With all of this federal stimulus money starting to fly around, you’d think more would settle on the ground here in Bakersfield than the $31 million that’s already been set aside to improve roads across Kern County.
And you might be right. People in the know are buzzing about the possibility that Bakersfield could get another $31 million — that’s right, a second pile of stimulus money of identical heft — very soon.
And for what worthy purpose, you might ask? None other than the long-delayed federal courthouse.
Insiders say Bakersfield will be receiving an additional $31 million very soon. If it’s a go — and it’s not a sure thing until it’s a sure thing — the courthouse could be up and running in two years.
The courthouse will go up at the east end of Central Park. Its boundaries are 21st Street to the north, the property line of Central Park to the east, 19th Street to the south and the Mill Creek project to the west.
Expect an update on the courthouse as soon as April 1. And, no, it won't be one of those April 1 press conferences.
(Update: Congressman Kevin McCarthy just issued a press release confirming the funding. "Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Congressman Jim Costa announced that funding would be made available by the U.S. General Services Administration for the Federal courthouse project in the Central Park location of Bakersfield."
The release made no mention of the amount, but McCarthy confirmed it by phone -- $31 million. He and Costa probably put the news out there a day earlier than planned to prevent anybody else from taking credit for it -- like Sen. Dianne Feinstein. You know how politicians are.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Might be tough on bare feet
Spurge, begone. Dandelions, away. Leaders in the Orange County city of Garden Grove have voted to allow residents to rip out their lawns and install Astroturf-type artificial grass. We like that idea: Saves water, minimizes lawnmower fumes, and creates growth potential for carpeting companies and vacuum-cleaner sales. Accepted on a wide-scale basis, blotchy, uneven lawns would be a thing of the past. No more weeds, either.
Could we do that sort of thing in Bakersfield? Absolutely — we've got no ordinance specifically banning it.
Astroturf can be pretty tough on bare feet, though, and it gets hotter than good, ol' Bermuda grass. There's also the issue of creating a plasticized enviroment that we all might have fun debating. But it's something for California to think about. Water should be for drinking, farming and natural resources, with landscaping way, way down the list.
Could we do that sort of thing in Bakersfield? Absolutely — we've got no ordinance specifically banning it.
Astroturf can be pretty tough on bare feet, though, and it gets hotter than good, ol' Bermuda grass. There's also the issue of creating a plasticized enviroment that we all might have fun debating. But it's something for California to think about. Water should be for drinking, farming and natural resources, with landscaping way, way down the list.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Consider this economic indicator
I am an incorrigible optimist, even in the face of some disheartening layoffs in my industry -- and at my newspaper. I see an uptick in the stock market and want to declare the recession over. The glass is one-quarter full! OK, but there are undeniable signs of improvement. You just have to know where to look.
Candy sales are through the roof all over the country. Cadbury reported a 30 percent rise in profits for 2008, Nestle’s profits grew by 10.9 percent, and Hershey, which struggled for most of 2008, was up by 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Some specialty shops have reported jumps of as much as 300 percent. “All is well in candy land,” Jamie Hallman, owner of the Sweetdish candy store in San Francisco, told the New York Times this week. I'm behind that! Put me down for 100 shares of Swedish Fish.
Candy sales are through the roof all over the country. Cadbury reported a 30 percent rise in profits for 2008, Nestle’s profits grew by 10.9 percent, and Hershey, which struggled for most of 2008, was up by 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Some specialty shops have reported jumps of as much as 300 percent. “All is well in candy land,” Jamie Hallman, owner of the Sweetdish candy store in San Francisco, told the New York Times this week. I'm behind that! Put me down for 100 shares of Swedish Fish.
Friday, March 20, 2009
My new pen pal lives in Nigeria
Craig Garrett, a world traveler and farm supervisor who lives in Arvin, recently had his hotmail e-mail account hacked and his password stolen. Somebody, apparently (but not necessarily) in Nigeria then sent e-mails to everyone in his address book -- part of a new epidemic of Internet schemes that combine "phishing" with the old Nigerian 419 scam. Posing as Craig, the scammer said he was stranded after having left his money and passport in a taxi. Could we send $2,300 via Western Union?
This is a variation of the old ruse in which someone poses as a government official with $14 million to give away, or an exiled Nigerian prince, or an investor, or some such thing. Send them money and rest assured you’ll never hear from them again.
I received one of these e-mails from “Craig” and, after satisfying myself that “real Craig” had never left the country, I decided to have fun with Evil Craig. I e-mailed and offered to send him money. “Craig” figured he had a live one. Here are some edited highlights from our conversation. It was like writing my own Saturday morning cartoon show:
NOT CRAIG : Thanks for the email and your help. I Knew i could Count on you. I will like you to send the money via Western Union Money Transfer. Please the money Should be sent in the name of the hotel management because of the loss of my passport.
ME: Craig, Uncle Fester said he can send $20 but I told him that is not enough, please try to get more. So he said he will ask Colonel Sanders to help. Harvey Hall said he is worried about sending money all the way to Nigeria. He wants you to send a photo of the hotel manager.
NOT CRAIG: Hello,Thank you for the mail, I dont have photo of hotel manager. After I receive the money I will email you on the arrangements to get back home. your friend, Craig .
ME: Harvey said that is OK, he will give me $400 to send to you, but you must help him build a fence when you get back to keep the neighbor’s llama from coming into his yard and eating his rutabagas. Is that OK?
NOT CRAIG: Ok , No problem, I will be waiting for the western union details.
ME: Uncle Fester gave me $22 but it is all in nickels. I think Western Union will accept it. Fester said he will only let me send it to you if you agree to let him take your photograph for his calendar. It is the Buttonwillow Alfalfa Cooperative’s 2010 calendar. He wants you only wearing underwear and suspenders. You can have your choice of April or September. Is that OK?
NOT CRAIG: i have not eat anything since morning pls do not let me die here, I will be waiting for you the western union information. your friend, Craig .
ME: What about the photograph for Uncle Fester’s calendar? He is standing here now asking me. He says boxer shorts are OK.
NOT CRAIG: Yes Boxer shorts is ok but let me get home first
The entire two-day conservation is here.
Read my column on Craig Garrett here.
This is a variation of the old ruse in which someone poses as a government official with $14 million to give away, or an exiled Nigerian prince, or an investor, or some such thing. Send them money and rest assured you’ll never hear from them again.
I received one of these e-mails from “Craig” and, after satisfying myself that “real Craig” had never left the country, I decided to have fun with Evil Craig. I e-mailed and offered to send him money. “Craig” figured he had a live one. Here are some edited highlights from our conversation. It was like writing my own Saturday morning cartoon show:
NOT CRAIG : Thanks for the email and your help. I Knew i could Count on you. I will like you to send the money via Western Union Money Transfer. Please the money Should be sent in the name of the hotel management because of the loss of my passport.
ME: Craig, Uncle Fester said he can send $20 but I told him that is not enough, please try to get more. So he said he will ask Colonel Sanders to help. Harvey Hall said he is worried about sending money all the way to Nigeria. He wants you to send a photo of the hotel manager.
NOT CRAIG: Hello,Thank you for the mail, I dont have photo of hotel manager. After I receive the money I will email you on the arrangements to get back home. your friend, Craig .
ME: Harvey said that is OK, he will give me $400 to send to you, but you must help him build a fence when you get back to keep the neighbor’s llama from coming into his yard and eating his rutabagas. Is that OK?
NOT CRAIG: Ok , No problem, I will be waiting for the western union details.
ME: Uncle Fester gave me $22 but it is all in nickels. I think Western Union will accept it. Fester said he will only let me send it to you if you agree to let him take your photograph for his calendar. It is the Buttonwillow Alfalfa Cooperative’s 2010 calendar. He wants you only wearing underwear and suspenders. You can have your choice of April or September. Is that OK?
NOT CRAIG: i have not eat anything since morning pls do not let me die here, I will be waiting for you the western union information. your friend, Craig .
ME: What about the photograph for Uncle Fester’s calendar? He is standing here now asking me. He says boxer shorts are OK.
NOT CRAIG: Yes Boxer shorts is ok but let me get home first
The entire two-day conservation is here.
Read my column on Craig Garrett here.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Why students fail the H.S. exit exam
My daughter, a sophomore, took the CAHSEE, or California High School Exit Examination, at her school Tuesday. It was her first shot at the test; students get as many as seven attempts to pass. Afterward, she informed me, she was sitting around with some classmates talking about how easy it was. "How could anybody fail that test?" one kid said. "How?"
"Laziness," my daughter said. She told them how she'd overheard two students who'd been seated right in front of her in the testing room, talking about the essay question. The question: Discuss someone in your community who has made an impact in your life. (I am paraphrasing the question, but it really did use the word "community." High school students don't use words like that, but I digress.) . "What," one girl asked the other, "did you put for the essay question?" "Nothing," the second girl said, holding up a blank sheet of paper to prove it. And she turned it in that way.
Seventy percent of students pass the test on their first try. Of the remaining 30 percent, many undoubtedly have understandable reasons for failure. Then there's this girl. I wonder how many are similarly inspired? Maybe they need to be impacted by someone in their community.
"Laziness," my daughter said. She told them how she'd overheard two students who'd been seated right in front of her in the testing room, talking about the essay question. The question: Discuss someone in your community who has made an impact in your life. (I am paraphrasing the question, but it really did use the word "community." High school students don't use words like that, but I digress.) . "What," one girl asked the other, "did you put for the essay question?" "Nothing," the second girl said, holding up a blank sheet of paper to prove it. And she turned it in that way.
Seventy percent of students pass the test on their first try. Of the remaining 30 percent, many undoubtedly have understandable reasons for failure. Then there's this girl. I wonder how many are similarly inspired? Maybe they need to be impacted by someone in their community.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I'm staying hard-wired — for now
A new survey that looks at cell-phone use in the U.S. finds that people in Oklahoma and Utah, of all places, are most likely to have dumped their household land-lines in favor of wireless-only communications. (I don't know why I say "of all places" — I guess it's just that those states don't seem like the most likely parts of the country for so many people to have given up on that old stand-by, the hard-wired telephone.)
California prides itself on being a high tech sort of place, but it's lagging behind on this particular cultural transformation (which to me seems inevitable). At least 26 percent of households are strictly wireless in Oklahoma and Utah, compared to just 9 percent in California. That's a huge difference. It might have something to do with the youthfulness of the state — I remember reading that Utah has one of the youngest populations in the U.S., and younger people are clearly more comfortable with the technology.
Personally, I like the relative reliability of a hard-wired phone. I use my cell often enough, but the land-line gets more reliable reception, and I always know where it is. (Make that usually -- my teen daughter has been known to leave it buried under a week's worth of laundry.) It's easier to dial larger land-line phones, and I like the fact that I've had the same phone number for 10 years. I don't know why that seems comforting.
Here's another reason to hang onto land-lines: As cell phones get smarter and smarter, corporate America gets better and better at tracking our habits and pastimes, even our locations. Anything a marketer can learn about you from your computer usage, he can learn from your iPhone or Blackberry. We're losing our privacy little by little. But at least our phones are getting cooler and cooler.
Sigh.
California prides itself on being a high tech sort of place, but it's lagging behind on this particular cultural transformation (which to me seems inevitable). At least 26 percent of households are strictly wireless in Oklahoma and Utah, compared to just 9 percent in California. That's a huge difference. It might have something to do with the youthfulness of the state — I remember reading that Utah has one of the youngest populations in the U.S., and younger people are clearly more comfortable with the technology.
Personally, I like the relative reliability of a hard-wired phone. I use my cell often enough, but the land-line gets more reliable reception, and I always know where it is. (Make that usually -- my teen daughter has been known to leave it buried under a week's worth of laundry.) It's easier to dial larger land-line phones, and I like the fact that I've had the same phone number for 10 years. I don't know why that seems comforting.
Here's another reason to hang onto land-lines: As cell phones get smarter and smarter, corporate America gets better and better at tracking our habits and pastimes, even our locations. Anything a marketer can learn about you from your computer usage, he can learn from your iPhone or Blackberry. We're losing our privacy little by little. But at least our phones are getting cooler and cooler.
Sigh.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Celebrity gossip that matters
I don't bother too much with the celebrity drama that's supplied regularly by the likes of US Weekly and ... well, I don't even know the names of the magazines. But, like a lot of people who are otherwise uninterested in all of that who's-seeing-whom stuff, I couldn't help notice the story about singer Chris Brown allegedly smacking around singer Rhianna, his apparent girlfriend. Nasty stuff, but the worst part was when Rhianna made it known she would give the guy another chance. Bad idea, we heard from a number of other celebs, including Oprah. He'll just hit you again, they said. Domestic violence statistics suggest they're correct.
Then I got this letter to the editor. I can't use it, because the author, a 70-ish woman who is well known to readers of the editorial page, asked that her name not be used. Anonymity opens up a big can of worms, so I had to reject her letter. But, since the rules on this blog are different, I'll share it.
"If women in relationships that even hint at violence are not paying attention to the situation with Rhianna and her 19 year old boyfriend, it's time they did. As a woman of over 70, I experienced spousal abuse in my late 30s in a second marriage. It wasn't anything I did. We had a serious problem and I suggested that the two of us pray about it (he was a church leader and director of a non-profit volunteer group - an upstanding, highly respected man).
"Bowing my head, I suddenly felt an arm around my neck and I was being pulled up and slapped with an open hand in the face until I thought I would pass out. When he stopped he said, "I'd throw you out that window but you are not worth going to jail for." I went to work the next day with a huge black eye (and some bruises that didn't show) and one of my co-workers asked what happened. He said, "Did your husband hit you?" I answered with, "No, one of the kids opened the car door in my face." Women always make excuses.
"This was a long time ago. This was before batterers could be put in jail. I had never experienced violence, but I knew it was something I never wanted to endure again. I filed for divorce (at which time he swore he would see me and my children in the street — that didn't happen). I made it on my own. My children grew up to be decent people. He promised over and over that it would never happen again. From what I hear, they all say that.
"Pay attention, ladies. No one deserves this and you shouldn't risk it happening again.
"And by the way, this wasn't in Bakersfield so don't try to figure out who "Anonymous" is. Thirty years ago is a long time but the memory of this event has haunted me forever. Don't risk it.
— Anonymous."
Then I got this letter to the editor. I can't use it, because the author, a 70-ish woman who is well known to readers of the editorial page, asked that her name not be used. Anonymity opens up a big can of worms, so I had to reject her letter. But, since the rules on this blog are different, I'll share it.
"If women in relationships that even hint at violence are not paying attention to the situation with Rhianna and her 19 year old boyfriend, it's time they did. As a woman of over 70, I experienced spousal abuse in my late 30s in a second marriage. It wasn't anything I did. We had a serious problem and I suggested that the two of us pray about it (he was a church leader and director of a non-profit volunteer group - an upstanding, highly respected man).
"Bowing my head, I suddenly felt an arm around my neck and I was being pulled up and slapped with an open hand in the face until I thought I would pass out. When he stopped he said, "I'd throw you out that window but you are not worth going to jail for." I went to work the next day with a huge black eye (and some bruises that didn't show) and one of my co-workers asked what happened. He said, "Did your husband hit you?" I answered with, "No, one of the kids opened the car door in my face." Women always make excuses.
"This was a long time ago. This was before batterers could be put in jail. I had never experienced violence, but I knew it was something I never wanted to endure again. I filed for divorce (at which time he swore he would see me and my children in the street — that didn't happen). I made it on my own. My children grew up to be decent people. He promised over and over that it would never happen again. From what I hear, they all say that.
"Pay attention, ladies. No one deserves this and you shouldn't risk it happening again.
"And by the way, this wasn't in Bakersfield so don't try to figure out who "Anonymous" is. Thirty years ago is a long time but the memory of this event has haunted me forever. Don't risk it.
— Anonymous."
Friday, March 6, 2009
Our timing is impeccable
Those of you who live in the Bakersfield area may have noticed the guest column in Friday's Opinion section written by Rosario Marin, head of the State and Consumer Services Agency. Her column focuses on SB 15, the Roy Ashburn-authored law that gives Californians a $10,000 tax credit for buying a new-construction home.
Talk about timing! Marin has resigned under a cloud of controversy. Can I pick 'em or what?
The L.A. Times explains: "A member of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cabinet resigned Thursday after questions about income she received for giving speeches to private companies, including some that were doing business with her agency.
"In a letter to the governor resigning her $175,000 a year position, Rosario Marin, head of the State and Consumer Services Agency, said she had "decided to pursue other opportunities."
"The resignation came after The Times inquired about her outside income, which included thousands of dollars in fees for speeches to pharmaceutical companies within months of her agency's push last year to reduce oversight of prescription drugs.
"State law bars officials from accepting speaking fees except in certain situations, such as when the income is related to the speaker's "bona fide" business, trade or profession.
"Among the fees Marin took was $15,000 from Pfizer Inc. for a speech in 2007 at a time when the company was lobbying the Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory panel Marin oversaw. Bristol-Myers Squibb paid $13,500 for Marin's speaking services last year within weeks of lobbying her agency."
For my next act, I will be commissioning Rod Blagojevich to write a guest column about hair care.
Talk about timing! Marin has resigned under a cloud of controversy. Can I pick 'em or what?
The L.A. Times explains: "A member of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cabinet resigned Thursday after questions about income she received for giving speeches to private companies, including some that were doing business with her agency.
"In a letter to the governor resigning her $175,000 a year position, Rosario Marin, head of the State and Consumer Services Agency, said she had "decided to pursue other opportunities."
"The resignation came after The Times inquired about her outside income, which included thousands of dollars in fees for speeches to pharmaceutical companies within months of her agency's push last year to reduce oversight of prescription drugs.
"State law bars officials from accepting speaking fees except in certain situations, such as when the income is related to the speaker's "bona fide" business, trade or profession.
"Among the fees Marin took was $15,000 from Pfizer Inc. for a speech in 2007 at a time when the company was lobbying the Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory panel Marin oversaw. Bristol-Myers Squibb paid $13,500 for Marin's speaking services last year within weeks of lobbying her agency."
For my next act, I will be commissioning Rod Blagojevich to write a guest column about hair care.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Some words about lettering
David Koeth of the Bakersfield College art department likes to study typography in its urban habitat. Lately, he has been marveling over one of the world's most common typographical creatures: Helvetica. Koeth (see previous post) manages a student-fed tumblelog (helveticabakersfield.tumblr.com) that celebrates (or makes light of, depending how you feel about it) that most ubiquitous typeface.
If you're not familiar with Helvetica, visit his tumbleblog and you'll quickly see that, in fact, you ARE familiar with Helvetica. What makes Koeth's tumbleblog interesting is that all of these photos were generally taken in and around Bakersfield. Multiply all of the local examples of Helvetica you can find times the total number of cities in the civilized west, and it becomes clear that Helvetica is trying to take over the world. Koeth says he's always trying to get his students to look at their environment and spot everyday examples of graphic artists' work.
But wait, there's more. Check out "Helvetica: A documentary film" by Gary Hustwit here: www.helveticafilm.com. Huswit made the film, Koeth says, because the typeface celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007, and because designers have a love/hate relationship with it. (The typeface, not the film.)
This playfulness with environmental typography reminds me a little of some of the blogs I've seen mourning the lack of language competence of all too many businesses (or their sign-makers) -- random apostrophes, runaway s's (esses?), etc. You've seen them: "Special today on Suit's." Ack.
By the way, in case you've never heard of a tumblelog (I hadn't), here, courtesy of Wikipedia, is a definition: "A tumblelog is a variation of a blog that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, tumblelogs are frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences while providing little or no commentary." Now we both know.
If you're not familiar with Helvetica, visit his tumbleblog and you'll quickly see that, in fact, you ARE familiar with Helvetica. What makes Koeth's tumbleblog interesting is that all of these photos were generally taken in and around Bakersfield. Multiply all of the local examples of Helvetica you can find times the total number of cities in the civilized west, and it becomes clear that Helvetica is trying to take over the world. Koeth says he's always trying to get his students to look at their environment and spot everyday examples of graphic artists' work.
But wait, there's more. Check out "Helvetica: A documentary film" by Gary Hustwit here: www.helveticafilm.com. Huswit made the film, Koeth says, because the typeface celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007, and because designers have a love/hate relationship with it. (The typeface, not the film.)
This playfulness with environmental typography reminds me a little of some of the blogs I've seen mourning the lack of language competence of all too many businesses (or their sign-makers) -- random apostrophes, runaway s's (esses?), etc. You've seen them: "Special today on Suit's." Ack.
By the way, in case you've never heard of a tumblelog (I hadn't), here, courtesy of Wikipedia, is a definition: "A tumblelog is a variation of a blog that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, tumblelogs are frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences while providing little or no commentary." Now we both know.
Bakersfield College's olden days
Career technical education is the new, big thing in Kern County high schools these days, but as anybody over the age of 30 well knows, the new emphasis, which kicks into gear next fall, is just an updated version of programs that were in place in many U.S. schools for decades.
Bakersfield College had (and still has) some great programs. For historical evidence, take a look at the link at the bottom of this post.
It's BC in 1958. A friend who works at the local comnmunity college shared it with me this morning. As she notes, you can sure tell that BC was involved in training the workforce for Kern County even back then, as evidenced by the photos of tractors, automobile repair, supermarket training, etc.
The link comes courtesy of BC’s David M. Koeth, professor of art and chair of the department, who writes:
"Google is archiving Life magazine’s photos. If you do a Google search, and put ‘bakersfield junior college source:life’ (without the quotes) in the search field, then click on IMAGES, you will find a group of photos of the Bakersfield College campus from 1958."
Here's the link. If it doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser window:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=oeQ&q=bakersfield%20junior%20college%20source%3Alife&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Bakersfield College had (and still has) some great programs. For historical evidence, take a look at the link at the bottom of this post.
It's BC in 1958. A friend who works at the local comnmunity college shared it with me this morning. As she notes, you can sure tell that BC was involved in training the workforce for Kern County even back then, as evidenced by the photos of tractors, automobile repair, supermarket training, etc.
The link comes courtesy of BC’s David M. Koeth, professor of art and chair of the department, who writes:
"Google is archiving Life magazine’s photos. If you do a Google search, and put ‘bakersfield junior college source:life’ (without the quotes) in the search field, then click on IMAGES, you will find a group of photos of the Bakersfield College campus from 1958."
Here's the link. If it doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser window:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=oeQ&q=bakersfield%20junior%20college%20source%3Alife&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Perfect time for college
I had the foresight to create a college fund for my two kids a few years ago. I did not have the foresight to see the collapse of the stock market. So my kids (13 and 16) are out about $12,000 of the money we dutifully (and sometimes painfully) set aside for their college. This occurs just as my 16-year-old sophomore is being deluged with letters from universities all over the country. Some big ones, some tiny ones I'd never heard of. Cambridge, even. Yes, the one in England. I don't even want to know what tuition is for Cambridge.
When I was in high school, I got one letter from a university. One.
When I was in high school, I got one letter from a university. One.
Rats. Gotta keep coming to work
I don't play the lottery because (1) I'm too cheap; (2) the odds are astronomical; and (3) I'm afraid of some of the people who routinely line up to buy tickets at the nearby Stop 'n Rob.
But I did buy in for Tuesday night's $212 million Mega Millions game because, well, it was $212 million. Some co-workers got together and bought 50 tickets. If I hadn't bought in, and they'd all won, (among other regrets) I would have been the only guy at work today, and I don't know how to run some of the software programs here in the office, so things would be a mess. So I bought in.
I did not win, but I was helpfully reminded about the validity of (3), noted above.
But I did buy in for Tuesday night's $212 million Mega Millions game because, well, it was $212 million. Some co-workers got together and bought 50 tickets. If I hadn't bought in, and they'd all won, (among other regrets) I would have been the only guy at work today, and I don't know how to run some of the software programs here in the office, so things would be a mess. So I bought in.
I did not win, but I was helpfully reminded about the validity of (3), noted above.
Paid your taxes?
I'm a member of an editorial page editors' listserv, and we share ideas, complaints and warnings on a regular basis. (Too regular for me sometimes.) Warnings usually involve "turf," or phony, manufactured grass-roots letters (synthentic, like Astroturf -- get it?). It's stuff that's supposedly from the heart of one's own community but isn't.
One such "turf'" letter started popping up Wednesday. I doubt anyone will publish it because it's unsigned and mass mailed, but it sure speaks to the frustration many people feel these days (even though I'd argue that participating in a civilized democracy ought to cost you something):
"Now that America is broke and no money left. I am broke and also no money is left. I am so sorry to inform you that I will not be able to pay my taxes owed April 15, but all is not lost. I have paid these taxes: receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal inome tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventroy tax, liquor tax (lately a lot of this), luxury tax, medicare tax, city, school, and county property tax, real estate tax, social security tax, road usage tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, state franchise tax, state unemployment tax, telephone exercise tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle licence registration tax, capitol gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, I have run out of space so I will not name any more.
"When you do not receive my check April 15, just know that it is an honest mistake. Please treat me the same way you treated Congressman Charles Rangle, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and ex-Congressman Tom Dashelle, and of course, your boss Timothy Geithner, no penalties and no interest.
-- No name
"P.S. I will make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check."
One such "turf'" letter started popping up Wednesday. I doubt anyone will publish it because it's unsigned and mass mailed, but it sure speaks to the frustration many people feel these days (even though I'd argue that participating in a civilized democracy ought to cost you something):
"Now that America is broke and no money left. I am broke and also no money is left. I am so sorry to inform you that I will not be able to pay my taxes owed April 15, but all is not lost. I have paid these taxes: receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal inome tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventroy tax, liquor tax (lately a lot of this), luxury tax, medicare tax, city, school, and county property tax, real estate tax, social security tax, road usage tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, state franchise tax, state unemployment tax, telephone exercise tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle licence registration tax, capitol gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, I have run out of space so I will not name any more.
"When you do not receive my check April 15, just know that it is an honest mistake. Please treat me the same way you treated Congressman Charles Rangle, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and ex-Congressman Tom Dashelle, and of course, your boss Timothy Geithner, no penalties and no interest.
-- No name
"P.S. I will make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
High speed rail to Merced?
News item: Officials of the California High-Speed Rail Authority say a flat, straight stretch through the San Joaquin Valley connecting Merced and Bakersfield will likely be the first completed. Regional Manager Thomas Tracy told the Visalia City Council March 2 that the 800-mile project will be built in eight phases. The first segment, due by 2015, would stretch from Bakersfield to Merced on an initial run from San Diego to Sacramento. At its full 220 mph speed, the normally three-hour car trip from Merced to Bakersfield would take 45 minutes.
OK, fine, nice to be included on the first phase. Maybe I'll actually be able to board a HSR car on my own power one day. I'd been thinking that, by the time this thing was built, I'd be six feet under. But did they have to start with Merced as a first end-point? I'd had figured they'd want to open with some more glamorous destinations. What's wrong with Turlock?
OK, fine, nice to be included on the first phase. Maybe I'll actually be able to board a HSR car on my own power one day. I'd been thinking that, by the time this thing was built, I'd be six feet under. But did they have to start with Merced as a first end-point? I'd had figured they'd want to open with some more glamorous destinations. What's wrong with Turlock?
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