Home, Bleahrg

I had just paid for a coffee from Starbucks at PDX -- my delayed flight's inbound equipment having just arrived -- when the power failed in the terminal. A minute or two later the lights came back on, but only the emergency power, and that doesn't include the coffee steamer. The folks at Starbucks refunded my money without question (for which I'm relieved) and I went back to my gate.

I wasn't sure if they could dispatch flights running on the backup power, but they had power for the computers and the PA system, and only about an extra ten minutes late, we were away for the relatively short flight to Oakland.

The flight time PDX-OAK is something like 75 minutes. It took almost half that time to get the checked luggage out to luggage claim. Coming out the door of the terminal, I saw an AirBART bus at the curb, and ran for it, and fortunately they waited for me and a couple of other people behind me. I needn't have hurried; the two people boarding in front of me appeared to be paying their $3 fare in pennies and seemed oblivious to the fact that there was anyone else trying to board.

Anyway, I think there were at least two BART trains to spare. I exited the system at Fremont right at Midnight. Now I think some sleep is in order.

Roadshow

My comments about slowing down to save gas made today's Roadshow column in the San Jose Mercury News. I think it was comments like this that led the column's author, Gary Richards, to pass my name on to Mike Sugerman at KPIX.

Meter, Meter, Where's Gone my Meter?

I got out my blood sugar meter this morning to take my overnight measurement, and when I opened the pouch, found that the meter itself was missing from the pouch. Rats! The last time I had the pouch out was at Oakland Airport last night, when I was in one of the restrooms using their needle-disposal drops to get rid of used lancets. I'm pretty sure the meter was in the pouch then. I've gone through my briefcase to see if maybe the meter slipped out of the pouch in my case, but can't find it. All I can think of was that I somehow dropped the meter out of the pouch at Oakland airport.

I called Lost & Found at the airport, but they said to call back after 1 PM today because nothing has been turned in from the weekend yet.

I can buy another meter. I might even be able to buy the same model meter as I already have, so my investment in supplies isn't wasted. But I've lost the last few days' entries because I hadn't transfered them to my spreadsheet yet, which is annoying.

At least, if I did drop my meter at OAK, I didn't cause a close-the-airport terrorist-threat-unknown-device alert there. I think I would have heard about that on the news if it had happened.

No News Yet

I tuned in to CBS-5 news at 4:58 and found the "5 O'clock News" already running. Don't know how early they started. My story didn't appear on the 5-5:30 set, which didn't surprise me; I expected it to be in the 6-7 broadcast. I may be late to BASFA tonight if I wait out the entire 6 o'clock news on this.

Making the News

The story featuring me aired at about 6:23 this evening. I expect it will be on the web site later tonight or tomorrow. It's pretty accurate, although I'll have to admit that I'll break down and use the air conditioning once it gets hot past a certain point. Sugarman's piece was on the money, right down to describing my van as having seen better days.

Incidentally, while the van doesn't look like much on the outside, internally it's in much better shape than you'd expect a vehicle with 280,000 miles to be, with a relatively new engine and transmission. I've been less likely to spend money on cosmetic improvements like repainting and reupholstering, concentrating my resources on things that keep the van rolling.

I'm glad I used the "To me, gas is only $2.70/gallon!" line. Sugarman used it as a "hook," as I'd hoped he might.

Hope Nobody Expected Me at BASFA Tonight

After checking out the story about me on KPIX, I realized just how tired I felt. I just don't feel up to making the drive to BASFA tonight, and am instead turning in early to catch up on the sleep lost over the last couple of days.

Baseball Outing: Last Chance

There are only seven people (including me and Lisa) signed up for the baseball outing on Friday, June 29, according to my list. Five of the seven have asked me to buy train tickets, according to my records. I intend to buy the tickets for the ball game on Tuesday, so this is your last chance to get in on this batch. If you join in later, you may end up in a different section of the ball park, depending on seat availability.

Either reply to this post (or one of the others on the subject that I've written) or write to baseball@westercon60.org if you want to be part of this outing or to confirm whether you're on the list.