Craig's Fire

Note – as is mentioned in some other posts here, my wife and I lived on a commune called The Farm for a few years in the mid-1970′s. I will write up some of my own stories and outlooks on the experience, but for those who want to know what we were about, the following story by a fellow “farmie” should answer….
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The Farm: A Case Study in Creating a New Consciousness and Culture
by Milt Wallace

In the dance between developing individual consciousness and a newly evolving culture, small groups that are in some way isolated from the larger culture can play an important role in creating, incubating and beginning to stabilize the new ideas and values. As the Post Modern paradigm emerged in the 70’s and 80’s, The Farm, a hippy spiritual community was one such group. Because of its size, outreach, and spiritual depth, The Farm’s impact was significant.

Post Modern Culture had its beginnings more than a century ago, but the turbulent years which included the Cold War, the Vietnam and Korean Wars, the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, the Kent State killings, and much more ignited a cultural revolution that led many baby boomers to question the status quo, and to search for some new meaning to life. Travel any highway and you would find young people and some not so young along the road, leaving their middle class homes or aborting their college educations and looking for something new. Modern Consciousness and Culture had a long run with its roots in the 16th century, but as we passed the middle of the 20th century, many came to feel that things weren’t working so well any more.
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I was born in Philadelphia in November of 1953 – a baby boomer, for certain, albeit on the younger end of that generation. Although many periods in history are full of upheaval and change, there is something unique about the speed and severity of the changes which started to occur as I entered primary school. The sequence of events are fairly well known, but to see them close at hand as a growing child was quite alarming. Read More…

I admit it.
I love Rhode Island.
Of course, I love and like a lot of places. But Rhode Island is very different. This may be due to it’s newness (to me), but time will tell if that is the case. I’ve been coming here for 6 years now and it still has not wore off…..

But I digress. Let me explain.
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In the 1960′s counterculture the term “dosed” came to mean being fed a mind altering drug against your will and/or without your knowledge. It was most often used to describe doses of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) which were administered by slipping it into food and drink.
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Ayn Rand, The Koch Brothers and friends are quite the Hypocrites, eh?

Check out this Article about yet more ‘free market’ and ‘small government’ leaders loving their government checks!

It completely amazes me that a failed (in life and love, etc.) writer of FICTION and promoter of selfishness and godlessness has become the newest darling of the right. I would write more on the subject, but I honestly don’t know what to say! The gulf between what the right wing claims to stand for (morals, compassion, religion) and the Fiction Writer are just too large. Ayn claims religion is WORSE than the opiate of the masses…which makes her more Marxist than Marx himself.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with being an atheist! I could claim that mantel myself. But there is something wrong with the evangelical right wing taking her in their new champion!

Ayn Rand on Religion (lack of)

I’m sorry to hear of Steve Jobs leaving Apple, although very few human beings have had as good a run as he.

His illness and eventual passing brings to mind the question of the Singularity, that being the idea that computing power is now close to being able to contain consciousness offloaded from the human brain. Those not familiar with the topic should check out these links –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularitarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singularity_Is_Near
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I’m a big fan of Apple Computer and Steve Jobs since I purchased my first mac in 1984. There is something special about people who follow their dreams – at seemingly any cost! Despite the pundits, his company has now grown to be the worlds largest (market cap) and most valuable brand – a serious accomplishment!

I think all of us would be wise to read the following passage from a commencement speech he gave in 2005. It regards deaths – but, actually, refers more to life – specifically how to live it.

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“My third story is about death. Read More…

I really like my kids! Kids, I call them, but of course they are fully grown and capable adults! I sometimes wonder how they turned out so well. After all, we did not give them any formal education in the ways of life – no sunday school, hebrew school or long talks about education, hard work, etc.

In fact, we were a very laid back family – more interested in living day to day and making a living and a life.

But children seem to have paths of their own. Ours really never rebelled in the same way we did – maybe they didn’t have as far to go…that is, maybe our way looked pretty good to them, and they had little to rebel against?

I recently founds these words written by one of my daughters – about her experience as a camp counselor for children with AIDS. She was 16 years old, but her world view shows a maturity which I still respect today.

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I’ve worked with children for years.

I would like to think that I have made an impact on some of their lives. At the least, I know I’ve helped to steer them in the right direction. Ironically, all these children I think of as mine have no idea what they have done to change me.
For just one week a few summers ago, I participated in a volunteer program at the local YMCA camp. The program was named “Bright Feathers” and was for children affected or infected with the HIV virus. I knew little about the disease at the start. I knew nothing about the children.
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I thought the following was interesting – it is a personal reply to me from a guy who is VERY high up within the GOP political establishment. He seems like a very reasonable and educated guy, so I put the question to him – how can you folks (the GOP) stand what is going on?

His answer is quite informative:
“The Tea Party is a short term destabilizing force in current-day party politics, and the GOP does not want it to survive, period. Now, we’re not going to affirmatively and visibly attack them, however soft power is being used to subsume/absorb them into the GOP, as they grow weary of the game and fizzle out. The main complaint about the Tea Party, and let’s be clear here, that is the identified source and origin of most of this, is that they are an unorganized group of political amateurs, who have forsaken responsibility and moderation for publicity and the quick flash of what they perceive is “power.” Read More…

New – sail on the P-18 on youtube using the link below!
Take a Virtual Sail in Rhode Island on a Precision 18
I have owned a Precision 18 Sailboat for 3 years. You can read up about the basic specs on the Precision Boats web site, but here are the basics:

This is a small sloop sailboat (main sail and jib) which is less than 18 feet long. It weighs in at only 1100 lbs – although most users should add at least 100 lbs to that for an outboard, some basic gear and a porta-pottie. It features a stub keel with very low draft, as well as a swing down centerboard which can be raised and lowered via a simple rope in the cockpit.

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Breaking news – as of November, 2011 I am considering the sale of my P-18. The boat is in Newport RI, and as the review states, has been used for only 3 summers. I purchased the boat new, however it was a previous years model which was a dealers showroom for a year or two…..a so-called leftover (I think the hull is 2007, but I didn’t buy or use until 2009).
Short and sweet – the boat, trailer, outboard (yamaha – perfect!), extra sail, etc. together would cose approz. 23,500 new. I would take approx. 12K for this boat – a savings of 50%.
Here are some pictures and details. The basics are that the boat is in perfect and 100% usable condition – it is not, however, currently “spit shined” (buffed and waxed) as I do that in the spring before the new season. There have never been any collisions or repair to the glass. In other words, with a bit of elbo grease…and new decals if you want to be a perfectionist, it’s as good as a new boat! Email cissod@gmail.com. Real serious buyers only…….

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The weight and size of this boat put it firmly in the “trailer sailor” category, meaning it is very easy to tow it to your destination. The total weight of boat and trailer ends up being well less than 2,000 lbs – which means most cars and trucks with towing capacity will easily handle it. My boat, however, is kept in the water on a mooring about 1000 feet from a beach in RI. This is very convenient when compared to trailering as it only takes 10 minutes from when I step onto the boat to be underway and under sail. In fact, I am such a strong believer in storing the boat in or right near the water (mast up) that I would not own a boat unless this was the case! The amount of work involved with trailering, launching and rigging is just too great IMHO.

The P-18 is the first sailboat I have owned. I occasionally sailed very small (sunfish) sailboats when I was very young, but those skills have been long lost. I again took up sailing in my mid-50′s (2008). Previous to the purchase of the Precision, I took 2 days of sailing lessons in Sarasota, FL and received my basic keelboat ASA certification. This provided me with the basics, although it took many hours of actual experience on the P-18 to hone my skills and feel comfortable in most normal conditions.

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