The End Of '12

Against the expectations of a fair number of Apocalypticals we seem to have made it.

The World-As-We-Know-It didn't end, but 2012 soon will.

Many good people will have gone with it.  The World has shed some famous souls this year past, and their passing will be sorely felt, as will the more private gaps left by their fellow-travelers into the mists - those who were known only to their friends and family, or who gained a brief notoriety from the circumstances of their deaths.

Many are gone, but the World goes on.  And we should hope for a better year in 2013.

Not that 2012 was a complete disaster.  We didn't have another super-tsunami, and the US re-election of Barack Obama seemed to buoy the spirits of many.

But 2012 won't be missed.  'Superstorm' Sandy reminded us of our fragility. Conflicts continued in Afghanistan and Syria; Congressional deadlock and the 'fiscal cliff' left US leaders with the well-earned contempt of the general public; and Hollywood continued to release '3D' movies.

Of course, we don't yet know what 2013 will bring us.  It's been a hundred years since we last lived a year with '13' in it's name, and 1913 was a mixed bag (1913 events).  It's amazing how true it is that the more things change, the more they remain the same, but I sure hope 2013 doesn't sow the seeds of global war as 1913 did.  Or should I say, I hope those of us living in 2013 are better at avoiding the pitfalls of arrogance and blind self-interest than those of 1913 were.  (Well, OK, it's a long-shot.)

No matter what comes next, it's safe to say that we have once again persevered another transit about the Sun.  What the next roundtrip will bring shouldn't worry us too much as we celebrate on December 31, 2012.

Happy New Year

14 December 2012

If you were anticipating the approach of the Mayan Apocalypse, or just looking for signs it was on schedule for the 21st of this December; then you would have seen and heard hard evidence in every news outlet in America on the 14th.

Even if you don't believe the World is Ending on December 21, 2012, you would be forgiven for believing that American Public Innocence - or rather the popular myth of it, had ended with the deaths of those 20 children and their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

For certain it wasn't just the people at the school, the 20-year old gunman, or his mother the first victim, who died on the 14th; we all of us lost something that we might never get back.

If we are to have a chance at redemption after this tragedy, we must finally heed the calls that began in earnest with Columbine, but have lapsed to barely register in public discourse.

Somehow, some way, we must get to a point where these mass killings by guns can no longer happen as easily as they seem to do.

We can't fail in this.

Not if we want the memory of the 14th of December, 2012, to mean something more than just another step down the road to our Apocalypse.

12-12-12

It's not often a day assumes once-a-century significance on nothing more than its name, but then there's Wednesday, December 12, 2012, or 12-12-12.

The coincidence of having all digits the same has been a yearly experience since the second year of the new millennium (2001), but the run is over.  After tomorrow, we won't see the like again until 01-01-2101, some 89 years in the future.

I haven't got 89 years in the tank, do you?  If you are old enough tomorrow to understand what's up, probably not.

So this is it.

Make the most of it.

Engaged?  Move up the wedding.

Getting Divorced?  Why not add a little more significance.

If you have to sign checks this week, do them all tomorrow.

Save a newspaper (double-bonus: you can get one now, but in 2101?)

If Wednesday is your Birthday take lots of pictures with date stamps visible.

Planning to sign a contract for a new car or house soon? Do that tomorrow.

Whatever you do to mark this Wednesday, 12-12-12, as special, enjoy the precipitous vibe.  It'll prepare you for (1) the Fiscal Cliff, and (2) the Mayan Apocalypse (whichever gets us first).

Stay Safe

'Be Safe' is what parents tell their kids whenever they head out on their own to do God Knows What with their friends.

'Stay Safe' is the equivalent phrase motorcyclists use when our fellow riders are about to head out and place themselves into God Knows What sorts of dangers.

Actually, when it comes to motorcycles, we do know what dangers are out there, and they are myriad, but mostly manageable.

Most two-wheeled risks are known and accepted as part of the potential price of our enjoyment, but that doesn't lessen the worry (much) of our family and non-riding friends when they see us go out for a ride.  And the more in-the-know about your motorcycling habits these family and friends are, the more worried they'll be.

The same goes I guess for parents and their kids.  The more details you know about what they will be doing, the more you may be likely to worry.  It's sure that way for me. If you want me not to worry, I tell them, please don't relate that you'll be trying out bungee jumping on that school field trip.

My family is pretty good with me and my motorcycling obsession. After a rocky start in which a bike purchase gravely endangered my marriage, all has been well, even though I've increased the number of bikes I own to three, raising the resulting spend rate to Warp 9.

In general, my family recognizes the (mentally) therapeutic affect of a ride, and they don't question the cost-benefit equation. After all, I could be spending that time and money on psychological counseling and prozac.

But if they were to know the gritty details of where and how I ride, they might feel a bit differently.  It's hard for non-riders to understand that riding at the clip I do on weekends around mountain curves is actually pretty safe, because all they can reference is their four-wheel experience.

So it's better they not know the details.  The fact that I've come home unscathed from 11 consecutive years of weekly rides makes them believe what I do is safe enough.

And so it is, for the most part.

But I still say 'Stay Safe' to my riding friends, as they leave our mountain hangout for home, and trust I'll see them again.  We who ride may know the dangers, but we also know we are not invincible and there are idiots out there whose mistakes may end us.  And then there's just plain bad luck.

So, 'Stay Safe' and 'Be Safe' to Riders and Kids everywhere, and doubly so to those of you who are Both.  And remember, when it comes to friends and family - lose the details!

No Man's Land

If time flies by when you are having fun, will you live forever if you are miserable?

A Really Close Landslide - The actual tally in the recent election would indicate an electorate just about evenly split, with a slight majority opting to continue the status quo (with a little Hope on the side) versus a re-boot of pre-Obamian republicanism.  But to hear it from the pundits, both left and right, this squeaker was a 'landslide'.  Either to pump up a marginal mandate, or to emphasize the scope of loss to seize power within a squabbling party, this is ridiculous. For the demos to govern or repubs to regroup with any positive effect, both sides need to accept the divided nature of this country and seek to find common ground (that's not a battlefield).

Benghazi Mon Amour - The republicans incessant attempts to make a national referendum on Obama's reelection out of the question of whether the government erred in calling the embassy attack an act of terrorism or an act of protest, is getting freakishly weird.  As if it wasn't strange enough to focus on what the event was called, instead of why there wasn't effective preparation or an effective response, now the republicans have added the sex-and-threats scandal of former General (and now former CIA chief) David Petraeus to the mix.  Was the General's sexual peccadillo outed to prevent (or impune) his testimony on Benghazi? Small minds everywhere want to know.

To Ghaza, Again - Once more those of us - sitting comfortably in our homes and offices everywhere in the World except the Middle East, must watch the Hamas-led Ghazan Palestinians clash in deadly combat with the Likud-led Israelis. We will never understand it, not even when advised by our Jewish friends - sometimes not even when we are Jewish ourselves. Not even if we are descended from former middle-easterners,  or practice Islam. It is beyond understanding in this modern age of instant communication how two populations can be so intent on each other's destruction. Oh, wait, I forgot politics (see above).

It's said that Misery Loves Company.  We might all live forever...

On The Eve of Dysfunction

I don't want to be negative, really I don't.

When the sun sets on tomorrow's election, I'd like to believe that all hands will come on deck, hoist sail, and set this Nation on a true course towards a benevolent future.

That's silly and unrealistic, I know, but I'd like to believe it rather than succumb to the gnawing certainty that this country's political and governmental dysfunction will continue.

Does anyone out there believe that John Boehner and Harry Reid can ever agree on anything? (Except that they both love their government-paid full coverage health insurance and other perks)

Does anyone believe that Mitt Romney actually cares about that 47%, even remotely as much as he does the fabled 1%?

Does anyone believe that Barack Obama can make the change happen, that he just couldn't before?

Does anyone believe that Fox News (or on the other side MSNBC) will ever stop being a propaganda mouthpiece and stray closer to the facts?

I don't want to be negative, really I don't.  But it's been hard not to.

Let's hope what unfolds on the 6th of November, 2012, will be to our mutual benefit, and not just one more offering on the altar of futility.  (That shit is getting old.)

I wish us all the very best of Luck.

Obama V Romney: We Are In Such Trouble

Having sat through two of the three planned Presidential Debates, I'm not sure I have the strength to watch the third, which airs (I'm told) tomorrow night (Monday, 22 October).

It's not just that they are boring (they are), that they don't cover any topics we really need to know about (they don't).  No, what really disappoints is they showcase how little we have to look forward to in the next four years.

If Romney wins, we'll have a President who's better qualified to be Lobbyist-in-Chief than Commander-in-Chief; and he will come to office beholden to the most conservative factions in the Republican party, no matter what he might try to sell us in the debates. And he'll have Karl Rove and his Bushnik Brigade right behind him; in the shadows behind the curtain maybe, but right there nonetheless, whispering in his ear.

If Obama wins, we'll have a President who won't have any more success breaking the Congressional deadlock than he's already had; less perhaps, since he'll be a Lame Duck (can you have less than none?). Those Republican Congressional Leaders who said they would work to make him a one-term President, won't have a change of heart just because they missed that goal.

Most distressing perhaps, is that neither man has told us any more during the debates than what's in their campaign materials, and neither has inspired much hope for a better future.  Just words that sound like promises but are nothing more than crafted soundbites.

I've no doubt the correct choice is to stick with Obama; but it's no longer a passionate choice for change, rather it's a concession that staying the course with the current somewhat navigationally-challenged Captain is better than handing the wheel over to a seasick landlubber being remote-controlled from shore.

Electric La-La Land

I know it's inevitable the price of a gallon of regular gasoline will rise above $5 and stay there.

Especially true here in Lovely LA, Home of the Automobile as Life Partner, where if they could wire us physically into our beloved vehicles we'd be ecstatic.  

We are an audience made captive by our State's isolationist fuel and emissions policies, but we wouldn't want it any other way.  Hey, we need to breathe! 

And when that 5 buck a pop fuel becomes an everyday reality, the door will begin to close on the standard combustion engine, at least when employed as the motive force for basic transportation.  Driving (or riding a motorcycle) for Entertainment will continue introducing combustable Dino-Goo to Oxygen in the presence of Fire for some time to come, but for commuting and just gettin' around drudgery, electric will be our future.  And I mean pure electric, not hybrids like the Prius, or even the Volt.  In our 5 dollar per G future, any burning of fossil fuel for anything other than Fun will be a non-starter.  We won't want anything that uses even a drop of oil.

Good Thing Then, that Los Angeles, almost like no other city, makes sense for electrics.  We have plenty of year-round sun to feed solar panels, which in turn can charge up our eCars and eBikes.  We also have lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic, and all that idling of gas engines is nastily bad for our collective lungs.  Electric fumes are by contrast a non-item, a figment of imagination, and totally nonexistent.

There are only three things keeping electric transportation as the norm from happening:

Range - It takes a lot of miles to get where you want to go in LA, so 60 miles or so on a charge won't cut it.  We might settle for a reliable 100 (I said, Might).

Utility - Have you seen current electric vehicles?  Space is compromised to make room for batteries.  You can't carry many people or much stuff.  In LA we drive solo most of the time, but we feel the need to pack in our friends from time to time, and we don't want to leave anyone out to walk.  We also must have room to bring those garage sale gems home from the Weekend rounds - can you fit a nice Chair find (or two) in a Leaf?

Cost - We want range and we want utility, but we don't want to pay much more than we would for a gas-powered ride.  La-La Landers will pay for the privilege to wean ourselves from oil, but we are a city of all economic strata, and there are limits to how much cost we can handle.  Make a compact non-Farkled eCar cost no more than a Fiat 500, and we will pay attention (as long as range and utility have been assured).

A Future Wherein Most Vehicles whistle about electrically across the Land is only a matter of Years Away.  No more than a decade, I'd wager.

Maybe Sooner here in La-La Land ...

Mitt's a Hit!

Oh, what low expectations can do for you.

The pundit-spew following tonight's First Presidential Debate of 2012 gave Romney the victory; he didn't get anything close to a 'knockout', but most agreed he won more rounds and took the decision.

Of course, it is easier to do well if - in addition to having those low, low, expectations in your favor - you don't have any kind of identfiable (and recent) track record your opponent can criticize. Especially when your opponent does have a public record of four years on the job you (or rather your handlers) have had literally years to peruse for any useable weakness.

All you have to do is jab and keep moving around the ring.  Mitt Romney did exactly that.

He did something else too.  He morphed into an entirely different variety of Republican, right before our eyes. That Romney who disavowed the Massachusetts universal health care law he enacted as Governor (aka RomneyCare), because to own it would cost him Tea Party support? Gone!  Replaced by a moderate kind of guy who actually thinks that law was just great.

Romney still thinks that 'ObamaCare' needs to be scrapped, of course, even if it is closely modeled on RomneyCare, and was crafted by some of the same advisors. That contrast might have cost him some points, even brought him to his knees, but Barack Obama seemed caught off-balance by this tactic switch and let him escape to the corner.

Of course, even if Obama had landed a punch on this topic, Mitt's been toughened by all those (20?) GOP debates - there's lots of calloused scar tissue there.

The takeaway fom this first debate is just this:  Romney's handlers have proven that he CAN be trained to speak well in public, even absent a script, if given enough preparation and with knowing the topics in advance.  Obama has been shown lacking in his preparation (not much spare time when you are Commander-In-Chief), and lacking too in his enthusiasm and political killer instinct.

I imagine it must irk the President to debate someone like Mitt, given what Obama's gone through, and what he's accomplished since January 2009; and given that Romney's done nothing but campaign  during that time.  It must sometimes seem to him as if the American people are reality show junkies ironically unable to distinguish the Real from the insubstantial.

But irksome or not, the President has two more of these things to get through, and he'd be wise to shake  off his ennui and come out of the corner swinging.

Poetry Break: Happy Landings

Flying in a Blue Dream, 'eh Satriani?

Soaring over It All

Stifling a Sigh, or maybe a Scream

Consumption be done about it, 'eh Woody?

Of Cough, Of Cough, but beware and be-Woe

Is Mitt Mint, or brass and tinsel?

Will BHO make real Change,

Or just sour Dough?

Diving for Strawberry Fields,

Through Smoke From a (not so) Distant Fire,

Gliding in with flaps down and Spirits Up,

Happy Landings to Us All ...

Firing Up

In a mediterranean climate zone, like Southern California, parts of South Australia, and well, the Mediterranean, summers are hot and dry, and winters are cool and wet.

What happens between the Summer and the Winter, though, is Fire.

At least that's what is becoming the norm here in Fiery SoCal.

Apparently, the cool, wet winters spur spring growth, then the hot, dry summers desiccate all that grown vegetation into perfect fuel.  Then, for reasons still not entirely clear, certain humans decide to strike tinder (intentionally or unintentionally) to that perfect fuel.

The result is a hard and often impossible to control wildfire.

Hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars get spent to fight it; homes and landmarks get lost; and sometimes lives too.  Tens of thousands of living things die or flee to other territory (bears in backyards, anyone?)

When the fire is finally contained, whether through human perseverance and skill, or through running out of fuel to burn, we all breath a collective sigh of relief; and believe, fervently, that something will be done to prevent this, or at least to do a better job of fighting the next one.

And then it gets cooler, and wetter, and we forget for a season.

The Endings of August

The month of August has always felt like a demarcation of the year.  Not in the same overt way the 4th of July does, or even Thanksgiving, but you can still feel it 'in your bones'.

Summer is ending with August, and so, shortly, will most summer vacations.  Back to school, back to seriousness, back to the real year that took a break sometime in late May and needs just now to get its act together.

Other things end in August too.  Some people get divorced.  Others lose their jobs.  Some lose their lives.  These things happen all year, of course, but August seems somehow a more fitting backdrop.

One 'thing' that clearly ended this August was any pretense that the Republican Party is dealing fairly with the American People.  At their convention in Tampa nothing was revealed of any substance, except that virtually everyone who took the stage spoke in meaningless banality; ignoring, slanting, skewing, or just plain corrupting the truth as if truth had no meaning at all.  That was what we learned about the GOP this cycle, and it felt like a true ending.

The Curse of Intelligence

"Envy the slow, the witless, the truly stupid, for they know no doubt."

I put that in quotes, but I'm paraphrasing, since I don't remember where or when I read that sentiment. I do believe it's true, though.  (I've had enough surreal airport and bar conversations to prove the theory.)

Imagine how simple a day would be if you awakened to firm, unshakeable belief in any number of subjects that intelligence tells us are debatable and anything but written-in-stone.

Imagine absolutely no doubt even where ample evidence exists to instill doubt.

Imagine believing as gospel every statement issued by your political party, your religious leaders, or FOX News.

Imagine being a member of the Tea Party or an acolyte of Limbaugh.

What an assured existence that could be.

Trouble is, if you can imagine any of those scenarios and their consequences, you are not qualified for a simple, doubt-free life.  You think too much.

Damnable July

July has not been a kind month.  Midsummer has always been a lunatic time; awash in mysticism, magical thinking, and weirdness.  2012 has seen fit to add tragedy into the mix.

The lunatic actions of a young man mired within his own dysfunctional thinking took the lives of 12 innocents, and altered the lives of 58 others.

Making this horrific July even worse is the return of the endless conundrum mimicking a discussion on the question: 'How can we deal with gun violence?

I have an answer to that shouting match between NRA/2nd amendment zealots and their equally off-base Zero Gun opponents:  Don't Waste Your Breath - unless both sides are willing to move off their positions, or just sit back and let the reasonable middle deal with it, there will be no solution.  The more each group of diametrically-opposed 'thinkers' rant across the divide, the further from any practical solution we become.

And in the meantime, July 2013 awaits ...

Turning Point 2012

It may be arguable whether any moment in time is truly a 'turning point' - unless you have the luxury of looking back on that time with the perspective of some distant future, but it is my belief we are approaching one of these moments.

And it is NOT the Mayan Apocalypse 2012, but rather something much more alarming because many of us may live to feel the consequences.

Yes, this moment, as some of you already have guessed, is associated with the upcoming Presidential Election, but it is not about who wins.  Really, it isn't.  It's about WHY - or perhaps it should be HOW - they win.

Our future will be shaped by the means used to win this election.  And that is because the winner will likely have spent more money and exercised more undue influence than the loser.

It is true that politics has always involved money and influence, but we are entering an unknown sea of excess brought on by Citizen's United and PAC-mania, and made worse by an aggressive media that has corrupted the News into focused propaganda.

So when the dust clears on the morning after the election this Fall, take a moment to ponder what was done to get (or keep) the winner in the White House.  Consider what promises, alliances, and departures from ethics and conscience were made.  Think about how much more of this will be needed at the next election.

It's my dystopic opinion that We will be lucky to survive with a functioning national democracy.

Poetry Break: At Speed (In A New World)

At Speed, with no particular destination in mind; just the road ahead observed and quickly dispatched, was there, then here, now gone.

Nothing sticks when you are moving fast, and doubly so when that movement is on two wheels.  Maybe it's the wind that makes the difference.

If only this could be a permanent state, a life spent at Speed In A New World.  Perhaps it will when the time comes ...

For now there is a downtime, a return to stasis.  But Souls aren't meant to be still too long (Rev It Up).

The End of The Party?

Do any of you reading this have friends who post political opinions on Facebook?

Sure you do ...

Recently one of my more progressively political friends posted his decision not to vote for Obama.  He's chosen to vote for another candidate who is less prone to compromise. My arguments that unwillingness to compromise is anathema to democracy, and lies at the heart of our governance problem posed by an unrelentingly stubborn Republican House of Representatives, have so far fallen on deaf ears.  He is firm in his belief the only honest option is to (essentially) opt out.

Of course, his alternate liberal candidate has no chance in the election ...

As with every other random perturbation of logic that has floated across my path of late, I have chosen to take this as a sign of impending change.  Potentially negative, possibly the harbinger of Doom ...

And here it is:  the future of the Democratic Party looks grim and dim.  Or grimmer and dimmer, for those of us already sensing a mean twilight approaching.

Before you mention it let me say that I know my friend's opinion is not the majority.  But his views aren't exactly extreme fringe, and are shared by more than a few, even if most aren't ready to abandon Team Donkey for 40 days in the political wilderness just yet.

But the worry lies in the comparison with the Republicans.  Somehow they encapsulate their fringe and incorporate it while neutralizing its worst political (but not social) effects.  Their fringe will definitely vote for Romney come November. The GOP seems to move forward after disasters like a headless chicken that can still find the coop.  

Not so Demos.  We are divided by failure and then divided again by success.  It's crazy, but that's where we seem to be right now - a party with a sitting President with a chance of being beaten by Mitt Romney, who comes with a classically handsome head but with an indiscernible brain.

So it is that I wistfully predict the demise of the Democratic Party, no matter who actually wins in November.  I hope what arises in its wake is truer to my friend's ideals, but I am not optimistic he will ever get what he wants.  After all, politics is compromise and so is democracy; you really can't have the one without accepting the presence of the other.

Personally, I am hoping that on the day after the election, compromise will begin in earnest, and a functioning democracy is restored.

May I ?

May I say a few words about:

Dentists: - It seems they are all over the place these days; scores of 'em.  But finding one I trust is harder than it's ever been.  I'm not sure why this should be, since I doubt Dental schools have lowered their standards for graduation, but you couldn't confirm that through my experiences.  Suffice it to say that when I've not been unnecessarily gouged by dental instruments (of torture), I've been gouged by dental financial shenanigans (also torture).  Now I've got a broken tooth that needs a crown.  Who Do I Trust?

Obama V Romney: -  This will not be an exciting campaign.  We know as much about Mitterson Q. Romnificent the Fourth as most of us care to, and his minions (particularly that cheering section known as Fox News) are obnoxious when they aren't being heartless;  Meanwhile Barack Hussein Obama has become, to many of his formerly ardent admirers, just that guy who inhabits the White House and does more or less a decent job of dealing with world events, and tolerates with substitute-teacher zen the heap of republican excrement that's clogged his court appointments and blocked any real legislation.  No longer the second coming, however.  I predict America will snooze through the campaign, waking up on election day to vote for the guy they feel least uneasy about that morning.

California's Gold: - Where the heck is it?  Good Old 'Govvy Brown has lectured his 39 million surrogate children on our 16 billion dollar fiscal improvidence.  We've been bad and now we'll have to pay - either with taxes or cuts, or preferably for the Gov, both.  Problem is, we can't afford to cut school funding (at the college level at least) more than it already has been cut, without reducing the supply of future qualified graduates to the educational equivalent of a dried up mud puddle in a drought. And with 11% unemployment in the State, raising taxes will hit already reeling families hard.  Reverse Dust-Bowl migration, anyone?  Is there room in Oklahoma for five or six million more?  California needs gold, and that means we need jobs, but so far I've not seen anything from Sacramento except partisanship, polemics,  procrastination, and passing (the buck).  Oklahoma, here we come, right back where we started from (oh, wait ...)

They say April showers bring May flowers.  Well, it rained in California in April, and sure enough there are flowers in May ... but the Summer Heat is here and the blooms are withering folks; withering ...

Crest Fallen

I spend most of my motorcycling time on Highway 2, better known locally as 'Angeles Crest'.  It's a roller-coaster from flatland LA up into the mountains, over the top, and down into the desert.  Something like 60-odd miles or so of the most fun a sporting motorcyclist has any right to expect.

But this road has a bad reputation.  Not entirely justified, and vilified more among the non-riding population than those of us who ride and ought to know... but that reputation is not without reason.

It isn't the most dangerous road I ride.  My commutes by motorcycle through rush-hour LA city traffic pose far more hazards to my safety.  Freeway jaunts at peak traffic times are only slightly less risky.

This is because, for all intents and purposes, motorcyclists are invisible to other motorists.  Even when they aren't distracted by adjusting the radio, checking their GPS, reading (and answering) their email, combing their hair, doing their makeup, or even a phone call, car drivers just don't see bikers much of the time.  When they do see us, they usually don't understand the dynamics of bikes, and as a result do things around us that put us in danger; like tailgating, or cutting in front of us with their brakes hard-on.  (Modern cars with all-wheel ABS brakes can stop much faster than even the most sophisticated motorcycle, even if the bike has ABS.)

This invisibility and lack of empathy among car drivers pose by far the greatest danger to anyone who rides a bike.  Accidents and fatalities due to bike-car collisions are the most common.

The kind of accidents that typically occur on roads like Angeles Crest; however, are single vehicle, bike-only affairs.  This may be why these accidents get the most attention:  they aren't what we've come to think of as daily run-of-the-mill traffic risks;  these are incidents where the riders have put themselves at risk, on purpose, and for recreation.  It's easy for non-riders to see a convenient fix:  ban bikes from those roads and that kind of activity. (Never minding that sports car owners recreate there too - and also crash).

That attitude is a cross and a prejudice all of us who love riding for pleasure are forced to bear in America.  Things are easier for our brethren in Europe;  there are many more bikes per capita on the road there, and people are more comfortable with their presence.  Here, we are still considered by many as an outlaw minority, years after any excuse to believe that cliche has ceased to exist.

But, as I mentioned before, riding the Angeles Crest and roads like it can be dangerous.  Bikes (and cars) can and do crash there on a regular basis, and some of those crashes result in fatal injuries.

I've known people who've crashed - and a few who have died - on that road, but I also know people who've ridden there for decades without any accidents.  Sometimes the difference can be down to simple things:  a deer jumps out in front of you, or it doesn't;  newly fallen rocks have rolled into your path around a tight corner with a steep cliff and empty air your only escape route - or they haven't.  Sometimes the cause might be mechanical; a flat tire, a broken chain, oil spilling onto the rear tire, even braking failure, but these are exceedingly rare.

Usually, single vehicle bike crashes on Angeles Crest are down to rider error.  And even very, very experienced riders can make mistakes.

One rider I knew rode head-on into a metal gate that had been shut to close the road.  In his posthumous defense, that barrier had not been closed for many years, and the concept that it might be shut probably didn't register in his mind, much like the way we sometimes blow through newly-erected stop signs when we first encounter them.

But that accident was a tragic fluke; not down to rider skill apart from human frailty.  Usually, single vehicle accidents have a clear relation to experience.  Experience on a bike, experience with the particular bike the rider is on, and most importantly experience with the road.

For example, another rider who crashed earlier this month took his fall by running wide on a left turn, hitting the dirt, and getting ejected into the hillside. (Street bikes with street tires don't handle or brake well in dirt).  He'll survive, but with a partially-metallic shoulder and future problems with airport scanners.  From all I've heard, the man was an experienced rider, but not on Angeles Crest.

The Crest is not a particularly difficult road to ride, technically, but it does lure you into complacency then throw something unexpected at you:  one turn tightens when you don't think it will; another has an off-camber exit that also makes your bike want to run wide.  There are also lots and lots of otherwise easy turns that bother the inexperienced because they involve changing elevation uphill or downhill.  The uninitiated brake too much or too little, throttle too much or too little.

Just yesterday I witnessed the aftermath of a simple, non-injury low-side fall (where the bike falls over on it's closest side to the pavement, a bit like someone sliding into home base - only without the joy).  The drop took place in a set of two turns that are tighter than you'd think they'd be after the wide-open turns that precede them.  They also feature a significant change in elevation.  These are easy turns for those who have ridden them, but complicated to even experienced riders who haven't seen them before (and made more complicated recently courtesy of slippery tar 'snakes' laid down to seal cracks in the road surface).

Sadly for that faller, his bike was a very expensive Ducati Desmosedici - sort of a high-end Ferrari of the biking world.  Although it ran and he rode it away, I expect that learning experience will be costly.

SUMMING UP

Looking back over this post, it's clear I've been rambling a bit; my brain free-running and not as well-controlled as I'd like.  But that is appropriate in a sense, because my main point in this blog post is that accidents on roads like Angeles Crest are mostly avoidable through experience.  With experience comes control - of your bike and of yourself.  We may be vulnerable and reliant on others for our safety on city streets and highways, but on those mountain, canyon, or back-country roads we motorcyclists love best, it's really up to us.

Ride Well and Ride Safe ...

Crusader Duck

What would your ideal be for the leader of this nation?

My thoughts immediately turn to the portrayal of John F. Kennedy by William Devane in the original 'Missiles of October'.  Intelligent, with a fiery personality, but cautious in making decisions.  Someone who, in a crisis, tries to get expert opinion from across the spectrum, but finally makes his own decision, based on the firm belief that less is often more, and respectful is better than vengeful.  A moral person, taking the most humane path possible.

Only in movies?  Probably so.

But it's not a bad model to shoot for.

Our leader should be firmly committed to a form of Hippocratic oath;  first do no harm. The only way to make that so is to hold your fire until you are sure of the path and the action.  A chess game, as it were, where you must think many moves out, and look for the path to your goal that costs both you and your opponent the least.

Passing the two contestants of this Fall's Election through this filter, gives neither a scare nor a smile.  Neither fit the mold exactly, but both do far better than the alternatives that have fallen by the wayside.

You could say we're ahead of the game, but the final outcome is in limbo.

Mitt Romney does not bring to mind JFK or even William Devane's fictional portrayal of him.  When I think of Mr. Romney in that movie I see him caving to the military and bombing the crap out of Cuba, with the likely result we would have received a nuke along our Eastern Seaboard in reply.  Maybe even WWIII.  We could all be living in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future right now, which, among other interesting possibilities, would have saved Hollywood the cost of countless box office bombs about the subject.

Barrack Obama isn't tons better.  He'd be more thoughtful and he'd push back at the military, but maybe too hard and too brusquely.  They'd be pissed, stage a coup, and bomb Cuba anyway.  Or perhaps he'd dither too long and those missiles would have been activated and, well, game over.

But of these two, I'd rather have the current President Obama in office for the next four years.  He's been a bit of an unsteady Crusader his first term, alternately tilting at windmills and breaking bread with windmill makers, but that hasn't been entirely unproductive.  And at least he's been active, not passive, as I suspect a Romney Presidency would be.

Of course, Obama comes with one deficit.  His next term would be his last, meaning he'll be a Lame Duck.  There's a benefit there, in that he'd be able to focus on issues and not worry about re-election.  Trouble is, there is also no reason anyone will have to work with him, since he'll be out of power before too long, and they can certainly wait out the time, even if the country can't.

There's an antidote to that problem:  have an electable Vice President who is ready and willing to assume the office after Obama's second term ends.  Sadly, that isn't the case with Joe Biden.  Smart, dedicated, and a talented public servant he may be, but he's not electable.  Not by a long shot.

Which leaves the Nation with a tough decision:  do we want our leader to be milquetoast Romney or Obama the Crusader Duck?

I'll take the Duck, and continue to Hope ...

Foolishness

As these words appear on my screen, it's the 23rd of April, yet you'd never know it wasn't still the 1st, Fool's Day.

All sorts of foolishness has oozed up this month, but by far the most foolish, and ooziest, has to be the repeal by Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin's law to ensure equal pay for women.  Why a purportedly sentient being living in 21st century America would attempt to reverse nearly seventy years of progress in gender equality baffles me.  The concept that jumping back to pre-WWII conditions is a good idea borders on insanity.  But then, this is the same Governor who took away worker's collective bargaining rights, essentially punting the working man and his not-equally-paid female colleagues right back to the 1930s.

Some conservatives will see Walker's actions as a move to improve family values, by ensuring that at least  one member of a marriage (and that needs to be man-woman, mind you) has to be focused on home, hearth, and family.  And since that was their traditional duty, why not make that one the woman?  So let's discourage her from seeking a career in business, or government, or anything outside the home.

And his take on bargaining rights?  That will ensure a rise in corporate profits due to savings in labor costs.  Sure why not?  If hourly wages drop low enough, Wisconsin could become the new Mexico (make that new Thailand) of exported labor.  To make that official, Walker should secede Wisconsin from the Union and re-apply for protectorate status, sort of like Puerto Rico, or maybe Guam.

But lest I rant on poor Walker too much, let me point out another piece of foolishness that had nothing to do with the Governor, or his downtrodden CheeseHeads:  long-range ballistic missiles. Specifically, why one kind that doesn't work is worse than another that works fearsomely well.

As is becoming a routine spectacle, the North Koreans failed to get their long-range missile to fly.  It sputtered and popped and doggedly avoided leaving home base.  Meanwhile, India got theirs to not only leave Mother Earth, but return successfully at the end of a very long range indeed.  Enough distance to reach most points in China, probably all of the Middle East, and maybe a few European destinations.

The foolish part?  World governments went ballistic about North Korea's flub, but remained absolutely silent on India's success.  Sure India is a democracy, but democracies aren't immune to mistakes (isn't that right, America?)

I could go on;  April's been packed solid with silliness, but taking up any more of your time would be foolish; especially if you live in Wisconsin:  you've got unequally (and poorly) paid work to do...

Thoughts While Under The Influence

It's been a long day here in La La Land, and I'll admit I've softened the impact with a glass of wine or three. I'm not what the Brits would call 'in my cups', but I am feeling pretty good.

Perhaps because of the chemical lubrication, or perhaps in spite of it, I feel the need to unburden myself of a few thoughts I've held in, for fear of offending delicate sensibilities, some of whom I'm related to. But I can hold silent no longer ...

Rick Santorum is a wannabe theocratic demagogue. At least that's what his persona as related through the news tells me. If he became President, I expect the population of Canada will swell (as long as they'll take refugees). If he became President, I expect there will be succession. A Santorum Presidency might be California's best excuse to become an independent country. I'd say it would be Texas', but that otherwise admirably independent-minded state seems to like theocratic demagogues, so they'll likely stay put.

Newt Gingrich is a tiresome joke that has been told too many times. I get the joke. It's not funny. Go away.

Mitt Romney is a soulless zombie politician. It seems he asks his handlers every day, "What should I say? What position should I take? Where am I?" If there is a real person with cogent thoughts hiding under that ever-variable veneer, I haven't seen it. Of course, that is part of the game: give the hardcore conservatives a reason to believe Mitt is their Man, while perpetuating the idea that underneath the rhetoric Romney is a Man of Reason, who'll do what's right, and not stick to dogmatic positions. There is a very slight chance the latter view may be at least partially true, but I can't sleep at night thinking to what depths a Romney Presidency might stoop to to get re-elected.

And President Obama's not off my hook either. What a huge disappointment he's been to those of us who supported his candidacy in 2008. With a supermajority in both houses of Congress for his first two years, all he got done (that John McCain wouldn't have done) was a Health Care Bill that did NOT contain the logical, hoped-for public option that all of his supporters wanted. And the wars: we are still in Afghanistan; we are actually still in Iraq (not that you'd notice from the news). After 10 years and counting, thousands of deaths of Americans and our allies, and tens (if not hundreds) of thousands dead among Iraqi and Afghan combatants and civilians, what are we left with? Two governments their people hate, and which show us no respect publicly. Allies who harbor our most wanted enemies. Obama inherited a tough situation with this, but he was elected with a mandate to GET US OUT, and he hasn't followed through. In fact, if he were a Republican, the GOP would laud his every move in foreign affairs.

But to be fair, Obama has had a horribly uphill battle, every day of his Presidency. I'll come right out and say it - racism is a least a part of this. No other President in living memory has been called a 'liar' in Congress, has been openly accused without evidence of hijacking liberty, of being socialist, of being a closet Muslim, of not even being American. You just can sense what some people would like to call him openly, but they can't except in closed rooms among similar and safely wrong-minded individuals.

Politicians aren't the only creatures that fuel my ire. Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat, Idiot. Oh wait, Senator Al Franken said that in his past life as a satirist. Still true, though. That anyone still listens to him for ANY reason, even as a campy, "he's so awful he's good" kind of lark, is beyond belief. Limbaugh is pure human poison.

And organizations are real pissers too. Fox News is a terrible, terrible, paste-up of biased opinion. The channel has long since abandoned any pretense of 'fair and balanced' and openly targets perceived enemies. The closest channel to Fox in it's intense bias is Russian Television (the 'RT' channel). Ever seen it? Every story on that channel, most of which are anchored by what seem to be American or British ex-patriots, is slanted to diss the USA and selected other western countries. The resemblance in slanted newsmaking (if not in actual opinion) to Fox is hilarious as well as deeply disturbing.

CNN has lost its way (and maybe its corporate mind). This may not be anyone's fault, but more along the lines of 'this time has passed, please move on'. Only, CNN won't give up, go away, or move in any particular direction, it just straggles on as a strange hybrid of serious news and lightly-informed opinion. I'd like to tell CNN to shape up, but I'm not sure there is anything to really be done except fade out.

And it's not just the cable channels. Our primary news outlets feed us headlines that are either generic and devoid of facts, or are pointedly biased. Local news feeds us an endless litany of robberies, rapes, murders, and police chases. No wonder most of us are depressed - and thus need a bit of libation to soften the fall of day.

But chemical palliatives aren't our only options. Politicians, abrasively outrageous personalities, and both Fox and CNN all serve as fodder for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. These two comedy shows are the mental health lifelines for a majority of well-educated Americans, who otherwise would go insane from the daily crap flung their way in the news. These shows are GOOD THINGS. But they also happen to be bad things too, in the sense they offer us an outlet for our frustrations other than writing rabid letters to representatives, protesting, or organizing unions. While I watch Stewart or Colbert - while I am laughing at the well-written and performed bits, I am sometimes disturbed by the feeling that this may be part of some evil plan to draw off my energy, to pacify me. A new opiate of the masses kind of thing.

And with that last thought I realize I am entirely sober again. Of course the coffee helped. Did I mention I made a cup before beginning this screed?

Super T and The Big Three

I'm not sure how many of you watched any part of the Super Tuesday election coverage, or, if you did, what network you tuned to.

Whether you did or not, paid attention or not, I can tell you now that it was much ado about nothing, more or less.

Romney won some and lost some, Santorum strutted like a prize Turkey about his almost-there 2nd place in Ohio, and Gingrich ran the table in Georgia and kept hopes of relevancy (barely) alive.

In the process, the candidates upped their attacks on our sitting President, with Romney inferring the Obama administration has hijacked our liberty. I assume this is one more reference to the clause in the Health Reform Law that requires everyone to have insurance or pay a penalty.

Whatever. This refrain is getting tiresome from the Repubs. There are several good and valid criticisms they could raise against Obama, not least of which is Eric Holder's recent statement that assassination of American citizens abroad by our government does not constitute a denial of their rights to due process. As if their rights to confront their accusers and be tried by a jury weren't part of 'due process', or could be granted in absentia through some sort of surrogate process (who wants to play the terrorist defendant this week?)

But I'm guessing the Republicans are silent because either they - or a majority of their supporters - tend to agree with the President that liberty can be hijacked in this particular situation.

It's sad to say and worse to realize, but this is the state of our public and political discourse now. We make extreme statements, often supported by words and deeds taken out of context, and use them to assault those with whom we disagree. Whether this disagreement is one of true substance or only based on semantics or procedural details seems to make little difference in this all-out war for the hearts and pocketbooks of the electorate.

Super Tuesday may have been a harbinger of things to come. An 'Al Capone's Safe' of political thought, opened in prime time, to reveal not very much really.

Which is about what We The People will be getting come November, one way or the other.

Where's The News?

Lately I've been having flashbacks to that 1980's 'Where's The Beef' commercial, only I'm wondering where all our News has gone. Try surfing through any TV channel, but especially the cable ones, and you'll be hard pressed to find anything resembling News more than superficially.

And don't even think about the internet options. For some reason, Yahoo! News, a service I had come to like and peruse daily, has lately changed to a slate of opinions and fluff pieces. I do access it mainly on an iPad now, so perhaps someone has pieced together info on me from that iOS data-hole and concluded I'm an air-head California Kid. (I must try to act my age on the internet).

It's not that I'm a masochist or anything. I don't desire to be depressed by all the bad News in the world; but I do want to be informed, and I want it as 'just the facts, please'. I'll supply the opinion, thank you very much.

Surprisingly, I did find some Real News recently; of all places in the newspaper. My opinion of our local rag, the Los Angeles Times, had fallen to the point it typically was shuffled from the front porch straight under the dog, without reading. The other day, though, I happened to glance at a few of the back pages, and - Whoa - I stopped in my tracks. Real News, and mainly the facts, in article after article. A veritable News Bonanza!

I'm hoping this is a new trend: newspapers, in their desperation, resorting to actual reportage of factual News, in an effort to differentiate from the increasingly mindless televised, posted, streamed, and tweeted mixed bag of fact, opinion, and near-fiction.

That one edition may have been a fluke, or this trend may not last. In the meantime, though, the dog will have to hold it in, or pee outside for a change.

Congressional Fakeout

It's always been my assumption that our Congress is slightly corrupt. This opinion has been mainly based on the circumstantial evidence that hardly any members who go in less than rich leave that way.

Slight corruption is not in itself a deal-stopper. After all, everyone in this great big rat-race of a modern world is tempted beyond their ability to resist at one time or another, for big or little reasons, and for less or more gain. From the policeman who accepts a cup of coffee gratis at the local donut shop to the Senator who takes 'key business leaders' along on a junket to Bangkok to explore foreign, uh, markets. Yes, markets.

But I have to draw the line. Tonight on 'The Daily Show', Jon Stewart revealed that our congressional 'servants' were immune to insider trading laws. They can legally invest for their own benefit using information not available to the public. In other words, they can do blithely what sent Martha Stewart (no relation) to the big house.

Worse still, former congressmen and aides have been funneling the same confidential information (for a fat fee) out to hedge funds and other stock traders. This sounds like something from Capone's Old Chicago, early Vegas, or Putin's Moscow, not Congress.

But there it is. Outright, unadulterated, corruption. Homegrown in the USA.

And all this time, Congress has been railing against insider trading and corruption in the financial markets. Hey, look over there at that mess, they've been telling us, hoping we don't look behind their curtains. A juke and head-fake, and the constitution and fairness are left in the dust.

This goes beyond the slight corruption I've accepted as inevitable; this is evil trickery on a scale equal to the worst abuses of Monarchs (and I don't mean butterflies), absent the beheadings and burnings at the stake.

It's a good thing there are shows like Stewart's to bring these issues to our attention. But, if I were Mr Stewart, or any good soul speaking out about this corruption, I might want to increase my medieval torture and execution insurance, and take the lowest deductible too.

Terrors Of The North

Ah, winter in the Canadian Maritimes. Two warm ( in the forties F) days followed by a freakin' blizzard. And wouldn't you know the day of my flight back to terra cognita would be the thick of the aftermath: roads half- plowed and a third salted; airlines canceling flights with a relish; hour long waits on hold for customer service. There is nothing 'Jazzy' that I can see about my carrier.

Good thing this trip was for work and not vacation...

Before the turmoil of last minute trip-rescue calls, some heated and some pleading, there were pleasures:

Moncton, New Brunswick is lovely in the snow; and there are more good restaurants and pubs than you might expect for a city of its size.

And one amusing irritation:

It seems there's a youth hockey league tournament in town this weekend; on Friday night my hotel filled with hordes of Little Gretsky's rampaging about the floors and clogging the elevator. And of course they brought their entire families with them - it's not often you see so many groggy people in pajamas at the breakfast buffet.

Still, they say travel broadens the mind. This may be so, but I think next time I need to come here, I'll drive over from Halifax or even from Montreal. There are limits to how much broadening a person can stand ...

Epilogue, Los Angeles:

Sometime during the last day or so in NB, I was exposed to a nasty gastrointestinal bug that knocked me down and out for the worst part of a week upon my return home. I remembered reading, in The Globe and Mail when I arrived in Canada, about an outbreak among Canadians returning from Mexico. Trust the snowbirds for being Patient Zero in my personal playing of Contagion.

Pissin' and Missin'

It's not everyday you witness a metaphor for shameless incompetence and arrogant disregard as apropos as that splattering pool of pee arrayed at the base of every urinal in every men's restroom in every airport in the world. You'd think we were all going in the dark, half-asleep. Either that or the restrooms had been used by zombie hordes to relieve themselves after a hard night's lurch. And neither we nor the zombies gave a damn about who came later or who had to clean up.

I can't say for certain the worst offenders are natural politicians, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were. Who else are so wiener-centric but unable to hit the mark? And who wouldn't characterize the GOP primaries as a pissing contest with lots of errant spraying? (A contest also with at least a couple of zombies.)

But I believe this is the curse of our times - to be governed by inaccurate and unconcerned types, who whizz blithely into the wind, and when things get wet and smelly blame the wind.

A more disturbing image hit the news recently, in the form of a photo showing US soldiers peeing on the corpses of their slain enemies. It occurred to me, viewing the photo, that collateral human damage in our war on terror is the inevitable consequence of old men Pissin' and Missin', only the splatters are blood.

So, Welcome to 2012! (Here's hoping we acquire better aim, or a good janitor shows up.)