* The Paris Trip * Friday, 6 September - Saturday, 14 September 2002 27 - 28 September

6 September 2002, Friday - I did receive the Press Pass for the Paris Expo, and was only slightly surprised to find that there were no problems getting one -- they asked somewhat the same questions that the organizers of the NY Expo did and were just as selective due to technical arrangements, but were a lot more reasonable in their criteria for issuing the passes, apparently -- but then again the Europeans really did always THINK DIFFERENT!! I shall be representing the USA, AppleBytes and the kewl Spanish Apple site, Gumac, whose directives asked me to send them news. When I applied for it, news that Steve Jobs would give the Keynote address was not made public yet -- and when I saw the mention of it on the Expo site I was, needless to say, ecstatic because Steve is my al-time intellectual hero, along with Teilhard de Chardin. Both are visionaries, each on a different conceptual level.

OK, the pass arrived several days ago, and the minor detail of how I would actually get to Paris activated itself. I certainly did not have the money for the trip or anything else for that matter -- I had recently gone totally batty obtaining the TiBook, on which I am doing this report.

I spent countless hours online and on the telephone checking on plane fares, and some were extravagantly high while others were sort of OK.

In the meantime, another channel was also opening -- I mentioned to a friend that I received the pass but unfortunately would be unable to go. He suggested that he knew that I needed a break after so many years of being stuck in Trenton and that he would lend me the money for the trip -- incidentally, it is not the first time his generosity and concern/caring was manifest over the years. I really had to try to figure things out on many levels before I accepted --

and I shall not go into all the details of the tedious process we both went through to finally find the appropriate flights and associated details -- nor how the original tickets were cancelled because over the phone the guy wrote SigmOnd instead of SigmUnd and it brought up some security flags or whatever and they had to delete the old tickets and find entirely new flights and reservations! The tickets are reserved with an amazing 24 hours in advance of the flight, the schedules set up, and all I have to do at this point is get ready and arrive at JFK in time for the flight on Sunday afternoon, 8 September. Hopefully the tickets will arrive here at home Sunday via courier or i will be up a Parisian creek without the proverbial paddle!

I have been transferring needed files to the laptop so that I can process pics, update various of my web pages on-the-road, and be completely ready for this totally new real/cyber experience. I really feel as adventurous as I was in my much younger days, at least mentally -- physically I hope that I am up to it all, but hey, we only live once and as they say in Spanish, Quien no se ventura, no se aventura! (loosely translated = Who is not adventuresome has no adventure!)

Thank you sincerely, Joelle, hopefully this will be as exciting as we both think it may be! Too bad you cannot accompany me.

8 September 2002, Sunday - OK, I am dead tired, did not sleep all night, finally got the apartment mopped and kissed the kittys goodbye. I will not go into details about how I could not find the suitcase that I always use -- matter of fact I know exactly where it was, but only a space remained between boxes of stuff it was between [very mysterious] -- 2 taxis from different companies did not arrive in West Trenton to get me to the shuttle to JFK (which used to stop at a Princeton hotel, but now made a stop at the new one here in Trenton), how a neighbor got me there with a minute to spare --

the shuttle made various stops to pick more people up, and we had to physically change vans at Newark -- which it also did the last time I went to Spain -- finally arriving at JFK at around 15+h, a trip of some 6 hours from the point of pickup. The stupid chain of things to do at the airport could really use some kind of a more logical reorganization to make it somewhat more convenient/easier -- I was loaded with a carry-on with wheels and the usual pop-up carry handle, to which was attached a ratty old duffle bag, and I was carrying my attache/briefcase with my left hand -- and my cane. Even every shortish passageway was a chore -- and most of them were not short!

OK, so that this page loads faster, I shall make links for the reader to click on, and a new thingy will appear in a new browser wndow with the pic or whatever

Step 1 - out of shuttle at American Airlines terminal, which also apparently houses Iberia, find info desk to ask where to get eTicket, since they did not have enough time to send it to me overnight or whatever

Step 2 - passed through security, long walk to initial baggage check-in -- long line, asked if they had chairs or something -- nopers, but they can get me a wheelchair, but I don't want a freekin wc! Me in a wc buried in my carry-on, dufflebag and attache case?? OK, so it finally was my turn -- nice lady prints out my eTicket, asks what seat I want -- I now have to go to the boarding area

Step 3 - have to pass through boarding security, even computer + digital camera passes through machine -- and freekin wooden cane! I was sweating like a hippo at this point -- strangely enough mostly from the left side on my head/face.

Step 4 - The next step is to get to Gate 10 at the boarding area -- a nice lady asked me if I am travelling with anyone, which I was not, so she asigned a young dude with a Spanish name to help me with my stuff -- he did not speak Spanish and apparently was Irish, worked as a policeman before starting there, and we chatted away all along the way to Gate 10, which was at some distance.

The important thing is that I am now drinking coffee at the entrance of boarding gate 10! In about 40 minutes, theoretically, I shall be up and flying. Can you say... not particularly large cup of coffee for $3?? Holy shit, I should have brought an entire pot from home in a thermos!

Step 5 - flight called; 1st class passengers in line first -- I hold up cane and was ushered in also before the herds. Had an aisle seat, right in back of wings -- not a lot of leg room for my long legs. Two bags just fit in one overhead storage compartment -- kept attache with the computer between my legs.

As you can see, only 4892 km to Paris! I am sitting next to a nice girl from Germany. My dinner menu selection was salmon -- was yummy, but obviously not the size portion that I would make at home -- for me or my cats! My neighbor had beef which she did not finish, so I got that too. I am now working on my third wine -- the 2nd was a merlot from California, the first was a (it just dropped on the floor, shall retrieve later), and the one I am presently working on is another merlot from CA.

Since I could not find the suitcase I have used before when I travel abroad, I did not even have room for the iPod, which I wanted to bring with me! So now I am listenting to iTunes on the TiBook using the earphones they give each seat to work with the individual TV monitors. What a difference from 4 years ago! In the boarding area there were at least 6 peeps (all males) working on their laptops -- several others using their cellphones, and yet a bunch of others, mostly younger, who seem to lug their PC laptop under their arm -- did not see an Apple computer thus far.

OK, dinner is done -- I have another bottle of merlot to work on, the gal next to me is asleep, with those kewl eye shade thingys on (you know the ones -- it makes them seem sort of like sleeping raccoons), which I have only seen Europeans using in the past -- the coffee did not come aound yet -- and I am feeling really adventuresome after sooooooo many years of just being stuck in lovely Trenton.

I just tried the airline adaptor for the thing that I got on eBay, which was billed as what one can use on most airlines -- unfortunately this one was not one of them! -- seems as if one needs an adaptor for the adaptor, at least on this flight/airline. The place you plug the thing in is between the 2 seats and is larger than the dohicky I have, so it does not work. Curiously there is a telepnone outlet also between the seats, but the girl I asked does not have a clue as to what purpose it serves.

OK, I got that bottle of wine off the floor -- it is a red Bordeaux, Chateau Laborie, vintage 2000. I walked to the food area and asked when coffee is going to come around -- the gal said it did 3 times already -- I guess I must have gotten wine instead? OK, so I am starting on my second coffee, black, no sugar. I just walked around and there is one other dude working on his laptop, a really tiny screen, PC. I asked him if he had the adapter I need to hook up to the current on the plane, but he did not even know there was an outlet between the seats. We are now apparently just below Iceland, a really delightful place to visit at length -- as will be mentioned whenever I get the European parts of my memoirs up on Kardas.net.

9 September 2002, Monday - The day has changed already -- there is a six hour difference between Paris and New Jersey, and although it is still Sunday in NJ, I am now in a Monday time zone. If only I could go back in time 6+ years just as easily!

OK, I am going to try to stop being so loquacious = wordy. I just have sooooooo much to tell, and even leaving out the teensy things that pop up, it is still more than just a sound byte! Other parts of the story, located on a different web page, are related to the Apple Computer Expo .

We landed -- I know that some of my present readers were not tuned in for my last European trip story, Bonny and Bluebeary's Excellent Adventure, but there is a remarkably similar start to both adventures -- it was raining proverbial cats and dogs outside! [and guess what was one of the things I did not bring with me? One of several fold-up umbrellas that I have in different briefcases, in an umbrella stand and behind the front door!]

I waited until most got off the plane to gather up my stuff and venture out. Although pointing to my cane when the flight was called in JFK allowed be to get on among the first, the subsequent handicapped non-accomodations are glareingly absent. One has to take long passageways and corredors to finally get to the next step - passport control. The cute, youngish passport guy tells me my address was missing and I replied that I didn't know what address to write in -- Oh, the one I can visit you at in the States! -- OK, not a problem, I tell him if he ever gets there, that I have room for him and give him one of my address cards, which led to his wishing that he could afford it reply -- unfortunately my resources would have been already slightly strained after the having a place for him to stay stage of the game, or I would have given him a round trip flight right there on the spot! I looked in the passport and there is an unclear F something or other, which I assume means France -- no date or anything, which contrasts with the other couple in there from my last two trips some years ago.

Then, lugging all the stuff I had with me, now through the long and confusing way to the exit/baggage checkout/customs clearance -- more lengthy passageways, some with semi-confusing crossroads, etc. -- I was sweating like you would not believe, and, again, mostly dripping from the left side of my face/head, which I found curious. About half way there I saw some oficial looking guy sitting on a window ledge reading a newspaper and asked him (in English, unfortunately) if there was any kind of cart or something that a handicapped person could use to make things slightly easier -- up ahead on the left, he replied, in French -- which actually meant just keep walking and eventually you go to the left!

GAWD, what a line waiting to get out -- the usual nothing to declare OR stuff to declare lines. I never have/had anything to declare in all the years I have been flying! So I am finally through the doors and into the terminal at Charles de Gaulle, Paris -- HOT AS HELL -- it was about 8am, and I was sweating like a hippo again! Walked way too much to find an information desk to see how I get to the Apple Computer keynote address site, at the Palais des Congrès in Porte Maillot. I had to go the the other end of the terminal to a gate where Air France busses leave directly for where I was going -- way kewl!

Since I needed some Euros to pay for things, the only immediately available place was the usual airport tourist trap CHANGE/EXCHANGE -- the $$ is worth more than the Euro, but they only gave me 85 Euros for a $100 bill. (On eBay if I win something for 10 Euro it might cost me $9+)

Found the bus at the far end of the terminal, and it left within a few minutes -- 10 Euro, the bus driver basically threw the ticket on the receipt ledge thing -- I was falling over from lack of sleep and lugging what little I brought with me this trip -- I managed to ask a kid if I could find a youth hostal or cheapy pension near the place, but he said it was an area of more or less high rents, and that the Expo site, which was in another part of town, was just a tad cheaper. I guess it must have taken about half an hour to reach my destination. Most airports are somewhat distant from a town/city, logically.

view from a ledge / terrace at the 2nd level of the Palais des Congrès

OK, a view of nostalgic Paris, more modern than my last visit to France in the 60s, but just as French! Now to find a place to crash. Forget about the large more visible hotels/lodgings, I shall check to see what there might be on the side streets. Rue Bélidor -- Bar James Joyce Pub on one end of the street, a Tunisian grocery store at other end, Hotel Belidor sort of in the center. Hey, at this point I was not alive enough to look around for other possibilities, so I went in and asked the rates. Without shower and with petit dejéuner = 37 Euros (which seems cheapo because it is a 1-2 person room, meaning had I to find someone to share the bed, the cost would have been half that -- and, hey, possibly a lot more fun!) -- I assume that I could eventually have stumbled across something cheaper, perhaps even a youth hostal, but since I would only be here until the 14th, it was not excessive, sort of. The large hotels, of which there are 2 at the Palais de Congres cost from 285 - 2000 Euros / night, and a smallish new one right across from the Belidor cost a minimum of 135 Euro.

My room is on the second floor, just to the right of the neon sign (hey, I am recalling various movies with rooms where one sees the sign blinking on and off -- luckily this one does not blink!) Looking across the street I can see some kewl vintage cast iron window guards, some plants sitting on a ledge -- and although you cannot see them too well, along the horizontal flat narrow ledges, what look like a network of perhaps 6" upright wires that I do not recall ever seeing before -- apparently they are to keep the pidgeons off the ledges! There are pigeons everywhere.

The place really sort of reminds me of what I might have found in the 60s, but they were not named hotels then, just rooming houses or whatever -- sink and bidet in the room, shared toilet/shower on each floor -- timed light button in hall to illuminate usually sort of dark inner stairway -- keys with number thing -- my room was #5 on the 3rd level/floor.

OK, so what outlet is there to plug in the computer? One on the small lamp above the sink, and one on each of the small lamps above the double bed. It is the round plug kind, just as in Spain. So I take my briefcase with the puter for a walk to see if I can find the adapter, which should not cost too much. I moved the table from beside the bed to in front of the windows and used that as my laptop desk for this story.

You would not believe the wind on that first street corner! Maybe it was just my lack of sleep and all, but I felt as if I would be blown down at any second -- like it stopped me right in my tracks! Some tree branches were blown over and all.

Nearby was a Léon de Bruxelles / La Brasserie Belge, which they also have in Madrid. All kinds of kewl specialties, including pastries for which Belgium is noted.

I went in all four directions, starting at the end of my street, going perhaps 5-6 blocks each way -- and nobody had the stupid adapters! I mean like I walked for a few hours, and although the laptop is light, my ass was totally dragging and I wondered if I would ever make it back to the hotel! Remember that I did not sleep for over 24 hours before leaving Trenton, may have caught a catnap on the one of the busses, and was totally exhausted at this point.

OK, so I somehow find rue Belidor again, and stopped in the Tunisean pidgeonhole shop -- notice the moto passing; there are loads of motos and scooters here, as there always have been = relatively inexpensive and able to maneuver in traffic and park easily in the special spaces just about everywhere -- got a beer, a Coke, some crackers, and some bananas -- and guess what was hanging among other goodies in a corner? The freekin plug adapter! (cost about 6.40 Euros) the guy took $$ in payment for my stash, at 1$ / Euro, which was 15% better than at the airport! -- made it back up to the room, put the bananas and drinks on the window ledge to keep coldish, and crawled into bed!

10 September 2002, Tuesday - I got up about 2am, and started thinking about how I would do my trip report -- decided it might turn out way too extensive all in one place, so I adopted the scheme I am using now. Actually, it would make a great new chapter to my unfinished memoirs, but we shall see how things develop from here.

About 7h I went down to see what breakfast was like -- there are two different breakfast rooms, one for up to four, and the other for larger groups -- smallish 4-person table in a room behind the check-in/out desk (it almost reminded me of Faulty Towers on PBS!) -- a delightfully vintage marble fire place and metal fire screen with classical figures in low relief -- with a view from the window of another fascade with some French windows, kewl oldish chimney thingy on right -- towering parts of the Palais des Congrès in the background.

A well-kept upright piano was nearby, and Henri knew how to play classical and jazz pieces very well!

Breakfast is a glass of orange juice, a pitcher of coffee (which I later refill and take up to my room), the usual butter and jam thingys, and a delightful long thin French bread, cut into two approximately 10" lengths.

I changed shirts from the purple short-sleeved one I originally wore to a long sleeve linen Droopy one, with the logo, shown above -- OK, it is worth repeating because it has become the theme of my trip -- The Ways of New Adventure !

I went over to the Palais des Congrès and got there about 8:30h -- the keynote was to begin at 10h. When it was over they had shuttles taking the press to the Apple Expo, on the other side of town -- got one, went there.

I returned to the hotel via the Metro -- was kewl and cheap / about 1.80 Euros, had to switch trains at Concorde -- was surprised I did not get lost! The nice tiled walls of the stops themselves are nice and clean -- graffitti on the floors leading to the platforms, smell of urine around the turns -- a couple guys playing instruments and singing, some north Africans selling posters, CDs. The tunnel walls between stations are literally covered with grafitti -- nothing really artistic that I could see. Inside the cars clean, 2 guys with accordions started playing April in Portugal, of all things!

Once home, I checked the bag of freebys that I got at the Expo, put them back in the carry thing and went to bed. Got up around 22h, thought I would check to see if the supermarket was open in the basement of the Palais des Congrès -- could not find it, but everything was cosed anyway. Returned to the room and worked on pics and stuff until about 3am... then to beddy again.

11 September 2002, Wednesday - I got up around 8-ish. Went down to breakfast -- a guy from Texas who works for American Airlines and his wife were there already -- we chatted (me mostly!) about different European cities -- he is not retired yet, but does get in a lot of travel during his vacations, which end this month. His wife is Swedish and they just got back from Sweden. He does not have a home computer, but his kid/s do -- I did not prees for details of what they and or their kid/s do or whatever, never do.

Brought more coffee up to my room, and I worked on more of this -- took a couple pics, one of the friendly + understanding owners of the hotel, Bernadette and Henri Peter, in the usual small open patio that these buildings usually have -- I chat with both of them way too much in English, which they both understand, and showed them parts of this story right on the laptop.

I went out looking for the Galeries Gourmandes, the large supermarket I could not find last night. Was an absolute delight -- so many teas, fruits, cakes and crackers, beers, types of chocolate, jam, just about everything one finds in our usual large food store, but done with much more taste (pun intended!) and style/class! I got a 6-pack of Brugs Witbier / Blanche De Bruges beer from Belgium, bread, raison cookies, bananas, tonic water, chocolate with raisons, a round thingy with those triangles of cheese, 12, with the laughing cow on the label, and the first bottle of red wine here in Paris! (Le Brezet, vintage 2000, from the Marmandais region in the SW of France) -- it cost 2.80 Euros / 750ml bottle.

I compared the price of only 1 thing I knew from the corner shop, Nutella , a chocolate-nut cream-paste that is great on bread in the morning (and a favorite of Bernar), that I paid 2.45 Euros for, and they had it at GG for 1.30 Euros! Naturally everything else from GG was, shall we say, normal priced. But what the hell, in a bind, the corner place is sort of like WAWA, where one can find goodies at weird hours -- and pay, usually, a lot extra for it.

On the way back I noticed a name that I was super familiar with from New York for 12+ years -- the place I last got my hair cut! It did not dawn on me that they did not just have a kewl French name, but that they started right here in Paris! There were many iMac ads of all sizes at bus stops, on billboards, in the Metro and in other places.

When I got back to my room, I put some of the goodies on the narrow ledge outside my window, making sure that nothing could fall down to the street -- and immediately opened the wine and made a couple cheese sandwiches, has some raison cookies and chunks of chocolate -- and 2 glasses of red wine. I continued updating my pages, and took a couple hour snooze as I am still perhaps in the jet lag stage of things -- I do not want to think it is because I am just getting too old for such advantures! I have had to take my CELEBREX on a daily basis (the pills that are fabulous to relieve my hip/joint pain -- and I read online several weeks ago tat it also appears to have a side effect of reducing some form of cancer, as I recall), something I rarely do in Trenton; it was one of the few things which I actually remembered to bring with me, and had room for!

OK, my first $100 is already gone, and I have to go to the corner store to change my second bill to Euros. Hopefully I will not have to buy anything, but if I do it will be another plastic bag of some delicious pitted olives which the guy said are HOT -- they are prepared according to a Tunisian recipe in some kind of a reddish sauce/condiment that stains easily, and they are only mildly hot yet yummy.

Just got back and he would not change the money -- got a sandwich of some kind, Kebab (agneau, mouton) Crudités -- was good, whatever it was, had a glass of red wine. with it, and am now having more coffee with a handfull of the European biscuits I like so much. I left the hotel a couple minutes before midnight and when I got back the door was locked -- rang bell, and the night dude buzzed it open. In Spain they do the same thing, lockup by about midnight, then, at least in the past, they had serenos who had the main keys to all the apartment buildings on a street or two, and you clapped your hands and he shows up to open the front door -- I wonder if that is still in practice there? There was talk of discontinuing the idea, which dates back 100s of years as a security measure.

OK, I decided to make this a special report, having its own new page -- that leaves me space to continue my usual Trenton news withoug overloading this page with the Paris notes and stuff -- so now to make the new page... DONE! It took about 30 seconds to copy the other file and rename it, deleting all the previous non-Paris stuff. Now I have to alter the original YES - 2002 page and the transition is finished.

I asked Chris, the dude at the hotel desk some afternoons, if he wants to go to the Expo in the morning, and he said yes. He is French, but had lived in the States for some years, in Texas, I believe, so at least I can converse with him at a normal pace. He does not have a computer, but said that his friends always tell him he should get one.

12 September 2002, Thursday - I just finished my petit dejéuner and am back in the room writing. My idea is to go back to the Expo and see more things and take more pictures. I shall wait to see if Chris comes around and wants to go as he said yesterday.

Yesterday, since I did not leave the room when the cleaning woman was going around, she just walked in and I motioned that she did not have to do anything -- she did change the 2 towels (one of which I used), and emptied the basket where the wrappings from my cheese, cookies and drink cans/bottles end up. When she does the bed, the long round pillow is so wrapped up in the bottom sheet it is difficult to take out and have separate -- but I just looked and it does not have a pillow case, so maybe that is how one is supposed to sleep with the thing?

I should try to call Nelson, another press pass holder I met on the press shuttle at the Expo, to see if he can figure a way for me to get online, finally, and get some of these things on my sites -- and perhaps check my AOL emails, which is supposed to be easy. On the 10th, the Expo press room internet connections were down for some reason and I assume that if anyone connected they did so on their own European connections.I shall go down and try that now -- I love the way my TiBook squeeks when I open it from sleep -- I have it set for the ChuToy Platinum sound!

Chris did not show up to go to the Expo, so I thought I might take a walk up the Avenue de la Grande Armée to the Arc de Triomphe -- it would give me a chance to see at least one of the traditional Parisian attractions. Along the way I got myself a small notebook, something else I have loads of in NJ but forgot to include in my stuff. I first stopped into Office Depot, but they only had small notebooks with graph-like squares on the paper -- I just wanted plain lined paper, which they did not have. I found a small paper shop further down the street, and they had just what I wanted, but it cost 6.5 Euros which seemed a tad high for a stupid notebook (calculating about a dollar per Euro) with probably 90 pages in the thing -- I mean it was not leather bound or anything, just paper. I asked for something less expensive, and was shown a nice selection of smaller ones -- all lined in squares, just like at the Office Depot! It was cheaper though, only 0.96 Euros so despite the fact it was not precisely what I planned on, I got the thing! I mean it is only paper, not a flat panel display or something! Oh, yes, and OD did have a lot of laptops, but none made by Apple.

I got some post cards and stamps (I hope I updated my address book!), and curiously the post office changes money, so I changed $100; there was a slight glitch though -- they would not take bills having a 1996 date on them, and luckily I had one with 1999 on it -- and guess what -- the exchange rate was 96.81 Euros with no commission! That was a full 10+% more than at the airport, and only 3.19% less than the corner grocery store! In a display case they had some special issue Asterix and Tintin stamps but they had none left to sell, unfortunately.

I saw a computer communications place and stopped in to see if they might be able to guide me with getting online. They had all kinds of desktops and laptops including the TiBook and the new iMac. I discovered that the French telephone connections are a lot different from ours, and they looked for an adapter for me, in case I might be able to use the thing -- it only cost $7, and I paid in $. The very helpful gentleman also said that the Spanish telephone jack is also different, and that it varies with every country. The same with the electrical plugs -- they are round and thicker in Spain than they are in France -- I wonder if it has to do with the normal 220Volt/50Hz (= cycle) current they use in Spain?

Around the corner on a small street I got to an electrical shop that was just closing -- they apparently close at about 15h, earlier than most other business establishments. The door was locked, but a girl also arrived as I was standing there at the door and the owner allowed us both to enter. The girl dragged her desk lamp with her to get a replacement bulb, plus a spare. I asked if he had, out of curiosity, a US/French plug adapter. Yes, and it was exactly what I was looking for before I was forced to buy the one I got at the corner store -- and this one only cost me 2.30 Euros, about 1/3 the price of the other place and a lot more convenient to stash! Incidently, I am including pics of these goodies just in case any of my readers may travel to Europe and might want to obtain these things before leaving home.

Here is a link to some of the things I saw on this long walk -- and curiously I was not all that tired when I got back -- thank God for my CELEBREX!

The Arch of Triumph was a lot larger and more impressive than I has imagined it to be. Pedestrian access from any of the avenues leading up to it is by way of an underground tunnel. Apparently one can get to the top, presumably via elevator or whatever, and it costs something. I did not get a ticket. After walking around the base, where I could hear several known and unfamiliar languages spoken, I went back through the tunnel but somehow wound up on the opposite side of the monument that I wanted to be on! It took me a while to figure out that I should have been on the opposite side, and then had to cross several streets hoping to eventually get back on the one I started out from. I can be such a klutz!

I could not find a New York Times anywhere, and most kiosks did not have any American newspapers, although I did see such staples as TIME magazine at several, as well as Spanish newspapers. I finally stumbled on one that had the 12 September USA TODAY, which I bought just to see what was happening back home and in the world -- some observations follow.........

-- Luckily there were no terrorist attempts on 9-11, which was not a complete surprise because I think their capability has been all but neutralized by increased security (as flawed as it still may be) and the active persuit of anything and anyone that might even have a distant connection with those radical idiots (leading to many totally innocent persons being caught up in the web of intrigue -- my wrongly spelled first name, mentioned above, is a simple yet excellent example).

-- Florida had problems in the primary for governor, despite whatever they did to try to fix their methodology -- also not a surprise.

-- Air France was still on strike but flights were apparently still operating. I noticed a couple AF info sections at the airport closed when I arrived here, and there were small notices about something having to do with a work stoppage. I am sort of glad that my last minute flight reservations did not opt for AF. Incidently, all the airports were packed and the plane I was on was full, so it does not appear that the 9-11 syndrome is still affecting world travel. Although security was somewhat tighter than normal, and the ones doing the checking appeared more alert and simply on the ball, the only real glitch I had was the idiotic thing about the wrong spelling of my first name which cancelled the original flight reservations and they had to make entirely new ones. If it were my family name, I might be able to understand it, but a single letter that the kid on the phone mis-spelled on one of the tickets? Security really had their heads up their asses on that one!

-- Just as I always said on the basis of my studies on EM fields, a new Swedish study confirms that users of the older analog cellphones had 30% more incidence of brain tumors than a control group -- and listen to this -- Those who used the phones longer than 10 years were 80% more likely to develop tumors. Now that is really scarey! Just about everywhere you go here and elsewhere, people are walking, sitting, or driving with an active cellphone in their hands -- so if they do not get run over by a car due to inattention, or have an auto accident while driving one, even though the newer models emit a lot less radiation than the older versions, these marvels will eventually decrease the number of inhabitants of the planet per square foot while at the same time overtaxing all the health care systems worldwide, as fragile as they usually already are! The national financial bases will find that very difficult to balance on their books and economic crises will probably develop. Add to the cell phone debacle, all the radiation coming from computers and other electronic gear that are distributed around the home as well as in public places, and I can foresee a global disaster in the making that either noone is yet able to even theorize OR that some know about but still want to sell their products! Keep those computers and other electronic apparatus as far away from you as possible, and be especially careful about exposure to the very young.

-- A story about repressed memory also brought up something that I consider a very shakey/inaccurate basis for law suits, among other things! One researcher, herself a professor of psychology and law suggests a new oath for those pressing claims: "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, or whatever it is you think you remember?"

OK, I just finished writing out all ten post cards. Some addresses I had to fish out of old emails and instant messages -- apparently I did not update my hand-written address book since last Christmas -- or was it Christmas 2000?? But, hey, it has served me well -- it has a sort of flexible canvas-like cover, neato index tabs, and I think I got it in Madrid in the mid 1960s -- and guess what, I just checked and it has quadriculated pages! hmmmmmmm

OK, my eyes were closing so I crawled into bed and got up at 04h of Friday the 13th!

13 September 2002, Friday - Only today and tomorrow left in Paris -- I leave here on the 14th, then on to another adventure which will hopefully be the start of a new web page. Today will be my last attempt to get all this material online -- I really hope it works because I feel sooooo unattached to my online friends, and at least one or two of them may be worried that they have not heard from me in so many days. I hope they are well.

Although I have been attempting to make sure that all the links and pics will function as they should, much of the code I was using back home had to be modified because some of the stuff will go on one server and other things on another server, simply due to bandwidth = the WWW space I have on different servers to put things online. It will take some time to upload all the pics and text files and to check each page for completeness once they are online before I link them to my previous material. This text page file alone is already over 50k (near my preferred upper limit for a single page) and it is not yet completed -- although I have checked for orthographic and other errors in my proof reading, some will probably slip through -- I ask your understanding when you find some mistakes.

It is now almost 07h and the trash truck has just gone by, as it has every morning. The system is really kewl -- the trash containers are tall, sort-of rectangular green plastic with a hinged lid and wheels. I have also seen plastic bags and bits and pieces of furniture, a sofa, a fridge, washing machine, computers (PCs, of course!) and even a large storage cabinet beside buildings. OK, so on the street in front of the hotel, the two young dudes picked up the smallish plastic bags and threw them in the truck, but they only have to wheel the trash bin to a horizontal thingy on the back of the truck which fits two bins, the metal thing latches onto and lifts the two bins, the lid automatically flips open and all the junk gets dumped in the truck. No lifting, no strain -- of course the city has to provide or sell the special bins. WOW, more truck sounds outside my window and two floors below -- hmmmmmm -- another trash truck -- OK, there are some of those bins with yellow tops which I did not really notice before -- I see paper and bottles in the truck, so I imagine these are the recyclables. In Trenton they only pick up trash twice a week (and it is a really trash-rich city!), and recyclables only once every two weeks! Our taxes are scandalously high (and include for waste removal among other semi-useless sevices), so I wonder where all the money goes??

14 September 2002, Saturday - OK, I awoke at 07h, packed my junk, all of which seemed to fit in my duffle bag, clothes and cookies and other things in my carry on -- with the two totes of stuff from the Expo, it is a lot heavier than it was! I left the remaining three Belgian beers with Chris -- the room was the way I found it -- had to move the table from the window to near the bed. Left a full bottle of tonic water for the maid. What was left of cookies and chocolate with raisons went in my bag. I had one banana left, and that I kept in my jeans jacket pocket -- the one with the embroidered CIRUS LOGIC motif on it -- I had replaced a lot of my really old t-shirts with computer-related shirts and light jackets that I found cheapo on eBay, just to update part of my clothes, most of which were 15+ years old already.

I went down for breakfast as usual, and paid what I owed. Chris was on overnight and was just leaving -- I asked him how to get the Air France shuttle to Orly -- did not want to catch the Metro because it would have meant going down various flights of stairs with all my junk, so I opted for a taxi which I got down the street -- it came to the hotel to load my bags, and we were off. The taxi cost me about 7 Euros, which included a small tip -- and I am not one to leave tips for anything. It took perhaps ten minutes to get to the shuttle location at Les Invalides, and the bus was already waiting and loading. It cost 7.50 Euros, which was cheaper than the last one. We left and had another stop, where the bus filled up with a couple even standing.

They took the usual route which surrounds Paris -- called something like le Circunvalidacion -- and arrived in about twenty minutes at Orly, on the southern edge of Paris. I had to fish for the Iberia check in counter which was all the way on the right side of where the shuttle left us off. A slight wait, went through the electronic thing without a question, and was ready to board when the flight was called in about thirty minutes.

But that will be a new chapter in this adventure -- stay tuned..... I return to Paris on the 27th and leave on the 28th for JFK, New York, and already have the same room at the Belidor, so I have another day, more or less to hopefully see some more of Paris.

I now have to start a new page for my next stop, Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain), to return to the place I have there in the mountains not too far from the University -- I call it La Atlántida, named after Atlantis, the lost continent (but that is another story) -- have not been back on some 4 years, and I cannot wait to see if it is still intact. OK, now let me see if I can start a new folder with Tenerife related stuff in it, and figure out a main page for all that news --

27 September 2002, Friday - OK, it was easy enough to trudge through the terminal to find the Air France shuttle to Le Invalides, which takes about 20 - 25 minutes -- as we were getting close I seemed to note herds of police all over the place, and on the corners -- metal barriers set up along the street borders -- some cops with what looked like submachine guns and other goodies. Right at the shuttle end of the line, from which I took that pic of the Eiffel Tower the last time, was the presidential palace -- there was a TV reporter across the street from the entrance and I asked him who was visting -- an American diplomat -- Bush, I asked -- the guy smiled and said NO, not Bush -- OK, here I was waiting for a Taxi in an area that looked like it was expecting an invasion of terrorists or something! An hispanic-looking old couple went to the corner to see if a taxi going by might stop -- nuttin -- a lady who got there when I did was using her cell phone to try to get a Taxi -- one finally showed up and she boarded it after a very long wait -- there was a youngish French girl sitting there with a cute black kitten in a small plstic carrier -- she had also been using her cell phone to get a taxi -- hey, it was like 2 hours ago that I got there and not a single taxi went by in all that time due to the over-increase of security in the streets leading up to that exact gate across the street where whoever it was would leave shortly. The girl with the cat finally got a taxi -- the driver said he would not allow animals! Hell, although I felt sorry for the poor gal and her kitty, the driver put my bags into the trunk and off we were to The Hotel Belidor. The foreign driver (Middle Eastern) made a big thing of checking in his book of maps to see where the little street was and we got there in about 10 minutes -- it was already getting dark.

Bernadette was at the desk -- seemed overly busy -- guest bags all over the place -- got a phone call, no, there are no openings -- a guy came to the desk wanting a room for two, same no openings. She looked at me and greeted me -- room 10 this time, on the third floor -- holy shit, with all the stuff I was schlepping I took them each up one by one. I asked her if there was any coffee left -- no -- I went up to the room, put the three bags on the bed, pulled up the covers and crawled in -- got up at 01h, looked out the window, opened it -- was sort of cold -- crawled back in bed.

28 September 2002, Saturday - I slept until about 09h, washed up a little and started looking for my return ticket, which was nowhere to be found -- dug through the carry on and the duffel bag -- it then occurred to me that the ticket was electronic, meaning that all I had to do was present the original schedule and reservation code for them to issue a ticket at the airport. I heard some English in the hallway and found that the man and woman with the two small kids were from Ireland -- they had come here to go to Euro Disney -- they had some kind of a package deal that included the train to Disney, entrance and all. I asked why they do not have one in the UK -- the weather, of course! I said that I might like to see it once, although I never wanted to visit the one in the USA -- could pick up a few things to sell on eBay -- I said I liked the European exclusive Beanies, and the dad said the kids collected them, but at Disney there were only Mickey and other Disney characters.

Down to breakfast, the same selections as before -- I mentioned that the light above the sink did not work and the same with the WC (water closet = bathroom) light -- the dishes in the sink were piled high -- Henri were apparently more busy than they were the last time I was here and simply did not have time for the amenities as they were before. After breakfast I hooked up the charger for the laptop and went to bed again! At about 11:45 the phone rings -- am I staying for one or two days? -- I leave today at about 17h -- have to leave the room before noon -- OK, not a problem -- gathered my stuff together, took one bag at a time down the three flights of stairs, paid and left to catch the Air France shuttle to Charles de Gaulle which was about a block away.

A couple German looking dudes were there -- at about 12:05 a bus finally appeared -- 10 Euros -- it took us some 25 minutes to get to the airport -- they were overly nice with a fossilized handicapped dude -- first to American Airlines info to get my electronic ticket -- piece of cake. Long lines at the main check-in -- nice gal did me, asking things like am I carrying bags that I packed, where were they packed, which places I had visited, and the usual stuff -- did I have any weapons in the bags, like knives, guns, etc. -- I sort of chuckled! OK, now I had to do the X-Ray thing -- same detail, they let me go through to the machine, but at that moment the operation shut down due to some alert -- everybody was told to go to another check-in way down the building. Got there, showed them the stamp from the first gal, they let me though ahead of everybody else -- I was now in the boarding section, finally. The bar/eatery was on an upper level, so I schepped my stuff and found a table.

As I sat down, Adjadi Omonlaza, from Benin, the fabled kingdom on the west coast of Africa noted for their palace bronzes, among other things, sat with me.

She represents the Association pour la Promotion des Femmes dans l'Agriculture et de l'Environnement, and is headed to Bangkok, Thailand, to attend a seminar at the Maejo University on Sustainability, Education, and the Management of the Change in the Tropics. The role of women in Africa has always been a subjugate one, and she is trying to get women into more technical professions than was heretofore the case -- the men who also worked in agriculture migrated to the large cities to get better paying jobs which meant, as I understand it, that now the women were left for farming-related chores. She spoke English very well, and I found her a pioneer in her educational endeavors -- I shared one of my coveted quesadillas with her, and she found it sort of sweet and liked it. We chatted about some of the things she would like to achieve, and she promised she would send me some details which I shall add here when they arrive. Her group has a handfull of computers, and there is virtually noone who can repair/maintain them -- needless to say they are all PCs! All through my trip I have been a walking ad for Apple puters -- and I showed her how I do my reports, how easy it is to get a web site started, and that she should get a domain for her working group and document their needs and progress. At about 15h we both headed down stairs to the boarding area -- we both had some two hours+ until our respective flights left.

I mosied around the duty free shops and found a kewl Targus Retractable Modem Cord with three phone adaptors for the UK, French and German telephone lines which may come in handy some day. The differences between them are quite noticeable -- would it not be way better if the EU would conform to a standard telephone connection to make them just a tad more alike? That would mean a loss of business for the respective telephone companies, which I assume might be a major concern. It cost 25 Euros, which was three times more than just the French one I found in Paris, which I did not think was excessive.

OK, I checked the boarding list on the monitor and they changed the gate -- which was way the hell distant from where I was waiting. Luckily I managed to find the new baggage arrangement somewhat easier to handle and the strain was slightly less and I was not sweating as much as before. Near the gate there was a cafe, so needless to say I had a coffee and was yawning constantly and would have fallen asleep at the table if I closed my eyes -- problem was I had to keep an eye on my stuff so the puter would not walk away -- now that would have been a disaster!

The flight was called about 15:30h, and I straggled onto the plane ahead of the general line -- not a peep about the three things I was dragging with me. Got a nice aisle seat, with David, from New York on the window side. He was sort of into computers, and had just begun studying landscape design with a famous expert in Zurich, if I am not mistaken -- he was returning home for the funeral of an inlaw. I talked his ears off for a long while until after dinner was served -- it was a delight -- salmon, salad, two different kinds of rolls, cheese, a chocolate mousse desert and three bottles of wine and several coffees -- he mentioned that I was getting my moneys worth with all the wine! Hey, they are smallish bottles anyway!

Across the aisle was a young dude from Albany, Joe Angelotti, who was travelling with a relative, perhaps his grandmother. They did a grand tour of several European countries over about two weeks and, although the battery was sort of low on the TiBook, he listened to some of the stuff in my iTunes library using the earphones provided on the plane to listen to the videos and music channels -- the video player on the plane did not work, for some reason, so we did not see some new flick about Greek something or other -- he was checking out parts of my trip story when the screen finally dimmed. He is a Pisces, and I do not think I know any other fish. He thought my story was kewl, and wanted to do something perhaps similar -- he had taken loads of pics with his film camera and apparently had many adventures of his own. He was still a dreamer, which I thought was kewl -- had ideas about doing a video production with a pal, and I mentioned how easy it was to burn DVDs using an Apple -- I suggested a tower, if he could swing it.

He was absolutely bubbling ov er with enthusiasm about a web site, which he suggested that I would enjoy, zbs.org -- he even went to visit the webmaster not too long ago! He found the works of the master story teller, Jack London (1876 - 1916), who published over 50 books, particularly inspiring -- The Fourth Tower of Inverness was his favorite -- he even went into some of the details of the work. Yes, Joe, I am now at the web site and it is really the kewlest! They seem to specialize in audio books (over 160 items available) on old tyme radio, mystery, science fiction, Dinotopia, and other general categories on cassette and CD/DVD, and the London series has a total of 17 listed!

I could see why London would be his fave -- London's life and writings reflected his adventurous spirit

"I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze
than it should be stifled by dryrot.
I would rather be a superb meteor,
every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time"

He certainly used his time remarkably well, and died at the relatively early age of 40.

After dinner Joe slept a little, something that I tried but could not do thinking about all the backlog of things that were probably waiting for me to do back in Trenton -- and at this point Dave woke up ands listened to the music channels. I checked my watch and tried to figure out the time difference -- was it 5 or 6 hours between Paris and NY? -- it was five. About 25 minutes outside of JFK we started our descent -- my ears always plug up aqnd my eyes start watering due to the pressure change -- and it was sort of coldish on the flight -- both Dave and I had runny noses most of the time. Our landing was a piece of cake, and I told Dave to go out ahead of me because I had the two large bags in the overhead compartment -- he said he was not in a rush and thankfully helped me out and to customs with the carry on.

I had nothing to declare, as usual -- and when the passport control checked my passport I asked him to stamp the damn passport because it seems that nobody does that anymore! -- he stamped it, sort of chuckling a little. Since I did not have to wait for my stuff, I simply left and looked around for Bernar, as I always had before -- with his tight schedule of activities I really did not expect him to show up anyway -- which he did not. I checked at the transportation info desk when the next Transporter bus to Trenton/Princeton would leave -- the last one was at 22h (it was already about 22:20) and the next one would be at 09h the next morning -- what are my options? They checked what a taxi would cost, and it was some $137, which I did not have left. That terminal closed at 23h or so, and if I wanted to just wait for the dumb bus, I would have to go via a free bus to another terminal that was open all night, which I had infrequently done in several countries in the past -- I could take the bus and/or metro to a rain station, which would probably mean lugging all my stuff up and down stairs, which I would not have survived at this point. Dave was also at the counter asking how to get to where he was going and we said out goodbyes.

I then called Bernar a couple times and was disconnected twice -- fianlly reached him after waiting outside a good while thinking of what I should do in the sort of fresh air -- called again and he got on the line and said I should try to get to Penn Station where the Amtrack trains have a direct line to Trenton -- Evelio and I had used the train many years ago and it was fun -- plus I had a handicapped ID which would theoretically get me a 50% discount, so now I went back to the info desk and inquired about getting to Penn Station -- there was a Port Authority bus that stopped at the station, and it only cost $13, so that was the option I chose -- I could have used one of the free phones there to see when the trains left for Trenton, but decided not to waste more time and just get to the station. I guess I waited some twenty minutes before the bus arrived, only to find that the gal did not stop at Penn Station at that hour, and the closest she would get would be the Post Authority Terminal, about 15 blocks away -- OK, not a real insurmountable glitch.

The bus made several other stops before it left the airport, and it was more or less full -- we passed Times square, several theatres and other places Evelio and I would walk to on our almost weekly trips to the Big Apple some 15 years earlier -- I really miss those more active times and maybe should try it again, but without baggage! When we reached the end of the line, the gal said it was her last trip, and could take me to Penn Station for less than a taxi would cost -- of course I had to ask her just how much that would be, and she said $2 would do the trick -- one other European dude was also left on the bus and had to get to some hotel, and she offered to take him also -- which was kewl as hell! When we got to the station I gave her a 5er, and she seemed happy with it -- it sure saved me a lot of moving around and waiting for a taxi or whatever.

Luckily there was an elevator to reach the lower level where the main concourse was -- to the info desk and the guy said a NJ Transport train would leave in 20 minutes, and I could get the ticket in a machine down the hall, which I balked at because I do not like having to deal with machines! -- I asked specifically about an Amtrack train, and he told me that one was leaving in three minutes on track 25, right around the corner -- kewl! So I almost ran to number 25 and simply dragged my carry-on with wheels down the longish flight of stairs! The ticket taker was at the door, as usual, and said I should go to the second car or one further down -- the second would be fine with me! Plus, it happened to be a bar car, with snacks and coffee and other goodies -- and you can imagine what I ordered! NO, NOT WINE!

The car was very clean and roomy -- and I noticed a plug near the window and plugged in the recharger for the TiBook, and perhaps finished a paragraph or two, with difficulty due to the movements of the train -- even though the ride was basically smooth -- I enjoy that clacking sound of the rails -- we made several stops, all of which were familiar to me -- Newark, Overland Park (?), and several others. Another dude across from me then took out his PC laptop (which seemed to take forever to boot!) and started doing whatever he was doing on the thang.

The ticket taker finally came around and asked for my ticket -- told him I was informed that I could buy it on the train, which I had also done in the past -- OK, that will be 40-something dollars, at which I made some weird sound, reminding him that I had a reduced fare ID -- OK, it would be 10% less, then he disappeared. When he came back he again mentioned the 10% discount thing, and I told him about my NJ Transport ID with which I think I get half off -- he disappears again and when he came back he brought some booklet that said that handicapped get 15% off, and I was not going to argue with him -- it finally came to about $32.

29 September 2002, Sunday - The TiBook chimed midnight, and less than a minute later he announced that we were in Trenton! Surprise! I was not really paying attention to where we had been/now were, and hurriedly packed the puter in the attache case, got the other two bags from the overhead and was the last one leaving!

Do I need a cab to go the three blocks to the apartment -- nah, I would walk -- it was about 59 degrees and I really did not sweat too much dragging the stuff behind me as I walked in the street -- little traffic, a couple people walking and two bike riders, but as usually dead as Trenton gets after midnight. When I got to my corner am amazing sight greeted me -- those of my readers who know about the abandoned two houses where druggies and hos always went in back to do their thing night after night, and meat packing place across the street will know they have been there quite a few years already -- well, they were gone! It was a shocker -- I did not check to see if the train shuttle station was finished at the end of my side street, which will serve the new Arena for all of its activities -- yuppers, Trenton does move slowish, but eventually things get done! A business building, restaurant and some shops will be built on the leveled site by some sports team owner -- which means that I should seriously think about working on the shop below the apartment -- and if I really get as active as I used to be, start finishing the restauration of the town house across the street to make it into a bed and breakfast basically for European tourists -- after all, a short train ride to New York and/or Philadelphia provides them with more than enough to see, and my price would be way below what they normally would have to spend!

as seen through my closed study window -- now I could see all the way to Hamilton Avenue, on the right!

Once inside I opened the bags and plugged in the TiBook, thinking I would finally put the new parts of this story on my web site after so many frustrations in Spain -- dream on! I could not get my file list from any of my three domains, using ftp! I called Burlee, one of my virtual hosts for two web sites, and that damn other one, Verio, which I hate with a passion -- Burlee only functioned from 09 to 21h so I would have to call back later (I did send an email to their support addy asking what the problem was), and Verio said they were updating some servers again.

OK, not a real problem -- I cleaned the rooms where the cats were and gave them food and water -- they were apparently very glad to see me return! I checked my emails, most of which were the usual spams and just deleted them as always. Briefly answered a couple from peeps I know. Looked through the pile of snail mail, and threw about one third of it away -- once again, spammy stuff. The rest will have to wait until I rest a little. Bernar sent out the few eBay winners' packages I could not send before I left, which helped a lot -- hopefully fewer gripes for the sometimes very impatient winners! I ate a quesadilla (two may be stilll left for Bernar) and some cheese I had in the fridge -- wine, of course, then I made a fresh pot of coffee. Made several more attempts to load the new stuff, but still no success -- even booted the Cube and then my old iMac to see if there was something wrong with FETCH, but got the same no-result. Emptied out my luggage and sort of organized the stuff. The plants I brought seemed sort of OK, and would grow when planted -- brought a couple ceramic pieces, only one of which broke in transit, which I consider extremely lucky. I did part of the above, and it was already 09h, so I called Burlee again -- yes, they were updating the servers in their entire system, and it might be another 12 to 24 hours until the changes were completed -- one of the server addresses had changed, and I tried the new set of numbers, to no avail, of course.

I then crawled into bed and slept until 14h -- still very groggy but yawning less. I had more coffee and went back to sleep until 18h -- tried the ftp thing and it still was not functional -- posted a couple comments of the Apple message board saying I was back and would eventually get the news online. Made an omelet with whatever I could find in the fridge and started completing this page -- this and the other trip pages will not be totally complete until I scan a few things, hopefully this week, and add more commentary. I still have to change the sheets, shower and shave -- open the bills and the several eBay payments that arrived in my absence -- it is now past midnight again.

And a very pleasant surprise! I just received an email from Metroworks entitled Apple Expo 2002 - Congratulations! Metrowerks CodeWarrior Development Tools Winner -- holy shit, I only filled out a single prize form at the Expo and I won! Congratulations! You participated in Metrowerks' Apple Expo Survey and your name was selected to receive a copy of CodeWarrior Development Tools for Mac OS v.8 or the CodeWarrior Learning Edition v3. I am leaning toward the first app -- we shall see what I finally decide on.

[stay tuned for more kewl stuff]

Apple Expo Paris related info may be found in my special AppleBytes Report non-Apple Computer related Tenerife trip info may be found in my YES

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