Gone fishin'

Sorry, from this point on we are on hiatus until we are not.

Immortal words

"It was a dark and stormy night."

Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, "Paul Clifford" (1830)

Moss gathering

Mick Jagger is 66.

Departures this week

Heinz Edelmann, a graphic designer. Art director of the Beatles animated film Yellow Submarine, 75 (Tuesday July 21, in Stuttgart, Germany, of an undisclosed illness.)
Frank McCourt, the author of Angela's Ashes (which won the Pulitzer Prize,) former NYC public school teacher, 78 (Sunday July 19, in New York City, of cancer.)
Gordon Waller, half of the British duo Peter & Gordon famous for their 1964 hit A World Without Love, 64 (Friday July 17 - reported this wek, in Norwich, CT, after a cardiac arrest)

Bye bye Northwest...

Used to be Northwest Orient then just Northwest then Northwest Airlines shortened to NWA and now simply Delta...

At times called "northworst" because their service was uneven at best and downward lousy at worst: I vividly remember a spring sticking up from the seat cushion of the first class cabin and firmly wedged against my ass on a flight from Chicago to Seattle 10 or so years ago... Oh well, NWA has improved since then, its fleet is very modern and, even though some flight attendants are grouchy as usual, it's been a joy to fly recently. And then there is (was..?) their wonderful partnership with KLM (and with Air Farce, pardon me, Air France...) allowing pretty much seamless jetting all over the world.

Well, the red NWA livery will soon be exchanged for the Delta (pretty indistinct and rather drab) colors and the flying public will be charged $50 to carry a laptop and a purse on board...

I'll miss ya, NWA!

Photo credit: Copyright © 2009 Michael Liczbanski

Orwell turns up in 2009.

Yep, friggin' Big Brother rears his ugly head...
Amazon Dot Com remotely nuked two George Orwell novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, from its Kindle eBook readers last week when their publisher decided that they no longer wanted to distribute the books electronically.

Hey, all you contemporary Adolf Hitler types, once I pay for it, the book is mine and you can’t just burn it at the stake even if it’s only a virtual stake on the electronic wilderness. And no post-mortem apology does any good, by the way…

Pull a Nancy Reagan and just say no to Kindle!
Pull a Nancy Reagan and just say no!
Pull a Nancy Reagan!

Hmm...à propos space...

The toilet on the International Space Station craps out...
For the 13 astronauts from Russia, Canada, Belgium, Japan and the US currently on the International Space Station, the things could have not gone much worse in terms of personal hygene after the shit hit the proverbial fan when one of the two Russion-built multi-million dollar space toilets on the space station went out of commission. (Yes, you don't always get what you pay for...)

I can almost hear that urgent Ну, давай, давай, товарищ..!

Space plumbers pulled some serious OT on Tuesday and both toilets, in the US lab Destiny and the Russian Zvezda, are now operational and suck well (yeah, that's what they are supposed to do...)

One big step...

Moon landing - 40th aniversary. Regardless of what the "we-never-landed-there" idiots say.

Landing: 4:17 PM EDT (20:17:40 UTC. Forty years ago this minute...)
First moonwalk: 10:56 PM EDT.

I was glued to a b&w TV in the middle of the night July 21...(it was night in Poland) and loved every minute of it and every murky picture transmitted from the surface of the Moon. And knowing that the Americans had just kicked the Soviets where it hurts the most felt simply delicious!

As an aside, thanks to the decision made personally by the First Secretary of the Communist Party Władysław Gomułka, Poland was the only Eastern/Soviet Bloc country with the live TV coverage of the event.

Recent departures

Henry Allingham, World War I veteran (RAF) and the world's oldest man, born June 6, 1896, 113 (Saturday July 18, in England, presumably of old age.)
Walter Cronkite, former CBS news anchor, the most trusted man in America, 92 (Friday July 17, in New York, of cerebrovascular disease.)
Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher and historian of ideas, 81 (Friday July 17, in Oxford, England, of undisclosed illness.)
Julius Shulman, famous architectural photographer, 98 (Wedensday July 16, in Los Angeles, of natural casues.)
168 passengers and crew of the Caspian Airlines flight 7908, operated with the Soviet-era Tupolew Tu-154 plane (Wednesday July 15, near the Iranian city of Qazvin.)
Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Polish film and stage actor, 75 (Tuesday July 14, in Warsaw, Poland of cancer.)
Sir Edward Downes, conductor of the first-ever performance at Sydney's Opera House, 85 (Friday July 10 - reported this week, in Zurich, Switzerland at an assisted suicide with his wife Joan, 74.)

Bankrupts of the world

After Iceland went bust and Ireland lost most of its luster, Latvia is on the way to the poorhouse. Reason? Jolly life on credit! You know, vacations in Thailand, deluge of flat-screen TVs and iPods, backyard swans fed with Astrakhan caviar… All paid for with a piece of plastic (@ 25% APR, of course...) In other words, the good ole' syndrome of living way (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!) beyond their means.

Things to avoid...

• Extended car warranties for used cars (you know, “if your car is less than a century old and has less than a million miles on the clock…”) especially those peddled on TV: can you imagine how profitable this scam is if a very much unknown company can saturate TV channels with these ads 24/7!!! Just read the fine print and talk to repair shops to gauge how good these “warranties” are, people!
• Penile enlargement scams peddled on TV, you know the ones that proclaim in a very faint print at the bottom of the screen that this shit is not FDA approved? It is not approved because it doesn’t work!!! Just get a Playboy or go see a real doctor!
• Outfits (they spend big buck on TV ads) that want to buy your “broken or unwanted gold jewelry.” You’ll got scammed out of 50-75% of the real value, so just go to a jeweler if you have “broken or unwanted gold jewelry” for sale for godsakes!!! (Really, is “broken or unwanted gold jewelry” such a common problem..?)
• Psychics for $1 a minute. Enough said!
• Homeowner’s loan modification deals seen so often on TV lately (where were all these people two years ago..?) some even disguised as news items shot in front of the White House with a cut-in speech from president Obama: you’ll end up in a long-term high-interest debt up to your wazoo AND will pay big bucks up front for that privilege!
• Identity protection scams: all offers, even those offered by your bank, are expensive and either totally worthless or just mildly effective! Buy a paper shredder and use anti-virus software on your computer.
• Free credit reports advertised on TV (hint: they ain't free...) And you can get a 100% free report by contacting the credit bureau.
• Things peddled on TV by various screamers and hollers: if this shit is so good why the fuck is it not available in any store..?
• Faux News. Just say no to pseudo news on TV, read a paper instead (and learn a foreign language or two so you can read even more real news from various sources and compare…)

Don’t be a fool who easily parts with his money!

Bank Of America and a pack of smokes...

Where: Manchester, NH
Who: A chap named Josh Muszynski
When: Yesterday
Why: The chap wanted a smoke...
What: Used his Bank of America debit card to buy a pack of cigarettes. Got charged $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 (plus $15.00 in overdraft fees.) Spent two hours on the phone with BoA trying to attract their attention to the obvious (the charge of 23 quadrillion dollars...)
Quote from Josh: "I thought my card had been compromised . I thought somebody had bought Europe with my credit card."


Read more on the WMUR TV site.

Ye sons of France, awake to glory

The opening verse of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, in English versification (Allons enfants de la Patrie, literally Come, children of the Fatherland.)
Written in 1792 by an army engineer Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (ironically a royalist who's head almost got chopped off during the revolution.) Become the official anthem of France in 1795. Was banned a few times by various Napoleons in the XIX century and finally reinstated as the national anthem in 1830.

Today is the 220th aniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789.

Recent departures

Oscar G. Mayer, retired chairman of the Wisconsin meat processing company that bears his, and his dad and grandpa, name, 95 (Wednesday July 8, in Fitchburg, WI, of old age.)
Robert S. McNamara, architect of the Vietnam War, secretary of defense under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, 93 (Monday July 6, in Washington, D.C., of natural causes.)
At least 184 people (and counting) who were killed (and over one thousand injured) last weekend in violent clashes between police and Muslim Uighur protesters in China's far western Xinjiang region.
George Fullerton, a musician, artist and technician, a close associate of Leo Fender, one of the creators of the Fender guitar, 86 (Saturday July 4 - reported this week, in Fullerton, CA, of congestive heart failure.)
Mollie Sugden, a British actress best known to many as Mrs. Slocombe in the television comedy series "Are You Being Served?", 86 (Wednesday July 1 - reported this week, in London, after a long illness.)
Tom Wilkes, a Grammy Award-winning art director and epitomic rock album cover designer (The Who's "Tommy, " Janis Joplin's "Pearl, "Stones' "Beggars Banquet," Neil Young's "Harvest," Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs & Englishmen," George Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh", "All things Must Pass"), 69 (June 28 - reported this week, in Pioneertown, CA, of a heart attack.)

Rental cars

2007 and 2008 Toyota Corolla 1.6. Both cars rented from Alamo/National in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Two rentals because one agency didn't have the car available to extend my rental and could not borrow a car from another Alamo agency (don't ask...)
Car like car: good, because it doesn't stand out and therefore is less likely to be stolen or broken into. The engine is too underpowered for any serious driving (fortunately El Salvador is a smallish country with mostly good roads, but with 4 people + luggage that thing huffs and puffs uphill.) On the other hand, really, all you need is a running car with A/C over there. And yes, the Corolla runs well and has a very good A/C! Yes, I’ll rent it again: car rental choices are not that numerous in many a country.

OK, now a note about renting cars in “less urbane” foreign lands (an example from El Salvador in Central America):

• There always will be drama while renting/returning the vehicle: take it in stride...
• Speak the language: even at the Alamo/National Car Rental place at the San Salvador International airport not a soul spoke English or any language other than Spanish! But do be careful with your Latin: some people will only pretend that they don’t speak English…
• Make sure that you arrive and depart while the car rental counter is actually open: yeah, it is not certain that the car rental counter will be open during the airport’s business hours, so no late night/early morning arrivals and departures.
• Allow ample time for both rental and return (remember, there will be drama…)
• Book your vehicle with a big, international car rental outfit. Print out the confirmation email including the confirmation number, booked car type, rate/price and rental conditions (extra mileage rate, etc.) Guarantee it with a major credit card.
• Know how to drive stick: chances are that they won't have the car you have booked so be flexible but always trade up: they might/shall offer a smaller car first so insist on the vehicle you've booked or a bigger/better equipped car for the same price. Don't hesitate to call the corporate office in the States/Europe if the car rental people give you static.
• Take a good, long look at the vehicle with a magnifying glass before leaving the lot: make sure that every, even the smallest, scratch, ding, stain, insect splash - both exterior and interior - are noted on the rental agreement (they'll meticulously do the same when you turn the vehicle in.) Inspect the spare tire, all tools and equipment included with the car or you'll be responsible if that 13 mm wrench is missing.
• Make sure that your insurance covers the rental in foreign lands, buy insurance if necessary, but don't let the rental people talk you into buying more insurance than you need or want. (Only the Almighty knows the "buy the insurance" trials I've gone through at the San Salvador/Colonia San Benito Alamo counter!)
• Drive off the lot carefully and be judicious with the use of your middle finger...
  

Photo credit: Copyright © 2009 Michael Liczbanski

Greenback love?

Hollywood Variety writes that the Michael Moore's next movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story", in which he plans to indict capitalism, is slated for release October 2. One can only hope that the subject of his indictment will be the same capitalism which has so handsomely rewarded Mr. Moore.

It’s good to be a professional Prolet…

The rift: science and non-science

In the old struggle between knowledge and idiocy, the idiots are winning...

87% of scientists say that humans and other living things have evolved over time and that evolution is the result of natural processes such as natural selection. Just 32% of the [US] public accepts this as true.

84% of scientists say the earth is getting warmer because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels, just 49% of the [US] public agrees

Read more results from a survey of more than 2,500 scientists on The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press web site.

Geek bang bang

In the last few days many US and South Korean government web sites were brought down by a massive distributed denial of service cyber attack. Prime suspects: North Korean government and the idiot computer users all over the world who frequent shoddy porn sites and don't use up to date security software.

Ryanair and common sense

The Daily Telegraph reports that Ryanair, my least favorite airline in the world, has been considering a new class of service, bar stool class, and charge less the passenger who’d seat on said "bar stools" with seat belts around their waists for the duration of a flight. Michael O'Leary, their illustrious chief executive, apparently has already held talks with Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room/bar stools and Ryanair is now seeking approval from the Irish Aviation Authority. The “bar stool class” (apparently a few notches below steerage) could accommodate up to 50% more passengers cut costs by 20%.

I’ll drink to that…

Rolleiflex dies

Franke & Heidecke, the legendary maker of Rolleiflex cameras, will close completely by September 2009. It’s been insolvent since March of this year and although some transfer of assets to other entities is possible, that seems to be the end of the line for Franke & Heidecke that introduced the original TLR (twin-lens-reflex) Rolleiflex camera in 1929.

More in the British Journal Of Photography (this link may be not permanent.)

Sarah Palin quits on Alaska

Last Friday (July 3) Sarah Palin abruptly resigned her post as the Governor of Alaska. The entire transcript of her resignation speech is available here.

In her Republican Convention speech (full transcript can be seen here) she said "I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country." Apparently there has been a time change... Fascinating read!

Sad, sad...

Departures this week:
Allen Klein, a music executive, managed Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, 77 (Saturday July 4 in New York City, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.)
Steve McNair, the former NFL quarterback (Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens), 2003 NFL MVP, 36 (Saturday July 4 in Nashville, TN, of multiple gunshot wounds)
Karl Malden, Oscar-winning actor,former president of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, 97 (Wednesday July 1 in Los Angeles, CA, of natural causes)
152 passengers and crew of the Yemenia Airbus A310 crash in the Indian Ocean near the archipelago of Comoros: there was one known survivor (Tuesday June 30)
Billy Mays, television pitchman of "OxiClean" and such, 50 (Sunday June 28 in Tampa, FL, of apparent heart attack)

ASCAP and common sense

ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) would like to get more royalties from cellular companies (more, 'cos they are already getting paid by cell companies...) for "melodies used as ringtones" when said ringtone is audible in public (i.e. if your phone rings in a public place with "Who The Fuck Let The Piranhas Out," or a similar ditty, which in their rotten brains equals public performance.)

Free advice to ASCAP: I'm positive that at least one of your wonderful composers, authors or publishers has a legal interest in melodies generated by tuneful wind passing (AKA farting and belching) so you can open up a new and exciting revenue stream especially in those parts of the US with diets rich in legumes and/or teeming with six-pack aficionados. Really, why stop at ringtones, tax the bodily functions! And don’t forget the whoopee cushion…

Read more on the Electronic Frontier Foundation site.

? (Yes, a question mark...)

What's going on with the Washington Post..? After this, today's Politico reports that the paper will now offer access to their sources and subjects of their reporting for a fee!

Here's what the paper's ad flier promises:

"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate." (...) "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth ... Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama Administration and Congressional leaders."

Cost? $25,000.00 a pop or $250,000.00 for a set of 11...

Will Bob Woodward please step in and follow the money...

Edit July 2, 1:30 PM EDT: Event cancelled. (But what a stupid idea it was!!!)

Hell froze over...

The European Union bureaucrats have nuked some of their own rules and regulations describing the shape and size of fruits and vegetables sold in the EU countries.

Until today, a cucumber sold in EU had to be "well developed, correctly shaped and practically straight with the maximum height of the arch of 10 mm per each 10 cm of the [cucumber's] length." (No, I'm not making this up...) A maximum allowable bend in the banana was also strictly defined and so was the "roundness" of a radish

The "standards" (note the quotes...) will still apply to 10 fruits and veggies: table grapes, strawberries, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, et cetera. I can only imagine the effort and money spent on the definition of a "EU strawberry."