Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for November 04, 2023

One mighty stroke before you ship the oars.

Too little too late.

If the water is not flowing, it is easy to avoid. If the water is flowing, point your oars upstream or point them downstream so you can poke things in front of you.

This is why an outboard motor is better than oars.

This is America. There’ll be none of that “thinking ahead” nonsense around here. Do you think we’re Canadians?

Oar not.

At least it looks high enough, but watch out for what’s hanging down from the ceiling. “I’m smarter than you, Jack! I’m smarter!” “Yeah, well I’m taller!”

Reminds me of when I witnessed a person carrying snow skis sideways into a cabin…didn’t clear the door, crashed back the steps to the ground

That’s quite a narrow view.

What thinking further than the next social media post? Hum.

You’ll just have to do as the they did in canals – Legging, lay across the boat and use your feet to propel it

Is he going upstream or down? If he’s going down he gets to coast. If he was heading upstream he’s done with practice for the day.

Situation awareness: Need for a skull session to determine sculling cessation.

Reminds me of funny videos of dogs trying to get long sticks through doorways.

Is the small opening for small-minded people? If so, I would think it would be a lot more crowded there.

I was trying to think if it is better to ‘think ahead’ than know that you will be ‘thinking ahead’ but I was putting too much thought into it. Ya think?

He’ll either succeed oar fail.

There was an old joke during the cold war: “The Soviet Union has a 5 year plan. The Chinese have a 500 year plan and Americans have a 5 minute plan.”

This must be the Charles River, because that is where the term storrowing originated: >

The eternal problem – did I prepare well enough for what’s ahead? The older I get the clearer that answer becomes.

More like the “Tunnel of turning around and going the other way”.

There is a tremendous shortage of thinking ahead . . .

Who mounts oar locks on a kayak. Most people use a two-ended paddle for that boat type.

Oar it’s too late for that now.

it’ll fit

Unfortunately, it’s not a short tunnel.

I’m looking forward to the Boys In the Boat movie.

We [in the US] quit thinking about the future about 40 years ago when Rush Limbaugh turned politely-conservative radio talk shows into rants and rages. The “US” became “aMErica” and everyone who even mildly disagreed with his advertised views was treated as an enemy. “My” rights, not everyone’s rights. It’s all about what “I” deserve, not about what we all deserve or what we all need. [He repeatedly claimed that his show was just “entertainment” and not “news” and he was just giving people what they wanted to hear — and he laughed all the way to the bank].

And, thanks to Newt Gingrich and some other elected officials, we turned our governing focus on “ME” as well, no longer looking at governance as a way to ensure health, education, safety, etc. for everyone [now and in the future], but rather looking at government as taking from “MY” hard-earned money [ignoring the costs and benefits of the health/education/safety/infrastructure, etc. provided].

Of course, I was in high school when JFK gave his inaugural address . . . “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” . . . and I found that inspirational.

Even in the original — “Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert.” [“The New Frontier,” Kahlil Gibran, 1925]

Anyone remember the first Mars lander?

Where MAGA people refuse to go.

It’s nothing that a massive tax cut for the 1% won’t fix.

Sometimes no need to think ahead, but to adapt to the situation. Boat is narrow enough, stow the oars, push way through using the narrow walls. Hope there isn’t a waterfall on the other side. ;)

Ship your oars and go with the flow.

I think I spend my life as a bit of metaphorical flotsam, bumping around in the eddy to the side of the entrance to that tunnel.

Is that Matt Gaetz at the oar?

Oar not.

He wouldn’t have gotten himself into this situation if he had brought along a coxswain.

Coulda Woulda Shoulda!

You CAN fold them over the stern, you know.

Think ahead: Next time, don’t let Wiley design the sculling course.

Nah! just go with the flow !

The walls are close enough that you can ship the oars and push by hand or leg.

True Story from Defense Department—In the 80’s I was working on a program that planned to put semi trailers with critical communications on semi trailers. Onthe first test drive ithe prototype was stopped at a weigh station on rt. 66…..it was over weight!

That is really insightfully clever, and rather profound, if I have to say so…

Shoul a gentleman offer a Tiparillo to a lady?

Followed by, Tunnel of Vision.

I’d have never thought of that.

There is a plan afoot to change all the “No Wake” signs around the dock areas to “No Woke”.

shouldn’t be any issue passing through…

I guess most of us remember the cartoon of the sign writers in the process of writing “THINK AHEA” and then the sign ran out. or the sci fi short story by what author I can’t remember, where a “you beauty A1” computer (of the Hal ‘2001 a Space Odyssey’ style) had just been installed, but all they got when they asked it questions was garbage .. then someone noticed that on the wall behind the operator there was a large sign that simply said “THINK”.

That doesn’t look like The Charles River to me