Google Suggests You Swim To London

Go to Google Maps, and get directions from Chicago, IL to London, UK. Here is step 20 of the directions: (Link via The Presurfer)

CSX Cited for 199 Violations

In 2004, a CSX freight train slammed into a car at Winton Road in Rochester, killing the two occupants of the car. The safety gates had malfunctioned several times that winter and on this day, they did not drop to stop traffic. In addition, the train’s engineer was either unaware of, or didn’t heed, and order by CSX to come to a stop at that intersection.

I drive by that intersection every day. There is still a cross and flowers to commemorate the accident. Before that day, and since, municipalities throughout New York State (and throughout the country) have struggled with how to deal with the problems caused by the lack of safety of CSX (and other railroad’s) operations. And its not just crashes with vehicles that are a concern — trains can derail causing damage to nearby property and lives; and those derailed trains may be carrying toxic chemicals.

How could an engineer not know, or not heed, an order to stop at a particular intersection? Perhaps because typical of CSX winter operations, there are many “slow orders” along a route. This thread at railroad.net indicates that right now, there are 47 “slow orders” in 180 miles on the CSX route between Cleveland and Buffalo. Additional “slow orders” exist through Rochester. Trains are ordered to slow over certain stretches of track because of poor track conditions as a safety precaution. How likely is it that some engineer misses one of those 47 orders?

Today we learn that CSX has been cited for 199 serious violations, 13 of them in New York. CSX continues to have a poor reputation for dealing with safety issues and has had a string of serious accidents recently, even though they have been hit with many fines and citations over the years.

What can be done? How can CSX be convinced that their poor safety record is not acceptable, and that the fines shouldn’t be viewed by CSX as merely a cost of doing business. Normally, I’m not a big fan of government intervention, but when a company and industry consistently acts in its own best interest, to the detriment of the welfare of the surrounding populace, then I feel that strong government regulation is appropriate. Will that happen? Not a chance. Not with the Bush administration still in charge, there will never be a policy enacted that favors the public interest over corporate interests.

Looks like we are stuck with CSX and their very poor safety record.

Not an April Fool’s Joke

Scientists have discovered a mysterious, long-lived hexagonal shaped object at Saturn’s north pole. The object was spotted by the Casini spacecraft, and was also seen 20 years earlier by Voyagers 1 and 2. Said Casini mission scientist Kevin Baines: “We haven’t seen a (geometric) feature like this anywhere else on any other planet. It’s unbelievable.”

This is Why Wegmans Rules!

Wegmans has been called the “best supermarket on the planet (and maybe the best in the entire galaxy)”. Today, I found out another reason why.

I bought some groceries there today, and when I got home and was ready to prepare dinner and enjoy that nice frosty cold Coke that I bought, I discovered that some of my groceries didn’t make it home. I checked the car. Nope. I must have left them in the store. So I got out my receipt, marked the items that I purchased but didn’t have, and went back to Wegmans.

After I explained my situation, and showed them the receipt, the clerk said that they did find the bag, and they re-stocked the items, but if I would just walk around and pick them out, I could have them. Wow! That was easy!

I recall another time when I arrived home with my groceries, I discovered they had charged me for three of an item, but I was 100% positive that I had only purchased two. I went back to the store explained this to the manager (and I even went so far to say that there was no way I could prove I had purchased two of the item), but he said there was no problem, I could have a refund.

Now I have no idea if other grocery stores would have done either of these things. But Wegmans has shown a lot of class … they could have kept the extra money, but they didn’t. This is truly a “customer-first” company.

Hilary Duff Blames The Media

There can be no doubt that Hilary Duff has thinned out. She now blames the media for this: “I did get skinny. I’ve felt that pressure like everyone else in my position. When a newspaper comes out that says ‘Duff Puff — she must have gained 15 pounds’ or something like that, how would any normal person react?”

Hilary, Hilary, Hilary, we need to talk. I don’t go around blaming my weight gain on the Food Network. But more importantly, you are the master of what goes into your mouth and what exercise you get. Accepting responsibility for your own behavior would be a useful attitude for you to develop. We’ll keep watching how you do. We really do want to see you grow up.

Impeach

This open letter to Nancy Pelosi is the most reasonable and most easy-to-read argument in favor of impeachment that I have read so far.

I’m Dreaming of a White St. Patty’s Day

Rochester gets hit with a mid-March snowstorm.

McDonald’s Will Now Put Cream and Sugar in Your Coffee

You no longer have to pour the cream and sugar into your coffee yourself! Are we the laziest nation on the planet, or what?

How Many Scandals?

How many scandals, with fingers and evidence pointed directly at the White House, does this country have to endure before Congress finds the courage to impeach?

Here is a partial list of scandals perpetrated by the evildoers in the White House: taking no action after being informed that Osama bin Laden was determined to strike inside the USA; lying about weapons of mass destruction to get the United States into a war with Iraq; the incompetent management of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; Abu Ghraib; Katrina; Walter Reed; outing of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, causing huge damage to the country’s ability to monitor weapons of mass destruction; firing of United States attorneys for political reasons afterd pushing those same attorneys to pursue politically motivated investigations.

Any one of these scandals ought to be ground for impeachment. Any one of these would have been grounds for impeachment when Bill Clinton ... oh wait, the standard was different then. Now let me think for a minute ... which party wanted Clinton impeached and which party has done nothing from 2001 through 2007 to investigate and punish President Bush and his gang of criminals? Which party will try to stop any impeachment today?

Farewell, Pokey

I am a huge women’s basketball fan. So I felt incredible sadness when I heard that LSU’s young coach, Pokey Chatman, resigned unexpectedly yesterday. She had compiled a 90–14 career record and was extremely highly regarded by everyone and had led LSU to two Final Fours in three years. Chatman’s plan was to continue to coach LSU until the end of the NCAA tournament, but today she decided that she would not coach LSU in the tournament. More sadness.

Chatman has refused to discuss her reasons for resigning. Sepculation runs rampant now. Which is even sadder. I hope that this is a case of someone simply deciding to move on with her life. I fear that it is something more sinister. My mind can’t help but speculate.

Farewell, Pokey Chatman. I hope your future is filled with success.

Update (3/8/07 7:15pm): The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Chatman resigned because of “inappropriate conduct with one or more players.” Oh my god!

Update (3/9/07 7:00am): Worst news possible for a coach. I feel so sad for everyone.

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Eight Women Who Look Better Bald Than Britney

A fine list, with pictures! Make sure you scroll down all the way to the bottom to see number eight! (Link via The Presurfer)

Don’t Buy Meat At Wal-Mart

Because of the way Wal-Mart packages meat, you can’t tell how fresh it is by looking at it. (Link via Wal-Mart Watch)

Buca di Beppo

Way back in 2003, I wrote a scathing review of an Italian Restaurant chain known as Buca di Beppo. That particular restaurant was in the Denver area, and fortunately, there are none in the Rochester area.

Today, I went to Yahoo! Yellow Pages and searched for Italian restaurants in the Rochester area. First on the list? Buca di Beppo. Horrified, I checked to see if this horrendous restaurant was now in the Rochester area. I discovered that the closest one was in Albany. Whew! What a relief! But why, oh why, is Yahoo! Yellow Pages showing me an Albany restaurant when I search for Rochester restaurants? Oh, I know, there must be some cash involved ... but maybe I’ll just start using Yahoo! Yellow Pages less and try some other type of search for local establishments.