POTD: World's Top Hotel

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Where would you guess the world's top hotel is located? New York? London? Tokyo? Not even close. Greece? Vietnam? Cambodia? Believe it or not, you're warmer. Those are in the top five. Would you ever have guessed Jodhpur, India? Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, voted the top hotel in the world in TripAdvisor's 2016 Travelers' Choice awards. We didn't stay in this hotel, but we can dream. The photo was taken from Mehrangarh Fort, four miles from the hotel. Top hotels stand out.

Poverty, Inc. (2014)

IMDB

Poverty, Inc. (2014): Eye-opening. Poor countries don't need world's surplus food and clothes. They need jobs and access to markets. A-

Tragedy in Dallas

Many others have spoken, but I feel compelled to offer my own thoughts on the deaths of five Dallas police officers and the wounding of seven other officers and two civilians at a protest march in downtown Dallas.

Most of all, it was a tragedy. Five law enforcement officers lost their lives protecting the public. Their families and friends lost loved ones. The wounded and their families were also touched by tragedy. They deserve our gratitude and support.

POTD: Jodhpur, the Blue City

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jodhpur, India, known as the "Blue City" for its many houses painted blue. No one knows why they are painted blue, but it's been this way for hundreds of years. Many theories abound. Today houses are painted blue because Jodhpur is known as the "Blue City." Funny how that works. Kind of like how no one knows why some people are famous. They remain famous for being famous.

Jaco (2015)

IMDB

Jaco (2015): Jaco Pastorius, world's greatest electric bass guitar. Troubled genius I never heard of. Needs more music, less talking. C+

Lights Out for Red Light Cameras

Richardson's red light camera program hit a roadblock in June when a Dallas County district court judge sided with a plaintiff who sued the city over the program (case DC-15-00289 in the 134th District Court).

According to one account, the judge "shut down the city's renegade photo enforcement system over several flagrant violations of state law." According to another interpretation (see William J. McCalpin's comments), "The City's problem is that it relied on the State passing laws that were constitutional, and the judge evidently believes that Texas' statutes ( Chapter 707 of the Texas Transportation Code and provisions contained therein, and Section 29.003(g) of the Texas Government Code ) were not constitutional."

I'm not going to try to settle this difference of legal opinion myself. I'm more interested in another aspect of all this.

OTBR: A Split-Log Boardwalk in Finland

Latitude: N 61° 53.826
Longitude: E 023° 12.408

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Review: American Sphinx

Amazon

From American Sphinx, by Joseph J. Ellis:

Soon after his death in 1826 Jefferson became a touchstone for wildly divergent political movements that continued to compete for his name and the claim on his legacy. Southern secessionists cited him on behalf of states' rights; northern abolitionists quoted his words in the Declaration of Independence against slavery."

Thomas Jefferson has always been my favorite of the Founding Fathers. But after reading this twenty year old biography by Joseph J. Ellis, I have to concede, no more.

After the jump, my review.

A Family Celebration

We visited family in Appleton the week before the Fourth of July. A good time was had by all.

More photos after the jump.

Repeat Tweets: Karma is a Bitch

Repeat tweets from June, 2016:

• Jun 1 2016: Headline: "Ken Starr has resigned." Made name investigating sex in Oval Office. Failed to investigate rapes at Baylor. Karma is a bitch.
• Jun 3 2016: RT @SenTedCruz: "@CFPB's proposed rule will put added strain on low-income families and workers struggling to access loans." @SenTedCruz defends payday lenders and their predatory lending practices.
• Jun 3 2016: RT @roddreher: "The Left has played its part in the rise of Trump and his identity politics." Passive Trump supporter @roddreher edges closer to a public endorsement.
• Jun 6 2016: Headline: "NFL player Aqib Talib reportedly shot at Dallas strip club." Berkner grad. It's a sad time to be a Ram.

After the jump, more repeat tweets.