‘Live Free or Die Hard’, lunch date, ‘The War Tapes’, C-burg court case, new GPS, SPOT, ‘Fur’, ‘Fog of War’
(posted from home)
(this post covers 6-13 January, 2007)
--------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 13 January-
I blogged for a while this morning and then zoomed in (via motorcycle) to Blockbuster on a DVD run and, of course, a coffee-and-newspaper stop. After my walk and supper we watched the last three episodes of ‘Big Love’. This one has become a favorite but now we’ll have to wait for the release of the current season. Hopefully the writer’s strike won’t blow the season.
---------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 12 January-
Today I worked more on planning for the upcoming trip, looking for public shooting ranges (so I can get in a little practice on the trip) and for low-cost camping opportunities. Several states have cheap camping on some of their wildlife-management areas but sometimes they’re only available during hunting season or on weekends. I don’t like to plan out a day-by-day schedule so I’m just collecting the info into a folder to look through when the need arises. I’ll probably stay at a few Wal-marts on this trip but we hit several Canadian ones last summer with noisy trucks idling all night and those weren’t fun. I ought to work on a white-noise solution for that but if I have other options, I’ll go with them.
That evening we watched ‘Fog of War’ with Robert McNamara. This movie is a bit confusing in the way it’s cut but offers an interesting and compelling insider’s view of the Cuban missile crisis and the VietNam War. Recommended!
---------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 11 January-
Today I finally committed on the GPS buy. I had been convinced I was seeing a good price ($339) for the GPSMAP 60CsX. But this morning I found it for an unadvertised price of $300 and I could also get the BlueChart there for an additional $16 off from anything I’ve seen elsewhere. Looks like that’s the best I’ll be able to do so I went ahead. We’ll see.
I then drove down to the indoor shooting range to terrorize a few targets. I shot a new high score for one gun/distance combination (yee-haa!!). After the obligatory Starbucks stop I headed home for my daily walk. This nice weather is great. I’m seeing the regular kingfishers and bluebirds but today also saw two hawks, a spectacular red-tailed and a smaller one, a sharp-shinned perhaps.
That evening we watched Bill Moyers on PBS.
---------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 10 January-
Today I worked on the upcoming trip, reviewing nautical and tidal charts in detail. I also ordered a SPOT personal tracker. The latter is an interesting new device/service. It’s similar to a PLB (personal locator beacon) in that you can push a button to send an SOS signal via satellite to call for emergency help. But the new SPOT also allows the user to send an ‘I’m OK’ signal. The OK signal is picked up by satellites and is relayed to a server which then sends an email or cell-phone text message to up to five addresses. That message contains a link to a website with the location plotted on Google Maps.
I enjoyed listening to ‘Saskatchewan This Week’ and ‘Manitoba This Week’ episodes on the iPod on my walk today. I like Sheila Coles’ interviews on the former. She seems to have a knack for asking the questions I’m just formulating as the interviews progress. On the Manitoba side, I’m just up to the episodes recorded while we were in Winnipeg last summer.
That evening we watched ‘Fur’ with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey. It’s an ‘imaginary story’ about photographer Diane Arbus. In other words, it didn’t happen. But it’s an interpretation of how Diane may have become fascinated with her subjects, most of whom lived on the edges of society. Recommended.
---------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 9 January-
I spent most of the morning reading accounts of a court case in Chambersburg yesterday. I’ve been reading about this case as it developed over the last several months. Greg Rotz, a Chambersburg resident and member of the Pennsylvania Firearms Owner’s Association (PAFOA) forum, had been posting his experiences open-carrying in the Chambersburg area for several months. (‘Open-carry’ means carrying a holstered pistol on your side. This is legal in Pennsylvania but not often seen.) All went well until Greg wore his pistol when he went in to vote in early November. There a constable either did not understand Pennsylvania law on this subject or mistook him for a law enforcement officer (LEOs are not permitted to have firearms in polling places) and told him he couldn’t take the pistol inside. When Greg objected, the constable checked with county authorities and learned Greg was not doing anything wrong so relented. However, a few days later Greg received a letter from the county sheriff, revoking his license to carry a concealed firearm. It appears the constable and sheriff decided to teach Greg a lesson. The sheriff first sent Greg a letter saying the revocation was for ‘apparent illegal activity’ but when it became clear Greg hadn’t broken any laws, he changed his tune. The sheriff then claimed the incident showed Greg had a flaw in his character and it was within the sheriff’s discretion to deny permits based on character. After all, he said, it was just common sense that you don’t take a gun into a polling place.
The case received a lot of attention on the PAFOA forum and members not only chipped in a total of $2500 for his defense but 20 of them also attended yesterday’s hearing.
The court case went quickly. The judge asked if Greg had broken any laws and when the answer was no, he said “Give him his license back—right away!” On the issue of character, the judge said “We’re not going down that path”. He did add that he would be contacting his legislator to get a law passed to ban guns at polling places.
I have to say I’m disappointed in the outcome. On the one hand it was good to see the judge show disdain for the ridiculous character argument. On the other hand, Greg had to spend two months and almost $3000 to restore a license which was taken from him illegally and there’s no practical recourse against those who took it.
That evening we watched the extras on ‘The War Tapes’ DVD and then watched ‘Chalk’, a comedy/mockumentary about teaching. I can’t recommend this one. I didn’t get the comedy and I thought it too apparent the actors were improvising much of their dialog.
---------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 8 January-
Lasbashi and I had a lunch date today. We went to an upscale restaurant – Hayden’s-on-Pine—in Harrisburg. We’ve wanted to try this restaurant for some time and finally got around to it. After our lunch (which was good but we were hoping for spectacular) we checked out the fancy bar upstairs and there saw what appeared to be a Dale Chihuly glass installation. Labashi has long been a fan Chihuly and last winter we loved seeing his work at the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami (here’s a link to that on Chihuly’s web site: http://www.chihuly.com/installations/fairchild/index.html .) Back downstairs we happened to catch one of the restaurant owners walking by and asked if that was a Chihuly. He said it was indeed from the Chihuly workshop but most likely done by one of his staffers rather than by the master himself. When I said we had enjoyed seeing the Miami garden show he said,”Oh, yeah, the Fairchild- my dad’s on the board of directors”. Very cool!
As we went to leave the restaurant we noticed people hovering just outside the doorway, slowing things to a stop. I came close to saying ‘Excuse me!’ to get through but decided to wait… and good thing. When traffic cleared we saw what the backup was about. Senator Arlen Spector had just left our restaurant and his host and guests were setting up a photo with him at the restaurant’s entrance. We eventually ducked through and got the heck out of there before we turned into Republicans.
That evening we watched ‘The War Tapes’, an excellent documentary about the Iraq War. In this one, three soldiers are given cameras to document their lives before, during, and after their tours in Iraq. Highly recommended.
---------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 7 January-
Today I researched a new GPS for the upcoming trip. My old Garmin Etrex Legend is unreliable (sometimes the joystick works, sometimes it doesn’t) and I want to upgrade to the more-sensitive SIRF receiver. I see Garmin has just announced the Colorado series and they look interesting but they’re expensive and unproven. With prices now falling on the GPSMAP 60CsX, I’ll probably go with that well-regarded unit. I also want the coastal charts data for this unit so I spent a good bit of time figuring out exactly which BlueChart CD to buy and then which chart sets I’ll want to unlock. The BlueChart CDs come with hundreds of nautical charts but you can only use the regional ones you ‘unlock’ using codes you must buy. Buying the $139 CD only gives you codes to unlock one region and any others you want cost another $100 each. This sounds very expensive and it is if you believe you have to have many regions. On the other hand, last winter I paid $60 for just three paper charts of a small area in Florida and I have a LOT more area I want charts for.
When I went for the mail today I noticed we had someone drive on to the new lawn area again. I called it in to the local police to update the report from our two incidents last Fall.
It was SUCH as nice day today (temps in the high 60’s!), that Labashi joined me for my walk.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 6 January-
The warmer-than-normal weather continues. After blogging the morning away I rode the motorcycle in to Blockbuster for DVDs and made a quick stop at Starbucks before returning home for my now-daily four-miler. That evening we watched ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ with Bruce Willis. OK for what it is, I guess…an exercise in fantasy, titillation and role-reinforcement. Some of the stunts are ridiculously over-the-top, though. Not really recommended unless you’re a fan of Willis or the series.
====== end of post ======
(posted from home)
(this post covers 6-13 January, 2007)
--------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 13 January-
I blogged for a while this morning and then zoomed in (via motorcycle) to Blockbuster on a DVD run and, of course, a coffee-and-newspaper stop. After my walk and supper we watched the last three episodes of ‘Big Love’. This one has become a favorite but now we’ll have to wait for the release of the current season. Hopefully the writer’s strike won’t blow the season.
---------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 12 January-
Today I worked more on planning for the upcoming trip, looking for public shooting ranges (so I can get in a little practice on the trip) and for low-cost camping opportunities. Several states have cheap camping on some of their wildlife-management areas but sometimes they’re only available during hunting season or on weekends. I don’t like to plan out a day-by-day schedule so I’m just collecting the info into a folder to look through when the need arises. I’ll probably stay at a few Wal-marts on this trip but we hit several Canadian ones last summer with noisy trucks idling all night and those weren’t fun. I ought to work on a white-noise solution for that but if I have other options, I’ll go with them.
That evening we watched ‘Fog of War’ with Robert McNamara. This movie is a bit confusing in the way it’s cut but offers an interesting and compelling insider’s view of the Cuban missile crisis and the VietNam War. Recommended!
---------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 11 January-
Today I finally committed on the GPS buy. I had been convinced I was seeing a good price ($339) for the GPSMAP 60CsX. But this morning I found it for an unadvertised price of $300 and I could also get the BlueChart there for an additional $16 off from anything I’ve seen elsewhere. Looks like that’s the best I’ll be able to do so I went ahead. We’ll see.
I then drove down to the indoor shooting range to terrorize a few targets. I shot a new high score for one gun/distance combination (yee-haa!!). After the obligatory Starbucks stop I headed home for my daily walk. This nice weather is great. I’m seeing the regular kingfishers and bluebirds but today also saw two hawks, a spectacular red-tailed and a smaller one, a sharp-shinned perhaps.
That evening we watched Bill Moyers on PBS.
---------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 10 January-
Today I worked on the upcoming trip, reviewing nautical and tidal charts in detail. I also ordered a SPOT personal tracker. The latter is an interesting new device/service. It’s similar to a PLB (personal locator beacon) in that you can push a button to send an SOS signal via satellite to call for emergency help. But the new SPOT also allows the user to send an ‘I’m OK’ signal. The OK signal is picked up by satellites and is relayed to a server which then sends an email or cell-phone text message to up to five addresses. That message contains a link to a website with the location plotted on Google Maps.
I enjoyed listening to ‘Saskatchewan This Week’ and ‘Manitoba This Week’ episodes on the iPod on my walk today. I like Sheila Coles’ interviews on the former. She seems to have a knack for asking the questions I’m just formulating as the interviews progress. On the Manitoba side, I’m just up to the episodes recorded while we were in Winnipeg last summer.
That evening we watched ‘Fur’ with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey. It’s an ‘imaginary story’ about photographer Diane Arbus. In other words, it didn’t happen. But it’s an interpretation of how Diane may have become fascinated with her subjects, most of whom lived on the edges of society. Recommended.
---------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 9 January-
I spent most of the morning reading accounts of a court case in Chambersburg yesterday. I’ve been reading about this case as it developed over the last several months. Greg Rotz, a Chambersburg resident and member of the Pennsylvania Firearms Owner’s Association (PAFOA) forum, had been posting his experiences open-carrying in the Chambersburg area for several months. (‘Open-carry’ means carrying a holstered pistol on your side. This is legal in Pennsylvania but not often seen.) All went well until Greg wore his pistol when he went in to vote in early November. There a constable either did not understand Pennsylvania law on this subject or mistook him for a law enforcement officer (LEOs are not permitted to have firearms in polling places) and told him he couldn’t take the pistol inside. When Greg objected, the constable checked with county authorities and learned Greg was not doing anything wrong so relented. However, a few days later Greg received a letter from the county sheriff, revoking his license to carry a concealed firearm. It appears the constable and sheriff decided to teach Greg a lesson. The sheriff first sent Greg a letter saying the revocation was for ‘apparent illegal activity’ but when it became clear Greg hadn’t broken any laws, he changed his tune. The sheriff then claimed the incident showed Greg had a flaw in his character and it was within the sheriff’s discretion to deny permits based on character. After all, he said, it was just common sense that you don’t take a gun into a polling place.
The case received a lot of attention on the PAFOA forum and members not only chipped in a total of $2500 for his defense but 20 of them also attended yesterday’s hearing.
The court case went quickly. The judge asked if Greg had broken any laws and when the answer was no, he said “Give him his license back—right away!” On the issue of character, the judge said “We’re not going down that path”. He did add that he would be contacting his legislator to get a law passed to ban guns at polling places.
I have to say I’m disappointed in the outcome. On the one hand it was good to see the judge show disdain for the ridiculous character argument. On the other hand, Greg had to spend two months and almost $3000 to restore a license which was taken from him illegally and there’s no practical recourse against those who took it.
That evening we watched the extras on ‘The War Tapes’ DVD and then watched ‘Chalk’, a comedy/mockumentary about teaching. I can’t recommend this one. I didn’t get the comedy and I thought it too apparent the actors were improvising much of their dialog.
---------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 8 January-
Lasbashi and I had a lunch date today. We went to an upscale restaurant – Hayden’s-on-Pine—in Harrisburg. We’ve wanted to try this restaurant for some time and finally got around to it. After our lunch (which was good but we were hoping for spectacular) we checked out the fancy bar upstairs and there saw what appeared to be a Dale Chihuly glass installation. Labashi has long been a fan Chihuly and last winter we loved seeing his work at the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami (here’s a link to that on Chihuly’s web site: http://www.chihuly.com/installations/fairchild/index.html .) Back downstairs we happened to catch one of the restaurant owners walking by and asked if that was a Chihuly. He said it was indeed from the Chihuly workshop but most likely done by one of his staffers rather than by the master himself. When I said we had enjoyed seeing the Miami garden show he said,”Oh, yeah, the Fairchild- my dad’s on the board of directors”. Very cool!
As we went to leave the restaurant we noticed people hovering just outside the doorway, slowing things to a stop. I came close to saying ‘Excuse me!’ to get through but decided to wait… and good thing. When traffic cleared we saw what the backup was about. Senator Arlen Spector had just left our restaurant and his host and guests were setting up a photo with him at the restaurant’s entrance. We eventually ducked through and got the heck out of there before we turned into Republicans.
That evening we watched ‘The War Tapes’, an excellent documentary about the Iraq War. In this one, three soldiers are given cameras to document their lives before, during, and after their tours in Iraq. Highly recommended.
---------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 7 January-
Today I researched a new GPS for the upcoming trip. My old Garmin Etrex Legend is unreliable (sometimes the joystick works, sometimes it doesn’t) and I want to upgrade to the more-sensitive SIRF receiver. I see Garmin has just announced the Colorado series and they look interesting but they’re expensive and unproven. With prices now falling on the GPSMAP 60CsX, I’ll probably go with that well-regarded unit. I also want the coastal charts data for this unit so I spent a good bit of time figuring out exactly which BlueChart CD to buy and then which chart sets I’ll want to unlock. The BlueChart CDs come with hundreds of nautical charts but you can only use the regional ones you ‘unlock’ using codes you must buy. Buying the $139 CD only gives you codes to unlock one region and any others you want cost another $100 each. This sounds very expensive and it is if you believe you have to have many regions. On the other hand, last winter I paid $60 for just three paper charts of a small area in Florida and I have a LOT more area I want charts for.
When I went for the mail today I noticed we had someone drive on to the new lawn area again. I called it in to the local police to update the report from our two incidents last Fall.
It was SUCH as nice day today (temps in the high 60’s!), that Labashi joined me for my walk.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 6 January-
The warmer-than-normal weather continues. After blogging the morning away I rode the motorcycle in to Blockbuster for DVDs and made a quick stop at Starbucks before returning home for my now-daily four-miler. That evening we watched ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ with Bruce Willis. OK for what it is, I guess…an exercise in fantasy, titillation and role-reinforcement. Some of the stunts are ridiculously over-the-top, though. Not really recommended unless you’re a fan of Willis or the series.
====== end of post ======
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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