text:
Tale of The Turtle and The Owl
Now that Tina is on her final stretch I'll risk telling you the secret of our success and good fortune on these treks -- our mascots "The Turtle" and "The Owl". :-)
The Owl has been with us for over 15 years! For the ten years we flew our Cessna 182 around it was on every single flight and, if the kids were with us, they made a ritual of kissing it on the head before we took off --- especially Keith (how's that for embarassing? ;-) ..
The Owl went with us on every hike and on every significant bike ride -- residing in a special place in Tina's pack. Then last year it was with Tina on every step of her Appalachian Trail thru hike and it has always been with her this year too -- as she hiked and as she rode with me on the bike.
Since this year we were going to spend so much time apart we decided we needed a mascot just for me. Thus, "The Turtle" -- which has now ridden with me from Mexico to Canada and has its own dedicated place in my panniers.
So that's it! It's not the bike, the tent, the pack, or the ice axe -- it's the The Turtle and The Owl that are our most important "equipment". ;-)
Okay, back to our regular programming.
/David :-)
Reds Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows
After waiting out the rain for two days in Mammoth Lakes (and new snow on the mountain peaks!), Tina hiked the 35ish miles from Reds Meadow over Island and Donahue passes to reachTuolumne Meadows on the eastern side of Yosemite National Park yesterday afternoon.
We're in a pattern of daily thunderstorms in the mountains -- mostly in the afternoons and evening -- and so she still got some considerable rain Monday night, but she was already in her tent and only had to contend with a few drips here and there. We've now resealed those particular spots and she reported no drips in tonight's rain.
Tina's now out again and 12 miles into the 76-mile stretch from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass.
We're planning to wrap things up at Sonora Pass and call this trip done! That'll translate to over a 1000 miles of hiking and 2800 miles of biking -- given the increasing unpleasantness of mountain weather conditions and our long "to do" list, we're figuring this might be enough for this round! :)
VVR to Reds Meadow
After stepping off the VVR ferry yesterday around 9:30am, Tina hiked 30 miles, climbed and crossed Silver Pass, and reached Reds Meadow Resort today at 1pm. Reds Meadow is a Sierra pack station and "resort" (think small store, small cafe, and some cabins) at the end of the road leading to Devils Postpile National Monument. I was able to snag her there just before a thunderstorm reached the resort and we skedaddled to the town of Mammoth Lakes -- where we are now holed up for the forecast "weekend o' showers and thunderstorms".
As for the trip, the first day was the toughest with nearly 5000 feet of climbing and periods of rain. Today was easier and shorter but a race to beat the visible thunderstorm, but all-in-all it was a straighforward jaunt.
Notice in some of the pictures how an overcast sky completely changes the complexion of the mountains. Weather up there is so much more of a serious threat than it is down low that darkened skies immediately set the mind into a constant state of tactical "what if" planning and preparation.
In any case, the plan for the moment is that Tina will hit the trail again come Monday morning.
Meanwhile, I'm going to go wash my hands ... again .. (Tina and I just got back from seeing the new movie "Contagion" .. yow).
Kearsarge to VVR - Picture Edition
Finally here with a tiny fraction of the pictures from Tina's 7-day outing through more of the Sierras! She'd left from the Onion Valley trailhead near Independence, CA on August 30th and reached Edison Lake (and VVR) about 100 trail miles and 7 days later. The first couple days had been pretty rough as she suffered with altitude sickness symptoms but the rest went well and she was back to flying by the end of the stretch.
Towards the end we both realized that this was longest stretch of hiking Tina's ever done without resupply .. so that was a nice bar to move with some lessons learned .. but then it was also the longest she's ever been without a shower and so, umm, maybe we don't want to break that personal "best" .. ? ;-)
We spent a pleasant day and half at the Vermillion Valley Resort on Lake Edison and then Tina was off again (on the morning of the 8th) trying to reach Mammoth Lakes before the forecast rain and thunderstorms arrived. All about that in the next post. :)
Kearsarge to VVR - Daily Reports
TUESDAY 9/6 20:30 PDT:
We both made it to the friendly (but expensive) arms of Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) in fine shape -- Tina by pontoon boat across Edison Lake and I via 7-hour drive crossing the Sierras over Tioga Pass (i.e., through Yosimite) and then crawling back into them via the long, rough, one lane seasonal road that leads to Edison Lake. Now we're clean, well fed, and settled into the place's very finest travel trailer -- Big Red. ;-) Turns out that they have a slow pay (100kbit/s) satellite internet connection and so I'm using that to post this. We're taking tomorrow off and so I'll try to do a summary post with pictures then.
MONDAY 9/5 23:00 PDT:
Tina hoofed it 20 miles over Seldon Pass reaching the turnoff trail for the VVR "ferry" (a small pontoon boat) and setting up camp after dark. She reported that she has no idea of her surroundings -- she's simply camped on a flat spot a couple feet from the trail. In any case, she's planning to catch the morning ride across the lake to the "resort" while I drive the 6 hours from here (Mammoth Lakes) to get there by road -- a crow fly distance of only 15 miles!! I'm bringing all her resupply items and we're set to spend two nights in some of their deluxe accomodations .. a trailer referred to as "Big Red" .. LOL .. ;-) .. at least we get a 20% discount because it's now past Labor Day!
MONDAY - 9/5 11:30 PDT:
In spite of hearing considerable bear-foraging noises in the early evening, Tina ultimately slept well at her camp near the Muir Trail Ranch and mile 859 of the PCT and down at 8200 feet -- by far her lowest camp since she's been out. Now (11:30am) she has already climbed back up over 10,000 feet on her way up to Seldon Pass. At mile 879 she'll reach the turnoff to the "ferry" to VVR which comes twice a day to transport hikers across Lake Thomas Edison to and from the "resort". We plan to meet there tomorrow.
SUNDAY - 9/4:
With no pass to climb it was a straightforward day of hiking as Tina moved 19 miles north on the trail to a point a couple miles from the Muir Trail Ranch. She goes to sleep a bit uneasy tonight after hearing a substantial amount of crashing around in the trees near her ("like trees being torn down") and then sounds of big rocks being moved around. So she's probably got a bear or a sasquatch as a neighbor tonight!
SATURDAY - 9/3:
Tina hiked around 13-14 miles to reach Muir Pass, encountering rain and sleet shortly before reaching the top. There she found a stone hut erected by the Sierra Club to honor John Muir. She sheltered in that a short bit but there was already a fellow there who looked like he wanted to spend the night there and so Tina pressed on in the rain/sleet and made camp a couple miles later near Wanda Lake. As expected, the rain stopped as she put up the tent and the clouds eventually cleared for the evening. The forecasts say that the clear days are over with for awhile and so she'll probably have this afternoon/evening behavior all the way to VVR. Nevertheless, Tina is really looking forward to tomorrow. All the southbound hikers have been raving about how beautiful the Evolution Creek area is and she arrives there tomorrow.
FRIDAY - 9/2:
08:00 - GOOD MORNING! SLEPT WELL BUT TOO LONG. PACKING UP.
14:45 - STOPPING FOR LUNCH,
15:04 - MATHER NOT TOO BAD. BIT OF TRICKY SNOW ON THE NORTH SIDE.
19:54 - FINALLY IN MY TENT! GETTING DRESSED FOR BED.
20:08 - COMING DOWN NORTH SIDE OF MATHER STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL. VERY DEEP AND SCENIC CANYON.
Tina had a great day in the mountains today. She made good progress, caught up with some hikers we'd met earlier who started back at Onion Valley about 5 hours before she did, stumbled onto Red Hat -- a fellow 2010 AT thru hiker, and hiked in beautiful surroundings and perfect weather. On the negative side, Tina just ran out of her water sterilization drops and so she'll be drinking straight from the streams and it's getting pretty clear that she won't have enough food to make it into Mammoth Lakes -- she'll have to head to VVR in 3-4 days.
THURSDAY - 9/1:
07:19 - ICE ON THE OUTSIDE OF MY SLEEPING BAG THIS MORNING!
07:25 - SLEPT WELL. COYOTE SERENADE AROUND 5:45 AM.
17:27 - SITTING ON TOP OF PINCHOT PASS. WAS REALLY TOUGH AND NOT BECAUSE I FELT WEAK OR BAD OR ANYTHING.
17:28 - THOUGHT I WAS NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT!
17:34 - OH, AND BY THE WAY, I JUST GOT BUZZED BY A HUMMINGBIRD AT 12,300FT.
WEDNESDAY - 8/31:
06:58 - SLEPT OFF AND ON. HAD HEADACHE.
07:02 - WENT TO GET BEAR CAN THIS MORNING AND FOUND A TENT SETUP ONLY A FEW YARDS FROM IT. COULD EXPLAIN THE WEIRD NOISES.
16:12 - TAKING A BREAK. PRETTY BUSHED. DISAPPOINTED WITH SELF.
16:15 - RAE LAKES VERY BEAUTIFUL
16:22 - PLAN TO GO ON HERE SHORTLY BUT PROBABLY WON'T MAKE IT FAR
TUESDAY - 8/30:
21:12 - STOMACH JUST GROWLED SO LOUD I THOUGHT THERE WAS BEAR OUTSIDE!
21:22 - I FORGOT TO DRY THE TENT OUT. IT WAS STILL PRETTY WET
21:35 - STRANGE NOISES OUTSIDE. JUST MARMOTS, RIGHT?
Over Forester, out Kearsarge, and already back on the trail
Tina successfully made it up and over Forester Pass (the highest one on the PCT) and then yesterday she headed up and over Kearsarge Pass hiking the 9 miles off trail to reach me and resupply at the Onion Valley trailhead near Independence, CA. The combination of re-adaptation pains and weather (occasionally raining and/or sleeting each day except the last) slowed her down a bit, but the things went pretty well, considering.
Bad weather or no, I'm so jealous of what she's experiencing out there! This time she came in with over 400 photos and almost all of them were fantastic. For your sake I worked forever trying to pare them down but I gave up somewhere around 20... sigh! The mountains are certainly a magical place.
After a day of rest, cleaning, and resupply Tina headed back up the trail late this afternoon and made it back up and over Kearsarge and most of the way back out to the PCT. From where she's at now she's got about 120 miles of hiking to reach Mammoth Lakes. We're thinking that'll take a week and that's about how much food Tina's carrying unless a bear or marmot takes some of it. If she runs short she can catch a ferry across a lake at about 90 miles lake to reach Vermillion Valley Resort and that wouldn't be an entirely bad thing.
I'm still working details, but I'm probably going to go hang out at Mammoth Lakes and doing a fair bit of riding -- maybe changing out tires on the bike and hitting some of the MTB trails on this crazy tandem. :-}
A relatively good terrible day
Going directly from low altitude life to hiking and camping at 11,500 feet turned out to be a bad idea. Last night Tina didn't get any sleep as she suffered from classic altitude sickness symptoms -- insomnia, headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath. This morning she found it very difficult to get going.
Since the altitude profile for the day didn't call for her to gain any altitude, she decided to proceed northward. But before long ominous clouds arrived complete with thunder ... and then the sprinkling started. After some communication with me to consider what weather radar was saying, she decided to proceed along attempting to make it to Crabtree Meadow before stopping.
Well enough but then Tina took the worst fall of her entire hiking career. She tripped and went downslope head first, hitting the right side of her head first with the bear canister thankfully taking the bulk of the remaining impact (as it skittered way). Tina then continued to roll and slide downhill until ultimately she struck a downed tree. There she was lucky again in that it was her pack that hit the tree first.
At first her head and neck hurt but that situation improved through the day and so she seems to have gotten away with just abrasions and minor cuts. Except that also she later realized that her sunglasses had disappeared in the process and by then she was much too far along to go back to look for them.
"Luckily" the cloud cover kept the missing sunglasses from being an issue today but tonight she's making herself an eskimo type slit mask out of duct tape.
A short bit later the heavens then opened up and completely soaked her and much of her equipment. Things got so bad that she ultimately just stopped along the trail and pitched her tent in the rain. As expected, that caused the rain to stop and ultimately caused the clouds to clear. It was 5pm by then so she spent the rest of the day drying out -- finally going in at sunset when the mosquitoes came out.
But by the end of the day, her headache and nausea was gone, she'd met a number of other hikers (who told her some positive developments about her coming Forester Pass traverse), saw her first pack train, and was settled in reading a new book. And so while it was a terrible day, it ended much better than it started and that's not a bad thing. :)
As for me, I got my haircut and new tires -- just as planned. ;-)
On the trail again!
Tina's back on the trail again! Tina rejoined the trail at Cottonwood Pass early this afternoon and is now headed northward once again.
All today and for most of tomorrow she's having to retrace trail that already covered but then the next day she'll reach new ground as she climbs and crosses Forester Pass. At 13,153 feet it's the highest pass on the Pacific Crest Trail. It's also the highest pass on the John Muir Trail which has Mount Whitney as its southern terminus and shares the same track as the PCT for some 160 miles.
Back at ground control, the big news is that I did a couple hours of bicycle maintenance and tomorrow I'm getting a couple new tires put on the truck. Exciting stuff .. ;-)
All the best! /David
A successful backtracking trip
Five days of driving have brought us to San Diego where we are gearing up for Tina's re-entry to the trail by getting her new prescription sunglasses, etc.
On the way we had a fabulous time retracing our cycling route through Washington and Oregon and then also a good fraction of the portion in California north of Ridgecrest. Doing that really enhanced the overall trip.
One extra delight along the way was bumping into hikers on the trail. In the oddest coincidence we met up with Tripp and Sweep again when we stopped by the entry gift shop / restaurant at Crater Lake. They were there with a couple other hikers we'd met in the past (Murphy and DumpTruck) and a couple more who were new to us. Of the latter, one of those turned out to be a volunteer at the Wildlands Conservancy I'd spoken and emailed with a couple times on the phone early on in the hike about access to one of their preserves!
While we at Crater Lake we took some "morning" photos to go with the evening photos we'd taken on our first pass through. We really need to spend a couple days there sometime. As pointed out in Tripp & Sweep's journal, the colors of the lake change throughout the day and it's a wonderfully dramatic venue for some R&R. They were even treated to a storm on the lake! Nice.
Assuming things go well with the prescription sunglasses acquisition today, Tina will get back to the trail late Wednesday or Thursday.
More on "C-Day" and "Phase 3"
First, thanks to everyone for all the support! Our 50-ish mile ride to finish up the "dual riding" portion of our adventure yesterday couldn't have been easier or more pleasant. We had clear sky morning weather (which, according to the local news, is extremely rare), light winds, our flattest route yet, and a beautiful mix of farm lands, forests, and mountains to ride through -- the perfect setting for a celebratory final "stage" of the cycling portion of our "tour". It was just a super day in every respect.
We were only in Canada long enough to properly "count coup" before we turned around to have lunch near the border in Sumas. Then we cycled on to a U-Haul dealer in Everson, WA where we'd reserved one of their smallest trucks. Once there we loaded everything up and immediately started driving backwards on the route we'd just cycled up! By dark we'd driven all the way back to Pateros, WA -- carefully following our cycling route all the way -- and during the whole drive continuing the celebration with conversations like "Oh, I remember *that* ..." ... "Remember when we were almost blown off the road --- wasn't that right here? ... no, no .. up at this curve". And so on. It was great.
Today we continued backtracking our route in the U-Haul truck doing the same thing all over .. getting our bike ride even further etched into our brains, doing a constant compare and contrast between cycling and driving, and so on. We also added on a bit this time taking the long climbing dog leg to see the crater side of Mount St Helens (pics tomorrow) and other minor explorations like that.
Tonight we're all the way back to the Oregon/Washington border and tomorrow we pick things up again with the backtracking, and then we'll be at it again Friday until we're all the way back in Ridgecrest, CA where Tina started cycling fulltime.
That sets up "Phase 3": Tina has decided that she wants to pick her hike up where she left it at Mount Whitney and then head north until she's finished all of California or gets stopped by the first major snow storm.
The original plan had called for Tina to hike continuously from Mexico to Canada followed with us cycle touring back. But the extremely dangerous water crossings that resulted from the record snow year pushed us to transition to cycling north back at Whitney. Meanwhile, the summer was late and cool here in the north and so a good bit of the snow is still on the ground -- thus no hiking south from Canada as an option. The distance math says that there's just no possibility that she'd be able to complete a thru hike in the usable remains of the year, but there's every liklihood that she can finish off California and so that's what she's shooting for. We're nevertheless feeling very "successful", tho. While we didn't and won't thru "hike", we have already now combo thru bike-hiked (bhiked? hbiked? hi-biked?). Anyway, we're doing what we can and now we're going back to put more of California in the "hiked" category.
While I'm keeping the bike with me to help me maintain basic fitness while she does that, the realities of doing support through the Sierras have dictated that I fetch our truck from San Diego, where my brother Carl has been keeping it in better than safe-and-sound shape. I'll use it to meet and resupply Tina every 5-7 days. In my downtime I'll be preparing for future mischief. :-}
That's all for now! /David


Conversations with animals can be sarcastic and confusing. GameAdvice.org Gives This A 2/5 Overall Rating.
Parents need to know that SpeakaZoo records kids' voices and uses speech recognition technology to create "conversations" between kids and 18 animated animals. Kids pretend to be zoo keepers to these cute — but troubled and often sarcastic — animals. The animals explain their problems and ask kids questions, sometimes making emotional pleas for help. Kids then record their responses to the animals. The speech recognition technology enables the animated animals to answer the kids' recordings with relevant responses; at times it works very well, other responses don't make sense. Some of the animals use mature humor or talk about behavior (such as the vampire bat sucking blood) that kids may not understand. When parents sign up to allow their kids to use the app, they consent to allow the app to move their kid's audio recordings off the app to assist the speech recognition process.
SpeakaZoo is a app that is designed for those 6. The app has an overall rating of 2 out of 5 and a learning rating of 1 out of 5.
The Support Level for SpeakaZoo is about a 1 out of 5.


A traditional student-led Shachrit service that will run parallel with the Ruach Service in the Bennett Library. At 11:45am, the two services will combine for a student led Torah service. Students from both services will have the opportunity to read/chant Torah.


Imagine if Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace sat in a poorly-lit basement everynight with a tall glass of absinthe, pouring his frustrations over Dennis's shenanigans onto the page. Imagine that Mr. Wilson's inner demons took control, pushed him over the edge of sanity, and he became obsessed with devising elaborate schemes to extract revenge and ultimately destroy his prepubescent archnemesis. That's the kind of book this is. It's the kind of book that Mr. Wilson would never show to anyone else (not even his foxy wife, Martha). In fact, he would probably rip it up the next morning and beg his God for forgiveness.
Shel Silverstein, on the other hand, is the kind of person that is just crazy enough to not only show it, but to get it published. Luckily, people consider it to be "subversive" and "irreverent", instead of "dangerous" or "a sign that we must lock this man up for the rest of his natural life". Thus he was allowed to remain in society to write great children's books and the occassional hit song for Johnny Cash.
Note: My copy of the book (unlike the one pictured above) does not have the gold seal that says "A Primer for Adults Only". Mine must have been published before all those impressionable children were tragically eaten by hippos.
This book is one of my all time favorites.
love the site. you have some of my families favorite books.
Thanks Lisa--if you have any other family favorites to suggest, please send 'em my way!
You read my mind--The Wolves in the Walls was next on my list! I agree, the illustrations are amazing... insane, but amazing.


21 February 2019. Dating for Boaters - Part 1.
Details on the heron, as found in my Birds of North America book.
Don't go for out dinner. That's expensive!!! You don't want to be thought of as a meal ticket.
Happy boating. Part Two follows.
Date: 28 February 2019. Dating for Boaters - Part 2.
I am very fortunate in that I can share my journey with others. I totally appreciate the readers and am humbled that so many would chose to spend time with me. Thank you!
In that regard, my website allows me to interact with online friends. You met one such couple in the Imaginary Friends IRL (in real life) article. Larry and Eva have a place south of here with their boat docked right out back. Life does not get much better, especially when readying a vessel for a long trip.
Larry and Eva aboard Bucky have a beautiful boat, the desire, and a plan. Soon they will be *doing the Loop.
Soloists such as myself often start out on this journey quite content with our status. After all, we have worked hard to succeed and now have the boat of our dreams. Of course there is work to do to. There always is.
Being at anchor diminishes the possibility of potential visitors a lot!
boat at anchor and alone is not going to happen.
I don't believe guys think about personal safety as much as women. Men are physically stronger. Thus gals tend to be more cautious in situations that are secluded.
enjoy boating activities. It is a part of the culture. To locals your life choice is likely to be considered normal.
Most of us have seen the scary movies that depict seemingly wonderful guys who turn into murderous crazies. Wasn't there one called Dead Calm many years ago? I'm sure there are others however I don't watch things like that.
Most of the time when I visit another boater I come via either Algae or Seaweed. I provide my own transportation. That is because I can then leave at will without bothering or relying on someone else.
In new or uncomfortable situations feeling safe is a priority.
Being able to leave immediately offers me a sense of well-being.
One of the advantages of having a smaller boat is that she's portable. I can go places far easier than if Seaweed were a 40'er. It is a simple matter to raise the anchor and come by for a visit. Having a reliable engine has made a world of difference. I am truly blessed.
You can ameliorate that concern (going out to a boat at anchor) by bringing your vessel to a dock.
I bring Seaweed into the dock at the local McDonald's. Nearby the American Legion has live music regularly.
Number Two: Bars are out, unless you are looking for an individual who drinks too much. Women and men of substance do not spend extended time in bars.
different kettle of fish. That is entirely fine.
Be aware that alcoholism is an issue when folks get or feel isolated. Don't let that happen to you!
You may have noticed a prejudice against excessive booze from me. That is because over time I have seen all too many cruisers who fall into the bottle when things don't go according to plan. I worry about those single folks with no one to "pull them back from the edge" when times are difficult. Couples don't seem quite so vulnerable.
birthday that happened to coincide with St. Paddy's Day.
combination birthday / St. Paddy's Day shindig involving corned beef and cabbage too.
What do women like? Any number of things. I like reading. Before Kindle, I spent a lot of time in libraries. Now Amazon and Gutenberg are my suppliers. That said, libraries are more than just repositories of knowledge.
Kelly helped me set up the Verizon tablet with OverDrive. I love that tablet!!!
Now I can borrow eBooks without leaving my boat, for free! Having a tablet is Tremendously wonderful.
I am so happy for the Verizon tablet I enjoy. It is an amazing device. The world of Sci-fi is a reality now.
The local library here in Madeira Beach (Gulf Shores branch) offers a writers group meeting each Monday morning at ten. I might stick around after the meeting and socialize if I wished. There are other groups who meet at the library.
have to offer. You might be pleasantly surprised. I was!
When I was in Carrabelle the LIBRARY ↓ was a favorite of mine. I spent many hours there.
Here in St. Petersburg we are blessed with Haslam's Book Store. It is truly the best book store I have ever been in.
The Book Store - Haslam's in St. Pete vignette tells you about that fine establishment.
I had the most fun in that store. As a plus, it is near enough to the waterfront to be an easy Uber away.
Finding an interest you can share with another person is the start of a friendship. Any relationship that thrives seems to revolve around mutual curiosity. People who can enjoy time together and apart seem to be happiest. That's why having the right boat (or two boats!) is important for success in this life.
Solution: Bring your boat to the dock!
Well, I've run on at the fingertips again. More in this series will be upcoming very shortly.
I'd love to hear what criteria you find Absolutely Imperative.
And, have you picked out one particular brand and size that suits you?
A favorite aphorism: Life Rules: #1) If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it. #2) If you do not ask, the answer will always be no. #3) If you do not step forward, you will remain in the same place.


Beautiful hand made cosmetic / handbag mirrors these super little mirrors have pictures on the front which are painted on leather, they decpict traditional scenes in the old Persian style. The colours are bold and delightful.
Kasmir boxes handcrafted in India with beautiful vibrant colours are the ideal gift for those with lots of little bits, perfect for earrings, belly bars.


text:
At LDF's Urging, Florissant City Council Approves New Redistricting Plan
At LDF's Urging, Florissant City Council ...
On May 23, 2016, in response to more than a year of advocacy by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the Florissant City Council voted to approve a redistricting plan that will strengthen the ability of the city's Black residents to elect the representatives of their choice and ensure that Florissant's voting districts comply with the constitutional principle of "one-person, one-vote."
"The events in Ferguson demonstrated the critical role that municipal governments play in the day-to-day lives of Black St. Louis County residents," said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of LDF. "Florissant's decision to help ensure that all residents have a fair and equitable voice in their local government is encouraging."
After the August 2014 killing of Michael Brown and the subsequent protests in Ferguson, LDF sought to identify and address the various systemic hardships faced by Black communities in St. Louis County. LDF's investigation revealed that Florissant's voting districts not only violated the one-person, one-vote rule, but were also structured in such a way that it was difficult for Black voters (who make up about one-fourth of Florissant's population) to elect their preferred candidates to the City Council. As a result, no Florissant City Council member has ever been Black. LDF worked in partnership with the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, the Mound City Bar Association, the Black Leadership Roundtable, and Clergy United to urge the Florissant City Council to ensure that its voting districts conform to the requirements of the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.
"Florissant's City Council oversees all aspects of the city's governance, including law enforcement and other matters of public health and safety," said Victorien Wu, Fried Frank Fellow at LDF. "We are pleased that, going forward, Black residents will have a greater opportunity for meaningful representation on that body."
The City Council worked closely and cooperatively with LDF and its partner organizations throughout the redistricting process. In January 2016, the Florissant City Council created a redistricting commission and began the process of redistricting its voting districts. After receiving substantial input from LDF and its partner organizations, the commission completed its work in early May. The redistricting plan that the commission recommended was approved by the City Council. By meaningfully increasing the number of Black and Latino voters in two of the City Council's districts, the new plan will put voters of color in those districts in a stronger position to elect their preferred candidates. LDF thanks the City Council and the members of the redistricting commission for their hard work.
"As the largest city in St. Louis County by population, Florissant is setting an example for the region," said Deuel Ross, Assistant Counsel at LDF. "We hope that other cities will follow suit by also looking for ways to make their local government more responsive to communities of color."
LDF and its partner organizations will continue to work with the city to ensure that all of Florissant's residents have a meaningful voice in local government.
Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation's first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Cricket Australia issues apology after India players allege racist abuse from crowd during third Test
Mohammed Siraj and his Indian team mates complain to umpires
Credit: Shutterstock
Cricket Australia apologised to the India team on Sunday after visiting players alleged they had been racially abused by part of the crowd during the third Test at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Media reports said India captain Ajinkya Rahane spoke to the umpires at the end of the third day's play on Saturday after quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj complained of hearing racist slurs while fielding near the boundary rope.
In a statement, CA condemned all "discriminatory behaviour" and said they would act against anyone found to have been guilty of vilification.
"As series hosts, we unreservedly apologise to our friends in the Indian cricket team and assure them we will prosecute the matter to its fullest extent," Head of Integrity and Security Sean Carroll said.
"Once those responsible are identified, CA will take the strongest measures possible under our anti-harassment code, including lengthy bans, further sanctions and referral to (the) police."
Venues New South Wales, which operates the stadium, said CCTV footage was being reviewed to assist the investigation and that any fans identified as engaging in racial abuse would be banned from the SCG and other major stadiums in Sydney.
According to the International Cricket Council's anti-discrimination policy, it falls to CA to investigate the incident and submit a report to the global governing body within two weeks.
A man was banned from attending cricket matches in New Zealand for two years after being found guilty of abusing England fast bowler Jofra Archer during a 2019 tour.
Play at the SCG was stopped on Sunday while a group of fans in the socially-distanced crowd were removed from their seats by police after a complaint from Siraj.
Rio Ferdinand gives verdict on Man Utd's Premier League title chances
Sam Kerr exclusive interview: Moving to Chelsea has given me everything I ever wanted
EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt slams 'w****r' driver who chased him during bike ride
Love Island star slammed for face mask bikini and 'f*** Covid vaccine' rant
HempStashNews |


This has been a tough year. Personally, professionally, and, well, in general.
Where to begin. My grandmother died (as did my Uncle Wayne) and among other talents we lost Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Prince and the guy who played Preacher in Firefly*. Also: Mythbusters went off the air and The Nightly Show was cancelled when we needed them the most.
And I didn't even get to the election.
But before we join the voices of Amy Schumer, John Oliver and others who are rightfully extending the middle finger to the calendar year let's realize that not only were there some good things about 2016 (Visiting Japan, biking in the UK and Cranksgiving San Jose to name a few) there are better things to do than find a baker willing to put a swear word on a New Year's Eve cake.
One of the cool things that happens when you move to a new city is you meet new people. An even cooler thing is when you meet new people and find out they also know other people you've already met.
Like Cellista, the cellist who the founder of Cowgirl Bike Courier once carried on a cargo bike while she was performing. I met her through him - but also know her through Be The Change Yoga in San Jose (And regular yoga is a good thing - I'd be in a Nerf Hilton if not for Be The Change).
Tonight, from 6 - 7pm there is a Flow class and Cellista is performing live. Hear the music. Move your body. Sign up here.
After listening to the talented Cellista, take off your yoga clothes and put on the ugliest Christmas sweater you can find so you can join San Jose Bike Party's Ugly Sweater Ride at 7:30. It starts at the Children's Discovery Museum parking lot at 180 Woz Way so you'll easily be able to bike that distance from Be The Change in time to catch the start. It'll be a great chance to see bikes (and people's homes) decorated in Christmas lights.
In the event you do not have an Ugly Christmas Sweater I highly recommend MoonZooom on 1630 West San Carlos Street. There is a bike rack right out in front and a generous selection of so-bad-they're-good Christmas sweaters inside (that's where I got the picture).
Since my 'No Words' Sandy Hook ride I did in Connecticut a week after that horrible day in 2012, I try to donate at least one toy at a toy drive every Sandy Hook anniversary. That's what I did on Wednesday.
In general, it feels good to shop for a toy (I always buy one I'd be excited to play with as a kid) and realize a child you never met is going to have a happier Christmas because of you.
I bought my toy - I opted for a Knex kit since I was raised on Capsella and Robotix as a youth - at Target. As always a cargo bike is a perfect way to not only avoid fighting for parking spots but also carry your stuff home.
At home, I switched to faster equipment - my city bike - and took off to Hub's Coffee on Blossom Hill Road.
When I got inside I was pleased to see the bucket they were using to collect donated toys was overflowing, and I hope visitors to Hub's between today and Saturday make it overflow even more and catch Santa's visit (he'll be at Hub's on Saturday, December 17th from 1 - 3; follow Hub's on Facebook for more details).
This is taking place on Thursday, December 22nd between 8am and 6pm at Sacred Heart Community Service at 1381 S. 1st St.
I've seen pictures of bike builds done at Elves & More in Texas and always thought they looked fun. This is a great chance to take part in one and help kids get one of the most important gifts in their lives. Volunteer to help Good Karma Bikes' mechanics and unload bikes with any one (or more) of three shifts: 8am - noon, 11am - 3pm and 2pm - 6pm. You can sign up for a shift on the Good Karma Bikes' web page and email Collin@goodkarmabikes.org if you have any questions.
We can spend the last two weeks of the year being miserable about the previous fifty or we can stand up, listen to music, wear ugly Christmas sweaters, have fun and #Make2016GreatAgain by helping people who are having a much worse year than any of us. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.
* His name was Ron Glass - some of my older readers know him from Barney Miller.
This post is about Cranksgiving San Jose but it needs to begin with this message: two days prior to this amazing event, a man named Leonardo Jeronimo was killed when an out of control SUV crashed into the Alliance Credit Union office at Curtner Avenue.
I did not know Leonardo - who was doing his job (painting the office) at the time of his death. But one of main organizers of Cranksgiving San Jose knew him, and the weight of what had happened to Leonardo - who was married with five children - was visible when I saw this person the next day.
A fund has been established to help Leonardo's family. Please donate something then share the link.
You know those feel-good stories about a fundraising record that is completely smashed? Let's be that story. Please help Leonardo's family. Thank you.
Cahalan Park, November 13th, 2016 - the first Cranksgiving in San Jose.
In case you're joining DIYBIKING.COM from a long absence: I signed on as a sponsor and as a volunteer for Cranksgiving San Jose. Cranksgiving is an annual bike-based food drive that originated in New York City in 1999 and even though I had done a few deliveries to food banks on a bikes before, this was my first time involved in Cranksgiving.
Thanks to an invite from Cain, the owner of San Jose's Cowgirl Bike Courier, I got to be among a small handful of eclectic cyclists at the kickoff meeting run by Erin - who started the initiative here in San Jose in the first place (and, who I quickly learned, was an organizational and inspirational Jedi Knight).
At the first meeting we all introduced ourselves and were charged to find sponsors. I became a sponsor myself (as DIYBIKING.COM) and reached out to Good Karma Bikes, which signed on as well. Hub's Coffee was already on as the presenting sponsor and others were able to get gifts and other support from a wonderful and a wide-ranging list of organizations. The idea was there would be prizes for two divisions - speed and heavy haul - and raffle gifts too.
Next came promotion. I was given full run of Cranksgiving San Jose's Facebook page and over an episode and a half of 'Breaking Bad' I hand-lettered my bike trailer and made Cranksgiving 'business cards' to hand to people who'd ask me about it (and they did) and of course spoke loudly and often at the Bay Area Cargo Bike Festival.
As I did last year when helping Good Karma Bikes promote their move to their location on Lincoln Avenue, I reached out to several Silicon Valley journalists I've met - including Garvin Thomas of NBC Bay Area News - to try and sell them on the concept of covering Cranksgiving San Jose.
While the other volunteers were recruiting riders and gathering some impressive donations to be used as prizes, I missed the meeting where the central goal was to plan the manifest - which is the top secret list of grocery stores one could visit. When Cain pointed that out to me when I saw him at the Cargo Bike Festival, I realized I could not only volunteer and sponsor - but also participate.
In the days leading up to the event I engaged in some last-ditch efforts to get reporters to come. And it was last Friday afternoon when Garvin Thomas sent me a note asking me about our Saturday planning meeting as well as the event itself. About to sit and watch the incredibly important documentary 13th, I quickly jotted down my response, gave Erin a headsup, and put the phone on silent for the movie.
The next day I attended the planning meeting at Hub's Coffee and was delighted not only that the T-shirts that were made looked fantastic but we had a lot of prizes donated thanks to the sponsors.
Garvin was also there filming and we also had several great students from San Jose State University who were attending the meeting and would be volunteering the day of the event. My chief function that day was to help bag prizes and sort T-shirts so half could be sold at the registration table at Cahalan Park and the rest at a table at Hub's Coffee, which was where we were meeting and where the event would end. I liked seeing DIYBIKING.COM on the back of a T-Shirt (which, for those of you who are considering becoming a sponsor for an event like this, is good enough reason to do so).
The day of the event I rode my homemade California cargo bike and trailer to Hub's Coffee to drop the latter off so it could be used at the weigh-in area as a sign. With an improved drag coefficient - and two blue IKEA bags strapped to my cargo bike for my groceries - I set off to Cahalan Park to register.
Because everything was under control there wasn't much for me to do as a Cranksgiving sponsor or a volunteer. But there was one thing I could do as a participant: study the manifest and plan my route.
Even though I was entering the Heavy Hauler competition and theoretically didn't have to race against the clock like the Speed people were, I wanted to return as quickly as possible to remove my participant hat and put my sponsor/volunteer one back on.
I studied the manifest which included a list of sixteen grocery stores (we had to pick a minimum of four to go to) and a list of specific food items that we were charged to get. As a person who has lived in San Jose for seventeen months I had been to maybe two of the stores - and I barely knew where they were. Briefly I was reminded of the stressful summer of 2015 when I couldn't travel further than five miles from my home without using a GPS.
With little power on my phone and no regard for my data plan I punched in a few of the addresses in a halfhearted effort to find the shortest route. I ended up making guesstimates as to what route would get me to the four stores I chose the fastest, and reasoned that if I could buy just over the minimum - four items - at the first three stops and just overload my bike at the last one to minimize carrying a lot of weight over a large distance. I also, of course, decided to go to the furthest grocery store first.
I had a lot of confidence in myself. When I was a kid growing up in Connecticut my dad and I did all of the grocery shopping. On Saturdays we'd go in our Ford Econoline van to a store, and he'd tear off a page of a tractor-fed dot matrix printout of the grocery list which had (and I swear this is true) a list of common food items organized by which aisle in the grocery store they were found in.
This list, perpetually affixed to the refrigerator with a magnet, would enable one to use a nearby yellow highlighter to mark food item the family needed. With a printout in hand, I'd weave through the aisles gathering grated cheese, milk, or whatever it was I was charged to find and then locate my father so we could either finish shopping together or he could tear me off a new page of the list that I could try to tackle alone.
So yeah: going in I thought I had this in the bag.
My confidence did become rather dented at the sight of a couple of Yuba cargo bikes - and the arrival of this three-wheeled ringer.
Before I could even the odds by lashing an empty Dumpster to the back of my cargo bike, we closed in on the 1:00pm hour and were instructed to leave our bikes under a tree and gather on a nearby hill. Using a borrowed bullhorn that she quickly realized was unnecessary, Erin gave a stirring speech to the crowd while Garvin's camera rolled.
Then, we were off and running down to the hill to mount up.
I hastily threw a few of the pictures I took onto the Cranskgiving Facebook page and jumped on my bike. The first place I wanted to go was a Lucky's a few miles south. Under a beautiful sky and among a few other cyclists who had also chosen that location as the first stop, I raced ahead and locked up out front.
Upon entering, I immediately noticed I wasn't the fastest. A couple of cyclists were already in line at the checkout and a few more were race-walking through the aisles to find the approved food items. I had to admit it was intoxicating to enter a grocery store with the lens of a game show contestant instead of trying to remember if I had milk or not (NBC's Janelle Wang later mentioned on the air that Cranksgiving San Jose looked fun and I can assure her: it is - and I hope you follow Cranksgiving San Jose on Facebook and do it with us next time).
I grabbed the first items I found that were on the approved list - four cans of pineapple and four boxes of spaghetti - and headed to the express lane.
Even though I knew I wasn't, technically, racing the clock, I was still feeling a spot of panic when my self-checkout counter malfunctioned.
There was nothing I could do but wait for a very nice attendant to walk over and ask me a familiar question. For the last time, Lucky's: No I am not collecting the stamps! I'm not even sure what they are. Postage? I'm not collecting them so please stop asking me! I'll keep shopping there because you have the good sense to make all the different blends of coffee the exact same price - but leave me out of the stamp thing!
Outside, I realized what my personal bottleneck was going to be. The bungee cargo netting I keep on my cargo bike at all times kept trying to pull the spaghetti into my spokes. As much as I use the bike for my own grocery trips I've never carried food in shapeless IKEA bags before. I felt I was struggling with a bean bag chair filled with rocks.
Once I arranged the food so it wouldn't create a spaghetti incident (hey - that sounds like a great name for an album, doesn't it?) I headed off to the next store - Lunardis.
Here I ran into even more cyclists, and we all had that frenzied, hurried, and happy look on our faces. After grabbing more food (I ruled out graham crackers since I worried my bike's stiff ride would turn them into graham cracker atoms by the time I finished) I checked out without incident and, after remounting, got ready to make a U-turn as several other bicycles - including the pedal powered Doof Wagon I've seen at San Jose Bike Party Rides - turned in the other direction using the right lane (the picture below is the one I took at the start).
I've seen it at San Jose Bike Party and it looks even better at night. And yes that is a fog machine.
When I finally arrived at Sprouts I took a GoPro inside as to capture the spectacular drama and breath-holding action that can only be described as grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon. Other shoppers gave me a noticeably wider berth - especially as I gave running commentary. As with Lunardis I ran into other friendly Cranksgivers as I hurried along.
Finally, it was time to go to Chavez Supermarket on Blossom Hill Road, which is in the same plaza as Hub's Coffee. Unfortunately, I became lost on the way there and ended up pedaling over two miles to correct my mistake. When I finally arrived at Chavez, I found the front jammed with bicycles belong to other Cranksgivers - meaning I wasn't alone in my load-up-at-the-last-stop strategy.
I pulled out my now wrinkled, sweat-covered manifest and zeroed in on food items I didn't already collect. I could hear my sneakers scuffing on the floor more than I did at the first store. I was running low on power.
I got a shopping trolley and picked up more food than I had gathered on my first three stops combined, scanning the aisles for empty cardboard boxes I thought would be easier to attach to my cargo bike. Finding none, I figured exactly how much food would tear through an IKEA bag - and subtracted one can of peanut butter.
In line, an ecstatic cyclist ahead of me was explaining Cranksgiving to the amused young grocery clerk, whose smile got bigger as their exchange went on.
When I finally made it outside, I again played grocery Tetris to make sure all my food - I had no idea how much I had gathered at this point - would stay in place. I mounted up and pedaled to Hub's Coffee.
"Another heavy hauler!" Someone shouted excitedly.
I braked and was nearly out of breath due to the cumulative efforts to gather this much food. The tireless and inspiring Erin helped balance my food on the borrowed scales while Garvin Thomas filmed the event. I briefly handed over my receipts to prove in fact I had traveled to the shops on the list to get my food.
A moment of panic hit when I realized I couldn't find my manifest. Lucky for me a cyclist I had never met before (who arrived moments after I did) handed it to me with a smile, saying I had dropped it while in line at Chavez.
My weigh in for the very first Cranksgiving I had ever taken part in was 49.7 pounds. I had nothing to compare that figure to so I could only wonder if I could top that next year. Again I asked Erin, Cain and the owner of Hub's if I could help with anything and they - and the fantastic San Jose State University students - assured me I didn't need to put my volunteer hat back on just yet.
I entered Hub's so I could plug in my dying phone and recharge with food and a cold drink from one of the incredible staff members. While inside, I watched as more food came in and was placed inside the drums Second Harvest Food Bank had provided. The contents of what I saw gave me hope that this was going to be a successful first Cranksgiving San Jose.
I stood near the front of Hub's taking photos for the Cranksgiving San Jose Facebook page and was in awe. Riders from all ages, many races and, judging by the equipment they were dismounting - many income tax brackets were coming in. It made me smile for the first time in nearly a week. On social media I've seen the #WeAreSanJose hashtag but never really felt like I knew what it mean until that afternoon at Hub's Coffee.
Even though the sun was beginning to set nearly all of the riders stayed for the awards ceremony. I came in a distant third in the Heavy Haul competition but it was much more fun watching it all and learning just how much food we had all gathered for Second Harvest Food Bank. All of us began looking at each other and realized the same thing: cyclists getting together to use their bikes for good is the prize.
That and gathering enough food to dent the earth's crust.
Thanks to the amazing generosity of the sponsors there were more than enough prizes to go around. With laughs and till-next-year promises, the celebration at Hub's came to a close and we all got together to pack everything up. A couple of days later, Garvin Thomas' fantastic segment on Cranksgiving aired as a Bay Area Proud feature.
Today, as I write this, I am feeling Cranksgiving withdrawal. And today, as you read this, you may be feeling sorry that you missed it. But if you are in a city that hasn't had Cranksgiving yet look on the Cranksgiving web site to find one near you. I was a sponsor, volunteer and participant. It's easy to do just one of those if you prefer.
If you live in San Jose and want to make sure you don't miss it in 2017, like Cranksgiving San Jose on Facebook and remember: nothing is stopping you from getting on your bike and bringing donations to a food bank like Second Harvest or participating in NBC Bay Area's own food drive - Feed the Need - which is going on this weekend.
You can also find Second Harvest Food Bank drums to put food in at your local Safeway. Not only that but Hub's Coffee is having a special deal until November 20th: bring in a non-perishable food item and get 15% off a hot coffee.
If you're like me, you may feel as though a lot of humor and humanity was lost over the course of 2016. Cranksgiving and efforts like it (and any decision you make to #LeaveTheCarTakeTheBicycle to do some good) are a great way for all of us to get some of that humanity back. Mount up and do that right now - and make a donation for Leonardo's family before you go. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.
Note: If you are upset, angry, tired or depressed at the result of the election - as I noticed in downtown San Jose last night - please put your energy toward Cranksgiving San Jose - which is a bike-based food drive in San Jose on Sunday. You can register here.
And if you are pleased, euphoric, happy or exhilarated at the result of the election put your energy toward Cranksgiving San Jose on Sunday. You can register here.
Even if the 2016 election ended another way, there is always talk of unity when one wins and the other is defeated. Hunger doesn't care if there is a 'D' or an 'R' next to your name. Hopelessness doesn't either. Let's come together Sunday, smash expectations and set an example for how people can unite to help the least fortunate of Silicon Valley. Thank you.
I got to do the Bay Area Cargo Bike Festival last year and loved every minute of it. I met interesting people (one was the owner of Box Bike Collective, who later lent me his excellent signature product which I wrote a two-part review of last year) and I walked away inspired. I wanted to do the same this year but with a twist: I wanted to peddle some of my artwork and promote the bike-based food drive, Cranksgiving San Jose, which is coming up this Sunday Nov. 13th. I arranged to have a tent and table at the Cargo Bike Festival with the hardworking founder of the event, Rene.
There was one problem: I was sick the previous week with one of those colds that tries to waterboard you with your own boogers from the inside.
The entire week I slept little. I ate little. I biked not at all.
I also didn't make any new welded artworks - and I had set aside the week so I could do so. But I was so tired just pulling my Lincoln Electric MIG welder out would require a spotter. As I closed in on the festival I began to worry I'd have a blank table - or worse, an empty parking spot at the San Jose Armory where my table should be.
But by Saturday I felt like I was on the mend. So much so I was sure I could honor Rene's request that participants should bike to the festival and not drive. This meant I had to carry - on my homemade cargo bike and on my trailer - my large folding table with metal legs, a 10' x 10' pop-up shade, several photographs that were in glass frames (some of which were last seen hanging at Lorca in Stamford during my show in 2014), a Christmas wreath made from the old front wheel of my City Bike and leftover Halloween candy (to my credit: mostly Kit-Kats). I also wanted to give people who visited my table as well as front and rear reflective stickers I wanted to give away to anyone who wanted more visibility for their bikes.
That morning I practiced loading the bike up to see how well I could balance it. With the huge metal table jammed on one side it would absolutely not be balanced but I was pretty sure I could ride the 11.9 miles across the city of San Jose safely.
I left an hour and a half before the festival would start to give myself - I hoped - plenty of time to get there. Realizing I was giving my creation (and myself) the ultimate test of strength, I set off.
The bike and trailer moved slowly, but silently. It felt heavier than the 4 x 8 sheet of plywood I carried on the Bikeducken in Connecticut three years earlier. A few miles in I noticed a corner of the table would scrape against the pavement when I'd make left turns.
But I was still biking.
Since I had taken a Claratin before setting off my snot rockets were at a minimum. I could hear birds singing. I could smile back at the women walking their dogs on my route. I had clean air to breathe. I didn't have to worry about a parking spot. I didn't have any concerns about fuel. I was getting exercise.
And I was enjoying myself.
I did have some concern over my cargo trailer, which was where I had put my framed photographs. They were cushioned but I never realized how bumpy railroad tracks were - and how many of them crossed my path on the 11.9 mile ride - until that day.
I made it to the festival fifteen minutes before the start. When I applied the brakes I felt happy I had made it though I was disappointed in the unintentional littering I had done on the way up (my oak tag and electrical tape #BayAreaCargoBikeFestival sign had fallen off somewhere along the route).
As I unloaded, more people showed up. A guy who was already there who I had never seen before started to help me set up my 10' x 10' tent even though I didn't ask him to. After it was up he left giving me a smile but not saying a word.
Thanks to my cold, I didn't have enough artwork to fill the table (but all of my photographs made it to the festival unbroken!) However, the day before, I came up with a plan: recalling the 2x2 matrixes I learned about as a research analyst at Kennedy Information - the first job I got when I graduated from college which required me to study the management consulting industry - I put forth the question: What is the strangest/heaviest thing you've ever created on a cargo bike? The stranger the item was the higher it would be written on the scale. The heavier it was the further to the right it would be.
Just like last year I had a great time at the festival meeting fabricators, manufacturers and just fun people who take the #LeaveTheCarTakeTheBicycle concept to the next level.
I also discovered that the bike-powered smoothie thing (you can ride a bike hooked up to a blender) is an an actual thing you can buy: Fender Blender Mundo from Rock the Bike.
In addition to bike-powered nutrition, I hoped anyone attending would think to themselves that carrying stuff in a small bag from the grocery store or the farmer's market wouldn't be a big deal in comparison.
Even though my voice behaved like an ornery lawnmower that wouldn't start on the first pull, I spoke as often and as loud as I could about Cranksgiving San Jose and answered as many questions as I could about it while guiding people to my 2x2 matrix.
It was truly enjoyable to watch people think about the strangest and heaviest things they've carried and write it down on the matrix. A couple of people wrote 'groceries' down on the lower left corner. Further up the 'heavy' scale was one of my favorites: '1 husband and two kids' - and the woman who wrote that got bonus points for doing the math and showing her work (carrying the '2' and everything).
When Cain, the founder of Cowgirl Bike Courier (and another sponsor of Cranksgiving San Jose) showed up, he stared at the matrix for a long time - as though it was one of those hidden image posters and he was trying to find the sailboat.
He arrived on his CETMA - a cargo bike I was familiar with before I had a chance to meet its owner. You know when a bike is stolen and a friend wants you to share the picture of it on Facebook? That's what happened - and I wrote about it last year for the bike-light maker, Blaze.
Cain wrote down two things: an 8 1/2' x 11' painting and, at the very top of the 'strange' scale - above 'worm bin' and also above 'old fashioned tube TV' - a performing cellist.
I believed him - but he sent me a picture anyway.
The cellist's name is Cellista and she is based in downtown San Jose. Check out her music, make sure you follow Cellista on Facebook and come to one of her shows.
Just like last year's Cargo Bike Festival - I was inspired.
Later on, when the event ended, I packed up everything back on my homemade cargo bike - and was thankful for a lamp post to lean it against as I secured my Grapes-of-Wrath-like load. Hoping to brake as little as possible, I pedaled off; working my way through downtown and heading south on Monterrey Boulevard.
And it was there, under a sky that was dark on my right but bright on my left, I saw something on the nearby sidewalk that caught my eye. I did the right thing and applied my brakes and came to a stop so I could pick it up.
Improbably, the sign I had taped to my bike that morning had been run over several times and, incredibly, skittered all the way over to the southbound lane of Monterrey Boulevard. I got to undo my littering wrong and bring it the rest of the way home. A ride I've done in 45 minutes on lighter equipment took an hour and fifteen - but I was still happy in my decision that morning to #LeaveTheCarTakeTheBicycle.
I'll write about cargo bikes and the matrix more at a later date but for now, I need to leave you - and hopefully leave you inspired to sign up and spread the word on Cranksgiving San Jose. It's been a divisive election season and a divisive result but it is time for us as cyclists (and human beings) to do something together for a common purpose. Some of you have been carrying a lot on your shoulders this week anyway - so why not add food for someone who needs it? Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.
*I'm pretty sure they invented this. Can't remember the exact person though. Michael Porter? Dominique Mars? It was somebody smart. I remember that much.
Reflectors on my shop floor - based on CETMA cargo bike used by Cowgirl Bike Courier.
The other day I read a piece in the San Jose Mercury News about the growing trend of the 'megacommute' (defined as a one-way drive to work of 90 minutes or more) of a lot of Silicon Valley workers.
I had a few problems with the article. Not at all with how well it was written or the validity of the points made, but the way we tend to look at our traffic problems as a side effect of economic growth instead of looking at it as what it is: a direct effect of our reliance on solo car travel.
And yes: more bike infrastructure won't mean much to someone who lives too far from work to pedal there. But if more people get out of their cars and onto a bike the commute for motorists gets easier - not harder.
In front of Moonbeans Coffee in San Jose with a Box Bike (photo is from last year when I wrote my review of the Box Bike). There is absolutely no bike rack to be found here so I don't go often.
I have pointed out - numerous times - that part of the greatness of bicycles is that they take up a lot less space than cars do. When we think about how San Jose and other cities are laid out there is a lot more room for a motor vehicle that is not in use than there is for a poor family that needs a warm place to sleep.
So in the interest of making life easier for yourself (I'm talking directly to the folks reading this who don't ride because they have a lot to carry) and for our community I suggest you visit the Cargo Bike Festival this Sunday. As last year, it'll be inspiring. You'll meet people who like to make, like to ride and want to show you how you can do both. There will be bikes for you to test ride and local businesses and non-profits represented. And when you start to hear and read stories about what people carry on their bikes, the more possible a ride to the grocery store to buy milk is going to seem.
I'll be there too - mostly talking up and trying to recruit more riders for Cranksgiving San Jose - that's still on Nov. 13th. and you can read the piece I wrote about it here.
The Cargo Bike Festival will be taking place Sunday, November 6th at the San Jose Armory at 240 N. 2nd Street from 11am to 3pm.
Please go and remember: the more you leave the car and take the bicycle the nicer a place to live in Silicon Valley becomes - and maybe this megacommute thing can become ancient history. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.
Back when I lived in Stamford, Connecticut (where I owned several bulky winter coats, seeing a Tesla was hey-look-at-that! rare and I had all the plastic grocery bags I could ever dream of) I brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner to a food bank in a bike trailer I made. I called it the DIYBIKING.COM Thanksgiving Dinner Challenge.
It became an annual occurrence for me, and before long People Friendly Stamford got involved. I named it Food Bank Biking, and decreed it would be an annual event done on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I did it in solidarity with People Friendly Stamford when I was in Cleveland one year. Last year, I loaded up my bike trailer brought food to Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose.
Not long ago, Cain, the founder of Cowgirl Bike Courier in San Jose, invited me out of the blue to a Cranksgiving planning meeting. From the invite, I learned it was a bike-based food drive that would benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.
From the Cranksgiving web site, I learned Cranksgiving had been first founded in New York and been around since 1999 - not only predating #FoodBankBiking by over a dozen years but that meant it started back when I lived in rural New Hampshire (and I weighed 25 pounds more than I do now, ate fast food procured by car several times a week and considered Applebee's a fancy dinner out).
The rules of Cranksgiving can vary from city to city, but the Twitter-ready version of what's going on in San Jose is this: cyclists get together at Cahalan Park, they are given shopping lists (manifests) of specific food items needed by Second Harvest Food Bank, they go out, lock up at different grocery shops, buy food, and meet back at Hub's Coffee to weigh it all.
Prizes may be awarded based on the time one finishes (safely - no prizes are given to those who ride recklessly to be the first one back) and other factors - such as the weight of the food they bring back - although the volume of all of the food put together is how everyone will measure the collective victory.
I already know the bike I'm using for this event.
But I'm not only a Cranksgiving participant, I'm also a sponsor.
This is the first year San Jose has done Cranksgiving and I'm doing promotion when and where I can. It happily got me back in touch with Good Karma Bikes (which, by the way, is having a used bike drive tomorrow - between noon and 2pm October 22nd at 460 Lincoln Avenue) who agreed to help sponsor the event too.
I've been to a couple of the Cranskgiving planning meetings already and as time goes on I'm still asking myself a key question that you may be asking yourself as well.
Why didn't I hear of Cranksgiving before?
It isn't at all unfortunate that cyclists don't all speak the same language*. But it's good to get involved with cyclists one doesn't normally pedal with and for those who are in established biking groups to invite outsiders to come in.
So what I want to do now is insist you should get involved too. There are plenty of good reasons - one of them is you get to focus on something on that doesn't involve the 2016 Presidential Election. That alone should get you to visit Cranksgiving San Jose's page to register for the event - which is November 13th at Cahalan Park at 1:00pm. Also, if you live in Silicon Valley and want to help promote the event, like the Cranksgiving San Jose page on Facebook and share it with your friends.
And you - yeah, YOU. Reading this in a faraway city. You usually ride alone but you're known to show compassion toward others. You know there are hungry people where you live and you want to help them. Visit the Cranksgiving page that shows you how to start one up in your town.
Remember the thirteen words: If you have a bike and can ride it safely, please ride it. If those thirteen words ring true for you, you can take part in Cranksgiving. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.
* I found out what an 'Alleycat Race' was about a week after I got confirmation of what 'On Fleek' meant.


text:
package worker

import (
	"unsafe"
	"reflect"
)
// b2s converts byte slice to a string without memory allocation.
// See https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/Golang-Nuts/ENgbUzYvCuU/90yGx7GUAgAJ .
//
// Note it may break if string and/or slice header will change
// in the future go versions.
func b2S(b []byte) string {
	return *(*string)(unsafe.Pointer(&b))
}

// s2b converts string to a byte slice without memory allocation.
//
// Note it may break if string and/or slice header will change
// in the future go versions.
func s2B(s string) []byte {
	sh := (*reflect.StringHeader)(unsafe.Pointer(&s))
	bh := reflect.SliceHeader{
		Data: sh.Data,
		Len:  sh.Len,
		Cap:  sh.Len,
	}
	return *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&bh))
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
DANGEROUS TOYS / BROKEN TEETH Frontman Jason McMaster Receives Star On South Texas Music Walk Of Fame
By Tokemaster General, Contributor
Thursday, June 9, 2011 @ 11:00 AM
Heavy metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER, BROKEN TEETH) was inducted into the South Texas Music Walk Of Fame on June 4th in his home town of Corpus Christi, TX. McMaster is the first metal artist to be honored by the South Texas Music Walk Of Fame.
Check out video of the induction below:
A photo of the star unveiling can be seen below:
A vocalist, bassist, guitarist, and songwriter with two gold-certified records under his belt, McMaster is notorious for being one of the busiest musicians in rock and roll. His rock and roll resume dates back to 1982, when he fronted influential progressive metal band Watchtower, later moving on to make headlines with the southern sleaze rock act Dangerous Toys. In recent years, Jason has been channeling his talent into the Austin-based hard rock act Broken Teeth, having released five albums since the band's formation in 1999; along with two albums from his NWOHB influenced band IGNITOR, and various tribute bands. His impact on the Texas rock and metal scene was previously recognized in 1998, with an induction into the Texas Music Hall Of Fame.
The South Texas Music Walk of Fame honors six new Texas artists every year, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that kickstarts the annual WaterStreet Market Music & Arts Festival in Corpus Christi, Texas.


text:
Rod Liddle - La Lotta Continua
Usually a Saturday just means the new Weekly Worker. But there's a super new slew of Rod Liddle links around, from his foul-mouthed wife bemoaning her "pathetically paid" HTV job to his Telegraph apologia. The more I read the sorrier I am about the breakup - people who can call their kids Tyler and Wilder were made for each other. Will any children by Alicia Monckton be called Harder, Faster and Deeper ?
And as for the horse, Strummer - that is perfect. Naming your horse - your horse ! - after the public school webel who sang the urban warrior but lived and died in rural Somerset. Show me a Clash fan and I'll show you some idiot politics.
But he's unfairly treated in the London News Review, in a story obviously written by a woman. A real misreading of the male psyche.
"It's one thing for Liddle to say that he fancies Keira Knightley. That would be an understandable, if predictable, statement. But what his ex-secretary and girlfriend doesn't want to read is that her lovely Rod is likening her to a 19-year-old film star. She wants to hear that he thinks she's beautiful, not that she looks like Keira Knightley. And she certainly doesn't want to hear him endorse the sad ladsmag sentiment: "Men always want other women."
It's all so horribly uncool, and – for such a lady's man – a real misreading of the female psyche. At the core of Liddle likening Monckton to Knightley is plain old lust. Lust for Keira Knightley."
Missing the point. Of course he shouldn't let her know that. But that it's lust for the (doubtless) lovely Alicia, with the added bonus that she has some filmstar resemblances, I have little doubt.
UPDATE - despite my remarks about the Clash, I do have fond memories of the 12-inch Magnificent Seven dance mix (aka Magnificent Dance), as heard in 1981 in the Lampione - a pub with (in those days) a tiny dance floor and only two records to play. Fortunately one was the Clash and the other was a James Brown live album. People danced every night to the same nine songs - but what songs !
Nice Story ...
What's your seat number, soldier?
It's 23-B, sir, the soldier told the businessman.
No, son, that's my seat. Yours is in first class.
As more soldiers boarded, similar offers quickly came from the other first-class passengers.
And eight soldiers heading home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R found themselves with their officers in the big seats up front instead of the center seats in coach.
U.S soldiers fresh from Iraq were surprised but grateful for the first-class seats on Flight 866 from Atlanta to Chicago.
That spontaneous act of good will transformed American Airlines Flight 866, from Atlanta to Chicago, on June 29.
Via Michelle Malkin from the Dallas Morning News. Registration required ? Just another chance to try this.
The Caves of a Thousand Buddhas
BBC news Department of the Bleeding Obvious tells us that some BNP members are racist or that there's corruption in Kenya (great speech though). Thank heavens, yet again, for the wondrous Mirabilis, with its tales of fat monks, chess and now the Dunhuang caves.
These of course are the caves described in Capt. W.E. Johns scholarly work 'Biggles In The Gobi'.
"Did you ever hear of the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas ?"
"No. That's a new one for me."
"Well, the place is pretty well known, although as it is practically inaccessible, few Europeans have seen it. It consists of a cliff honeycombed with innumerable caves, most of them interconnected and all wonderfully painted or decorated with images of Buddha. The whole place is artificial and of great age. It is believed that there are still secret recesses that no white man has ever seen. These particular caves, for there are many similar shrines in Central Asia, were first made known by the explorer Sir Aurel Stein in 1908 ..."
Capt. Johns seemed to be fond of that part of the world, as I pointed out here.
Mirabilis also links to this useful site, for people tired of registering for US news content. With its aid you can read the whole NYT story on the caves.
Posted by Laban at 7:16 am No comments:
Polly Toynbee ....
Defends parental rights in the great smacking debate.
"How dare the state force them? How dare anyone judge them?"
Oops - sorry. She's not talking about the right to smack children.
She's talking about the right to kill them.
Labels: Poll Pot
MRSA Update
Hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA are still rising. But they only kill about 5,000 patients a year, and our rulers are full of bright ideas on what to do about it.
Let's get some experts from abroad. When in doubt - hire a consultant.
Another good managerial solution - appoint a Director Of Infection Control at each hospital. Doubtless to be followed by an Assistant Director and a project team, monitors, facilitators and co-ordinators. And some secretarial support. And a PA or two. But there may be problems. Are there enough reserved car parking spaces ? And are there enough good quality hotels for all those away days, conferences and team-building exercises ?
The Guardian reports that the patients can do the monitoring of the wards. After all, they just lie around in bed all day, except those who are still on trolleys. Or in wheelchairs.
The Guardian also reports that the cause may be full occupancy of beds or (surprise surprise) shortage of funding (after all, we know how expensive soap is these days) or staff. Apparently when bed occupancy rises above 85%, so do infections. Simple solution then - buy some more beds and leave them empty !
On the other hand hospital staff could just wash their hands and clean the f*****g wards properly.
But apparently that sort of thing takes months or years. The Kent and Sussex hospital, which will be cleaner by Christmas, was killing patients with MRSA (and apologising for it) in 1996.
Hell Hath No Fury ....
One should not take pleasure in another's misfortune. Tee hee. But his fellow columnists have found plenty of copy in the Rod Liddle brouhaha. They're round him like flies round a cow's bottom, as we say in these parts.
The Spectator contributing editor and ex-editor of the BBC's Today programme seems to have been unable to resist the lure of all that posh Doughty Street totty, leaving his 40something wife for the 20something Alicia Monckton. I can't work out if she's related to Christopher (who sounds a thoroughly decent chap) and Di's mate Rosa. It's a long way from that field in Yarm or wherever, though I don't think our Rod ever kept whippets in the bath.
Spurned wifie, following the iron laws of retribution, sells story to Mail, the paper of contempt for the Today-editing classes. The Mail links are pay-for, but the Indie has the details.
Zoe Williams in the Guardian manages her usual thousand words of instantly forgettable drivel, but yet again it's Yazza who hits hardest. The Mail is your natural destiny, Yasmin. Don't fight it.
"Treacherous, and physically not unlike a malodorous mop in need of chucking out" - steady on, old girl. I always thought he had a touch of the Howard Marks myself.
UPDATE - 15/7
Even Mr Liddle himself is trying to get a few inches out of it. I like the bit about the Mail being a 'down-market tabloid'. There speaks the true voice of the middle-class Left.
Labels: Yazza
Portaloo ....
Gets the wet fish treatment from Oliver Kamm and Dumb Jon after his Sunday Times 'Vote Kerry' piece.
As usual, Oliver is Olympian, measured, full of historical references, lovely style. If that guy went to a State school I'll eat my copy of 'Adventures of Aeneas'. Jon's style is more like the guy who discovers that both pint AND girl have been pinched in the pub.
Yet he hits some parts that Oliver doesn't reach. Here's Oliver on Portillo on Abu Ghraib and its meaning.
"Michael Portillo maintains: "For America to brush away its recent disgraces, the electorate will have to bin this Administration."
Yet that is frivolous reasoning. The tortures and deaths in US custody require expiation, not just symbolically but practically, to the people of Iraq, in the form of due process and the rule of law. Those values, so traduced by American jailers, are exemplified in the arraignment before an Iraqi court of a despot whose regime was founded on torture and killing."
Absolutely. Correct. But Jon picks up on a point just as important and of more general application - the way in which the whole of the USA can apparently be tarred by what a couple of dozen of people in US uniform did at Abu Ghraib - yet a couple of dozen people slaughtering thousands in the name of Islam doesn't tell us anything about that religion. Some logical inconsistency in the thought processes of Portillo and many others. Apparently that kind of stereotyping is OK for them, but not for us.
"Look at the first few 'graphs, the faux-agony as Mikey finds himself forced - forced! - to criticise America. He doesn't want to, but now he's found out about the behaviour of a half-dozen trailer trash on a single day in November 2003, why, there's no choice. I'll give him that if he accepts that the events of a whole 19 Muslims on a certain day in 2001 say all we need to know about Islam. Oops no - that would be bigoted, whereas spinning the behaviour of six perverted 'tards into a broadbrush condemnation of the US is tres sophisticated."
And On The Twelfth I Love To Update The Blog My Father Wrote
Where's the biggest folk festival in Europe ? Sidmouth ? Cambridge ? Dranouter ?
Try again. Think (assuming you grew up with the Guardian and BBC) bone-headed bigots in bowler hats. Think flute and drum. Think the 12th July in Ulster.
I can't recommend highly enough Ruth Dudley Edwards' book on the Orangemen of Ulster The Faithful Tribe, a book which (combined with talking to Ulster exiles, very few of whom had two heads) changed my views on subjects like Drumcree.
Read it. Visit the Orange Net and see the Grand Masters of Togo and Ghana.
And on the 12th raise a glass of Black Bush to an epoch-making event - the first known Observer column to have a good word for the Rev. Ian Paisley.
"Observing the mayor of London greeting the Qatar-based Imam, I wondered if Livingstone would ever extend the same warm welcome to the UK capital for, say, the Reverend Ian Paisley. Isn't it funny that sections of the British left regard Christian fundamentalists such as Dr Paisley with total contempt but will open the doors to a man who describes suicide bombings of men, women and children as 'martyrdom in the name of God'?
Because for all Dr Paisley's faults and for all his church's illiberalism towards the gay community, the head of the Free Presbyterian Church does not implore his followers to, for instance, go out and murder homosexuals and lesbians."
For years even the 'moderate' left talked of Adams and Paisley as being more or less interchangeable, the 'two extremes' of Ulster politics. It's a travesty of the truth. Paisley has never supported, directly or indirectly, the murders and mutilations carried out by paramilitaries, let alone organising them as Adams and co. have done.
And he's one of the few great speakers left in politics. Read this Hansard debate and you can hear those rolling, judgemental, thunderous tones.
Rev. Ian Paisley: I am sorry, but I am not giving way. The hon. Gentleman will have to contain himself for once.
Let me tell the House that this matter is not about postponing the election. I noticed that many speakers used the word that I used in the first part of the debate—cancelling. This is a cancellation. If it were a postponement, we could have autumn defined. I ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who comes from Wales, a beautiful Principality that I dearly love, when autumn starts and ends in Wales. Perhaps at the end of the debate he will do so through the mouth of the Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office, who comes from Scotland. Then, I, an ignorant man from Ulster, will know when autumn starts and ends.
Blogger Appears To Be Crumbling Away ...
Judging by the sweets and radioactive squirrels appearing below, Blogger's servers have a hardware problem. More later ...
UPDATE - fixed. I gained an extra post full of Blogger HTML from God knows where. Found and deleted. Wonder if someone's got one of my posts on their blog ?
To Every Little Action ....
The anti-parent - sorry, anti-smacking campaign has long found greatest support in the most politically correct part of Britain - the Central Belt (sorry) of Scotland. Not that the inhabitants are particularly PC (far from it in my experience), but total left dominance has enabled the Scottish Parliament to host some particularly idiotic debates.
Already Dad's slipper and the clip round the ear have been consigned to the dustbin of history, and Scotland has an unenviable record on jailing tourists ('French children are so well-behaved') and sacking teachers for the grave offence of disciplining their own children.
I can't understand then why discipline in Scottish schools seems to be deteriorating so much. Look at the links from a report of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association conference last year.
This year the conference of the largest Scots teaching union, the EIS, is reported as follows :
"The issue of increasingly violent pupils dominated much of this morning's session at the EIS conference in Dundee's Caird Hall.
Against a background of rocketing attacks, despite "massive under-reporting" of such incidents, repeated calls were made for teachers to be able to go about their work without fear of assault.
Some estimates show an increase in assaults by pupils on teachers over the last year of 20%. These concern reported incidents only with no figures available on the actual number of incidents.
Larry Flanagan, of the union's Glasgow branch, told delegates that thousands of attacks were being made on teachers every year across Scotland and they were now in real need of protection. South Lanarkshire teacher Linzi Moore movingly described how violence in school had affected her entire life. She said it had shattered her confidence, reduced her to tears and reached a stage where she could not face going to work.
She said, "There must be effective sanctions against people committing these incidents."
EIS executive council member Willie Hart said education authorities had to face up to the problem and not just sweep it under the carpet."
I don't understand. If violence breeds violence, surely Scottish school discipline should be a marvel, given that the dominie's tawse went out in the 1970s (I was talking at the weekend to a native of Fife, who remembered abolition and the worst behaved boy in the school asking for (and being given) the headmaster's tawse as a souvenir).
PS - I've written before about the reluctance of anti-family organisations to provide evidence to support their campaigns, but here's one small and idiotic piece of research from the NSPCC.
"Discussions with more than 70 children aged four to seven indicated that children felt smacking reinforced cycles of violent behaviour and did little to help build up a positive relationship between parent and child."
I like that 'indicated'. Our old mate the cycle of violence comes out for a pedal, too. And apparently children had 'negative feelings' on the subject. I think that's the whole idea, actually, without getting too B.F. Skinner about it all. The research boils down to 'children don't like being smacked'. I'd be worried if the results were anything else.
Posted by Laban at 7:09 am 1 comment:
Here's A Health Unto Her Majesty
Who is this erudite blogger at God Save The Queen ? Posts about the Saxon kingdoms, the differences twixt empire and colony - and he doesn't seem to be a Robert Fisk fan.
If s/he keeps up the opening standard none shall be happier than I.
On Liberty and Liberals
Neat post by Expat Yank, who's posting lots of good stuff at present. Like John Lee's Boogie Chillun, 'it's in him, and it got to come out'.
" ... it was liberals who, post-September 11, were devoid of vision, and who were by far the more sour-faced. Most remarkably, it was conservatives who seemed more bent on defending "liberalism" than did liberals themselves.
What the heck had happened?! I wanted answers, and found liberals offering me none but "Bush is evil", or "Bush stole the election". Incredible."
(I was going to call this post 'Let that boy bloggie-woggie', but changed it after reading about the guy who said 'niggardly').
Posted by Laban at 11:21 am No comments:
Cash For Access
Remember good old Tory sleaze ? Archer, Hamilton, cash for questions - and an assortment of sex scandals, from the Alan Clarks and David Mellors to the guy with the orange in his mouth and the MP with the eighteen year old hostess as his researcher ?
The second issue's no problem for Labour - just front it out. So the foreign secretary felt able to house his mistress in Carlton House Gardens at the taxpayer's expense, Ben Bradshaw's significant other travels abroad with him (while we pick up the tab), and an MP who posts snaps of himself in his Calvins on a contact website, advertising for a good hard ****, reacts to questions with 'so what ?'.
And quite right too, you may think. Though Labour still seem to think sex is a problem when Tories are involved.
But in the real sleaze department Labour are making the Tories look like rank amateurs - which in a sense they were. Tory sleaze was a series of isolated acts carried out by individuals, which people like the Guardian replay again and again (for example, 11 Archer stories in the Guardian in one month last year).
According to Scotland on Sunday, Labour are more professional. Not only that, but they've managed to coopt one very senior Tory as well.
"It appears that if you want to have dinner with the likes of Mrs Tony Blair these days, £16,000 is the price tag.
That is the annual sum being charged by a remarkable new venture about to be launched in Scotland, which promises a unique chance for the elite of the business world to mix it with Britain's most powerful political names.
Meet the stiff entry requirements, stump up the cash and you gain entry to regular lunches and dinners with a veritable A-list of stars, including Cherie Blair, Gordon Brown, Alastair Campbell, Michael Howard, Lord Robertson and Douglas Alexander.
Is the Tory chairman happy for the party leader to be on this list ?
Those behind the new club believe it will be the perfect opportunity for elite business-types in Edinburgh and Glasgow to glad-hand with the influential."
The cash-for-access venture has been created by Baroness Mary Goudie, vice-chair of the Labour peers in the House of Lords.
Goudie herself rose to prominence in 1998 after being given access to another exclusive club by Prime Minister Tony Blair - the House of Lords.
The Labour donor had already become a key networker in London and Scotland as a public affairs consultant and as a major player in the voluntary sector.
Do we forget our friends in the media ?
BBC political editor Andrew Marr and world affairs editor John Simpson are lined up to speak, as is comic Clive Anderson and new BBC chairman Michael Grade.
What benefits will these people get for their 16K ?
"Not only will your network multiply overnight, but you will also have unique access to, and interface with, some of the most powerful figures in today's national and international arenas who will be guest speakers at our monthly events," she writes.
"These world-class speakers will share their views and briefings on current topics and give members access to a sphere of influence that is normally restricted and, we believe, unavailable anywhere else."
"The idea, in a nutshell, is to give you the most informed view of what's happening in today's business world in order to help share exponential success tomorrow."
Nothing, it seems, is too much for her clients. Greeting them for lunches or dinners - to be held in Edinburgh and Glasgow - will be Michael Shea, former press secretary to HM the Queen. Members will be able to request that they sit next to particular people in order to make the right inroads.
"We can also set up one-to-one meetings between most speakers and members," Aeolus' promotional material adds. And what's more, the group "can advise on making formal approaches to the public sector, regulators and politicians".
Although there is no suggestion of illegality, the revelation that Scottish business people are being offered the chance to pay to have access to some of the most influential people in Britain is bound to raise questions about elitism and cronyism.
You coul say that. Just a bit.
And On The Twelfth I Love To Update The Blog My Fa...


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Doctor Craig Beaumont was handsome, wealthy and dedicated to progressive medicine. But his ideas weren't always popular with the citizens of Beaumont, the town named after his grandfather. His campaign against a chemical factory close to the town's water supply was a case in point.
Craig's marriage to the spoilt, selfish Miranda was rumoured to be far from happy. When Miranda dies suddenly and mysteriously, the gossips get busy.
Rumours and charges were made against Craig. Angry and bitter, he decides to leave Beaumont, however his friends band together and discover the plot and plotters. When Craig finally learns the truth it does bring him close to murder – as he seeks the man who caused his wife's death.


text:
500 £10 Just Eat vouchers up for grabs as part of Deliver-Blue Monday
Eight things people will continue to do after restrictions are lifted
By Gemma Francis
Wednesday, 21st July 2021, 3:17 pm
Updated Thursday, 29th July 2021, 10:43 am
Attitudes and fears
Brits fully intend to continue wearing masks, fling windows open when people visit and keep their distance in the pub – in a bid to breathe in good clean air.
Detailed research of 2,000 adults revealed insight into attitudes and fears around getting back to normal in the months post-pandemic.
As many as 50 per cent will continue to wear masks for the foreseeable future, even though the government has said they are no longer compulsory.
A further 36 per cent will insist on sitting away from anyone they don't know in pubs and restaurants, while 28 per cent will still ask for a table outside and 24 per cent will insist on table service.
More than a third will open windows when others come round and 28 per cent of workers will insist the same is done at work.
And 52 per cent of those polled intend to maintain social distancing with those they don't live with.
It also emerged 57 per cent think the impact of Covid-19 has changed their views towards air quality in general forever.
Worried about returning to office
As a result, 40 per cent are concerned about the relaxation of social distancing when workers return to offices and other places of business.
And three in 10 admit they don't completely trust the ventilation at their workplace.
The research was commissioned by air conditioning experts Andrews Sykes, whose spokesperson said: "Prior to this pandemic, the main reason people had to worry about air quality was largely limited to pollution from cars.
"Nobody enjoyed walking alongside a busy road with large vehicles hurtling past, spouting out fumes.
"However, now the problem has really been brought closer to home – literally – by Covid-19, with awareness around clean air a huge issue for millions.
"As the nation starts to return to their offices or other places of business, clean air is going to be a really big priority."
UK's happiest and unhappiest towns unveiled - and it's all to do with the weather
Channel 4's new TV show sees contestants of all shapes and sizes baring all
Dairylea ad of children eating upside down banned over 'choking risk'
The Ramblers unveil a new identity to unite the community and encourage more walking
The Wanted singer Tom Parker has been diagnosed with terminal cancer at 32


Whether you want to experience one of our fantastic full weeks of camp, one of our jam packed min-camps, or slide into one of our winter camps, check out the schedules and register below!
Activate and Inspire experiences are available for all full week programs, Colossal Challenge is available for all full week programs except Accelerate. More information on these add-ons can be found here. The name of the camp is descriptive only – all full week programs are very similar (with the exception of our sports camp "JAM").
For more information about our program at Camp Wegesegum, please click here.


A tribute to Pono, Hawaii's first Courthouse Dog, was held at Mission Memorial Auditorium at noon on Thursday, July 12th.
Pono began working with the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney in June 2011 and maintained her post until succumbing to lymphoma last month. During Pono's seven years of service, she assisted literally hundreds of crime victims, witnesses, and their families.
Pono's greatest asset was her love for children and their love for her. Pono was a courthouse companion who gave countless kids the comfort and confidence they needed to testify in grand jury rooms and courtrooms. With Pono at their side, these young people mustered the strength necessary to help our office successfully prosecute people guilty of all sorts of crimes. There is no question Pono helped make Honolulu a safer place to live.
Pono was born in New Zealand in October 2007. She was trained by Assistance Dogs of Hawaii on Maui.
Pono was so effective the office of the Prosecuting Attorney is having another Courthouse Dog trained by Assistance Dogs of Hawaii. That two-year-old black Labrador retriever is expected to join our crime-fighting family in August.