from the "this and that" dept.

Where have I been, you wonder? Oh here. Exercising. Working. Living. Sleeping. It's a tough life.

A couple of tidbits:

The Chernobyl piece has sold again -- this time to the English-language Helsinki Times. Publication TBA.

I managed to score some tickets for the 2010 Games. Hockey. Gold Medal Final. Bwah ha ha! I guess that means I'll be back in Vancouver for the games. Now all I need is a job and a couch.

Things remain quiet in San Pedro. There are some tourists, but they generally hang around the lame bars and trade beads. Many walk barefoot (despite the danger of stepping on some weird critters) and I am temped to ask: "What, you can't afford shoes?"

I would dearly love to sit down with some of the old timers and get their take on the faux-hippies. It's quite laugh inspiring.

One tried to sell me some homemade cookies (not the drug infused kind). When I told him that I buy local he started yelling. Yeah, whatever dude. You missed the Sixties by 40 years. Tough luck!

More to come!

Cheers!

from the "another one bites the dust" dept.

Sad news this morning that the Boston Globe could stop publishing in 60 days.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Unions representing Boston Globe employees continued to negotiate with the newspaper's management well past midnight Sunday, the deadline to agree to concessions to cut the paper's losses and avoid its closure.

Less than three hours before the deadline, the Boston Globe's largest union said it had presented a proposal to management that cuts costs by more than what is necessary to avoid closing the newspaper. The Globe, which is owned by New York Times Co., said it had told its unions it is prepared to file notice on Monday under the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires 60 days' advance notice before closure of a business. Management's statement, issued shortly after the union's, suggests the two sides might not be as close to an agreement as union leaders had indicated. [ MORE ]

Sigh.