Seats Are Extra

August 26, 2017

Wow Air will be offering flights to Europe from St. Louis for discount prices. You can get to Iceland for $99, then catch connecting flights to other places in Europe. For that price, Iceland sounds like a nice destination.

There’s a catch, though.

The airline’s founder says that they can offer low rates because they only charge for what you use. According to the Post-Dispatch, you would be able to get a round-trip ticket from St. Louis to Paris for $499.98; that includes the ticket and one personal item. For $690.50, the same flight would also include a carry-on bag and a checked bag. Still no meal, though—that would be extra.

Pretty soon airlines might as well just make this their motto: Airfare $99. Seat extra.

Searching for Answers

August 24, 2017

Newspaper website search bars are weird. You can look for an item you swear you’ve seen recently, and type it into their search spot, and come up with nothing.

Example: I saw an adorable picture of a baby rhino in the paper. When I tried to find it in the online edition, I typed in “rhino,” “baby rhino” “newborn rhino at zoo” and came up with nothing.

Today I tried to find the article they’d advertised about ways to use tomatoes. I typed in “Tomato recipes”. Got a recipe for a casserole and a review of some ready-to-cook meals.  I typed in “tomatoes.” Same thing. Got out of the paper’s website and typed “tomato recipes” in the Google search bar. And the first item that came up was (drumroll, please)…The Post-Dispatch article on 20 ways to use tomatoes, dated 2 days ago.

The Boise paper used to drive me crazy for the same reason. What IS it about newspapers and their search functions?

From now on I’ll skip the paper’s search function and go straight to Google.

Right Idea, Wrong Time

August 23, 2017

A man in Florida was arrested after he parked his stolen car to view the solar eclipse.

I give him credit for wanting to see it.

Starting Small

August 24, 2017

While NASA and SpaceX are working so hard to build rockets to Mars, is anyone building a satellite that could stand in for the moon, so that the effects of a solar eclipse could be handy whenever and for as long as anyone needed them?

A Household Tip

July 15, 2017

Household Tips aren’t normally my thing, but I figured this one out and thought I’d pass it along.

You know how you buy bagged spinach, and almost immediately after you open it it gets gross unless you use it all up right away?

I have noticed that if I put two halves of a paper towel in the bag (in different spots), it keeps the spinach from getting nasty. You can keep it much longer.

Because Every Kitchen Needs Some

August 19, 2017

This gourmet cooking thing is getting out of hand. I couldn’t find any dry mustard at the store today.

I did, however, find plenty of organic Mango Habanero seasoning.

The Icing on the Eclipse Cake

August 21, 2017

What’s better than seeing a total eclipse of the sun?

Seeing it with a bunch of family members.

By the way: It was totally awesome. I will never forget that image of the darkened sun, hanging in the dark sky, surrounded by the corona.

And Thank You, Lord, for letting everything go perfectly.

Driver's Ed

August 18, 2017

Two men attempted a carjacking in St. Louis the other day, but their plans went awry when neither of them could drive a stick shift.

Weirdly Normal

August 17, 2017

When I take walks, I like to do arm circles as well—sort of an exercise two-fer. Of course it looks weird. But at one time, so did jogging, running shorts, and people swinging hand weights on their walks. So if I stick with it, it may become not only acceptable, but the “in” way to exercise.

If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that no matter how weird things seem at first, people will get used to them. A look back at any fashion trend will prove the truth of this.

When the Light Changes

August 14, 2017

August is an odd month: It’s hot and sticky, still great for boating and swimming; but people start feeling ready for Fall. I vividly remember the woman in Louisiana who started wearing her Fall sweaters (short-sleeved, but still) in August, when it was in the 90s and very humid. That’s what August does to people. I think it has something to do with the changing light.

I don’t feel like clothes shopping, but I do have an urge to run around and change the house—put up fall decorations and all. It’s always a struggle: Do I hold on to the end of summer, or do I cave…?

This year I left the sand castle decoration and the seashells out, but put away the spring centerpiece and set out the fall arrangement on the table. Close enough.

So what do you do when the light changes? Decorate, shop for clothes, bake…write pointless blog entries?

I Should Stay In My Bubble

August 8, 2017

I tend to live in my own little world, and therefore miss a lot of what’s going on.  But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can get miserable when you start paying attention to the world around you.

For example, it was only today that I realized just how many annoying ways there are for people to sneeze.

My First "You Oughta"

August 10, 2017

My first “You Oughta” was actually going to be taking my friend’s advice and getting on Twitter, but it seemed complicated, so I moved on to my second one.

I’ve started buying cheap clothes to practice my –er—informal alterations on. (“The Perils of Being Short-Waisted”, April 20, 2017). I’m having mixed success, BUT

At least I can stop wondering what would happen if I ever tried it.

  

A New Way to Track Time

July 22, 2017

When we started going to the Muny (St. Louis’s outdoor theater) this summer, we entertained ourselves by seeing how many of the actors had “Law and Order” credits listed in their bios. But in the later shows of the season, the actors have been younger, so now a lot of them are listing “Law and Order: SVU” and “The Good Wife” instead.

I guess that’s one way to tell that time is passing.

Shake, Don't Stir

July 25, 2017

I think it’s amazing how many newspaper editors and columnists call for bipartisanship while doing their best to get people stirred up in defense of their own particular party.

Instead of saying, “John Doe, R-Smallville, proposed building a skate park,” why don’t they say, “John Doe, representing Smallville, proposed building a skate park.”?

That way, people who suspect that any idea from someone with an “R” after his name is automatically a bad idea might actually think about it.

Conversely, if John Doe, representing Smallville, is caught with his hand in the till, people who will defend their party members to the death would be less tempted to think it’s a media smear campaign against their party and focus on the actual problem—John Doe is behaving badly.

Of course, stirring people up into defending or excoriating politicians by focusing on their party affiliation sells papers. Focusing on the ideas might actually shake up the status quo and get substantial progress accomplished.

So, how about it, editors and columnists? Instead of just stirring up the masses, can you shake up the status quo?

November 11, 2018

A reader wrote to the Post-Dispatch suggesting the same thing. I hope the media will listen.