UNESCO World Heritage Sites

We have visted a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Cathedral is in Regensburg the best preserved medieval city in Germany. The half timbered structure is in Miltenberg which escaped the WWII bombings. The Benedictine Monastery on the hilltop is how an home for older people in Bamberg. The Wurzberg Hospital at the top supports it's efforts with the sale of Wine.

Hello from Germany

The last picture is sideways and I can't figure out how to change that.
We are having a good time and we are about to leave for a walking tour of Bamburg. It is our second UNESCO World Heritage site of this trip. We have missed the rain by minutes sometimes, so we are dry and happy campers. There is so much to see and we are luck to have the chance to visit the few towns not destroyed during the war.

News about news to come!

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will publish its decision on Floyd Landis' appeal on Monday, June 30 at 11 am EST. --From Journal of Competitive Cycling, June 27, 2008

Take Back the Tour

The false allegations and fair weather fans
They ripped the soul out of this race.
It belongs to us.

Take back the tour!

Click to see the whole promotional thing at Versus

Mega Medical Center

I am hanging out in the waiting lobby on the 5th floor in between the North and South Tower patient rooms at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center. I have never been here before and it is a little city. I was intimidated to try to find my way around, but signs and very helpful people are everywhere. My neighbor had gastric bypass surgery that ended about an hour ago, and I'm just going to hang out here until about 9:00 to make sure she is comfortable. None of her family was able to be here. I called her mom in Illinois with the good report from the Dr. She'll be out of recovery about 5:00pm. I'm able to do my school work here with free wifi for visitors. I see this place on TV all the time with celebrity health stories.

Copper Theft Leads To Power Outages In Whittier, Pico Rivera

WHITTIER, Calif. -- About half of Whittier and a large portion of Pico Rivera were without power Monday afternoon as the result of the theft of copper wire from a substation, authorities said.

SoCal Edison Power Outage Page

A maintenance crew going into a substation on Beverly Boulevard in Pico Rivera about 1:30 p.m. discovered that the copper wiring used for grounding purposes had been stolen, said Steve Conroy of Southern California Edison.
Conroy said he did not know exactly how much wiring was stolen, but it was a "substantial" amount.

"As you know, the theft of copper wire is a problem across the nation," Conroy said, referring to the rising worldwide demand -- and soaring prices -- for aluminum, copper and brass, for which junk dealers and recyclers will pay cash.

Conroy said the crew had to immediately de-energize the equipment.

"We had to turn it off," he said. "It's unsafe operating the substation with no grounding protection and it could affect not only the station, but poles and wires outside."

An Edison spokeswoman said the plan was to have power restored by 5 p.m.

Source: KNBC

UPDATE: Power came on minutes before 5 PM.

Oximoron

Driving home the other day, I passed one of those places with little rental storage units, a row of metal sheds. The sign on the street advertised "Gun Safes." It just struck me as odd. Wickipedia claims "An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms." I'm not sure this is a figure of speech, but to me it is definitely contradictory! But if you need to keep a gun safe, there are places just for such a cause! Guns and safety oppose each other in my opinion. My right to bare arms means I can wear sleeveless shirts and I'm happy living on the Pacifist Coast.

Stephen's nephew honored by NASCAR

Click the Title above for the story about my nephew Michael Curtin. It was nice of NASCAR to provide him with this trip while he is recovering from his injuries.

Doris' Visit

Just wanted to post two pictures from Doris' visit here earlier this month.

A Rainy Walk to the Market

This morning at about 8:25am, I headed out the door for my walk. This was a delightful time as I continue to develop this healthy discipline. It was cloudy and cool – like a winter day in California. Loved that! Quite cozy.

I walked down to the Farmer’s Market, about five blocks from here. I took $15 and bought fresh vegetables and strawberries. It was so fun to look at all the produce displayed by the farmers and to choose what I wanted for the week (and what I could carry!). The crowd was minimal. The farmers and vendors were glad to see anyone out today. I loved the feeling of supporting local farms and sustainable living, as they say – eating what is in season. Plus, I thought ahead and took a reusable cloth bag to carry the items, so I wouldn't use more plastic bags, a nod to the environment.

I carried what I bought home – extra weight and extra effort. It rained all the way home. I really enjoyed walking in the rain -- a different side of nature. Also, while I walk, I pass others in the community. Saying hello and sharing quick comments helps me feel more connected. All this makes walking fun. I really do love walking. I got good vegetables and fruit and didn't use any gas, too, which is now over $4 a gallon. I'm glad to live in this area and have a local farmer's market to visit on my walk.

Twas the night before

Saturday and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even one dog

The doors were all locked, the dogs in their kennel,
With visions of dog food with organic fennel.

Cindi and I all snug in the bed
Alarm clocks all set to wake up without dread.

When out in the street there arose such a clatter,
A four car pile up and only one driver!

We sprung from our beds to see what it was about
Cindi sprinted quickly while I limped with my gout.

The neighbors were groggy they all came to their yards
To find out what happened to tell their own canards

The police came quickly with sirens and lights flashing
to see what and been bashing

The man who'd been driving was really confused
The story he told had words that refused
To make any sense to those of us who listened
Flashing lights all around they just glistened.

So much for the poor poetry. The paramedics and ambulance took the driver away, tow trucks came, and all our neighbors just stood out there chatting till way past midnight. but of the three parked cars, one may have been totaled, its owner was glad he had over-insured the car. Some of the neighbors said that some passengers from the the only car that had been moving at the time of the accident had fled after the crash.

I think we heard the noise just before 10 and got back into the house sometime after midnight. More tow trucks where here late this morning taking away two more of the cars (one, a Prius, less than 6 weeks old). Neither of our cars were touched. But I'll be more interested in parking in the alley from now on.

Aidan Curtin