I'm Famous!

One day I was looking around on newsok.com and was browsing the Edmond section and I made a comment about Edmond voting to extend the Heartland Flyer rail service. The next day the author of the following article e-mailed me to ask if he could use my quote. My comment is about half way through.

By John A. Williams

Long before sport utility vehicles and stoplights ruled the earth, the railroad and Edmond forged a friendship.
The relationship began in 1887 when Edmond was only a coal and water stop at mile 103 on the Santa Fe Railroad. Edmond's agriculture and trading centered on the railroad. Many of our original streets were named after men who worked for the railroad. The friendship was a beneficial one for both sides for decades, but in the late 1970s, passenger service to and from Edmond ceased.
Now hopes have been renewed for the railway's return. This week, city council members approved a resolution supporting the expansion of Heartland Flyer service through Edmond and on to Kansas City.
Shelva Sleeper of Edmond said she would welcome the return of rail service. "Yes, I certainly would ride the train. We have a daughter in Frisco, Texas. A train would make it possible to visit more often, plus the grandsons love trains. Come on Edmond — get the train,” she said.
Ann Griffith of Edmond said she would love it if train service were extended to Kansas. "I have family in Wichita and Kansas City and would get to visit them more often. However, I'm 75 years old, and I doubt this will happen in my lifetime. This kind of progress takes a long time to realize. When I was a little girl living in Winfield, Kan., I used to ride the train to Kansas City to visit my grandparents. It was great,” she said.
"I was hoping that 9/11 would encourage our nation to develop our rail system into something like the Europeans have. You have probably guessed that I don't like to fly. I know several people, even young ones that prefer to drive when possible. But, that limits the places you can travel to. I hope the expansion of the route is successful,” she said.
But Jeffrey Hale of Edmond said he would rather see commuter train service. "Look at Salt Lake City's commuter train set up. It is wonderful,” he said.
Aaron Welch said he also would use commuter service. "Make it happen, I would ride daily from Edmond to Norman just to go to work,” he said.
Northern Flyer Alliance supporters estimate the cost to expand the service to Newton, Kan., would be about $5 million. Edmond also would have to commit to build a station and provide long-term parking to serve passengers.
I rode the Heartland Flyer a few years back. I thought the trip was pleasant and the service was good. Another alternative to the high-cost of fuel could be a welcome relief for travelers as long as the tickets stay at a reasonable price. But it will take a major shift in our thinking to give up the freedom of having a set of wheels to take us where and when we want to go.

Road Work

I found this picture that shows the changes that are planned for the intersection of Memorial Road and Broadway Extension. I have been wondering what exactly they would be doing so i was really excited when i found this. I decided to post it because i figured others would be interested also. It looks like it is going to be a pretty good plan but i think the city has gotten a little stoplight happy.

Hot Pocket!

Tonight me and Stephanie went and saw Jim Gaffigan at the Rose State performing arts center. If you don't know who he is then you should Google his name or just Google "hot pockets". He is very funny and the best part is that he is pretty clean too. Some guy named Richard ... I think, opened for him. He was pretty funny also. It was time well spent that's for sure. After his act he came out to sign autographs and take pictures with people. We just wanted to get a picture of him up close. He ended up walking right in front of us. We didn't stick around to wait in line though because there was a lot of people there and the "line" was pretty much a big group of people.

РОССИЯ = RUSSIA!

These are a few pictures from my trip to Ukraine and Russia. Well only one picture here is from Ukraine.

The pictures include me standing on Red Square in front of St. Basil's cathedral in Moscow. Workers loading fresh bread onto a truck. The changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier outside the walls of the Kremlin. Fountians at Peterhof. Gulf of Finland.

I have over 900 pictures from this trip so don't expect me to post all of them on here. If you feel like seeing more pictures most of them are posted on my Facebook account.

Coming Soon!

Coming summer 2008 new posts.

Ohh I Love Baby Mum-Mums!

Dave this post is dedicated to you! For all those that know the story you will appreciate this and for those who don't you should ask Jennifer or Dave.

Stephanie, Mom and I were in Wal-Mart in the baby section where I discovered Baby Mum-Mums! I started laughing and had to take a picture (its not that great because I took it with my phone).

PS. Dave maybe this will get you posting again.

One More Reason I Hate AOL

Well apparently I live in hell on earth. This recent article published by AOL (India Online) lists the top 10 worst places to visit in the world. This article could be one of those standardized test questions where they give you a list of items and you have to pick out the one that does not fit. See if you can pick it out. Conveniently the author's name is never mentioned. I highly suspect that it is some poor sport from Seattle. Here is the article:

While most travel brochures wax lyrical about the world's paradises, they often leave out those cities that the industry would rather forget. Whether it's violence, pollution or an inhospitable climate, some places just don't function as cities in the modern world, let alone attract a throng of flip-flopped tourists through its airport security. These places are simply known as hells on earth. So, the next time you moan about a sun-drenched resort not having poolside service, take a moment to think about how much worse your vacation would have been had you visited this lot of hells on earth.


Number 10 -- Conflict
Location: Baghdad, Iraq


Details: It's hardly surprising that cheap airlines lack a "weekend away" charter route to Baghdad. The once vibrant city has been brought to its knees by years of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and damage from the Gulf War. Since the U.S. invasion, lootings, robberies, kidnappings, and assaults have been rife, but it is the daily slaughter of troops, journalists and civilians that terrify people the most. Although a physical curfew has been lifted, a psychological one still remains and the streets have been left largely deserted.

Number 9 -- Pollution
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Details: Despite enduring political instability, military suppression and devastation from war and natural disaster, the capital of Bangladesh faces a new crisis over critically high pollution levels. Rapid industrial development has filled the city with so much smog it is causing environmental damage, particularly with the 9.7 million tons of waste dumped in the river by the city each year. It is only a matter of time before disease takes hold.

Number 8 --Environmental Extreme
Location: Yakutsk, Russia


Details Officially the coldest place on earth, with temperatures often dropping to a hypothermia-inducing -58°F, and if it drops below this (which it often does), children get the day off school. Visibility in this city of ice and snow isn't good either; a thick fog often reduces visibility to no more than 10 meters in front of you. Another hellish aspect of Yakutsk is its sheer isolation; a whole six time zones away from Moscow, there's definitely no chance of anyone hearing you scream in this hell on earth.



Number 7 -- Lawlessness
Location: Mogadishu, East Africa (I guess they didn't know this city is the capital of Somalia.)




Details: Rebel forces took the city in 1990 and since then there has been a power struggle between Mohammed Ali Mahdi and Mohammed Farah Aidid. In 1992, a rebel war destroyed much of the city with thousands of casualties, and a badly timed drought induced nationwide famine. Despite the city practically closing down, confusion over the head of state continues today and Mogadishu is largely lawless, with no structure of real peacekeeping present.



Number 6 -- Radiation
Location: Chernobyl, Ukraine




Details: Famed for a nuclear explosion that tore through the city in 1986 and contaminated most of its living organisms, Chernobyl is certainly not the kind of place you'd like to vacation in. In fact, most people here would do pretty much anything to escape the toxicity that oozes from its every pore. Having experienced the worst nuclear accident in history, the city has never recovered and probably never will. Everything is still largely abandoned and remains as it was 20 years ago, with hundreds of miles of uninhabitable space, deserted buildings and poisoned lakes and rivers.



Number 5 -- Natural Disasters
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma




Details: The weather is frighteningly unpredictable, with blizzards often descending on the city and winds that could knock a high rise clean off its feet. It is, after all, located in the direct path of "Tornado Alley." The worst time to visit would be from March to August, when the severe weather season makes Dorothy's Kansas look positively calm. One of the most powerful tornadoes on record -- an F5 with wind speeds of 320 mph -- devastated much of the city in 1999.


Number 4 -- Oppression
Location: Pyongyang, North Korea




Details: Still in the throes of communism, the city is so oppressed you just might scream. While its modern-day facade may look like any other Western city, underneath it's entirely autocratic. Radios and TVs have only one channel, which broadcasts special programs controlled by the government; premarital sex is unheard of; bicycles are banned as part of a political regime to restrict movement and interaction amongst people; and reports suggest (although the government denies) that individuals need permission to travel outside of the city.



Number 3 -- Corruption
Location: Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi




Details: With the lowest GDP per capita in the world, Burundi is the poorest country on the planet and is scarred by a history of genocide, mass killing and assassinated political leaders. Not only that, but a pool of 178 countries found that Burundi's people had the poorest satisfaction of life in the world. Curfews are enforced in its capital, Bujumbura, and let's just say that fighting between rebel forces and the government doesn't just play out in parliament.



Number 2 -- Darkness
Location: Linfen, China




Details: Once voted by Time Magazine as the most polluted city ever, Linfen, is very sooty and dark. Located in a 12-mile industrial belt, and affected by the 50 million tons of coal mined each year in the nearby hills of Shanxi, Linfen doesn't stand much of a chance. While the air is filled with burning coal, the streets are choking with emissions from jam-packed traffic -- there's no escape from the smog. In fact, you may as well light up and begin a 40-a-day habit -- even a surgical mask won't save you in this hell on earth.



Number 1 -- Disease
Location: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea




Details: This is the "worst place to live in the world," according to a 2004 vote by the Economist's Intelligence Unit. Over 115 new HIV and AIDS cases are diagnosed every month at Port Moresby General Hospital. With the population expanding at an uncontrollable rate, income levels have plummeted, and cases of rape, robbery and murder have reached new heights (the murder rate is 23 times that of London). Don't worry if you don't have time to pick up some souvenirs -- you'll almost certainly have picked up a disease or two to take home with you.


So If anybody was thinking of coming to Oklahoma City you might want to go to a better, safer city you know like... Baghdad or Chernobyl. Well I have to go now because this CrAzY unpredictable weather is going to blow me away!