Gallegos Heading To Eureka

Was reading a story in the Ukiah Daily Journal about the Mendocino County Jail's garden program and noticed one inmate, Brenda Gallegos, will be heading up to Eureka soon to enter some sort of program. Might she be related to our very own Paul Gallegos?

Rose: I'm sure you'll get right on this?

Trying A Video

Just ran into this Penn and Teller thing. Let's see if this link works. I still haven't figured out how you all add You Tube videos to your blogs.

Teen Agents?

Heard an ad on the radio yesterday I found rather disturbing. A guy in a hip, youthful type voice lets us know the state is looking for kids between the ages of 14 to 16 for hire as Tobacco Enforcement Agents. He gives a phone number to call and says the money comes from Prop 66(?) funds.

Not sure just what these kids are supposed to do. I imagine they participate in stings against tobacco retailers, just like some do with liquor. Who knows, maybe they'll even have them going around and narking on their schoolmates, telling authorities where their friends and acquaintances get their cigarettes.

Scary stuff that we have the state encouraging kids to spy on everyone.

Another Shooting Investigation

I was a little puzzled when I first read this story on the CHP shooting of some parolee last Sunday. I couldn't figure out why they were holding off on charging the fellow who got shot simply because they wanted to talk to some witnesses that were present when the whole thing started.

About the only thing those witnesses could provide is that the CHP had a complaint and thus a reason to stop the fellow, who eventually got shot, in the first place. Reading further, though, the officer noted the suspect didn't have his seatbelt fastened when he first approached him. I don't believe in seatbelt laws but I believe not wearing a seatbelt is reason enough to pull the guy over.

So what difference, as far as deciding what charges to press, would it make to talk to the people who made the original complaint? The officer's involved really have all the information needed as the bulk of the guy's offenses started when he refused to yield and the first two witnesses weren't around by that time.

Kinda like the D.A.'s office requesting the Cotton autopsy results be withheld until they could see them. Withholding the results wasn't going to change the cause of death, was it? Talking to the two witnesses shouldn't have any bearing on what charges are going to be filed, as I see it. The witnesses weren't there when the chase and shooting occurred.

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But, I might of been reading the stories wrong. I guess all the papers were trying to say was that the D.A.'s office was still investigating and they wanted to get hold of two witnesses who made the original complaint. Leave it to me to make an issue out of something that isn't.

Still, at least a couple things raised my eyebrows, at least in the Eureka Reporter version of the story. Quote: "Hislop said the officer ordered Bartow to stop before firing approximately three shots."

Approximately three shots? You'd think by now he'd know exactly how many shots were fired.

Quote: "They continued searching and found a bullet hole in Bartow’s right shoulder.".

Found a bullet hole in his shoulder while searching him? Seems to me it would be obvious the guy was shot, assuming he was shot at and was bleeding.

Strange report writing that Hislop does.

Nothing to say...

but it's ok. Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!

Don't have anything to write about this morning, except it's raining pretty good right now. I thought it might, from the looks of the doppler radar earlier on. Probably won't last long, though.

I guess I'll go spend my usual hour or so flying the skies over Aces High. Maybe the rain will stop by the time I get done with that and I'll go to work.

Good month for me in Aces High. First time ever I landed over 300 kills in both Fighter and Attack mode. You can check out my scores and statistics by going here. My game id is xtiger.

E- Mail Disclaimers and Privacy

I've wondered for some time about the ethics of e- mail and related privacy issues. I got to thinking about it again when the so- called disclaimer in the Arkley apology e-mail was brought to light.

I'm just guessing, but I would assume that disclaimer is the signature on the bottom of most, if not every, e- mail sent out by Security National, Rob Arkley's e- mails having been fed to the press by various recipients before, but does that disclaimer really have any weight?

The first paragraph seems to be an attempt to guard against someone releasing said e- mail to anyone not intended as the recipient. I suppose that might have some weight if someone who the e-mail wasn't intended for came across it and pretty much stole the e-mail.

Let's say someone was playing around with someone's computer, found some strange e-mail, and sent it to the press. I'd say that would certainly be grounds for civil action, if not criminal action, disclaimer included on the e-mail or not.

But what if someone sends an e-mail that is unsolicited? Let's assume Larry Glass wasn't on the Eureka City Council (e-mails going to city hall becoming public property)? If he was just owner of The Works and had the same beef with Arkley, and Arkley sent him an apology via e-mail, would Glass be obliged to keep the contents of the e- mail from the press as per the disclaimer?

I should think not, as Glass did not ask for the e-mail to be sent to him. It seems out of bounds to me that anybody should send someone an e-mail and insist the contents remain private.

Sure, it might be rude to publicly release e-mails but, absent an existing agreement between the parties involved, I don't see how anyone can insist that someone not divulge the contents of an e-mail they sent unrequested.

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As I've said, I think it's often rude to release private e-mails between two people. I've thought it was rude that some of the e-mails we've seen disclosed in the local papers over the last few years were released. Sometimes I don't have a problem with it.

I figure e-mails from mailing lists that are open to the general public are fair game for release. I've passed a few of those around in my time. If someone is sending out mass e-mailings to pretty much anyone, I figure that makes it safe to assume it's ok to pass them out to others.

Didn't Salzman, or someone, start issuing some disclaimer to their e-mail lists a while back to try and keep list e-mail from being released?

Unsoliticited e-mails, regardless of the contents are still a gray area with me. If someone personally sends me something that might not be the kind of thing that the person would want made public, I figure it's only fair to keep it to myself, although by sending an e-mail everyone needs to realize there's the possibility not all recipients might feel the same way I do.

Sometimes I think it's more than fair to release certain e-mails. Back on September 4, 2005 I made a post here about some somewhat threatening e-mails I received as a result of some posts I made on the Redwood Peace and Justice Center e-mail lists.

That was mostly in regards our very own (I think), Al Baston. He didn't like a libertarian reaching out to his lefty friends on common interests via that e-mail list so kinda threatened me to stop using the list.

I've kept sometimes hostile e-mail sent by others to myself before, but I felt his were over the top, especially for someone on the Redwood PEACE and Justice Center e-mail list.

So, not only did I blog about e-mail terrorists, I sent an e-mail over the RPJC discuss e-mail list with Al Baston's e-mails accompanying it and suggested if others had a problem with me posting to that list, they should take it up with the RPJC leadership and perhaps have me removed from the list. I'm still on that list.

Certainly Al Baston's letters to me were fair game for public exposure. Just where to draw the line, I don't know. But I think these disclaimers like Rob Arkley had in his apology letter are likely of dubious legal value.

Anybody out there think all e-mail should be public property, or all e-mail should remain private?

Did He Really Apologize?

Rob Arkey's apology, finally having been released to the media, is good enough for me but apparently not for Larry Glass.

I'm hoping the issue will be dropped, as it should have earlier on but, looking at the Times- Standard's coverage of the story today, I get the impression we haven't heard the last of this.

Let's just hope this situation doesn't become reminiscent of the old Clinton "Zippergate" apology of years ago.

I remember back then he was found out fooling around in the Oval Office. He finally had to issue a public apology. I don't know that I really wanted an apology from him myself. I was of the Let's drop it and move on... mindset.

But he had to apologize, for whatever reason. Predictably, as is kinda happening a bit now in the Arkley/ Glass case, the pundits began going back and forth over whether Clinton's apology seemed heartfelt and sincere. To paraphrase Clinton's first apology:

Clinton: I'm really sorry....

Then the T.V. pundits started in:

P1: I just don't feel like his apology was sincere...

P2: Me neither. He's going to have to sound more sincere if he expects people to accept his apology....

So a day or so later:

Clinton: I'm really, really sorry....

P1: He still doesn't sound like he really means it.
P2: I agree. Doesn't seem like a heartfelt apology to me...

A day or so later:

Clinton: I'm really, REALLY sorry...

P1: It seems like he's trying but he needs to try harder...
P2: Yep. He's almost there....

Finally:

Clinton: I'm really, REALLY, REALLY sorry...

I don't recall if Clinton ever satisfied some of those guys. I got sick of the whole thing that evolved over that.

Hey, Clinton gave an apology. Take it or leave it.

Same with this Arkley/ Glass thing. I hope this doesn't evolve into something like the Clinton thing with Arkley going on and on trying to satisfy Larry Glass. We need to just drop it. The apology has been made. Take it or leave it.

A Feinstein Put Down

I believe I've mentioned before here my contempt for Senator Dianne Feinstein. It says a lot about this state that she easily gets elected over and over again. So I'm glad to see this article slamming Feinstein published- in a liberal magazine, no less- and just had to give it a plug.

Kudos to lewrockwell.com for the link.

Eureka Garbage Problems

There they go talking about mandatory garbage service in Eureka again. I can't help but wonder, if Eureka ends up doing this, will the rest of the county follow suit?

They say they're doing this to meet state requirements of reducing waste sent to landfills by 50%, which Eureka, among other cities, has fallen short of.

Seems to me I read somewhere that Eureka is doing better than some places down south, San Francisco being one of them. I could be wrong on that but that's my recollection. Doesn't San Francisco have mandatory garbage service?

I'm not sure about that but I know they get three garbage containers down there so everything gets separated from the start: A green one for green waste. Blue for recyclables and black for regular garbage. Seems to me if they're doing that and still doing worse than we are, we shouldn't be following their example.

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Of the four recommendations the Citizen Action Committee made in regards garbage service and recycling, two sound interesting:

The voluntary curbside pickup of green waste would be nice, but how much more expensive will that make this whole thing?

What does universal mean in regards to "universal pick up of bulky items"? I imagine that just means City Garbage will drive around and pick up any old appliances they see laying around. That might be nice but, again, how much more expensive will that make the mandatory garbage service?

I'll have to admit, though, I'll be the first to take advantage of the bulky item pick up. Then I'll finally get around to dumping that old washing machine that's been sitting on our back patio for going on four years now.

And Even More

The Santa Rosa Press- Democrat takes a look at surveillance cameras.

Yet Even More Cameras...

..but these are more of the fun ones.

I was over at Jennifer's blog and noticed she had a link to some live web cams of beaches in Southern California. I wanted to leave a comment to remind her to check out some of the local web cams, including the one at Camel Rock, in case she hadn't already done so.

I went to Humguide to try and find the listing of local web cams so I could provide a link but I couldn't find the listing of local web cams. I did find one link that should have gone to the Camel Rock web cam but it was dead. Did they take the Camel Rock camera down?

So, no luck with the old page that had the three or four local web cams on it (Old Town Eureka, Arcata Plaza, etc.). I did find this page of Caltrans web cams, though. I think I mentioned here before the cams Caltrans has at Confusion Hill. I didn't know the had all those other ones. They even have one covering Broadway at Wabash, in Eureka.

Fun stuff to browse through. Note that the picture you first see isn't the most current. Click on the link for the last eight images for that one.

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In closing, not to be completely apolitical in today's post: What purpose would be served by having a web cam covering, not just Broadway and Wabash, but the other locations.And how much does this cost?

Surveillance Cameras Coming To Arcata?

Looks like the Arcata City Council narrowly approved moving forward with plans to deploy surveillance cameras on the Arcata Plaza.

As one council dude noted, this doesn't necessarily mean the cameras will be installed, it just allows the powers- that- be to come up with a plan and a policy for deployment of the cameras which would still need to be approved by the council.

I'm actually not all that bothered by the thought of surveillance cameras. Hey, if someone wants to film me, have at it. Besides, we're already being watched by plenty of private surveillance cameras.

Still, I can understand the concern with the loss of civil liberties, cost and lack of efficacy of such cameras. Kudos to Arcata Mayor, Harmony Groves, and council dude Paul Pitino for showing their concerns and casting the dissenting votes.

Whether the cameras will end up on the Plaza remains to be seen. I'll have to admit I almost hope they do. It would be fun, indeed, to be able to point to progressive Arcata as first city in Humboldt to deploy that symbol of the police state: the surveillance camera.

Fall Is Here: Roofing Time

Ever notice how, when you get towards the end of August into September, all of the sudden the roofers seem everywhere?

This isn't the first year I've noticed it but for some reason it just seemed more obvious to me the last few days. It became especially evident after seeing probably five or six roofs being repaired or replaced with the few blocks around my house. I go out to load up my stuff this morning and the first sound I noticed was that of the roofers a block or so away pounding away on the roof.

House painting's the same way. Seems you see a lot of painters running around trying to get their work done before the rain comes.

I guess we did the same thing when we had our roof replaced, but we were a little earlier on in August. Still, why do so many of us wait until the last minute to do this stuff?

No Harm Done

I'm a bit surprised to read that the harbor dredging project caused few, if any, problems. So says the Times- Standard, anyway. I would of expected at least a little bit of change to the North Jetty from the dredgings being dumped there but apparently the jetty is pretty much back to normal already.

The article says the dredging also removed "three tons of debris, mostly metal...". I wonder if they found anything interesting, like some old guns or even treasure?

Nah. I have to remind myself this isn't the first time the bay has been dredged. Any treasures that might have been on the floor of the bay were probably dumped offshore long ago during earlier dredging operations.

Vote For The Mavericks

I thought Allen Amundsen's commentary in the Eureka Reporter this morning was a fun read. Some points well made.

I've always wondered why the mainstream media focuses so much on the dull mainstream candidates. Those candidates are so predictable. It's refreshing to hear candidates like Ron Paul (I've never listened to Mike Gravel) go contrary to the rest in the so- called presidential debates.

I agree with Amundsen: These "debates" aren't really debates, for the most part. They're just forums where candidates can give you a short sound bite on why you should vote for them.

I always wonder why so many people watch these debates and, then, when election time comes vote for the same dull clowns they've been watching for months on end?

I say don't vote for them. You'll only encourage them. Waste your vote on one of the dark horses, like Ron Paul. That's what I usually do and I feel better for it.

Too Much Garbage In Southern Humboldt

Looks like the garbage transfer center for Southern Humboldt is getting overwhelmed. Too much garbage being generated for its capacity so they're looking into upgrading the transfer station.

I'd be curious- SoHum being as politically correct as it is- to take a look at what's being dumped and how much is recyclable.

Kerrigan Heads East

Why am I not surprised that Eureka City Councildude, Chris Kerrigan, has decided to head to Iowa to work on the John Edwards campaign? I guess because I've always thought him to be quite the political animal.

I've mentioned here before, and told Kerrigan himself back when he was going door to door in my neighborhood, that I felt his ambition was to be some sort of lifetime politician- another Wes Chesbro perhaps. He insisted that was not the case and that he just wanted to finish a second term on the Eureka City Council.

I won't hold him to that. I realize people and things change over time. I bet I'll be proven right, though. Just a matter of time.

Anonymity And Intimidation

Mendocino County seems to have their own version of a Marina Center controversy going on, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal's blog (Sept. 12 post). The old Masonite Mill(?) site has long been unused and some are proposing a new mall be put there.

Editor, K.C. Meadows, makes mention of the fact that some people seem to feel intimidated by one of the sides in the controversy. The "Smart Growth" bunch apparently went through a list the Board of Supervisors had available and took names of people for or against development. Some people are nervous about that.

Meadows then goes on to seemingly defend anonymous comments at public meetings. Well, maybe not totally anonymous since a speaker would at least be seen when speaking, but reminds us it's supposedly illegal to require people to identify themselves before addressing a city council or supervising board.

People should just be able to go up and speak without identifying themselves? That's the law? I'll have to think about that one.

New Parking Meters

Not here. In Sacramento.

I hardly ever use parking meters but, next time I have to use one, I hope it's one of these new ones (username humboldtlib, password blogspot) that Sacramento started using recently.

Looks like a vast improvement over the old meters. Not only can you use credit or debit cards with them, you basically buy a parking permit for a certain amount of time that can be used later at a different location if you still have time left on it.

Neat idea. Don't know how cost effective the new machines will be, but for the end user, it probably won't matter when they're parking.

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Speaking of parking permits, how does College of the Redwoods handle their one day parking permit's now?

I haven't been out there for years, but they used to have a machine that accepted only four quarters for a days parking. That was back in the late '70s, early '80s. If you didn't buy a semester (back then C/R was on the quarter system) permit, it would drive you nuts if you got to the parking lot and didn't have enough quarters for the machine.

I usually managed somehow but one time I didn't have enough quarters and didn't want to hassle trying to find quarters somewhere as I only had to go to the Administration building for something that shouldn't have to take more than ten minutes.

I decided to take my chances, parked without a buying a permit and ran into the Admin Building. Got hung up, though, and ended up staying for maybe half an hour. Went back to my car and I'd gotten a ticket that ended up costing me ten bucks later on.

Kind of burned me up but, thinking back on it, I suspect the C/R security guys have little to do but try and catch people parking without permits. They probably would of caught me if I'd only been parked there five minutes.

Has their parking permit system changed since I last used it?

Cancer Society Gives Up On Cancer?

I guess our local chapter of the American Cancer Society was following its parent organization's lead in trying to keep that hookah place in Arcata from opening.

Well, in fairness, at least the hookah place would be using tobacco, which has something to do with cancer.

On the national front, the American Cancer Society recently announced it will spend next year's entire advertising budget on promoting universal health care rather than anything cancer related. Mike Tanner, of the Cato Institute, explains why that's a bad idea.

Reese On The Nanny State

Charley Reese, one of my more often read columnists, writes about the Nanny State here.

Reese is often an enigma. Despite the last sentence in his Nanny State rant, I believe he wrote sometime back that he's a registered Democrat.

Wabash Neighborhood Center

I'm wondering how many of the people upset with Eureka's Stop and Shop Market opposed Teen Challenge's bid to move into the old church in the same neighborhood? They're just a few blocks apart.

Stop and Shop is the neighborhood center for the Wabash Avenue area, it seems. Always people hanging out around there. Problem is, when the neighborhood is the armpit of Eureka, you get mostly the riff- raff hanging around.

I've never been by there late at night when they say it gets real bad, but it seems to me it got a little quieter there when they got rid of the pay phone outside the store.

They did get rid of that phone didn't they? Seems to me no matter when I'd drive by there you'd see people hanging around or talking on the phone. I don't recall seeing that phone for some time now.

But, it's the neighborhood. I don't know that the one store not too far away from it has many problems. The one on F street a block north of Wabash, what is it; D&V Market? Seems pretty quiet there.

It's the neighborhood, not the store, seems to me.

Sex Offenders On The Way?

Thanks to those of you that voted for that Jessica's Law Initiative back in '06, Humboldt and other rural counties might be seeing an influx of sex offenders soon. Over 2700, across the state, have been told to move because they live too close to schools or parks.

Rural areas offer more opportunities for housing in such situations since schools are further apart.

If the ranks of sex offenders in Humboldt County do swell due to them having to leave the rural areas, I can't help but wonder if those complaining the loudest about it will be the same ones that voted for Jessica's Law?

Ishe Dube?

Was anybody at that Arcata Concerts on the Plaza thing yesterday? I'm wondering if this Ishe Dube guy was performing there from 2pm to 4:30 as the Eureka Reporter says?

I could of sworn I saw that guy at the Henderson Center Rite Aid in Eureka during that time. The only reason I noticed him was he was one of those people that likes to walk around the store talking on his cellphone. I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to impress others in the store with the talk of all the gigs he had going.

I'd swear that was him but the time line doesn't work out, I don't think. I was in Rite Aid a little after 3pm. Seems unlikely he would have made it there by then unless he left Arcata just after two, or arrived in Arcata around 3:30ish.

Sex Offenders On The Street

The Ukiah Daily Journal seems to have their blog up and running again and editor, K.C. Meadows, tells us of a troubling situation in Ukiah (Sept. 7 post). Actually, I'm sure the same thing is playing out across the state with registered sex offenders pretty much being chased from wherever they can find a place to live.

I'm with K.C. This is not an acceptable situation. I might go even further than K.C. in the sort of changes that need to be made, although I'm not quite sure just what those changes might be. For one thing, I think we need to take another look at just what qualifies someone to have to register as a sex offender.

Dems Seek Candidates

I see the local Democratic Central Committee is looking for candidates they can endorse in the upcoming election. I suspect we won't see any surprises there.

One group we haven't heard from in regards the upcoming elections is Local Solutions. No mention of any upcoming races on their web page, at least not yet. The last addition to their web page I could find was from January of this year. Have they thrown in the towel?

Cotton Autopsy Results Postponed

Sure is a nasty headline: Cotton investigation team asks coroner not to release cause of death. Makes you feel they're trying to hide something, doesn't it? Did the Times- Standard intend for it to look that way?

On closer inspection we're told they just want to get together with the coroner and compare notes in regards the incident before the official cause of death is made public. Still makes you wonder, as it gives the appearance of the investigators trying to get all their stories straight.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I imagine they do it that way all the time.

Remember The Pueblo?

Some of you older folks might remember the capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo by North Korea in 1968. Turns out that Stu Russell, now living in our very own City of Eureka, was a crew member aboard the Pueblo when it was captured. He's quoted twice in this story on the capture and current fate of the Pueblo.

Hat tip to anti-war.com for the heads up on the story.

Give Pets Some Air

There's a letter to the editor of the Times- Standard today where the writer reminds us not to leave pets inside cars with the windows closed. The letter doesn't seem to available online yet.

This is certainly good advice, especially around here where some might think our relatively cool weather makes the temperature inside cars a non- issue. But it has been fairly warm as of late, so give your dog some air if you have to leave it in the car.

Some people who you think would know better often forget about their pets, and some maybe just don't care.

Back when the old group home was operating across the street one of the gals that worked there would often leave her dog locked in her car. The lady who lived across the alley from the group home was returning home after walking her dog and the group home gal was leaving her car to go into the house.

I could hear the neighbor lady telling the group home gal, "You really shouldn't leave your dog in the car with the windows rolled up like that.". The group home gal responds, "Don't tell me how to take care of my fucking dog.!".

Another lovely day in the neighborhood.

Term Limits Initiative Makes Ballot

Looks like a so- called term limits reform initiative has made the ballot, barely getting enough signatures to qualify. Some are accusing proponents of the initiative of skullduggery in validation of the signatures. I doubt they'll get anywhere if they end up taking their challenges further.

As for me, I've said here before I'm ambivalent about term limits and am not sure just how I'll vote on this one. I agree with some others that this initiative was dishonestly labeled by its sponsors, although I forget the exact details. One could argue that the initiative deserves defeat for the dishonest labeling alone.

Then there's also the fact that about the only beneficiaries of this bill are Senator Don Perata and Assemblyman Fabian Nunez, the authors of the initiative. They get an extra term in office if the initiative passes.

I suppose you can't blame them for being self- serving in trying to save their jobs, but it's tempting to vote no and see this initiative defeated if only to put them in their place.

Pot Destroys Lives?

Maybe so, but I have a hard time going along with some of the reasoning Patti Thomas uses in her Times- Standard My Word column today.

For instance, she writes:

For instance, several patients have stated their depression has, in fact, worsened since being prescribed pot (for depression). In addition to becoming dependent, they now have to contend with life quality issues such as lack of motivation or interest in previously enjoyable activities.

I find that a tough one to swallow. I'm sure some people actually exist that didn't smoke pot before being prescribed pot, but I don't know that I've personally heard of any. The only ones I know that were even interested in getting a 215 card are people that already smoke pot. It should then come as no surprise that it does [or doesn't] work as expected.

She goes on to talk about people that have changed their travel habits because they don't want their luggage searched. Hey! That's because marijuana is illegal in this country. I'd hardly consider that a personal problem caused by marijuana, unless you really had to go somewhere, but couldn't, because you couldn't take your pot with you.

It certainly is true that pot can exacerbate some personal problems like anxiety. I know it did for me when I smoked it, but those problems didn't just go away when I wasn't smoking pot.

I'd suggest most other problems she lists are the same way and they're for people to deal with themselves, or with Ms. Thomas' assistance, assuming they want it. It shouldn't be a government problem.

Ace Hardware Goes Corporate?

Some people just can't leave well enough alone.

Looks like some higher ups in the Ace Hardware organization want to turn Ace Hardware into a corporation, as opposed to the owner owned and operated cooperative it is now.

Hard to say what advantage would come out of such a move, but there's certainly a possibility it could screw up something. If they decide to go through with this, I hope they don't screw it up. I like my Schafer's Ace Hardware, in Henderson Center, the way it is.

If it works, why try and fix it?

Algae Power?

Interesting experiment being looked at in Santa Rosa: Making fuel from algae growing in the pools of Santa Rosa's wastewater treatment plants. Doesn't sound like this, if successful, would produce a whole lot of energy but, if nothing else, it should be interesting.

Pet Idol 2007

Just noticed this online poll on the Times- Standard web site. You can vote for your favorite pet. Give it a try.

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Do they even mention the poll in the T-S hard copy? I don't know since, once again, they skipped delivering the paper to my house. This is getting to be a regular thing having missed my house four or five times out of the last month or so.

Not too much of a bother except I like the T-S for reading with breakfast since there's generally more to read there than in the Eureka Reporter. I can also check the online version of the T-S but some stories often aren't included.

I've pretty much made up my mind that when my subscription to the T-S expires, I'll likely subscribe to the online version if only because it's quite a bit cheaper at $39 a year. Won't have to worry about missed deliveries or having to take the papers to the recycling center, either.

Still, there's something to be said about hard copy. What if the power goes out or the computer goes on the fritz?

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Speaking of e- versions of reading material, the only magazine I have a paid subscription to has announced they're offering an e- version.

Kind of strange that Liberty magazine would be doing that as they don't even offer a way to subscribe to their magazine online. They have an 800 number listed to call and subscribe and list a snail mail address but no online credit card or PayPal option.

Strange again is there's no mention of the e- version on their web site's subscription info page, at least last I looked.

I think you only save around $5.00 by subscribing electronically. I don't know if I want to go for that, or not. The only time I really read the magazine is when I'm down at UCSF Medical Center and, oddly enough, I don't have internet access in the waiting room of the Oncology Department so I'd need the hard copy.

Besides, they're offering it online as a .pdf file and I HATE dealing with .pdf files.

American Kestrels?

These neat birds used to be called Sparrow Hawks. Some yuppies, twenty or thirty years ago, decided to change the name to American Kestrel.

Now why would they want to go do something like that? If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it.

Photo courtesy of the Eureka Reporter.