Yesterday there was a news conference with Lisa Murkowski. The brains and brawn behind the Alaska Report attended and made this tape of a local Anchorage TV journalist who asked Lisa Murkowski to "Please state and spell your name." Then, "And for the record, your title."
I understand that many Americans cannot name their representatives or senators, but a journalist?! This is pathetic.
Dennis writes that Sen. Murkowski smiled when she saw him cracking up. Watch and listen for yourself. This is a sad day in Alaska journalism.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
LA to Portland
We got to the airport a bit early, so we walkedaround enjoying the beautiful weather.
The waterway breaking the beach goes into Marina del Rey.
Half Dome as we fly over Yosemite.
Welcome to Oregon.
Actually, the clouds broke up as we landed in Portland.
Our good friend Marty was there to pick usup and take us home for the night.
Surfing with Dolphins
We biked down to Venice Beach Thursday to enjoy the beautiful weather before heading back north again. The dolphins were out enjoying the weather too, along with the surfers.
There are no dolphins in this picture, just a guy about to catch a nice wave.Then we rushed off to visit our relatives and some friends. By the time you read this we should be in or near Portland.
Free Enterprise, Hard Times, and the Rules
Brian the WLA Bikeguy has a tiny bike shop in a garage on a residential street, but right close to a commercial street. Brian's a vet, he's been through hard times, but the VA has helped him through alcohol rehabilitation and he's set up this bike shop. He's also got good carpentry skills and I hired him to replace my mom's side gate. So I've been seeing a lot of him the last five days. He's bright and and knows a lot about a lot of things. He catches all the references I make whether it's art, music, geography, or history and drops his own set of references.
These are hard economic times. In addition we're trying to reduce the amount of energy we use to become less dependent on the middle east and to reduce global climate change. LA has lots of traffic.
So Brian gets used bikes - through thrift shops, Craigslist, and people he knows. He fixes the bikes and sells them for a small profit. This has a number of advantages to the community.
1. He's not homeless and he's feeding himself.
2. He's providing a recycling service - taking old bikes that would otherwise end up as junk and putting them back on the market.
3. He's providing a low cost option in hard economic times. Not everyone can afford $300 - $3,000 bikes. Brian provides low cost bikes which give people a means of transportation. In Southern California, the weather is not an issue, so people could ride more if they could get inexpensive bikes.
4. If enough people ride bikes, there will eventually be a critical mass where they are taken seriously and infrastructure is adjusted to make bike riding safer, more convenient, and a reasonable alternative to the car for many trips. As that happens, even more people will ride bikes.
(I would add here that Brian has made it clear to me that he is very careful about where his bikes come from. Bike theft is, apparently, an issue in the LA area, and he assures me that while he can't be 100% sure, he does his very best to stay away from hot bikes. He keeps receipts for the bikes he buys. Maybe he should take pictures of the bikes and sellers too.)
But Brian's garage which he gets cheap through a relative, isn't zoned for a shop. And essentially, this is, de facto, an underground business that doesn't pay taxes at this point. While other bike shops could complain it's unfair competition, I strongly suspect rather than taking away their customers, he simply offering a supply to people who otherwise wouldn't buy a bike. And as I said before, the more people ride, the more other people will see it's doable and will buy bikes. So the total demand should increase.
Given that the feds thought things were hairy enough to pony up hundreds of millions to prop up banks and car companies during hard times, doesn't it make sense to note the extraordinary times and look the other way for situations like this? Or even have an official waiver until the economy gets on its feet? Or until the Brians of the world have a little more solid ground underfoot? If the big boys can get a break, how about the little guys?
Sometimes some rules which in isolation make sense, don't make sense when taken into context of all the issues facing a community. I suspect that what Brian's doing is in the overall balance of things, a net gain for the community.
I'm not the only one who thinks vets should get a break. From Thursday's LA Times:
Brian's situation isn't exactly the same - but he's definitely a pedelar and arguably a peddlar.
The intent of the law is certainly the same - to help people, particularly disabled vets, to make a living in hard times.
Note: The cops have been by Brian's place a few times, so this post isn't blowing his cover. Instead of being shut down, he needs the police to work with whatever other agencies are out there to help Brian get to where they can accept what he's doing as in compliance.
These are hard economic times. In addition we're trying to reduce the amount of energy we use to become less dependent on the middle east and to reduce global climate change. LA has lots of traffic.
So Brian gets used bikes - through thrift shops, Craigslist, and people he knows. He fixes the bikes and sells them for a small profit. This has a number of advantages to the community.
1. He's not homeless and he's feeding himself.
2. He's providing a recycling service - taking old bikes that would otherwise end up as junk and putting them back on the market.
3. He's providing a low cost option in hard economic times. Not everyone can afford $300 - $3,000 bikes. Brian provides low cost bikes which give people a means of transportation. In Southern California, the weather is not an issue, so people could ride more if they could get inexpensive bikes.
4. If enough people ride bikes, there will eventually be a critical mass where they are taken seriously and infrastructure is adjusted to make bike riding safer, more convenient, and a reasonable alternative to the car for many trips. As that happens, even more people will ride bikes.
(I would add here that Brian has made it clear to me that he is very careful about where his bikes come from. Bike theft is, apparently, an issue in the LA area, and he assures me that while he can't be 100% sure, he does his very best to stay away from hot bikes. He keeps receipts for the bikes he buys. Maybe he should take pictures of the bikes and sellers too.)
But Brian's garage which he gets cheap through a relative, isn't zoned for a shop. And essentially, this is, de facto, an underground business that doesn't pay taxes at this point. While other bike shops could complain it's unfair competition, I strongly suspect rather than taking away their customers, he simply offering a supply to people who otherwise wouldn't buy a bike. And as I said before, the more people ride, the more other people will see it's doable and will buy bikes. So the total demand should increase.
Given that the feds thought things were hairy enough to pony up hundreds of millions to prop up banks and car companies during hard times, doesn't it make sense to note the extraordinary times and look the other way for situations like this? Or even have an official waiver until the economy gets on its feet? Or until the Brians of the world have a little more solid ground underfoot? If the big boys can get a break, how about the little guys?
Sometimes some rules which in isolation make sense, don't make sense when taken into context of all the issues facing a community. I suspect that what Brian's doing is in the overall balance of things, a net gain for the community.
I'm not the only one who thinks vets should get a break. From Thursday's LA Times:
For 16 years, Connell sparred with the state Board of Equalization over the interpretation of an 1872 statute exempting street peddlers who are disabled veterans from paying various taxes. This morning, he’ll celebrate his victory by giving away hot dogs and carving up sheet cakes decorated with the Stars and Stripes. Politicians who supported Connell’s cause will speechify on a platform set up at his Surf Dog stand, a cart commanding an ocean view that would be the envy of any five-star hotel.
“This was a real David-and Goliath struggle, and Bill never gave up,” said state Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Atwater), chairman of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee. “It’s an emotional issue for him and it’s an emotional issue for all veterans.”
Denham sponsored a bill, inspired by Connell, allowing veterans with service-related disabilities not to pay sales taxes when peddling things such as T-shirts, tacos and incense on the street. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law earlier this month.
Brian's situation isn't exactly the same - but he's definitely a pedelar and arguably a peddlar.
One who offers merchandise (as fresh produce) for sale along the street or from door to door (from Merriam Webster online.)
The intent of the law is certainly the same - to help people, particularly disabled vets, to make a living in hard times.
Note: The cops have been by Brian's place a few times, so this post isn't blowing his cover. Instead of being shut down, he needs the police to work with whatever other agencies are out there to help Brian get to where they can accept what he's doing as in compliance.
Seven Months, Ten Days in Captivity
New York Times journalist David Rohde's account of his capture by the Taliban appears in five parts in the Times. Besides being compelling reading, it also gives a glimpse of life in Taliban controlled territory in Pakistan - at least the small part a captive might experience. Here's a brief excerpt from Part I.
While one guard pointed his Kalashnikov at me, the other took my glasses, notebook, pen and camera. I was blindfolded, my hands tied behind my back. My heart raced. Sweat poured from my skin.For the whole story click here.
“Habarnigar,” I said, using a Dari word for journalist. “Salaam,” I said, using an Arabic expression for peace.
I waited for the sound of gunfire. I knew I might die but remained strangely calm.
Moments later, I felt a hand push me back toward the car, and I was forced to lie down on the back seat. Two gunmen got in and slammed the doors shut. The car lurched forward. Tahir and Asad were gone and, I thought, probably dead.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wisdom Springing out of the Garage
Sometimes too much of a good thing becomes problematic. My mom has always been careful about not wasting things and so many things got stored in the garage just in case she might need them. And she was often able to say, I've got just what you need and come out of the garage with the needed item. The one limit to storing things was that the car needed to fit in the garage. But her garage has been an inspiration for us to clean things out in our house. So, not without some conflict I was allowed, with close supervision, to clean parts of the garage while we've been here. Don't get me wrong, I know that things get harder to do when you get older and since my mom worked until just a couple of years ago, she didn't have that much extra time or energy to keep the garage cleaned out.
I'm afraid you have to look closely to see that there is a lot more space on this side of the garage. A lot has been thrown away, consolidated into smaller boxes, and/or given away. Some is still waiting to be given away.
Among the things we found were these little envelopes.
And these badminton rackets.
And these old magazines. I'm sure that someone would find use for these three things so I took pictures and posted them on Craigslist today. The people who can use these things haven't been reading Craigslist today.
I also came across this book I bought in Thailand long ago called Teaching Dhamma By Pictures: Explanation of a Siamese Traditional Buddhist Manuscript by Ven. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. There are 47 pictures which are explained. "Wisdom Springing Out of the Mud" is just one of them.
And this spider.
I'm afraid you have to look closely to see that there is a lot more space on this side of the garage. A lot has been thrown away, consolidated into smaller boxes, and/or given away. Some is still waiting to be given away.
Among the things we found were these little envelopes.
And these badminton rackets.
And these old magazines. I'm sure that someone would find use for these three things so I took pictures and posted them on Craigslist today. The people who can use these things haven't been reading Craigslist today.
I also came across this book I bought in Thailand long ago called Teaching Dhamma By Pictures: Explanation of a Siamese Traditional Buddhist Manuscript by Ven. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. There are 47 pictures which are explained. "Wisdom Springing Out of the Mud" is just one of them.
And this spider.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Eating with Friends and Eating Out
Monday night we had a last minute small feast served by Anchorage friends wintering in LA near their grandson. Thanks again J and B.
Tuesday night we ate at LAVegan, a tiny place, which also turned out to be Thai based but the menu reflected a wider range. We discovered this place Saturday night when we went to Casa Sanchez which is across the street. Tonight Sanchez was so quiet - compared to Saturday - that we really weren't sure it was open. Both (LAVegan and Casa Sanchez are on the 4500 block of Centinela - just south of Washington Blvd. The LAVegan picture gets easier to see if you double click on it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Gate Almost Done
A lot seemed to get done yesterday. The section of old fence went back up on the new framing and the new fencing went up on the new framing between the front yard and back yard.
Today things seemed to slow down as Brian built the gate. That took more thinking and visually, there was much less progress to see. But the big deal was getting the gate frame done and on hinges so that it swings easily and freely.
So here's where it was yesterday afternoon when Brian had to go to meet a lady about a bike. The frame is ready, the wood is sitting there to be sized and nailed on.You can see the old gate and almost dead tree and the ivy as it looked last week here.
Garbage
LA residents now have green, blue, and black garbage cans. Green for compostable stuff from the garden, blue for recyclable materials, and black for other stuff. They can also have a once a year special pickup. (When I went to the link just now, I see that there is a once a year garden clean up collection and also a bulky item collection. I guess we combined the two.) Today we had that pickup, getting rid of stuff I've been cleaning out of the garage and yard, and also a lot of the tree and ivy we cut off the old fence, some of the old fence including the gate, and whatever else we had.
Here's the stuff we had out waiting for the truck - this doesn't count filling up my mom's regular three garbage cans as well as the neighbors' (who are out of town) cans.
The guy who picked it up couldn't have been nicer and friendlier and we were delighted that he took everything, even though we came up with a few things that weren't on the list when we booked the extra pick up.
Here's the stuff we had out waiting for the truck - this doesn't count filling up my mom's regular three garbage cans as well as the neighbors' (who are out of town) cans. 
The guy who picked it up couldn't have been nicer and friendlier and we were delighted that he took everything, even though we came up with a few things that weren't on the list when we booked the extra pick up.
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