Goodbye 2003

As we approach the end of another year I have had a chance to reflect back not only on the past year but my life in general. Earlier this week the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article entitled Passages 2003 in which it listed the people who have departed this world during the year. Many of the names I was not familiar with...many were...and here I would just like to list those who touched me in some way during my lifetime. They are (with date of death) as follows:

April 1 - Leslie Cheung
June 11 - David Brinkley
June 12 - Gregory Peck
June 29 - Katharine Hepburn
July 27 - Bob Hope
Sept. 11 - John Ritter
Sept. 12 - Johnny Cash
Oct. 29 - Franco Corelli
Oct. 30 - Franco Bonisolli
Nov. 9 - Art Carney
Dec. 8 - Hans Hotter

Life will not see the same without them.

In closing I wish each and every one of you a very Happy, Properous, and Healthy New Year.

Final week, or, final 19 hours...

Now begins the second short week in a row and my final week with the firm. Then it is on to a permanent vacation, more or less. With this cold rainy weather here in SF I am really looking forward to my journey to Thailand in January.

Still no new hires at work and they have even deleted the two open positions from the firm's HR website page. I wonder what is going on?

Went to another holiday party last night at a friend's apartment and now Wednesday night it is the big one - New Year's Eve. It looks as if the rain may go away or at least decrease considerably by then. Actually, I don't care what happens once I reach my destination as long as I can stay dry on the way there.

San Francisco's new mayor, Gavin Newsom, takes office on the 8th of January. His transition team is in place and apparently rather large despite the city's large deficit. Could they all be volunteers????

Morning after

The day after Christmas was a quiet day as I only ventured out twice. The first time going to Trader Joe's for some wine and other goodies and then to Cala Foods for food items that I regularly buy.

Last night a friend came over and we watched a movie that neither of us would go to the theater to see: Finding Nemo. Yes, it was a kids movie but there was enough in it to interest adults too and since my friend is studying animation it was natural that he should watch it. In fact, the evening started with his own animation whose features looked every bit as good as the Disney/Pixar film. And that comment was not influenced by the wine we were drinking.

Speaking of wine, however, after the film we went out to our favorite local pub where we both switched to beer for several more hours so this morning I am feeling a bit groggy. I guess one might call it a hangover. Now I must prepare for New Year's Eve which will be something special this time since the 31st of January is my last day of work prior to retirement.

No plans today although I hope I can catch the Metropolitan Opera Broadcast somewhere on Internet radio, perhaps KING-FM from Seattle. Today's performance features Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini which I have never heard in its entirety. Then there is another party to attend on Sunday evening but that one will probably involve less consumption of alcohol than last night.

It is very chilly here in SF. It is 42F/5C on my patio deck at 9:30 AM and my heater has been working overtime last night and this morning.

I need something to keep me warm today. I wonder what I should do...

Merry ??? Christmas

Well, not for everyone. In fact, I will probably be haunted by what I saw today upon leaving the office at 12 noon. Upon reaching the street level I found a couple of fire trucks, several police cars and a couple of ambulances near the corner of Drumm & Sacramento with lots of yellow police tape blocking off the streets in the area. Everyone seemed to be looking up and I did not see what they were looking at, but then I did. There was a man dangling from the outside of the (approximately) 14th floor balcony of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. He seemed to be moving somewhat but I could not tell exactly how he was suspending himself there. I do not know how long he had been there but I watched in hopes the fire and police personnel could get him down safely. That was not to be as he finally let go or lost his grip and fell to the sidewalk. That was a sickening sound when he hit. Someone described it as sounding like smashing a large watermelon.

As a result of this situation I could not catch my # 1 bus in its usual location so I sought out an alternate route. By that time however they were running the new ETBs under battery power from wired territory through some unwired streets and then over to Sacramento Street and the regular route. I did not try to catch one, opting instead to catch something on Sutter Street.

It has been a somber afternoon for me as a result of those images. The sound too, of his body hitting the pavement will be something I will long remember. I hope I don't have any nightmares tonight as a result of this.

Tomorrow is another day and I will be joining friends in Oakland for Christmass dinner. I look forward to this and need this to get my mind off of today's events.

Christmas in the City

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the apartment building
Not a creature was stirring, except the noisy neighbors upstairs;
The stockings were in the laundry basket in hopes that the
maid would soon be there...

..when out on the patio deck there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the drapes and turned on the light...

...When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but the neighbor's cat and a racoon in a standoff on the fence...

-x-x-x-x-x-

Well, not as romantic or fanciful as the Major Henry Livingston Jr./Clement Clarke Moore poem but something I can relate to anyway.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a Good-Night"

Where were you when...

In this case I was at work (11:14 AM) removing something from a cabinet when a co-worker mentioned that we were having an earthquake. I would have never noticed but for her remark. I stood up and heard a creaking sound from our roll down cage and then I felt a very slight rolling motion. I could have overlooked that completely. It was very minor here in SF. Not so minor in Paso Robles but then not major by any stretch of the word either.

Tonight I decided to watch the Raider/Packer game. Bad idea! It is the 4th quarter and it is 34 to 7 Green Bay. Oh well, at least the 49ers won on the road yesterday, their first road win this season.

Good question!

Is there really anything to write about at this time? Well, at least we are only a couple of days away from the pagan holiday hijacked by the Christians now known as Christmas. After that we can get back to normal, whatever that is. For me it won't exactly be normal as I will only have two-and-a-half days left at work and then I retire but don't get ready to put me in a wheel chair and push me over to Laguna Honda hospital. I certainly can't predict what my health will be like five or ten years from now but right now is the perfect time to retire so I can enjoy and extended vacation.

At work in recent years I have become known as "Mr. World Traveler". Since 1998 I have been in France three times, one time in the U.K. (a brief stay in London), and I have been in Italy, Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai, and Thailand, and I am scheduled to return to Thailand soon for my second visit. Where will I go next? Good question! I want to return to Paris but I really should go back to London as my previous visit was far too short and there are some things I would like to see there and I would like to visit a friend in York.

Being a rail fan the London Transport Museum would be high on my list. I also need to explore the Underground lines and outlying areas. I can just enjoy walking around a city to see what it and its architecture and life styles are. I don't need to go to touristy sites all the time. They are usually too crowded and overpriced anyway. First, back to BKK and Chiang Mai. After that I can start thinking about the next journey.

Ciao!

Dumb and dumber?

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian who called police to report thieves were trying to break into his home and steal his cannabis plants wound up getting arrested himself.
Police called to a house in Adelaide, capital of the state of South Australia just after midnight discovered four men trying to steal the plants, which were being grown in two rooms there.

They arrested the men -- and the 23-year-old homeowner, who was later charged with illegally growing 16 cannabis plants.

"He was calling from underneath his bed," a police spokesman told Reuters. "I don't know what he was thinking. Perhaps he was smoking too much of his own product."

On the lighter side


This out of London...

After a year of rumors, lawsuits and tabloid intrusions, the British royal family is dealing with another scandal after a Sunday newspaper revealed that a servant has starred in a gay porn film.

According to The People, as well as appearing in the film, which was never released, Steve Kaye is keen to sell to the highest bidder his stories of orgies and drug taking at the palace.

He claims that security is slack at Buckingham Palace, and that poorly paid servants often organize parties involving drugs and sex, despite senior royals being in attendance.

The 25-year-old Kaye, who works part time in a clothes shop, was due to work at Sandringham Palace on Christmas day serving Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites), the tabloid claims, although it is thought the revelations will lead to him being fired.

Sources told the newspaper that the footman's porn film, shot nearly four years ago, was too hardcore for the U.K. market. His participation in the film, however, could have posed a blackmail threat, the newspaper reported.

The royal family has not commented on the incident, which rounds off another difficult year that included conspiracy theories over the death of Princess Diana, lawsuits from her butler Paul Burrell and a "comedy terrorist" gate-crashing at Prince William's birthday party. The family was tainted further by rumors of gay rape within Buckingham Palace, while servants of Prince Charles were criticized for their handling of the problem.

However, the story that gained most coverage was one that could not be mentioned in U.K. press for legal reasons, and linked a senior royal with a servant.

-----------

I am beginning to think that Buckingham Palace must be a very interesting place to live. You almost need a score card to keep up with the events there these days.

Crazy World

The practice of a growing number of U.S. busineses to export jobs to other countries ("outsourcing") is the most despicable practice in a long time. People complain about the economy not recovering fast enough and that there are not enough jobs yet these rich bastards at the top keep sending these jobs (not theirs of course) to countries where they can pay lower wages. Then a few months down the road they lay off thousands of workers in the U.S. Is it no wonder that many people in this country cannot afford goods and services? Is it no wonder that the economy remains sluggish? It doesn't take rocket science to realize that but short term greed by the CEO's of many companies in the U.S. is contributing to the problem. What we need are a number of corporate meltdowns in quick succession and then, just maybe these selfish, self-serving bastards might change their mind. Unfortunately it is going to take an act of congress to get changes made but then that is not going to happen because they are just a corrupt. Is it no wonder why families murder there own? The gross incivility amongst a great many American is rapidly bringing this country down. I just hope we aren't exporting our mental, emotional, and social problems to other countries too.

Xmas music

Another reason I dislike this season (Are there others?) is the horrible sappy music one hears on the radio all the time. There are very few popular Christmas songs that I have ever liked and at the risk of being boiled in oil I will say that my favorite is "The Little Drummer Boy" with "Winter Wonderland" being second. My favorite of the religious carols is "Once in Royal David's City". For my taste that is the most beautiful but of course there is the majestic "Adeste Fideles" or "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" to rouse the spirit. To be fair however, I can lay part of the blame for my dislike of pop Christmas music on the atrocious arrangements and they get worse year by year.

Monday after

Well, I survived the firm's Christmas party on Saturday night, this year held at the Omni Hotel. My digestive system almost didn't but that is another story. Anyway, I spent much of the evening drinking white wine (never found the hard liquor bar) and telling people about my retirement at the end of this month. Some had heard rumors and some were genuinely surprised.

Now if we can only get one or two very competent people hired prior to my departure so that I can start the training but I am not gong to hold my breath on that one as I have only 9 full days remaining here, then it is Hasta la vista baby. I have told my superiors, however, that I can make myself available for training after the first provided, of course, I am not off to Borneo or somewhere else. Ha!

Christmas shopping occupied much of my time over the weekend and I have completed that but I need an appropriately sized box for one of the items. Guess I will check out the UPS store during my lunch hour. If that does not work I will have to return to MBE on Saturday morning.

I hope this week goes smoothly and quickly as the next two weeks will be only 2-1/2 work days long each.

Cheers...

Problems...problems...but we got a new mayor and D.A.

Gavin Newsom is going to have his hands full with the problems including those radicals who want a free ride on the Muni to heaven knows what else. Mark Morford writes about this in today's Chronicle.

Blog, blog, whose gotta blog

NEWS FLASH! Today's race for mayor in San Francisco results in tie vote to be decided by the California Supreme Court.

Also, Angela Alioto pulls Gavin Newsom's hair out.

Golden Gate Bridge Directors buy new stealth cars so they do not have to pay $5 bridge toll.

Retired Mayor Willie Brown to become caretaker of Michael's amusement park.

George Bush to retire and raise turkeys. (He has lots of experience there.)

Dick Cheney to buy tie factory to help ailing business.

Michael Dukakis rejected as Dean's campaign manager.

-30-

If you can't beat them...


BERLIN (Reuters) - A German vicar inadvertently supplied his parish with dozens of hard core porn films in an unsuccessful bid to teach people about the life of Christ. Frithjof Schwesig, vicar in the southwestern town of Lampoldshausen, had ordered 300 copies of a video film portraying the life of Christ as told by the gospel according to Luke.

"In a first batch 20 to 30 videos were distributed and we immediately got a reaction from five to seven people saying we must have given them the wrong film," he said. "It was a real porn film. Within an hour our staff had collected all the videos. Really, all were withdrawn."

Schwesig said there had been a mistake at the Munich video copying plant and his staff established in a viewing session that night that 200 of the videos were pornographic.

Undaunted, Schwesig said he was pressing ahead with the life of Christ video campaign.

"It's extremely successful," he said.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Yeah, I bet it was successful. heh heh heh

Favorite Letter to the Editor

This one made my day. Read on...

Priestly humor
Editor -- A brief e-mail from a priest friend greeted me Wednesday morning: "The consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese of the Episcopal Church is an affront to Christians everywhere. I am just thankful that the church's founder, Henry VIII, and his wife Catherine of Aragon, and his wife Anne Boleyn, and his wife Jane Seymour, and his wife Anne of Cleves, and his wife Katherine Howard, and his wife Catherine Parr are no longer here to suffer through this assault on traditional Christian marriage.''

Fr. LARRY N. LORENZONI, S.D.B.

San Francisco

No decision

I watched the debate between mayoral candidates Newsom and Gonzales on TV last night and still do not know who to vote for. Early on I favored Newsom but at the same time I am bothered by the fact that he was appointed to the Board of Stuporvisors by Willie Brown whom I despise. Matt Gonzales seems like a nice chap and has some nice ideas but I fear he is too naive to be effective. With Newsom I fear that all of the most extreme liberal nut cases who want something for nothing will hound him till his dying day, or last day in office, whichever comes first. Once again it is not easy to vote in San Francisco.

Nothing special

This week is starting out like all other weeks except that I learned that my co-worker is leaving the firm next week and that the firm is moving to new space in late 2004. That is probably enough news in the office for this week but it won't be.

I am really ticked off about the plans of devlopers for thousands of acres near Lake Tahoe. They would create a city bigger than Truckee, California which has remained relatively stable in it population over a number of years. So why does the area need a city that is bigger than Truckee other than trying to make a huge hunk of money? The rape of this planet has got to stop.

Apparently Placer County officials are willing to go along with this plan so I can only assume that they only see dollar signs dancing in front of their eyes. They are blind to the tremendous amount of harm that this project will do to the Sierra Nevada region.

We have trash TV, trashy movies, unhealthy food, trashy music, dishonest CEOs, dishonest government, oh, the list goes on and on, and we are creating an uninhabitable planet for future generations. I wonder where and when the next big asteroid collision will occur. Sometimes I think that this planet needs to start all over again.

Monday blahs

I am paying for the four day weekend today. The amount of work greeting me and my co-worker this morning was equal to a month's worth of paper work. Yikes! Doesn't anyone on the tax staff believe in taking national and firm holidays?

Well, if you want a good laugh checkout the Cosmic Goat blogspot.

This should take your mind off your worries...maybe.

Here is one of my favorite Letters to the Editor today.

Editor -- Napoleon went to Moscow, Hitler went to Paris and LBJ went to Vietnam. Looks like President Bush is right on schedule.

RONALD O. RICHARDS
Los Angeles

Day after

I survived turkey day despite what one co-worker said would happen. hahaha

I had a nice dinner with a friend in Vallejo and then joined another friend for brunch Friday morning.

I finally got started with Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. It has only been sitting here on my desk for two weeks now. But like his other book Angels and Demons, it is difficult to put down once you get started.

Today? Don't know yet although I was thinking of going to the Metreon to see Mystic River. I also need to do a little Christmas shopping (yuck) but fortunately I do not have much to buy and I did get some ideas when I was in Vallejo on Thanksgiving.

Did you ever wonder where certain expressions come from and why? For some reason "cute as a bug in a rug" was on my mind this morning and on the surface that makes no sense at all. What bug is cute especially when in a rug? hahaha This almost defies logic or is it that I just need another cup of coffee.

I had to keep the TV turned off yesterday as there was too much news about Bush's trip to Iraq which was just another photo op and a way to buy votes in November. Such as idiot we don't we four more years of.

It is time for all of the turkeys of this world to head for the hills or else be eaten.

Tomorrow is a day to give thanks. What do I have to be thankful for? Well, good health, a job, a good place to live, good friends, and I can be thankful I am not like the politicians who are screwing up the world and this country, or at least I hope I'm not.

I am also thankful that I am now only 35 days away from New Years and other events.

Waisting time...spending money?!?

Dull day in the office and even during my lunch so I have been staring at the Brookstone store website for the past fifteen minutes thinking about their products and wondering what I could use and/or afford. Actually, nothing in either category.

This is day two of my co-worker's vacation and so far it has continued to be rather slow which is good in some ways but time does drag. There is something about this three day work week which seems more difficult than the usual five days. I talked with someone else who also has no inspiration to do anything this week.

Thursday I will be joining my friend Richard in Vallejo for dinner. It will also give me a chance to see his new computer and help with some things that he has not been able to solve so far. Then last night Bob from Oakland called to invite me to his place for Christmas dinner so that covers both major holidays. This has become a tradition to be at his place at Christmastime with a "cast of thousands", or, the "usual suspects".

One thing I will NOT do this weekend is go to Union Square on Friday. That place will be a madhouse as a cast of thousands descends upon the area to begin the Christmas shopping season. I might go through the area and head over to the Metreon to see Mystic River which has received some good reviews.

So that is the scoop from here for now.

-30-

Marriage vs. Civil Unions

Question: Do gay people really want to get married and have to endure all the legal hassles of a marriage gone sour? Also, whose to say that gay marriages will be any more successful than straight ones?

From my observations and experiences of many years, I find that gay unions of any sort are, for the most part, rather fleeting. Those that lasted (that I am familiar with) were open relationships, one of which ended in one of the partner's death shortly after he picked up two strangers and took them home with him.

I am against the religious bigots trying to block same sex marriages however I really question whether or not it would be a good thing for gay people to marry. For those truly loving and committed individuals who enter into such an arrangement it is great but since so many relationships start when the partners are very young and not ready mentally or emotionally for such a comitted union, the end results may be similar to what the heterosexual world suffers.

I personally prefer the word union but be it a union or marriage, let's keep the goverment and bigots out of our lives!

Morning indigestion

RANGAMATI, Bangladesh (Reuters) - A python killed and half-swallowed a woman in southeastern Bangladesh, police said Friday.

Basanti Tripura, 38, was collecting fruit with a friend in a forest when she was attacked Tuesday, a police official said. She was swallowed up to her waist.

The python, believed to have been more than 10 feet long, was killed and the body retrieved, the official said.

Brrr...cold morning with breeze = even colder

Rain had been predicted but it feels more like snow right now. Ha!

Symphony tonight and opera tonight will occupy much of my time this weekend. Then there is the 49er/Packer game Sunday morning from Green Bay. Both teams are equal in the standings (5 & 5) but Green Bay has won most if not all games at home against SF in recent years. It will be a cold day in Green Bay! Well, I guess that is the only way that they can keep all that cheese from melting. ha ha ha

In his first few days in office our new governor has succeeded in terminating the increase in car taxes but now the legislature is scrambling to find ways to replace those lost funds. Hey guys, how about the bloated prison budget? That would be a good place to start. The prison industry has a virtual stranglehold on this state and we are not any safer for it.

Well, that is my rant for Friday. Hope everyone has a warm and enjoyable weekend.

Bay State leads the way - for now

I do not understand nor will I ever understand the fear expressed by heterosexuals over gay marriage or even civil unions. They seem to think it is some sort of threat to heterosexual marriage that will somehow weaken it. HOW? The only threat to marriage is from the partners involved in said marriage, not from outside forces. Heterosexuals seem very insecure in this area and I guess this is evidenced best by the high divorce rate.

Then we have those who take some sort of high moral stand stating that it a sacred institution between a man and a woman (or in the case of early Mormons, women). If they want to believe that, fine, just don't tell gay men and women they can't marry.

As for the homophobes who say that people are not born gay, that they chose to be that way, I ask, can you change? If you are straight, can you change? No, of course not, that is the way you were born. You did not decide to become hetersexual.

As for the ultra-conservatives who claim they have changed homosexuals through prayer and therapy, I say they have scared very insecure homosexuals who caved in to pressure from parents, friends, and church members who are rabidly anti-gay. They did not change. They just supressed their desires and activities to win approval of those they fear. Unfortunately this may have grave consequences for them and others somewhere down the road.

When will the human race wake up? When will the human race stop hating? When will the human race stop wars? When will...

"Imagine" there's no heaven...no hell...no countries...nothing to kill or die for...living in peace...and the world will be as one...no posessions...no need for greed or hunger...sharing all the world...and the world will live as one."

"I don't want to live in Washington and sit in a room with a bunch of jerks I don't know."

-- Comedian-talk show host DENNIS MILLER telling The Philadelphia Inquirer why he passed when California Republicans tried to get him to run for the Senate.
----------
I think I would agree with that. The biggest jerk is that one now in London talking with another jerk. Ah, Tony something or other...

Can You Believe This?


BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti, 68, said on Sunday he would marry the mother of his infant daughter in December and he wanted to have another child after the baby girl's twin brother died in the womb in January.

"We lost Alice's twin brother and if I knew another pregnancy would go smoothly I would say I want another baby immediately," he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Pavarotti, one of the world's top tenors who is credited with bringing opera to the masses, said he and his ex-secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, 34, planned to wed on December 13 in Modena, northern Italy. Pavarotti also has three daughters from his ex-wife.

----------

Me thinks he should retire - from everything.

Sore muscles?

I will find out tomorrow...probably more muscles than I knew I had. Ha! Richard and I went to Circuit City today to pick-up my new TV plus a new stand (assemble yourself). The 27" Panasonic weighs about 95 lbs. and the stand about 50. I just finished putting the stand together and things went amazing well. Now I must clear out the area around the old TV (old video tapes, etc.) plus move speakers further apart, etc.

Amazing poll on our mayoral run-off scheduled in a few weeks. The front runner for a long time has been Gavin Newsom who has led by substantial margins in all polls and was substantially ahead of Matt Gonzales in the November election but he did not recieve 50% of the vote + 1 so there is a run-off...BUT...the latest polls have Gonzales leading Newsom by 2% points. That is not much but a complete surprise to everyone. What happened? Perhaps that was just a fluke. Where was this poll taken anyway?

Well, Mr. Schwarzenegger takes office Monday morning in Sacramento. It will be a low key inauguration and apparently he will call a special session of the legislature the following day to repeal the car tax and fix some other problems he raised in his campaign. The next three years could be very interesting.

I wanted to go out to eat dinner tonight but I am so tired from putting together the new TV stand that I decided to eat at home which was not easy considering how little there is in the fridge. I won't say what I ate but suffice it to say, the total package was not exactly the most healthful meal I have ever eaten. Oh well, c'est la vie!

-30-

More ramblings

Strange, this Diet Coke I am drinking tastes more like beer. Is that a craving or is it some sort of chemical reaction to the tuna sandwich I just ate or the chocolate brownie I am now eating.

Glad to see that the Bloomingdale's project construction will finally get underway. This will really make that section of Market Street into a very dynamic area. I can hardly wait for it to open, especially the food court. heh heh heh

I am now making more plans for January 2004. I used to have a post New Year's gathering of friends on the first or second Sunday following New Year's Day but suspended it after a few years due to logistical problems of too much food in my small studio apartment. I think this time I will limit things to snacks, appetizers, that sort of thing, plus booze of course. BYOB might be the order of the day but my plans are still evolving.

Tonight I will attend my firm's Alumni Reception. It will be a first for me. There have been no general announcements about my retirement but it could leak out tonight. Since the general announcement will be made next week when our operations manager returns, this should not present too much of a problem. I just don't like news spreading via the gossip circuit. It can get distorted.

Now that I have broadband high speed internet cable, I can get busy and complete the uploading of photos from my recent vacation in Italy. Only the pictures from Venice remain but I may revise some other pages as well. Websites are always on-going projects anyway so I need to review the other pages to see where new material might be needed and/or old material deleted.

Wow

I now have high speed internet cable and I am impressed by its speed. So now I will terminate my old dial-up account with Earthlink once everyone has been notified of this change. Well, I think I will go surf some more.

Government Holiday

I am at home today, not because we have the day off, but because I am waiting for the cable guy (or gal?) from Comcast to arrive to install high speed internet cable. In the meantime I thought I would call the DMV to find out about my renewed driver's license which STILL has not arrived. It has been eight weeks. The say allow six weeks. Well, I am still waiting. I tried to call them this morning without realizing that this is a government and bank holiday so their usual sorry lazy staff gets an extra day off to boot. Well, piss on them. All I want is my driver's license or my $15 back. Unfortunately they have cashed my check so that probably won't happen. I am just wondering how many people I might have to talk with at DMV to get an answer about the ETA or whereabouts of my license.

In reference to Sunday football, with the Raiders losing once again, there was even less of interest on the local scene. The 49ers had the weekend off. They undoubtedly needed the rest too.

Oh, here's a weird news item.

-x-x-x-x-x-

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Waiter, there is something worse than a fly in my soup.
A California woman who found a condom in her bowl of clam chowder has sued the upscale restaurant that served it to her -- saying she has suffered depression and anxiety from the shocking discovery.

But an attorney for McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurant in Irvine, California, says the eatery has no idea how the condom got into Laila Sultan's food.

Sultan, 48, and her three companions are suing the restaurant for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a case that is expected to go to trial early next year.

"I thought it was calamari or shrimp or something so I chewed one more," Sultan told local KCAL-TV on Monday. "It felt rubbery. I told my friends, 'My God, there's something in my mouth.'"

Sultan said she spit the offending object into a napkin and at first thought it was a latex glove. Then her friend realized what it was.

"I said, 'Oh, my God' and ran into the bathroom with another friend of mine and I started throwing up," she said. "I threw up everything I ate there, every single thing, I threw up in the bathroom."

But Patrick Stark, an attorney for McCormick & Schmicks, told the Los Angeles Times that its staff had no idea how the condom got into the chowder, adding: "It's as big a mystery to us as it is to anybody else."

"We are going to argue at trial there is absolutely no evidence to suggest the restaurant was the source of the condom," he told the paper. "Either it came from (the four women) or it was thrown in as a practical joke by another patron at the restaurant."
-x-x-x-x-x-

I don't know what to say about that one.

Sunday blahs

No football, or at least none of any interest. No baseball. Can't stand basketball. Know little about hockey. Don't care about golf. So what is a guy to do on a Sunday afternoon in which it threatens to rain? (Don't answer that!)

Sunday night is always the most depressing night of the week since I have to go back to work on Monday morning but not for much longer. Yipee!

Just discovered recently that I have 12 more channels of TV programs than I had previously and Comcast did not tell me about it in my monthly statement. I was channel surfing one night and could not find CNN and discovered it had been bumped from 50 up to 56. So I continued to explore and found that I now have the Animal Planet channel, History Channel, Halmark, ESPN II (have always had ESPN), Cartoon Network, Fox News (barf - I prefer CNN), Court Television (whoopee), and the Travel Channel. There are a few others plus others have been moved to accomodate the additions to the SF lineup. I wonder why I wasn't sent a notice with my monthly bill. Oh, and thinking of Comcast, they are scheduled to be out here on Tuesday to install high speep internet cable. I hope this works. A previous attempt at DSL through my ISP Earthlink failed because the wiring in this building (built in the early 60s) could not handle it.

And I still do not have my renewed driver's license. It has been eight weeks since mailing in the renewal. They say you need to allow six weeks so if the license is not in tomorrows mail I will be calling them once again. Unfortunately their flunky clerks sound so disinterested in their job that it makes it very difficult to get anywhere with them. If all else fails, I will contact "7 on your side" in an effort to find out what is going on.

So brothers and sisters, that is it from this corner of San Francisco for now.

Not ill that I know of.

Since at least one person thinks I am sick because of what I posted on the 4th of November, I need to update this. A CT scan was taken of my chest on the 4th in an effort to rule out anything significant. It was taken because of a spot in a regular x-ray a few weeks earlier which the radiologist and my doctor felt needed closer examination. I am now waiting for the results.

I feel fine actually. I got over the cold I picked up because of the sudden change in weather from Florence (mid sixites) to Venice (mid fifties with a strong cold wind off the Adriatic). The hot weather in San Francisco when I returned also helped to dry out my sinuses so now I am feeling in tip top condition once again. And...it is Saturday night...so...

Well, it has been raining off and on this afternoon but as I write this the rain has stopped. I think it is going to be a grand night for something. Let's party...

What is going on?

Having been feeling some indigestion lately without the usual heartburn. It is just an uncomfortable feeling in the chest area plus a lot of noise emanating from the lower part of the rib cage. A cat scan is due on Thursday due to recent abnormal x-ray but that "spot" did not necessarily represent anything serious. "Artifact" was the word used in the radiologist's report so it is a mystery at the moment. Since then I have probably begun to worry and now I am feeling dizzy or lightheaded. The lack of a meeting with my supervisor and my co-worker regarding an end of the year event has also been troublesome as I wanted to get this out of the way ASAP. Now I do not know when that will take place. It was supposed to have been last Friday but was postponed to yesterday but still I have heard nothing. So I guess concern over what could be minor health problems combined with lack of progress in discussions at work are starting to take their toll. I need a vacation! Ha!

And now I learn that a friend in Bangkok is going to Iraq of all places. Is he nuts or something? I thought he was studying at a university in BKK but now he apparently has a job with a television network or some such thing in BKK. What in the world is going on here?

Fish Breath

Well, here is a new one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A former Belgian ambulance driver put his first aid skills to good use by reviving one of his pond fish with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a newspaper said Tuesday.
Leo Van Aert was so happy about having saved the life of his cherished koi he wants to name it after one of his grandchildren, the Gazet Van Antwerpen said.

Van Aert, 57, was hosting a party at his home near the Belgian port of Antwerp when his wife noticed the koi -- a spotted Japanese carp -- floating on the surface of the garden pond.

Van Aert said the 60-cm (24-inch) long fish was "acting funny," swimming and jumping frantically before stopping dead in the water.

He figured the koi had had a heart attack and took it out of the water to try to resuscitate it, giving it heart massages before joining lips with the fish.

"After 15 minutes, the fish started to move again so I put him in the pond...but when he fell over again I again applied mouth-to-mouth and heart massages," he said. "That's when the fish recovered."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that takes real dedication to one's job and to one's pet fish.

Election Day

Actually, that is tomorrow and I have not even studied the voter handbook yet. Somehow I cannot get enthused over politicians who are less than honest or over ballot propositions that either aren't what they seem or will be declared unconstitutional by this or that court. So why bother to vote? I might but it won't be easy.

Rude behavior continued

A correspondent in Australia reminded me this morning about the people (usually women too) who will take an escalator and step off and STOP. What do these people expect those behind them to do? Jump over them? Oh, I am sure if you bumped into such a person and he or she fell down you would get sued for this or that.

I still haven't quite got used to headset cell phones which are so small that you have to look for them to see them. With so many crazies running around the streets of San Francisco talking to themselves, I am never sure who is nuts and who isn't, no matter how they are dressed.

Friday at last. SF Symphony tonight with the featured work being a Chopin Piano Concerto (Horacio Guttierez) and tomorrow night I will see Verdi's Don Carlos once again with a cast that is very uneven. Only the mezzo was a stand-out on opening night. A correspondent told me one time that Verdi put the "grand" in Grand Opera but I am afraid that this cast takes it out. It is one of my favorite operas too. Grrr...

On this day before Halloween, the SF Chronicle had a list of Scary thoughts. My favorites: Being Owen Pochman, Working for George Steinbrenner, and (you must understand SF politics to get this one) Having Chris Daly house sit.

Customer Relations

Why are some people even in business of serving the public? Why is it that I can walk into a store I have never been in and be greeted by a worker and/or owner in a friendly manner whereas in another store I am treated to minimal service? That is, I am sold whatever I am buying with a minimum of talk. No hellos, no thank yous, no good-byes. Just some sort of grunt from the person behind the counter. That is certainly what I experienced a short time ago at a convenience store on the lobby level of Embarcadero Center #4. I just went in to buy a lottery ticket and a candy bar and the woman made it seem like I was disturbing her. I would not have gone in there however my usual choice (Eastern Newsstand) in EC #3 is waiting for delivery of a new lotto machine so I could not buy a ticket there.

While I am on the subject, the really offensive greeting is the one "Is there something you want" uttered in a disdainful voice. Yes, you shit head, I want to buy (whatever it is I am holding). These type of people clearly need professional help for their attitudes if they intend to stay in retail sales.

Pet peeve

I thought I was the only one with this problem until a neighbor complained about it to me this morning. This is the matter of people who do not look where they are going (as pedestrians) and either expect YOU to move out of THEIR way of seem surprised or angry that there was a near collision. What really gets me is the person who will walk out of a doorway looking to the left but walking to the right forcing you to do some fancy footwork in order to avoid a collision. I sure hope these people don't drive like they walk! Related to that is the one in which a group of people will stop in the middle of a sidewalk to chat leaving no room on either side to pass. Hellooooooooo...there are other people out here folks.

Sunny & Hot in San Francisco

Herb Caen always used to remark about how the tourists would freeze in short at Fishmerman's Wharf in July but then after Labor Day when many returned home it would warm up for the local people. Well, such as has been the case during much of September and October which are traditionally the best months of the year here. Today is it is 72F in the shade on my patio deck and probably at least 80 in the sun.

Last night's opera, while well sung, used a new modern production from Germany again in which a very ordinary house looked like something from 1950 to some, or from the 1930s to others. It was certainly not what Rossini had in mind when he wrote the The Barber of Seville especially the Vespa motor scooter used to transport the Barber into town. The heat in the opera house did not help matters either. I will never forgive them for not installing air conditioniing when they had a chance a few years ago. They continually used the lame excuse that the couldn't do it but would never explain why. I could live with "we don't have the funds" but to make a statement such as we can't do it, is beyond belief. Most theaters of any size, including many of the remaining movie palaces in this city have AC. Why not the opera house?????????

Had brunch with Donn at The Village Cafe this morning. It was the first opportunity I had to talk with him since returning from Italy. After that I stopped at Cala foods to pick up some necessities for the next few days. Now my laundry is in the dryer in the apartment's laundry downstairs and I have the fan running in the living room which is the only way I can get any air circulation in the apartment.

Next on the agenda? Sort through, re-size, and add more photos from Italy to my website. I think this would be a good time to do that so I will sign off for now.

Ciao!

What a difference a few hours make. At lunch today it seemed rather cool and not what I expected. Upon leaving the office at 5:30 PM it was rather warm...too much so for the jacket I was wearing.

Well, now I have done it. Comcast Cable has started offering high speed cable internet service in my area so I have ordered it. I hope this works. I could not get DSL into the apartment so that ended in failure apparently due to faulty wiring or some interference with the signal. I hope the cable deal will be successful as there would be no other choice in this building which is suprising for a building constructed in the early 1960s.

On what may or may not be a related matter, I am receiving an inordinate amount of
interference on AM radio in this apartment which is strongest in the kitchen area but even now effects my clock radio in the bedroom. It is next to impossible to listen to 50,000 watt KCBS at times as a result. Somehow I need to locate the source and/or report this to the FCC.

So ends my first week back at work following my vacation in Italy. It went by fast as there a ton of paperwork left over from the previous weeks. We made significant progress so I feel good about that.

Now, the month is almost over and then begins the home stretch. There are a number of things to do and to look forward to during the next two months. I expect there will be obligatory parties but mainly I am just looking forward to the time off and setting my own schedule.

After my flights to Thailand in January I should have sufficient frequent flyer miles for a free international flight. I already have enough for a domestic flight (pre-Italy) but Italy combined with Thailand should really push it up there. If so, I would like to return to London. I was only there two days in 1999 on the way to Paris so I only saw the bare essentials.

Oh, there are so many places I would like to go. I will have the time but I'm not sure about the money right now. High on my list is Portland, Oregon as well as Seattle, Washington, and a return to Vanouver, B.C. I have not been there since sometime in the late eighties.

Soon we will have a new governor so things could get interesting in Sacramento. I'm not sure Arnold or anyone else can fix things however. The state is too obligated to spend money on certain programs due to the approval of a number of ballot measures in recent years and there is little or no wiggle room in the budget the governor.

The is considerable controversy recently about the underperforming BART extension to the airport. This does not surprise me as large groups or families with lots of luggage are going to use some sort of door-to-door van or taxi service, not rapid transit. The other problem stems from the fact that the two destinations in the same vicinity (SFO & Millbrae) leave some people confused. We can thank Quentin Kopp for this mess. The better and less costly alternative would have been to build the Sky Train so that it connected with the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station. But NO, Quentin wanted to go into the airport. He said it would be a one-seat ride as well as other things. Well, it isn't for those living along the Richmond line and the Bay Point Line, or those on the Fremont line south of Bay Fair Station. They must transfer most times unless the get lucky and some trains are being run past Daly City Station. Those runs are not part of the regular schedule however. One curiosity though. When I returned from Italy, there was a Bay Point train on one track in addition to the Pleasanton train I boarded which was run express all the way to Daly City. (I assume the Bay Point train made all stops.)
Clearly BART officials have got to re-think how they handle the scheduling of trains to SFO and to Millbrae.

Back with who knows what.

Yes, I was on vacation in Italy for two weeks. Rome, Florence, and Venice to be precise. There were interesting sites to visit and I am glad that I got to see them but it has left me rather exhausted to say the least. I think that my digestive system is getting back to normal after eating too much bland and/or greasy food. Italian chefs should go back to culinary school but in France. It wasn't soo much what was served as it was the presentation and they need to learn to incorporate green vegetables into their menus. Greasy friend potatoes just don't get it.

Rome is a fascinating city but the traffic and the way some people drive, especially taxi drivers, was too much. I did not know if we would make from the airport into the hotel in one piece or not. Rome's two subway lines are overly crowded and the trains look like NYC in the sixties with their graffiti. Graffiti, however, seems to rampant in the big cities.

Florence is smaller and easily walkable if you stay at a hotel in the central part of the city. The Duomo is very impressive as is its campanile. We climbed its 400+ stairs without any apparent cardiovascular problems other than getting a little winded.

Pisa, an hour train ride from Florence, is well worth the time to see its cathedral and its campanile, popularly known as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa". That church was one of the most spectacular and beautiful we visited.

Venice is a magical city and one which we felt might disappear if we closed our eyes but Brigadoon or the Flying Dutchman it is not. The central city is very user friendly. That is, you walk and you walk and you walk, but without the hassles of cars, buses, trucks, scooters, and motorcyles getting in your way. There is the water bus system (vaporetto) which traverses a number of routes up and down the Grand Canal and other waterways connecting floating dock "bus stops" with many points of interest around the city and outlying islands. Since we had taken the train up from Rome via Florence we arrived at the Venezia Santa Lucia terminal where we took the #82 boat to the San Marco vaporetto stop which was the closest to our hotel. Upon departure we took the Alilaguna boat from the same stop to the airport which involved a very relaxed ride of an hours duration. Soon I hope to have some photos posted at my photo website.

Returning to work on Monday was easy until I saw how much was leftover from the previous two weeks of hell. My co-worker welcomed me back to hell also. October 15th produced it usual flurry of tax department activity but then other matters came down which only made matters worse for her. With any luck we might get back to normal by the end of the week or early next week.

A friend in the U.K. complained about the way the baseball playoffs went and that the people of California elected a retarded chimp for governor. I agree. Yah...!

Back in the U.S.A.

Oh, where have I been? Well, on vacation in Italy where I walked and walked and walked and climbed stairs by the dozens in Rome, Florence, and Venice. It was a great adventure and I am glad that I saw the historical sights of those cities including the Vatican which brings me to the latest excellent column by Mark Morford in today's SF Chronicle. In a related event, I am reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons which involves a plot by the Illuminati (a group which may or may not have ever existed) to destroy the church. It is fiction however one can wonder sometimes about some events such as the untimely death of Pope John Paul I who died within a month of being elected Pope.

So now I have hundreds of photos to review and file away somewhere. I also have lots of other post-vacation duties to catch up on, and yes, I may even make some comments about the cities I visited in subsequents blogs. I need to get organized first and back to a normal routine.

Until then...

Don't do that, part 2

If you are still considering voting for Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps you should read
Joan Ryan's Column in today's Chronicle. Mark Morford's column from the Friday Chronicle is worth reading too. (See entry for 10/3/03 below). I voted early yesterday as I am leaving for Rome in the morning. My absentee ballot got lost in the mail so I went to the elections department at City Hall. I was surprised by the number of people voting at that time. I wonder what it will be like on Tuesday. Anyway, I hope most people get out to vote on Tuesday and do the right thing - TERMINATE THE TERMINATOR/b>.

Hasta la vista baby.

Don't do that

If anyone in this state is having a problem with Gray Davis and is considering Arnold for governor, I wish they would read Mark Morford's column in this morning's San Francisco Chronicle. He lays it on the line about what a disaster it would be to elect such a person. I think the best bet would be a NO vote from everyone but I am worried that not enough voters feel that way and chaos will reign as a result.

TGIF?

I suppose I could say I am glad that it is Friday except that I am taking the day off so perhaps it should be TGIT. Anyway, I have a zillion and one things to do this weekend in preparation for a vacation in Italy. I will be going to Rome on Monday to pick up my red hat, or so I have told some co-workers. Some give me a blank stare. Those who are Catholic sort of laugh a little. I guess they are not sure if it is appropriate or not.

I have been disenfranchised, sort of. Several weeks ago I applied for an absentee ballot but it did not arrive. I called the elections department this week and they assured me it was mailed on the 8th of September and to the correct address but for some reason I never received it. So now I will go to City Hall and cast my ballot early for this stupid recall election that rich boy Daryl Issa started. It is nothing but a case of sour grapes which is costing the state millions of dollars. There is no reason to recall Gov. Davis. Disagreeing with his policies is handled at the ballot box at election time, not by calling a special election to throw him out. If he has committed some sort of crime it would be different. Seems to me that the word malfeasance was always a requirement for recalls in the past. Does anyone know what that word means? I have looked it up and I still am confused.

I feel very tired tonight. My body has apparently been fighting off some sort of cold or flu bug and so far has done a good job at it but is has left me feeling tired so I think I will try to catch some extra snoozes tonight. I am not sleepy at the moment so this will present a problem as I hate to go to bed and just stare at the ceiling. Oh well...c'est la vie.

One by one, they fall...

Now Arianna Huffington is considering dropping out of the California recall race and throwing her support behind Bustamente. Is Arnold terminating these people one by one? Will Californians be stupid enough to elect another actor who leaves most everything to be desired in a political leader.

On the good news side, the Yankees lost the first game of their playoff series and the Giants won the first game of their series. As for Boston vs. Oakland tomorrow night, well, that is difficult for me as I like the A's but I am originally from Boston and still feel some loyalty there. My god, what would I do if the World Series were to feature the Red Sox and the Giants??????????? Yikes!!!!!

TURN OFF THE DAMNED CELL PHONE

Honestly folks, what is so difficult about the concept of turning off one's cell phone when in a theatre or concert hall?
Here I was at Davies Symphony Hall Friday night enjoying a wonderful performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 which was being recorded this week for release on CD, when in the middle of the third movement someone's cell phone starts ringing. After three or four rings Michael Tilson Thomas slammed down his baton and turned and stared out into the audience looking for the vile miscreant. Personally I hope that the person was ejected and banned for life or that he or she will need to be stripped searched prior to ever re-entering the hall again. If a person is in the medical profession they have the option of putting the device on silent/vibrate if they desperately need to be notified of something. Is that so damn difficult???? Fortunately, for me and the other rude people about, guilty parties in such incidents have not been sitting next to me. Had they been in an adjoining seat I might have felt compelled to give them a swift swat with the program and that is just for starters.

As for the concert, MTT and the orchestra backed up several pages to resume and try to re-set the mood but for some reason the level of playing did not quite match what had preceeded the interruption. Maybe they should do as in Japan and block all cell phone signals inside the hall.

Today was the annual Folsom Street Fair but I was feeling lazy, tired, whatever, so I did not go even when a friend called to suggest it. I fear I was somewhat abrupt with Gary and I must apologize for my answer. Next Sunday is the Castro Street Fair and I am not sure if I will even make it to that. Sunday is just too far away at the moment.

Recently I applied for an absentee ballot for th recall election as I will be in Rome that day but so far I have not received it. If it does not arrive in time can I sue the city or the state for being disenfranchized?

By the way, for one of the better blog sites around may I recommend Swimfinssf.

Later folks...

Just imagine, if television had never been
invented we would be eating Frozen Radio Dinners.

Boring television

That is probably what tonight's debate will be among the major candidates in the California recall election. Why is it that Arnold agreed to appear only in this one which has a scripted format? Can't he work without a script? Green party candidate Peter Camejo is my favorite but how much air time will he get and will he have time enough in which to say something meaningful?

What goes around, comes around, but apparently George Bush does not understand that. He refused to work with the U.N. and our Allies in Europe regarding Iraq and now that he wants them to bail us out he is getting a cool reception and probably has no clue as to why. What a dumb ass jerk he is!!!!

As for next year's presidential election, I am still leaning toward Dean and a Dean/Clark ticket would be an interesting one and probably very powerful.

Ah, cool, blessed fog has returned to our once lovely city by the way. I say once because the problem with vagrants and the homeless industry has nearly robbed this city of everything beautiful. This includes city hall (aka: Stupid Hall) where our elected leaders continue to ignore the wishes of the voters. My first choice for mayor from the beginning has been Gavin Newsom but I fear for his safety should he be elected. There are too radical nuts cases in this city that would be after him in one way or another.

Herb Caen used to refer to "The People's Republic of Berkeley" as Berzerkly (? spelling) but that city seems quite tame these days compared to San Francisco.

Ciao!

Bring on the fog!

As I write this the blessed cool air from our natural air conditioning has kicked in. Yesterday it was 97 degrees here in the City by the Bay and I was out in it most of the afternoon at the Networks Coliseum in Oakland watching the A's pound the Mariners 12 - 0. Fortunately our seats were in the shade the entire time or else my already scrambled brain would have been fried even more.

Now Bush and his henchmen are getting a dose of their own medicine as the French government wants a faster timetable for getting Iraq back on its own feet and getting foreign forces out. How does this feel Mr. Bush, you ninny!?!? What's good for the goose is good for the gander as the saying goes but I know Mr. Bush is not going to accept anyones else's decisions but his own. Even if someone walked on water to give him an ultimatum, he would still turn it down.

Speaking of water, I need some cold water.

Open Wide

LIMA, Ohio - A dentist whose 14-foot toothbrush was pulled from the yard in front of his office is grinning again.

A motorist spotted the red wooden toothbrush Thursday behind a business a few houses down from Dr. Ruhl Warden's dental practice. Warden gladly paid a $100 reward for its return. "I had high expectations I would get it back," he said. "It's hard to hide a 14-foot toothbrush."

The toothbrush was stolen last weekend. Warden has used it as a yard sign for about 20 years. Warden, 74, thinks someone took it as a prank and then brought it back overnight. It looked a little banged up, but won't need any major surgery.

"Different people have tried to have fun with this," he said. "Someone called and said he was Paul Bunyan and he was looking for a toothbrush."

Police don't have any suspects.

Warden, whose hobby is woodworking, crafted the toothbrush out of yellow pine and the bristles from 10-inch-long cedar poles. It weighs between 80 and 100 pounds.

It's not the first time Warden has seen his giant toothbrush disappear. Someone stole it the morning of New Year's Eve 1996. It eventually turned up, damaged and painted blue, about six miles from his office.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TGIF

Now what? Where do I go from here. I have just finished eating my usual boring lunch and must return to work in a few minutes. Tonight, at least, I have my first symphony concert of the new season at DSH although it features the overly familiar symphony number five of Beethoven. Next week, however, we have a biggee with Mahler's Symphony No. 4.

Had dinner with my friends from the U.K. last night and enjoyed that although the service at Thai Spice was not up to snuff. Must have been the crew on duty that night as all other visits have been fine. Last night the dinner was good as usual but the service was either rushed or inattentive, or both. If that continues, however, they may never see me again as there are so many Thai restaurants in the city to choose from now that ignoring one still leaves me with a very long list of possibilities.

The busy weekend will continue tomorrow morning as I need to get a haircut and do other errands and then my second opera of the 03/04 season takes place at night. It is Mozart's "The Magic Flute" which received a good review on opening night.

On Sunday I am off to the Oakland Coliseum for the Oakland A's/Seattle Mariners game with my friends from the U.K. and it looks as if it will be sunny and hot.

Well, I guess I have killed off enough time here with this drivel and it is time to get back to work.

Bye for now.

Say What?

William Soper, who keeps eight pet parrots at his Clock World store in Statesville, North Carolina, was charged with assault for spanking a boy who he claims tried to teach a six-year-old female green-wing parrot to swear. He succeeded getting her to cuss. Soper says he was just defending his property.

Hmm...I wonder if he could teach that parrot to sing?

They don't get it

Officials still wonder why people do not get out to vote. They always complain about low voter turnout but they are apparently clueless. I will make a couple of suggestions to remedy this.

1) Forbid the courts from overturning laws passed by ballot proposition.

2) Forbid Boards of Supervisors or City Councils from overturning laws passed by ballot proposition.

It seems like everytime John or Jane Q. Citizen does something, his or her desires are being overturned by people or courts who think they know better.

As a result of the rampant tampering with the election process, our votes don't count anymore. As a result it is difficult to work up any sort of enthusiasm for voting when you "know" that some public officials or some court is going to nullify or overturn what you and the rest of the citizens just did in the previous election.

So why bother to vote?

Take a number

My friend Donn returns from Singapore this week. Should I tell him to "take a number" so he can get to see me? Frankly, I do not know when I will have time for the next two weeks and this is embarrassing. Never in recent memory has my calender been so full of events in such a short space of time. I hope he is patient.

Are you a "singleton"?

PARIS (Reuters) - Supermarket dating, where singletons can check each other out via the contents of their trolleys, flirt while weighing vegetables and even walk down the aisles together, is coming to Paris.
Lafayette Gourmet, the food hall at the Galeries Lafayettes department store in Paris, is about to unleash the concept on the worldwide capital of romance.

Single shoppers will be identified on Thursday evenings by special purple shopping baskets decorated with a cartoon of a kissing couple, and offered a glass of champagne and a free photograph if they succeed in hooking up with a potential mate.

"We noticed that we have an evening clientele buying single portions of fresh food, so we decided the demand is there," Lafayette Gourmet Director Sylvain Gaudu told Reuters.

Paris, home to around 900,000 singles, many of whom are increasingly working hours as long as in London and New York, has already been introduced to speed dating and online dating.

The "dating market" shopping evenings, an idea imported from the Netherlands, will be jointly run from October 2 with Yahoo!, which already has an online dating service in France.

Once shoppers have made eyes at each other through the cereal packets or brushed past each other at the cheese counter, they will be able to chat each other up openly in the queue for a special checkout counter reserved for singletons.

----------------------------

And here I thought that the Marina Safeway was noted for that. Well, I guess a good thing can spread.

Saddest night of the week

That's what Sunday night is. If I can endure this night then I should be able to endure others I guess.

Anyway, the next two weeks are going to be super busy. Friends (actually one penpal and his partner) arrive in the country early in the week and we are to meet for dinner on Thursday night. Then Richard and I have our first symphony concert of the season on Friday night and our second opera of the new season on Saturday night. Then, on Sunday afternoon I will be going to the Oakland A's/Seattle Mariners game with my visitors from the U.K. Then next week I will have another symphony concert and another opera. The week of 9/29 - 10/3 will be rather quiet but then we are off to Rome shortly after that. After this is all over I might need a vacation from everything.

Dick Cheney is now hinting that they may need more than the 87 billion they have already requested for operations in Iraq. This is insane. This is absurd. This is immoral! We need to take care of this country first but no, we wouldn't listen to the U.N. or France or Germany. We had to do it our way. Perhaps with any luck we can salvage something out of this mess by electing someone other than Bush come November 2004. Unfortunately, they can do a lot of damage during the coming fifteen months.

Then there is the horrendous "Patriot Act" and the proposed "Patriot Act II" that Rumsfeld is pushing. This gang in Washington is nuts and very dangerous.

Enough already

Yesterday, Sept. 11th, I had to endure various renditions of "God Bless America" and the National Anthem on KOIT(FM) about every thirty minutes throughout the day. Why? Was this really necessary? As for the National Anthem, it is an anthem, not a pop song or blues or rock song so why do we have to endure such bastardized accounts of it at sporting events? One would never do that to the National Anthems in other countries. There they are played and performed as written. I feel so sorry for servicemen and women who act as color guards at sporting events for these atrocious performances. They stand at attention with their flags while internally they must be squirming at the horrible sounds they are hearing which only occasionally resemble what Francis Scott Key wrote.

Temps will be up over 90F/30C today so I am seeking relief indoors or, if outdoors, in the shade and then only briefly.

The Magic Flute

Since I will be seeing that opera next week, I hope I am not plagued by visions of this idiot.
----------
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police caught a man playing the flute with both hands as he sped through traffic at 80 miles per hour on a busy highway, police said Wednesday.

"He was leaning back in the seat and steering the car with his knees and feet," said Johann Bohnert, a spokesman for police in the town of Traunstein near the Austrian border. "He looked like he'd had practice." He now faces a fine of 50 euros ($56).

The 52-year-old from Salzburg in Austria, birthplace of Mozart, the composer whose works include the opera "The Magic Flute," told police he was not actually blowing the instrument. "He said he was just practicing fingerings," said Bohnert.
----------
I suppose it is a relief to know that America is not the only place with such idiots behind the wheel but I wonder what the American version would be. It certainly would not involve the playing of classical music. That too highbrow. Too elitist. Too whatever.

Uh-oh. The Bush team is at again. Further erosion of our civil rights is on the horizon with such things as no bail for terrorist suspects and issuance of subpoenas without court approval. In other words, Der Fuhrer in the White House gets to do what he damn well pleases. That is unconstitutional, no ifs, ands or buts.

I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel as I believe many Americans are starting to wake up as to what is going on in Washington D.C. with phony WMDs and phony wars and a budget busting military budget while our homeland infrastructure falls apart.

Although it won't happen because the liberal city of Santa Cruz, California has submitted an impeachment request to the House Judiciary Committee, they are on the right track as there have been a number of impeachable offenses committee by the Bush team.

Our next presidential election is in November 2004 and I feel certain that it will be an extremely divisive campaign that Bush and his henchman will wage but in the end he will lose the election and my personal favorite at this point is still Howard Dean.

Busy month

Greetings from San Francisco once again. I am still here although frequently exhausted at the end of the day. I need a vacation and if I make it through the next few weeks that is what I will get with my journey to Rome, Florence, and Venice.

In the meantime I must remain in this country where the federal government continues to embarass me and make me angry. First, they don't want to go through the U.N. nor listen to France and Germany regarding the situation in Irag but now that we can't extricate ourselves from a mess of our own doing, we want the U.N. and France and Germany to send in troops to clean up the mess and they have refused, and rightfully so. What idiots we have in Washington. How so utterly hypocritical! I makes me want to puke.

To make matters worse, congress seems to be willing to go along with the 87 million dollar price tag (or is that 87 billion?) even though our own infrasturcture is falling apart and many people have no health care insurance, or insufficient coverage, especially seniors and retirees. We can't even run our railroads properly. What a mess we have here. Why are we always so quick to spend the money elsewhere? Let's rebuild this country first!

Oh well, politics continues as usual. (see below)

-------------------------------

HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:

"The reality of it is that I am for the Latin community. I love Mexico. I have done four movies down there."

-- actor and gubernatorial candidate ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, saying "dirty politics" was to blame for his being uninvited to serve as grand marshal of a Mexican Independence Day parade in East Los Angeles.

-------------------------------

Hasta la vista baby.

(and more later)

Feeling better

A couple of days ago I was worried about a friend who might have been overly concerned about a planned vacation to Thailand but a call from him on Tuesday night was pleasant and gave no indication of trouble. I guess I just worry too much.

The idiots in Washington D.C. continue to do or say what they please regardless of what other countries think. The Bush regime is so deceived in many matters that if we get through this administration's rule without further damage, it will be a miracle.

It has been nice this week having my co-worker back. She returned on Tuesday following three months on maternity leave-of-absence. It seemed like a l-o-n-g three months to me but now everything is back to normal.

Recall madness seems to spreading as some people in Nevada want to recall Gov. Guinn and now some people in Rohnert Park, California want to recall members of the city council because they are backing a casino to be run by Native Americans. Whatever happened to the ballot box and going out to vote? Certainly recent elections have had very low turnouts so there is no justification for people complaining about what or who they got. If you don't vote, don't complain and don't try to cut someone's term of office short simply because you disagree with what he or she did. The election process is where you decide who to elect or not.

See you at the polls...

Idiots in Washington


Great...first Bush and his henchmen reject the U.N.'s plea for go slow in Iraq and give it more time to find WMDs but now we want other countries such as Germany and France to support us in our efforts to stabilize the country and provide more security for our troops as well as the people of Iraq. FAT CHANCE! Why should France, Germany or any other country help out when we ignored them and the U.N. in the first place? We have nothing but a bunch of nincompoops in Washington and as I have said previously, November 2004 can't come soon enough. That is, and only if the Democrats nominate a capable person. Then again, maybe Bush will lose regardless however his supporters will put up one helluva fight and will attempt to tar and feather every Democrat in the country in the process. LIES, LIES, LIES. The Republicans don't care as long as they maintain control of you and me in any way, shape or form that they can.

Is he angry?

Recently I called my friend about our planned vacation to Italy and when trying to look up the flight times, I inadvertently game him the flight time for my next trip to Thailand. He expressed surprise at that but did not say anything at the time. Actually I had told him earlier in the year about it but I guess he forgot or else did not realize that I was serious about returning to BKK. Anyway, I tried to call him Saturday about something but he did not return my call. I tried again yesterday (Sunday) and again, no response.

This is frustrating and if he is bothered by my plans he needs to get over it. I will go where I want, when I want, (if I can afford it) and I don't appreciate anyone pre-judging the situation or passing some moralistic views on regarding their own misconceptions about things. Let me say this however...yes, Bangkok has a certain reputation for its nightlife but then anything I can get there, I can get here too. If just costs more here. Also, I am not spending my entire vacation drinking and carousing at the local bars each night. My body has never been able to handle that and it handles it even less well these days. For that reason I did enjoy and will enjoy my time more in Chiang Mai which is a smaller city and has a slower pace of life. It too, has its night life but then what major city in the world doesn't.

Anyway, I hope my friend is not angry with me as this would put a damper on our trip to Italy. Unfortunately, I worry too, that there may be health problems which are keeping him from contacting me. Now that would be worrisome to say the least. I hope he calls today. If not I will try once again to call him.

Confused city, state and nation.

The weekend arriveth and goeth away just as quickly. Dost one wonder when
weekends were long and enjoyable? No, say I. Memory faileth as most everything
else does these days. Well, not quite everything. :-)

Certainly in this fog shrouded City by the Bay, what Herb Caen called Baghdad-by-
the-Bay, things move slowly and confusingly. Actually, they lurch along from one
mini-crisis to another and no one knows what to do about any of them.

Now Mr. Clean, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamente, is now taking heat for accepting
questionable campaign contributions for the recall election. The Republicans have all
but handed over the election to party boy Schwarzenegger which is too bad as former
Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan would have been a good choice had Gray Davis not
played dirty tricks in the primary last year which permitted Bill Simon to win that
primary. Now, even Bill has dropped out of the running in this silly recall which is
not going to prove one damn thing except how much money it takes to put on this
charade of democracy. Democracy! Ha!! Only until there is total and complete
campaign reform will we even begin to start down that road.

Elections must not be bought and paid for by large corporations and the election
campaign time must be limited to eight weeks during which time all candidates will be
given free time on radio and TV to air their views.

As it stands now, the government cannot be trusted to do what is right. They are
only interested in perpetuating and increasing their power and income. And then they
wonder why so few people bother to vote. Well, duh! Why bother to choose
between tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum? It becomes a matter of who is the least
dangerous of the candidates and that is no way to run an election and the country.

About the only thing the government has been good at in recent years is in covering
up the truth. Cover-ups abound from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the assassination
of John Kennedy to the incident at Waco, Texas to the Oklahoma City bombing,
and the events of Sept. 11, 2001, etc., etc. Actually the list is rather lengthy but
those are some of the more prominent incidents along the way.

It does get discouraging but what can I do? Move out of the country? Actually I
would like to but can't afford it so I am stuck here. Then again, should lightning
stike and I win the big one in the lottery, it might be possible. Oh, I forgot, I am
more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery. Damn!

Slogging along through the day

This day seems very disorganized to me. I guess I am accomplishing something at work but I'm not sure what and with only two-and-a-half days left without my co-worker, I am wondering if I will be able to clean up the records center before she returns next week. So much to do but so little time...yuck!

My inner thoughts also seem disoriented as I continue reading Gore Vidal. What he writes makes sense but I fear it also makes me more cynical and possibly paranoid about the government of the old U.S.A. Government intrusion into our daily lives is at an all time high especially with the Patriot Act in control and now there are those who want Patriot Act II. No wonder Mr. Vidal lives outside the country. It is not safe here.

That saddest thing of all is that so many Americans don't realize what is happening to them and the country. At least people here in California especially the Bay Area, are more aware but it is going to take more than that to get our country back on course.

We set ourselves up in Iraq for a fight just as previous leaders set us up with Japan in order to pick a fight. Neither action made any sense. Somedays I wish I could be the first man on Mars and if they could provide enough food, water, and oxygen for the rest of my life, I might not object. Of course, I would want to pick a companion for company. Hmm...Adam & Eve revisited? No, how about Adam & Adam! Well, whatever...

Maybe!

Some days I think I should change the name of this blog, or give it up, but since I am close to retiring (I hope) I should have a lot mre time to devote to this and I might actually start to become serious about what is written here.

Recently I have been reading some books (pamphlets) by Gore Vidal and I can't put them down. Finally I have found someone who makes sence about what is happening in this messed-up country. I plan to read more by him as well as books he has recommended by other authors. Looks like retirement will become very interesting.

In the meantime it looks like people in this state will do the right thing and vote NO on the recall but cast their vote for the logical successor to Gray Davis, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamente. Perhaps we should all say Hasta la vista baby to Arnold.

Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?

Well, at least I feel like going back in time to a more peaceful and safer age, that is, the middle of the 20th Century. Or, maybe I should move to a country outside the U.S. I have a few places in mind but financing such a move would be the biggest problem and since I did not win the $93,000,000 lotto prize a few weeks ago, I won't be doing anything like that.

California politics continues to make headlines around the world because of our recall election now definitely scheduled for the 7th of October. Gray Davis may loose but who will the winner be? I doubt that it will be the State of California. I may vote NO and Bustamente but will that help? The legislature is a big problem in itself and since the not-so-enlightened voters of this state voted for term limits not too many years ago as the way of avoiding actually having to go out and vote the critters out of office, we now have a revolving door on the state house. Even the good members of the legislature can't stay for very long so we end up with a bunch of inexperienced nincompoops in Sacramento.

Oh well, September is around the corner and the opera and symphony seasons opens so I can enjoy some things in life anyway. Even our San Francisco Giants maintain a healthy lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. I do not know what the magic number is however for winning the division. They meet the D'Backs two more times before the season ends and I will be at one of the those games on the 7th of September. It would be nice if that is the game in which they clinch the Western Division Championship.

That is all from my end for now.

Cheers...

Whale of a story.

LONDON (Reuters) - A British family's vacation was rudely interrupted when a 30-foot whale crashed onto their sailing boat off the east coast of Australia, British media reported on Wednesday. The 10-ton humpback whale leapt out of the water and pulled the rigging and mast along with it as it slid down the boat.

"I was below deck when there was a hell of a crash from port as it leapt out of nowhere," said Trevor Johnson, who was on the boat with his wife, two sons and a son's girlfriend.

"It's amazing that no one was hurt or killed, but it was a terrifying experience," he told The Daily Telegraph. The boat was 10 miles away from the shore and the radio equipment did not work. They were eventually towed to dry land after using a mobile phone to ring for help.

----------------

Well, I guess you can tell by my lack of entries or taking stories from elsewhere that I have not felt much like writing anything recently. It's true and I guess I am bored and/or depressed or frustrated by the political situation here in the U.S. I think I am also becoming more cynical as I have now decided that no matter who I vote for, things will not get any better. This country, in fact, the whole world, is going down the tubes. Sometimes I think that "outside" intervention is the only solution but then I am not a religious person. So what's the alternative. An alien invasion? Hey, they certainly couldn't do any worse than earthlings have done in recent years, or could they?

If anyone out there has a possible solution to the mess we are in I would like to hear it.

Until then, hasta la vista baby.
(Did I say that?)

Get those guys some new glasses or binauculars.

This really ticks me off and why does it seem like it is American troops who make such stupid mistakes?

----------

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops shot dead an award-winning Reuters cameraman while he was filming on Sunday near a U.S.-run prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Eyewitnesses said soldiers on an American tank shot at Mazen Dana, 43, as he filmed outside Abu Ghraib prison in western Baghdad which had earlier come under a mortar attack.

Dana's last pictures show a U.S. tank driving toward him outside the prison walls. Several shots ring out from the tank, and Dana's camera falls to the ground.

The U.S. military acknowledged on Sunday that its troops had "engaged" a Reuters cameraman, saying they had thought his camera was a rocket propelled grenade launcher.

"Army soldiers engaged an individual they thought was aiming an RPG at them. It turned out to be a Reuters cameraman," Navy Captain Frank Thorp, a spokesman for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Reuters in Washington...

----------

Don't news people wear something that identifies them as journalists? That is the first question I would like. Even if they don't, I would think that someone would have inspected the situation with some sort of high powered scope to get a better look, or doesn't the U.S. military issue such essentials?

Well, I have my own battles to face in the office this week as the firm is busy trying to photocopy thousands of documents for some lawyers. It is a monstrous job but I think I will be on the sidelines, more or less, with this one however the office is rather chaotic during the process. Time for slumberland now. I have had a full day and now am feeling a little tired. Was up late late night too but that is another story.

Bonne nuit.

Hey gramps, can you loan me a thousand?

DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas police said have arrested a 91-year-old man suspected of robbing an Abilene bank, possibly making him the oldest bank robber in U.S. history.
J.L. Hunter Rountree, who goes by the nickname "Red," was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of stealing about $2,000, Abilene police said.

They said they had no records to prove it, but they thought Rountree was the oldest person ever to rob a bank in the country.

Police said Rountree, who was not armed, asked a teller to stuff money into a large envelop with the word "robbery" written on it.

A witness took down the license number of his vehicle and he was arrested on a highway about 15 miles outside Abilene. He did not resist, police said.

If convicted, Rountree faces from two to 20 years in prison. He told police he needed the money and he had a grudge against banks, said Abilene police Sgt. Mike Perry.

Rountree left a prison in Florida, where he was the oldest prisoner in the state, about a year ago after serving a three-year sentence imposed on him for a 1999 bank robbery in Pensacola.

He was caught holding up a bank in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1998 when he was 87, and given three years' probation.
---------------------
Well I guess you are never to old to rob a bank providing you can move fast enough.

Exporting hate?

It is bad enough that American bigots want to shove their way of life down the throats of others but now apparently they are exporting their hate to other countries. See the following article from the Bangkok Post.

----------

SOCIAL ORDER CRUSADE

Now it's war on lewdness, striptease

Patrons all low-class, miserly, not wanted

Temsak Traisophon

Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont has declared war on obscene shows and striptease at entertainment venues across the country.

Mr Pracha said they would face a relentless three-month crackdown.

He said some foreigners would help authorities ferret out those venues providing explicit sex shows and other indecent performances, particularly in Bangkok's nightstrips in Patpong, soi Nana, soi Cowboy and Sutthisan road, and Pattaya in Chon Buri, Koh Samui in Surat Thani, Hat Yai in Songkhla and the southern island resort of Phuket.

Mr Pracha said he was not worried that tighter controls on obscene shows would affect tourism. Tourists visiting places providing indecent shows were of low-quality and Thailand did not welcome such visitors.

``We do not want them here.

``They spend little money and look down on Thai women and Thai people,'' Mr Pracha said.

Mr Pracha, who personally supervises the social order crusade, said he inspected Nana Plaza on Sukhumvit road on Aug 8 and found 27 entertainment outlets were hosting obscene shows.

He gave police and the Klong Toey district office one week to get all operators at Nana Plaza to obey the law.

Mr Pracha said he would also ask the Excise Department to use tax measures to bring traditional massage parlours back into line.


Mr Pracha said some traditional massage establishments were also providing illicit sex services and this could not be allowed.

----------

No, this article does not say who the foreigner is but only a big fat stupid ugly American S.O.B. would stoop so low. Why can't bastards like this stay at home. If they don't like something. keep away. As for tourists not spending enough, what exactly is enough anyway? I am beginning to think a regime change is needed in Thailand as well as the USA.

Grand Opera - California style

A number of years ago Californians elected another actor to be governor and he went on to the White House. Since Arnold was not born in this country he cannot go there but he has apparently grabbed a lot of attention this week with his surprise announcement that he will seek the post of governor.

This whole situation is the stuff of Grand Opera. My god, where is Giuseppe Verdi when you need him? Many of his greatest operas were about real life political intrigue and the current situation in California is no less. What a cast of characters we have here and you certainly need a program to keep up with them all. The biggest surprise is that Rep. Issa, the one who started this whole recall thing, dropped out of the race.

So we have Arnold Schwarzenegger as the main Republican candidate with a whole bunch of lesser characters also seeking the post. Even two Democrats have broken rank with Davis and are running.

Since Schwarzenegger is in, Riordan is out. Ariana Huffinton is in but her ex, Michael, is out. Peter Camejo was in but is now out. Sen. Feinstein says no but a number of her supporters are still urging her to jump in. Rep. Pelosi apparently says that if Dianne says no, she will say yes. Yikes!

Then we have Playboy publisher Larry Flynt in the race and the list goes on and on. I think there are over 200 people who have taken out filing papers for this post. You could probably say "Only in California".

The prelude is now being performed and the opera will begin right after the filing deadline this weekend. It will probably be a one act opera but with many scenes and a huge cast. The grand finale will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 7th. That is when the fat lady will sing unless of course, the lame duck withdraws, but for the sake of Verdi, or opera composers still alive, I hope he doesn't. This must play out until the final curtain.

A cardiologist died and was given an elaborate funeral.
A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket
during the service.

Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket
rolled inside. The heart then closed, sealing the doctor
in the beautiful heart forever.

At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter.
When all eyes stared at him, he said, "I'm sorry,
I was just thinking of my own funeral...I'm a gynecologist."
At that point, the proctologist fainted.

Hasta la vista baby!

Today Arnold Schwarzenegger jumped into the California recall election by announcing his candidacy. Now things will really get interesting. Yes, it is becoming or has become a circus but at least it is more interesting than what is going on presently in Sacramento. Arnold says will be go to Sacramento and clean house (Terminator sytle???). Well he sure needs to kick ass with the lame ass politicians we currently have. Most of them could not fight their way out of a wet paper bag.