This week Sayaka, Nancy's Japanese mentoree from Washington College, came out to the house for a kayak paddle (see pictures), dinner and a concert. It was the first time either of us had been on the water this year. I'm also reading a book by Nathanial Philbrick entitled "The Sea of Glory" about the first US navel expedition to Antarctica, the Pacific islands and the Columbia River. All this real and vicarious water travel has got me wondering what's the attraction that water has for so many people, including me. Here at Creek's Edge there's a definite peacefulness and communing with nature aspect of being on the water. In the sea stories it's more of a battle between men (and it's almost always men) and the sea. An epic struggle which, truth be told, the sea always wins even when the ship arrives safely back in port. I enjoy the sea stories but enjoy even more the quiet times on the water on our own Shipyard Creek and the surrounding creeks, rivers and, of course, the bay. There's always time to let go and just enjoy the paddle and in so doing often the daily concerns slip away like fog melting in the sun. Sometimes I find vexing problems that I've been wrestling with are cleared up by the time I return without conscience thought on my part. A great way to spen a couple of hours and become physically and emotionally recharged.


I read this week that Google had made a proposal to use the space between the analog TV channels (buffer space) for a nationwide broadband internet network. Since the analog channels go away early 2009, the buffer space will no longer be needed. This sounds like a terrific idea. The frequency is lower so the signals can penetrate buildings etc better than the higher frequency digital TV and phone signals. This would give the USA a ubiquitous broadband network which would put us on a par or maybe even slightly ahead of many other developed countries. The proposal is potentially particularly attractive to us out here in the woods without DSL or cable service. We can and do use satellite access to the internet which is much better than dial up but is expensive and goes out with bad weather. In addition it takes some time for access so, while a download goes fast once it's started in good weather, it may take several seconds prior to the start of the download to get access to the satellite channel and the specific web page. This, of course, prohibits any real time use such as Skype type phone calls. If the Google proposal ever becomes a reality we may be able to get a radio signal through the trees and then enjoy true broadband access. One can always hope.