October 12, 2026
I am a dog person; I don’t like cats. And as an economist, I don’t think surprise presents are a good idea — the recipient’s willingness to pay for the gift received is often below what the giver spent on it. A welfare loss. So, on one of our morning walks with Woland early last month, I asked Natalia whether she had a list of things she might like for her birthday. “A Siamese cat,” she said enthusiastically. And so it was that I found Margarita online the same day, and she was delivered that night. (I know, I know — that is not how one is supposed to acquire a pet.) She is adorable, and having her in the family makes me very happy — though Woland might not feel the same. Bulgakov did not have them share a flat, after all. I still don’t like other cats.
I flew to Panama for a conference on 5 October, and on the 8th came up to San Diego to visit my daughter Marina. We had wonderful weather for the first two days, but then tropical storm Rachel arrived and plans had to change — no beach, no hiking. Winds of 30 to 35 knots late Saturday and into Sunday, but no real damage here. Further south it was worse. Rachel came ashore in northern Baja late Saturday with 60-mph winds; more than a hundred people were moved out of the Tijuana River canal, Ensenada closed its port, and the rain totals down there were far higher than anything we saw.
I was pleased to learn today that the new Blue Monster has arrived in Panama and is going through customs. It is a Solé Mini 62 — built by Solé Diesel, a Spanish outfit near Barcelona that marinizes Mitsubishi industrial blocks. Four cylinders, 59 horsepower, naturally aspirated, and no electronics to speak of. It happens to be blue. It came with a new transmission and a handsome control panel carrying every indicator needed to keep it running well. My hope is that Ollie and Co. will be able to collect the engine this week and have it installed by the end of the month. BEHEMOTH will finally have the monster it deserves, and peace of mind for me.
Webb Chiles, the writer and sailor, announced a few days ago in his journal the publication of his new book: Gannet 6: You’re Not Too Old, about his sixth and last circumnavigation aboard GANNET, a 24-foot ultralight Moore 24. I had hoped to review it here, but when I went to Amazon to buy the Kindle version, I found I could only pre-order. So I pre-ordered: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H8DWBPW7?ref_=quick_view_ref_tag. It arrives on 14 November, which happens to be my birthday.
