[Rhodes22-list] Ed's Foul mood

[Brad Haslett]

Mike,

Yeah, my old 36" tube will be "state of the art" for me for a good long
while.  My youngest son was bugging me for advice (translation = money) to
buy a car for his commute.  He lives on USCG base housing six miles from his
boat in Alameda.  I convinced him to buy a bicycle - a 'Breezer' brand
specifically designed for commuting.  This weekend in the Bay Area is not
exactly bicycling commuter weather however.  When he finishes his schools
and gets a permanent base assignment, I'm going to try and convince him to
live on a sailboat in lieu of base housing. That's a project I could spot a
few bucks for (with the understanding that Dad may need to borrow his
'house' from time to time).

Brad

On Jan 5, 2008 8:28 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:

> Brad,
>
> TV, they used to call it the vast wasteland and we laughed - now I can't
> find much worth watching either.  I have yet to invest in a megaLCD simply
> because I don't spend enough time in front of it to justify the time to
> shop
> for a new TV set, let alone justify the expense.  Yes, I think the
> Internet
> has replaced my TV time fairly well.  RIP HDTV, WideScreen, 1080p, etc.,
> except for a few DVD movies that I like.
>
> I think that the SWG may kill off their livelihood, although they are
> right
> to ask for a piece of the royalty rights when their product is placed in
> distribution.  The only problem is that they want a fat salary AND
> royalties - in my business, you get either one or the other, not both!
>  They
> too will learn.
>
> Sail to work?  What a concept!  Let's see, 1.5 miles to the boat (bicycle
> or
> car) then sail up the Nissequogue River from the LIS to Smithtown about 2
> miles with no maneuvering room, little wind and 18" of water at Route 25
> in
> Smithtown and then walk about 1.5 miles to my office ... Nope, not a good
> way to save a couple of ounces of fuel.  In the warm weather, when the
> days
> are longer, it is not uncommon for me to bicycle to and from work.  That
> works pretty well and I can skip the gym.
>
> Mike
> s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
>       Nissequogue River, NY
>
> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Saturday, January 05, 2008 9:14
> AM
> > Mike,
> >
> > Ah yes, PATCO.  I was in college and flying charter.  We found some
> > interesting ways around the strike.  ATC would only allow so many
> > departures
> > per hour and you had to file for a slot.  Charter and corporate pilots
> > would
> > file for a slot when they thought they needed one and then traded with
> > other
> > pilots.  A black market of sorts started and it worked amazingly well.
> >
> > Organized labor is like anything in life, good if done in moderation.
> > I've
> > been a union member for over 25 years and wouldn't want to work as a
> pilot
> > for a large company without a collective bargaining agreement.  That
> said,
> > don't back companies or wild animals into corners without leaving them
> an
> > out.  They might just destroy you!  PATCO overplayed their hand - it
> > appears
> > the writers are well on their way to the same outcome.  I don't watch TV
> > so
> > it has been no personal sacrifice.  Many others are learning they can
> live
> > quite well without them as well.
> >
> > Any chance you could sail to work?
> >
> > Brad
> >
> > On Jan 5, 2008 8:00 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Brad,
> >>
> >> Fortunately I do not use the LIRR on a regular basis (I work 5 minutes
> >> from
> >> home) although an AMTRAK strike would severely affect the local
> economy.
> >> With gas prices at $3.30/gal for regular (and going up rapidly) and
> Mike
> >> Bloomberg talking about midtown access tolls, many area residents rely
> on
> >> public transportation in and out of "the city" for work and pleasure.
>  If
> >> necessary, I could reroute my occasional travels to NYC through the
> >> Flatbush
> >> (Brooklyn) or Hunters Point terminals and use subways to reach
> Manhattan,
> >> although it would significantly extend the travel time for a daily
> >> commuter.
> >>
> >> I remember the transit, garbage, hospital and newspaper worker strikes
> of
> >> the 60s and 70s.  They were not fun.  Now the Screen Writers Guild
> strike
> >> is
> >> killing what little viewer loyalty existed for the small screen.  I
> don't
> >> think that these strikes ever really accomplished much.  It seemed the
> >> "worker" never recouped what they lost during the strike - can you say
> >> PATCO?
> >>
> >> Mike
> >> s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
> >>       Nissequogue River, NY
> >>
> >>
> >> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Saturday, January 05, 2008
> 8:43
> >> AM
> >> > Mike,
> >> >
> >> > Don't know if you use the LIRR but you might want to make alternate
> >> plans
> >> > near the end of the month (story attached).  When I was based in NYC
> I
> >> > would
> >> > take a morning departure out of Nashville to either EWR or LGA, the
> bus
> >> to
> >> > Penn Station, then the LIRR to lovely Hempstead or the express to
> >> Mineola
> >> > (had a girlfriend there) and then a hotel van to JFK.  After a while
> I
> >> got
> >> > brave and left on a noon flight.  Late in the game I got really brave
> >> and
> >> > left late afternoon with hardly any backup plan.  I was standing on
> the
> >> > platform at the Jamaica station platform with about 45 minutes to
> spare
> >> > when
> >> > an announcement was made that the train hit a pedestrian and was
> >> > cancelled.
> >> > I showed for my trip at JFK with, oh, about 30 seconds to spare and
> >> > that
> >> > was
> >> > my epiphany that God wanted me to move to Memphis.  I still miss that
> >> > commute - sometimes.
> >> >
> >> > Brad
> >> >
> >> > --------------------
> >> >
> >> > MINEOLA (CBS) ¨D Amtrak workers are threatening to strike. The
> railroad
> >> > and
> >> > its unions are struggling to reach new labor agreements. Workers
> could
> >> > walk
> >> > off the job at the end of January.
> >> >
> >> > If that happens, rail lines across the country could be crippled, and
> >> Penn
> >> > Station in Manhattan would be forced to close.
> >> >
> >> > Rush hour commuters were beside themselves Friday when CBS 2 HD gave
> >> them
> >> > word of the breaking news out of Washington that could paralyze rail
> >> > traffic, and close Penn Station, which is used by half a million Long
> >> > Island
> >> > Rail Road, NJ Transit and Amtrak passengers each day.
> >> >
> >> > "I don't really think you can go on strike against the public good so
> I
> >> > think it would absolutely ludicrous, in violation of the law, and
> they
> >> > should all be locked up," LIRR rider Jack Sullivan said.
> >> >
> >> > Added fellow LIRR commuter Tiesha Smith: "I hope they're not to
> strike
> >> > 'cause I need my transportation back and forth to work. I live in
> >> > Huntington."
> >> >
> >> > After years without a contract, eight unions representing Amtrak
> >> > maintenance
> >> > workers and dispatchers could stage the first strike in the
> railroad's
> >> > history, as early as Jan. 30.
> >> >
> >> > Not everyone CBS 2 HD spoke to was ready to crucify the workers.
> >> >
> >> > "Workers rights are important -- workers should be allowed to
> strike,"
> >> one
> >> > commuter said. "They deserve to strike. They're probably not getting
> >> paid
> >> > enough."
> >> >
> >> > President Bush has appointed an emergency board to help negotiate a
> >> labor
> >> > agreement and a cooling off period was ordered. But if Congress
> doesn't
> >> > step
> >> > in Amtrak workers could walk off the job -- or be locked out ¨C
> >> shuttering
> >> > Penn Station and creating commuter chaos.
> >> >
> >> > LIRR president Helena Williams is preparing ¨C just in case.
> >> >
> >> > "If there is a strike Penn Station will be closed," Williams said.
> "We
> >> > will
> >> > have to relocate those passengers to other stations in order to get
> to
> >> > their
> >> > final destinations. We will have to use Brooklyn, Jamaica Station and
> >> > Woodside."
> >> >
> >> > Subway service would not be affected.
> >> >
> >> > This is all just a little more than three weeks away, but Amtrak
> tells
> >> CBS
> >> > 2
> >> > HD it is hopeful for a settlement.
> >> >
> >> > Amtrak and union leaders say the main sticking points are over
> >> retroactive
> >> > wage hikes and work rule reform.
> >> >
> >> > The earliest a strike could be called is 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday,
> Jan.
> >> 30.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Jan 5, 2008 6:40 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> Ed,
> >> >>
> >> >> Please stop lumping all New Yorkers together.  We don't all respond
> in
> >> >> the
> >> >> same way.  I don't think that anyone meant any harm asking about the
> >> >> archives.
> >> >>
> >> >> It was a cold and beautiful sunrise here in New York.  Did you wake
> up
> >> on
> >> >> the wrong side of the bed?
> >> >>
> >> >> Maybe you should thaw out in front of a nice winter morning fire and
> >> have
> >> >> a good breakfast before answering your email.
> >> >>
> >> >> Mike
> >> >> s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
> >> >>       Nissequogue River, NY
> >> >> __________________________________________________
> >> >> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >> >>
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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>
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