Janis Joplin is alive and well in New Orleans

One week ago today, I was relaxing on the Moon Walk, watching the Old Man laze along.  The Vieux Carre is a lovely little town inside of New Orleans.  My daughter and I had just enjoyed some refreshing iced coffees at Cafe du Monde. It was a rare, perfect afternoon.

The sun was tempered by some clouds and a gentle breeze was creeping from the west.   I suggested that we park ourselves on a bench overlooking the river and just soak in the scenery.   The conversation was perfect.  After all, I raised her, so she agrees with me on most subjects, but she always has more intelligent things to say than her old man.

“Big brother?” interrupted our conversation.  A short, dark-haired woman had stopped at our particular bench.  She eyed my pipe.  “Big brother, you wouldn’t smoke cigarettes, too?  Could I bum a cigarette, if you do?”

“No.  I’m sorry.  Just smoke a pipe.  Can’t be of much help,” was my reply.

“OK.  God bless.”  Dejected, she adjusted the 40 ounce tucked under her arm, wrangled her backpack and moved down river.

I turned to my daughter and said, “Did we just get a blessing from Janis Joplin?”  Jenn immediately caught the reference to Joplin’s band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.  We laughed until I noticed that “Janis,” now 3 benches down river, had smoke trailing behind her matted locks.  She found her precious cigarette.

I know she wanted and/or needed some money.  I’m intelligent enough to know that the cigarette request was a rouse.  I’m also savvy enough to know, if you’re going to panhandle, don’t do it with a 40 ounce under your arm.

The Greatest Work of Fiction

I’ve discovered the most astounding work of fiction ever written by a human being.  I’m excluding, “Bark, Sniff” written by Max the poodle of course.  This amazing book is entitled The Amtrak Schedule of Timetables.  There isn’t one page that contains anything close to a fact.

On Wednesday last and again on Saturday, I contracted with Amtrak to carry my body and belongings from Birmingham to New Orleans and back.  Wednesday was met with a hour-late arrival of the #19 Crescent.  Arrival in New Orleans was about 1.5 hours beyond the printed time.

After many days of walking in the hot Louisiana sun, a most enjoyable time with family and food, I rose at 6AM to make the on-time departure of the #20 Crescent at 7:20AM.  Somehow, before arriving at the first Mississippi depot, it was one hour behind schedule.  After an unscheduled, long stop in Tuscaloosa where the defrosting of a frozen condenser on the dining car was attempted, we began the real delay.

The excuse given was a broken-down freight.  For the next 3 hours, the train sat, moved forward a bit, sat, backed up a bit, met its equally-late twin, sat, then finally arrived in Birmingham 4.5 hours late.  Having overheard the conductor discussing the number of “unattended” bound for the Magic City and Hotlanta, I can only imagine the apprehension of waiting parents in those towns.

Any form of travel can encounter delay, long security lines at the airport, car wrecks on the interstate, but I recall from history what train delays can cause.  One man won political election in part by promising the trains would run on time under his administration.  That went a long way towards his ultimate election.  Sadly, among other things, that man killed 6 million Jews.

I think we see where train delays can lead and, no sir, I don’t like the sound of it.

My daughter has a economic theory.  You can pay with money or you can pay with time.  The round-trip fare was only $68.  I guess there was an outstanding balance due I didn’t know about.

Blogger Down! Grid 24-Charlie. Fire for Effect

Not really, but by choice.  I’m putting the blog on hold for a few days.  I’m disappearing from the internet completely for a few days.

Taking downtime is sometimes more important than downloads.  Family, food, fun, and no computer.  The laptop stays home. I’m going to take a notebook and pen.  Doing things the old fashion way will be a great change of pace. Plus no batteries to recharge but my own.

See y’all next week.  Be safe.

Seriously, who takes the train anymore?

Every trip has an economic impact. With gas at its current price, I decided to look at some alternate means of transportation. Fly? No, you can’t get there from here without making a few stops. Layovers suck. Airport security sucks. By the time you fly, you could drive there. Narrow-ass seats to boot.

The deal is, I need to get to New Orleans. Interestingly, Amtrak goes there. From where I sit, they go there for about $65 round trip. That’s about a tank and 1/2 of gas in my van. I calculate it would take about 2.5 tanks to get to New Orleans and back. I decided to take the train.

It takes longer to get there on the train than to drive, but I figure the stress of not sharing the road with 1,527 idiots between hither and thither is worth it. I get to sit back, relax, have a drink and just arrive. Potty stops are not an issue. Another plus.

I’m taking the Crescent to New Orleans. Sounds like fun. The best part is, I get to see some family that I haven’t seen for quite some time. My cousin is getting his own Coast Guard command and a promotion to Captain. The ceremony takes place on the solstice, in south Louisiana, at high noon. The dress is suit and tie. Oh joy! I expect to be 10 pounds lighter from just water loss.

But family is family. I’m excited for the big promotion and the chance to see some family that I haven’t seen for a few years. Good food in New Orleans is just the icing on the cake.

Happy Father’s Day 2007

My oldest daughter and son-in-law popped by yesterday to say, “Happy Father’s Day.” His dad is coming in from out of town and they’re spending Sunday with him. I’m here all the time, so I don’t mind.

The jury is not back on whether the youngest will even call on Sunday. She normally only calls when she needs money. It’s getting pretty sorry. I wouldn’t mind so much if she’d just call to say “Hey” every now and again. The last call was, “My brakes are falling out of my car…” There was a long explanation that followed, but all I heard was “…$300.”

My mom sent a nice card about what a good dad I was to her grandkids. A mom’s support is a treasure beyond price. Unfortunately, I don’t have to worry about what to get my dad for Father’s day. He passed away a few years back leaving the puzzle of “shirt or tie?” solved.

A wrote something a while back, first for Memorial Day then re-wrote it for Veteran’s Day. It’s really all about Father’s Day. If you read it, let me know what you think.

When your father is with The Father, Father’s Day is a little sad. Maybe my youngest will call just to say, “Happy Father’s Day.” If your dad is still around and is worth his salt, give him a ring. Dad’s are people, too.

Suffer the little bloggers

“Work, work, work work. Hello boys did you miss me?” ~ Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles)

The blog stats are telling. Recent work developments have cut into my writing and blogging. A big project at the old day job has most of my attention lately. I’ve been putting in 60 to 80 hour weeks for the last month. It’s getting pretty old, pretty quickly.

I really enjoy my job, sans the politics. I like solving problems, designing programs, and coding. This latest effort is insane though.

“Mongo only pawn in game of life.”

Life Lesson #107

Never fill your coffee maker with water before checking the cabinets for coffee.  Getting water out of a coffee maker is harder than putting it in.

Making the PV converter better

Your suggestions really do count. Version 1.4 of the converter is now available. Two features were added:

Delimiter selection and a Key Field.

You can now choose delimiters other than comma. I’m not sure why you would, but you can.

The output now includes a new column at the front of the row, labeled “Key”. You can make the key anything you want, just don’t include your delimiter in the key or you’ll throw the whole thing off.  This should help you line things up especially if you have to convert multiple AC pages.  The default for the key is pre-filled with the current date.

As always you can download it or run it live.

Associated Content’s Latest Content Special Offer

 Show What You Know: Summer Special Content Offer

AC is The People’s Media Company, and the perfect place to “show what you know.” This summer we challenge you to create content on ten things you know about.

Through the end of July, we’re offering $8 and up for well-written or produced content that demonstrates an expert/experienced voice. The subject is up to you - just make sure it follows our submission guidelines and is specific enough to offer good details. Next, search the library beforehand to make sure that your content will be a unique addition.

Here are some topic examples:

Back to the Basics: Basketball Drills to Sharpen Offensive Footwork
The Best Boutiques in Houston
Living with __ Disease
How to Get Music Off Your Ipod and onto Your Computer
Student’s Guide to ___ Campus
Craft or home improvement tutorials….

… just think about what you know, write it down, then expand on what you know through research, interviews and taking photos or shooting video. Be sure to indicate your experience towards the beginning of each submission - i.e. discuss what makes you an authority on your subject.

To make sure your content receives the special offer, please:

- Only submit articles, reviews or interviews that are at least 500 words in length
- Only submit vidoes that are 1 minute long and demonstrate good audio and lighting
- Put the letters “CSO” within the sub-headline field upon submission

Offer lasts through July 31, 2007. AC reserves the right to decline any content if it is low quality, too general or doesn’t demonstrate real experience.