Fwd: Swim and Explore Beautiful Places

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Borut Strel (Swimming Adventures) <info@strelswimming.com>
Date: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 at 9:23 AM
Subject: Swim and Explore Beautiful Places
To: "Borut Strel (Swimming Adventures)" <borut@strelswimming.com>


Hello,



Summer is here and I believe you would like to go somewhere and have
some adventure.

If you enjoy swimming outdoors and are ready to experience something
different, we have a great trip for you. Our professionally organised
swimming tours offer unique swimming and cultural experiences at
stunning locations. We make sure that you swim safe and experienced
local guides look after you. All you need is a passion for the open
water and we will do the rest! Non-swimmers are warmly welcomed and
please contact us for their discount.



We are currently running 4 day swimming tours at Slovenian Lakes and
River (July-August), 5 and 7 day tours at Dalmatian Coast in Croatia
(June-July-August) and 4 day tours at Lake Powell in Arizona
(September).



Current water temperatures on our swimming locations are very warm!
Slovenian Lakes (Lake Bled 22C, Lake Bohinj 20C), Dalmatian Coast in
Croatia 22C and Lake Powell, Arizona 75F/24C.



Here are some of the photos and videos from our last year season.

Slovenia Album 1, Slovenia Album 2, Croatia Islands, Lake Powell (new
this year), Video Clips and Testimonials.

Should you have any questions, feel free to contact us. We work 7 days
a week all the way to October.
Look forward to seeing you in the water!



Best regards, Borut



Strel Swimming Adventures

+44 77 0006 1236

+1 310 928 3224

info@strelswimming.com

www.strel-swimming.com

Have fun out west to Geri Ann, John, Laurel Ann and Hellen

 My sister and her family is headed out west today. They fly into Las Vegas and tour around to many of the sites we visited last year. Have a great time. Back then, Grant, shown in photo, was about the same height as Catherine. 

In other news, Geri Ann's crew might be able to team up with cousin Linda's family from Florida. They'll both be in the same spot for part of the trip. 

Everyone needs to be safe with all the summer travels. 

Sit your ass down Pittsburgh

10-10 - One Day On Earth Music Video

One Day on Earth the music video - by Cut Chemist from One Day on Earth on Vimeo.

Click, click, click......

Created by: Masters Degree

Grant outside the Navy Academy Swim Pool

We went to Ohio for water polo tournament

Public Transit and Private Investments - Dan Sullivan's mentions

Brian O'Neil of the P-G wrote about a Libertarian friend, Dan Sullivan:

Though hard to believe, private transit was worse
Sunday, March 27, 2011
By Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If ever you get to thinking an idea is new or will solve all problems, read some history.

Take public transit. (And take it quick, before your route is axed.)

Why not privatize it? The very word evokes a cleanup, like Simonizing the car or deodorizing your armpits.

But Pittsburgh had private bus service for a very long time. Only old-timers would remember the almost annual fare hikes in the 1950s, and fewer still would know that the Pittsburgh Railways Co. spent much of the first part of the 20th century in and out of bankruptcy proceedings.

Allegheny County's Port Authority took over Pittsburgh Railways and other transit lines, each with its own fare structure and no transfer privileges, in 1964 -- when these private carriers were circling the drain.

Dan Sullivan, 61, is an Oakland resident who rode the private trolleys as a kid and has been poking the powers on Grant Street for most of his adult life. But he isn't nostalgic for private lines.

A student of local history, Mr. Sullivan reminded me that Christopher L. Magee, Pittsburgh's 19th-century political boss, became nationally famous by artfully ripping off this city through the streetcar lines he owned.

Lincoln Steffens, the great muckraker, outlined that history in 1903 in "Pittsburg: A City Ashamed.'' (So many people were stealing from the city then that someone evidently absconded with Pittsburgh's "h''.)

Pittsburgh long has been allergic to a genuine two-party system, so a Republican machine ran the city then. Mr. Magee, a charming rogue in partnership with the harder-edged William Flinn, ruled all but absolutely.

"The city has been described physically as 'hell with the lid off,' '' Mr. Steffens wrote in McClure's magazine in May 1903. "Politically it is the same with the lid on.

"Magee wanted power, Flinn wealth. Each got both those things; but Magee spent his wealth for more power, and Flinn spent his power for more wealth.''

Rail, specifically the Pennsylvania Railroad, was king then. In Pittsburgh and in Harrisburg, its lobbyists distributed railroad passes to politicians. (Until Super Bowl tickets were invented, lobbyists had to make do.)

Rail barons became so adept at seizing land through eminent domain, Mr. Sullivan says, that America gained a new verb, "to railroad,'' meaning to rush something through. But the Magee-Flinn machine was too canny to just give plums away. The bosses kept the lion's share for themselves and the two men made ridiculous money.

"Magee did not steal franchises and sell them. His councils gave them to him. He and the busy Flinn took them, built railways which Magee sold and bought and financed and conducted, like any other man whose successful career is held up as an example for young men.''

Mr. Magee's Consolidated Traction Company was capitalized at $30 million at a time when the city's public debt was $18 million, Mr. Steffens wrote. Yet Pittsburghers not only tolerated this legal graft for a quarter century, they revered Mr. Magee. When he died in 1901, they began pitching in for his monument.

His memorial stands near the Carnegie Library in Oakland. Dedicated in 1908, when it attracted a crowd of 2,000 people, this bronze-and-granite tribute to Christopher Lyman Magee was one of the final works of the great sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Magee-Womens, the hospital Mr. Magee founded in honor of his mother, stands at the site of one of his old railway administration buildings.

There is a Citiparks swim pool also called Magee.

Mr. Sullivan's website, http://www.savingcommunities.org, has a long section under the heading "Private Railroads and Plunder.'' He believes "forward-thinking plunderers are recognizing that the era of the automobile is coming to an end, and want to get their transit back.''

I don't buy predictions of the car's demise, nor of any wholesale switch from public to private transit. But it's clear the Port Authority can't continue as a vital way to get around without a massive overhaul.

On Friday, the head of the transit union offered the equivalent of 13 percent in wage givebacks (with some of that diverted to the pension fund). The Port Authority board rejected that offer and decided Saturday to move ahead with the route cutbacks that take effect today.

And there's no talk of building any monuments to anyone.

He refers to Dan's website. The pertinent link is:

http://www.savingcommunities.org/issues/transportation/railroadplunder.html

This is what I will touch on at the conference in Minnesota, where several transit experts will speak on funding transit through land value capture.

http://www.cgocouncil.org/conf11.htm

Dan's Note: Our objection to privatized transit is that it consists of licensed monopolies. Truly private enterprise is either unlicensed or based on open licenses to all who can meet safety standards.


Harold wrote: I wish Brian had explained the basis of Magee's "legal graft" - one assumes it was through city and borough councils giving him bankrupted trolley and bus lines for free, rather than making him and Flinn pay the market price through a public auction, but it'd be nice to know for sure.

Navigate to this link: http://www.savingcommunities.org/issues/transportation/railroadplunder.html

The end point from Dan on the page above says: If public transportation is to function properly, it must be placed completely under public control and funded from the land values it creates. 

I support the "Land Value Tax."

But to the point of public transit, I also think that the PAT, an AUTHORITY, is wrong on a number of critical matters. First off, I don't think any authority is really under public control. The board members are appointed and are not accountable to the voters. I would love to see authority board members face 'retention votes' so that they must pass a layer of public review at the ballot box to retain their appointed positions. Last week I squeaked about this to Chelsa Wagner.

Furthermore, the public authority is too big and itself a monopoly. If we must have public transportation, allow for a bit of competition among the public entities. For example, PAT should be split into a bus company, a rail / light rail company, and then a tunnel and bridge and busway company. The third would be a physical asset company, more like a PAT Pike.

If PAT's busway, or PAT Pike, was a stand alone company, then I am sure that we'd have bikes on the East Busway and through the tunnel under Mt. Washington. I'm sure that we'd have the Presidential motorcade hit the busway for mid-day trips into and out of the city without jamming the Parkway West for a full day. And, I'm sure that the operation and maintenance of the tunnel under the river would not be seen as a wise investment as each rider would have to pay far more than $20 a trip. Plus, we'd get real transit hubs with small business development that made sense -- far beyond a few park and ride stations.

Zodiac issues? Try to decode this:

From

Photo taken of this 'plate' in one of our visits to China. It was in a resale / art market. I think it has to do with the Zodiac there. Who can decode it?

National Opt Out Day at the Airports

Rugby!

Folks, enjoy this year's NFL while you can as the league is going to take a year-long vacation next year. There will be a labor and ownership problem. The games will not be played. That's a dark outlook, but it has been brewing and may come to pass.

With this in mind, it is a great time to get into world rugby action.

On Saturday there is a game on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. This is called a 'Test Match.' South Africa visits Scottland. Who is going to win? Place your vote in the poll on the left side of the blog.

Vote today.

Next year the rugby will be better understood if you get into it this year. And next year is a world championship rugby tournament.

Folks will fall in love with international rugby, if you give it a chance.

African Cam

Since our trip to Africa has ended, we've been hungry for more sounds, more sights, more stimulation. This URL goes to an internet camera set up at an African watering hole. It makes a great sound machine.

http://www.africam.com/wildlife/index.php

The audio experience in Africa, even outside our hotel room in Cape Town, was fantastic. The bird sounds are everywhere and quite different.

Grant did survive the charge from this hippo

We (Catherine, Grant, Mark, Erik) are standing for a photo in front of a hippo at a water hole in South Africa. A few minutes later, Grant would be standing at the water's edge and be scared out of his shoes and need to outrun a hippo charge.

Yep. That's our story and we're going with it.

More people die each year by hippo attacks in Africa than all the other animals combined. Go figure.

Thanks to Dave, a fellow traveler, for the photo. Images and story of the brush with the leopard and Grant should be posted soon. Stay tuned.

Yep, We saw some animals in our trip to South Africa.

We've been doing some traveling...

That's me with the camel back (filled with water) as we hiked out into the bush of South Africa on foot, single file, behind the guide / ranger who was armed with a rifle.

David Batzofin of Joberg was with us at Idube, part of the Sabi Sands section in central South Africa. Sabi Sands is connected to Kruger National Park in terms of how the animals walk. David is a great travel companion and he had a great camera with us on the walk and in the Landrover. He was on assignment as a travel photographer and journalist. See his blog at http://davidbatzofin.blogspot.com.

Blogging about Idube: http://davidbatzofin.blogspot.com/2010/11/idube-game-reserve.html

The Eagle: Around the World to Korea

.
Written by Anna Vitti

This August, Erik Rauterkus, Tobias Raether and C.J.Abenes took a memorable trip across the globe to Korea for two weeks with a program called C.I.E.F. The U.S. students stayed on the Yonsei University campus. The trip entailed the introduction of Korean culture to a number of United States students. When asked why they wanted to go in the first place, Erik noted that he really wanted the cultural experience and went to “broaden my horizons.” The students all found out about the program in different ways. Tobias’ mother was a local coordinator of the program. C.J. found an ad on the internet and checked it out. Tobias pointed to the fun of being in Korea with a group of fellow American students really liked visiting Seoul and experiencing the city."

Port Authority hopes to bring rapid bus transit to East End

Rapid Bus could be supported only if it is a non-exclusive route in that bikes are also permitted and encouraged to ride along all the bus ways.

Port Authority hopes to bring rapid bus transit to East End: "Panelists at the forum cited obstacles, including narrow rights of way and the need to preserve on-street parking for retail businesses, that could restrict the development of bus-only lanes."

We need to begin not with Rapid Bus. But with PAT's full support of bikes along existing bus routes. We should allow bikes along the bus lane through Oakland. We should allow bikes to travel through the Wabash Tunnel, the Light Rail Tunnel to the South Hills and along the East Busway.

Then, once bikes have been managed to co-exist with the buses, then we can talk about Rapid Bus support.

A bike can get out of the way of the bus. A toot of the horn and pull over.

We can set up special classes and a special culture for bike travel along the bus routes. No headphones perhaps. Certain speeds perhaps. We can make it work.

Typhoon Kompasu hits South Korea

Typhoon Kompasu hits South Korea: "Typhoon Kompasu made landfall in northern South Korea early Thursday, leaving two dead and causing the worst disruption to power and transport networks in the capital for a decade, a report said.


Winds of over 100 km per hour knocked down trees and utility poles and blew out windows across Seoul, as the centre of the storm passed 80 km to the north of the capital after making landfall at 6.35 a.m. (2135 GMT Wednesday) on the west coast."

Getting To Pgh Obama High School

Some PAT Bus Route Links:

The 75 Bus Route, Ellsworth, goes to and from Pgh Obama and the South Side Works via the Birmingham Bridge.

http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/apps/pdfs/tdp/75.pdf

The 74 goes to Squirrel Hill and Homewood.

http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/apps/pdfs/tdp/74.pdf


The 81B also goes downtown after serving Bakery Square

The 77B (soon to be 77), 86 and 88 also are PAT buses in the area.
The rerouted 71C will visit Pgh Obama too: http://www.portauthority.org/paac/apps/maps/tdp/71C.pdf

We got a convoy -- to IUP for Saturday AM

Thanks to some gracious parents and ambitions on the part of the kids, swimmers and water polo players, it looks like our convoy of cars will wiggle out of Pittsburgh from many different locations and pass the road construction in the east and south -- and have ourselves a few water polo games at IUP on Saturday vs. the N.J. Prep School.

Thanks folks.

I think our team is set with only a few loose ends.

If you need a ride, speak up or get one!