Flushing a toilet on SBB CFF FFS intercity trains: a guide for the perplexed

TIL how to do it. Basically, press the "WC" (dark letters on white background) on the wall to the right of the toilet; see image at right.

This was a puzzle on IC5, running between Zürich and Genève. If you know German, the "spülen" (which you can't quite make out on the image) might have been obvious, but I did not know that word until just now.

I actually like being on vacation

I wrote recently that I’m not very good at the “rest” thing. But our two weeks on a faraway island were very enjoyable.

What made it like that? While we were there, I noticed myself calming down. Part of it was the lack of crowds. Was it that, or the lack of car traffic? Was it that people never (well, hardly ever) seemed to be in a hurry? I think it was all those things, but after we got home, I began to understand what else:

• In the mail was a letter from the DMV. I committed an infraction, a traffic violation, about a year ago. I went to traffic school to get the point erased from my record, but the DMV was reporting my violation to our insurance company, which of course increased my premium. It was not a small increase. So last January, I filled out the form asking why they were being so mean to me. The letter said: “the court hasn’t certified that you completed traffic school.” I spent some quality time on my computer, tracking down the information, then thought to look at the court’s website. After some study, I made a note to myself to call them Tuesday morning.
• There was email from my insurance company; I thought I had sent them several hundred dollars for the first installment on this year's earthquake insurance, but they never got it. I actually couldn’t find any record of having sent it, other than my scribbled “should arrive May 21.” So another electronic errand...
• The bank emailed me that they believed that a certain credit card charge was valid (I had disputed the charge); they sent a letter that included a receipt, supposedly signed by us, proving that we made the charge. The slip had our room number on it, but the handwriting on the receipt was not ours, and whatever they wrote on the slip, it was neither our names nor our initials. This was not a small charge. I composed a short note explaining that yes, that was our room number on the slip, but… I also whined that the vendor is irresponsible for not reading the room number from the key or at least verifying the surname. Another electronic errand.
• The post also contained a notification that Bentley’s animal license fees were overdue. They asked for a reply in case Bentley had died. Another electronic errand.

There were other errands, electronic and otherwise, but you get the idea. I decided that part of the wonder of that experience was being on that island, but another part was being on vacation.

And by “on vacation” I don’t mean “not doing my software job.” What I mean is, not being responsible for dead pets, whining at people who charge me for things I didn’t buy or couldn’t use, missed payments, government agencies, etc.

As our cab driver said, “Back to reality.”

Norwegian Air experience: short-haul and long-haul

Short version: We took Norwegian Air OAK-ARN-AMS (Oakland California, Stockholm/Arlanda, Amsterdam/Schiphol), and HEL-LGW (Helsinki-Vantaa to London Gatwick). There was a lot to like and I have few complaints.

You may have heard about Norwegian Air's astonishingly low prices on transatlantic flights. We flew them for the first time in April 2018. Our first flight was Oakland (California) to Stockholm. Of course the price for a checked bag is higher than you might expect, and meals, "free" on legacy carriers, are extra. We chose "low fare plus" or something like this, and pre-ordered meals. The total was a bit higher than the sensational prices you may have seen in ads, but it was still an excellent deal.

Seating was comfortable. I think the transatlantic flight was in a 787, hence a new airplane. How about the room? Though I'm short (5'3" on a good day), I have felt cramped on other airlines -cough-United-cough-; no problem on Norwegian. The first surprise was that the seat-belt sign was turned off pretty soon after take-off.

It seems to me that other airlines want to keep you immobilized as long as possible; Norwegian's philosophy seems to prioritize comfort. The first meal was also served pretty soon after take-off.

There was a power outlet at every seat—a US-style grounded outlet (maybe more but I didn't care), which we used for Carol's laptop; a USB jack for smaller electronics.

The meal was served on cardboard, rather than plastic, trays. It was a little surprising, but the trays worked well enough. They made me feel less ecologically evil, too.

As we approached our destination, the seat belt sign was left off longer than I remember from other airlines. Again, it seemed to me that Norwegian prioritized passenger comfort over immobilization (I'm guessing that other carriers keep passengers in seats longer to facilitate flight-attendant operations).

We were about 5 hours in Stockholm. I don't remember anything about the ARN-AMS flight.

---

Our next Norwegian flight was HEL-LGW. The departure gate was something like "50C", in Terminal 2. Seating near that gate (all the bus gates, really) was sparse in my view. Yes, I said "bus gates" -- we were loaded into buses, which took us out to where the aircraft awaited.

Bus gates aren't my favorite, but that may just be part of the package when taking a low-cost carrier. On this particular occasion, there was a delay once we got out to the airplane. I rather wished that they'd delayed getting us onto the buses, rather than loading us on and having us sit (or stand) on the tarmac in a rather overstuffed and under-ventilated bus. It felt like half an hour but was probably 15-20 minutes.

Anyway, we got onto our airplane and we had the same short-term confinement to our seats (this was 26 April 2018, i.e., after the Southwest engine explosion on April 17); we took off and pretty soon the seat-belt sign went off.

I was delighted to discover that we had free wi-fi aboard. It wasn't fast, but I could read and send email.

Filling water bottles at HEL, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, terminal 2

Water in the airport rest-rooms is drinkable but may be slightly warm and not very appetizing. As of 26 April 2018, cold water (also hot water) can be found at two dispensers between gates 53 and 54.

Stockholm, random notes 2016-07-09 Saturday.

We heard yesterday in Helsinki (where prices are lower!) that one can take a ferry overnight to Stockholm, spend a day here in S-town, and take the ferry back to Helsinki. And, I suppose, the reverse.

Certainly one could travel Helsinki to Tallinn and back -- probably just a few hours each way. On arrival in Stockholm we had a choice of transportation:

• excursions organized by the cruise ship line (which are more expensive but you get preferential treatment: first off the boat; they'll hold the boat if you're late getting back; if you can't dock in port, that portion of the tour fee is refunded)
• hop-on hop-off tours:
  • bus: 300 SEK (or SKr?) -- at $1=8.5 SEK, that's about $35
  • boat: 180 SEK or about $21
  • bus+boat: bus+boat, 400 SEK or about $47
• The above options are offered by red sightseeing and also by the green outfit. Price and itineraries are basically the same, EXCEPT
  • first few departures of the RED boats from cruise ship dock go directly to the Vasa museum. This is a deviation from the published route (wherein you'd make 5? stops before getting there). I don't know if the green boats go there; I suspect not.
  • According to one of our fellow-passengers, the green boats were smaller and fuller -- that is, you might not be able to board!
• According to one of the guys, boats come every 15 minutes. i don't think this is true: Carol swears we waited 30 minutes at one point. I'm not sure it was quite that long, but it was definitely more than 15 minutes. But every time we saw a green boat, a red boat was not far behind.

WHAT WE DID TODAY

• Decided to get on the red boat. Because of price we went for boat-only. We got red by pure dumb luck, and went to Vasa museum. Admission 180SEK each, I think. We took the [free] English-language tour; guide was excellent.

  The Vasa was commissioned in 1625 and construction completed in 1628, taking 2+1/2 years to build. King Gustav II Augustus (I might have that name wrong) wanted to have 72 cannon on board--never been done before. The shipwright/architect said it would be unsafe, but as the king wanted that, he got it. Due to the unprecedented weight, the ship was built with very strong+heavy timbers belowdecks (this was usual) but also above (this was not usual) to support the heavy armaments. Turns out only 64 of the requisitioned 72 were ever delivered...

  Vasa was the eldest of four sisters: two big and two smaller vessels. The king was annoyed because Vasa took so long to build: usual construction time was well under two years. Construction of Vasa's sister (whose name I've already forgotten) was halted while all hands were on deck so to speak to complete Vasa.

  Vasa sailed on her maiden voyage, and the 2nd gust of wind tipped her a bit too much, and water rushed into her gun ports. The listing to one side was exacerbated by [1] all the cannon being on one side of the ship (I guess port side but am not sure) to fire a salute to the king, who was not even there to hear it; and [2] ballast in the stern (I think rocks) which shifted to the side, accentuating the list. Water entered the ship through the gun-ports and she sank in 20 minutes, killing we think 30 or 40 souls. Fifteen skeletons were found inside when she was raised in the 1960s; others escaped the ship but were drowned (couldn't swim).

  Vasa's sister was given a hull one meter wider and I think with fewer cannon. She sailed for 30 years (vs 20 minutes), so i guess they did learn something.

  The Vasa was discovered in the late 1950s (1956?) by some guy who was looking for it with a coring tool. After finding black oak in quite a large area, he understood that he'd found Vasa, but it took several years to rescue her from the bottom. Steel cables were placed under the keel, and affixed to pontoons floating on either side. (This was attempted shortly after she sank, but with ships anchored on either side. This is why many anchors were found atop Vasa when she was eventually raised.) The wood began to warp (etc) and they began spraying her with polyethelyne glycol (sounds like Saran Wrap(R) + antifreeze). They replaced her bolts with iron bolts (today most of these have been replaced yet again with stainless steel bolts). Once they got the water out of her, she floated! She was made of wood, right?

  btw she sank in very cold and brackish waters, which contributed to her survival. also there weren't any shipworms (i guess these things eat ships).

  About the sculptures around the boat; the bow has the lion, representing Gustaf ii adolphus/augustus/whatever. Near bow, on starboard side, is a man hiding under a table, supposedly for fear of the lion. The Swedish king was younger brother and protestant to the king of poland, who was Catholic. But Swedes didn't want to be Catholic. Other statues near the bow are the likenesses of Roman emperors; Gustav identified with them.

  At the stern, Gustav is seen (did i take a pic of this?) leading and protecting his people.

  Back to the Saran Wrap + antifreeze stuff; they've stopped spraying that. instead Vasa is kept in a temp/humidity-controlled environment. On many places the ship has reflectors. They want to preserve her for another 100 years (she was underwater for 333 years!) so want to be able to measure when she's deformed by gravity, by the wood's compression as it settles, etc.

  Something like 98% of the wood in Vasa was preserved; there are a few places where it was replaced. The bowsprit is one; the stern-most mast is another. You can tell by the color of the wood (new=lighter). Not all of Vasa is inside the museum; there are three masts visible outside the museum, indicating the full height of the original ship.

• Afterward, we walked to Skansen, enjoying the beautiful Stockholm weather along the way. We entered Skansen by the not-main entrance (Hazelius?) and walked in. We saw King Oscar's Terrace and the rose garden, then turned to Makaloes (oe=o-umlaut) and followed the path to see reindeer and elk and some other domestic & wild animals.
• Then we took the 15? minute walk to the hop... boat around to the first stop moderately close to Gamla Stan. The "Miss Behavin'"(?) Bar was right there, and we had 3 hot dogs (the "alex wiener") for SEK175; a cobb salad (another SEK175) and a beer (SEK75? 85?). Yeah, that's like $20 per entree, and about $10 for a beer.
• At about 2:25 we boarded the boat, arriving at the pier about 3:10. We were on board well ahead of the 3:30pm deadline.

Alaska Airlines to Hawaii?

Some folks say that Hawaiian and Alaska are the two best airlines to take to Honolulu. What with Dad's passing last year, I've been making quite a few trips, usually on Alaska; Carol and I just got back from a trip on Hawaiian. Here are a few opinions.

	Alaska	Hawaiian
gate experience outbound	checkin at San Jose terminal B; your gate may be in terminal A	checkin at HNL Hawaiian terminal (can you spell c-r-o-w-d-s?); your gate is in main terminal and may involve quite a hike
Food	A wide variety of paid options; usual complimentary beverages; water offered throughout the flight	Complimentary meal and glass of wine. Snacks available for purchase; usual complimentary beverages; water offered throughout the flight
in-flight amenities	Power outlet at every seat.	I saw no power outlets on any leg of this past trip. Safety video (seen on both CA↔HI legs) was particularly entertaining.
baggage	Bags come out I think within 20 minutes of landing.	Carol's checked bag appeared 30 minutes after we were at the gate at SJC. widebody jet (A330, 2+4+2 seating) means more passengers, hence more bags

Buying a lei in Kailua (as in Kaneohe, not as in Kona)

Aren't you glad I didn't title this "getting lei'd in Kailua"?

Suppose you're a young newlywed and you want to buy a lei for your honey, and you're staying on the windward side of Oahu. You type "lei" into Google maps and you notice this entry.

Well, it doesn't work. First, 776 Kailua Road isn't where google maps says it is. Second, 776 Kailua Road actually has a surfboard shop and an Arthur Murray studio. So what's a young lei-seeker to do?

Well, it turns out that Walgreen's has leis. At least an orchid lei (a "vanda lei" as I would call it). The folks at the Portuguese Bake Shop told me that Foodland, 7-eleven, and Long's (yes, it's still called Long's here in the islands) all have leis.

But not Lavender Lei, and not at 776 Kailua Road.

A little good news today from Caltrain

According to Caltrain's ticket types page, a monthly pass can now be bought as late as the 15th of the month. This is great news, because in the past, I've returned from vacation on the 10th of the month, when the monthly pass nazis said "No monthly pass for you!"

The monthly pass is still a good deal on the 15th, because the it's the only pass that doesn't require one to "tag off" at the end of each trip.

I still hate the clipper card, and I still wish I didn't have to use it, but this "can't buy your monthly pass after the 9th" vexation at least is over.

İskiltal

Does that title look a little strange? What’s that dot doing atop a capital ‘I’? Well, it’s Turkish. We recently took a Rick Steves walking tour of Istanbul (which I should write “İstanbul”), where our tour guide told us there are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet. Here’s the deal: from the 26 in the American alphabet, subtract three letters:

• Q
• W (except in signs pointing the way to “W.C.”)
• X

Then add:

• Ç/ç (sounds like our ‘ch’)
• Ğ/ğ (lengthens previous vowel sound)
• “İ” vs “I” / “ı” vs “i” (without the dot, like the ‘e’ in ‘the’; with it, like the ‘ee’ in ‘bee’)
• Ö/ö (like German)
• Ş/ş (like our ‘sh’)
• Ü/ü (like German)

The result is something more phonetic than we have in English with our ‘ph’ (except in shepherd) and ‘ough’ (as in cough, rough, though, through), etc.

An old Wikipedia article adds more detail.

London sept 2: British Library and Museum

We went to the "new" British Library -- there was no budget for it so it seemed to take forever. (The reading room and collection used to be inside the British Museum.) Construction workers were reported to say they were working on the Library and thus were employed for life.

I saw a few pages from an early printing of the King James Bible of the 17th century, which I could actually read; I can't say the same of either the 16th century Gutenberg Bible (it's in Latin and the font is sufficiently strange to me) or the 5th (not a typo) century Codex Sinaiticus. The latter was opened to Psalms 9-13 but the lighting was quite low and the ink rather light (faded, or just written that way). I don't know Greek either. (The sign nearby said that psalms 9-10 were written as a single psalm in the Codex, a single acrostic poem. I suspect this was the way the LXX has it too.) Anyway I thought I recognized a word, but turns out I was wrong. At least I think I was.

But it was pretty darned exciting to see these old documents. Codex Sinaiticus especially.

At the British Museum we saw the Rosetta Stone! I mean the real one! Its story is the stuff of adventure film -- rediscovered by French soldiers, but then being given to the English as spoils of war; Thomas Young's attempts at deciphering it; then Jean-François Champollion's discovery of several keys, which enabled him to see ancient monuments and, for the first time in maybe 2000 years, being able to say what it meant.

Champollion was apparently given to fainting; he'd translate a monument, faint, and translate another. Can't say I blame him, though; if I were the first person in 1500-2000 years to be able to read a monument I'd be pretty excited, too.

Lunch

Lunch was at "Tas" Restaurant, 22 Bloomsbury St.; their domain registration seems to have expired, but here's a cached copy.

We took the £9.15 per person lunch menu -- 2 persons minimum. Lots of good stuff, no meat. What I can remember it had: eggplant, something like ratatouille; hummus; bread of course; tabbouli; cracked? bulghur with walnuts, spinach/yogurt, fresh hot falafel, freshly baked(?) thing that reminded me of spanakopita but was probably pronounced something like "boo-regh".

Supper

was at the Ebury Wine Bar at Ebury and Elizabeth Streets, right next to the hotel.

St Paul's Cathedral 8/31; also brief remarks on Sept. 1

Quick: what is a Cathedral? Are they all Catholic? Is the Crystal Cathedral a real one?

Answers: where the seat of a Bishop is; No, the Church of England has Bishops; No, the Crystal Cathedral has no bishop and hence is really no cathedral. Finally, a cathedral need not take hundreds of years to build, though it seems a lot of them did.

But today (8/31) we learned that St. Paul's was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1660s and completed within a few decades -- within his lifetime. I was shocked to hear about the speed of construction, knowing only about cathedrals what Fred Brooks and Eric Raymond wrote about them -- Brooks writing in The Mythical Man-Month that cathedrals generally have their designs changed multiple times during construction (Rheims being one of the few exceptions) and ESR writing in The Cathedral and the Bazaar about ... well, you can read it.

As it turns out, the current St Paul's Cathedral seems to be the fifth on that site, being built after its predecessor was destroyed in 1666's big fire. The astonishing speed of construction was, our guide (Mary here, not Tom) surmised, because it was a replacement and thus urgently needed.

You can read a lot about St Paul's online; that the building endured a few bombs (some parts were rebuilt) was interesting, as was the information that Wren didn't want any memorials in there. There aren't as many memorials there today as there are in Westminster Abbey, and I wonder if Wren lived to see the first one, but memorials there are. There is an American Chapel -- dedicated to the Americans who lost their lives in England -- within the building, which is nice I suppose, though it strikes me a little strange.

Food

Lunch was at the Counting House [review], 50 Cornhill, London EC3V 3PD, phone 020 7283 7123. Generous portions, tasty food. I almost left my camera there, but someone from our tour group saved me. I had the "coronation chicken sandwich"; Carol had the steak and ale pie.

For supper we wandered over to our nearby La Bottega just down Ebury St at the corner of Eccleston. Carol had a small plate with salads; I had some eggplant lasagne and "spinach" (maybe New Zealand spinach?). Tasty, moderate prices. They close at 7 on weekdays, 6 on Saturdays.

While I'm here I'll tell you about Thursday 9/1

We went to Windsor Castle. The group met before 9am and walked to Victoria Station, where we caught a train to Clapham Junction. From there we took a train toward Windsor, which stopped short in Staines(?) because of "a police incident" (a "suspected fatality" -- hello, are you dead? I say, are you dead?); there was no guess about when the trains would run again, other than "you'd better take the bus."

We took a pleasant walk to the bus depot, and after a while the #71 bus came. We piled on (quite a few standees, as you might imagine), and after a bit more of a while the bus took off.

There were some gorgeous views, including one of the castle along the route from Ascot (the road the Queen takes when she comes to Windsor). Not far from the castle, our bus came to a halt, and we disembarked, walking up to the Guild Hall, which has underground rest-rooms on either side of the "porch."

The building was designed by Christopher Wren, originally with no interior columns. The townspeople insisted on columns (or we won't pay you) so Christopher Wren put the columns in, but they don't actually touch the ceiling.

Immediately to the left of the guild hall is the Crooked House, on Queen Charlotte St.; they serve "tea" all day starting around 9am. The food and drink were fine (we got the afternoon tea service for two, £32.00) but the tea and coffee were served in stainless-steel pots. Fine functionally, but if you prefer china/porcelain tea service, cross the bridge into Eton and take your tea at, umm, House on the River? River House? It's on your right at the Eton end of the footbridge.

Anyway, the castle is humungously enormous (Tom's description) and it surely is. Some of the "decorations" on the castle were added in the 19th century (it's way older than that) to make it look the way some people thought it should. The garden in the "dry moat" is gorgeous.

We made our way back to Victoria Station without incident. With no dinner plans, we scattered. Carol grabbed a salad from... was it M&S simply food? and on our way to the exit we saw "wasabi" -- a food cart(iirc) in the station. This wasn't gourmet food, but was every bit as good (or maybe I was hungry) as the stuff from a Japanese convenience store. The o-nigiri even had nori separated from the rice; after removing the tear-around strip and easing the sides off, you've got a crispy seaweed wrapping around the triangular rice-ball. Dee-lish!

Picked up some nigiri sushi, a plastic cup filled with eda-mame (they were salted just right as far as I was concerned), and one packet each of shoyu and wasabi paste. Grabbed a light Italian beer (Peroni I think) from La Bottega on our street. It was great.

Learned a few interesting things today (8/30)

First, "Peace in our time" or "Peace for our time," as Neville Chamberlain said after a 1938 meeting with Hitler, was not nearly as daft as some have claimed. He was no dummy and certainly knew Hitler was plotting war; he knew England would need to prepare for war. He also knew that England wasn't ready to fight in 1938; by apparently appeasing Hitler he bought the UK time to prepare.

Until today, I'd heard only the traditional view, that Chamberlain was silly for believing Hitler. But upon reflection, what I heard today makes a lot more sense. The wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain#Legacy_and_reputation offers both sides of the story.

Something else we heard today was that during WW II, relationships were formed much more quickly than had been usual before that. Young people would meet in Trafalgar Square -- scandalously, without regard to social class, level of education, etc. -- and take the short walk to St James's Park, which was not mowed during those years. London suffered nightly bombings 57(?) days in a row at one point, which made people ever more aware that tomorrow we may die. Besides disregarding class, some of these young people even ignored nationality (how many thousands of British married Americans during the war?) -- and England (indeed the world) was never the same.

Hearing this, I immediately thought "Of course!" though I wouldn't ever have come up with the insight myself.
Not nearly as important...
but we had lunch at The Two Chairmen, a nice pub at the end of Lewisham St. (really an alley) where it meets Old Queen Street. The address seems to be 39 Dartmouth St.; more location info here.

In the National Gallery

Our guide, the superb Tom Hooper, explained several paintings hanging in the National Gallery; I remember some of his comments on two of them. The first, which you see at right, was the Arnolfini Portrait. Tom's comments were not quite the same as what Wikipedia says, and you can look up the latter, so I'll try to relate what Tom told us. First, the man is considerably older than his wife. She's wearing green, not an expensive color (Wikipedia says it's fur-lined, indicating its expense). Tom also pointed out that the man is wearing fur, but not the most expensive fur; he's of the merchant class and has done well. The girl is not pregnant, but she's got enough of a belly to show she's been eating well; lifting her green outer garment, we see that her inner garment reaches to the floor (further emphasizing the wealth of her husband-to-be).

By the way, the perspective and realism of the painting (note the convex mirror along the back wall) were what one would expect for the period (dated 1434 by Van Eyk), but this sort of technique hadn't made it to England by then.

One interpretation of the painting holds that the girl is afraid because of the high expectations placed upon her (at this time: to bear sons), communicated by the ample but not extravagant clothing she wears, by the age difference, by her submissive posture. The dog (man's best friend; most faithful creature) suggests the husband expects faithfulness from his new wife (or -to-be). The picture may document a betrothal (note the date/signature on the rear wall).

The idea of this picture as documenting the new/prospective husband's possessions (does he consider the girl as one of them?) and expectations is rather a mind-blower to me. As a father of daughters I find it offensive, but I also understand that the world often is and was that way.

Tom also interpreted for us "An Allegory of Venus and Cupid," seen here at left. The painting was evidently a "gift" for Francis I of France. Here's my recollection of his interpretation.

Cupid (Eros), son of Aphrodite (Venus), is here fondling his mother's breast and kissing her on the lips -- a kiss she's returning. An act of incest is about to happen, which Oblivion (upper left corner, with eyeless sockets) is trying to cover up. Father Time (upper right, with hourglass on his shoulder) is trying vehemently to foil oblivion -- suggesting that in time, one's sins will find one out.

Cupid's posture is unnatural (as the act of incest would be?) and he's about to step on a bird (a European swallow??); there's a girl on the right side of the painting also with a very unnatural (impossible) posture: she seems to be looking over her left shoulder at us (that's her left hand holding something near Venus's left arm). The girl's right hand holds a scorpion's tail (or something resembling it), and her left foot (near the right foot of the rose-clutching boy) is some sort of animal's paw -- so she's not really a normal human girl but some sort of mixed creature; foot of a wolf?, tail of scorpion, hands and head of a girl.

The old woman(?) in agony, whose head is below Venus's right elbow, may represent syphilis, which according to some accounts eventually killed Francis I.

Putting together syphilis on the left, the scorpion's tail on the right, and Father Time at top, one might think the painting a warning against indiscriminate sex: the danger of disease, the eventual exposure of the deed, and a (delayed) sting. Personally, I suspect that Cupid's unnatural and uncomfortable posture (Venus's too) suggests a great deal of discomfort may accompany the act itself.

Rather a shocking message to send with a gift; I tend to think it rather a futile gesture, but who knows? Maybe it was sent with good intent (Proverbs 24:11; James 5:20). Whatever the motive, the intensity of the painting's message rather shocked me.
Supper
We took a break at our hotel then had dinner at Boisdale (of Belgravia). Quite fancy decor (white tablecloths, etc.) and the music is great (live jazz most nights I think). The food was OK -- Dave ordered a mini "haggis" -- Carol and I each tried a bite. I had sausage and mash -- which was not low-sodium. The "Jacobite Menu" is a prix-fixe set -- three courses I think for about 20 pounds. Not bad considering the decor and music.

First days in London

We arrived without incident on United 954 (nonstop SFO→LHR), went through immigration (passport control), picked up our bags, and exited via the line marked "Rien à déclarer" (or it should have been -- I don't remember what it actually said in English - "No declarations" maybe).

We exchanged some money -- quite a spread as I recall: I think we paid something like US$ 1.88 to get UK£ 1, but if we have any £s left over, each will get us $1.49.

Anyway, we took our little trolley (that's what they call baggage carts here) down some ramps then up an elevator to the central bus station by 7:40 -- next bus to London was 8:30am and it was £5 per person; great.

With 50 minutes to go, we visited "Caffe Nero" for snacks and a decaf latte. When our bus (501-London) appeared in the window, we went outside to the pick-up location -- stand#8 or something like this. The staff were unloading baggage from the belly of the bus.

Some of you grammarians may complain about my choice of verb in the preceding sentence. You're American, aren't you? Here's the thing: what pronoun would you use for "the staff" -- would you say "they"? Well yes, because two or more people are being discussed. So if I said "The staff appeared very quickly" then "they were unloading baggage..." the verb would be correct there, wouldn't it? Therefore "The staff were unloading" is fine, right? It's like in the advertisement "Pan Am are now offering direct flights to..." which I read in an English paper some decades ago....

Once the Heathrow baggage was off, they checked our tickets and took our bags. The bus went directly from Heathrow's central bus station to London's Victoria coach (in the US we'd normally say "bus") station -- not to be confused with the "Victoria Station" that usually means the rail or Underground or "tube" station. Once off the bus, we retrieved our bags and walked to the Lime Tree Hotel.

The hotel is just a few minutes' walk away. We arrived before 9:30am, and the fellow at the desk greeted us warmly. No, our room wasn't ready; yes, he could prioritise the cleaning staff's work so that the room would most likely be ready by 10:30. (This wasn't necessary, as it turned out.) And yes, he could suggest some interesting things to do. First, he told us how to get to Buckingham (pronounced “bucking’em”) Palace for the changing of the guard at 11:30, but he also told us about a smaller ceremony at the nearby St James's Palace where we wouldn't have 4,000 people blocking the view. What we didn't realize at the time was the ceremony at Bucking'em would take an hour, vs. 15-20 minutes for the smaller ceremony (viewed from maybe 15 yards away).

Then, as we had tickets for the musical Chicago that afternoon, we asked him how to get to the Cambridge Theatre. He took out his pink highlighter and showed us where to catch the #34 bus, what route it would take and where to get off. Very helpful!

We "popped our bags round the corner," and headed off, eventually finding St James's Palace. We also found an astonishing little plaque commemorating a visit of a legation (delegation?) from the Texas Republic! After watching the ceremony (which involved a 1978 Barry Manilow song) we walked to St James's Park and had lunch at the restaurant, just missing a brief but intense rain shower.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, got settled in briefly, then had a run-in with the bus ticketing system: exact change required! A mad dash followed, but we got on the bus in time to allow for a little confusion at the far end. But we eventually got to the Cambridge Theatre, and we even got to our seats before they lowered the lights. The musical was "Chicago" -- about which I knew nothing. The acting was superb, but the costumes were a little disconcerting. wikipedia told me it was a satirical account (I had thought it rather cynical before reading that).

There was water on the ground when we emerged from the theatre around 5:30, and we got a light supper at "kopapa". There was a large hanging on the wall; I thought the material and colors looked Hawaiian, but our server called it a "tapa" from New Zealand.

We caught a cab back; our driver was a former investment banker. Quite a job change I'd say. He recommended "Boisdale," which has live jazz most evenings and is within a block or two of our hotel.

Sunday 8/28

From our little map we saw that "St Michael's" was a short walk away from the hotel. Their website gave a good impression, so we attended their 10:30am service. We couldn't see how to get in, but the guest organist's mother (who was visiting) led us round to the entrance. We sat down directly, and the lovely Carol said to the young lady in the next chair, "Hi! We're from California." Jennifer Garner (her real name) said, "Well I'm from North Carolina!"

The congregation was very friendly, and one of the folks, Mary-Lois I think, turns out to know the pastor who officiated at our wedding 25 years ago. Small world indeed.

We enjoyed the hymns, the readings from 1 Timothy 5 and Luke 14, and the sermon -- which was about parents (well, really about our priorities). Jennifer joined us for lunch -- she recommended a pub round the corner, probably the Thomas Cubitt -- we ate outside, but moved inside when the raindrops fell.

We met our tour guide, Tom, that afternoon, and he took us on a walk around the neighborhood. We got practice catching the bus and the Underground, and ate together at Grumbles, not too far from Victoria Station.

This tour includes a transit pass (bus and tube; also discounts on some boat rides) for the week. I'm tempted to buy a weekly pass for our time in Paris too, but we'll see....

Monday 8/29

In the morning, we visited Westminster Abbey -- quite impressive. If you're lucky, you'll do this tour in the morning rather than late afternoon (when "people lose their will to live"). A lot of people are buried under there.

We then took a boat ride, and had a very capable narrator describe several sights around the river. He called out the various bridges, the Tate Gallery, the London Eye, and so on. He mentioned the Bloody Tower (the Tower of London actually has several towers), relating the answer to the question "Which one is the Bloody Tower?" -- i.e., "the one behind the bloody trees, which is why you can't bloody see it."

Upon landing, we ran off to get lunch (we went up the hill to "EAT") then back for a Beefeater tour. These fellows have all served at least 22 years in the British Army with (in their words) no misdeeds detected, iirc. It was disconcerting to think of all the killings that happened in the tower complex.

We made our way back to the hotel for a quick freshen-up, then walked to Victoria (tube) station, transferred at Oxford Circus, and emerged above ground at Marylebone (pronounced "Marley Bone") for fish and chips at "Seashell", a short walk away. Very generous portions (a HUGE piece of cod) were provided, though Carrie's piece was seriously undercooked (we shared a table with her and Jim). They corrected this cheerfully and promptly. Good food.

Heard last week, on a boat ride on the Thames

As we approached the Tower of London area, the waterman (who claimed not to be a guide, but he was very good) described some historical events that occurred in the "Bloody Tower."

"People ask, where is the Bloody Tower? Well, it's behind the bloody trees, which is why you can't bloody see anything!" This guy was pretty funny -- every bit as funny as he thought he was :)

The TSA's worst nightmare

That's what they're calling Phil Mosek, who tried to board an airplane without "proper ID". He was arrested, and acquitted on all counts; video recordings demonstrated that the TSA and police were lying.

Here's the report on his acquittal (see also Seattle Weekly's report) The TSA Blog unsuccessfully spins the acquittal, as you can see from the numerous comments. And check out the Q&A on this site, which points out:

Is there any law that requires you to show ID credentials to fly, or to the police?

No. In Gilmore v. Gonzales (decided at 435 F.3d 1125), a case involving the same airline, lawyers for the TSA swore to the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals that no Federal law or regulation requires airline passengers to show any evidence of their ID in order to fly.

Is there any law that requires you to answer questions from the TSA or police?

No. You have the right to remain silent. Mr. Mocek explicitly invoked this right.

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits or restricts photography or audio or video recording at TSA checkpoints or of police?

No. Prior to his flight out of ABQ, Mr. Mocek received written confirmation from Albuquerque TSA staff that, “There aren’t any state or city laws/ordinances that prohibit photography in the public areas of the airport.”

Gorgeous Adirondacks

We just got back from the "Beaver Pond Lodge," about 11 miles off I-87 near Brant Lake, New York. It's beautiful up there -- lots of green, and various shades of green: the evergreen leaves are darker I think than the leaves that came out in the past few weeks. It's wet -- thunderstorms every day we stayed there and we got hail a few times too -- which I guess goes along with the green. The lodge is maybe a quarter-mile up an unpaved road. The stream setting at right is across the street from the lodge, no more than 50 yards up a trail. We went out in the evening and, in a tiny pool of water alongside the road, Jenny spotted the frog you see at left.

At the corner of Beaver Pond Road and North Beaver Pond Road is a path leading to a little floating dock with views of what I suppose is Beaver Pond, shown below.

These photos give an idea of how peaceful and quiet it is -- when the hail isn't falling and the thunder isn't thundering that is. One of these days I might match the exposures and stitch the photos together...

Dressing without vinegar (almost) and what to do with half an eggplant

It's not camping, but when you're vacationing in a cabin and a trip to the store is an expedition, it almost feels like it. So on our way here we stopped in town and bought eggs, lettuce, cucumbers, olive oil, egglant, tomato, peppers, zucchini, tofu, sausage, ice cream, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, chips, spaghetti sauce, garlic... We already had soy sauce and rice and pasta in the car -- and, we thought, balsamic vinegar.

The first surprise came when we realized that there was already a nearly-full bottle of olive oil in the house. No problem! But the second, that we had no vinegar (balsamic or otherwise) in the car or house, was not greeted with much enthusiasm; how would we make salad dressing? Fortunately, there was some spicy brown prepared mustard (which already had some vinegar in it -- yay!) so, remembering back some 30 years and adapting it, we had

Low-vinegar vinaigrette

Put into a small bowl (no larger than a cereal bowl and preferably smaller):

• 2 tsp spicy brown prepared mustard
• ½ clove garlic, minced (optional)

Add:

• 2 tsp olive oil

and beat with a small spoon. (I used a table teaspoon -- not a precise measuring teaspoon.) You could use a small wire whisk, but this house ("cabin" doesn't do it justice; the rental agent calls it "Beaver Pond Lodge") doesn't have one

When you have what looks like rather a soupy version of spicy brown mustard, add olive oil, a little (no more than ½ tsp) at a time, and each time stir until thoroughly mixed, nearly homogeneous. But add no more than 1 Tbsp of oil beyond the original 2 tsp.

If what you have turns into mustard-colored bubbles in clear oil, you've added too much oil. Don't fret, but try to remember how much you added, and add a little less next time. A little pepper and salt won't hurt.

Leftover Pseudo-Italian Eggplant &c

Today, I contemplated what to do with a package of chicken sausage and half an eggplant. Roasting eggplant cubes in the oven worked well before, so here's a serviceable lunch entree.

• Slice thinly:
  • ½ eggplant
  By "thinly" I mean maybe ¼ inch or so. 8mm wouldn't be too thick but I guess 1cm might be.
• Dump the slices onto a baking sheet or some ovenproof dish. The lodge has a glass pie-pan so I used it. If you like, you can drizzle it with
  • olive oil
  and/or sprinkle with
  • salt.
• Set oven for 450°F and insert the eggplant slices. (You can preheat the oven if you like but that seems overly diligent). Turn the slices every 5-10 minutes, and cook for about 30 minutes total.
• While the eggplant is baking, slice thinly (about ¼ inch):
  • some sausage
  We have sweet Italian sausage made from chicken, and I used two links from the package. These are fully cooked, so I added them to the eggplant slices for the last 10 minutes or so.

  If your sausage isn't pre-cooked, you might add them to the oven earlier -- e.g., slice and add as soon as you put the eggplant in.

• When done, top with
  • leftover marinara sauce
  if you have some. If you don't have any, no worries.

If your clipper card has a monthly pass, how can VTA cite you?

Yesterday I got chewed out by a fare inspector on the VTA light rail for not tapping (tagging, swiping, scanning) my clipper card before boarding the train, as their FAQ says I must.

I confess, I'm cranky and have a Bad Attitude about this and am thus disobeying both Philippians 4:4 and 1 Peter 2:13. How much money do Caltrain and VTA (and thus the taxpayers) spend on all the fancy electronic equipment to load, read [etc] these cards? They still need ticket machines at each station, at which by the way you cannot buy a monthly pass or load it onto the clipper card.

And why do VTA insist that you tag on every time you board, even if you have a monthly pass? If they cite you, what kind of fine can legally be imposed? I googled "fare violation santa clara county" (no quotes) and first up was California Public Utilities Code section 99580, which says that agencies can pass ordinances to fine you for activities defined in subdivision (b), among which is (aha!)

(2) Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token with the intent to evade the payment of a fare.

So they couldn't get me on that one, because I've already paid for the monthly pass. If I engage in an argument with the fare inspector, they could presumably get me under

(6) Willfully disturbing others on or in a system facility or vehicle by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior.

But if I get off the train at the next station with the fare inspector and tag my card at that time (the reader will confirm the pass is good to the end of the month) then 99580 doesn't apply, right?

Am I missing something here? Besides having a bad attitude I mean?

Update 2011-06-06: sent to VTA

Sent this morning, after I had to run like heck from caltrain, to get onto the light rail:

From the faq http://www.vta.org/clipper/faq/index.html#q4

Do I need to tag my card even if I have a monthly pass?

Yes, regardless of whether you use cash or a monthly pass, you must tag your card to a card reader every time you board a bus or before you board light rail. Your tag is your proof of payment.

This is disingenuous. the "tag" machines know that I have a monthly pass, and the fare inspectors would know that too, if their machines were programmed to recognize monthly pass holders (as the caltrain fare inspectors' machines are).

Can you help me understand why it's reasonable for VTA to impose this additional burden on monthly pass holders? I don't believe that citing for failure to tag on would be supported by either spirit or letter of CPUC 99580(b)(2) (or any other part of (b), (c), or (d) for that matter -- since by failing to tag on I would not be evading payment of fare).

Why does VTA program the fare inspectors' machines to reject valid paid monthly passes on Clipper?

I'll see what they say, if anything.

Newark Airport to Long Island

Impatient? Click here.
So we're staying on Long Island, and I spend two days in Pittsburgh. The plan was to fly back Tuesday night, 7:30, arrive JFK 9:19pm and take LIRR to Ronkonkoma. But then I get a text message from Delta: flight delayed to 8:53pm, arrive at JFK 10:47pm.

OK, whatever. Our future son-in-law emails me with the LIRR departure times. But then Delta sens me another text message: 9:53pm departure, JFK at 11:47pm. Well, as they say in Japan, shikata ga nai (nothing to be done for it).

The cab's a little late picking me up from the office, but so what? I've got a two-hour wait -- minimum? So we get to the airport, I pick up my boarding pass (it still says 7:30pm departure) and go through security. I'm sitting at the gate and then: "Attention, Delta passengers on flight 4326: your flight is canceled. Please proceed to a Delta ticket counter..."

You don't have to ask me twice. "We have you protected on a 6:00am flight tomorrow," the lady says. Just what I want -- another night away from the lovely Carol. Not. It's hard on me not to be able to reach over in the night and enjoy the feeling of her perfect curves... OK, that's not going to help me now, I think...

Back to the current problem: "Anything to LaGuardia or ISP?" I ask. No, but there's a Continental flight to Newark, leaving at 8pm. Where do I sign up?

She does the needful and I walk over to the Continental gate. The Continental lady gave me a new boarding pass -- hooray! and said "Update at 8pm."

Wait. Update--what's that mean? It meant that Newark is on a "ground stop" -- at 8pm they'll tell us whether the flight is actually going. The airplane was already at the gate, but there's no point in getting on until we know it can take off!

I informed our future son-in-law, who got back to me with extensive information on how to get from Newark to the LIRR. Meanwhile, as I looked over at the flight status, the departure time changed from 8:02 to 8:03. I looked again after a while to see it change from 8:21 to 8:22. "Update at 9:00pm," they said.

Eventually, we took off on a propeller-driven plane, flying near a thunderstorm (it's weird seeing nearby clouds light up -- from lightning -- while riding in an airplane) to land safely at Newark right around eleven.

Newark to LIRR

Once at the gate, I exited security and followed the signs to "AirTrain" and took the one that went to "RailLink" (trains go in two directions; check electronic signs).

At the RailLink station I had the opportunity to transfer to Amtrak or New Jersey Transit, maybe some other options. I couldn't tell whether the ticket machines were all alike. By now it was after 11pm; whatever intelligence I'd had in the morning was gone. I did, however, notice a slender young woman, an employee, chatting with another agent, a young man. I walked up to her, and she turned toward me. "I have no idea what I'm doing," I said, giving her my helpless middle-aged uncle look.

"Where are you going?" she asked, as she walked me to the nearest ticket machine. I was going to Penn Station in New York; I may have mentioned that I wanted New Jersey Transit (I'd read somewhere that Amtrak was a lot more expensive). "It'll be $12.50," she told me, adeptly selecting "N" on the screen and tapping "New York - Penn Station." Next she asked me about payment type: "Cash, debit, or credit?"

I inserted my credit card, and removed it smoothly, per her instructions. The machine spat out my ticket, and a credit card receipt. "11:34, Track A," she said, and I thanked her as another middle-aged guy approached her with a puzzled look. I'm sure she gets a lot of that.

Through the wicket (or however you say "かいさつぐち" in American) and down the stairs, I saw a waiting area with a lot of empty chairs. A big screen showed when the next trains were coming; one was canceled but mine was showing on time. The P.A. system announced that a train for New York Penn Station would be arriving in ____ minutes, with the track number, etc.

It pulled in, right on time. I saw a car with lots of empty seats -- it looked good to me, but a dour conductor called out: "This way. This way!" Sure enough, doors on the empty car weren't opening. The car wasn't full, but neither were there many quiet seats.

It made just a few stops -- Newark Penn Station at 11:41, Secaucus (?) Junction, maybe one or two more. Near the end, we stopped for a while and I heard an announcement that we were single-tracked into New York. A few minutes later a train passed going the other way, and we started moving. We arrived at New York Penn Station right on time, 12:06am. I followed the signs to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and found the 12:14am Ronkonkoma-bound train waiting at the platform. I took a seat and we were on our way in a few minutes.

Really, it wasn't hard, but I was glad to have schedule info from our future son-in-law.

Encounter with "Jane Doe"

We were having a good trip until our run-in with "Jane Doe": camped three nights at Stony (or Stoney) Creek in Sequoia, then a couple of nights in a lodge in Oakhurst (about 16 miles from Yosemite's south entrance). A few highlights:

• Hiking to Big Baldy, which I'd say is just as impressive as The Watchtower, but with a lot less work;
• A drive into Kings Canyon -- only the lovely Carol had been there before -- which is like Yosemite, but without the crowds, fancy food, swimming pools, bike rentals, shuttle buses, etc.
• The hike to Wawona Point, 1200' elevation gain from the Mariposa Grove parking lot and a beautiful, beautiful view. We also saw a marmot (unusual for this altitude) in the fallen tunnel tree.

The teen-ager had work on Monday, and the lovely Carol went home too, so just three of us went to Oakhurst: the ex-teenager, her boyfriend, and me. We went to a barbecue place on Father's Day, and on Monday night we went to "Kyoto Kafe", which also has a sign in front saying «우동» The food was great. The proprietor told me that «우동» is the Korean way to write "Kyoto".

The next morning, that fateful Tuesday, we got a fairly early start; there was almost no line at the south entrance to the park. We took the shortest route toward Tuolumne Meadows, and as we drove eastward on route 120 a little after 10AM, "Jane" came out of the woods from our left. She headed toward the car and seemed to run alongside for a moment. Then she drove her right shoulder into my left front fender. The driver's side-view mirror apparently hit her in the back of the neck (as I found out afterward). She gave the driver's window a whack with the side of her head, shattering it.

Then she ran left, across the road where she'd come from.

We pulled over and took a few photos of the car.

Further down the road, we came to a store which hadn't opened yet. They had some shrink-wrap for us, though, and we more or less wrapped the top half of the door. Then we drove on to the ranger station.

"One of your deer drove her shoulder into my fender and shattered my driver's window," I complained. The ranger made sympathetic noises and took down some information, in case my insurance...

Fortunately, no other deer attacked the car on this trip, though we saw one lurking behind a bend as we descended Priest Grade.

This car is 14 years old, and I have a $1000 deductible. I didn't want to pay $1000, so Wednesday morning I called the dealer about replacement glass for the window: $225 plus tax (overnight delivery). The lovely Carol picked it up for me Thursday. After I bolted it to the regulator, I found I couldn't close the window all the way.

It turns out that when in whacking my mirror, the doe also tweaked the channel that the window-glass glides in. A hammer and a wide-bladed screwdriver fixed that.

I'll never look at deer the same way again.