On the Plane to London

It is 10pm we are ready to take off from Atlanta. The plane was overbooked by 15 people. They offered us $600 each plus hotel and meals - then fly tomorrow.

Lulu did not think $1200 was enough - so we are ready to go.

The only consolation is that I got this exit row seat. There is 6 feet of empty flooring in front of me. Lulu is about 4 rows behind me.

Probably tomorrow I will be kicking myself in the morning for not taking the $1200. We could have spent the dat touring Atlanta.

We are on a Boeing 767 wide body - 7 seats across.

See you when we land across the pond.

PS - From London - Now that we are safely in our apartment in London - I wish we would have taken the $1200 bump. We would have gotten here one day later - big deal.

PSS - The young lady next to me offered to trade seats with Lulu when she found out that she was 4 rows behind me - so Lulu got the 6 feet of stretch out space too.

Brandon Finds Cheaper Housing in Apartments Subsidized by his Employer

Brandon has one month left in China. He was looking for cheaper and better housing. Here is what he wrote to me -

I worked something out with my China Daily News adviser. I'll be living in the same complex they set aside for the regular employees. Employees of China Daily get room and board. They have their airline tickets paid for to come over from whatever country they are residing in. They also get plane tickets to go home for a vacation. It's not a bad deal. The complex is located within the China Daily compound.

Since I am not an employee but an intern, I have to pay rent - but only 100 yuan a night (roughly $14.50) which is a lot better than 240 yuan a night at the hotel.

I"ll send pics later. It's a nice place - bedroom, living, bathroom, kitchen and balcony. Airconditioning included, but no TV. Doesn't matter, because I don't/can't watch TV (no English channels and the BBC is blocked).

With that settled, I can get back to being a tourist. I plan on going to the Chinese Air Force museum soon. They have hundreds of plane, even a few captured from the wars with the US. Should be fun.

Traveling for Fun and Profit

We just got home from a 60 hour whirlwind trip to Providence, Rhode Island to see Drew's new home and to celebrate our grandson Jack's first birthday. We had a great time there - but the devil is in the details of the trip.

We left Tallahassee at 7 AM Friday - it was an uneventful flight. But when we got to Charlotte - the second leg of our flight was overbooked. They offered us $700 of travel vouchers - and I was really beside myself. Our entire flight cost $650 - so now we were $50 ahead of the game. We had a free weekend flight and a little profit.

We had to sit around Charlotte Airport for a couple of hours. The neatest feature of the Charlotte Airport is the white rocking chair all over for us to relax. Add on top of that there was free internet service - so the hours flew by quickly. Lulu had plenty of paperwork to catch up on - and there wasn't a better place to do it.

Just before our next plane was to takeoff - they asked for more volunteers to give up their seats. I was eager to do it again - but it would have delayed our arrival at Drew's new condo to about 10 PM. Lulu said no. I could have done this all night long. We got to our destination at about 5 PM.

The entire family made the trip for the big first birthday bash. Nancy found a bargain on Priceline of $49 a night in the Renaissance Hotel right next to the Capitol a short walk from Drew's pad. Our family ended up booking 7 rooms in this restored Masonic Temple.

Saturday was the big party. Everyone had a ball especially Jack. Later that night we all had dinner at a nice restaurant downtown - just as the gay rights parade was going by. The dinner took over 2 hours and not a peep out of Jack. Soon it was bedtime - but many of us stayed around to watch the parade action.

While Keith was still in bed at 5 AM this morning - Lulu and I caught a cab to the airport. The security line was very long but we got to our gate in time to hear them asking for volunteers to give up seats. We were on a roll. To our surprise they offered us $800 - $400 per person - to go on a later flight. Our total of free flight coupons had reached $1500 - and we had set and Everhart record. Up until now - the previous record was $1400 on 2 previous trips to Hawaii. Each time we sold those tickets on ebay because they had to be used within one year.

Before we could sit down to enjoy our Starbucks drinks and muffins - the ticket agent offered us a first class flight to Philadelphia. They were holding the gate open for us and as soon as our butts were in our seats - the plane pushed back. We were sitting in first class - seats 1A and 1B. It was around 7 AM and they were chasing us down with bottles of wine. We were hoping for a few hours of layover time back in our old Pennsylvania Homeland.

The flight to Philadelphia was short and a waste of first class tickets. As we passed over the old Spectrum in Philly on our approach - the stewardess said there was a quick plane to Charlotte. We got off one plane and right onto another at the next gate. On to Charlotte. We felt like fighter pilots doing touch and go landings.

Our adventures toned down a bit - we even got a bit of sleep as we approached the Carolina hub. As I dreamed - I had visions of airline hostesses and agents throwing travel vouchers at us. Alas - when we got to Charlotte - someone must have screwed up the wifi system because we had no free internet. I had nothing to do for 4 hours but to talk to Lulu.

Our plane to Tallahassee was small but they did not need any volunteers to give up seats. Lulu agreed that if we had a chance - we would take the vouchers to break the $2000 mark and have a legendary story to tell. It wasn't meant to be - we ended up with the score - Everhart $1500 - US Airways - $0 - and no story.

Rhode Island State Capitol From Our Room

For the next year - this will be the home of Jack - Robin - and Drew.

On the hill to the right of the Capitol is Brown University where
Robin will do her doctoral internship.

Tonight we just had a gay rights parade. It went right below our window.

Jack's Official First Birthday Photo

June 20th, 2009 - Happy Birthday from Providence

We made it safely to town about 4:30 last night. Drew picked us up at the airport.

His new condo is about 400 yards from the Capitol building. Weather here is cloudy and about 65.

Jack's birthday party is about 2 PM. About 15 family members made the trip for the big event. Jack's great grandfather is here from Augusta - Jack Robinson. We saw Jack and Charlotte the minute we got off our plane because their plane was parked next to ours.

Pictures later.

On the Road Again - to See Jack on His First Birthday Tomorrow

We are in Charlotte Airport - sitting in the balcony for 4 hours - watching all the travelers roll by. We are here voluntarily - we gave up seats on our US Air flight to Providence - for $700!

We left Tallahassee at 7 AM. When we got to the gate of our flight to Providence here - we were offered $700 to give up ours seats on the next plane. They said they could get us to Providence by 10 PM or Boston by 5 PM. We took the chance. While he was writing up our $700
vouchers - two seats on the 2 PM flight to Providence opened up - and we quickly grabbed them. So we will arrive in Providence around 4:30 PM.

Keith is flying up from Washington and should arrive about the same time as us.

Jack was born on the Summer Solstice last year. Everyone is gathering for his first birthday tomorrow. His namesake - Jack Robinson - his great grandfather is flying up from Augusta with Charlotte. Robin's Mom and Dad and many of Jack's Uncles and Aunts will be there.

Jack just moved into his new condo in Providence - see "the903.com". His Mom will be doing her doctoral internship at Brown for the year. His Dad will continue working on his science grant from Syracuse.

Lulu and I will be there until Sunday morning - then we fly back to Tallahassee for two days before we head off to London - Paris - Venice- and Rome. Lulu loves teaching her summer course for FSU on the road.

We will be in the air for our 38th Wedding Anniversary on June 24th. I can't remember the last time we were home for our anniversary - but I do remember the date - it is also the birthday of my loving mother-in- law - Betty Cox.

Lulu will spend her July 12th birthday in Paris and Versailles. She will be 42 - she was married when she was 4. We do things early in the Appalachians.

Sometimes our lawyer Shirley insists the marriage wasn't legal - imagine that.

PS - Do we have to claim this on our income tax form?

Brandon Walks The Great Wall of China

Written - Directed - Produced - Filmed - Edited by Brandon Taylor of Tamaqua PA

Brandon Takes a Long Walk on the Great Wall of China

Brandon Taylor - our old neighbor from Tamaqua PA - is spending the summer in China as an intern for the China Daily News. He recently received is BS in Journalism from Penn State University. Expect to see him on television as a foreign news correspondent in the future.

Here is a summary of his tour in his own words -

Everything is going great. Went to see the Great Wall today. Hiked 10km over 5 hours on the wall. it was amzing. i attached a few photos. I even bought a cool hat to block out the sun.

We took a private tour. It only cost us $45. They picked us up at our hotel, took us to the great wall (a 2.5 hour drive) let us walk from two points on the wall for 10 km and then took us to dinner. They also dropped us off close to our hotel, but paid for a taxi. It was really a great experience.

Added later -

I should also add that at every watchtower along the wall were local farmers trying to sell water, hats, shirts, soda and even beer. BEER! in 90 degree weather. There was a little old lady who followed me for about 2 km trying to sell me a book, but i didn't give in. I kept trying to tell her "Bu yao" which is "I don't want it" but she would not stop. either way, It was still great.

My Neighbor Gets a New Cadillac Every Year - and Every Year I Have My Truck Painted

When I was a school kid - I loved to collect postage stamps. There were two stamp dealers in our town. One guy - Lambert Gerber - was world famous. He made millions running auctions decades before there was an ebay. Franklin Roosevelt was a good customer of his. The other guy - Ross - had a small corner shop selling mostly cheap stuff to kids like me. Both dealers were very nice to collector kids like me. One time I asked my Dad what was the difference between the two dealers. He said, "Every year Lambert Gerber buys a new Cadillac - and every year Ross gets his Packard painted." I didn't get it at the time - Now I do.

About 4 months ago I bought a little Toyota truck for $2000. We didn't really need it - we already had 2 good cars and a Vespa scooter. I didn't need a truck - but when it came up on Craigslist at that price - I had to have it.

The truck runs great - powerful engine - smooth transmission - ice cold air - good gas mileage - nice big bench seat to hold 3 people. It had 134,000 miles on it when I got it - I am surprised that I put 2000 miles on it in 4 months just running around town. I seldom touch my newer cars. Of course my friends and neighbors love that I have a truck for them to borrow.

The other day I took the truck to Maaco - the national car painting company. Steve - the Maaco guy - said he could paint it and fix a couple rust spots for $400. I thought, "What do I have to lose." So I took it in on Friday and Monday afternoon I got a call to pick it up. Check out the pictures above. Note the Seminole Spear stripes.

When I first graduated from college - I insisted on buying a new car every year. To me - it was success - even though my lavish wheels were sponsored by a payment booklet to the bank. I always wondered why I did not have a lot of extra money. Now I am retired - everything paid for cash - and I can afford to buy a new car every year. Instead - I choose to drive a 12 year old Toyota truck - and get it painted every year.

I have looked at life from both sides now.

Drug Dealers Using Semi-Submarines to Haul Cocaine Out of Columbia

Details from the Washington Post

They remind you a bit of the Monitor of the "Merrimac and Monitor" Civil War fame. They never really go completely underwater - they skim the surface with about 98% of their bulk underwater.

They are made of fiberglass and have a big dumb diesel engine with the exhaust muffled by the water to cut down its heat footprint making it harder to be detected by instruments. The hull is designed to be "stealthy" to trick radar. It costs about $1 million to build one and they are designed for just one trip. They can carry up to 10 tons of cocaine with a street value of about $100 million - yes $100 million. At the end of the journey - the cargo is transfered and the boat is "deep-sixed."

The boats have an uncomfortable cabin for 4 - a bucket for a toilet - and sleeping space on the floor. They travel mostly at night and just float like a log during the day. If detected by the Coast Guard - they quickly pull several large plugs and the ship is sunk in 1.5 minutes. The capture turns into a rescue mission and the crew of 4 is turned over to Columbia where they are usually set free.

Future plans include radio control - so that there will be no crew to capture.

The picture shows a captured boat in Key West.

Brandon Taylor Gets "Quarantined" in China

Our good friend Brandon Taylor - a recent Penn State grad - is spending the summer interning for a China Daily Newspaper. We had the pleasure of his visit to our guest house - along with the rest of his family. Harry

by Brandon Taylor from China -

The Chinese, I've been told, are some of the friendliest people in the world, especially to foreigners. Right now, however, it may not be the best time to be non-Chinese. While the Chinese are calm and polite, one thing that sticks out as I walk down the street is the number of Chinese who cover their mouths when I pass. I'm not surprised.

News coverage would make it seem that swine flu is raging rampant in other parts of the world, with Japan reporting over 130 cases and numerous cases popping up in the United States. China, on the other hand, seems to have kept its number of incidents in the single digits. But not 24 hours after arriving in Beijing, I was made aware of the seventh case of swine flu in China.

The case was discovered in a Chinese citizen on Flight CA0982. Flight CA0982 departing from New York City. Flight CA0982 departing from New York City on May 20 at 4:20 p.m. Flight CA0982: my flight.

Swine flu incident number seven – my lucky number.

Nothing was out of the ordinary on my flight, aside from the fact that I was the only Caucasian among a sea of sitting and sleeping Asians. As I remembered it, I had been the only person to cause any disturbances, sneezing profusely after forgetting to take my allergy medicine that morning. Each sneeze brought stares from people sitting to my left and right, as well as a few head turns from the people in front of me.

Upon landing in Beijing, Chinese health officials boarded our plane, dressed predominantly in white. It reminded me of the stormtroopers boarding the rebel spaceship at the beginning of the first Star Wars movie. They even carried laser type guns, which they pointed at each passenger's head to take temperatures.

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi!" They took my temperature, and I was allowed off the plane.

When the China Daily workers picked me up at the airport, I was told about a very loose, voluntary quarantine policy the Chinese government had put in place. All travelers were encouraged to stay in their hotels or homes for five to seven days after arriving in China, just as a precaution.

A day later, I got a phone call from another China Daily staff member. He explained to me the situation – someone on my flight had an irregular temperature and was sent to a hospital.

In my mind I began packing my bags, half expecting to be sent back to the States. Instead of sending me home, they sent me a thermometer. Twice a day I was to take my temperature and report to a China Daily staff member, who would in turn contact the Chinese government. I was practically a celebrity, but just not the way I had hoped.

Despite the precautions that prevented me from fully experiencing Beijing, I was fine with the matter. The Chinese government was just trying to protect its people from a flu that was sweeping the globe. In 2003, China encountered SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) when 774 people died and over 8,000 were infected. Chinese officials had obviously learned from any errors and made drastic corrections to prevent another outbreak.

The situation I found myself in could hardly be called a quarantine, but more extreme cases have occurred to Chinese citizens and foreigners in recent months resulting in accusations of human rights violations. While appearing to be a bit harsh, such health security measures make sense, especially when dealing with a population of 1.3 billion.

Keep in mind, China may have a rapidly growing economy, but certain areas are substantially less developed than others. An outbreak in poorer regions in China could be disastrous, as medical care may not always be readily available. Try buying Tamiflu in a region where the water is undrinkable and no one has ever heard of Wal-Mart or McDonald's. To complain bitterly about not being able to run around Beijing because of some ridiculous flu would have been all-too American of me.

The coup de grace with my swine flu run-in came after I found out that someone had misspoken about my quasi-quarantine status. Apparently, some of the hotel staff was under the impression that I was actually sick. That would explain why hotel workers came to our door wearing masks and left quickly thereafter.

So I was the allegedly sick American staying in room 423. This must mean the men in the hazmat suits would be coming soon. Well, at least I had enough dress clothing for the internship I was to have started to look decent for my close-up on CNN later that night. Or maybe I'd just go out and buy my own little white mask, just in case.

Check out blog posts "Sneeze on a Plane" and "Hello. It's the U.S. Government. Your Mom called" for more details on my experience with the swine flu.

http://btay200.weebly.com/

Claude Davis to Start Taxi Service in Tamaqua and Schuylkill County AGAIN

It was 34 years ago - when I owned a small weekly newspaper in Tamaqua - that Claude Davis planned to offer taxi service. The more things change - the more they stay the same. Check out this story from the Pottsville Republican today -

A Pottsville native is preparing his case for a hearing next month on his bid to return 24-hour taxi service to Schuylkill and Carbon counties, a venture he says will honor his late father.

Claude Davis, Palatine, Ill., said he will appear at 10 a.m. July 8 in the second-floor conference room of Pottsville City Hall for a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission hearing on whether he can start his taxi service.

“This is an application for Charlie’s Yellow Cab for all of Carbon and Schuylkill counties,” Davis said Friday. “I’m pretty sure that I’ll get approval.”

He said he has lots of support for his proposed venture.

“A lot of witnesses are going to appear,” said Davis, who declined to divulge their names.

Charlie’s Yellow Cab would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, including holidays, and would make cabs available to anyone in the either county who wants a ride, Davis said. The company would have 22 cabs and six handicap-accessible vans stationed throughout the two counties for its customers, according to Davis.

“The calls are going to come into Pottsville,” he said. “They’ll be dispatched.”

The company would provide service to people who are intoxicated to allow them to avoid possible driving under the influence charges, Davis said.

“They’ll be able to get a cab,” not only for that, but for hospital, shopping, airport and other kinds of trips, Davis said.

Davis said the company’s name honors his father, Charles “Rabbits” Davis, who owned and operated a taxi in Pottsville. Claude Davis has said he promised his father when he died in 1988 that he would return to the area and operate a taxi company.

Claude Davis started driving a taxi in 1969, bought a taxi company in 1974 in Tamaqua and operated it until 1980.

NCAA Playoff - Winner Goes to College World Series

Friday at noon. Where's the crowd?

After several rain delays - the game ended 9 hours later. FSU lost 7-2. Today - the two teams play again. If FSU wins today - there is one more game tomorrow. If Arkansas wins today - they go to the College World Series.

We attended the game twice yesterday - from noon to 4:30 - then again from 7:30 to 9. I think we will watch today's game at noon on ESPNU.

Tornado Tears Roof Off School Close to Our Home

Note - this building is close to our home. I was not aware of this happening until today. The two maps show how close it was to us. Harry.

BY MATT GILMOUR • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • JUNE 5, 2009

A small tornado tore off a portion of the roof at Apalachee Elementary School on Thursday morning during strong storms that hit the Tallahassee area.

Students weren't at the school at the time, but teachers and staff were there for a math workshop, said Chris Petley, a spokesman for the district. No one was injured, but debris damaged some cars in the parking lot of the school, located at 650 Trojan Trail on Tallahassee's east side.

Pieces of the roof were strewn across the property, some landing in the parking lot, trees, a retention pond and nearby Tom Brown Park.

"It sounded like a locomotive train heading straight across the top of the roof," said Principal Ross Witherspoon, who was inside when the storm hit. "Everybody was quite shocked."

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee confirmed Thursday afternoon that a small tornado packing winds of 65-70 mph caused the damage. Meteorologist Kelly Godsey said it appears the tornado touched down on the roof for perhaps only 30 seconds.

Steve Mangum Built This Electric Miata Right in His Carport in Downtown Tallahassee

The other day I received an email from Steve Mangum - my neighbor across the highway in Indian Head Acres.

Steve said, "I came across your blog in the Democrat and wanted to let you know that all-electric vehicles are closer and more affordable than you might think, providing you don't mind turning wrenches."

Saturday at 9 AM he dropped by my house with this beautiful little sports car. At first I thought it was Thomas Magnum PI the Hawaiian detective - but this guy spells his name M-A-N-G-U-M. The red convertible has no outside appearances of being electric - unless you count the "Bye Gas" vanity license plate. I hopped into the passenger seat and away we went. The car was perfectly silent. There was no starter grind - no throaty exhaust - no exhaust pipe spitting out smelly fumes.

After turning onto the highway I quickly realized that this was not the glorified golf cart I expected. A stomp on the accelerator - don't say gas pedal - pinned my head back to the leather seat restraint. The car shot off getting to 70 MPH without much effort. The Miata has its original 5 speed transmission which could be shifted from gear to gear without using the clutch - but the car could be driven all day in 3rd gear because electric motors have so much torque. The only sound was the wind whipping your hair about if you have any.

As we pulled up to many cars at the red lights on Apalachee - I had the urge to tell the driver next to me that we were in an electric car. The only giveaway would be the perfect silence while we were stopped. We easily left the others cars at the red lights with all the low end power this mute car has.

We covered a total of 15 miles - the car never exhibited a drop off in power. The 10 Sears DieHard batteries in the trunk and under the hood would provide a range of about 25 miles. There is room for a few more batteries. At $300 each - $3000 of the project cost was spent there. At least they were covered by a long warranty and could be purchased locally. The motor is under the batteries and takes up the space of about two volleyballs.

Back home on the driveway - I examined the car from stem to stern. Steve did not cut corners - the fit and finish rivals cars coming off the production line. Nothing was butchered to make the conversion. The owner said he could easily put it all back together as a gas-powered car in a couple hours. No expense was spared to buy top quality batteries - motor - controller - and other hardware.

Inside the cabin - the only thing different was a digital gauge on the console that could be toggled to read out volts - amps - watts - range - miles - and tons of other calculations. To the lay driver - all you need to know is put the key in - select forward or reverse and drive away.

Rough estimates of the cost are $13,000 and 200 hours of work. The Miata cost $4000 and the parts add another $9000 to it. If labor cost $20 an hour - which is low - it would cost $17,000 to build. Realistically it costs about 6 cents a mile to operate.

I asked Steve how his wife Rebecca felt about his tinkering. He said she is his number one fan. She said, "When Steve got the little car up and running we took a jaunt around the capitol in the middle of the night, freezing, (in our pajamas!), and laughing the entire time. (He hadn't even put the hood back on.) With support like that - bring on the next project.

This Miata is an excellent daily commuter. Steve rides it from home to his job near the Capitol. He has already built an electric bicycle and I understand that his next project may be a small truck. Rumors are - he might sell this car - to make room in the carport to build his next project vehicle.

Maybe the savior of the American auto industry lives in the innovative minds of weekend warrior dreamers like Steve. At least some people are happy with $4.00 a gallon fuel prices.









Pictures -
1 - Steve Mangum in his electric Miata.
2 - "Plug Er Up!" charging in the carport.
3 - Interior is normal except for fuel gauge.
4 - Computer toggles through volts - watts - amps - range.
5 - Under the hood are batteries - controller - motor
6 - No oil or grease to mess up this motor.
7 - Charger plug is under filler cap.
8 - "Bye Gas" get it?

Transparent Volkswagen Factory in Dresden Germany