A good day in the office

It's been a good day in the office today.

It started with Peter Isler turning in a report to us from Valencia that he penned during the Act 12 lay day. We regularly hear from readers that we carry too much A-Cup coverage, so you might wonder what is so great about another A-Cup report? It was great because it began with Peter getting pulled out into the late night bar scene by US Olympic partyer and skiier Bode Miller. There's more to the A-Cup than just gloss, so it was good for Peter to give us a bit of the action that doesn't normally make the press release.

Then came a story sent to us from noted author and sailing historian John Rousmaniere, where he provided his thoughts on the centenial Newport to Bermuda Race 2006. I had asked John about this on Monday, but he felt that he had too much on his plate to pull it off, and respectfully declined. Therefore, it was a nice surprise when it arrived. I have a hunch that John found himself needing to provide some personal closure on an event that he cherishes, and after five hundred words, he figured he found it, and we were just the means to provide it.

Other items of interest today included being mentioned in the Sailing Anarchy forums - always a thrill - this time regarding a letter we carried about potential problems at the recently held Etchells British National and European Championships. Maybe some day the anarchists will learn that there is no "F" when spelling "Scuttlebutt," but beggers can't be choosers. Also today, Scuttlebutt verbally agreed to partner with a major sponsor of a leading America's Cup team. It is always exciting when companies that netted 9 billion last year look to team up with us. Makes us feel special.

Look for this week's trivia and weekly video in the next day or two, which we finally settled on today. Got caught up on posting new classifieds too. Heck, from the sound of it, we might just get our act together here before getting to the holiday weekend (that is, if I can get around to sending in the monthly sales tax forms). - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

Country versus Country

After following the FIFA World Cup (the soccer intergalactics that occur every four years), my mind wandered into a comparison with the America's Cup. I have found the World Cup to be very exciting, and concluded that much of the magic was due to the nationality requirement.

These are the top thirty-two soccer nations (there are 205 nations that are FIFA members), and many were quite small, such as Ghana which today eliminated the US (I will have to Google Ghana to learn more about them). I thought about how great it would be if the excitement of nations vs nations could be brought back to the America's Cup, wherein countries big and small could fairly face-off.

After taking a stab at the analysis, I came to some disappointing conclusions, which can be found in an article I wrote for the Friday issue of Scuttlebutt called "Should it be a contest between nations?" - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

The Guy's Rules

While I am not sure of the source for "The Guy Rules," I have found them pretty funny, and so did my wife. However, they might not be for everyone, so if you are someone who might find offense in a set of rules from the guys' side of the story, do not proceed. Also, while these rules might have application to sailing, they are not sailing specific, so if that annoys you, please turn the dial, change the station... do anything but continue reading. This is your final warning. - Craig Leweck
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Okay, so here are the rules from the male side, and they are all numbered "1" on purpose:

1. Men ARE not mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want; let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria 's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or golf.

1 You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Men don't mind having to sleep on the couch. It's like camping.

Paige Railey Podcast

Scuttlebutt's first podcast was with Paige Railey, who has been dominating the women's singlehanded olympic scene, earning her ISAF's #1 ranking in the Laser Radial class. Working with Paige, who turned 19 years old in May, was a pleasure, particular when you consider how many things she is juggling. She is running a very professional program, and doing much of it alone (such is the reality of the singlehanded sailor). We caught up with her in England, which she had retreated to after realizing early in the Holland Regatta that she needed a break, and abruptly left to recharge her batteries before the Laser Radial Europeans in Italy. She travels with a coach, and has been in Euro-land since April. She is clearly doing what is necessary to succeed, and Americans should be grateful she is on their side. - Craig Leweck

Links:
Scuttlebutt podcast: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/pr
Paige's website: www.paigerailey.com

Podcasting

This week marked another milestone for Scuttlebutt, wherein we produced our very first podcast. It is amazing what can be done these days with the computer, and we likely have to thank all the twenty-somethings for providing the concepts and software for making this possible. Surely, since I am a forty-something and the Curmudgeon is much older, the podcast thing (read: audio internet broadcast) had been flying below/above our radar for some time. But we are onboard now, and will try to use these tools when they prove useful. I guess one of the cool things about podcasts is how you can download the audio file to your MP3 player (read: IPOD), which might come in handy for our podcast next week, which will be with meterologist Chris Bedford, who is going to lay out the ins and outs of the anticipated weather forecast for the Newport-Bermuda Race. - Craig Leweck