2130hrs 06 Sep 2005 UTC 19’56”N 025’32”W Ref 336
Well Gra has joined the OGC whilst we, a nanospot upon the vast pachydermal curve, spent the day drenched in sweat battling for every metre – one down now is one less later. P,P,P & P with Pee the colour of best Darjeeling and a widdly dribble at that. There’s a tiny African moth running around on the screen as I write – Senegalese or Gambian perhaps. Spends its time running up the screen, flying to the bottom and running up again – Sisyphus the Moff? Or was it someone else condemned to roll a peanut up a slope with his nose?
Was thinking, if that’s the word, about the Tao and uncarved blocks – Michaelangelo said that he released his figures from their blocks of marble and there’s an unfinished work in Florence where the figure is – amazingly – emerging from the surrounding marble. Stunning Renaissance magic, but the Taoist scholar might have asked ‘But, lao Mike, why that figure? Why did you choose that one from the infinite millions that were in the block before you started to mess with it? Wouldn’t it have been better to have left them all there?’ The yin and the yang approaches – the classical and the romantic, the road not travelled. Why do I foist this twaddle upon you all?
I have carefully collected a sample of what it probably Mauretania – there was a film of dust on the solar panel and I have it in a bag – looks like mud, rather than the red dust that lives under the eyelids in remoter Oz.
We have the engine going again – sultry hazy night, still drenched in sweat, dripping into my lap as i sit here slaving away.
From Allan Fenwick
I do hope you know I’m only having a bit of fun with you straight laced buggers, Now your knocking my spelling, yes the louisiades, don’t you know engrish when you see it. 6 months of sun and fun, and no I’m not taking Gordon, I still haven’t forgiven himfor the gay thing, but his broken nose has healed but a bit still a bit bent. Keep sailing ,Africa on the left and south America on the right for a little while yet then turn left, I will let you know when, email me if you get lost and I will send new instructions if you can understand my spelling.
Fenwick, I was really worried there for a moment – thought you really cared – ah well. Sorry to hear Gordo misbehaved yet again.
Two more USB crashes today – have worked out a slightly more effective procedure for rebuilding the thing – at least, I think I have. But desperately, screamingly, ragingly infuriatingly frustrating – and having to insert the bloody dongle every time to get CMap up seems so unnecessary and just another device to give it the yips. As it does. All y’all should be proud of my forbearance and tolerance – the temptation to hit it with my metaphorical rifle butt is very strong.
The logs ramblings can be cryptic, so we have added: