to be outsourced. Because they rely the least on deep experience and connections within the industry, they are the most accessible to Bermudians, and also the easiest with which to get someone in India or Halifax up to speed.

What does this mean for you, the average entry-level Bermudian Insurance Worker?

I don't claim many special skills in my advice-giving, and will probably come across as santimonious here, but I would suggest something along these lines (and I hope readers will chip in). But the general idea is to differentiate yourself and become the kind of person that is, literally, irreplaceable:

Find out everything you can about getting training from work.
Make sure you know your career path. I know that not everyone is the ambitious corporate type, but if you're not going forward, you're going backwards or will be left behind.
If your boss promises you advancement, make sure you get objective criteria for obtaining that advancement, and keep track of how you stack up against that criteria.
Don't be an a role-player, be the protagonist. That is, don't just do your job by fulfilling all the basic requirements & checking the boxes. Instead, think about your business, come up with ideas, suggest things to your boss, and generally be proactive.
Become an expert at something in your firm. Then find someone else to do it, and become an expert at the next thing...
If you are in a bad work situation, address it, it may mean moving companies.

Role of the Opposition

2008-10-01T19:47:00.003-03:00

I see that I haven't posted a new entry in my blog for almost two weeks! Must have been slacking... have no fear though, I have a whole slew of fascinating topics lined up to post on for you.

Today's juicy article is on the role of the opposition in the parliamentary system. I found these papers from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) that outline some ways to think about the opposition. You can find even more materials and papers if you Google for "CPA Role of the Opposition".

The CPA is an organization for Parliamentarians around the world to exchange ideas about how to be better governments within a parliamentary system.

Here are some key points from the CPA materials:

Society and the Government have to agree that there is an important role for the Opposition.
The Opposition needs resources to do its job (e.g. access to research).
There should be a "culture of accountability" [think, e.g. of Government responses or lack thereof to Parliamentary Questions].
The opposition has to be seen as a credible alternate Government -- i.e. has to be seen as able to develop policies and govern successfully.
Government and the Opposition should be able to work together behind the scenes, e.g. in producing good legislation.
The opposition needs to remain in contact & communication with society.
"...although MPs are increasingly concerned with constituency business the work of making, amending and repealing laws is central to their task and that, while the initiator of legislation is usually the governing party, the Opposition can have an important role".

I have a strong opinion about that last point. Too many MPs in opposition, and especially our current Government, seems to think and act as if their main job is to get re-elected. In fact, that is not their jawb at all! Their jawb is to make Bermuda a better place: put in policies to lift up those at the bottom of society, make sure we are all well educated, make sure we all have access to economic success, if we choose to work for it, etc.

Sometimes that means making hard decisions which may require long-term thinking to see payoffs. Or, eating humble pie and engaging in the political art of compromise and discussion to get things done.

Let me list a few concrete examples where the current PLP Government has failed to do this, preferring instead to spin their way from crisis to crisis:

Education: 18 months later, and what's happening? Teachers not getting paid and the Bermuda Union of Teachers still shut out of the reform process.
Crime: Run an election campaign that calls your opponent too tough on crime, and then turn around and start talking about SWAT teams. And, still don't bother to negotiate a contract with the Police, your front-line against crime.
Housing: promise homes in lotteries, but don't bother building them for 4 years.
Tourism: Crow that air arrivals are flat rather than down, even though tourist arrivals are down 9%.

I'd continue but it's shooting fish in a barrel.

Bermuda Election Data

2008-09-20T08:00:00.000-03:00

I've created a searchable database of Bermuda election results & candidates. I screen-scraped the data from the Parliamentary Registrar. For a while I had working links to Bios & pictures, but those links are now broken. I will endeavor to fix them, but I thought some of you might enjoy being able to explore the data. This is definitely a very beta project -- I need to get more data & organize it better, so let me know your thoughts.

See the searchable votes data here, and the raw data here.

Example of Transparency

2008-09-19T11:30:00.000-03:00

The latest New York City Mayor's Report is a good example of transparency in government can help make society better. It gives citizens an objective look at what is working or not. We need to get more like this in Bermuda. To be fair, lots of our government departments do a great job in collating and producing data (e.g. the Department of Statistics), but it's generally hard to find, and the gov.bm portal doesn't do much to help.

Parochial Information

2008-09-19T08:00:00.000-03:00

I've created a new section on my website for parochial information. That is, info on how to get streets paved, lights fixed, etc. It's a bit skimpy right now, but if you have any additional information, please send it along. Check it out at decouto.bm.

They Call him The Gambler

2008-09-18T07:26:00.005-03:00

Beach Lime sums up Alex Scott's lack of moral courage about gambling pretty well.

In Mr. Scott's defense, in party politics you are often not allowed to vote against your party except on a conscience vote (such as we have had here in Bermuda on homosexual sex). If you do vote against your party, there can be consequences from the Party Whip (e.g. kicked out of caucus, etc.). In practice, however, it would take quite a lot before you got into trouble...

However, that would presume that the PLP cabinet & caucus as a whole are pro-gambling, that they have debated the pros and cons, and reached consensus that gambling is right for Bermuda. But knowing how this government operates, I am quite sure that is not the case, and that if Brown decides he personally likes gambling, it will happen as the cabinet meekly stands by and acquiesces to his every demand.

If I were Alex Scott, I'd stand up for what I believed -- and not just when it comes to parking spaces. After all, what could the PLP do to a man once they've deposed him from Premier and then stuck him on the back bench?

Not so Merry, Man

2008-09-18T07:26:00.002-03:00

Regarding my previous post on commercial advertising littering up our public parks at rush hour, I see now that the promoter of the upcoming Merry Men concert has decided they've got the right to stick their signs all over East Broadway.

Harumph!

Bermuda Fitted Dinghy Rules

2008-09-17T07:00:00.001-03:00

My last post was about Fitted Dinghy Racing, a special kind of sailboat racing that is unique to Bermuda. I was recently lucky enough to be given a copy of the class rules from 1984, which in keeping with my scanning compulsion I have digitized and put online as a PDF.

For comparison, you can also see the latest version of the rules from 2004.

The 1984 booklet also contains a short history of fitted dinghy racing, including a historical list of all the dinghies and their clubs. These quotes struck my eye:

...this race did not take place, as the St. Georgians were unable to get to the Hamilton regatta on 25 September 'owing to pressure of business'.

And,

Even in 1920, when the Hamilton Dinghy Club scheduled a series of races to re-establish the sport, the first race had to be postponed because "clubs and owners of boats have found it impossible to secure skilled men to aid them in preparing the boats for competitive purposes in the time available."

One of the frequent topics of discussion in the current dinghy fleet is how to increase participation, and get more boats. There are 7 boats on the island right now capable of racing, but only 4 are currently running programs: Contest, Elizabeth, Challenger, and Victory. Port Royal, Echo, and Bloodhound are sitting in boat sheds waiting for enough people with time, energy, and commitment to get them out on the water on a regular basis. As the booklet shows, this is not a new problem!

Challenger II Sweeps Contest III

2008-09-15T22:39:00.004-03:00

Last Sunday was the last race day of the 2008 Bermuda Fitted Dinghy season. Challenger II of Sandys Boat Club swept Contest III of the RBYC in 3 match races at Mangrove Bay. Unfortunately due to weather and crew mishaps, Victory IV from St. Georges Dinghy and Sports Club, and Elizabeth II of the RHADC were unable to make it to racing.

The Sandys race committee set a short 3 and 2 course with lots of action for the crews, including a sinking by Contest in race 2 (our first in two years, unfortunately breaking our streak). Challenger sailed with the #3 suit of sails, and Contest went a little smaller with the #3 1/2.

As a crew member of Contest, it hurts me to say that Challenger dominated the day, but their hard work & practice has now paid off. Of course, thanks to our stellar early-season performance, Contest still wins the season. Challenger has reminded us that we need to get back to work if we want to continue to win next year...

Since the races were short and sweet we were able to spend a bit of time fraternizing with the enemy at SBC, below is a picture of the Challenger crew celebrating:

And here is the SBC burgee flying proud, topped by a very special flag signifying a "clean up" by Challenger...

Car Sharing Services

2008-09-12T13:00:00.003-03:00

This is my obligatory idealistic, one-idea-will-save-the-world post of the week.

And, this idea is not new, it's done elsewhere, and I am sure I have seen it somewhere in the Bermuda Blogosphere before.

I think Bermuda would benefit from a commercial car-sharing service, along the lines of ZipCar, which operates in many US cities.

Here's the idea: you join the service, which owns a fleet of cars. Each car has its own assigned parking spot, at various locations or neighborhoods in the Island. The service maintains and insures the cars, you pay a monthly fee that entitles you to a certain amount of time to use the car (or vehicle, imagine mini-vans).

You sign up for time using an on-line service, e.g. Saturday morning 8am to 1pm, rock up to the parking space, pick up the car, and drop it off when you are done.

The advantages are low hassle for you; a guaranteed parking spot in a useful space; fewer cars in total on the Island; and you can probably even afford to buy time on the service as opposed to buying a car... I know that in general many people without children on this Island don't own a car, but this is a service that I would use and pay for, and which would make me even less likely to purchase a car,

Happy Trash? Not me...

2008-09-12T08:26:00.002-03:00

This is my obligatory grumpy post of the week.

By now you may have seen the bright billboards scattered throughout the island advertising 'Happy Trash', brightly coloured and patterned trash bags. Or maybe you got one of their chain emails exhorting you to buy their striped and polka-dotted trash bags.

I can't fault their innovative idea, or their aggressive marketing campaign, but why do I have to look at their billboards on my commute? In fact now that I think about it, why do they get to put their advertising materials on public property? (e.g. middle of East Broadway, railway trail by Barnes Corner.) I'm all for community groups and clubs getting their message out at drive-time, but I draw the line at allowing commercial operations to clutter up our public property with their advertising.

Does happy trash have permission to litter public property with their advertising? And, whose advertising will we see next? Maybe more Island Construction or Correia Construction billboards...

Equity vs. Race Relations

2008-09-09T13:00:00.002-03:00

I had a very interesting discussion with a colleague today about how racial equity is not the same as having good race relations. We theoretically could have a society with equity for all races, that is, equal economic opportunity, but possibly very bad inter-personal race relations in your society. This might happen if you have strong laws about discrimination, etc. In fact, you could make the argument that this is the case in the US right now -- civil rights laws ensure (mostly) equal opportunity even though it is not clear that blacks and whites are truly comfortable dealing with each other. The issues around Obama in this election are an example.

On the other hand, there may be a situation with good race relations where everyone gets along jus' fine, but there is serious inequity. This might be due to some screwed up post-slavery relationship (in which case it is actually an illusion, and deep resentments and frustrations will soon emerge). Alternatively, it might be the case that while race relations are fine, there is some serious economic inequity along non-racial lines.

I feel Bermuda's situation is probably something like 2/3 the first situation, and 1/3 the second. It's not rocket science to reach the conclusion that you probably need equally good inter-racial relations and social and economic equity if you are to have any hope of a stable long-term solution. But, I am not exactly a race-relations theorist, so feel free to tell me what you think.

Park Hyatt Again

2008-09-08T21:01:00.004-03:00

Just a reminder that this Friday Parliament will reconvene in a special session to debate the Park-Hyatt bill. I wrote about this previously, and you can see an outline of the site plan in Google Earth here. There is supposed to be some sort of informational community meeting up in St. Georges on the night of the 10th, at 7.30pm. I am not sure where, but check the papers. It's too bad the government couldn't see fit to hold the meeting more than two nights before it passes the act. Also, apparently there is nothing filed with the Planning Department, so you can't even go and get a look-see for yourself.

Although I think a proper hotel in St. Georges would be great for Bermuda, I am not convinced this is it. Too many condos (140!) versus hotel rooms (100), which translates into cars and traffic for the Old Town. Also, there are too many questions from the act. Exactly what is Bermuda getting back in turn for letting some developer get rich by selling of our land for condos to people from overseas? And, what is the value to Bermuda of a condo versus a hotel room; what should the tradeoff between them be? We will certainly find out...

"Am I Being Used?"

2008-09-05T00:06:00.004-03:00

In last week's BRRI session on race and politics, Gwyneth Rawlins made reference to Dr. Clarence James's 1967 speech, "Am I Being Used?". She was talking about her experience in the UBP, by whom she felt used and abused, and quoted the title of Dr. James's speech to highlight her point of blacks being used.

In fact, however, Dr. James's speech describes why he left the PLP for the UBP. He makes quite clear his point that the PLP leaders were using blacks: "...coloured people may choose to be used by the power hungry leaders of the P.L.P. They may climb aboard the hate train of the P.L.P., run by irresponsible and unscrupulous leaders..."

Much of his speech might apply today, although quite a bit of it will also seem over the top. You can download the speech here from my online library, and I've also reproduced it below.

A brief historical note: the speech mentions Geoffrey Bing, the former Attorney-General of Ghana. Bing served as a "constitutional advisor" to the PLP for the 1966 Constitutional Conference in London. He was a controversial figure as he had been blamed when things unraveled in Ghana. (From Lois: Bermuda's Grande Dame of Politics, by J. Randolf Williams, pp. 126-127).

Speech by Dr. Clarence James at the City Hall on 11th October 1967.

My Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:

My appearance here tonight stems from a longstanding interest in race relations which began in 1948 when I first went abroad. At that time I was clearly a product of a rigid dual system of education. This segregated system was even developed to the point of granting scholarships under different names. There was the Bermuda Scholarship and the Rhodes Scholarship for white children. There was the Bermuda technical education scholarship for coloured children which I received.

Once abroad, I suffered through a period of adjustment to an integrated educational environment at McGill University. This adjustment took real effort on my part for the first year or two. I also became keenly interested in the problems of racial discrimination in general and especially those problems as they affected Bermuda, my home. Dr. Gordon, and others, made Bermudians aware that the root of the problem was the lack of universal franchise, which particularly affected the coloured segment of the population. This I believed, and still believe, to be an accurate appraisal of the basic cause as far as Bermuda is concerned. So, I followed with interest the events which led up to the mixed land and universal franchise used in the 1963 elections. I returned home just prior to these elections. I actually joined the P.L.P. at that time because I felt the party was sincere and completely in support of racial integration in Bermuda. I vigorously supported the protest against the lack of true universal franchise and the gerrymandering of the electoral districts.

But during the succeeding years, I sadly noticed in the P.L.P. a growing movement to abandon their early claim to foster racial integration. They developed an increasing and persistent dissociation from all sincere efforts to promote racial integration in such a way as to produce results. The P.L.P. trend has proceeded in recent months to the point of a virtual hate campaign. The hate campaign, if allowed to gather steam, will eventually lead to a division of the races and to destruction of Bermuda. Of course, I left the P.L.P. when I found they were bound in this direction.

In the past two years I have also observed increasingly sincere efforts made in support of meaningful integration. These efforts have been made by a group of men, led by Sir Henry Tucker, known as the United Bermuda Party. And the U.B.P. is supported by a large group of liberal white and coloured non parliamentary members, some of whom are former members of the P.L.P. In the early days of the United Bermuda Party I cannot fail to admit that I looked upon the party as a white party, with token coloured support - too weak to be effective in the area of race relations. Subsequent events indicate that the U.B.P. was, indeed, sincerely responsive to the strong public opinion built up by the early P.L.P. and by several other organizations before it.

The most important event was the development of our new constitution. In the face of aroused public opinion, in spite of public right-wing opposition and while in command of a majority in the house, the U.B.P. did what was right in the matter of franchise. They adopted the present universal suffrage of 21 years of age, with no extra advantage for land owners, by abolishing the plus vote and by reducing the voting age from 25 years to 21 years. I dare suggest to Bermudians that the real enemies of progress in race relations are those members of the legislature, and that segment of the population they represent, who voted against this measure.

Then came the constitutional conference during which the true position and intent of the U.B.P. was consistently distorted by the P.L.P. with the help of Mr. Geoffrey Bing, a proven distorter of human rights in Ghana. The U.B.P. has been branded as racialist and most recently the Governor has been branded as a racist and white supremacist because he, too, signed the majority report of the constitutional conference.

What does this constitution actually provide that is so racially inbalanced? It provides for 26 seats in the constituencies where there is a clear coloured majority, and 14 seats in constituencies which have a white majority. How then can the U.B.P. or the Governor be seriously considered to be promoting white supremacy?

The members of St. Paul’s A.M.E. church (with which I am associated) have had the Governor as guest visitor on numerous occasions. I am quite certain that they do not agree with the disrespect heaped on the Governor of these Islands by the certain P.L.P. leaders. This disrespect was obviously condoned by the rest of the P.L.P. oligarchy at the time, at least until they observed the broad and general opposition in Bermuda to this sort of distortion and mud-slinging.

It is now clear that the P.L.P. programme of distortion of the truth is but part of a hate mongering campaign which actively seeks to divide the races. The hate attempts to cover up for the irresponsibility and incompetence of P.L.P. leaders themselves. It creates a frame of mind which would constantly distort a true assessment of what is fair and what is unfair. It breeds civil disorder, disrespect for law and order, and eventual anarchy. Already P.L.P. leaders have instructed Bermudians to break the law, and P.L.P. leaders are now asking their followers to save their money. Could they be actually planning civil disorder and disruption of the economy where there may be no jobs for the very workers they say they are representing? Make no mistake about it, in any disruption of the economy, naturally, politically, or hatefully induced, it is the working class that will suffer the most not because of any malicious intent of those who are relatively more advantaged but because of the general rule that workers have less in savings and fewer alternative job opportunities. Furthermore, the close association of the P.L.P. leaders with their Communist-minded friends during the constitutional conference last November in London leaves little doubt of their alliance with Communist dictatorial policies. These dictatorial policies will usurp the rights of workers for the P.L.P. leaders’ own selfish ends. The P.L.P. thus becomes a power loving party at the expense of the very people which they are supposed to be helping. Independence is just an assurance that they would not be disturbed in carrying out their conspiracy. They want to cut themselves off from any outside democratic influence the same that Ian Smith and his gang have done with their unilateral declaration of independence in Southern Rhodesia.

In this regard, I view the recent close P.L.P. - B.I.U. association as a betrayal of the unsuspecting union members by the B.I.U. leaders who openly flirt with irresponsible and undemocratic leaders of the P.L.P.

The membership of the B.I.U. will be more wise and cautious than their leaders. They will know that a crushing blow was dealt the trade unions in Ghana. Nkrumah at the height of his political power outlawed trade unions and the man who drafted the laws was Mr. Geoffrey Bing. Bermudian workers will not be used by unscrupulous people to grasp political power - a power which P.L.P. leaders will employ to suppress the freedom of trade unions as was done in Ghana.

At this point, one might ask "can the U.B.P. really represent the workers?" My answer is, "yes". And we can represent their genuine interests far better than any other party! Firstly, the U.B.P. and only the U.B.P. will have a fully integrated team of capable men and women who will have that necessary experience and skill in government, commerce and finance to see that this Island is well run. We are for, and we can ensure, a rising per capita income, together with a better distribution of that income that will result from our commitment to build cohesion between the races. As we accomplish these objectives, who benefits most? Obviously the workers will. All our plans for forward-looking social legislation are entirely dependent upon sound government, and a united and prosperous Bermuda. The United Bermuda Party is dedicated to preserving democratic principles and practices which will ensure that there are no abridgements of human rights and freedoms as we work together to build a better Bermuda. There is a growing representation of workers in the highest councils of our party. These workers are full and equal members of our party. Their presence and their contribution within our party ensures that the point of view of labour will be capably and effectively represented.

Another major area of distortion in race relations is in educational policy. Disputes between the teachers’ union and the board of education have been highlighted by prominent P.L.P. members in an attempt to overshadow a major contribution by the U.B.P. - a contribution which has far-reaching effects in fostering racial integration. That development is the embodiment in the education act of the rule that no government funds can be allotted to a school unless it is integrated. This rule is quite similar to a federal law in the United States which is used to effect integration in the southern United States. Why would the U.B.P. pass such a law if it was a racists’ party? It is noteworthy that the schools which are more than tokenly integrated are those schools which have trustee chairmen who are prominent members of the U.B.P. I refer to the Whitney Institute of which Sir Henry Vesey is chairman, and the Warwick Academy of which the Hon. John Plowman is chairman.

It is also noteworthy that the Bermuda High School could not accept government funds because its building and grounds are largely those which were given the school in a bequest for white children only. The U.B.P. will invalidate this racial designation in future pending legislation, making it possible for that school to proceed to integrate.

It has been said that race will be a major issue in the next general election. I think this is true. The coloured people in these islands will have a clear choice - they may choose to participate wholeheartedly in the establishment of racial harmony and integration and in the elimination of every vestitage of racial discrimination by supporting the U.B.P., understanding that the leaders of the U.B.P. are sincere in this regard, and understanding that they are to participate wholeheartedly, not in any token manner, but in proportion to their numbers.

Alternately, coloured people may choose to be used by the power hungry leaders of the P.L.P. They may climb aboard the hate train of the P.L.P., run by irresponsible and unscrupulous leaders towards the destination of self destruction of the economy of the island and, therefore, of themselves. And when they arrive at their destination, they will find Mr. Bing there to trap them like he trapped the people of Ghana. Where there can be no escape without bloodshed.

The white people of Bermuda also have a choice. They can either solidly support the United Bermuda Party and their fair dealing with the race problem or live in the past and support the racist independent. If they support such independents they will be stoking the fires of the P.L.P. hate train to faster destruction of the economy and, therefore, of themselves. Incidentally, an independent seat in the next house will not be worth two cents in Chinese money.

One may ask, "what about the B.D.P.?" It is clearly imperative for the future of these islands to find a solution to our race problem. The U.B.P. has moved, and moved sincerely, to resolve the problem. The P.L.P. has moved, and moved deceitfully and with hatred, to confuse the problem. The B.D.P. has not moved. No Bermudian can afford to waste his vote to support a party which is not working hard to resolve this vital issue.

Coloured Bermudians who support the U.B.P. are often attacked as Uncle Toms. It is claimed by the drivers of the hate-train that we are being used. This claim is ridiculous. The U.B.P. urges and welcomes coloured Bermudians to participate wholeheartedly, as full and equal members of the party. Not in any token manner, but in proportion to their numbers - numbers which have already been recognized in the U.B.P.-supported constitution: 26 to 14. Now I ask you, "are we being used", to maintain a racist government - with a franchise so fairly weighted in favour of the coloured community. I think not.

Most Bermudians would agree that many of the improvements in race relations were the results of pressures of one sort or another. But to say that the improvements are just concessions is to suggest that one is thinking in woolly retrogressive manner in two ways. Firstly, one wishes there were no concessions so that civil disorder and ultimate violence may be justified. Secondly, one constantly bemoans the fact that the improvements were not spontaneously initiated years ago. Both attitudes are quite non-productive. What is most effective is to apply pressures in such a way as to harness and fully utilise responsiveness under the terms of the new franchise towards the development of a truly united and prosperous Bermuda. This is best done by vigorously supporting the United Bermuda Party.

I, like many other Bermudians, am prepared to devote my life in serving the people of Bermuda because I love Bermuda, it is my home. I feel compelled to portray a frank, undistorted picture of race relations as I see them. By doing so, I sincerely hope that I can assist in saving Bermuda from self-destruction due to racial strife. I have no other motivation. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Education: Parallels in the U.S.

2008-09-01T08:00:00.000-03:00

Phil Greenspun writes about the public education system in Cambridge, MA. He writes that Cambridge high schools have the highest cost, lowest student-teacher ratio, and "the most non-teacher staff". The net result: very low SAT scores. This sounds like Bermuda.

In addition, Cambridge is a very affluent city, in that is filled with academics from MIT, Harvard, and all the other schools in the surrounding area. At the same time, Cambridge has many poor people. East Cambridge (technically a different town) is in fact a blue-collar town with deep Portuguese roots. Many of the well-to-do in Cambridge go to the private day schools in the area, leaving the public schools full of the poorer students. There's also an accompanying white/black (or other) split along the obvious economic lines. I don't know which causes which, but they are certainly connected.

This again is very reminiscent of Bermuda's situation, where those without the resources to attend private schools are being let down by the public education system, despite massive spending & ministerial apparatus. And here, some people will say that because all the "good" (smart, well-behaved, good home situations) end up in private schools, the public schools are structurally doomed to failure.

Black Power Salute: Not what you thought

2008-08-31T08:00:00.001-03:00

This recent op-ed in the New York Times talks about the "black power" protest at the 1968 Olympics.

Walking toward the stand — his wife had by then passed the gloves along to the runners — he decided to “represent the flag with pride, but do it with a black accent.” Wearing their medals, they raised clenched, gloved fists as the national anthem was played — Smith his right, Carlos his left. It was done, Smith says, “in military style” — Smith was in the R.O.T.C. at the time. “My head was down,” he says, “because I was praying.”

“I wanted to embody my pride and love for what America is supposed to be,” he told me. “There was no hate, no hostility shown or intended.” It was not, contrary to how it has been portrayed in the media, intended as a black-power salute.

(My emphasis)

This piece indicates serious revisionist history: either by the writer of the piece, or by the media in the wake of that event. It makes the point that it was the Olympic Committee which forced Smith and Carlos to leave the US team and the Games fter the salute. But in the 1936 Olympics, no such sanction were made upon German athletes who made the Nazi salute.

See also Alvin Williams commentary on politics and the Olympics in last weekend's Mid-Ocean News.

Take-home point: the interpretation of this salute says more about the interpreter than the original symbol.

And, for the record, I think the VRA objections to the PLP's use of the salute are ridiculous. I don't like the salute from a political standpoint, but that's politics.

"Island Thinking"

2008-08-30T10:00:00.001-03:00

The below excerpt is from Jamaica Kincaid. When I lived in Boston, I used to keep it on my fridge to ponder when I thought about what life would be like after returning to Bermuda. She was originally from Antigua, but moved to the U.S. Solely from this quote, I always thought of her as being angry and bitter about the islands, but then, I haven't made it through any of her writing.

I like to think that here in Bermuda, we are a bit further along than the subjects of her quote.

[excerpt from The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 30, 1998]

In the place I'm from you don't have much room. You have the sea. If you step on the sea, you sink. The only thing the sea can do is take you away. People living on a tiny island are not expected to have deep thoughts about how they live, their right to live. You can have little conflicts, disagreements about what side of the street to walk on, but you cannot disagree that perhaps there should not be a street there. You cannot disagree about fundamental things, which is what an artist would do. All they're left with is a kind of pastoral beauty, a kind of natural beauty, and wonderful trinkets. They make nice hats. They catch fish in an old-fashioned way. It's all aesthetic, but it has no thinking to it. They cannot think. They will not allow themselves to think. They might have to change things, and they can't bear it.

--Jamaica Kincaid, writer, in Conversations with American Novelists: The Best Interviews from The Missouri Review and the American Audio Prose Library, edited by Kay Bonetti, Greg Michalson, Speer Morgan, Jo Sapp, and Sam Stowers, and published by the University of Missouri Press

BRRI Panel & Discussion: Race and Politics

2008-08-28T21:41:00.002-03:00

The Bermuda Race Relation Initiative (BRRI) is having its next panel discussion tomorrow night (Friday the 29th), on Race and Politics. It's at 7pm in the Bermuda College North Hall Lecture Theatre. Panelists are David Commissiong (politician from Barbados), Gwyneth Rawlins, and Zane DeSilva. On Saturday, there will be a follow-up discussion at the BPSU building from 3-5pm (note this location has changed from the Leopard's Club).

Let me start by getting the major problem with this particular panel out of the way. Tomorrow night's discussion is obviously a setup -- and I say this while at the same time being committed to engaging in constructive dialogue on the topic of race.

First of all, no-one at the UBP was invited to sit on this panel. How can you have a constructive conversation with a one-sided panel?

I don't know anything about David Commissiong -- perhaps he is related to Rolfe Commissiong? You can see a bit about him on the web here and here.

We know that Gwyneth Rawlins has an axe to grind against the UBP -- not only did she quit the party after serving as the Party Chairman, but she then signed up to support the PLP via YouTube, where she explains how she is bitter because she did not get a Senate seat.

Finally, that brings me to Zane DeSilva. This is a whole another blog post. I have nothing against whites in the PLP. I respect those such as Jonathan Starling and others who join out of true belief. I personally think they are misguided, but at least they are acting on their principles. But Zane DeSilva and Jane Correia? Do you think there is any coincidence that the only whites willing to run for the PLP happen to be the two biggest recipients of our "labour" Government construction contracts? Whose firms, by the way, are not unionized. Perhaps I have a closed mind, but I find it impossible to view them as sincere.

The point is: what good can come of this discussion? Those who are doubtful about the BRRI are having their fears and prejudices confirmed just by looking at the make-up of the panel, and those who are already solid supporters of the BRRI are going to be the choir tomorrow night. I'll personally be there, if only to make sure the points above are heard, and because I am an optimist; you never know what can happen.

Finally, I am disappointed because from attending quite a few of the BRRI panels and discussions this year, I was at least mildly positive about them: they seemed to be avoiding (at least a little bit) the partisan trap into which they fell last year. But tomorrow night's panel has caused me to doubt the sincerity of the BRRI, which I have been trying to sell to many of my UBP colleagues and supporters.