San Francisco, California

Well, I am back home having arrived Wednesday morning after a long two days of flights and layovers. First there was the one hour flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok followed by a nearly eight hour layover in Bangkok which was then followed by a seven hour flight up to Tokyo (Narita) which was followed by an eight hour layover there which was followed by an eight hour flight back to SF. Whew! Are you following all of this? We were fortunate in that we had some very strong tailwinds which pushed our ground speed up to 699 mph at times and got us into SFO about a half hour early despite having left Tokyo and half hour late.

Trying to stay awake at Narita was an effort which was only partially successful. That is, each time I started to doze off and fall of one of the seats in the lounge, I got up and walked around for awhile. Time out for an early lunch plus some strong coffee in the afternoon also helped a bit. But guess what! Once on the plan bound for SFO I could not get to sleep.

Since returning home I am rested but have developed a sore throat and a first class headache. Last night I was running a very slight fever but that is gone this morning. I wish th headache would go away too.

The journey to Bangkok and Chiang Mai was enjoyable once again. It was a pleasure to meet up with Rick in BKK once again and to meet new friends. One of them, Pin, was a correspondent prior to travelling there. Note was another person I met and that was a chance meeting one night at The Balcony Restaurant and Bar. Then in Chiang Mai it was nice to see Jack once again and to meet Vor and Note at the Chez Nous Bar. Also, in Chiang Mai, my guide Ray was very helpful with many matters. There are a lot of ex-pats in Thailand and I spotted Stuart, the former owner of N' Touch (SF) at the Chez Nous Bar one night and saw Rich (formerly of OG Magazine) during the Sunday event known as "walking street" in Chiang Mai.

One unexpected event occurred and that was when I went to the Freeman Dance Arena, one of the two most popular dance venues in Bangkok, and it was raided by the police. There is apparently a problem in the country with drugs and this is one method the authorities believe will decrease usage but I doubt that they catch many people with or using drugs in these places. The bigger problem seems to be with the PM Thaksin's "new social order" which somehow wants to transform the country into something it is not. Tourism is and has been very important there for a number of years and to curtail nightlife is the wrong way to go. As it has already been suggested by people there, enforce the laws already on the books, don't make it impossible for people who are obeying the law to enjoy a night out. Why is, anyway, that so many government entities, no matter where they are located, just want to throw more laws at a problem instead of enforcing laws already on the books?

Now there is a proposal to close all bars and nightclubs at midnight. Well, that will do no good. It has been pointed out in the Bangkok Post that this will only result in "private parties" where people might be as likely or more likely to get drunk and/or use drugs. In the U.S. in the early 20th Century, prohibition did not work and it only resulted in what were known as "speakeasies", or clandestine night clubs out of view from the authorities.

If they want to prevent underage people from entering places where alcohol is served, they need only enforce current laws or close down the place if they don't comply. Actually, the authorities in Thailand have set themselves up on this problem by having two different age minimums. There is a slightly lower age minimun for people working in the clubs then there is for being a customer. Thus the "kids" who work there cannot hang around (legally anyway) after they are off duty to enjoy the place as a customer. Why can't they just "card" the youngest looking ones? If there is a problem with fake IDs then hit the person with the fake ID with a harsh penalty. Don't make the nightclub owners or the honest patrons pay for the crimes of others. The uniform closing time law will be critical to the nightlife of Bangkok and other cities so events during the coming year could prove to be crucial to this portion of the tourist industry.

Where will I go on my next vacation? Good question! I am so tired from these long flights to and from Thailand that I do not want to consider anymore long flights just now.

So that is the state of things for now.

Friday 23 Jan. 2004

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Just time enough to dash off a few lines this morning from Chiang Mai. I have four days remaining in my vacation and I have been so busy that I think I will need a vacation from the vacation. Actually, I do, and it is known as retirement which started this month but then there are other things that need to be done once I return home.

Anyway, the weather here in Chiang Mai is wonderful and actually a little on the cool side early in the morning (below 60F that is) and the days are not overly hot at this time of year. I have been on the go everyday and Ray has been a wonderful guide and friend.

Prior to this I was in Bangkok for a week. Now that was "wild". Ha! So crowded, busy and congested but nevertheless I enjoyed myself there.

Well, the meter is running on this computer at the Internet shop so I will break this off for now. More after I return to that sleepy little city known as San Francisco.

The night before

My first full week of retirement has concluded and now I am set to take off for Thailand for seventeen days. I will be glad to get someplace where it is warmer and a chance to meet some new people and see new scenery. This time I am not plagued by a fever which I was the previous time so hopefully these flights will not cause a problem for my Eustachian tube and sinuses. So until late January there will probably be no postings on this site.

Busy week

A friend was telling me that his New Year's resolution is to mainly ignore world events, politics, sociological changes etc, because he doesn't agree with most of what is happening and I tend to agree. This country's politicians suck and in many other countries the same situation exists. They are only in there to get what they can get and to hell with the man in the street.

There are many wonderful people on this planet but they are not the one's in control of things. It is the CEOs of Halliburton, Enron, Bechtel, and others who have their fingers in the pie and they aren't about to let go unless forced to do so. This country has been hailed by its super patriots as a country of laws and not men. Ha! Of course, what they mean, is that we do not have to yield to force to accomplish things. We have laws in place to take care of difference of opinion. Well, those laws, my friends, are meaning less and less with each passing year. For example, California passes some strict privacy and anti-spam laws only to have the federal government usurp those laws with weaker ones which take precedence. Some right wing extremists have suggested in anger, that California should not be a part of the country. Well, I agree with them in that notion. We should secede as much of this country is out of line with basic human values and needs. Perhaps Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and a handful of other states in the northest should secede also. The only alternative would be forcibly remove George Bush and his henchman from office and that is against the law.

I am a registered Democrat who can and has voted Republican but even now the Democrats are in big trouble as they self-destruct by attacking each other (especially Howard Dean) instead of stating their positions on the issues. Sometimes I think that if NASA wanted to start a manned colony on Mars, I might like to volunteer to be one of the first to populate it. That is how discouraging life get here at times but not all the time of course.

I just retired this month after working for the same firm for 21 years and 3 months. Despite some of the frustrations of the workplace, it was the people who made it pleasant (most times anyway) and made it possible for me to continue working there for that period of time. I am appreciative of that and have many memories to take with me.

Now I start of whole new chapter in my life and have more of a chance to learn more about myself and the world. To begin that new chapter I will be heading to Thailand for a few weeks. It will be my second visit there. The first time (last year) I became ill just before leaving SF and had to go to the hospital for treatment and some medications. That cleared up the problem but whatever bug I had picked up at home left me in a difficult position for several days in that I had a severe cough and could not talk too well due to hoarseness. There was also a ear pressure problem. Hopefully this time I can avoid any such difficulties and so far so good.

I'll be back on or about the 28th of January.

Bee-yoo-tee-full day

After considerable rain during the past two weeks, yesterday and today have been gorgeous if a tad chilly but then, hey, it's January, not July. This gave me a chance to take one of my favorite urban walks. That is, from Pacific Bell Park along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building. Sometimes I continue north to the Fisherman's Wharf area but today I stopped in the Ferry Building to explore the many new stores which have opened there in recent months. I also stopped at Peet's Coffee for a Caffe Mocha which tasted especially good following the walk in the cool air. While walking along the waterfront I shot some still scenes and some video. The video will be added to a project I am working on involving a collection of Municipal Railway scenes. I sure hope the weather is like this a week from now when I leave here for Thailand.

Looks like NASA succeeded with its latest mission to Mars. I can't wait to see the collection of photos they are receiving. I hope they are in color.

Yesterday I finally got around to seeing Mystic River. I agree with critic Jan Wahl that it is heavy and you need a good dose of comedy or other light material afterwards to pull your mood up. It is very well done but the story is a downer to say the least. The cast is excellent too.

This coming week, my first in retirement, will be a busy one with a visit to the Asian Art Museum, a retirement dinner party, the innauguration of Gavin Newsom as mayor, and La Boheme at the Opera House on Saturday night plus miscellaneous other appointments. Also, I must start my final preparations for my journey to Bangkok and Chiang Mai. I hope I can take my small suitcase this time. I always over pack but perhaps this time I will get it right.

Because of these activities it would be nice for the weather to remain as it is today.

Hello 2004

This new year is starting off very, very wet here in San Francisco with lots of snow up in the mountains. That is great for skiers and for the spring run-off so in that sense it is good. It is inconvenient for us city folks who want to shop or play or whatever but we are such wimps. Jeesh...

As each year begins there are always new laws that take effect in the city or state or even nationally but even China has its own new laws going into effect at the same time but some of these are a bit amusing. Read on...

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China is ringing in the New Year by banning television advertising for sanitary towels, hemorrhoid ointments and other items deemed unappetizing during meal times, the China Daily said on Wednesday.

"A new regulation ... will prevent the broadcasting of advertisements for products such as sanitary napkins and medicine for hemorrhoids and athlete's foot during dinner time, as some viewers may consider them to be offensive," the newspaper said.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, which unveiled the restrictions in September, has already set up a hotline for viewers to report violations.

The new rules, which take effect on New Year's Day, also limit the number of ads allowed to interrupt television programs.

In 2000, a viewer in Xi'an sued a pay-cable television station for cutting excessively into a hugely popular soap opera to flash commercials. A local court awarded him $87.

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Here at home this is a long weekend for many. For me, this is the first non-holiday day of my retirement. Wheee.......
Now what do I do? Ha! Oh yes, I have to go out into the rain (yuck) to do some errands. (Your poor boy you. Ed.) Then when I return home I will have time for a lot of reading and watching a video or some such thing. I guess I could sleep too buy why waste the time?

Anyway, I hope y'all have a great day and a healthy and prosperous New Year.