After volunteering to be bumped from a Southwest flight the other day it occured to me how rare it’s been that a Southwest flight was oversold. Out of many years flying Southwest I couldn’t recall ever being on an oversold flight. It used to be that there was plenty of room on a Southwest flights I’d take, frequently enough to stretch out in the row. With Southwest planes flying nearly full lately, that little perk is fast becoming history.
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Musings
General-purpose musings
There are 780 posts filed in Musings (this is page 62 of 78).
Fifteen Years
Greg’s post about his sixteen years in the Raleigh area reminded me that my own “area anniversary” just came up. It was August 2nd, 1992 that I began classes at N.C. State (and not long afterward that I stopped said classes, but that’s a story for another day). I’ve considered myself a resident ever since.
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Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful
I see that it was 96 degrees at Raleigh-Durham International Airport yesterday (and topped 100 at home). Here it might get to, oh, 72 degrees.
Why are we leaving again? 🙂
Cartooning and Copyrights
Ron, a new MT.Net visitor (15 now! Woowoo!), mentioned today that Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson lives here on Orcas Island. Since then, I’ve been thinking about the alternate universe where instead of being a high-paid computer geek, I followed my cartooning interest into a career. Then I read about Mr. Larson’s polite but emphatic notices to fans to remove Far Side cartoons from their webpages. That’s when I run into a personal conflict.
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Where to Buy Computer Books?
I walked into my nearby, multi-storied, big-chain bookstore looking for computer and technology books. To my surprise, their section was put behind the escalators and left a lot to be desired.
So, where do y’all buy your computer books? Is their a local bookstore (or chain) you recommend? I know I can get just about anything online. I’m looking for a place I can browse.
Pacific Northwest Weather
Man, I’m just loving this weather lately. Its like a taste of the weather we’ll enjoy when we visit the San Juan Islands next week. Kelly and I both agree we’re looking forward to Washington State’s occasionally-chilly weather.
On another note, I was amused to see Sunday’s News and Observer’s travel section feature the San Juan Islands. What would y’all write about if it wasn’t for me? 🙂
Tammy Faye
Growing up in Charlotte in the early 80s, my teenage channel-surfing would occasionally land me on the PTL Club program. Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were over the top, larger than life. I found myself mesmerized (Messnerized?) by their cheesy show. When it happened that the PTL was ripping people off, though, I wasn’t the least bit sorry to see Jim Bakker go to jail.
I thought that would be the last I’d hear of the Bakkers but Tammy Faye remarried, becoming Tammy Faye Messner and moving on with her life. In her post-Bakker activities I wound up having far more respect for her than I’d ever imagined I would. I was sorry to learn that Tammy Faye lost her long battle with cancer Friday at the age of 65.
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Whad’ya Do That For, Mister?!
I was waiting for my coworker, Chet, to meet me in the hotel lobby so we could grab dinner at the neighboring restaurant. He arrived just as the elevator door opened to reveal a large family: parents about my age and four kids, maybe 10 years old and younger.
“Are you going down?” I asked.
“Yes, we are,” the mother replied, somewhat reluctantly.
“Good,” I answered cheerfully, “so are we.” Chet and I stepped into the elevator.
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Money And Politics
Having just read how North Carolina’s “Bottle Bill” that would put a refundable deposit on canned or bottled drinks was shelved due to intense corporate lobbying in spite of its popularity with the public, I’m brought back to my idea of making some political television and radio advertising free.
Corporate interests are calling the shots in today’s political landscape. Legislators fear the stink that corporations might raise should these corporations not get their way.
Who can blame them? When it comes to politics, money talks. Money means speech. If a bill’s opponent has a large bank account, that opponent is formidable. Joe Public doesn’t stand a chance of receiving the same attention from his representative in the face of such resources. Ergo, Joe Public’s interests do not matter in the politician’s mind.
Somehow, money needs to be removed from the equation if our governments are ever going to serve the needs of their citizens and not just their corporate “citizens.” How can this playing field be effectively leveled? Is the dubious Santa Clara vs. The Southern Pacific Railroad case to blame for this mess?
Sharing Is Good
I’m considering starting a non-profit dedicated to reminding people of the wonders of sharing. As kids, we’re taught to share, and kids seem to understand the power of sharing. Yet there are many industries today trying their hardest to make sharing out to be a bad thing. I hope my non-profit might remind people of the amazing power of sharing.
Of course, I don’t know the first thing about running a non-profit, and only some idea of what I hope it might accomplish. It just seems like the right message at the right time, I guess. I figure things will solidify more as I progress.
Want to help? Share your thoughts!