Aside

As you all know, I’m a freelancer. That means I never know when my next paycheck is going to arrive in my mailbox. But whatever, generally it works out. Usually, it takes a little bit of time from when I do the piece to when I get paid for it. I recognize that I’m not the only one that these places need to pay, but really, how hard is it to get your freelancers a check, on time? Let’s take…

Apparently this has been making the rounds online, but it’s still pretty freakin’ funny. Gabe has also written these gems: Worker #3116 to Be a Father SUMMERSLANG 2005 It’s a great way to kill about 10 minutes this Friday afternoon. 🙂

I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the German teams at the DARPA Urban Challenge in Victorville, CA will air on The World, today! Will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 3 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston – 4 pm…

Ask a Pilot said it first, and FP confirms: Why it’s so bad: Because it’s standing room only. As a regional hub, an ordeal at Senghor is often unavoidable for travelers to West Africa. Once you’re in the terminal, don’t plan on relaxing: There are no seats, and guards will advise you to stop loitering if you hang around in one spot too long. Immigration lines can take up to three hours. And in any event, it’s best to keep…

I just found this link to the SFPL online photo archive, courtesy of Telstar Logistics. After spending the better part of an hour perusing the collection, here are my six favorite pics: 1952 Dec. 8. Written on back: “The beach sand dunes at the foot of the Sunset District was the dumping ground for outmoded horse and cable cars at the turn of the century. They were much in demand by enterprising citizens who converted the old cars into both…

So in case you didn’t already hear, SoCal, from Santa Barbara to the border is basically aflame. Here’s the other fun bit — on Wednesday I’m scheduled to fly into Ontario Airport, and then drive up Highway 15 to Victorville for a story I’m working on. The Victorville Daily Press reports: Interstate 15 was completely closed again through the Cajon Pass by 5 p.m. Monday, after gusting winds and fires led to intermittent closures beginning Sunday. . . . At…

While Morning Edition starts airing at 3 am on the Left Coast, and will do so for another hour, pretty much anyone else will have to check out my 90-second segment on NPR at the link below. I did a piece about Google’s and Microsoft’s new online health care records. Competition Increases for Online Medical Records [1:30]

Boyk finds it amusing that I keep referring to my glasses as “specs,” so I think I’ll keep it that way. I’ve been wearing my new specs for a total of maybe a few hours thus far. First was yesterday, driving from Costco to home. Then, today, from home to T-Rex. Then from T-Rex to the PFA, where I watched Alfie with them on, and then just now, driving from the PFA to home. My first impressions are that they…

Hoo boy, maybe it’s time to get our earthquake kit in order. SJ Mercury News: Studying layers of soil in a trench they dug near the Fremont BART station, geologists recently made a startling discovery: The Hayward Fault has had a big earthquake roughly every 140 years, on average, since 1315. And this Sunday marks year 139. Calling the fault a “tectonic time bomb,” scientists Wednesday urged Bay Area residents to put together an earthquake plan, stockpile supplies and consider…