The Sunday Five: Thankful

In the United States, Thursday of this week is our national Thanksgiving Holiday. A great time to pause and think about all that we are grateful for this year. 

1: Where did you most enjoy being this year? 

2: What was the highlight of your work this year? 

3: What family members brought joy to your life this year? 

4: What was the best thing you read this year? 

5: How many blogs did you enjoy reading this year? 

My Answers:

1: Where did you most enjoy being this year? The middle of the Atlantic. 

2: What was the highlight of your work this year? Retiring on January 5th. 

3: What family members brought joy to your life this year?  Sweet Bear, my sister, my nephew Michael and his new son Owen. 

4: What was the best thing you read this year? About Time, David Rooney

5: How many blogs did you enjoy reading this year?  There are 19 on my daily read list, I look forward to posts on all of them. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

 

Great Adventures in Travel: London May 1990

 

When I was a child, my grandmother told me if I saved my pennies someday I would be able to go to England. I did save my pennies, I am still saving them (at last count I have about 300 pounds of them.) I dreamed about going to where my grandmother was from. 

From late 1987 to mid 1991 I had an era of extraordinarily hard work, and high earnings.  In some ways I am still benefiting from that era, since then I have had nicer cars that a are paid for, and money that was set aside for retirement at that time is still growing away.  I was also miserable most of the time. I was in a relationship that didn't work for either of us, and I was working 60-70 hours a week in an environment where what you had accomplished was never good enough.  

I was walking by a travel agency next the neighborhood supermarket and saw a sign in the window, round trip air and six nights hotel in London for $666 a person. I had never been across the Atlantic. A get away was in order. I booked it, scrambled to get passports in time, and away we went.  

It was in many ways a dream trip.  I had wanted to take this trip for 20 plus years. I remember looking out the window as the plane was landing in London and thinking this is it, I have made it at last.  I have always loved the moment when the wheels touch down, and this one was very special.  

I was relatively young, at the peak of my running days (yes that is me in the photo.) We spent days exploring London, riding the Tube, seeing museums, going shopping, and not thinking about the office.  This was before email, before international cell phone service.  

There are wrinkles in the memory, things I wanted to do that didn't happen, my soon to be X being pickpocketed. But overall I have very fond memories of the adventure.  

Of course when I returned, my boss came to visit, and lectured me about having enjoyed my time off it was time to get back to work and make up for all of the time I had taken off (8 days in a row.) 

The following January we went to Amsterdam and Paris in a last ditch effort to see of travel could save a failing relationship. It couldn't. 

But I will always have the memories of that first week in London.

The camera, is a Canon AE 1 program, with a power winder, and probably a 24mm lens. I had 24mm and 28mm lenses, those were great glass.  That set up weighed about three pounds, and there were two more lenses in my backpack, a 50mm f1.4 and a 135mm f 3.5.  

 

100 Tips to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #31 Phones

In a nutshell cell or mobile phones have totally changed staying in touch when traveling. Here in the United States virtually all phone plans include all domestic calls, no matter where I am in the country, I can call anyplace in the country for no extra cost. This is a massive change over the past 25 years.  When I bought my first cell phone about 30 years ago, I was paying $30 a month for 30-minutes in a coverage area that was only about 25% of the state I lived in.  Anyplace outside of that service area was about 15-cents a minute extra.  When we traveled and checked into hotels we often used the hotel phone to phone home. Today that is all easily done on the phone in my pocket, and without any extra cost, until I cross an international border (or get close enough for the phone to pick up a cell tower across the border.) 

My first "smartphone" was a blackberry bought specifically because of the availability of international service.  Today pretty much every phone travels across international borders, with 3G, 4G and increasingly 5G service being available around the world.  

Before you leave home, check with your service provider on costs.  It can be surprisingly expensive.  I have seen prices as high as $1 or $2 a minute, and data costs that can run hundreds of dollars per week.  

There are options.  My provider offers world service, for $10 per line, per day, for unlimited phone, text and data. I can buy that one day at a time.  When I start using it, I get a message telling me when it started and when it ends.  If I turn off data service before the end of the 24 hours, the charge stops, until I turn it back on. I don't talk on the phone much, in last springs 5 weeks trip, I paid for 12 days of phone service.  I turned it on when I wanted or needed it, and kept if off the rest of the time.  

What I can do, is turn on WiFi, and do email, do web searches, even watch YouTube when traveling, anyplace that reliable and safe WiFi is available.  That won't help when we are in the middle of France and the GPS unit is lost, or you need to double check on when a museum is open.  I turn service on when I want it or need it. 

If you are a heavy phone user, or have a compelling reason to stay available, you can also buy short term local phone service in most places.  Phones from the United States are sometimes locked, and changing out the SIM card or E-Sim can be difficult. Some people buy an unlocked phone specifically for this purpose.  I have never done this, I find it easy to tell people you won't be able to reach me by phone, send an email and I will check those at least every other day when I am at a hotel with WiFi. 

The Thursday Ramble: Reflections on a year well lived

The end of the year, and all of the end of the year holidays are fast approaching.  I have to admit, the year has flown by.  It seems like just yesterday, I was briefing Erica what she needed to know as the next director of the Commission. And already work is fading into distant memory.  I realized the other day, that I really don't care if I stay up to date on many of the issues I worked so hard on for 25 years.  That happened much faster than I thought it would.  I might even think about moving my license to retired status in a few years when I am eligible to do so. 

What has filled my year? 

Travel certainly, 73 nights away from home.  Walking, averaging about an hour a day, about half of that at the gym, about half of it wherever I felt like walking that day. Reading, I have finished reading over 80 books this year, I will end the year at nearly double my goal.  I have done some writing for a couple of journals,  and three consulting projects.  I am fiddling with my creativity with a little painting and lots of photographs - probably 6,000 this year.  I have had fun cooking, gotten bored, and then reignited my interest. I continue to enjoy blogging, daily, plus my daily selfie project. I need to decide if I am going to continue the selfie project. I lead a weird and eclectic life, and I like that.

Doc Spo's post the other day about how we answer "what do you do" caused me to stop and think.  Answering that I was a lawyer was always problematic. Some wanted legal advice that I was seldom able to provide, always worrying about the malpractice angle, others simply hate lawyers and think all are evil.  If I change the answer to what I do now, it should / could provoke a much different conversation.  

I can think of a couple of bloggers that I love reading, commenting on, or talking with, that I really have no idea what they do or did besides blog. But then I live in a town where many people give vague answers,  spies and other operatives don't tell you what they really do. 

Over the next few weeks I will draft my end of the year summary, and set goals for next year.  Then we will see where the next year takes me. 

  

 

My World of Wonders, aka the Wednesday Ws November 20 edition

Where have I been this week? The Pentagon City Mall, The Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The National Archives, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to listen to the National Symphony Orchestra, Huntley Meadows, along the River in Alexandria, the grocery store, the Library, and the gym a couple of times. 

What is the Photo above? An internal stairway at the Natural History Museum, I thought it looked best in black and white. 

What am I reading? I will finish Ina Garten's memoir before this posts, then I should finish Essays from the Sunshine State, and I have a novel laying on my desk to read.   

Who have I talked with?  My sweet bear . . . I am getting out but not talking to strangers. I had a surprise call from an old lawyer friend, looking for a referral. That call caused me to reach out to three former colleagues, and none of us knew anyone in Idaho. I have been trading emails with a couple of dear bloggers. I reached out to a Niece, and sent a chatty letter to my oldest brother who had a birthday this week. 

What are my plans for Thanksgiving?  I am down to roasting one or two turkeys a year, Thanksgiving is turkey day for me.  

What made me laugh this week? 

I read this too fast, and had another worn-out hole come to mind. If that makes you laugh, you have my kind of sick mind. 

What was laying on the sidewalk that made me wonder this week? 

Medicinal, how many sick people are there wandering our streets? I bet sales will increase over the next couple of years. 

What is my strategy for the next week? Shop for the special holiday meal, get out and about, and stay distracted. 

Who deserves a slap this week? The moron who is picking cabinet officers who are totally unqualified nutters. Out of 5, at least 500. 

How is my mood? Improving, slowly.  

 

Travel Tuesdays: The Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art

Most people either love or hate the Hirshhorn Museum here in Washington DC.  The building is a striking circle, open in the center, with circular galleries. I fell in love with the building the first time I saw it. Over the past year, the galleries have been gutted and redone. The result is that they are much more open than they had been the past few years, really showing the circular architecture.  The current shows are selections from the permanent collection, and street art, bright colorful, imaginative. 

The Banksy exhibit was very limited in time, and only two small pieces of his work were included in a small subterranean gallery.  The lower level and sculpture garden are undergoing a massive remodel, when finished you will be able to pass under the street and into the sculpture gallery on the lower level (why it was never done this way, I have no idea.) There will also be a much needed elevator to the street. 

 

Monday Mood: Ranting And Calming

I have been working on this post for a few days.  Current political events are truly challenging my mood and mental health. I know I am not alone in this.  

When I was working, I was always urging others to take care of themselves, or they wouldn't be there to take care of others. If I don't take care of myself, I won't be able to help pick up the pieces, when this farce falls apart.  I won't be strong for the next opportunity to fight. I need to focus on what I can control, and trust in the system to do what it is designed to do. 

We, by that I mean sensible people, have been here before. We are still here.  If we take care of ourselves, we will be here two years from now, and four years from now.  If we let it get to us, the @$$holes win.  

Turn off the news.  I tried Visir the news from Iceland that Google easily translates, and stumbled into upsetting news.  Angus in Scotland said that he had to go to page three of the London newspapers to find news from Great Britain - so even going to world news sources will not escape the laughingstock we are a part of.  

I have to be careful with some of my favorite bloggers, I know we are all hurting and sometimes we need to hurl, as Anne Marie did in her day, but I need to limit my exposure.  Even as I spew a little below.  Please think about your mental health and mood, and click away if that is what is best for you. 

 If you are avoiding politics, click away now. 

 

I decided to write this, hoping that getting it out, might make me feel better inside.  Sometimes it helps to put into words, what is eating away at our souls.  

The idiots that Trump is naming for high government jobs are appalling. Elon Musk bought his way into the inner circle for $118,000,000 and a good share of the 40-some-billion dollars that he wasted on Twitter. He and some moron have been named to a fictitious department to examine ways to streamline government.  I guess you can pay to play in this country, or money is political speech.  

The statement from these two "geniuses" that set me off, was that we need to eliminate the unofficial fourth branch of government, the administrative branch. Ummm, I know I have a bit more education than these two and there wannabe boss, but the administrative branch is a part of the Executive Branch of Government.  You know the branch headed by the President of the United States.  

The primary duty of the Executive Branch is to implement the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Congress passes laws authorizing the executive branch, through the administrative process, to implement laws and create programs.  The law - the statutory law - does not contain the details needed to implement and regulate.  In theory the law could, but then Congress would need to have many more subject matter experts, and take a much longer, much more involved time in drafting laws, and the length of laws would grow by at least 100 to 1. Todays 50 page law, would suddenly need to be a 5000 page law, that few in Congress have the time or expertise to understand. 

The Administrative process creates regulations.  This is done through a public process of listening to input from all who are interested.  You can submit comments on proposed state or federal administrative regulations. 

When mistakes are made, the administrative process can correct them in as little as 30 days if it is urgent, or about 90 days if the need is not urgent.  The same correction in Congress would likely take years.  Let me offer an example.  There were two different regulations on funeral reserves in the Kentucky Medicaid regulations, that conflicted with one another.  I called someone in the state office and asked which rule is correct.  Her response was, "thank you, we missed that, use the rule that allows the slightly larger amount." The next time the administrative register came out there was a notice of proposed correction on that issue, and without objection it was effective 30 days later.  The same correction, in statute would have taken at least six months. 

If Congress wants to limit the authority of an administrative agency, they can change the law authorizing the agency to act. 

I was pleased to hear that a sleazeball had resigned from congress just ahead of the release of an ethics investigation, only to read the next morning that he has been named as a nominee for a cabinet position.  I read that in the news in Iceland, the reporter commented that the confirmation hearing should be interesting.  

Then Mr Brain worm, who left a dead bear in Central Park, and who fails to understand basic science, is being placed in charge of health and human services.  The inmates are taking over the asylum people. 

A fracking executive for Energy Secretary, wait until he finds out he is responsible for more than half of the world's nuclear fuels. 

Remember the OLDman bragging that he only hires the best . . . the best of what I have yet to figure out.  

The Sunday Five: Conversations

1: Who was the last person you talked with? 

2: What did you talk about? 

3: When was the conversation? 

4: Where did the conversation take place?

5: Why? 

My Answers:

1: Who was the last person you talked with? J the sweet bear.

2: What did you talk about? How he is feeling?

3: When was the conversation? about two hours ago

4: Where did the conversation take place? in the living room.

5: Why? He was telling me that he has not been well. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Adventures in Flying: Sometimes There Is Amazement

Back in 2015 we were planning a trip to Germany.  Jay was attending a conference at Oxford, and I would fly over and meet him in Stuttgart Germany. We are still driving the reason we went to Stuttgart.  When planning the trip, Jay sent me links for two flying adventures.  One was riding in a WWII era German TriMotor airplane.  And I thought about that, I had never flow in anything like that.  The other option was a flightseeing tour with the Zeppelin Company. I checked out the details, and planned the trip around a Zeppelin ride.  

That was the year of my great adventure in medical care.  The nurses were asking about my goals of care, and I was stumped by the question, "I don't know, I would like to survive."  The neurosurgeon interjected with a better question,  "what do you want to be able to do 90 days from now, that you can't do today?" I answered, that "in 90 days I am flying to Germany to ride in a Zeppelin, I need to be able to walk unaided about 100 feet over grass and climb five steps to take the ride." The next time I saw the doctor, he said, "I googled it, you are serious about the Zeppelin aren't you?"  Yes, I was, I had non-refundable reservations. He said, "I kind of wondered if the pain meds were a little to strong."

Zeppelin made the current generation of Goodyear Blimps. 

The ride is amazing, they sort of float up, then the propellers move them in the direction of travel. The cabin is spacious with a single row of seats on each side and wide aisle.  Once at altitude, about 250 meters, you can get up and move about. There was an open window, you could stick your head or your camera out of. When you looked down you could see the shadow of the Zeppelin moving slowly across the landscape.  The ride we took goes out of Lake Constance, on the border between Germany and Switzerland.   

If you are looking for an illustration of Amazement, look at a Zeppelin ride.  And bragging rights, how many people can say they have done that?   If you want to see the video click here. 

 

100 Tips to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #30 Guide Books?

 

Guide books? When I first started traveling internationally, planning for every trip included a trip to the book store for the latest guide books. The books contained useful and practical information on everything from currency, to local customs. When flying internationally it was common to see people waiting for the flight, or on the plane discussing the books. Those extra pounds of paper packed into every carry on. 

But a lot has changed in the last 34 years, and not just the amount of hair on my head (my first trip across the Atlantic was in May of 1990.) 

I still find the books helpful for identifying museums and attractions in places I have never been, then I find myself looking online, visiting museum websites, looking at the streets on Google Maps and street view.  I buy fewer books, and I use them differently than I did 34 years ago.  

The weight of the books has become a factor.  I don't really want to carry an extra 1 or 2 pounds of paper with me. I have copied the pages I really wanted and taken just those pages, I have cut the books apart and taken select pages with me. I hate cutting up a book, but it allowed me to take the ten pages I needed and leave the other 290 pages behind.  I have tried e-book versions, and find the inability to easily flip from page to page, and to bookmark an e-book version, results in the books not being as useful. 

I am more likely today to use the books for background research, idea generation, then do in-depth online research.  Creating a few pages of notes on what I might want to see and the details of how to go about doing so. With my trusty Chromebook and WiFi I can fill in the details as I go.   

Guide books are not dead, but need to evolve. 

Thursday Ramble: Art

Over the past few weeks, I have made a specific effort to get out and experience some of the wonderful art around me. One of the reasons I wanted to live in the Washington DC area, was the incredible museums and galleries that are here. Truly world class museums, and most of them are free of charge to enter.  

Art touches our emotions.   Love-Hate, Pain-Pleasure, Joy-Sadness, Anger-Contentment, Excitement-boredom. 

Art can either make you want to see more, or to never see that again. 

Art can convey a message, or simply stimulate the senses. Really by stimulating the senses art is communicating a subtle message.  

Art education often fails the artistically handicapped.  I have little ability to draw, or to sculpt, and art education tends to focus on developing those abilities.  

But there is more to exploring art.  

In college I needed a studio art class to finish, I took a silver casting and construction class.  For the most part the pieces I produced were bulky and clunky. The most important thing that I learned in that class, was that I am capable of spending hours, days, working on a tiny project, perfecting it one pull of the file at a time.  The finished product was really more me, than it was the changes in the silver. The focus that I learned helped me in academic studies, and in my work over the past 40 years.  But the art class, never gave me a chance to say, what did I learn, how did the class change me.  I was graded on the artistic outcome, and that was okay, though I think the professor was generous in his grading.  The real lesson, the learning that changed me, was much deeper and not reflected in the metals and stones turned in for grading. 

I paint, not because I produce great images, but because doing so moves my mind into a different place, a blending of colors, and tones, of light and shadow. 

I take photos, because it allows me to capture a little glimpse into the world around me. To freeze the color and light that excites my mind for a moment.  

Look for the art and beauty around you.  Visit a local museum or gallery. See what touches you in some way.  Express yourself, doing so builds something inside of you.  

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws November 13, 2024

Where is Home? In the photo, if you follow the expressways on the left, out across the water, there is a group of tall buildings on the horizon, one of those buildings is home. 

Where have I been this week? Not far from home. Mt Vernon, Potomac Yard, across the river to Maryland, the gym, the mall for a walk, shopping and lunch out. 

Who have I talked with? My sweet bear, and not much of anyone. 

Who have I traded emails with? Spo, and Sharon, making plans for next winter. 

When am I going someplace? Late January early February to a conference and board meeting in Phoenix- connected to above. 

Who have I reached out to? My oldest brother, I am sending a birthday card and a nice two page letter. Time will tell if I ever hear back from him. 

What have I been listening to? An annual CLE law update 7.75 hours of recorded lectures. One interesting point, learning about generative artificial intelligence is today what learning to use a computer was 40 years ago for lawyers, learn it, or you will be left behind. 

What am I painting? A representation of the old farm house from the farm I grew up on. 

What have I been reading? I finished "Reader Come Home" about the neuroscience of reading and how reading print and electronic media differ.  I am working on Essays Sunshine State, For You When I am Gone, and Washington's Rules of Civility.  All of these are good reads, none of them are books I would urge you to read. Reader Come Home, could have been about 100 pages shorter and left out the authors lament that modern readers don't read and quote Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson, and modern writers write in a much more concise style that is easier to understand. 

What am I thinking about changing on the Blog?  The Friday feature of tips to improve your travel experience - is not always a good draw - and is hard to come up with ideas for.  It may end up being 35 tips instead of 100.   

What am I grateful for this week?  The cough that I brought home from New York, in October, seems to be going away. 

What made me go Huhh! this week? The election outcome - I need say no more. 

Travel Tuesday: Recently Out and About in Arlington

 

Moody Monday: Time for healing

It is time for long walks, and music, and reading. 

It is time to paint, to play, to create, for healing. 

It is time to control what comes into my mind.

It is time to be kind, kind to others, to myself be kind. 

It is time to focus on the present. 

The past is past and cannot be changed. 

Tomorrow may never happen, I need to live in today. 

It is time to tell those I care about, that I care about them.

I sometimes worry that I bug people, writing chatty emails, taking up their time, I do it to let them know they are in my thoughts.  

And those thoughts help me heal at times when healing is needed.  

The Sunday Five: Fussy Eaters

1: Do others consider you to be a fussy eater? 

2: As a child did your parents accommodate your tastes? 

3: What won't you eat? 

4: Have you eaten a "forbidden food"? 

5: Are there foods you don't like, but you will eat to be polite? 

My Answers: 

1: Do others consider you to be a fussy eater? No. 

2: As a child did your parents accommodate your tastes? No, it was eat or not. I was not forced to sit at the table until I ate something I didn't want to eat. 

3: What won't you eat? I draw the line at things that are still alive and wriggling. (I expect some of you will need extra space for this.) 

4: Have you eaten a "forbidden food"? Horse in Paris in 1991, Seal in a First Nations restaurant in Toronto, Whale in Iceland, Reindeer sausage in Alaska - has anyone seen Rudolph? 

5: Are there foods you don't like, but you will eat to be polite?  Yes, Rutabaga, creamy Mac and Cheese, cooked greens.  

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Adventures in Flying: Sometimes there are tears of Joy

Okay, enough of when everything goes wrong, thud, and sadness.  Flying has brought me great joys and tears of happiness over the decades. 

The photo above is from my second trip to Alaska.  My first cruise, from Seattle up the Pacific Coast, Glacier Bay, and into Juneau. I had booked a helicopter tour, that landed on the Mendenhall Glacier, I even had tumblers and a flask of whiskey to savor a little drink with ice thousands of years old. When the ship docked, it was very windy, and the helicopter tours were cancelled.  We were offered a float plane tour as a slightly lower cost replacement. 

It was my second time riding in a float plane, I had some idea what to expect - it was sweet bears first time.  Walking out to board, the pilot looked at me and asked, "you look like you are about 250 pounds, would you mind riding in the co-pilot seat, I need to move a little weight forward." That was the second fastest yes in my life.  

The take off in a sea plane is noisy, with water splashing as the plane gains speed, then lifts off.  Juneau is at the end of an inlet with mountains on both sides of the channel.  The glacier was about 10 miles down the straight.  The weather was miserable, low clouds, rain, I watched the radar as we flew in the clouds between the mountains down the chanel.  For an aviation geek, it was an absolute wonder to watch. The rain stopped and we had a great view of the glacier, circling a couple of times, then back down the channel to the port.  

I looked back to watch the faces of the crowd as we came in for the landing.  Landing on the water is a real surprise, so smooth and quiet that it brings tears of wonder to the eyes of first timers. As the plane slowed and settled into the water, there was hardly a dry eye on board.  

I would do that again, anytime.