Tucson

Like most people I was shocked at the tragic events of the recent assassination in Tucson.  However at the time I heard of it two things struck me immediately.  Firstly, there would be non-stop coverage by EVERY news media outlet ALL the time; secondly, this might encourage politicians to become even more remote from their constituents.  I also did wonder if some sort of evidence would be uncovered that the shooter was linked to a right wing outfit, like the tea party.  They're never linked to left wing ones, of course!

As suspected there was immediate and lasting coverage by every news hack who could drag up the necessary fare down to Arizona and file up-to-the-minute reports of the injured parties, particularly Gabrielle Gifford who was the main target.

I found the hysteria directed towards talk radio and right wing thought predictable and of course, totally foolish.  But let's say the loony who pulled the trigger happened to have a leaflet from Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh in his pocket, what would have happened then?  One can only imagine.  But the loony actually had Karl Marx on his reading list as well as Hitler, so it seemed everyone had a piece of blame!

My main question about these types of tragedies is why are so many people obsessed with trying to find out why the loony did it?  He's a loony!

Computers

It's so easy to forget how fast technology has moved.  I started my working life having to take invoices that needed to be fixed over to a department called Powers.  It was short for Powers Samas, who along with Holerith were early manufacturers of computer equipment.  The machinery in the Powers department was noisy and dirty as it was a mechanical punch card department.  All the girls that worked there - and they were girls of probably no more than 20 - wore pink nylon coats, and it was very noisy.  They were lead by a middle aged lady who ran a tight ship.  It was she I had to see in order to get invoices changed.

Later on in my working life - about the mid 60's I came into contact with LEO 3.  This was a mainframe computer that had been built in the late 50's it was huge and generated a lot of heat.  It was about the size of a single-wide trailer.

Also at that time arithmetical calculations were done on comptometers like this one - truly amazing machines, if you  knew how to work them.

For a few months I sold office equipment and there was a division which handled these odd devices.  The man responsible for doing this out of our office had to solve a mathematical problem each week to prove he was up to the job.  He showed me the problem one day.  I had absolutely no idea what it meant let alone how to solve it.  Mathematics have never been my strong point regrettably.

I do wonder what ever happened to the sales rep with the weekly problem.  All that skill disappearing into the small confines of a pocket calculator! Almost done overnight!

Starbucks

It occured to me the other day that I didn't often feel intimidated by society.  I mentioned this to my grandson as I was taking him out for a haircut.  I told him that for instance I could go into any bar anywhere in the world and order a drink even if I didn't know the language.  I knew how things worked and felt that I could fit in even if I looked funny.  The same did not apply to Starbucks, however.

Soon after, we were sitting in a unisex - or should I say gender neutral - hairdresser where he was having his haircut.  I had in my pocket my iPhone, I was reading a Kindle and at my side was a Starbucks coffee purchased on our way there.  I had almost arrived in the new society.  But there had been a major slip up on the way.

Oh, the horrors.  As I stood in line at the Starbucks behind a crowd of youngish people all staring intently at their cell phones, I realized that his was a place where I was out of my depth.  As I reached the head of the queue, I mumbled my order to the barrista. "A medium regular with a shot of vanilla, please."  I heard my grandson draw in his breath.  A major faux pas!  One does not use the term "medium" in Starbucks; the correct word is "grande!"  In one fell swoop I had blown my cover and declared myself an outsider, hopelessly out of date.  A bit like ordering a pint with a cherry in it!  It's so hard learning a new language at my age!

Cats

Beautiful and Seductive but Unfathomable

Firstly, let me state that I really like cats.  I think they are wonderful and most interesting creatures.  They are also quite beautiful.  But I don't understand them, although I have a little theory.  Unlike dogs which are rather like men, cats are like women.  In the first case, dogs, like men, are very easy to understand.  They are simple, and woe betide anyone who tries to analyze them too deeply; mostly they are motivated by simple basic things.  Cats on the other hand, like women, are very complex.  It's very hard to figure out what's going on behind that lovely face.  I have managed to overcome my hesitation with women, but never with cats.

One evening, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I returned from a quiet evening drink at our local, and we found sitting on our doormat the most beautiful blue Persian cat.  It was actually leaning against the front door.  We were one of some 60 condos so there was nothing about our door that was particular, but this cat had picked it out. We owned our Beverly Hills Poodle at the time and there was no chance that Whitney would allow another animal, let alone a different species into the house without a fight, so we barred the door and secured the dog to the back of the house.  I let the cat in and it tore across the threshold as far as it could.  It wanted to be there very much.

Neither of us understood cats and with Witney in residence, we knew we couldn't allow it to stay.  Therefore we asked a lady opposite, who had cats, if she would come and take the animal.  She loved it on sight and called it Domingo as it was a Sunday.  They lived happily across from us for years, but occasionally Domingo would come over to reestablish his relationship.  He was a wonderful luscious creature.  But I never could figure out what was on his mind.

Poetry

We have a talk show host out here who says he's happy to discuss anything except poetry and architecture.  I'm fairly happy with architecture in an informal way, but I'm with him on the poetry thing.  The problem is I just don't get it.

I have one poet whom I inherited from my father - Robert W. Service.  Now what my father, an ex-seaman and inhabitor of the suburbs, was doing reading about the Yukon and the quest for gold in the previous century, I have no idea, but he really liked the stuff.

I do too, and somehow understand the wonder of the northern lights, and the harsh life that the miners and the other dreamers followed back in the mid-19th century.  The Ballad of One-eyed Jake, and the Shooting of Dan McGraw are the best.  I think I began to lose the poetry thing when they stopped rhyming the words.

The Autry

Sunday's column was about the the Autry Museum which is opposite the LA Zoo.  It also happens to be one of my favorite places in the Southland.  Although named after the "Singing Cowboy," there is little of the man himself once you pass the life-size statue in the courtyard in front of the museum's theater.

Unlike his rival, Roy Rogers, this place is a museum on the development of the West, and it's a very full representatiuon of that part of history.  The Rogers' museum used to be in Victorville and was devoted entirely to the life and career of the Texas Cowboy.  I visited that place a year before it uprooted and relocated to Branson.  Sadly, the population was aging and fewer and fewer people were interested in him (both stars died in 1998 - Autry at aged 91, Rogers at 87) Today, even Branson could not attract sufficient customers and the collection has mostly been sold - some on e-Bay.  What of poor Trigger?

The Autry on the other hand is popular and likely to remain so for a long time.  There is only one small case showing Gene Autry's life in radio, TV, films and music.  It's an interesting place, and even has a life-size tableau of the gunfight at the OK corral.  I can never resist pushing the button to activate the commentary.

Music Track for Jan 9th

This is one of the best renditions I know  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GpanLBFEdg
Tina is not only eligible for a pension, she has been for the last ten years!  Amazing!
I know my friend Paul is going to love this!

Jazz

For those of you who listen to my Music Track from time to time, you will no doubt notice a total absence of jazz.  There is a reason for this.  I don't care for the medium.  Also I'm somewhat guilty about it as I feel I just haven't tried hard enough.

I have no idea who these blokes are but at least they're wearing ties!

Growing up just before Rock and Roll became so huge, the only type of music available, outside dance music and classical, was jazz.  Mostly it was what was called Traditional Jazz - Monty Sunshine, Acker Bilk and the like.  I would occasionally go along to places where this was played - usually in hot stuffy cellars.  It was OK but it never gave me goose bumps.  The other type was played by Johnny Dankworth and sung by Cleo Lane.  The former died recently.  I really tried hard with them but it just didn't take.

I quite liked the Modern Jazz Quartet playing quietly in the background, but that's about the limit of my knowledge.  I would like someone to explain how I can step up to the mark on jazz, but I fear it could be too late.

Beer

The friend who sent me the information that VAT had increased to make a pint of beer cost more than three pounds, did so because he and I were in a pub in Wimbledon many years ago.  Beer had gone up to some unacceptable amount and we were laughing at the possibility of it reaching two pounds; a figure truly laughable back then.

It made me think about beer in general, and those who know me personally know that I have been known to shift the odd pint.  Even the American stuff, which compared to English ...well, there is no comparison.

Americans do have some confusion about British beer and its temperature.  Firstly it's not warm!  The correct temperature is cellar temperature.  It's not brewed to be ice cold however, as that kills the flavor.

Also the glass you drink out of has gone through some changes over the decades.  For years "gentlemen" used to drink beer out of mugs like the one here.  Then strangely, as beer became more and more refined, with smaller breweries producing local brews, the thinner straight glasses, which had only been used in the "Public Bar," began to appear.  It was said to make the beer taste better.  I shall be going back to the UK in the summer, and frankly I won't give a hoot what they pour it into or even what it costs, as it's nectar!  Cheers!

V.A.T.

I try not to get into too much politics on the blog, but a friend in England sent me an email recently telling me that the price of a pint of beer there is now likely to reach three pounds.  This would be about $4.50 in proper money!  The reason for this amount is the increase of something which in the UK and most of Europe is called Value Added Tax.

Now I expect to be told by some of you that my facts could be wrong, but I think V.A.T. was introduced around 1973.  It was a general tax of only 5% to begin with, and who could complain that sticking that small amount on every item you bought would be a problem?

Today it is now 20%!  And that's serious money.  So before you accept a "reasonable" tax on everything you buy, remember that once it's in place no government is going to drop it - only add to it.  Check out the history of income tax for that.  Also remember that we, the people, didn't run up all these deficits - it was the politicians who did that.

Clocks

I seem to have begun a type of continuing story on clocks recently.  I thought it was over, but a friend suggested I add a post about one of the most famous clocks in the world - Big Ben - and he sent me the link to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben  I used to regularly pass it by when I was working in London in the 60's and 70's.

There was an amusing line in a play I once saw where a visitor to the center of London placed a bet with the son of the house where he was staying.  He said: "I bet you ten shillings you can't see Big Ben from here!"  The boy went to the window and said: "There it is, you can see it plainly."

But he lost the bet as Big Ben is actually the largest bell inside the tower, and can't be seen of course.

One other odd fact is that the number four on the face is unique.  In all other clocks the number is the Roman numeral IIII, but in the case of "Big Ben" it's IV.

The BBC still uses the clock's chimes to announce itself, and the sound is one of the most well known around the world.  For those of you who need reminding this is what it sounds like - it's LOUD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiKOhOzQyZg

Zzyzx

At this time of year there's a lot of traffic between Las Vegas and the huge metropolitan centers to the south west of the gambling town.  In spite of promises for years of a fast rail system, the main way to traverse the long stretch desert is via the 15 Freeway.  It's a pretty boring journey.


Collecting samples from the man made lake at Zzyzx



You know you're getting closer when you hit Baker - home of the world's tallest thermometer!  If you can drag yourself away from this truly bland spectacle and rejoin the 15, you will soon find yourself passing by a sign to Zzyzx.  Most people wonder what the place can be, and why is it called  by that strange name.



A four-mile dirt road will take you to Zzyzx, which is now the Desert Study Center, run by the State of California.  But it used to be the headquarters of an organization run by Dr. Curtis H. Springer.  He was granted a mining contract by the federal government in the '30's, but decided to found a health spa, selling what we would call "quack" medicines.  He also delievered religious radio programs.

In 1974, the authorities took the land back as it was not being used for its original purpose, but the name the Doctor gave it remains.  He called it Zzyzx as he wanted to have the last word in the encyclopedia.  I guess he succeeded in that endeavor.

Trevor's Travels - Ben Brissey

After last week's hiatus this Sunday's column was devoted to Ben Brissey - the blog's new sponsor.  The column was about his 17 years of accurate weather forecasting up here at 6,750 feet.

Ben Brissey with his weather maps - always running.

A lot of people think Southern California doesn't have much weather as it's always sunny, but that's not the case - ask the poor residents of Highland at the bottom of the hill, who are still digging mud out of their homes.  And mountains always do odd things to weather as well.

We are in between the deserts and the ocean with its coastal flow.  We also have four different mini-climates in the valley.  Wetter in the west in the winter, but drier in the summer.

Ben works during the day at the Bear Mountain ski resort and one of his tasks is to plan snow making for them.  It's not just a question of being cold, it's all to do with humidity as well.  You can actually make snow above freezing point if it's dry enough.  If you want to know the weather up here click on Ben's link to the right of the columns here.

Happy New Year!

As we're coming to the end of the Christmas season and the memory of it all disappears into the rear view mirror, here is one last Christmas Track  .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4dr9JGYFjs
I like the way it enfolds the old music with the new rendition.  It's by Mannheim Steamroller, who I now believe has eclipsed Elvis as the biggest Christmas artist.  I always thought it was Bing Crosby.

Mannheim Steamroller took their name from a phenomenon in 18th certury Germany where an orchestra did such crescendos that it was nicknamed the Mannheim Rocket!