Several thoughts still bouncing around my head from my trip to Scotland:
• I might be in Tracy, but my overseas adventure continues: I still don't know where my golf clubs are, more than 10 days after checking them as baggage.
• The Brits know how to ride escalators: Anyone who's ever been trapped behind someone treating the local escalator as a ride at Disneyland should travel abroad, where the slowpokes actually stand aside and let the walkers pass unmolested.
• The Brits don't know how to run an airline: My Terminal 5 experience is just begging for someone to remake Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day."
• Ignorance is bliss: Just one week removed from the 24-hour cable/Internet news cycle, and I already feel happier and more well-adjusted.
• It's good to be home: I was only gone about seven days, but even that's enough to help you appreciate home. And how good we really do have it in the U.S.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Getting out of Dodge
I'll be on a golf trip to Scotland beginning today, and I'll return to the office on April 15.
I can't wait to get back to writing, but I really can't wait to hit the links.
I can't wait to get back to writing, but I really can't wait to hit the links.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Friday random thoughts...
• Every development has its problems: Building in the Bow Tie area might be a better option than Tracy Hills or Ellis, but first it needs to be cleaned up. The Bow Tie is contaminated, and it could take millions of dollars to have it comply with residential safety standards.
• Maybe this guy should pick up a rifle: President Bush, for saying that he's "a little envious" of the men and women fighting the "romantic" wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Too bad he didn't think Vietnam was quite as nice.
• Me rite gud: California students evidently aren't improving on writing tests like their national peers. The bright side for a journalist? More job security!
• Maybe this guy should pick up a rifle: President Bush, for saying that he's "a little envious" of the men and women fighting the "romantic" wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Too bad he didn't think Vietnam was quite as nice.
• Me rite gud: California students evidently aren't improving on writing tests like their national peers. The bright side for a journalist? More job security!
• Are regional rail improvements anywhere on the agenda? The annual One Voice delegation to Congress is headed out soon to plead the case for the county's transportation needs.
• Whatever happened to dirigibles? Between airlines canceling flights for safety reasons, the baggage snafu at London Heathrow and FAA failtures, I'm very confident regarding my upcoming transatlantic flight.
• Pointless Coverage of the Week Award: If this is your top story, it's time to quite calling yourself a journalist. I'm looking at you, Fox (Might Contain Actual) News and CNN.
• Calvin and Hobbes quote of the week: "I'm learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life ... procrastinating and rationalizing."
The smog hits the fan
My Rustbucket's days as a country cruiser might be numbered. (Or so I thought, until receiving a comment from an alert reader with better comprehension skills than I).
A bill in the State Senate could mean the joy of fixing up an old Classic Car goes the way of the dodo. It would require cars built before 1976 to be smog tested every other year, and the cars would have to pass for them to hit the roads. (As the reader noted, this would apply to those buying said cars after Jan 1, 2009)
As much as I hate to admit it, this sounds on the surface like a good idea. The Central Valley is the worst smog spot in the nation, and those old Bel Airs and Mustangs don't have the benefit of all the exhaust recovery gadgets that later models do.
But that brings up the question of how much will people have to spend to make the cars street legal, and how much impact the bill would really have. Most of these classics aren't daily drivers and probably account for a small amount of the soot in the air. Also, this bill reportedly would only affect cars in the Central Valley.
Still, every bit helps. And if this means the Rustbucket's country road driving days are over, I guess that's how the ecological cookie crumbles.
A bill in the State Senate could mean the joy of fixing up an old Classic Car goes the way of the dodo. It would require cars built before 1976 to be smog tested every other year, and the cars would have to pass for them to hit the roads. (As the reader noted, this would apply to those buying said cars after Jan 1, 2009)
As much as I hate to admit it, this sounds on the surface like a good idea. The Central Valley is the worst smog spot in the nation, and those old Bel Airs and Mustangs don't have the benefit of all the exhaust recovery gadgets that later models do.
But that brings up the question of how much will people have to spend to make the cars street legal, and how much impact the bill would really have. Most of these classics aren't daily drivers and probably account for a small amount of the soot in the air. Also, this bill reportedly would only affect cars in the Central Valley.
Still, every bit helps. And if this means the Rustbucket's country road driving days are over, I guess that's how the ecological cookie crumbles.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The kindness of strangers
Pursuing a story today about the building of a Sikh temple on Clover Road, I made a journey far outside city limits to the Gurudwara Guru Nanak Prakash — an existing Sikh temple — to find someone to talk to.
Turns out the guys at Gurudwara have nothing to do with the proposed temple, which faces the approval or rejection of the County Planning Commission tomorrow. But I can't say they weren't helpful.
With the assistance of a translator, the temple elder, two others and a mysterious man on the phone, I traced down somebody who might eventually be able to answer some questions about the to-be-built temple. If, that is, he returns from Oregon.
Not efficient, but man, talk about friendly. They even offered me tea and lunch.
Turns out the guys at Gurudwara have nothing to do with the proposed temple, which faces the approval or rejection of the County Planning Commission tomorrow. But I can't say they weren't helpful.
With the assistance of a translator, the temple elder, two others and a mysterious man on the phone, I traced down somebody who might eventually be able to answer some questions about the to-be-built temple. If, that is, he returns from Oregon.
Not efficient, but man, talk about friendly. They even offered me tea and lunch.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Fr. Kelly saga continues
Two weeks ago I wrote a column basking in the apparent exoneration of my friend Fr. Michael Kelly, a former priest in Tracy who was accused of abuse. I might have been premature in thinking his troubles were over.
It became clear the saga will continue when the news broke that Fr. Kelly's accuser was filing a lawsuit for the pain and suffering caused by the alleged abuse, a suit that not only again accused Kelly but also blamed the San Joaquin Diocese for reinstating him.
This brought to mind an e-mail I received from a reader after that column:
Pretty much everybody who's known a priest convicted of abuse has said they were fooled. But I will repeat here what I told this reader.
"... lacking other evidence, we must all trust to our own judgment. Mine is out for all to read, and it speaks to a man whom I trust. That is my position until I am proven otherwise, which I sincerely hope I never will be."
Personal feeling aside, an issue that two weeks ago seemed laid to rest has suddenly become much more messy. And it will probably only get worse.
It became clear the saga will continue when the news broke that Fr. Kelly's accuser was filing a lawsuit for the pain and suffering caused by the alleged abuse, a suit that not only again accused Kelly but also blamed the San Joaquin Diocese for reinstating him.
This brought to mind an e-mail I received from a reader after that column:
"I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes people aren't whom they appear to be."
Pretty much everybody who's known a priest convicted of abuse has said they were fooled. But I will repeat here what I told this reader.
"... lacking other evidence, we must all trust to our own judgment. Mine is out for all to read, and it speaks to a man whom I trust. That is my position until I am proven otherwise, which I sincerely hope I never will be."
Personal feeling aside, an issue that two weeks ago seemed laid to rest has suddenly become much more messy. And it will probably only get worse.
Oh, the fun that awaits
FYI for my alert readers: I'll be across the pond in Scotland from April 5 to April 11, so the Second Thoughts blog will be temporarily on haitus.
But, my pending trip brings me to today's topic, namely, the Baggage Claim From Hell.
Yes, there are thousands of bags without owners at London's Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. And yes, I will be flying through said terminal. Twice.
They say with travel, getting there is half the fun. But I think I'd like to avoid any unecessary adventure.
* Picture courtesy Telegraph.co.uk
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