One of the newest forms of watercraft, an efoil, passes by one of the oldest forms of watercraft, a sailboat. It was late, on a rainy afternoon:

A little over a month ago, I had this webcam view, waterfront at Hotel Beaufort (NC), playing on my TV. I was more interested in my laptop, than watching the webcam, but that view is “relaxing”. Something new was added to the other watercraft chugging along eastward. I didn’t know what it was, but single individual, apparently not in or not on a small watercraft like a canoe, kayak or ski. Little or no wake, not a jet ski. Moving incredibly fast, passing everything going eastward. And the person came back in the opposite direction in about 10 minutes. *I googled and found “efoil”.

An efoil looks like a boogie board, with a fin beneath, and an electric motor & propeller, and has a Bluetooth hand controller for the rider to control their speed. It can also slice through the water at 25+ mph, which is incredibly fast. They are currently expensive, about $12K, and probably will always be inherently dangerous.

This is the nearest thing I’ve seen to being able to walk on water, and much closer to flying. Still, there is a submerged portion (electric motor, propeller & stabilizer fins) that will remain beneath the surface of the water. Dangerous? Well, you could always lose your balance while riding and fall where the efoil hits you with one of it’s sharp edges. Or, going 25+ mph on water, just falling off and skimming like a stone across the water, could be problematic. Or, the submerged portion might snag on something.

Still, I would like to see efoil races that run from the Beaufort waterfront over to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and back. Maybe not much of a race since the lighthouse is about 8.5 miles from the Beaufort Hotel, as the seagull flies.

• fliteboard
• liftfoil
• takuma

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I saw the Biden flag for sale on Amazon.com. How is that not considered “hate speech”? If you put any questionable group or individual in the location where “BIDEN” is placed, I think you would have a problem. HARVEY MILK…?

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I have a Broccoli Casserole that is made with Minute Rice and Cream of Mushroom Soup that I like. I like the result warm, but I also like the squares cold. The recipe is online at the Minute Rice web site. I am not sure how long ago I first came across this recipe, but maybe more than 20 years, and I went quite a few years between making it, but have started again. Just finished my last of this last week.

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I’m not sure why I came up with the idea to replace the broccoli with chopped spinach, but I did. I mentally went thorough the list of ingredients for the broccoli casserole and realized that chopped spinach should work just as well… spinach & rice, spinach and cheese, sauteed onion and spinach and rice, yeah, that all seemed plausible. *I just heard my Timer beeper going off saying that the Spinach Casserole has been in the oven 35 minutes.

I think the Broccoli is still going to be my “go to” favorite, but I just thought about using Asparagus also as an alternative. *I’m also thinking that I should either chop up some celery, or add a can of Cream of Celery Soup also. But, if I use canned soup, then I probably would have to get serious about adding the bread cubes to this, which I have only tried once recently.

Yes, this turned out well. I would still prefer broccoli to spinach, but there was nothing negative about the substitution. *This was almost as good cold as the broccoli casserole. The spinach takes on a more prominent flavor cold.

ADDENDUM [06/20/22]: I tried using asparagus today, instead of broccoli or spinach. I think I like asparagus least, and it wasn’t any better when the casserole was cold. It was still a good casserole, but the broccoli casserole is the best. *I did add chopped celery with Cream of Mushroom soup for the asparagus version. I used Cream of Chicken with the spinach.

Some time back, I read about the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die”. I thought I had read that the plot had Bond becoming infected by nanobots and that meant he would never be able to be with his wife/lover and his child. But, that’s not how it turned out.

I saw this morning that I could watch “No Time to Die” for free. Well, the movie was now included in one of the streaming services to which I am currently subscribed. So, I turned it on. I didn’t manage to watch the whole movie but briefly fell asleep. I woke up before it was over. Bond was first told, the young girl wasn’t his, but by the end, it was obvious to all that the girl was Bond’s daughter. He got his “family” off the island that was about to be destroyed by missiles. The missiles sent to destroy ALL the dangerous nanobots. And, I missed exactly why the current Bond bad guy infected Bond with the nanobots, but with Bond infected, he knows that the nanobots in his body, must be included along with all the other nanobots, and there is no way to separate the nanobots from the man. So he gallantly orders the missile attack, and tells his lover/wife that he loves her, and stands there heroically as the missiles arrive and do their work.

Now we listen to Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (long dead) sing “We Have All the Time in the World”. And if you recall Bond from long ago, with his new wife (Diana Rigg), just moments before she is killed by gunfire meant for her husband. How melancholy!

I wasn’t prepared for James Bond to die today. I was caught up in the emotion of losing a dear loved one. I had the feeling of that looming loneliness that I had when I watched the last episode of “Star Trek the Next Generation”. Or how about the feeling of “the Remorseful Day” when Morse dies alone, on his hospital bed, with nothing and no one. I can’t recall the other television series that affected me in the same way, but I know there was another. The characters, though not real, have become a part of you. You care for them as you do other loved ones, and now you realize that they won’t be there ever again… re-runs excluded.

Morse’s death was bleak. Godless Morse. The Opera and crossword puzzles and solving murders all gone from his grasp. Lewis and Morse have changed relationships. Lewis is the more knowledgeable “birder,” who knows that Morse is looking at a common swallow out his window, and not some more exotic bird.

I had forgotten about John Barry and his scores of musical movie scores. I really like his music. And now I recall one of the closing lines in the movie, “High Road to China”. This movie isn’t put together well, but there are enough components that when the character played by Tom Selleck tells the character played by Bess Armstrong to come toward him… and then “closer” and “put your arms around my neck.” And Tom Selleck says the most romantic thing, “I only made one mistake.” Armstrong, “And what was that?” To which he replies, “I should have sold you when I had the chance.” — Now that is as romantic as it gets.

I remember an instance of “WKRP in Cincinnati” when Les Nessman (sp?) is announcing a promotional event in which live turkeys are thrown from a helicopter, high in the sky. At first, Les can’t make out what is being thrown from the helicopter… and then “It’s turkeys. They’re hitting the ground like wet bags of cement.” And, later the station’s owner tries to defend himself with the statement, “Honest, I thought turkeys could fly.” — Now, the idea of that situation is as funny as it gets.

Bess Armstrong played a judge in one of the “Bosch” series. She is eventually murdered by a hitman who is trying to kill Harry’s daughter Maddie.

I re-watched a good deal of the movie, “Mullholland Falls” last night (after earlier in the day watching “No Time To Die”). I remembered that this was one of the earlier times that I had seen the actor Titus Welliver.

I like the movie “Mullholland Falls.” I guess another instance of something being thrown from a perfectly good aircraft. Turkeys not the only thing hitting the ground like “wet sacks of cement.” And, Treat Williams’s character wouldn’t try to justify his actions by saying, “I thought women could fly.”

I will look for my baby picture that I call, “Happy Baby”. It shows me as a baby, and I’ve got chocolate, from chocolate candy, all over my mouth. *I have not seriously looked for this photo, yet.

My dad holding my hand. I’m not happy. Looking for my mom, at the same park, holding my hand. I’m not happy.

d

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My game plan was to order a “Combo Dark Platter” at Smithfield’s Chicken -n- Barbecue and save the BBQ to add to my Brunswick Stew. Interestingly, the nearest SCNB restaurant is across town, and is 18 miles away. Fortunately, Interstate 295 “Fayetteville Outer Loop” has been completed over to that point and it takes about 20 minutes, one way now. *I think the SCNB in Dunn, NC is only 20 miles away.

Normally, I have a problem with the unsweet tea served at Smithfield’s. There have been many times that I have said, and that is because that is what it tastes like to me… “this tastes like they put cigarette ashes in water.” Now, anyone who has made iced tea at home, using Liptons, Luzianne or Tetleys, has probably tasted the tea before they added sugar or some other sweetener. Unsweet tea (is that Orange Pekoe usually) has a distinctive flavor, but it doesn’t taste like cigarette ashes. **It’s obvious that SCNB doesn’t take pride in their unsweet tea. Sweet tea has a delicious flavor, although it has been a long time since I ordered it at Smithfield’s (Type 2 Diabetes).

But yesterday, the unsweet tea had a decent flavor and adding sweetener made it palatable.

I did have a problem with their hushpuppies. I don’t think I have had that problem in the past. I recall eating two or three hushpuppies at other meals. But, this time, the hushpuppies were grainy, reminiscent of sand. I think this is called “short bread” when referencing biscuits or cookies that have this texture. Maybe too much Crisco and no flour to the corn meal. I threw out the remaining hushpuppies as I left Smithfield’s.

The BBQ looked good, and had a good flavor. But, I ate only a few pieces of the BBQ and focused on the fried chicken, potato salad and coleslaw.

Later, when I added the BBQ to the Brunswick Stew I was making, the BBQ became dark and seemed like it had been ground too finely. The chicken I shredded, from the baked chicken at Publix, was fine. *I wouldn’t use the BBQ from Smithfield’s again, but I would like pulled pork (maybe from the Redneck BBQ Lab – haven’t tried theirs yet).

The online recipe I used for the Brunswick Stew, included barbecue sauce. I didn’t have any barbecue sauce so I added Ketchup. The final product was a little vinegary but sweet. I definitely like tomatoes, corn, green lima beans and onion and chunks of potato.

I may not try to make this again, any time soon, because I don’t want to end up with a pot of Brunswick Stew that I’m not going to eat. But, if I could get the correct combo, I do like Brunswick Stew. **I bought a small bottle of “Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce” and added some to the helping of Brunswick Stew I had, and I think this may be a necessary ingredient. The Stew was closer to the good stews I have eaten.

My dad had a good recipe for Brunswick Stew, but I don’t think I still have it. Donna (my half sister) probably does still have it.

I bought a cabbage with the idea that I was going to make some coleslaw to go with the stew, but that didn’t happen, yet.

NOTE [06/15/22]: I finished off the Brunswick Stew yesterday, and added some BBQ Sauce before finishing it. Not right away, but I would try this again, with just the shredded chicken & not forgetting the BBQ Sauce.

I was rereading about the first time I had Tiger Sauce, which was at the East Village Grille in Asheville, NC in 2011. I had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and potato salad and apparently used the Tiger Sauce on the steak sandwich.

So, I was wondering what to have for supper tonight. I had cooked a T-bone steak earlier in the day, at the same time I was cooking the chicken thighs. I thought, I should make a steak sandwich slicing up some of the steak, and use a ciabatta roll for the sandwich bread. I toasted the inside of the bread, and then melted a couple of slices of baby swiss (the last from the Pastrami Rachels I had made a couple of weeks ago). I then put the steak between the two slices of bread and then cut the sandwich in half.

I also boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes in the same pot that I was boiling three eggs. I wanted to use one hard boiled egg in my potato salad. I chopped up some Vidalia onion, added some sweet pickle slices (sweetened with Splenda by Mt. Olive Co.), Splenda, S&P, celery seeds, and some Dukes Mayo.

The potato salad turned out excellently. It was a little sweet, with small chunks of potato and sweet onion. I opened a bottle of the Habanero-Lime Tiger Sauce and added it to the steak sandwich as I ate it.

After I had finished the sandwich, I looked at the opened bottle of Tiger Sauce. I saw that of the 5 oz. bottle, I had probably used about 1/5. I noted that this would approximate the black plastic cup that EVG provided with the Tiger Sauce. I think they might have charged me 35 cents for the cup of TS, which I thought was expensive. I even thought it rude that they had charged me to try this, even though I didn’t know if I was going to like it. I did like it! So, 1/5 of a bottle of Tiger Sauce would cost about 55 cents today. I guess they charged me just the right amount for trying the TS.

NOTE: Boiling eggs in the same pot when you are boiling potatoes. If the egg shells are clean, there is no reason not to do “double-duty” by combining the two while cooking. After the potatoes were done, there was still a few minutes left for the eggs, so I used a colander and drained the hot water into a larger pot. I then separated the potatoes from the eggs. I put the hot water back in the original pot and added the eggs back to finish boiling. I then went on to put the potatoes in a large glass bowl.

I didn’t buy my Pyrex glass bowls as a set, but I did buy them all at the same time: two very large, two next size down, and two the smallest. There was a store, across town, that was selling assorted items. I saw these bowls and must have thought them a good purchase. *In the years since, I’ve used the very largest bowls rarely, but usually when I was fixing a large dish to take to a work event/party. The next size down were perfect for a bowl of microwaved popcorn. Sometimes you just need a bowl that’s much larger, for mixing ingredients, and then after you’ve got them mixed, you can store them in a smaller plastic container.

Chicken is still under $2 per pound, so I saw six fryer thighs for $2.68 total. I normally do not use my straight sided skillet, but it is larger and the six thighs fit perfectly in the larger pan. There was also enough room for the pineapple chunks in the middle, and a few at the intersections of the thighs. I poured the juice from the pineapple can into the skillet, added the chunked pineapple, grapeseed oil, chopped some onion, and added S&P, dry herbs (marjoram, thyme, basil, garlic (dry & clove)), some lime juice, agave nectar and some Splenda sweetener.

I normally flavor my chicken as I cook it, but the ingredients I used above were intentional so that I could add two different sauces to it. *The basic chicken here is delicious (pineapple, lime juice & sweetener), but I can go either with an Indian Curry (Pataks Hot Curry Paste) or with a Mexican Salsa (Herdez Salsa Ranchera) flavor.

It doesn’t matter which way I go, the rest of the ingredients are basically the same: onion, carrots, diced tomatoes (fire roasted garlic) and either Pataks Hot Curry Paste OR Herdez Salsa. If I go with the Salsa, then I might also add red pepper flakes, jalapenos, cayenne & chipotle pepper.

It was only in the last few years that I began to ask myself how close the Cape Lookout Lighthouse was to Beaufort/Morehead City/Fort Macon. If you don’t have a boat, the trip from the Beaufort Hotel to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse would take almost two hours (34.7 miles).

But, as the crow flies, or if a seagull would fly straight, the distance is only 8.5 miles between the hotel and the lighthouse. I’m not sure if a small watercraft could navigate an almost straight course between the two locations, but certainly the trip would be much shorter than 34 miles, and take a lot less time.

[NOTE 09/24/22]: The above image was unexpected, especially if you know how many images I had taken and zoomed in on the little blip on the horizon (photo above the above) that I came to know was the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. To see that they actually could zoom in and get a recognizable image of the Lighthouse from about 9 miles away is amazing. [end note]

A few weeks ago, I was looking at the webcam view from the Beaufort Hotel (on WRAL TV5), as shown above. I think it was a Saturday morning about 11 am, and there were several small watercraft heading easterly down this channel. I think I was doing something on my computer, but at some point I looked up at the webcam view. Something different appeared at the bottom right of the screen. There was what appeared to be a single individual, standing upright above the water, travelling incredibly fast (compared to the rest of the boats on the water), and producing little to no wake. The person quickly passed the nearby vessels, and then relatively quickly passed all visible vessels and disappeared at the end of the channel.

I sat in my “easy” chair rehearsing what I had just seen. Person upright, no visible vessel beneath them, moving incredibly fast, and producing almost no wake. I said to myself, “Surely someone might ask, ‘did you really see what you just thought you saw.'” I sat there another few minutes, and then I look at the view and here comes the person back in the opposite direction, disappearing to the right of the webcam view heading back toward the Beaufort, NC waterfront.

Okay, so now I started to google for “fastest single person watercraft” which pulled up some pontoon boats (not what I would think was very fast, but they are small). It wasn’t a skier being pulled behind a boat. It wasn’t a fast moving canoe or kayak, or even a jet-ski (which produce an incredible wake). So, now my thoughts turn to something I saw in a James Bond movie (Thunderball) back in the late 1960s. The “Disco Volante,” was a fairly large vessel, used by Bond’s nemesis in acquiring a couple of nuclear bombs. And, at some point, the vessel drops the tail end of the ship, and becomes a fast moving hydrofoil. So now my google search included the term “hydrofoil”.

Sure enough, I quickly found articles about “efoils”. Only a few years in development. Surprisingly, they are electrically operated (a battery pack in the board). They have a fin, motor/propeller, and wings beneath the surface of the water.

It does look like fun! But, it definitely looks like it can be dangerous, and could cause serious injury. The fin could snag on a hidden obstacle beneath the surface of the water, or you could just lose your balance on the board and fall in the “wrong” location. The boards currently cost about $12K, which make them a rich man’s toy, but I could see the prices coming down greatly in a few years. But, still this toy is inherently dangerous, and I’m not sure how long the “wow” factor will last. I don’t see an easy way to make this craft less dangerous.