Yesterday a friend of mine posted on his status on face book his endorsement of a political candidate. He encouraged me to go to the web site and see what the man was made of. So trusting that my friend was a good judge of character I went to the web site and checked the man out. He was not a bad person and seemed of good report. His web site was bland and quoted the party line. No real position statements. No plan for the people. Some statements about defeating the opposing party. I was most disappointed that he did not have any planed direction to lead the people or work on economic solutions. So I commented on my friends post that I was not impressed with the man and if he was to get my vote he would need to do something to stand out. I was surprised that this friend took it as a personal attack. He fumed that I did not trust his judgment. That my questions about the candidate were an argument that was destroying our friendship. He was mad I did not blindly accept his recommendation. 0.o
When it comes to politics I think if you are going to carry the flag of your party and blindly follow the leaders you are just a lemming and you deserve to fall off a cliff. I'm not satisfied to have elected officials who are following the party line like sheep. I am looking for the Shepard who will lead by example and in a direction that meets the needs of the people. I know lots of luck finding that.
So if your going to post on social media do not be too surprised if someone puts a comment on your post you do not like. If you can't handle your post being questioned or even ridiculed you should crawl back under a rock and leave social networking to people who can handle it.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Quick trip to San francisco.
Took a quick trip to San Francisco yesterday morning. Started out at 7:00 AM to catch an 8:30 flight. At the security check suddenly all the officers started yelling FREEZE!! FREEZE!!! So everyone froze. After about 10 minutes of security running around and talking to every white man in a white shirt they all started yelling CLEAR!! CLEAR!!! We never found out what that was about and I did not want to appear too interested. We arrived at the Delta gate and were told the flight was delayed for 2 hours due to fog at the airport in San Fran. Some friends arrived an hour and a half after us. They told us they had been called by Delta before they left home and informed of the delay. It would have been nice to have had that call too. Finally we were able to get on board and Delta played the infamous leave the gate, pull away from the gate and sit on the tarmac trick. We had another delay of 20 min this time. Still not impressed with Delta. Had a smooth flight to the San Francisco airport.
We were to be picked up by Four Park Avenue for transport to the hotel. No one in sight at the baggage claim where we were to be picked up. After about 15 min a man came wandering along the baggage claim holding the sign for our group. Seems he was at a different door looking for us. The ride to the hotel was uneventful.
We soon arrived at the Westin St Francis Hotel. Checked in and went up to our room. I was astonished to discover the room was not clean, dirty towels on the floor and unmade beds. So we went back to the front desk. The staff was very apologetic and we were given a new room 2 floors above the first. The room was comfortable, 2 double beds, bath, desk and TV. The view we had was mostly of a brick wall. You would have to be desperately hungry to eat the in room snacks and drinks. Standard candy bars $5.00 and soda $5.25. I was not on an expense account so I walked a block to Walgreen's and picked up a few drinks and snacks for less than the cost of 2 hotel candy bars
We took a walk around the shopping district near the hotel. It was the same as any other downtown, the same stores, same stuff, more expensive. We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Subway. I tried the Philly cheese sub and my wife had the pulled pork. The crew at Subway had no idea what went on a Philly cheese other than meat and my choice of cheese. With some direction and working past the Asian/English language barrier they got it close to right. My wife enjoyed the pulled pork. Two 12 inch subs 2 drinks $19.45. For fast food it was a little below average. We continued on our walk. We investigated the local street vendors. For the most part they were selling stuff made in china (see Orientaltrading.com for the same items at a huge discount.) There was one man there selling metal work and coin work that he did himself on the corner of Market Street and Powell. I like to support local artisans. He was reasonably priced and the work was good quality.
After 3 hours of exploring local streets and big name stores we returned to our room. We took a rest and went to a reception and dinner honoring employees of Wells Fargo who had worked there for 25 years. The reception was well done with plenty of drinks and hor dourves. Dinner by the hotel was excellent with an appetiser of dungeness crab salad, cleansed our palette with raspberry sorbet, then a delicious main course of Angus beef short rib, butternut squash and potato puree, zinfandel-thyme sauce, roasted trumpet mushrooms, purple cauliflower and green beans. High marks for the food. Wells Fargo knows how to do an employee appreciation event. Good food, good company, short remarks from the leadership team. Lots of time to talk to other team members from around the country and make new friends.
After dinner back to the room and to bed. The bed was comfortable lots of pillows and no noise from other rooms. A very good night's sleep.
In the morning a nice slow wake up. I called the front desk and asked about a late check out. They extended the room with no extra charge to 2:00 pm, the time we would be picked up to go to the airport.
We went to John's Grill for lunch. A nice old place near the hotel. We were looking for a good soup and salad. They have an excellent New England clam chowder. The lunch salad was a beautiful mix of greens, carrots and tomatoes. I had the blue cheese dressing and my wife had the house vinaigrette. The meal was just the right for a light lunch. With an Ice tea lunch came to $28.81. A short walk back to the hotel and checked out of the room. Then to the airport and back to the Delta gate. This time there was no delays and the flight home was just a bit bumpy. Not anything to lose your lunch but not as smooth as on the way out.
A quiet drive back home. We were surprised hear of a lot of wind damage in our area, but our home was untouched.
We were to be picked up by Four Park Avenue for transport to the hotel. No one in sight at the baggage claim where we were to be picked up. After about 15 min a man came wandering along the baggage claim holding the sign for our group. Seems he was at a different door looking for us. The ride to the hotel was uneventful.
We soon arrived at the Westin St Francis Hotel. Checked in and went up to our room. I was astonished to discover the room was not clean, dirty towels on the floor and unmade beds. So we went back to the front desk. The staff was very apologetic and we were given a new room 2 floors above the first. The room was comfortable, 2 double beds, bath, desk and TV. The view we had was mostly of a brick wall. You would have to be desperately hungry to eat the in room snacks and drinks. Standard candy bars $5.00 and soda $5.25. I was not on an expense account so I walked a block to Walgreen's and picked up a few drinks and snacks for less than the cost of 2 hotel candy bars
We took a walk around the shopping district near the hotel. It was the same as any other downtown, the same stores, same stuff, more expensive. We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Subway. I tried the Philly cheese sub and my wife had the pulled pork. The crew at Subway had no idea what went on a Philly cheese other than meat and my choice of cheese. With some direction and working past the Asian/English language barrier they got it close to right. My wife enjoyed the pulled pork. Two 12 inch subs 2 drinks $19.45. For fast food it was a little below average. We continued on our walk. We investigated the local street vendors. For the most part they were selling stuff made in china (see Orientaltrading.com for the same items at a huge discount.) There was one man there selling metal work and coin work that he did himself on the corner of Market Street and Powell. I like to support local artisans. He was reasonably priced and the work was good quality.
After 3 hours of exploring local streets and big name stores we returned to our room. We took a rest and went to a reception and dinner honoring employees of Wells Fargo who had worked there for 25 years. The reception was well done with plenty of drinks and hor dourves. Dinner by the hotel was excellent with an appetiser of dungeness crab salad, cleansed our palette with raspberry sorbet, then a delicious main course of Angus beef short rib, butternut squash and potato puree, zinfandel-thyme sauce, roasted trumpet mushrooms, purple cauliflower and green beans. High marks for the food. Wells Fargo knows how to do an employee appreciation event. Good food, good company, short remarks from the leadership team. Lots of time to talk to other team members from around the country and make new friends.
After dinner back to the room and to bed. The bed was comfortable lots of pillows and no noise from other rooms. A very good night's sleep.
In the morning a nice slow wake up. I called the front desk and asked about a late check out. They extended the room with no extra charge to 2:00 pm, the time we would be picked up to go to the airport.
We went to John's Grill for lunch. A nice old place near the hotel. We were looking for a good soup and salad. They have an excellent New England clam chowder. The lunch salad was a beautiful mix of greens, carrots and tomatoes. I had the blue cheese dressing and my wife had the house vinaigrette. The meal was just the right for a light lunch. With an Ice tea lunch came to $28.81. A short walk back to the hotel and checked out of the room. Then to the airport and back to the Delta gate. This time there was no delays and the flight home was just a bit bumpy. Not anything to lose your lunch but not as smooth as on the way out.
A quiet drive back home. We were surprised hear of a lot of wind damage in our area, but our home was untouched.
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