I posted the following comment to “Filling taxes in japan is a breeze, why not here?”, T.R. Reid, New York Times, 2017-04-17.
When we lived in Italy and Sweden (1968-1974) we filled out four-page forms for those countries' taxes. And then we had to at least fill out a two-page form for the U.S. But we didn't have much investment income then.
I have tried tax software, but their question format takes longer than doing my own spreadsheet. I tried the Free-Filer that the IRS site links to, but it doesn't provide instant recalculations like my spreadsheet does.
Maybe I shouldn't say this because some lobbyist will get Congress to take this benefit away: the IRS does provide fillable PDF forms that you can fill out offline instead of handwriting the data.
I should have added to my comment the old adage: We have the best Congress that money can buy!
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Friday, April 14, 2017
Sunday, April 02, 2017
What does it take to become an "American"?
Comment to
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/opinion/sunday/why-is-this-hate-different-from-all-other-hate.html?comments#permid=22009533
Many Americans consider themselves to be Swedish or Italian or Polish because of where their grandparents or earlier were born, but are they really? I have four great-grandparents born in England and four who were born in Germany or in what is now Poland.
But I do not consider myself English, German, or Polish. I consider myself American. I grew up here, my parents grew up here, and my grandparents grew up here. Actually one grandmother was born in Schliesen, now part of Poland, but she went to American schools all her life.
When I went to England, I was not English, but a Yank. When I went to Germany I was not German, but ein Amerikaner.
We will continue to have people from elsewhere come to the U.S., settle, and adopt many American ways. Some will keep customs of their parents or grandparents; others will blend in. Some will keep their religious views; some will change. Consider the Amish. Although there may be hostility to them by some, they are accepted by most people. Can't we treat all newcomers with the same respect?
Oh, it gets more complicated. My extended family includes people whose ancestors were born in Japan, China, and Africa. I consider all of these as Americans first, and whatever as a matter of historic interest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/opinion/sunday/why-is-this-hate-different-from-all-other-hate.html?comments#permid=22009533
Many Americans consider themselves to be Swedish or Italian or Polish because of where their grandparents or earlier were born, but are they really? I have four great-grandparents born in England and four who were born in Germany or in what is now Poland.
But I do not consider myself English, German, or Polish. I consider myself American. I grew up here, my parents grew up here, and my grandparents grew up here. Actually one grandmother was born in Schliesen, now part of Poland, but she went to American schools all her life.
When I went to England, I was not English, but a Yank. When I went to Germany I was not German, but ein Amerikaner.
We will continue to have people from elsewhere come to the U.S., settle, and adopt many American ways. Some will keep customs of their parents or grandparents; others will blend in. Some will keep their religious views; some will change. Consider the Amish. Although there may be hostility to them by some, they are accepted by most people. Can't we treat all newcomers with the same respect?
Oh, it gets more complicated. My extended family includes people whose ancestors were born in Japan, China, and Africa. I consider all of these as Americans first, and whatever as a matter of historic interest.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Anti-abortion but pro-war?
How is it that those who are against abortion are allied with the party that wants to get involved with wars all over the world? Doesn’t war kill pregnant women and their unborn children?
How many pregnant women in England were killed German rockets? How many pregnant women were killed by the fire-bombing of Dresden? How many pregnant women were killed in Leningrad and Stalingrad? How many pregnant women were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? How many pregnant women were killed in Viet Nam by either side? How man pregnant women have been killed in Iraq, Syria, and many other places?
None of these war victims was given a choice.
How many pregnant women in England were killed German rockets? How many pregnant women were killed by the fire-bombing of Dresden? How many pregnant women were killed in Leningrad and Stalingrad? How many pregnant women were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? How many pregnant women were killed in Viet Nam by either side? How man pregnant women have been killed in Iraq, Syria, and many other places?
None of these war victims was given a choice.
Thursday, January 07, 2016
If...
Some have said that “if” is the biggest word in the English language. It certainly does have a lot of import on our thinking, be it blame, regret, or thankfulness. Our lives are certainly filled with choice points of our own doing or the actions of others. “If my teacher hadn’t suggested,,,, then I might not have…” “If I hadn’t asked for a raise, would I have ever gotten one.”, and on and on.
I have so many “if’s” in my life that got me to this moment of typing on a laptop that I could probably fill this issue of the Reader. And you would have fallen asleep by the fourth page.
One of my early if’s is if my parents hadn’t divorced, would my mother have moved us in with her aunt and uncle? That determined where I started school. If my great aunt and uncle hadn’t bought a house on the other side of the city, would I have have gone to a second elementary school. At that school I met many others who would become life-long friends.
I did lose those contacts when my mother decided to rent an apartment on the other side of town. By the time I started high school, she remarried and we moved back to the other side of town.
That house was in a school attendance area different than the area many of my old friends were in. I made the choice of asking for an exemption to go to that smaller school to be with my friends again.
One of the math teachers at the smaller school punctuated his remarks with “When you go to Case…” meaning Case Institute of Technology. Five of us started as freshmen there a year or two later.
But would I have been able to afford the $750/year tuition? The assistant principal suggested that I apply to the Huntington Fund for a scholarship. I did and was granted a full scholarship.
With my job at Kroger’s, suggested to me by one of the friends I met in the second elementary school and with whom I still correspond, I was able to afford books and bus fare across the city to Case.
Shortly after we moved back across the city, I attended a Methodist Church within a half-hour’s walk and was active in the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). This continued into my Case years.
I don’t know the exact cause, but I started losing interest in my engineering studies. I ran for president of the area MYF council and won. Also on the council was the daughter of a doctor. After I flunked out of Case, I started dating her.
We both went to Ohio Wesleyan the following fall, she as a freshman and me as a junior. Despite my flunking out of Case, the Huntington Fund kept funding me. They had long dropped their maximum scholarship to $500, and I had to take out student loans to supplement it and my own part-time job earnings to make the $1,100 annual tuition.
I got good enough grades in mathematics that Case took me back in the graduate program with a full fellowship in the computer center which included a $75/week salary! I also married that sweetheart from two paragraphs back.
I don’t think you want to put up with two thousand words of all the twists and turns of the next fifty plus years, but I have many, many “If I hadn’t done this, would this interesting thing have happened.” I’ll try to collapse those into the few paragraphs remaining of my space.
We chose to move to Minnesota and my employment with Univac because we liked canoeing. After five years I became restless and managed a transfer to Europe. We started in Switzerland for a few weeks and then lived in Italy for the next two years.
I became unhappy with the management in Rome and transferred to Sweden. We liked Sweden so much that we stayed four years. But then my wife decided our kids should go to junior high in the United States. Another “if” I must stick in is that my wife met an American women on the subway who had a cabin in Brimson. She extended an open invitation to visit them.
I gave a wishy-washy description of my interests to my previous bosses at Univac in Roseville, and so we didn’t move back to Minnesota. Instead I wound up in “exile” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. I was “rescued” when Univac needed people to work on a new computer in Roseville. That computer was cancelled and I was put on another project, on which I didn’t shine.
Meanwhile, the microcomputer revolution started and I jumped into it. I blew that too and wound up as a bus driver. But my wife was doing quite well in her work. What we didn’t do well on was co-ordinating when we would take our annual BWCA visit. With the background of a whole bunches of “if’s” we finally visited our friends in Brimson and did so annually.
Yikes, what if I could have 2,000 words!
Our son went to Japan and when we visited him we missed an annual visit to Brimson. We went in fall instead and found property for sale. We bought it, and a few years later had built our own cabin.
This time my wife engineered the transfer and we moved from the Twin Cities to Duluth to be nearer our cabin. But she found more and more things to do in Duluth and has less time to spend in Brimson. And we’re both getting older and mowing lots of paths and cutting firewood seems to take longer and longer.
We have lots of memories of all those if’s and we know lots more if’s are coming.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
- Robert Frost
Also published in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2016-01-07 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/01/06/6522_if.
I have so many “if’s” in my life that got me to this moment of typing on a laptop that I could probably fill this issue of the Reader. And you would have fallen asleep by the fourth page.
One of my early if’s is if my parents hadn’t divorced, would my mother have moved us in with her aunt and uncle? That determined where I started school. If my great aunt and uncle hadn’t bought a house on the other side of the city, would I have have gone to a second elementary school. At that school I met many others who would become life-long friends.
I did lose those contacts when my mother decided to rent an apartment on the other side of town. By the time I started high school, she remarried and we moved back to the other side of town.
That house was in a school attendance area different than the area many of my old friends were in. I made the choice of asking for an exemption to go to that smaller school to be with my friends again.
One of the math teachers at the smaller school punctuated his remarks with “When you go to Case…” meaning Case Institute of Technology. Five of us started as freshmen there a year or two later.
But would I have been able to afford the $750/year tuition? The assistant principal suggested that I apply to the Huntington Fund for a scholarship. I did and was granted a full scholarship.
With my job at Kroger’s, suggested to me by one of the friends I met in the second elementary school and with whom I still correspond, I was able to afford books and bus fare across the city to Case.
Shortly after we moved back across the city, I attended a Methodist Church within a half-hour’s walk and was active in the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). This continued into my Case years.
I don’t know the exact cause, but I started losing interest in my engineering studies. I ran for president of the area MYF council and won. Also on the council was the daughter of a doctor. After I flunked out of Case, I started dating her.
We both went to Ohio Wesleyan the following fall, she as a freshman and me as a junior. Despite my flunking out of Case, the Huntington Fund kept funding me. They had long dropped their maximum scholarship to $500, and I had to take out student loans to supplement it and my own part-time job earnings to make the $1,100 annual tuition.
I got good enough grades in mathematics that Case took me back in the graduate program with a full fellowship in the computer center which included a $75/week salary! I also married that sweetheart from two paragraphs back.
I don’t think you want to put up with two thousand words of all the twists and turns of the next fifty plus years, but I have many, many “If I hadn’t done this, would this interesting thing have happened.” I’ll try to collapse those into the few paragraphs remaining of my space.
We chose to move to Minnesota and my employment with Univac because we liked canoeing. After five years I became restless and managed a transfer to Europe. We started in Switzerland for a few weeks and then lived in Italy for the next two years.
I became unhappy with the management in Rome and transferred to Sweden. We liked Sweden so much that we stayed four years. But then my wife decided our kids should go to junior high in the United States. Another “if” I must stick in is that my wife met an American women on the subway who had a cabin in Brimson. She extended an open invitation to visit them.
I gave a wishy-washy description of my interests to my previous bosses at Univac in Roseville, and so we didn’t move back to Minnesota. Instead I wound up in “exile” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. I was “rescued” when Univac needed people to work on a new computer in Roseville. That computer was cancelled and I was put on another project, on which I didn’t shine.
Meanwhile, the microcomputer revolution started and I jumped into it. I blew that too and wound up as a bus driver. But my wife was doing quite well in her work. What we didn’t do well on was co-ordinating when we would take our annual BWCA visit. With the background of a whole bunches of “if’s” we finally visited our friends in Brimson and did so annually.
Yikes, what if I could have 2,000 words!
Our son went to Japan and when we visited him we missed an annual visit to Brimson. We went in fall instead and found property for sale. We bought it, and a few years later had built our own cabin.
This time my wife engineered the transfer and we moved from the Twin Cities to Duluth to be nearer our cabin. But she found more and more things to do in Duluth and has less time to spend in Brimson. And we’re both getting older and mowing lots of paths and cutting firewood seems to take longer and longer.
We have lots of memories of all those if’s and we know lots more if’s are coming.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
- Robert Frost
Also published in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2016-01-07 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/01/06/6522_if.
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Pride goeth before the fall
The full King James Version of the title is “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Is pride always a bad thing?
Pride based on the assumption that you are better than everyone else is certainly not a good thing. This was the pride of kings and nobility who thought they were better than the “rabble” or even the lesser “nobility”. They lived lavishly, depending on the taxes and labor of those “beneath” them. Some of these “haughty spirits” had a great fall.
Do we have a new “nobility” who wouldn’t have their wealth without the labor of many others? Does this “nobility” think they earned every dollar personally, even if those who did the actual work for them lived in dire straits or worked at dangerous jobs without proper safety measures? Their pride does cause destruction; is a fall coming for them?
Pride is a good thing when it is to bolster one’s self-esteem. Think “gay pride” and “black pride”. If this pride makes people think better of themselves, despite the disdain of others, then it is definitely a good thing.
Pride is a good thing when one has created something unique or solved a difficult problem.
These kinds of pride could come under the advice “Don’t hide your light under a bushel”. Of course, one should balance between waving the light in the face of others and getting rewarded with money or fame for one’s effort.
Southern Pride has been much in the news lately. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? But is it a pride based on “we’re right and everyone else is wrong” or is it based on some real accomplishments? If it is still fighting the Civil War, it is not a good thing. If it is, then those who hold this attitude should consider the warning of George Washington in his “Farewell Address”. He warned of the dangers of south against north or east against west.
Have you heard much talk of Northern Pride or Eastern Pride or Western Pride?
National pride is something many feel, but is it really justified? I am an American but I feel neither proud nor ashamed to be an American; I just am an American. This is my country with all of its greatness and all of its faults.
I feel no pride because many Americans fought and died to help defeat Hitler. I was only seven years old at the time. About the only thing I did for the war effort was to fill my war stamp book.
I feel no shame because the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of women and children who had nothing to do with Imperial policy. Again I was only seven at the time. Interestingly, there are some who are proud of this attack, some of whom are also anti-abortion. How many instant abortions were there at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
I feel no pride because I am not a hyphenated American.
My name may be Irish, but I don’t consider myself an Irish-American. In fact, when I visited Ireland, I was called a Yank. The earliest ancestor I can find with the name Magree was in the 1830 census. I know he is an ancestor because his son married in England and gave his father’s first name on his marriage document. For all I know, Vincent Magree could have immigrated from Italy as Vincenzo Magri! The 1830 census did not provide the detail that later censuses did.
Most of my traceable ancestors were from England or Germany, and possibly Poland. But I am not English-American or German-American or Polish-American. I am just American and happy to be so regardless of the achievements or the faults of many other Americans.
Some time ago I wrote a Reader Weekly column entitled “I live in the best house in the world”. I poked fun at myself because I lived in “the best house in the world.” I kept stepping up from best city, best state, and best country. At each step I pointed out that others felt the same about their cities, states, or countries.
Another aspect of pride is “school spirit”. I never did like the term. I went to the schools that I did because they had to let me in or I chose them for my own convenience. Sure, I participated in a couple of varsity sports and I cheered on my friends in the sports they chose. I also donate annually to the two colleges that I went to. Others paid a large portion of my tuition then, and so I support those who study there now. The pile of literature that I get from both includes what the sports teams are doing. I could care less. I do care that the students are learning important and useful stuff.
I find it amazing or amusing that so many get wrapped up in the doings of sports teams, both scholastic and professional. If the locals win, they are overjoyed; if the locals lose, they are dejected or even derisive of coaches or players.
My attitude is “who are the Bulldogs”? Yeah! Yeah! I know, but I have no idea what their schedule is. I just wish the band would play a bit quieter so that I didn’t hear it at my house three-quarters of a mile away.
Finally, when someone asks me about the Vikings, I reply, “Vikings!! Hide the gold! Run for the hills!”
OK! I have no shame! I am done rambling. You can use this page to wrap fish.
Also appears in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2015-10-08 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/10/07/6053_pride_goeth_before_the_fall.
Is pride always a bad thing?
Pride based on the assumption that you are better than everyone else is certainly not a good thing. This was the pride of kings and nobility who thought they were better than the “rabble” or even the lesser “nobility”. They lived lavishly, depending on the taxes and labor of those “beneath” them. Some of these “haughty spirits” had a great fall.
Do we have a new “nobility” who wouldn’t have their wealth without the labor of many others? Does this “nobility” think they earned every dollar personally, even if those who did the actual work for them lived in dire straits or worked at dangerous jobs without proper safety measures? Their pride does cause destruction; is a fall coming for them?
Pride is a good thing when it is to bolster one’s self-esteem. Think “gay pride” and “black pride”. If this pride makes people think better of themselves, despite the disdain of others, then it is definitely a good thing.
Pride is a good thing when one has created something unique or solved a difficult problem.
These kinds of pride could come under the advice “Don’t hide your light under a bushel”. Of course, one should balance between waving the light in the face of others and getting rewarded with money or fame for one’s effort.
Southern Pride has been much in the news lately. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? But is it a pride based on “we’re right and everyone else is wrong” or is it based on some real accomplishments? If it is still fighting the Civil War, it is not a good thing. If it is, then those who hold this attitude should consider the warning of George Washington in his “Farewell Address”. He warned of the dangers of south against north or east against west.
Have you heard much talk of Northern Pride or Eastern Pride or Western Pride?
National pride is something many feel, but is it really justified? I am an American but I feel neither proud nor ashamed to be an American; I just am an American. This is my country with all of its greatness and all of its faults.
I feel no pride because many Americans fought and died to help defeat Hitler. I was only seven years old at the time. About the only thing I did for the war effort was to fill my war stamp book.
I feel no shame because the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of women and children who had nothing to do with Imperial policy. Again I was only seven at the time. Interestingly, there are some who are proud of this attack, some of whom are also anti-abortion. How many instant abortions were there at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
I feel no pride because I am not a hyphenated American.
My name may be Irish, but I don’t consider myself an Irish-American. In fact, when I visited Ireland, I was called a Yank. The earliest ancestor I can find with the name Magree was in the 1830 census. I know he is an ancestor because his son married in England and gave his father’s first name on his marriage document. For all I know, Vincent Magree could have immigrated from Italy as Vincenzo Magri! The 1830 census did not provide the detail that later censuses did.
Most of my traceable ancestors were from England or Germany, and possibly Poland. But I am not English-American or German-American or Polish-American. I am just American and happy to be so regardless of the achievements or the faults of many other Americans.
Some time ago I wrote a Reader Weekly column entitled “I live in the best house in the world”. I poked fun at myself because I lived in “the best house in the world.” I kept stepping up from best city, best state, and best country. At each step I pointed out that others felt the same about their cities, states, or countries.
Another aspect of pride is “school spirit”. I never did like the term. I went to the schools that I did because they had to let me in or I chose them for my own convenience. Sure, I participated in a couple of varsity sports and I cheered on my friends in the sports they chose. I also donate annually to the two colleges that I went to. Others paid a large portion of my tuition then, and so I support those who study there now. The pile of literature that I get from both includes what the sports teams are doing. I could care less. I do care that the students are learning important and useful stuff.
I find it amazing or amusing that so many get wrapped up in the doings of sports teams, both scholastic and professional. If the locals win, they are overjoyed; if the locals lose, they are dejected or even derisive of coaches or players.
My attitude is “who are the Bulldogs”? Yeah! Yeah! I know, but I have no idea what their schedule is. I just wish the band would play a bit quieter so that I didn’t hear it at my house three-quarters of a mile away.
Finally, when someone asks me about the Vikings, I reply, “Vikings!! Hide the gold! Run for the hills!”
OK! I have no shame! I am done rambling. You can use this page to wrap fish.
Also appears in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2015-10-08 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/10/07/6053_pride_goeth_before_the_fall.
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Up in the air about being up in the air
I am not sure when I was first in an airplane, but I am sure when I was last in an airplane. Some of the trips I’ve long forgotten; other I find it hard to forget.
I think my first airplane trip was in a Capitol Airlines DC-3 when I was between nine and twelve. It was out of Cleveland to either Chicago or Detroit. Probably Chicago because my father’s parents lived in Maywood. But I remember more taking the train there once or twice.
My second flight was in a Ford Trimotor from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. The Scoutmaster was good at picking sites for a week-long summer camp, and Put-in-Bay was high on his list. I don’t know if I had a flight back to the mainland or just a tourist loop. That airline ceased operations in 1985, but there are still some Trimotors flying, including one in the Port Clinton OH museum.
I don’t remember any flights until the summer between my junior and senior years of college. I had a summer job at Ohio Oil (Marathon). They were considering upgrading their IBM 650 with a Burroughs among others. For some reason the group visiting Burroughs took me along, but this was no ordinary trip.
Ohio Oil had one of the largest private air fleets in the world. We would not be driving or flying commercial from Findlay OH to Detroit. We would be flying in a company DC-3. But we couldn’t leave the ground until we had clearance to land in Detroit. That was over 45 minutes on the runway in the summer in an airplane without air-conditioning. By the time we got into the limos at Detroit, I was very glad to sit in the front with the air-conditioning going full-blast in my face. I think I managed to keep everything down.
In graduate school and at Univac I took many air trips over the next seven years. At Univac, several of us did our best to schedule trips on Caravelles; they were all first class. An incident that stands out was on the approach to Minneapolis-St. Paul the plane (model forgotten) suddenly began climbing. The pilot announced that another plane didn’t get off the runway on time. My wife had a more scary time. She was waiting for me and saw the airplane suddenly swoop up.
Then I spent six years with many trips all over western Europe. One time I went to the wrong airport in Milan and had to take an overnight train instead. One time in Paris Orly was socked in by fog. The airline didn’t keep passengers up-to-date. Finally, they let us send a free telegram. I sent one to my wife in Rome. Later, I think they let us make a phone call. Later yet, they bussed us into Paris to stay in a hotel. The next day I was back in Rome eating lunch with my family when my telegram about my delay arrived.
One memorable sight in Rome was standing on the ground watching a 747 overhead. Would I really want to fly on such a humongous plane?
When we lived in Stockholm we took some vacation flights, mostly in ski season. A warmer flight was to the island of Rhodes. I flew direct to Rhodes, but my wife had gone to Athens with her mother. When they were in the air leaving Athens, Black September attacked the airport, killing at least three.
When we came back to the States, I continued flying wherever for Univac. Sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly, and sometimes by my own design. I somehow managed to go to most Univac user conferences and several professional association conferences. I even got a trip back to Europe to give a presentation in Madrid and used vacation time to visit Ireland. Yep, lots of Magrees/McGrees in Kilkenny, but none provably related to me.
When I started my own company, I managed to scrape together money to fly to conferences or to take a few ski trips. Sometimes I took my early Macintosh with me. That now big bulky thing was designed to fit under a airline seat. And it did, and then it did not; signs of coming changes.
Our first flight to Japan was to visit our son who was teaching there. In coach we were almost treated as royalty, on an American plane! Seating was something like 2-3-2 or 2-4-2. We had seats by an emergency door and had plenty of leg room.
Our second flight was out of Chicago with Japan Air. We didn’t have as much leg room but we did have excellent service. The worst part was all the hubbub at Narita Airport to find the right place to checkin and all the restaurants that had prices posted in Japanese numbers.
Our third and my hoped for last flight was a multiple leg trip without much legroom - Minneapolis to Toronto to pick up my mother-in-law. To Chicago to pick up a U.S. airline. To Tokyo for a wonderful time for all. Reverse all that for the return. With the 3-5-3 seating I had it with flying. And I said so.
Then we get a Christmas present to fly to Las Vegas and drive on to Heavenly Valley. OK, daughter, I’ll accept. We had good time, but that was the last time I flew.
Since then, my wife has flown to Japan three times and expects to do so several more times. Whenever I think about it, I get a squeezed feeling in my shoulders and restless leg syndrome.
When Mel wrote this he was sitting at home while his wife flew off to visit her sisters.
Also in Reader Weekly, 2015-06-04 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/06/03/5391_up_in_the_air_about_being_up_in_the_air
I think my first airplane trip was in a Capitol Airlines DC-3 when I was between nine and twelve. It was out of Cleveland to either Chicago or Detroit. Probably Chicago because my father’s parents lived in Maywood. But I remember more taking the train there once or twice.
My second flight was in a Ford Trimotor from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. The Scoutmaster was good at picking sites for a week-long summer camp, and Put-in-Bay was high on his list. I don’t know if I had a flight back to the mainland or just a tourist loop. That airline ceased operations in 1985, but there are still some Trimotors flying, including one in the Port Clinton OH museum.
I don’t remember any flights until the summer between my junior and senior years of college. I had a summer job at Ohio Oil (Marathon). They were considering upgrading their IBM 650 with a Burroughs among others. For some reason the group visiting Burroughs took me along, but this was no ordinary trip.
Ohio Oil had one of the largest private air fleets in the world. We would not be driving or flying commercial from Findlay OH to Detroit. We would be flying in a company DC-3. But we couldn’t leave the ground until we had clearance to land in Detroit. That was over 45 minutes on the runway in the summer in an airplane without air-conditioning. By the time we got into the limos at Detroit, I was very glad to sit in the front with the air-conditioning going full-blast in my face. I think I managed to keep everything down.
In graduate school and at Univac I took many air trips over the next seven years. At Univac, several of us did our best to schedule trips on Caravelles; they were all first class. An incident that stands out was on the approach to Minneapolis-St. Paul the plane (model forgotten) suddenly began climbing. The pilot announced that another plane didn’t get off the runway on time. My wife had a more scary time. She was waiting for me and saw the airplane suddenly swoop up.
Then I spent six years with many trips all over western Europe. One time I went to the wrong airport in Milan and had to take an overnight train instead. One time in Paris Orly was socked in by fog. The airline didn’t keep passengers up-to-date. Finally, they let us send a free telegram. I sent one to my wife in Rome. Later, I think they let us make a phone call. Later yet, they bussed us into Paris to stay in a hotel. The next day I was back in Rome eating lunch with my family when my telegram about my delay arrived.
One memorable sight in Rome was standing on the ground watching a 747 overhead. Would I really want to fly on such a humongous plane?
When we lived in Stockholm we took some vacation flights, mostly in ski season. A warmer flight was to the island of Rhodes. I flew direct to Rhodes, but my wife had gone to Athens with her mother. When they were in the air leaving Athens, Black September attacked the airport, killing at least three.
When we came back to the States, I continued flying wherever for Univac. Sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly, and sometimes by my own design. I somehow managed to go to most Univac user conferences and several professional association conferences. I even got a trip back to Europe to give a presentation in Madrid and used vacation time to visit Ireland. Yep, lots of Magrees/McGrees in Kilkenny, but none provably related to me.
When I started my own company, I managed to scrape together money to fly to conferences or to take a few ski trips. Sometimes I took my early Macintosh with me. That now big bulky thing was designed to fit under a airline seat. And it did, and then it did not; signs of coming changes.
Our first flight to Japan was to visit our son who was teaching there. In coach we were almost treated as royalty, on an American plane! Seating was something like 2-3-2 or 2-4-2. We had seats by an emergency door and had plenty of leg room.
Our second flight was out of Chicago with Japan Air. We didn’t have as much leg room but we did have excellent service. The worst part was all the hubbub at Narita Airport to find the right place to checkin and all the restaurants that had prices posted in Japanese numbers.
Our third and my hoped for last flight was a multiple leg trip without much legroom - Minneapolis to Toronto to pick up my mother-in-law. To Chicago to pick up a U.S. airline. To Tokyo for a wonderful time for all. Reverse all that for the return. With the 3-5-3 seating I had it with flying. And I said so.
Then we get a Christmas present to fly to Las Vegas and drive on to Heavenly Valley. OK, daughter, I’ll accept. We had good time, but that was the last time I flew.
Since then, my wife has flown to Japan three times and expects to do so several more times. Whenever I think about it, I get a squeezed feeling in my shoulders and restless leg syndrome.
When Mel wrote this he was sitting at home while his wife flew off to visit her sisters.
Also in Reader Weekly, 2015-06-04 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/06/03/5391_up_in_the_air_about_being_up_in_the_air
Friday, December 20, 2013
Who needs comics? We live them!
Yesterday my wife came back from Japan via Minneapolis. She was to call me on her cell phone when she was in line to board the flight to Duluth.
That was the first of many delays. The plane had not arrived yet. It needed to be de-iced at its previous landing, but the de-icing equipment was broken. This wasn't so bad, I don't think it left Minneapolis more than 45 minutes late.
When she called, I started off on several errands before I met her, figuring I could do quite a bit in an hour.
The first was to dump food scraps for compost at a neighborhood restaurant. I did that then went in to pick up the latest Reader Weekly. It wasn't in yet. I came back to the car and it wouldn't start. Oh, no! I left the lights on?
What do I do? Walk the block back home and get the other car? Or do I just bring the battery charger? I opted for the latter. Then I couldn't get the lid off the charging contact. Even with the pen knife I had recently bought to replace the one I lost. I kept trying and eventually got the lid off. I hooked up the cables and nothing. I put the ground at a different place, and vroom!
OK, I can go now. But as I shut the hood, I forgot to take out the prop. For the second time this year I bent it! So, there's five more minutes to straighten that out so I can close the hood properly.
Next stop is to mail a bill and a Netflix DVD. That went OK though the mailbox access was not the best. And I managed not to get my door banged by other traffic.
Now it is too late to do my next errand. So, it's straight to the airport.
As I'm on the way to the airport, my cell phone rings. The best I can do is peek at the caller and see that it is my wife calling. She has landed.
OK, so I go directly to Arrivals and call her to say that I am out front. No answer! I try again and again assuming she either went to the rest room or has it buried in her purse. After six or seven tries, I loop around to the "cell phone lot". I try two or three times more. #%&! I drive to the pay lot and trudge across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to the terminal.
What do I do first? Yell and scream at her for not answering the phone? Give her a big hug because I'm so glad that she has come back safely. Of course, the latter. Then I "yell and scream" and she admits she had turned her cell phone off!
She is ready to trudge across the lot with her big suitcase, our granddaughter, and our granddaughter's little suitcase. I say no, I'll drive up to the Arrivals and meet you there.
So, I trudge back across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to our car. I have $2 out because that is the cost for the first hour. I present the ticket and $2 to the attendant. He presses a few buttons, says it's free, and gives me my $2 back. Second best thing of the day after my wife coming back.
The rest of the day was "normal". She had enough energy to visit the store I had planned to visit first, to go to two other stores, and to go out to eat at the restaurant that I had stopped at first.
Then she crashed! Then woke up and couldn't sleep. Then she crashed and slept to ten this morning.
Maybe in a few days, we'll be back on our normal cycles.
Oh, my wife also suggested that maybe I forgot to press the brake as I started the car with keyless entry. Did I? Didn't I? I vaguely remember both!
That was the first of many delays. The plane had not arrived yet. It needed to be de-iced at its previous landing, but the de-icing equipment was broken. This wasn't so bad, I don't think it left Minneapolis more than 45 minutes late.
When she called, I started off on several errands before I met her, figuring I could do quite a bit in an hour.
The first was to dump food scraps for compost at a neighborhood restaurant. I did that then went in to pick up the latest Reader Weekly. It wasn't in yet. I came back to the car and it wouldn't start. Oh, no! I left the lights on?
What do I do? Walk the block back home and get the other car? Or do I just bring the battery charger? I opted for the latter. Then I couldn't get the lid off the charging contact. Even with the pen knife I had recently bought to replace the one I lost. I kept trying and eventually got the lid off. I hooked up the cables and nothing. I put the ground at a different place, and vroom!
OK, I can go now. But as I shut the hood, I forgot to take out the prop. For the second time this year I bent it! So, there's five more minutes to straighten that out so I can close the hood properly.
Next stop is to mail a bill and a Netflix DVD. That went OK though the mailbox access was not the best. And I managed not to get my door banged by other traffic.
Now it is too late to do my next errand. So, it's straight to the airport.
As I'm on the way to the airport, my cell phone rings. The best I can do is peek at the caller and see that it is my wife calling. She has landed.
OK, so I go directly to Arrivals and call her to say that I am out front. No answer! I try again and again assuming she either went to the rest room or has it buried in her purse. After six or seven tries, I loop around to the "cell phone lot". I try two or three times more. #%&! I drive to the pay lot and trudge across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to the terminal.
What do I do first? Yell and scream at her for not answering the phone? Give her a big hug because I'm so glad that she has come back safely. Of course, the latter. Then I "yell and scream" and she admits she had turned her cell phone off!
She is ready to trudge across the lot with her big suitcase, our granddaughter, and our granddaughter's little suitcase. I say no, I'll drive up to the Arrivals and meet you there.
So, I trudge back across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to our car. I have $2 out because that is the cost for the first hour. I present the ticket and $2 to the attendant. He presses a few buttons, says it's free, and gives me my $2 back. Second best thing of the day after my wife coming back.
The rest of the day was "normal". She had enough energy to visit the store I had planned to visit first, to go to two other stores, and to go out to eat at the restaurant that I had stopped at first.
Then she crashed! Then woke up and couldn't sleep. Then she crashed and slept to ten this morning.
Maybe in a few days, we'll be back on our normal cycles.
Oh, my wife also suggested that maybe I forgot to press the brake as I started the car with keyless entry. Did I? Didn't I? I vaguely remember both!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Are we on the cusp of peace or of war?
President Rouhani of Iran is working to make life more open for Iranians and to build more bridges to the West. See "Not for Prime Time: Music Video with Iran's President" and "Iran Invites Inspectors to Nuclear Site".
On the other hand, China has declared certain air space as requiring permission for others to enter. The U.S., Korea, and Japan felt compelled to enter that air space. Now China is sending fighter jets into that space. See "China Sends Jets into 'Air Defense' Zone After Flights by Japan and Korea".
We have one situation slightly defused and another situation ignited. The first can bring about more peace, and the second can put war a lot closer than most of us want. Will we have a Kennedy and a Khrushchev to resolve the latter?
On the other hand, China has declared certain air space as requiring permission for others to enter. The U.S., Korea, and Japan felt compelled to enter that air space. Now China is sending fighter jets into that space. See "China Sends Jets into 'Air Defense' Zone After Flights by Japan and Korea".
We have one situation slightly defused and another situation ignited. The first can bring about more peace, and the second can put war a lot closer than most of us want. Will we have a Kennedy and a Khrushchev to resolve the latter?
Thursday, September 27, 2012
To my one faithful reader and others
Within an hour of posting a new blog entry, it seems within an hour, at least one person has read that entry. Whoever you are, thank you!
Unfortunately, I haven't given you or others much to read lately. That's because I've made my to-do list a bit longer and blogging has taken a back seat. I originally called this blog "Irregular Blog" because I didn't know how often I would post something. I guess the name still means something.
One, the fall quarter for University for Seniors has started at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. I signed up for five classes, but fortunately I was wait-listed for two. Otherwise, I would have been really full up.
Two, I bought some new toys - an iPhone and an iPod. From the simple Apple Macintosh "For the rest of us" we have seen the boxes get smaller and the capabilities grow almost exponentially. It is no longer a simple matter of pulling the computer out of the box, plugging it in, and starting work. There are settings galore, dozens of features to explore, and a whole lot more to do all you want to do.
Three, I finally found a round tuit to reinsulate the floor of our cabin. That is a blog entry in itself. Oh, yes, I don't do much blogging at our cabin because the connection is so darn slow.
There is a bit more on the new toys, but I must go finish installing Skype on the iPad so my wife can use it when she visits our daughter and they can talk to our son in Japan.
So, please keep checking. You never know when I might post three entries in a day.
Thanks for your readership.
Unfortunately, I haven't given you or others much to read lately. That's because I've made my to-do list a bit longer and blogging has taken a back seat. I originally called this blog "Irregular Blog" because I didn't know how often I would post something. I guess the name still means something.
One, the fall quarter for University for Seniors has started at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. I signed up for five classes, but fortunately I was wait-listed for two. Otherwise, I would have been really full up.
Two, I bought some new toys - an iPhone and an iPod. From the simple Apple Macintosh "For the rest of us" we have seen the boxes get smaller and the capabilities grow almost exponentially. It is no longer a simple matter of pulling the computer out of the box, plugging it in, and starting work. There are settings galore, dozens of features to explore, and a whole lot more to do all you want to do.
Three, I finally found a round tuit to reinsulate the floor of our cabin. That is a blog entry in itself. Oh, yes, I don't do much blogging at our cabin because the connection is so darn slow.
There is a bit more on the new toys, but I must go finish installing Skype on the iPad so my wife can use it when she visits our daughter and they can talk to our son in Japan.
So, please keep checking. You never know when I might post three entries in a day.
Thanks for your readership.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Russians are coming! I wish most of them would go away.
In "Добро пожаловать в мой русский посетителей" I speculated that many of the Russian visits to this blog may be spammers looking for email addresses. I may have gotten that partly right.
I read that "referral spam" has become quite common on blogs with small audiences. The idea is that the little-guy bloggers, like me, are so eager for traffic that they check out some of the linking sites to see what has been written about them. These sites can be pornography or other traps to suck in users.
Some of these sites are obvious and I couldn't figure out why they would be referring to my site. Those I didn't even check. Russia is known as a large source of spam, but most of my email spam is Turkish or Japanese. So I assume that most, if not all, the references to my blog from Russia are spam referrals.
I am certain that none of the Russian visitors know me; the few Russians I know have my email address or can get it from friends. No Russian sent me email about my blog.
Gosh, I might say the same thing about French visitors. The readers from France has gone from one or two a week to four or five a day. None of my friends living in France have mentioned anything. Claude, Christian, and Birahim, are you reading this?
I also had a recent spike in visits from Italy, but I had an explanation for that. Our son was in Milan on business. Thanks, son, for reading your father's ramblings.
I read that "referral spam" has become quite common on blogs with small audiences. The idea is that the little-guy bloggers, like me, are so eager for traffic that they check out some of the linking sites to see what has been written about them. These sites can be pornography or other traps to suck in users.
Some of these sites are obvious and I couldn't figure out why they would be referring to my site. Those I didn't even check. Russia is known as a large source of spam, but most of my email spam is Turkish or Japanese. So I assume that most, if not all, the references to my blog from Russia are spam referrals.
I am certain that none of the Russian visitors know me; the few Russians I know have my email address or can get it from friends. No Russian sent me email about my blog.
Gosh, I might say the same thing about French visitors. The readers from France has gone from one or two a week to four or five a day. None of my friends living in France have mentioned anything. Claude, Christian, and Birahim, are you reading this?
I also had a recent spike in visits from Italy, but I had an explanation for that. Our son was in Milan on business. Thanks, son, for reading your father's ramblings.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Attention, a second Fukushima is possible
This is my quick, summary translation of highlights of "Attention, un deuxième Fukushima n'est pas exclu" by Miho Matsunuma, LeMonde, 2011-04-27. She was a professor of Western History and French Language at Fukuoka Women's University and is now a senior lecturer at the University of Gunma in Maebashi, Japan.
Although the Japanese media is now criticizing the government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), they have long colluded with them on the benefits of nuclear energy. First, they too often accept the pronouncements of the government and TEPCO about the safety. Second, the operators of the power stations are big advertisers.
There is no excuse for the Japanese not knowing of the dangers. Japan is neither a soviet regime nor a dictatorship, but a country with democratic institutions, elections, and a free press. Fukushima is not the first nuclear accident. Citizens and scientists have sounded the alarm many times without being heard. In this country where order and conformism reign, the minorities have difficulty making themselves heard. The Japanese, in their majority, have voluntary believed the official speeches on the necessity and the advantage of nuclear energy perfectly mastered.
What do we do with the power stations operating in the country? Japan is situated at the juncture of three great tectonic plates and, given the lack of competence and credibility of the Japanese nuclear authorities, the probability of a second and a third Fukushima is not unthinkable. And the problem is not only Japanese: our planet lives with time bombs.
She goes on that Japanese democracy is not going to solve these problems. It is necessary that the international community puts pressure on Japan to not drag humanity into a collective suicide.
The political authorities and international industrialists, who are involved in nuclear energy, have good reasons to support the power stations and admire the Japanese "dignity". The citizens of the world must, themselves, draw lessons from this shameful accident.
Although the Japanese media is now criticizing the government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), they have long colluded with them on the benefits of nuclear energy. First, they too often accept the pronouncements of the government and TEPCO about the safety. Second, the operators of the power stations are big advertisers.
There is no excuse for the Japanese not knowing of the dangers. Japan is neither a soviet regime nor a dictatorship, but a country with democratic institutions, elections, and a free press. Fukushima is not the first nuclear accident. Citizens and scientists have sounded the alarm many times without being heard. In this country where order and conformism reign, the minorities have difficulty making themselves heard. The Japanese, in their majority, have voluntary believed the official speeches on the necessity and the advantage of nuclear energy perfectly mastered.
What do we do with the power stations operating in the country? Japan is situated at the juncture of three great tectonic plates and, given the lack of competence and credibility of the Japanese nuclear authorities, the probability of a second and a third Fukushima is not unthinkable. And the problem is not only Japanese: our planet lives with time bombs.
She goes on that Japanese democracy is not going to solve these problems. It is necessary that the international community puts pressure on Japan to not drag humanity into a collective suicide.
The political authorities and international industrialists, who are involved in nuclear energy, have good reasons to support the power stations and admire the Japanese "dignity". The citizens of the world must, themselves, draw lessons from this shameful accident.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
A geography lesson - Japan and Minnesota
We keep getting questions about how our son is doing in Japan after the earthquake near Sendai and the nuclear reactor problems in Fukushima. To me, it's like others asking how we are doing if a tornado hit the Twin Cities or how we're doing with the Red River flooding in Fargo ND.
Sendai is about 225 miles from Tokyo and the Fukushima plant is about 150. Fargo is about 242 from Duluth and Minneapolis is about 150.
Oh, yes, there are two nuclear plants near us. Monticello is about 150 miles away and Prairie Island is about 224. Prairie Island has far too much spent fuel stored on the premises. If any of those casks are breached and we lived downstream in LaCrosse WI, then maybe you should worry about us.
Sendai is about 225 miles from Tokyo and the Fukushima plant is about 150. Fargo is about 242 from Duluth and Minneapolis is about 150.
Oh, yes, there are two nuclear plants near us. Monticello is about 150 miles away and Prairie Island is about 224. Prairie Island has far too much spent fuel stored on the premises. If any of those casks are breached and we lived downstream in LaCrosse WI, then maybe you should worry about us.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Herr Doktor Professor, what will you keep it in?
On reading "Fukushima shines light on U.S. problem: 63,000 tons of spent fuel", Mike M. Ahlers, CNN, 2011-03-30, I thought of this anecdote I first saw in Mad Magazine decades ago.
A well-known, respected professor is working in his lab when the village idiot comes in to sweep. The lad asks him what he is doing, but the professor says he is too busy. Once again, the sweeper comes in, asks the same question, and is brushed off. Then one day as the lad is sweeping, the professor yells, "Eureka! I've invented the universal solvent!" The lad asks, "Herr Doktor Professor, what will you keep it in?"
The last frame shows a foaming, bubbling earth.
A well-known, respected professor is working in his lab when the village idiot comes in to sweep. The lad asks him what he is doing, but the professor says he is too busy. Once again, the sweeper comes in, asks the same question, and is brushed off. Then one day as the lad is sweeping, the professor yells, "Eureka! I've invented the universal solvent!" The lad asks, "Herr Doktor Professor, what will you keep it in?"
The last frame shows a foaming, bubbling earth.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The letter writing Magrees
Our son in Tokyo had a letter published in the Japan Times. He argued for more conservation rather than rolling blackouts. Blackouts disrupt business, but many of the signs are still lighting up the sky.
Also watch the Duluth News Tribune for a letter by my wife Jan on multiple trash haulers covering the same routes. The editorial staff called yesterday to confirm that she sent it.
Also watch the Duluth News Tribune for a letter by my wife Jan on multiple trash haulers covering the same routes. The editorial staff called yesterday to confirm that she sent it.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Three cheers for government being in the way
One of the current mantras is to get government out of the way of business. There are many reasons that a government of the people should be in the way of business, but I'll save that for another day.
One of the ways that government should be in the way of business is with building codes. If every builder of houses or of skyscrapers did it their own way, would you feel secure walking into any building? Although most build sturdy, safe buildings, there are some who will cut corners to save a few bucks. It is government that works to check up on these corner cutters.
What would have happened in Tokyo if many of the large buildings were not built to government standards? What would the toll in lives have been if contractors had cut corners? What would the toll have been if government inspectors hadn't checked on standards being met?
You don't need to live in earthquake zones to be concerned with building safety. What if you put lots of money into the structural integrity of your building but your neighbor didn't. Comes the hurricane or the tornado and his building tumbles into yours.
Many think zoning codes are anti-business, but they can be pro-business. What if you put up a nice hotel and a junk yard is put in next door. How much business would the junk yard deter?
Many who want zoning codes changed from residential to commercial wouldn't appreciate the same changes in their own neighborhood. Maybe any developer who wants to change a residential neighborhood should be willing to have a similar change made in his own neighborhood.
Getting government out of the way of business is one of those notions that you should be careful what you ask for.
One of the ways that government should be in the way of business is with building codes. If every builder of houses or of skyscrapers did it their own way, would you feel secure walking into any building? Although most build sturdy, safe buildings, there are some who will cut corners to save a few bucks. It is government that works to check up on these corner cutters.
What would have happened in Tokyo if many of the large buildings were not built to government standards? What would the toll in lives have been if contractors had cut corners? What would the toll have been if government inspectors hadn't checked on standards being met?
You don't need to live in earthquake zones to be concerned with building safety. What if you put lots of money into the structural integrity of your building but your neighbor didn't. Comes the hurricane or the tornado and his building tumbles into yours.
Many think zoning codes are anti-business, but they can be pro-business. What if you put up a nice hotel and a junk yard is put in next door. How much business would the junk yard deter?
Many who want zoning codes changed from residential to commercial wouldn't appreciate the same changes in their own neighborhood. Maybe any developer who wants to change a residential neighborhood should be willing to have a similar change made in his own neighborhood.
Getting government out of the way of business is one of those notions that you should be careful what you ask for.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
It could have been us
We were in the Sendai area in October 2007 with our son, his wife and many of her family, their daughter, and my wife's mother. We stayed at the Pension Mirai in Shichigahama.
Much of the Sendai area was beautiful but I assume much of what we saw was destroyed because it was so close to the water. According to Google Earth, the pension was only three meters above sea level, even if the beach was at least a five-minute walk away.
You can see some of what we saw in 2007 at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28887068@N00/sets/72157602788527775/
Much of the Sendai area was beautiful but I assume much of what we saw was destroyed because it was so close to the water. According to Google Earth, the pension was only three meters above sea level, even if the beach was at least a five-minute walk away.
You can see some of what we saw in 2007 at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28887068@N00/sets/72157602788527775/
Friday, March 11, 2011
Family News from Japan
Our son Darryl put this on his Facebook page:
So the earthquake was pretty bad in Tokyo, but at least the building stayed up. Most people stayed frozen at their desks; I went to the stairwell, stood in the doorframe and watched these cracks form.
We assembled on the sidewalk and watched the building sway in the aftershocks. Since the trains were all stopped I walked home (90 min). There are still streams of people heading home even now.We also spoke with him via Skype. His almost 4-year-old daughter Kayo is still frightened. They went out for a few groceries and it was a struggle to return home. So many people who would have been on the subway were walking towards them that he had "to fight his way" through.
Monday, February 28, 2011
A butterfly flapped its wings in Tunisia
A student, Mohamed Bouazizi, is selling vegetables in Tunis to support his family. A policewoman complains that he doesn't have the proper permit. In the argument, she slaps him. He is humiliated and sets himself on fire. This in turn sets many Arab countries on fire.
Many have complained that the U.S. with its vast intelligence network didn't foresee this. Consider that many didn't foresee the fall of the Czar of Russia. Consider that Winston Churchill said in the 1920s that he thought war with Japan was impossible.
Other than knowing that kowtowing to dictators is itself playing with fire, I won't pretend to judge the intelligence community. I'll let you read some short analyses by other commentators. See "Why Didn't the U.S. Foresee the Arab Revolts?", Room for Debate, New York Times, 2011-02-24.
Many have complained that the U.S. with its vast intelligence network didn't foresee this. Consider that many didn't foresee the fall of the Czar of Russia. Consider that Winston Churchill said in the 1920s that he thought war with Japan was impossible.
Other than knowing that kowtowing to dictators is itself playing with fire, I won't pretend to judge the intelligence community. I'll let you read some short analyses by other commentators. See "Why Didn't the U.S. Foresee the Arab Revolts?", Room for Debate, New York Times, 2011-02-24.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What a way to run a railroad!!
Given my reluctance to fly and my growing reluctance to drive long distances, my sister-in-law suggested that we take Amtrak to visit them in Colorado in May.
I checked Amtrak for schedules. The cost for two of us from Minneapolis-St. Paul would be $694, not too bad for two coach seats. But the trip leaves Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 15 at 11:15 p.m., arrives in Portland OR on May 17 at 10:10 a.m., leaves Portland on May 17 at 2:25 p.m, arrives in Sacramento CA on May 18 at 6:15 a.m, leaves Sacramento on May 18 at 11:09 a.m., and arrives in Denver CO on May 19 at 6:38 p.m. That is labeled as the "Shortest Trip".
That would be four days of sitting up day and night. A roomette from the Twin Cities to Portland would be $268 extra, rooms from Portland to Sacramento are already sold out for May 17, and a roomette from Sacramento to Denver would be $436.
I can drive from the Twin Cities to Denver in two days and sleep in a solid bed overnight for less than half the cost of a roomette on the cheapest leg.
Also, the $694 is for one-way. Even though I clicked Round-Trip, the web site only gives me one-way.
Looking at a route map, the alternative is to go to Chicago and then to Denver. So I gave that a go with scheduling, giving a round trip itinerary. The time would be much better with an eight hour and an eighteen hour leg. Unfortunately, there would be a 22 hour layover in Chicago on the way to Denver and a 23 hour layover on the way back. Plus, the web site wouldn't process this any further – "Problem with your itinerary". I gave up. I don't know the cost of this trip.
It seems that Amtrak has almost been designed to discourage train travel. I think that only two groups of people would be interested. First would be those who have time and are traveling between two cities on the same train. The sold out rooms on a May train between Portland and Sacramento may be an indicator that this group will support the current schedule. Second would be those who take trains just to take trains.
It doesn't have to be this way. I took trains as a kid out of Cleveland's Terminal and it was a busy place. Now the Cleveland stop isn't much more than a siding for a one train a day each way. I've taken trains all over Europe, both day trips and overnight, and I have ridden the bullet and regular trains in Japan.
Maybe Steve Jobs will start the train "for the rest of us"?
I checked Amtrak for schedules. The cost for two of us from Minneapolis-St. Paul would be $694, not too bad for two coach seats. But the trip leaves Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 15 at 11:15 p.m., arrives in Portland OR on May 17 at 10:10 a.m., leaves Portland on May 17 at 2:25 p.m, arrives in Sacramento CA on May 18 at 6:15 a.m, leaves Sacramento on May 18 at 11:09 a.m., and arrives in Denver CO on May 19 at 6:38 p.m. That is labeled as the "Shortest Trip".
That would be four days of sitting up day and night. A roomette from the Twin Cities to Portland would be $268 extra, rooms from Portland to Sacramento are already sold out for May 17, and a roomette from Sacramento to Denver would be $436.
I can drive from the Twin Cities to Denver in two days and sleep in a solid bed overnight for less than half the cost of a roomette on the cheapest leg.
Also, the $694 is for one-way. Even though I clicked Round-Trip, the web site only gives me one-way.
Looking at a route map, the alternative is to go to Chicago and then to Denver. So I gave that a go with scheduling, giving a round trip itinerary. The time would be much better with an eight hour and an eighteen hour leg. Unfortunately, there would be a 22 hour layover in Chicago on the way to Denver and a 23 hour layover on the way back. Plus, the web site wouldn't process this any further – "Problem with your itinerary". I gave up. I don't know the cost of this trip.
It seems that Amtrak has almost been designed to discourage train travel. I think that only two groups of people would be interested. First would be those who have time and are traveling between two cities on the same train. The sold out rooms on a May train between Portland and Sacramento may be an indicator that this group will support the current schedule. Second would be those who take trains just to take trains.
It doesn't have to be this way. I took trains as a kid out of Cleveland's Terminal and it was a busy place. Now the Cleveland stop isn't much more than a siding for a one train a day each way. I've taken trains all over Europe, both day trips and overnight, and I have ridden the bullet and regular trains in Japan.
Maybe Steve Jobs will start the train "for the rest of us"?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
How did I type Japanese?
You may have guessed, since I didn't write all of my Japanese message in Japanese, that I don't really speak Japanese. You're right! I know a few hundred words and a few grammar points. Not really enough for a conversation or to order in a restaurant other than "nippon birru, kudasai!" "Two beers, please!"
If you have a Mac, you can switch languages with a click of the mouse.
I was going to give you a long, possibly incorrect explanation, but I'll let your Mac give you a better one.
Go to the Finder and click-hold Help on the menu bar.
Type "foreign" next to "Search".
Click on "Typing in another language" and follow the directions.
Now, if you select Hiragana as the language to type, then type "nippon birru kudasai" you will get
日本ビッルください
You might have to start typing on a separate line.
BTW, if you are using TextEdit, you have to be careful when typing in English, I typed "nippon birru kudasai" and it became "nippon bird kudasai". Proofread! Proofread!
If you have a Mac, you can switch languages with a click of the mouse.
I was going to give you a long, possibly incorrect explanation, but I'll let your Mac give you a better one.
Go to the Finder and click-hold Help on the menu bar.
Type "foreign" next to "Search".
Click on "Typing in another language" and follow the directions.
Now, if you select Hiragana as the language to type, then type "nippon birru kudasai" you will get
日本ビッルください
You might have to start typing on a separate line.
BTW, if you are using TextEdit, you have to be careful when typing in English, I typed "nippon birru kudasai" and it became "nippon bird kudasai". Proofread! Proofread!
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