early girl - monsanto labeling act (Facebook 11/23/13)

November 23, 2013 at 10:23pm

Visiting in Sebastopol last September, I stopped at the Farmer's Market.  Like the one in Arcata, it's a big community event, with food, entertainment, and mostly organic produce.  I came away with some great tomatoes - fine flavor, great appearance and texture.  They were 'Early Girl,' perhaps the most popular variety on display.


But hey, isn't Early Girl a hybrid?  No seed saving - you have to buy new seed every year.  So who currently owns the patent?  Monsanto?  Well, that's food for thought, isn't it?

I like these tomatoes very much.  But I do not like Monsanto.  So let's try some speculation (satire)...

A lot of people would like to know if they are buying products made or sold by Monsanto.  I'm not saying that there is anything BAD about Monsanto, but that people should have the RIGHT TO KNOW so they can make their OWN DECISIONS.   After all, the government requires the contents of MATTRESSES be labeled.  So that's why I support the Monsanto Labeling Act - to make sure that every relevant product and piece of produce is properly labeled... 

               "MONSANTO RELATED"

That's reasonable, don't you think?  I can't see how the growers at the Farmers Market could object.

For political newbies, the text in italics very closely mimics an argument recently used to try to convince non-organic food buyers to support mandatory GMO labeling.

cold feet on GMO (Facebook 11/6/13)

November 6, 2013 at 3:08am

a manifesto of sorts...

In 2012 I voted in favor of CA Prop. 37, which would have required labeling of products containing GMO's.  I have since changed my mind, not because of the arguments of the ag or food industries, but entirely because of positions taken by people in the anti-GMO movement.

1 - One can be anti-Monsanto, anti-seed monopoly, and pesticide-skeptical without being anti-GMO. Most of the arguments used against GMO's as a whole are unsupported by conventional science.  It has been a turn-off to see how readily people in the anti-GMO movement tout rumors, misinformation, and dodgy science.

2- GMO labeling doesn't serve MY labeling needs. I'm opposed specifically to pesticide-resistant crops.  But GMO labeling lumps them all together, as if we should regard them as equally harmful.  Sorry, but a lot of us disagree on that lumping.

3 - GMO products are easily avoided. For those who wish to avoid some or all, that goal can easily be achieved simply by buying organic.

4 - "Scarlet letter" vs. positive labeling. Since there is every incentive for manufacturers who wish to cater to the anti-GMO market to voluntarily label their products GMO-free, I am getting the impression that the main function of mandatory GMO labeling is to elevate their sectarian beliefs about "harmful" food to the same status as a government warning label.  Note that Jewish and Muslim groups use "approved" labels (kosher or halal) - they don't force "disapproved" labels on prohibited foods.

5 - Who reads labels? I suppose people with critical allergic reactions. I read labels frequently, especially for package weight, to anticipate how much sugar is in a product, and to check for adulterants.  Products are already required to show all sorts of potentially useful info.  But here's the kicker: I can't recall seeing anyone besides myself reading labels.  And suddenly, labeling becomes important enough to be worth an expensive election battle.  Hey, let's get real!   

[LL]  Some recent events helped gel my thoughts on the matter. 522, the WA labeling initiative was one factor. But more important was the environmental struggle in Hawaii, against the chemical-agriculture giants. I noticed that in at least two locations, some pesticide activists seemed to be resisting being co-opted by the GMO people. I had seen hardly any such push-back on FB, where anti-GMO posts are generally accepted and shared verbatim, w/o any critical response. 

One such comment from Kauai: 'Some ... have mistakenly labeled our struggle an "anti-GMO" movement, reducing our activism to mere opposition to a technology. ... Within the global movement that we are a part of, there are people who do not believe we should be influencing life at the fundamental level that GMO technology does. There are also a lot of people in the movement who are not strictly opposed to the science of genetic engineering itself. In regards to GMOs, what is being opposed is the direction and control of that science, and the resulting social and ecological devastation of how it is being used.

• 
  

  
  

  Kauai's Unwavering Determination

  
  

  
  

SuBaRuBlues - or any brand of older car (Facebook 9/15/13)

SuBaRuBlues - retrospective, re. any brand of older car

September 15, 2013 at 10:04pm

Today's cars last much longer than they used to, but - sure - there can be serious issues buying a high mileage vehicle.

Takeaway-1: Blue Book price does not reflect inherent defects.

Every Subaru built in a particular set of years was due for head gasket failure after 100,000 miles or so.  Used car buyers rarely anticipated the problem - and the replacement cost was not factored into the sale.  The actual cost, after repairs, could easily be 150% of the selling price. 

Takeaway-2: Change engine oil seals before they leak.

A year or so after the head gaskets were replaced, my Subaru got "totaled" because of a sudden, massive oil leak (not even preceded by a tell-tale drip).  The oil seals should have been replaced along with the head gaskets.  If you need head gasket work on a high-mileage car, make sure the mechanic recommends also replacing the seals - otherwise consider replacing mechanics!

Likewise, if the car is over 100K, have those seals replaced with the next timing belt change, along with the belt tensioners.  And when the clutch or auto-transmission gets removed for service, that is an appropriate time to change the rear-main seal. 

Is the M running? (Facebook 1/26/13)

January 26, 2013 at 9:53pm

"Is the M running?" That is the question of the moment, Friday night at Essex Street, the ancient underground portal to Williamsburg.  The service change board shows no scheduled issues for the M, but at least two J's have already gone by.  A woman uses her phone to check the MTA website - nothing there.  A guy yells across two tracks to the station agent, and I catch the first three words of the reply: "Where ya going?". Ooh, that's a bad sign.  "What he say?"  "Says he just came on duty."

We know it's going to be freezing, but the consensus among our ad hoc group is that we take the next J to Myrtle Avenue, an elevated station, where the M line branches off.

The platform at Myrtle Ave. is packed with people waiting on the middle track for an M.  What's up? The J conductor mumbles something about "broken rail," and then slides out sideways into the darkness.  A guy says to me, "Did you hear him?  What's THAT supposed to mean?"  I respond, "Can't be too bad.  These people seem to know what's going  on."  Then I notice the inch of snow on the rails.  There hasn't been a train in hours, WTF? I gotta go check with the station agent.

Below, the heated waiting area is packed with "ladies-and-gentlemen," and churning with impatience.  A woman blurts out, in broken Chinese immigrant English, that the station agents are looking into the situation.  Yeah, I can see them on the phones.  Just then, we hear "thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP," and through a gap in the structure, we see a train creeping in on the middle track.  "POW," it releases its air.  Explanation no longer required.  Check the clock.  We've been waiting so long, they've started running the late night shuttle. Everyone files upstairs to wait in the warm train.  The 45 minute trip is turning into 2 hours - but after the shuttle pulls out, most of them will be home in 15 minutes.

payoff (Facebook 3/4/13)

payoff

March 4, 2013 at 10:06pm

He got into his car and found a sticky flier blocking the view.  It was from the nearby Payday Loan.  He got out and peeled it off.  In hand, he proceeded across the lot, through the door, and to the person behind the counter.  He reached across and stuck it on the screen of her monitor - relieved to discover an alternative to planting it on her eyeglasses.  He didn't wait for a response.  As he walked out, he heard her say, wryly, "Good Morning".

 

[comment] The Payday Loan in Uniontown has since given up, and been replaced by a Cheaper Cigarettes.

ENTITY - the movie (Facebook 1/6/13)

January 6, 2013 at 9:52pm

prologue... (a Facebook dialog)

ES: "The Arab freedom revolutions are the real threat to the Zionist Entity, not Hezbollah's missiles, not Iran's nuclear weapon"
NY: Whats an "Entity"?
LL: ...It's like a "thingie," only bigger.
KAB: I'm getting flashbacks of the 80s movie 'The Thing'.
NY: Great movie!
ES: It's kind of a non-entity, actually. ... think there'll be a sequel called, "The Entity"?

 (YES)

THE ENTITY

Two billion years ago, the Earth was their home. Now they've come to reclaim their birthright.

Because of the roughly similar history, the Aliens solemnly appoint Israel as their emissary to the Earthlings. But will the Chosen Ones be able to convince the rest of the planet to surrender?

The Aliens think so, however, the Israelis increasingly find themselves uncomfortable with this role. When their moral dilemma reaches a climax, they decisively reject their own special status, turn the tables on the Aliens, save the World, and are gratefully welcomed back into the Community of Nations.

The Israelis - and the rest of the World - learn that the entire planet is indeed the true homeland for all its peoples.

The End.

image credit: http://media.salon.com/2009/11/larry_david_from_hbos_curb_your_enthusiasm_and_the_spaceship_from_abcs_v.jpg

never agree to debate a creationist. (Facebook 10/8/12)

"Never agree to debate a creationist." (a election debate insight)

October 8, 2012 at 9:43pm

 

... something I read online long ago.  Why not agree to debate a creationist?  Because it automatically elevates his ideas to parity with yours.  And in this kind of venue, he has everything to gain, but you can only lose stature.  You think it's a given that your facts are superior to his conjectures, but you won't be able to prove it to the satisfaction of his audience.  Perhaps, if you were a master in the art of debating, you might be able to destroy the guy - but it's not likely.

Looking back to Wednesday night, it seems that something very much like this happened to Obama.  Obama came armed with facts - but in this kind of venue, Romney's "facts" could seem just as credible as Obama's.  The only way Obama could have "won," would have been by devastating Romney.  But apparently, he didn't think he needed to do that.

comments from a developer of anti-virus software (Facebook 3/20/12)

comments from a developer of anti-virus software

March 20, 2012 at 6:15pm

So far, ClamWin does not have on-access scanner, so you need to be careful and scan a suspicious file before opening it. 

If you do that, you will be as safe as with a commercial antivirus. User awareness is sometimes better than automatic protection, as it may be easier to break the automatic protection than to fool an educated user.

However, for an average user with little knowledge about online and computer security, the on-access component is a must, and the ClamWin should be used only as a complimentary scanner. We are developing it and will release it in the next major version update.

20 years ago in Israel/Palestine (Facebook 11/4/11)

November 4, 2011 at 2:16am

http://www.palestineonlinestore.com/books/palestine.htm

I got my political education from comic books... Journalist/cartoonist Joe Sacco depicts incidents of torture during Israeli detention - as they were doing it back in 1991/2. Compare conditions, the Palestinian and the Israeli attitudes back then with what you know about the present. Some things have not changed. "Palestine"; 288 pages; introduction by Edward Said; ninth printing March 2007.  Sacco covers a lot of ground, mostly letting people speak for themselves. Near the end, he offers an illustrated comment of his own:

...and I remember another time in Jerusalem, a month later. a group of Israeli soldiers stopped a Palestinian youth of 12 or 13...

The soldiers took cover under an awning and they made the boy remove his kaffiyeh and pointed to where he should stand - in the rain...

Perhaps for the boy it was one of dozens of humiliations, bad enough in his personal scheme of things, but no worse than others he'd experienced... I don't know...

and I'd come for the occupation and I'd found what I came to find, and here it was again, and something else, too...

The boy stood there and answered their questions, and what choice did he have? But what was he thinking?

Was it, one day it will be a better world and these soldiers and I will greet each other as neighbors? or was it simply, 'one day - one day!'

and beyond the particular abuses of this time and place, beyond the really big questions - the status of Jerusalem, the future of the settlements, the return of the refugees, etc. - which much be raised and then hurdled if there is ever to be peace here, is something else-

a boy standing in the rain, and what is he thinking? and if I'd guessed before I got here, and found with little astonishment once I'd arrived,
what can happen to someone who thinks he has all the power, what of this- 
what becomes of someone when he believes he has none?

no more conspiracy theories? (Facebook 10/19/11)

October 19, 2011 at 11:31pm (updated 1/28/14)

For the sake of better communication and understanding, I propose we change the term Conspiracy Theory to Superior Theory.

In that way, 1) the targets of our criticism will feel more respected, and 2) they won't be able to confuse our critique for a denial of the concept of "conspiracy".

e.g., "Your superior theory s__ks, because..."

occupying our Constitutional Rights (Facebook 9/28/1)

September 28, 2011 at 12:25pm

RF: How much longer will this go on? There has to be action to protect the constitutional rights of the people protesting. Where are those protections?

LL: Which constitutional right are you talking about?
- The constitutional right to have a demonstration anywhere you want even if the cops say no? 
- Or the constitutional right not to be attacked by police supervisors going berserk in front of dozens of cameras?

California dreamin (Facebook 9/5/11)

September 5, 2011 at 8:07pm

"...on such a winter's day," sing the Mammas & Poppas on the sound system in this way-north coastal California coffee house. 

Must have read my mind.  It's 9/5, but winter-chilly fog overcast outside.  Also winter-chilly inside, because when I walked in both doors were wide open.  (The staff are hot-behind-the-counter.) 

And I'm dreamin' of findin' a warmer California dreamin' coffee house - because my legs are getting cold.

how we deal with the 9/11 conspiracy (Facebook 9/2/11)

September 3, 2011 at 1:52pm

WK: I haven't had a lot of time to consider conspiracy theories. Sometimes the obvious explanation is good enough. People flew airplanes into the buildings and they collapsed.

LL: Yes, this explanation works for me, too, but that's largely because I have a paranoid mistrust of architects and construction companies.

"The explanatory power of an American conspiracy is, I think, rather low, because all this might easily have occurred without an American conspiracy." (Wayne Kraft)

"Whenever possible, substitute constructions out of known entities for inferences to unknown entities." (Bertrand Russell)

"Never ascribe to conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by incompetence." (Hanlon's Razor)

Are you good without God? (Facebook 9/1/11)

"Are you good without God? Millions are." (Spokane transit bus advert)

September 1, 2011 at 5:42pm

What's with this militant atheism rot?  What this nation really needs is more Situational Ethics:

Are you a sinner?

Then we bring good news! 

Learn how SITUATIONAL ETHICS can help you make peace with God. 

 We are...

Chapel of the Blessed Expediency  

How sweet it is! - Jackie Gleason
I just love the way the pastor EXPLAINS our problems! - Sarah Palin

brain-eating amoebas causing West Bank settlement expansion (Facebook 8/17/11)

August 17, 2011 at 11:37pm

Researchers from New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that the paranoid aggressiveness typical of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and their supporters in Israeli government is the result of a widespread yet previously unnoticed epidemic of brain-eating amoebas.

"I'm appalled," said Abe Foxman of AIPAC. "Defending the Jewish settlements seemed like the right thing to do. We never considered that we were witnessing the behavior of sick people."

simple secret trick for fast fluffy oatmeal that will make the quaker guy angry (Facebook 8/15/11)

August 15, 2011 at 9:16pm

Bring a small amount of water to a rolling boil, then toss in a couple handfuls of generic regular rolled oats.

Froth will rise and threaten to boil over.  If it does, curse and reduce the heat slightly, but keep the froth as high as possible.

After a minute, add a small handful of dried raisins or similar.

Boil for another minute, reduce to a simmer, and continue until the water is absorbed.  Result - fluffy, chewy, non-gummy oatmeal.

Serve with chopsticks and dental floss.  Enjoy!

beggarman on the Q train (Facebook 8/2/11)

August 2, 2011 at 4:32pm

The conductor spots the beggar boarding the train, and activates the pre-recorded anti-beggar announcement.

Three minutes later, the beggar appears in our car. He is big, hairy, and odorous, and delivers his pitch like a Shakespearean actor, in careful, measured tones.

Someone hands him what looks like a bread and butter sandwich.

He stops in his tracks. Expressionless, he stares down at the object in his hand .

And after a few seconds, he intones a sincere-sounding - Thank you.

Winehouse and the news (Facebook 7/27/11)

July 27, 2011 at 2:35pm

‎ 
a comment to a friend who felt overdosed on Winehouse in the news

'News' is product. Yet people discuss it as if it is an objective sample of current reality.

Perhaps you think what just happened in Norway [Anders Behring Breivik] is more important than Amy Winehouse.

But me, I suspect that the massacre portrayed at the start of the fiction movie "Slum Dog Millionaire" is even more important than what just happened in Norway.

nonetheless ...

 

the futility of comparing products online (6/18/12)

revisting the futility of comparing products online

June 18, 2012 at 10:39am

I regularly forget how futile it can be to try to compare products online before buying - you may be missing the essentials... 

This time I was needing a small band saw.  There is a Harbor Freight store nearby, so I check the product reviews online.  Customer reaction is bi-modal:

a) "Cheap ones are junk, they don't work right." 
b) "Learn how to properly "set-up" the saw, replace the stock blade with a good one, and you'll be fine." 

I then visit the store for a reality check.  Object of my desires is army green, steel and cast iron retro.  Also some plastic - but hey, it's the space age now, no longer the long march.  I try "hands-on," which doesn't mean I actually use it to saw.  I mostly do idiot things, like turn a knob and make the blade guide go up and down.  But I am curious about how the blade rides on the guides.  So I push the guide sideways with my index finger - and am surprised how easily the whole assembly displaces, apparently because the sturdy metal guide holder is mounted in a piece of non-rigid plastic.  

DOH! (enlightenment in reverse)   The guy talking about proper "set-up" must have been full of hot air. 

riding the ghost bus (Facebook 7/25/11)

July 25, 2011 at 9:17pm

Twice during the short bus trip to Sheepshead Bay, I see oncoming cars inexplicably swerve in front of us, and then return to their own lane at the last moment.  Approaching the station, as we inch forward in traffic, a car stopped on a side street suddenly accelerates towards us, as if the driver fully expected to be able to pass right through.

Jeez - what's with this Monday evening?

I get off to catch the subway, but part of me pretends I'm still on the bus.  I muse: "...No need to panic.  I turn around, and try to act casual as I check over my fellow passengers for the small, tell-tale signs, such as extra fingers, or mismatched socks..."

Potemkin vs. the roach pirates (Facebook 7/25/11)

July 25, 2011 at 11:22am

She is as old as the battleship Potemkin, yet she has adapted - she stopped saying "icebox" generations ago. For her, a refrigerator has always been a dual-mode device - besides the obvious, it's also the mother of all roach-proof containers. Everything must go in the 'fridge, even dry macaroni. Non-perishables often obscure perishables.  Enough said.

So when I sat her down and confided, "Your refrigerator has roaches," she looked genuinely shocked. "That is not good," she replied.  I notice today, in the 'fridge, there are four broad rubber bands wrapped around her box of prized Entermann's chocolate dipped donuts...

middle-east agreement? (Facebook 5/24/11)

May 24, 2011 at 2:48pm

 

AIPAC chief: Obama should not be even-handed toward Israel and Palestinians
(actual headline from haaretz)

HAMAS chief: Obama should use his left hand for Israel, and his right hand for Palestinians.
(satire, not actually said)

Big Fat Jew War (Facebook 5/22/11)

"Essex jews facing eviction threaten Big Fat Jew War on the authorities"

May 22, 2011 at 1:42pm

Gypsy activists have often made the point that the public would never tolerate allowing people to refer to Jews with same attitudes commonly used towards Gypsies.

To help convey this point, a website JEWIFY.ORG, now lets you enter the URL of a news story, and shows how it would look if each word Gypsy is changed to Jew.

You may think this is a trivial lesson, still, you may be startled when you encounter things like the headline above.

Sad to say, the translation website no longer exists. But the following buggered stories from "reputable" news sources made for some surprising reading.  (Links don't work.)

• 'I'm not a jew' says BGT star Michael Collings
• Bill for evicting just 90 jewish families from UK's biggest illegal site could hit £18m
• Italy starts controversial plan to fingerprint Jews
• Sarkozy orders all Jews expelled from France
• Essex jews facing eviction threaten Big Fat Jew War on the authorities
• Anger at jewish invasion
• Jews lose driving licences for allegedly paying people to pass tests for them

"Going Up" - weed rapture (Facebook 5/22/13)

May 22, 2011 at 2:38am

Something new - a chain of "bubbles" in the parking lot asphalt - little cracked domes, about five inches across. 

Bending down and examining, each bubble is being forced up by a compact mass of sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) leaves and stems. 

Who could have guessed that this lowly weed was capable of such force!

шкембе чорба - bravo Mihaella! (Facebook 5/19/11)

(in honor of the cook)

May 19, 2011 at 7:40pm

By day-3 the "морски пиявици" were seriously depleted - but she added some meatballs and potatoes, and in 90 minutes, the шкембе чорба was as good as new.  Better even.

[LL] Day-2 was the festival staff pot-luck. I can't recall anyone eating it.  But apparently, when no one was looking, somebody went fishing for goodies in the soup.

"Mau-mauing" - reviving a non-violent technique (Facebook 5/18/11)

May 18, 2011 at 7:58pm

‎

You need about 15 grim-faced Kikuyu herdsmen (union scale, please).

They push their way inside the office, surround the target's desk, and commence to thump their staffs slowly and in unison against the floor. ("thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...," etc.)

Simple but effective.

Single Payer vs. Single Prayer - NOT the same! (Facebook 4/24/11)

April 24, 2011 at 2:30am

"Single Prayer" health insurance simply means each person gets ONE free prayer for healing.

After that, you're covered by the "Pay to Pray"(tm) system.

[WK]  I'm glad that we've gotten that straight.

Bumpers, R.I.P. (Facebook 4/2/11)

April 2, 2011 at 3:35pm

For the last 20 years, car and van "bumpers" often have been little more than plastic shells filled with air.  Recently, auto stylists have begun omitting even this pretense of protection from the front of the vehicle.  

Once upon a time, bumpers not only had to protect the riders from injury, they also had to protect the car, AND the bumpers themselves had to survive an impact and still be serviceable.  But auto stylists have always hated government interference.

[WK] I noticed many years ago that, even among non-commercial transport vehicles, "bumpers" or what remained of them no longer had to be of some standard height. Out here in Eastern Washington, it has been very popular to jack up trucks another few feet, so bumpers were pretty much aimed at the neck and shoulders of the drivers and passengers of normal vehicles ... and headlamps shown blindingly down into their eyes.

[LL] Funny you should bring up this "Frequently Asked Question"... Check out the official FAQ (esp. item #13). Amid the bumper-licking mis-information is some useful factual content: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/studies/bumper/index.html

[WK] Very interesting. I noted item #15 as well. It strikes me as incredibly stupid that bumper mismatch has not been regulated away (although I understand that a car that is braking, for example, could still slip beneath a standardized bumper in front of it).  Another long-standing peeve are automobile windows that are so heavily tinted that I cannot tell whether the driver is aware of my approach or, indeed, whether an automobile even has a driver. Here in Washington, the usual objection is that law enforcement folks cannot peer in an see whether a driver is pointing a gun at them. But we ordinary drivers lack that access to reading the alertness of other drivers and the odds that another driver is aware and inclined to yield the right of way.

[WK]  I liked the part about a shield made of plastic. So comforting, reassuring that that plastic's there to shield us.

[LL]  Plastic shield seems to have both legitimate and fraudulent functions. A notorious and pathetic example of fraud is to convey "brawn" in an SUV.

the SAFSTOR on Humboldt Bay (Facebook 3/21/11)

the SAFSTOR on Humboldt Bay

March 21, 2011 at 11:02am

 

"Humboldt Bay, Unit 3," a General Electric designed boiling-water power reactor, started operation in 1963.

However, a proper geological survey had not been made - the reactor was shut down in 1976, after it became evident that it had been built directly on top of the most active fault zone in the area ("Little Salmon").

35 years later, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the proud makers of SAFSTOR) is still obfuscating about the true reason for the plant's decommissioning. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/humboldt-bay-nuclear-power-plant-unit-3.html

awsome abortion stats (Facebook 2/28/11)

abortion-related statistics (gleaned from wikipedia)

February 28, 2011 at 3:00am

• 25% of all pregnancies worldwide are terminated by induced abortion - half of these are considered "unsafe". 
  
• Perhaps 60% of conceptions are spontaneously aborted in first 12 weeks - the large majority sub-clinically. 
  
• Depending on age and condition of mother, 10-50% of all pregnancies terminate in a clinically-apparent miscarriage.

bumper falls off van in downtown Arcata (Facebook 2/19/11)

sound of bumper falling off van in downtown Arcata, CA...

February 19, 2011 at 2:25am

 

FLUB-UB flippity-scrape.  Hey, it's not really a bumper, but a puffy plastic bubble shaped like protection.  Embarassed driver tosses the lightweight prosthetic in the back of her Voyager.

Before she drives off, we can savor the actual structure that was provided to absorb impact - way smaller, a nondescript plastic beam, probably hollow and filled with styrofoam. 

Do the owners of these supposedly crash-worthy big vehicles - vans, pickups, and SUV's - know what's really inside those beefy front and rear bulges that pass as bumpers?

"epic clash of stereotypes" - mini SciFi short-story (Facebook 2/14/11)

"...an epic clash of stereotypes" - a facebook mini SciFi short-story

February 14, 2011 at 4:31pm

• Ron Caswell There's no Democracy in this country. It's a Corporatocracy. Our politicians cycle through the revolving corporate door. They're CEOs, lawyers, bankers before they get elected. Then they are bought by the lobbyists while in office. Only to go back through the corporate door once they are out of office. The word here is Corporatocracy. Some might call it Fascism. I call it a bunch of greedy SOBs that are destroying the middle class. They give the poor welfare, food stamps and subsidized housing to keep them complacent. Are they going to give the entire middle class these same benefits to keep us complacent? A buddy of mine got a $44,000 check the other day for back pay owed to him. After taxes he got $19,000. He just happened to make over a $100,000 for Con Ed that year so he qualified for the higher tax bracket. The government took 56% of his income. That doesn't account for all of the other hidden taxes like tolls, gasoline, real estate, cigarettes, etc... It's getting close to the time where we grab our guns and march on Washington. Oh wait... they took those rights away too.Yesterday at 1:45am · LikeUnlike

• Larry Levine ‎...are you shooting speed? Bad juju.
  Yesterday at 1:36pm · LikeUnlike
• Ron Caswell I'm not Jewish.Yesterday at 1:38pm · UnlikeLike · 1 person You like this.
• 
  Larry Levine Bravo. May Cthulhu eat you last.
  Yesterday at 1:43pm · LikeUnlike
• 
  Ron Caswell Cool. I've always wanted to be eaten.
  Yesterday at 1:51pm · LikeUnlike
• 
  Larry Levine ‎...no one will be overlooked. Amen.
  Yesterday at 1:52pm · LikeUnlike
• 
  Ron Caswell Great, but I was hoping to make it more to the front of the line to be eaten.
  Yesterday at 1:54pm · LikeUnlike
• 
  Larry Levine ‎...o.k., then go back to that "grab our guns and march" rap, and work it for all it's worth. Good luck.
  Yesterday at 2:30pm · LikeUnlike
  
• 
  Ron Caswell Don't worry. I'll protect you when the time comes.
  Yesterday at 2:45pm · UnlikeLike · 1 personYou like this.
• 
  Larry Levine Yes, thanks. I suspect it may happen fairly soon. (Ron's location: floor cracks open, and the first tentacle appears...) THE END
  11 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
•  Larry Levine ‎...that was "Patriot Mythos vs. Cthulhu Mythos: An Epic Clash of Stereotypes," by Ron Caswell and Larry Levine
  5 minutes ago · LikeUnlike

READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT! (Facebook 8/2710)

Facebook status post:

August 27, 2010 at 3:23am

NOTICE: Dear friend, I like and respect you very much. But the next time you pass on a public WARNING! that includes phrases like "re-post this!!" or "make sure your children know!" or "copy this to your status!" - without checking the validity before you post - I may impulsively de-friend you. Nothing personal. (please DON'T copy this to your status)

[follow-up comment]  One less friend... He/she just impulsively de-friended me. ;)

Reality Belief System applied to Ground Zero Mosque (Facebook 8/25/10)

Reality-based Belief System and Ground Zero Mosque

August 25, 2010 at 1:03pm

First reality:  It is not at ground zero.

Second reality:  It is a community center with a swimming pool, as well as a mosque.

Third reality:  Said pool is only two blocks from City Hall, and it currently is summer.

Forth reality (a political reality, which therefore trumps the first three): How could the mayor have opposed this project? His staff would have killed him!

THE EXISTENTIAL CHALLENGE (Facebook 8/20/10)

August 20, 2010 at 6:26pm

Larry: O.k., Wayne. I'm giving you one last chance. Can you at least admit that illegitimate states have an ILLEGITIMATE right-to-exist?

Wayne: This is tough one. How 'bout this formulation: Illegitimate states have an illegitimate claim to a right to exist (that is, no legitimate claim at all and no right)....
Have I finally gotten it right?

Larry: Uh, not sure. It's hard to wrap my brain around existential stuff.  But they've always taken the "right to exist" thing so seriously. So it makes me wonder whether Israel actually IS in danger of going... POOF!

Wayne: That would give us a one-state solution?

Larry: ...unless Disney Corp is interested.

[comment by WK] Is the existential threat to Israel really Iran ... or is it perhaps not rather Israeli racism. I think that the enemy within is the more dangerous. If Israeli apartheid is dismantled, the threat from Iran will go ... POOF!

[comment by LL]  But many say that if they don't keep the Palestinians separate, then Israel itself will go ... POOF!  I guess they really DO have a serious problem.

BERT AND LARRY SHOW - Ground Zero Mosque (Facebook 8/19/10)

August 19, 2010 at 12:23am

[Trolling a Facebook forum, Bert objects to our tolerant attitude towards Ground Zero Mosque.]

Bert: "...and above all the so called call to worship is the recruitment of jihad warriors so maybe the will build one next to your house or maybe you can donate some land for them Enjoy you day"

Larry: " I really hope the shawarma never find you, Bert. For your sake."

[after several minutes of silence, Bert returns]

Bert: "LOL"

Bert: "might enjoy a sandwich right now"

Larry: " Halal lunch trucks have already taken over NYC, so why not one more mosque?"

Bert: "might as well, as I dont live there anyway"

anti-terror can work both ways (Facebook 7/29/10)

July 29, 2010 at 2:32am

In Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY, people hold a rally against a mosque proposed to be built in their neighborhood. Ugly attitudes are exposed. One guy at the microphone makes threats.

Then, late one night, three detectives show up in the neighborhood, and go door-to-door asking questions. They are not from the local precinct.

Soon thereafter, the guy who made the threats calls up a local newspaper and says he wasn't serious - says he made the threats because of "personal problems".

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/28/bn_tt_mosquebomber_2010_07_09_bk.html

relatively tiny compared to the very big ocean (Facebook 5/15/10

BP CEO Tony Hayward says: It's "relatively tiny" compared to the "very big ocean."

 

May 15, 2010 at 11:52pm

"I have these little oil spills that go in and out with me,
And what can be the use of them is more than I can see.
They are very, very like the oil, that comes from the well head;
And I watch it spread around me, when I drill into a bed."

(apologies to Robert Louis Stevenson)

shame on whom? (Facebook 5/12/10)

May 12, 2010 at 4:38pm

Shame on me, because the replacement vehicle I bought Friday has a bigger carbon footprint than my previous.

Nonetheless, the replacement vehicle cost much less than the replacement dental crown I bought yesterday.  Which is also shameful, but in the latter case I am confused about where to assign shame...

Disclosure or deceit? (Facebook 4/28/10)

April 28, 2010 at 1:32am

"Goldman Sachs and the SEC, Greedy until proven guilty"

(The Economist 4/22/10)

Editorial is equivocal in it's position towards Goldman Sachs, but contains an interesting statement:

"...the idea of willing counterparties, with full and accurate disclosure, each seeking to profit from the other’s inferior grasp, is central to financial markets."

Ah - disclosure AND deceit, together is a "central" concept? 

O.k.

[comment by NH] "Commonly called 'dumb' money and 'smart' money. Except sometimes the smart money is pretty dumb."

artisan bread - irony (Facebook 3/24/10)

March 24, 2010 at 7:33pm

Bought a giant round loaf of artisan bread yesterday, thick crust decorated with oat flakes, sunflower and flax seeds inside and out - good enough to eat plain.  They were unwrapped and stacked on their side in a cardboard box at Esther's Foods on Nostrand Ave.

But the $1.99 scrawled on the box proved that it wasn't REAL artisan bread, but just some ethnic stuff.

And probably not organic.

art concepts 1 & 2 (Facebook 3/20/10)

creativity inspired by Los Angeles

 

March 20, 2010 at 11:03pm

1. Establish a public park in an area of naturally occurring tar seepage. After the seepages work their way up through the lawn, mark each location with an orange safety cone.

2. Purchase or rent a "Hometown Buffet" restaurant. Change signs to read "Peruvian Buffet - all you can eat". Serve Peruvian food. Label the foods in English, but shuffle the labels so that nothing matches. Charge $7.49.

hot cross buns at the kosher bakery (Facebook 2/3/10)

February 3, 2010 at 10:47pm - additions 12/25/13

(first two images: gerritsenbeach.net)

Crystal Bakery (kosher) in Brooklyn last week... I notice that the icing on the "hot cross buns" have a variable amoeba shape.

The counter person is wearing hijab. I slyly inform her that the buns are "Christian," and that the icing is supposed to be in the form of a cross.

In walks the confectionery baker - a Mexican - who explains: The cross is added only for "holidays," during which period the nuts in the current product will be omitted.
 

Crystal is the Turkish-owned reincarnation of the famed Leon's Bakery.  (Which was full of rat turds when they bought it, a clerk whispers to me.)   Crystal continues the old traditions, but with a few subtle changes that can be expected whenever an alien race takes control of a planet.

For instance, in walks a customer asking for pumpernickel.  I'm sorry but we don't make pumpernickel, says the baker.  The customer is like WTF? - stunned and insulted at the same time, in a way that only a New Yorker can pull off - and then storms out.  But if the baker had told him the whole story, the guy might have gone berserk.  Actually, the baker refuses to make pumpernickel, because he regards the caramel coloring as unscrupulous fakery!

Kept to the side of the goodies favored by long-assimilated Jews are a few decidedly Turkish items.  Crystal was my first introduction to simitler.  When staying in the nearby projects, may favorite way to start the day was with a fresh simit and a big cup of thickly prepared Law's coffee - something that suggests the bakery's ties to Jersey.

As pretty as the place looked, the biggest part of the operation, and what really brought in the bucks, was through that little door in the back:  a massive wholesale "pide" production (not to be confused with "pita"), plus another large-scale production of "kosher danishes".


However, the days of the storefront were numbered after the laundromat next door closed and re-opened as a huge bagel shop.

TSA at JFK (Facebook 2/2/10)

February 2, 2010 at 1:07am (fleshed-out with additions)

They confiscated my tube of toothpaste because it had "6 oz" printed on it - even though it was clearly half-empty. Then they started to search my carry-on. Good thing they didn't get much further than the prodigious layer of simitler (5 to a bag) - because I would have had a VERY hard time explaining the box of miscellaneous unlabeled sausage ends.

If I hadn't removed the toothpaste from my computer bag (as a sign directed), he never would have found it.  "I'm going to have to confiscate this." 

 I tell the agent what I think of his confiscation.  When I gesticulate towards the limp tube, he responds by hiding it behind his back - placing it, I suppose, definitively beyond my reach.  He looks stubborn, defensive, and now a bit sweaty.  I raise my voice in calculated indignation...

[comment] They KNOW that 3 oz is legal (in a 3 oz tube). They KNOW it is only toothpaste. They KNOW that their rules seem ridiculous, and that they are confiscating hundreds of pounds of harmless cosmetics daily.

The other agents now luster around.  Do they think I'm about to go berserk?  Another agent calmly explains how they are required to go by the amount PRINTED on the tube, not by how much is inside.  A third agent leads me away to inspected my carry-on.  He is somewhat apologetic, and doesn't go very deeply into the bag. 

[comment] What WE (ordinary people) don't know, is the exact nature of the security hole that they are trying to cover by this seemingly stupid arbitrariness.

In retrospect, there was NO security hole - the mickey mouse rules are allegedly because they don't want to take the time putting people's cosmetics through the small, but more powerful scanner that they keep on the side.

riddle (Facebook 1/31/10)

January 31, 2010 at 10:15pm

♫ Alt-Space X makes Us™ larger,
Alt-Space N makes Us™ small,
and Alt-Space C will close Us™♫

... Who are we?

(Apologies to Grace Slick.)

charismatic anti-smoking appeal (Facebook 1/10/1)

January 10, 2010 at 11:56pm

My mother came down with lymphoma in 1984 had chemo but was saved by a miracle. After 50+ years she stopped smoking and you can too. Everyone now stop smoking! Do not paste this in your profile but write it on your hand with a pen. Amen!

insights don't arrive - they manifest (Facebook 1/9/10)

January 9, 2010 at 2:51am

New Years Day, I found a skate egg case in a friend's driveway. (don't ask)

Fascinating.  How can an object like that be produced by... a fish? 

Put it on my dashboard, and a few days later - BOING. 

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the type of anatomy that could have molded it, seemed to make simple sense...

early headline with spin... (Facebook 12/26/09)

December 26, 2009 at 12:59pm

"IDF kills 3 Palestinians linked to murder of settler". What do you make of that?  Hey,  If militants kill a settler, the army has the means to pay "them" back in spades. Don't need no stinkin' trial.

Sure enough, later: "B'Tselem: IDF may have executed unarmed Palestinian militants".

Show me your ID...

how to create an alibi - e-mail joke with new ending (Facebook 12/3/10)

The "real life experience" was close to what was described by a friend - I was hoping she would read it. 

December 3, 2010 at 2:39am

original joke as circulated by e-mail - with some added text inspired by real-life experience

A wife does not come home one night. Says she slept at the home of a friend. The husband calls her 10 best friends. All say they have not seen her. A husband does not come home one night. Says he spent the night at the home of a friend. The wife calls his 10 best friends. Eight say he slept at their house. Two say he is still there! .....

..... She confronts him, and he agrees that his friends are lying, but insists he was actually at home with her, and that she just doesn't remember!

virus alert y'all (Facebook 11/18/10)

Ticked-off by an idiotic viral "warning" sent by a friend, I spewed this into my status and clicked "Post".

November 18, 2010 at 11:18pm

Watch out for the large toy selling like hotcakes on Amazon and eBay. It's a horse but inside is a puppy called ajax. It will eat your dog food, invade your refrigerator and make a mess on the floor! DO NOT open the link 'Osama Discovered in Guantanamo Barracks'! If StreetDude666 requests you as a friend, accept it; he's the only one who can help. If somebody on your list adds him then you can form a group! Please re-write this and post improved version. Not yet confirmed on SNOPES... because this here warning is too new!

MUGGED - THANK GOD I STILL HAVE MY LIFE AND PASSPORTS (Facebook 11/15/10)

My response to a scam mail sent from a friend's hacked e-mail account.

November 15, 2010 at 5:51p

Hey, bro!

I initially had doubts about whether this was for real, but when I read that you were "visiting in Cardiff Wales United Kingdom," I knew it HAD to be you. (You rogue!)

Don't freak out, dude. Just tell me where to transfer the cash from PayPal!

cheers, levinel

p.s. I am currently locked out of my PayPal account, but if you deposit $20, it will reactivate. Such a small sum, I am sure you can get someone to lend it to you. 

lay lady lay! (MySpace 12/20/2008)

Subject	lay lady lay!
DateCreated	12/20/2008 2:07:00 AM
PostedDate	12/20/2008 4:44:00 AM
Body	Long ago... I was signing up for classes at Fordham for the first time... The clerk was checking my application, and noticed I had omitted something. "Religious or lay?," she casually asked. But my expression showed that I hadn't a clue. She looked me in the eye and carefully rephrased the question: "ARE YOU STUDYING TO BECOME A PRIEST?" "N-N-NO!," I stammered. Satisfied, she returned to the form, and quietly said,  "Then you are lay," as she marked the appropriate box. I walked away feeling very stupid ... yet relieved that I hadn't marked the wrong one.

how John Denver came to the Uniontown Laundromat (MySpace 11/23/2008)

Subject	how John Denver came to the Uniontown Laundromat
DateCreated	11/23/2008 6:40:00 PM
PostedDate	11/24/2008 2:30:00 AM
Body	I used to do my wash at the Uniontown Laundromat, near City Hall and the ball park, and close-by the freeway.  Arcata is one third the way between San Francisco and Portland, and we get our share of travelers. One day, in walked a small young Asian woman carrying an art portfolio. She was peddling tacky foil-art.  Her English was imperfect but serviceable. First she tried the owner-attendant, and then she walked over to me. No, I didn't want to buy some foil-art. Where are you from?  "Russia" (...jeez, this could be interesting) What part of Russia?  "Uzbekistan" (...that's a stretch, but she doesn't look Uzbek) What is your "nationality"?  "Korean" A Korean from Uzbekistan?  "My parents came to work in the oil industry" (...an idea) Do you have a "teacher"?  "Yes" (bingo!) What is his name?  "Reverend Moon.  Do you know about him?" Yes. But no, I didn't want to buy some foil-art.  I wished her luck in her endeavors.  She returned to the attendant, and asked if she could sing a song. Sure. With conviction and a heavy accent, she belted out... "Take Me Home, Country Road". And then she left.  Like I said, we get our share of travelers.

Real Americans now in the minority (MySpace 11/14/2008)

Subject	Real Americans now in the minority
DateCreated	11/14/2008 2:13:00 AM
PostedDate	11/14/2008 9:55:00 AM
Body	Some six years ago, a surfer dude lawyer, without any prosecution experience, ran for District Attorney in Humboldt County. The incumbent was generally well-respected, and was supported by the powers-that-be, including the local timber industry. So it surprised a lot of people when the surfer dude won - though, admittedly, his campaign had been exceptionally well organized. But when this newly elected DA threatened to take a timber company to court, his political enemies immediately mounted a recall - "soft on drugs," "soft on child molesters," etc. However, the result was a voter backlash. More people voted against the recall than had voted for him initially. The rules had changed. Many had not noticed, but a demographic and economic shift had been going on. The newer population tended to like surfer dudes, and the timber industry, despite its ongoing bluff, had lost most of its actual stature and influence. Politics will never be the same in Humboldt County. Now it's 2008. Obama won, despite all they threw at him - a preacher who said "God damn America!," a terrorist pal, his years in Indonesia, his middle name, his socialist proclivities, an illegal aunt. The smear campaign got some of the Republican base worked up to a potentially homicidal frenzy, but it didn't seem to affect Obama's poll standings at all. And though a majority of white folks voted for McCain, that didn't matter, either. Did the recession make all the difference; did it eclipse all other concerns? Maybe. But in addition, it's beginning to look like the self-styled "Real Americans" - the flag-wavers, the "USA! USA!" chanters, the education-resenters, the Moral Majority - are now so far off the mainstream that they are largely being ignored. Is this the first and most visible fruit of the national demographic shift? What-the-heck. Let's assume so. Welcome to the new "Real America".

young Alec explains Socialism (MySpace 10/29/2008)

Subject	young Alec explains Socialism
DateCreated	10/29/2008 10:21:00 AM
PostedDate	10/29/2008 4:44:00 PM
Body	Yesterday, while browsing Google News, I chanced upon the "Political Intelligence" blog at the Boston Globe, and encountered a novel and creative variant of the Socialism smear being used against Obama. The smartest approach is to ignore such nonsense, but having recently been to the dentist, I felt compelled to respond. POST 6. Explaining Socialism- for those of you who don't understand what "spreading the wealth around" means. It's Halloween and you go out with your friends and trick-or-treat for hours- knocking on doors in the dark and the cold, collecting all your candy goodies. When you get home, cold, tired and hungry you begin to sort through your hard earned Halloween treats and then- "THEY" step in and say "Stop! You must give US half of your candy (since you have SO MUCH)- so that WE can give it to the children who were too lazy to buy or make a Halloween costume and exert the effort to go out into the dark and cold- to get THEIR SHARE." THAT, People, is what Socialism is about. McCain-Palin 2008 Posted by Alec October 28, 08 04:02 PM ----- POST 21. Alec's Halloween example for explaining Socialism was sweet. But he forgot to mention that in return for handing over half his candy, he would receive a number of perks, including free dental care. In truth, Obama is no Socialist. So Alec would be able to keep all the hard-earned loot from his Halloween begging franchise, and the bottom economic segment of America will probably continue on its current trajectory towards full dentures. Posted by LL October 28, 08 06:45 PM

Why you wear that thing? (MySpace 10/06/2008)

Subject	Why you wear that thing?
DateCreated	10/6/2008 9:37:00 PM
PostedDate	10/7/2008 4:24:00 AM
Body	Rachel Corrie, remember her? - the young American who got crushed by an Israeli bulldozer some years ago. In her memory, I started wearing a small enameled flag of Palestine on my lapel, and continued to do that for several years. It soon became a daily habit, part of getting dressed. I'd usually forget I was wearing it - until the occasional comment or encounter... I was at a pot-luck supper, following a concert by a mostly-Gypsy string folk ensemble from Hungary that was passing through town. Our host was fluent in the language, and likes to cook Hungarian - both of which the guys appreciated. Their second language of choice was German not English - so conversational opportunities were limited. I recall one American woman's brazen yet touchingly naive attempt to tell a dirty joke about a fireman, his wife, and fire-bells - and a Hungarian's bizarre story about three construction workers, a Frenchman, a Russian, and an American, arguing about which country makes the best rubber. (no, it was not about condoms) But the encounter that is the subject of this blog happened later in the evening. The shortest musician, who has a lighter skin than the others, walked up to me, and his face literally tightened. "I am Jew-eesh. You are Jew-eesh." Uh, oh. He can't read my mitochondrial DNA, so it must be THE NOSE. He pointed a pudgy master-fiddler's finger at the lapel pin. "Why-you-wear-that-thing?" Having been outed and accused by this "Zionist agent," I found myself speechless. Completely forget about Rachel. Upping the nastiness quotient, he said, slowly and deliberately, "Maybe you like the colors... eh?" (dead silence in the room) This could get ugly. A perfect Jew-on-Jew comeback would have been "Yes. I get tired of the blue-and-white, and the white-and-blue, over and over again!" But I didn't say that, and it took a week for that option to even occur to me. Fortunately, it did not come to blows. But we got to talking, and funny, we found that both of us were much more reasonable than we had initially thought. What really broke the ice was discovering that we were both supporters of the "single-state solution" - a minority viewpoint, but to its supporters, the most rational and only practical approach to the ongoing crisis. Rare birds of the same feather, we were essentially brothers. He mused, "But making a new flag will be a problem. Can't have the Magen David." (huh?) "You know, Magen David!" He scowled in disgust at my blank expression. But this time, it dissipated quickly. Amid the sense of relief, it did not occur to me to go borrow a box of crayons from our host's daughter... Before leaving that evening, I encountered another musician who knew English, and I told him about the awkward dispute, which, nonetheless, had worked-out in the end. He said, "Oh, Lazlo! Don't worry about him. Two years ago he discovered he is Jewish, and he has been giving us a hard time since." [Hungarian rubber joke in comment below]

Unfortunately, when MySpace dropped the blog feature, it archived the original blog posts, but not the comments. But I found a copy on my hard drive...

the Hungarian Rubber Joke  (from a musician on tour)

Three construction workers - a Frenchman, an American, and a Russian - were sharing a lunch break, and arguing about which country makes the best rubber.

"France, said the Frenchman. "Thirty years ago, a worker fell from the Eiffel Tower, but his French-made suspenders caught on the structure, and that saved his life."

"That is nothing," said the American. "Twenty years ago, a worker fell from the Empire State Building, but on the way down, he stuck his chewing gum to the side of the building, and that saved his life."

"You are both wrong," said the Russian. "Ten years ago a worker fell from the Ostankino Tower, and he was wearing boots of Russian rubber, the best in the world!" He looked down at his own boots and smiled. "But what happened to him?," asked the other two. "He died, of course. But just look at them - they look almost the same as when he was wearing them!"

Noo Yawk in Summer (MySpace 8/17/2008)

Subject	Noo Yawk in Summer
DateCreated	8/17/2008 2:14:00 AM
PostedDate	8/17/2008 2:01:00 AM
Body	Some miscellaneous impressions after spending the last half of July in NYC - a counterpart to what I wrote six months ago... - Green, very green - Not the ever-green of conifer northwest California. But the green-green of broadleaf trees and giant weeds. A hot summer with rainfall makes plants grow. - Heat and humidity - Not as bad as expected. You may feel throughly wilted, but the thick, moist air helps hold you upright and prevents you from shriveling. I remember, as a kid, trying to fall asleep in my own sweat.  This time around there was air-conditioning, and trying to fall asleep despite the roar of the AC. (Silicone ear-putty!) - Heat and subways - In accordance with modern living standards, the subways are now air-conditioned. But, as you know, heat that gets pumped-out has to go somewhere. So, while the interior of the train is so pleasantly cool, the exterior of the train - e.g., the tunnel - is not. Some underground stations are hot like you would not believe. One more thing - the newest subway cars are made by Kawasaki. Well, I find that amusing. - Parking - I have seen it with my own eyes - so help me - angle-parking in reverse. Yes, you back in.  In action, it makes much more sense than the California nose-in method. Hey, I'd way sooner back blind into a parking space, than back blind into traffic. - Rain and smoke - In the west, thunderstorms portend forest fires, and lots of smoke. In NYC, thunderstorms mean serious torrents of water coming down from out of the sky, and a different kind of smoke phenomenon. Cigarette smokers may indeed be in the minority, but in a downpour they will gravitate to exactly the same sheltered places where the non-smokers are.  The effect is the same - lots of smoke. - Race relations - I reluctantly admit that NYC is not yet a race-relations paradise - there are still pockets of resistance. Adjacent to my old neighborhood is Gerritsen Beach, a place I avoided as a kid, because I figured I was not white enough to suit the residents. It has changed somewhat. It has it's own website, apparently run by someone of the liberal persuasion. I am providing a link to a section devoted to a racial incident involving the cops last June in another neighborhood. Many opinions are represented, especially in the blog titled "civil rights died in Manhattan Beach". If you have the patience - or an interest in this kind of nonsense - see if you can figure it out. - Food prices - Yes, California fruit is cheaper in NYC than in California, especially California supermarkets. And, as I wrote last winter, you can eat out well for much less. Ethnic food stores are an infinite source of affordable treats. First day back in Arcata found me standing dumbfounded, frozen in sticker-shock, at the deli section of "Wildberries" supermarket. The prices were really, seriously "uptown". Yet the shoppers looked less affluent than the ones two days prior in that Russian store in Brooklyn. Yeah - in California, a person of modest means could easily blow their income on snacks. (Gasoline, by contrast, was only about 25 cents higher.)