Although not terribly religious and nominally Catholic, I still felt very sad when I saw an extremely ill Pope on TV tonight. He was obviously in pain and it reminded me of one of my relatives at that stage of life. I felt so sorry for him. He wanted to speak but couldnt and look very frustrated, frail, and in pain. How much longer will he survive? He apparently is of strong mind but the body is not cooperating. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see him in such agony. Last year I thought he might not make it through the year and I was wrong but now I am certain that he has little time left. I feel certain that he won't make it through the next nine months but if he does, the church should appoint an interim pope or administrator, whatever the rules call for. The man is clearly incapable of carrying on as the leader in his present condition.

For more information on the Pope, click here.

A local SF radio personality died today, Dr. Don Rose of KFRC fame. He was one always to come up with wacky jokes, one of which was repeated on the news earlier tonight. I am not sure if I can quote it exactly but it had something to do with "someone braking into the restroom at a police station and stealing everything in sight. The police had nothing to go on."

And with that I am outa here for now.

The case of Terri Schiavo is a sad and tragic case which is not being helped by the ravings and rantings of Terry Randall, an outspoken member of the American Taliban. He needs to get a life!

Danger - Danger

If you are counting calories these days as I am you might be interested in a resource that my trainer at the gym told me about. Unfortunately one day I typed in the wrong URL and got some web page that tried to change my home page on my browser. So don't go to www.caloriecounter.com. If they are not guilty, some advertiser on their web page is. A good site to go to and the one my trainer told me about is actually calorieking.com. That site is safe.

As for other matters these days, well, there aren't many. Tomorrow is Easter. So what! It is just another day for me and most of my friends. What has Christian Mythology got to do with anything anyway?

I am not saying there is no god but that word "god" is a loaded term if there ever was one. What I do say is that god is not some old dude with white hair sitting on a throne "out there" somewhere who will judge you when you die. There are other powers in the universe that we either do not understand or still no nothing about. There is a creative force but, no, there is no personal god. We have only ourselves to turn to or as one person put it many years ago, "Physician, Heal Thyself" (Luke 4:23).

May the Force be with You!

And have a happy day no matter what you believe.

To Bill Gates:

The next time you issue a new computer program or a new version of Word, please hire people who have not flunked high school English to create your spell and grammar checker. I offer the following as proof of one of the many mistakes it makes.

"I have a couple of books to read which are gathering dust in my bookcase."

My spell checker wants to change this to one of the following:

I have a couple of books to read which are gathering dusts in my bookcase.
or
I have a couple of books to read which is gathering dust in my bookcase.

The verb "to be" (is/are) must agree with the noun books but the spell checker does not want to do that. Somehow it considers dust as being singular whereas dusts would be plural but dust is one of those words which is both singular and plural and does not change its spelling. Couldn't we expect that Bill's spell and grammar checker could get this right? So good people in Redmond, it is either "book is" or "books are".

Spell check can be useful but it can be very annoying as well.

Here is a Letter to the Editor which I feal is right on the mark regarding the problems of American Society.

"Your news article, "Report blasts state over dropouts" (March 24) should be the beginning of a continuous discussion about not just the problems in schools, but the complete failure of a significant number of people who create life -- either purposely or via negligence -- to take responsibility for the ability of that life.

You quote Harvard researcher Daniel Losen as calling a school's ability to graduate students "the ultimate measure of accountability." Society should do everything it can.

But no society will or should have to pay the rates of taxation necessary to deal with wholesale failure on the part of parents.

Even with responsible parents, some children will turn out poorly. But when children in an entire neighborhood starting elementary school are two years behind those from homes where parents have been responsible, someone should start asking some questions.

What is so difficult about a strong societal message that having children before you are literate in any language, or have invested in yourself such that you can actually support and raise a child properly, is about the worst thing you can do as a human being other than murder since you are most likely condemning that child to a terrible life?

As we worry about competing with other nations like Japan, Korea and China, not to mention our terrible trade deficits with Canada and Europe, perhaps we can finally have a conversation about how uncompetitive many American parents are. Why do they choose to have children they obviously do not care about, sticking the rest of us with not only the regular tax bill for schools but a horrendous total societal cost due to their negligence?

The bulk of the solution to this problem has to begin with responsibility by those choosing to create life, as no amount of donations or taxes will change dropout rates of 50 percent in many schools."

Excellent piece in this morning's SF Chronicle about Social Security. I, for one, hope Congress has the guts to raise that cap on Social Security taxes and provide "means" testing. Like David Lazarus said, Bill Gates sure doesn't need to collect Social Security when he retires.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about digital TV so I think articles like this one should be required reading by everyone. One of the problems is that a lot of equipment being sold these days is incomplete. The sets don't have all parts necessary for receiving the digital signal. Sure, some of the flat screen displays, especially the plasma ones, look great, but without the digital tuner and/or digital cable box, the signal is still analog. Here the television industry has failed to educate the public on what is needed.

Many people across the political spectrum are upset by what has happened in the Terri Schiavo case. A friend, a conservative, wrote the following in an e-mail to me today.

"The case of Terry Schiavo is really starting to show George Bush's true colours (colors to those who speak American).

I always thought that those of us who believe in the American Constitution would understand it. There are supposedly 3 branches of government, each independent of the other, to ensure democracy and prevent tyranny.

In addition, we are supposed to be the United STATES of America.
That implies to me certain Federal goverment responsibilities and seperate States rights.

On both of these issues, George Bush has failed his educational requirements.
It is not appropriate for the Congress and Senate to interfere with judicial branch decisions.
It is also not appropriate for the Congress and Senate to interfere with States rights.

Now for the real hypocrisy. The Defense of Marriage Act. Are we really enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act by inserting the Congress and Senate to divide two spouses in very personal life and death decisions.

The current administration talks about states rights governing marriages, and at the same time wants to pass a Federal Amendment to overrule states rights, and eliminate a class of people.

I believe the only Amendment to exclude anything was Prohibition, and look where that ended up. (Though promoting a liquor store on every corner is not ideal, either)

It's time we had a leader who truly believes in "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"."

And to that I say, A-men!

School shootings

Editor -- Yet another mass killing at an American school ("Minnesota student's rampage kills 10," March 23).

These acts of mindless carnage are becoming almost as much a part of the annual calendar in your gun-obsessed country as the Super Bowl, the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Thanksgiving.

Surely it's time for the gun lobby and its supporters (led by celebrities such as Charlton Heston) to ask themselves what is more important: their right to bear arms or the right of children to survive their schooldays.

Just how many more of your sons and daughters will have to die in a hail of bullets before the macho-morons of the gun lobby come to their senses?

ROBERT READMAN

Bournemouth, Dorset

England

(San Francisco Chronicle, 3/23/05)

Regarding my problems of lost blogs I stated that I would start saving in another file and then would copy and paste to this site. Well this suggestion was well received by at least two people who like the idea however the problems of formatting in one medium and exporting to another have apparently presented a problem for one person, therefore I would like to add the following.

In reference to my post concerning saving your blog first as a Word Pad document, you might try Note Pad instead if you are losing formatting from Word Pad or MS Word. I think this might solve the disappearing formatting but without knowing the particulars of your situation, I cannot guarantee success. Good luck!

New template - new colors. I hope this is easier to read than the previous ones.

I originally tried to paraphrase some of the letters to the editor of the Chronicle today but the blogger server had some internal errors as I tried to post my blog. As a result, my blog was lost in hyper-space. From now on, I will create a word pad document first which I can save and copy and paste into the blogger website. That way, if something goes wrong, I won't lose what I had just written. This was not the first time I lost something because of an internal server error either.

Anyway, I will just say they were several good Letters to the Editor regarding the Terri Schiavo case and related matters which you can read at your leisure.

Oh, here's a good one. Just be careful what is on your cell phone.

I agree with Michael Schiavo, the husband of Terri Schiavo, that it is outrageous that Congress should try to interfere in a private right-to-die matter. This should only be of concern, in this case, to the husband, or other legal guardians. Congress has no place interfering in something like this and for once I would like to see the Supreme Court come down on Cogress and tell them to keep their dirty hands off. Congress has no right to tell anyone how to conduct their lives with regard to medical procedures but then given that Bush & Co. want to ban all abortions, it is not suprising that they would try to interfere in this case.

The Republican controlled Congress has now taken over a person's life in the case of Terri Schiavo. It it NOT the role of Congress to meddle in a person's private affairs but this is not surprising in that they want to ban abortion. This action is damnable no matter how one might feel about keeping a person alive artificially or not. It is the patient and her family's decision, not that of the U.S. Congress and I fear this will set some sort of horrendous precedent for the future of all Americans.

If you are a bird watcher and don't already know about this, check out the bird cam on the PG&E building in downtown San Francisco. The view of the Peregrine Falcon's next is live and is updated every five seconds.

While Boston has its Big (leaky)Dig, California has its big mess with the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. And our governator is not helping matters either. Caltrans is responsible for a huge part of this mess but Schwarzenegger has made things even worse by saying the state will not pay for the bridge, maybe.

This and That

There sure won't be any earth shattering news or an esoteric column here today. It is just one of those really nice days that makes you appreciate San Francisco weather from time to time. It is warm enough to go without a jacket without being overly warm and it is warm enough so it is tolerable in the shade without a jacket as well. It helps too, that there is no wind at the present time.

As I walk about this city however I sometimes feel that we have some of the worst drivers in the country. Perahps however, drivers in many big cities in this country are just as crazy but when I hear someone put the pedal to the metal I can't help but wonder when I am going to witness some horrendous crash especially at an intersection when someone runs a red light. I think that some taxi drivers are among the worst in this city although I have seen 20 somethings doing the same thing. Just what is their big hurry anyway? I really get nervous sometimes when crossing the street. Just last week, if I had not paid attention and moved rather quickly, I would have been hit by someone who did not know how to treat a four way stop in the financial district. He took off like a bat out of hell after the preceeding vehicle cleared the intersection even though, not being any other vehicles around, I, as a pedestrian, the right of way at that point. Well, I gave the offender a four fingered salute. No, not the one finger salute four times, but trying to indicate through his closed window that that was a four way stop. Needless to say, that left me steaming for a considerable time after that. Fortunately I survived the rest of my journeys on foot that day.

So today's weather is delightful and it raises ones mood or spirit quite well. Even attempting to help what appeared to be a confused young tourist had me feeling good. As it turned out, he knew where he wanted to go and how to get there but since I was headed in the same general direction, we had a nice little chat for a short distance. Turns out he is a student from Japan on holiday during spring break with this being his first time in the city. (Guess I should have warned him about the way some people drive here.)

So that is it from "America's Favorite City" for now.

This is the most depressing news story of the day for me. I had hoped that Beijing would not take such a militant stand regarding Taiwan's independence but it seems they are intent of grabbing it one way or another. This is very disturbing!

Old habits die hard I guess, if at all. As I was leaving the gym today I stopped at the Jamba Juice counter as I do a couple of times each week for a healthy, refreshing drink, usually with a protein boost added. As I waited in line today (there is not usually a line) I noticed this severly overweight person ordering something and having some trouble doing so. Then she had to pay for her drink with a credit card. Geesh... Shortly after that I noticed that she ordered the largest size drink possible and then added a pastry of some sort to the order. I felt like saying, "girl, you ain't gonna shed any of those pounds that way" but thought it would be best not to. I order the smallest size (16 oz.) which is really plenty. Anyway, I left wondering what that person eats at home.

Here is a story near and dear to my heart as I ask the question: How did we get to 2005 without cell phones? That is, there were no such things when I was a kid and we survived. We did not need constant contact with other people, especially our parents. Well, read on.

There is an expression that the more things change the more they stay the same. Christopher Caen wrote an excellent column in today's San Francisco Examiner about the this phenomenon. If you haven't read it yet, click here. I wish he would write a column five days a week as his dad did for so many years. He displays a good talent for writing but I guess he just does not want the hassle of so many deadlines.

On a more serious note, if you worry about the religious fundamentalists in other countries, I think you should worry about them here too as well. There seems to be a number of similarities which is pointed out in this excellent article by Willliam Thatcher Dowell.

"Item...item...whose gotta item" as one writer used to say. No, I am not trying to copy him but having not entered anything on these pages in several days, I am looking for new material.

Looks like former San Francisco Giants players can provide a little as former catcher A. J. Pierzynski continues to complain about the way the team treated him and now former pitcher Dustin Hermanson is also making waves. It is interesting that both were traded to the same team. I wonder how many waves they will make there. I have read that Giants pitchers are greatly relieved (no pun intended) that hey have a new catcher, Mike Matheny, and he is eager to help the pitchers on the staff and work with them, something Pierzynski never did. For more SF Giants news click here.

On a personal note, why is these on-line airfare specials only come up when I don't have the time to take advantage of them? I received my United Airlines newsletter this morning which lists SFO to Sydney roundtrip for $689. I want to go to Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) but haven't so far because of the usual fares which are usually over $1000. With these advertised e-fares, one must go this month. I simply can't do that due to other obligations. Oi vay!

Our not so illustrious governor continues to buy votes out of state with his fund raising jaunts around the country. When will someone crack down on his antics? With some much business pending before our legislature, when will he come home and take of business here. If he did that, a special election probably would not be needed. Oi vay! Such an idiot!

Blind Justice starts tonight on ABC. That is the replacement for NYPD which ended its 12 year run last week and will be missed by me and others. Based on the previews I have seen of the new show, I don't think I could find it interesting. First, is it plausible that a police department anywhere could or would hire a blind person especially outside of a precinct desk job? I don't think so. As for the success of the program, if its producers think they are going to fill the niche left by NYPD, they are going to have to pull off something super human to do it. Over the span of my lifetime there have been only a handful of TV programs that were memorable and none could ever be duplicated. Stayed tuned folks to see what happens.

Paws better than velcro?

When I started reading Christopher Caen's latest column, I thought he might be talking about The Bush, but no, it was a piece about our Governator who wants to have his own way, no matter what. I really think that if we are going to have a special election this fall, the election should include a recall of Arnie as well. He is such an embarrassment and I can't believe that some people would want him to run for president if it were legally possible. This country has sunk to new lows. Unfortunately, many of the younger generation, having flunked History 101A and U.S. Government 101A, know nothing and are willing to go along with this. It is scary. As someone said recently and which I mentioned previously in these pages, bring back Nelson Rockefeller, Everett Dirkson, and Barry Goldwater, politicians who could and would work with everyone and not just try to ram their own agenda down everyone else's throat.

There are many dangerous politicians on the loose around the country and now I have read some articles about possible Republican candidates for president in 2008. I thought they were all bad, save one, that one being Rudolph Guilliani. I was surprised that his name came up but at this point I could live with him, at least when comparing him with those to his right.

Well, now, Senator Byrd seems to be in trouble with others on and off Capitol Hill. While he is no saint considering his KKK affiliations early in his life, there may be some grain of truth in what he said this week.

Someone else, whose name eludes me at the moment, recently decried the inability of politicians to work for the good of the country. This person longed for the days of Nelson Rockefeller, Everett Dirkson, and Barry Goldwater. I concur. Now we seem to have an argumentative bunch in Washington who are only interested in their own agendas. They fight each other while the country goes down the tubes.

Whatever happened to the dollar coins, both the Susan B. Anthony and the newer Golden Dollar? I, for one, would rather use a dollar coin than the ragedy old smelly paper dollar bills. Of course the answer seems to be that people are hoarding them or otherwise afraid to use them because they don't believe they are real and would not be accepted by stores. I reluctantly admit that they are too much like a quarter in size but then blame this on the Federal Government. They could have just eliminated the half dollar (I have one in my "collection".) and made the new dollar coins the size of a fifty cent piece, but NO, that would have been too easy and when does the U.S. Government ever do things the easy way?

When I was a kid living in Reno, Nevada, in the fifties, they still had the silver dollars in circulation and those big suckers could never be mistaken for anything else. They also continually wore holes in the pockets of my jeans. Now I would settle for a pocket full of half-dollar sized coins however.

I also think the banks bear some blame in this as they keep some paper money in circulation far too long. Currency which looks like it has been through the laundry a few times, although it doesn't smell like it, plus currency which has been defaced by shopping lists, phone numbers, or whatever, should be removed once it is returned to a bank. Maybe various merchants could help out by exchanging that currency with their banks for clean money. Hmm...that could give a whole new meaning to the term "money laundering".