Soap

We had a little panic the other night.  We lost our bar of soap.  No not the one in the bathroom, but the one in the bed.  We had turned the mattress and in so doing forgot the bar of soap that has sat under the bottom sheet for some time now.  In the move it had gone off to the side of the fitted sheet.
Now if you don't know this, soap has some mystery ingredient that keeps away cramps.  Is this really true or just coincidence?  It beats me, but neither of us has had one of those nasty leg cramps that afflict the aged since we insalled the bar of soap. Amazing isn't it?

Election Day

I remember the first time I voted.  It was at a school along the road from where we lived in Woking, Surrey.  There were two names on the ballot; one was a managing director and the other was a postman.  It turned out the postman was the Conservative and the MD the Labour candidate.  Naturally we mixed them up as there was no information other than their names and professions.  We marked the ballot with a pencilled "X" against the name with the stub of pencil that was affixed to the desk with a string.  True sophistication!

Now look at the system in California.  Here are two cards about 18 inches by 12; each with stuff on both sides.  And not just one candidate but several.

Here, for instance, is the choice for President; not just the two we all hear about but another five to consider.
The other items are choices for supervisors, school board members, sheriffs and the like.  Also several voter initiatives like Proposition 30, which is put on the ballot by Governor "Moonbeam" Brown.  He wants to tax anyone making over $250,000 p.a. for seven years to pay for schools.  He also wants to increase our sales taxes by a quarter percent.  These measures are just "temporary!"  Of course, nowhere does it mention that they already spend a huge amount on schools for really poor results.  Do they truly think that more money is going to fix a broken system?
Voting here is not for the fainthearted as you can see, and surely we've reached the stage where we need to test people to see if they are capable of the challenge.  Of course, that would mean a lot of stupid people unable to vote anymore, and we wouldn't want that would we?

Video - Russian Scary Ride

I'm grateful to my friend Keith for sending me this.  I must say it's been a few years since I took an amusement ride.  And I don't think I'd go on this one.   A really scary three minutes! http://www.wimp.com/russiaride/

Sunday's Column - Lazy Lizard

For anyone regularly driving up to Big Bear the "back way," that's via Lucerne Valley, must have wondered at one of the signs as the road begins to rise.  The Lazy Lizard is a funny sounding place, and the other day I decided to see exactly what was off to the right hand side of the road.

Plenty of Water a the Lazy Lizard

I met with Jerry Bryant, who has been the owner of the site for the last eight years.  He bought it after selling a ranch the other side of Victorville.  It used to be a stagecoach stop at the turn of the last century and is almost ready to open its doors as a motel, with a wonderful swimming pool.  Unfortunately the authorities are taking their usual time and so for now the only resident guests are horses who board there. You can read the entire article at http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels

Right Track - Sowell

I have a great deal of time for the Conservative, Thomas Sowell.  He uses logic, which is rarely used on the other side in political arguments.  This is one sent to me by my friend in Florida, Denise.

In case you can't read it with the dark background, Sowell says: "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."

Tirade - Cartoon

This should perhaps belong on the Right Track, but it's so annoying I've put it here as it says a lot about our current society. My thanks to my friend Geoffrey for sending it.

Music Track - Amy

This is Amy before the drugs, and fame swamped her.  Such a shame that she went so prematurely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIYtGdtrx5A&feature=related

Suits - two

Continuing on with my recollections about men's suits, I should say that having one made for you was not the only way to buy this important part of any man's wardrobe.  I lived in the medium sized town of Watford, north of London.  On it's high street there were perhaps three or four large shops devoted to menswear.  Montague Burton, Weaver to Wearer, and the Fifty Shilling Tailor all come to mind.  These chains were devoted entirely to the sale of suits for men.  There were also one or two smaller shops that did the same thing.  It was a big business.  There were also two department stores, Clements and Cawdells that sold suits as well.  You'd think with so many stores doing this our closets must have been stuffed with suits, but it wasn't so.  Most men had about three or four in various states of wear.
I have no idea if these stores are still around or if they have gone away in the rush for more casual clothing.
Incidentally if you ordered a suit from these stores, they would measure you and the numbers were sent away to Leeds in the case of Burtons.  In a couple of weeks the suit would come back.  The entire thing would be assembled up in Yorkshire and then send out.  They weren't very good!

Autumn

Whether you call it Autumn or Fall, this is a wonderful time of the year - particularly up here in the mountains.  We don't have too many deciduous trees, mostly pines, but nonetheless there are a few that we enjoy seeing turn.

The leaves begin to turn from the top to the bottom, but with the Maples, they seem to go all at once and also very quickly.  Of course, for the very best shows, you have to go north east in the country, but we're happy with our modest displays here.  I'm told by the biologists, that the change comes through a combination of lower temperatures and hormones triggered by the diminishing daylight.

Trip - hotel

We camped for seven of the eight nights we were on our trip to Oregon and back.  But one night - the fifth - we stayed at the Peppermill Hotel in Reno, NV.  After our days and nights on the road it was quite a culture shock.

We're not in a camp site anymore, Michael!

The very first thing I did when we arrived was to run a big bath.  One of the major problems of a trip such as ours is that one becomes absolutely filthy, in spite of regular applications with Baby Wipes.  But the next day as soon as we rolled out of the parking lot, we were filthy again.

Video - Dog

Many thanks to Denise for this wonderful clip.  She knew I wouldn't be able to resist it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xdj67XknFrM#t=5

Sunday's Column - March Air Museum

This Sunday's column is about the March Air Museum.  It's the home of the SR-71 Blackbird and also the Folland Gnat - the world's fastest, and the world's smallest jet airplane.

Folland Gnat

Unfortunately the column is yet to be posted on The Sun's site, so I shall be sending one of my unpleasant emails in the morning. You can check in though at www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels and hope its up if you'd like to read the entire column.

Right Track - Churchill

The great man was known for his in-depth observations; most of them right on target.  Here is one.

Tirade - props 30 and 38

Currently we are bombarded with TV ads for propositions on the upcoming election day.  There are several annoying ones.  Particularly there are two asking us to vote for an increase in taxes to pay for schools.  Excuse me, don't we already pay for them?  Is it our fault that the incompetents running these institutions can't keep within their budgets?  Let's face it if we gave them double what they asked they would be back for more in a few years time.  Maybe it's time to hand the entire business over to private enterprise and then we wouldn't have these pathetic whiners complaining they don't have enough money for pencils!  Come on People!