Not only is this the most beautiful XKCD post of all time, ...

... it is the most beautiful webcomic ever posted anywhere on the web by anyone.

The ouroboros is preparing to close the loop.

My blogging software suggested that it would be glad to allow the AI to write my blog from now on.

NTSB video explaining why the Dali lost control

18 months ago, in March 2024, the MV Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore Harbor.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released the summary section of its report on the incident.

There are many findings in the report, and lots to think about, but a particularly interesting part is the loose wire that crippled the ship at a critical moment. The NTSB made a very good 2 minute video explaining exactly what went wrong.

Another very interesting observation is this:

Contributing to the collapse of the Key Bridge and the loss of life was the lack of countermeasures to reduce the bridge’s vulnerability to collapse due to impact by ocean-going vessels, which have only grown larger since the Key Bridge’s opening in 1977. When the Japan-flagged containership Blue Nagoya contacted the Key Bridge after losing propulsion in 1980, the 390-foot-long vessel caused only minor damage. The Dali, however, is 10 times the size of the Blue Nagoya.

This seems like a sensible recommendation in response to that observation:

To the US Coast Guard:

1. Conduct and publish the results of a study that examines the availability, feasibility, and safety benefits of redundant means to ensure that large singlepropulsion-engine cargo vessels maintain propulsion and steering when maneuvering in restricted waters.

Quite a lot has changed in 50 years. There's lots to learn, and lots to do.

The Road from the Past: a very short review

Ina Caro's The Road from the Past is hard to describe. It's not a travel guide, it's not a history, it's not an autobiography. And yet, in various ways, it is all three.

Caro found herself traveling extensively in France, and decided to try her own approach:

Most people return from Europe with a memory of the places they have visited that is very much like a salad after it has been put through a Cuisinart. They have been to so many countries and heard so many dates and names of kings that when they return, the trip is all a blur. When I see the typical American tourist, I feel like yelling out, "Don't do it that way, it's no fun. Do it my way."

If you do it my way, you will rent a time machine -- available at any rent-a-car agency -- and drive through history. Our time machine can't take us into the future any faster than a minute at a time, but we can, if we properly plan our route, actually simulate the sensation of traveling through several centries of the past on a magical vacation in France. If you follow the route I describe from Provence to Paris, traveling to some of the most magnificent and beautiful monasteries, churches, chateaux, and towns built in France over a period of nearly two thousand years, and visit these sites in the order they were built, you will feel almost as if you are traveling through the past, through the history of France.

Indeed, her book describes exactly that: a journey she and her husband took through France, from Provence to Paris, visiting locations in a way designed to move from the very early Roman times, though the middle ages, into the Renaissance, through the Grand Siecle, and ending at last in modern-day France.

I read portions of Caro's book before a recent trip to Bordeaux, bouncing around from chapter to chapter and "visiting" some of my planned destinations ahead of time, through Caro's eyes.

It was a lovely way to whet my appetite for my journey, but in a way I broke Caro's cardinal rule, because I didn't read her entire book, start to finish, but rather sampled different portions that matched my existing plans.

That is, I read her book as a guidebook, rather than as autobiography.

But really, it doesn't matter: if you're interested in France, and have the time, Caro's book is a lovely way to start learning the extraordinarily long and complex history of this fascinating country. Read it however you want to.

Pathfinder-1 flew quite close to my house today!

This morning, I was driving home (from a doctor's appointment, ugh), and while stopped at a traffic light I was distracted by the biggest blimp I'd ever seen.

It turns out this was Pathfinder-1, the LTA Research experimental vehicle.

Technically, the airship carries helium in a rigid internal frame rather than relying on the soft envelope design of traditional blimps; the design aims to improve resilience and control while lowering the carbon footprint compared to jets, as reported by Design News.

I guess I'm not supposed to call it a blimp.

Reading my way to Bordeaux: Allan Massie

I visited Bordeaux, France, recently. This is a very old city and has a quite complex history. About all I can personally attest to from my experience is that, nowadays, Bordeaux seems to be a lovely place:

• There are many interesting places to see and visit
• There is quite good public transit to get around
• All the local people I met were extremely friendly
• The food is great (try the Caneles)
• There's a lot going on: throughout the city I saw construction cranes and crews at work and lots of activity everywhere

As I often do, when looking forward to visiting a place, I sought out some books to read ahead of time. For this approach to work, of course, it is necessary not just to pick some books, but to actually read them!

Based on that criteria, I feel that Allan Massie's books were a resounding success. Massie wrote a four-book series of novels set in and around Bordeaux:

1. Death in Bordeaux
2. Dark Summer in Bordeaux
3. Cold Winter in Bordeaux
4. End Games in Bordeaux

The books are often referred to as the "Superintendent Lannes Mysteries", a very fair phrase, as they follow our hero Superintendent Lannes of the Bordeaux Judicial Police as he wrestles with a series of brutal crimes.

But the books could be just as easily categorized as historical fiction, since:

• They're set during World War II
• They're arranged chronologically
• They follow an entire collection of characters, not just Lannes
• The historical events and major themes of the World War II experience play an extremely large role in the books.

The last point is particularly important, I think. The books cover a period of time during which Bordeaux, and France as a whole, underwent many social changes. In the first book Bordeaux is a thriving city in the French Republic, but during the series of books France is: attacked by Germany; divided into various zones; occupied by German troops; administered by Petain's Vichy government; home to a Resistance movement; delivered from occupation by Allied troups; and re-formed under the De Gaulle administration. In addition to Petain and De Gaulle, Mitterand and other famous historical figures feature prominently throughout the books.

Massie also explores many important social themes. The experiences of Jews in Bordeaux is examined in many ways. There is also a lot of discussion of homosexuality and how it surfaced during the wartime years. Another major theme is the way that people in Bordeaux experienced contemporary events such as Fascism in Spain and Communism in Russia. Different characters react to these pressures in different ways: some join groups such as the Resistance, or the Vichy government, the French Foreign Legion, etc.; some become collaborators; some escape France for Africa or England; some become smugglers and black-market operators; many simply just try to survive.

And, of course, there are mysteries to solve! Superintendent Lannes and his team must find and interview witnesses, collect evidence, develop theories, and attempt to ensure justice is upheld. As much as they can.

Massie's plotting is tremendous, and his characters are vivid and believable. The action is nearly non-stop. Many of the events are tragic, but Massie does well to remind us that life during wartime in an occupied country is, still, life. So there are the occasional lighter events, even a touch of humor at times. And, of course, this is Bordeaux, France, so there's wonderful food and even greater wine ("Bring us a bottle of St. Emilion, please"), and lots of vivid depictions of buildings, plazas, streets, and other bits of the Bordeaux landscape.

Massie is not without flaws. For one thing, at least in the printings I read, he sorely needed a good editor, or at least a reliable proof-reader; there are far too many typos and missing or duplicate words and inaccurate punctuation dotting the pages of all four volumes. But that's a quibble, and was rarely more than a momentary distraction.

Significantlly more distracting, unfortunately, is that Massie's dialogue, though nicely colloquial, is English colloquial. "Jolly good, old chap" says one French policeman to another, a line that Just Seems Wrong.

A thousand pages is quite a bit to read, and it took me a significant amount of time to make it through all four books. I read the first two before I took my trip, was reading the third book while in Bordeaux, and didn't even start the fourth until I got back home.

But I don't regret any of that time, not even a moment. When I think back about Bordeaux in years to come, I'll certainly remember what a lovely trip I had, but I'll also always see Bordeaux at least partly through the eyes of Superintendent Lannes of the Bordeaux Judicial Police.

The eagle visited the bay

I happened to see a notice that the USCG Eagle was visiting the bay: Media Advisory: U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle ride-in opportunity into San Francisco Bay, Friday, July 25.

Of course, with my puny blog, I'm not a qualified media representative. Still! It would have been so cool!

Seeing that article instantly took me back to 2008, when the Festival of Sail occurred. That was a long time ago, I didn't even have my blog back then!

The Festival of Sail had a Parade of Tall Ships, which assembled just outside the Golden Gate and sailed through the gate in a grand procession. You can read a little bit about it here.

The Festival’s opening Parade of Sail, at noon on July 23, is a unique opportunity for Bay Area residents to view the stately procession of the visiting Tall Ships as they enter the Golden Gate, led proudly by the sleek, elegant United States Coast Guard Cutter Eagle. The historic fleet will be met and escorted by dozens of local sailing vessels as it proceeds past Marina Green, Fort Mason, Aquatic Park, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building. At the Bay Bridge, the Tall Ships will tack around to be welcomed at their individually assigned berths along the San Francisco waterfront.

I certainly wouldn't call the Eagle sleek, nor elegant, but it was definitely impressive.

A colleague of mine had a 36 foot Hunter, and loved to sail, and in those days I would often act as crewmember (more fondly known as "meat on the high rail"), assisting with the boat, trimming the sails, helping with tacking, raising and lowering the spinnaer, taking turns at the wheel, keeping my friend company, and generally enjoying a day on the bay.

We arranged to be out on the water during the parade, and it was certainly something! Unfortunately it seems like it mostly pre-dated the Internet, and it's hard to find much information online about it anymore, though I did locate this fun short video. In the video you can get a great feel for what it was like to be out on the water, and there are a few beautiful shots of the Eagle. As I recall, the wind was high and the conditions were challenging, and we were almost too busy with our own sailing to be able to admire the big boys. Watch the video all the way through for some stunning footage of the Eagle coming under the Bay Bridge near the end of the parade.

2008 was a bit of a peak time for sailing in the Bay Area. All of the marinas were full, there were sailing clubs everywhere, there were major regattas every weekend, oh what a time it was.

If the timing for this year's visit by the Eagle had been just a little different, I would have tried to get my dad out to see the Eagle, somehow. I often spoke about the Eagle with my dad, who of course was a 30-year veteran of the United States Coast Guard Reserve, retiring as a full Captain. My dad never had a chance to ride the Eagle himself, but we made several other lovely trips on the bay, including one on the Jeremiah O'Brien during Fleet Week, and another for a special Navy League event.

If you ever get a chance to see the Eagle, by all means do so; it's very interesting!