Ramblings

>>Just back from a two week visit to Tidewater Virginia. Always an interesting place to visit, what with relatives and all.
TV is filled with even more used car ads than home.
Military Highway and Va Beach Blvd are vying with Dallas for the longest traffic light cycles.
But, no snow on the ground! This is huge! Though the grass hasn't started to green up, the daffodils and the forsythia were sticking their heads up and popping yellow flowers, respectively.

>>Work on 12Worlds is proceeding at a nice clip. Click over to Book Blogs:
http://bookblogs.ning.com/group/twelveworlds for more information. It will be soon.

>>Would it be too much to ask that Charlie Sheen doesn't get any mention at all for the next six months?

>>Should protesters looking to overthrow governments have an alternative in mind prior to bringing down the incumbent?

>>Does it seem likely to you too that as the government spending reduction party exercises its new found strength (I had written 'tax reduction', but I don't see a great deal of interest in that - just cutting spending), things formerly thought of as public amenities will become more of 'for service' things, available, but with a fee associated. Bill Howard writes in the February Roundel (the excellent magazine of the BMW Car Club of America):

"...The crash tax-or accident tax-is an egregious example (of core services formerly tax supported-my note).
     Say you get in an accident. Emergency vehicles show up, then maybe an ambulance. Police and fire departments are government services funded by us, through taxes, and made universally available; the ambulance may or may not be. Now there's a movement to make people in accidents pay for public-safely responders. Some 55 California cities and towns charge already. New York City is on the verge of sending out bills if the fire department responds to an auto accident: accident with injuries, $490: Car fire with no injuries, $415; accident with no fire or injuries, $365...."

Bill goes on to discuss other similar proposals of interest to his readers, but it seems naive to think that cash strapped governments will stop with police and fire services, those are simply the easiest to aim. School districts nationwide have already upped participation fees for sports and other "non-essential" activities; I guess when reading and math become non-essential, the tax bills will really drop!

>>After ten plus hours driving (and two hours waiting on the CBE)  each way, I am again reminded just how very much we all depend on drivers to do what we expect them to -- and how very often our expectation is actually met!

>>With my only internetz access through Panera (thank you bread gods!), it took me three days to catch up on webcomics, webbooks and most blogs. It's wonderful that my absence was so little noted; I'd hate to have had a negative impact on the tubes. I must recommend the cinnamon crunch and blueberry bagels to go along with the fresh coffee.

till later...