Roll Tide

It's cold and the tide's out. This is our winter, 34°F and cloudy, a grey, flat Bay and "I make no promises" says Aslan to Jill. Yesterday morning a seagoing vessel, Ocean Innovation 656x105, arriving to unload general cargo,

and a few hours later another, Bona 582x93 underway, passing 7H with wood pellets for Studstrup.

Even with the chill, yesterday dawning was more colorful

Morning, both yesterday and today, beginning with black coffee and a square or three of dark chocolate. Supply of chocolate replenished around the Xmas tree, which Linda took down yesterday and returned the living room to business as usual.

Yesterday continuing busy, all morning at computer online, first simple, changing my Gulf Power account to FPL for Florida Power and Light. Then an enormous online hassle of hours and phone calls and frustrating hours and hours changing our online access pages to the clergy retirees' new medical insurance plan.

Covid cases surging nationwide and a new covid variant identified in France? There'll be no end of this, especially as we're sick and tired of it and of being cautious. At some point it will have served nature's purpose of population control, and life for humans will settle into whatever is New Normal in each part of the world. We've been on the way there for two years now, many of the resulting life changes being quite positive in fact, including showing that we can do a lot of things by electronic remote such as Zoom instead of using up natural resources with daily travel. On the down side, there are significant social costs in staying home instead of gathering in offices and classrooms.

What do you think about electric cars? Chevy Bolt inventory sold off at heavy discounts and Bolt factory shut down and cars issued safety recalls and owners told to park them outside and not near other cars because batteries that power them were bursting into flame. Glad I resisted the urge when $40K Bolts were offered at $23K. Some similar issues with other electric car makers as well, reportedly including some Hyundai EVs and Tesla. This will all be solved and resolved in due course as I wonder why fuel cell and steam power is not being pursued? The first cars replacing horses in the White House garage were White steamers,

though I think it far more likely the White House will see gasoline parade cars

next term, with tanks and rolling ICBMs and high-stepping troops in military parades, nomesane?

Give it up, Bubba.

Superior diversion, books. Disappear into a book, especially a novel: yesterday I started one from under the Xmas Tree, "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver, about

a Southern Baptist missionary family's confrontation with Africa. Pretty absorbing so far, and I may read it this week instead of preparing a sermon for next Sunday. Anyway, the theme for next Sunday is the Baptism of Christ, we're singing a really good baptism hymn, and everybody would be delighted if instead of preaching a sermon I just read aloud a few pages from the book. The rector will be away, and anything goes. Roll Tide, this is one game where a Gator can say Roll Tide and mean it.