I sure can make things more complicated than they need to be; it’s a tendency I have to fight constantly. It just almost bit me again.

I think it’s a malady shared by many geeks, and is why some of us need managers: the combination of a vivid imagination and enough technical knowledge to construct a vision of a system that is far out of proportion to what one is actually capable of completing within the constraints of available time. This is a well-known phenomenon that leads to creeping featuritis, consulting projects that run way over budget, the BEHEMOTH effect… and elaborate plans for a Nomadness boatlab with a semi-gable structure flanked by a pair of 40-foot shipping containers converted into workspaces, all on a new gravel pad in my meadow (a semantic sleight-of-hand that reduces the need to mow as often as would be required by a lawn). This ambitious facilities design is actually quite motivating, with the new project out in a fresh sunny spot instead of a cold moldy one, and it would leave me with a globally transportable streamlined lab that could be whisked on demand to a new home base somewhere… Out There.

But the problem is that it would also involve a huge investment of time and money while the boat sits awaiting attention. Given that I want to be sailing next summer instead of slogging through ever-expanding to-do lists (a maze of twisty, turny passages, all alike), the most sensible thing to do is back-burner the annoyances of my current facilities and just get on with it.

This sounds a lot like the previous entry in this blog, but there are a few updates from the intervening 2 months. A planned cross-country adventure with my ocean-rowing friend was aborted less than 300 miles along, so I suddenly have 7 weeks that I wasn’t expecting. My relationship with Jeannie has ended (quite amicably), so there is a corresponding invigoration of Major Change. After extensive research into real-estate issues, I’ve discovered that the requisite modifications to the building and grounds are actually an excellent investment. And despite the “psychic energy sink” of facilities strategizing, I’ve been continuing to refine the specifications for many of the Nomadness projects (in some cases, even going ahead with parts acquisition).

It appears that the boat will be hauled within the next couple of weeks; the custom trailer is enroute from FE, the wide-load permit is in progress, crane service is arranged, help is lined up, and I’m of course terrified. The marina in Blaine has been hit with some nasty windstorms lately, but trimaran guru Mark Gumley has been keeping an eye on the boat… doubling up mooring lines, taking extra turns on the furler to prevent flogging, and removing the fabric dodger that was flapping furiously in the 60 mph gusts. I’m really looking forward to having her here, and just need to make sure I don’t get too emotional about saving the alders and maples within “danger-tree” range of the parking spot. The lab needs a good stock of firewood anyway.

So if all goes as planned, the next update here should shift our focus back to the Microship on Steroids that is this lovely vessel… I miss her. This is the marina in Blaine… there is nothing quite like being on the water at night:

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