Time has come for a 3rd party in the US which evloves with times.

I rarely venture into political blogs.

Why do I think we need a 3rd party?

1. Our US primaries with the 2 parties have exposed the weakness in the way we choose candidates for the President.

The system of delegates, caucuses, primaries starting in a small state and ending in a large state may have made sense before we had telecommunications, mass media, internet. Our country was way too big to even think of elections one one day. However, when we had the infrastructure to hold nation wide elections in November, we also had the infrastructure to do the same for primaries nation wide in 1 day. That way, no single state would dominate because all the voters can vote and vote for any candidate in any party. No need for closed primaries. The candidate with the largest votes in each party goes to the November election. Again, all the voters can vote as long as each voter votes only 1 candidate.

2. For a long time we had essentially 2 parties with one working for the poor and working class and one working for the rich and the rich corporations and businesses. As a result we often have grid-lock and nothing gets done.

There are no real winners.

Our medical care is the most expensive among the developed nations and yet not all the people are covered.

We have the worst public transit system in the developed world.

Our tax structure is too complicated. It should not be about taxing the rich to pay for the poor. It should be about a level playing field for all citizens and corporations.

All the citizens must have the same quality of medical care. Take a page of the airline pricing system. Regardless of economy, business or first class, every sits in the same plane and take same time to reach the destination on a given flight. Those who can pay more may have bigger bed or a suite with a fancy bathroom and fancy food. All get the same medical care.

The US corporations should not have to go abroad just for lower taxes, We should compete and take away the need for them to go abroad just for taxes.

We need reciprocal trade. If our goods and services are taxed at a higher rate by other countries compared to the goods and services produced locally, we tax them the same way. If a country subsidizes their goods and services for export, we do not buy from them.

We are not the police for the world.

We have no business telling other countries that our way of freedom is right for everyone.

We have no business in allowing our citizens to promote their religious beliefs and try to convert poor people into their religion. Religious freedom is within our country. Atheists may be offended by the idea of one nation under God. We need the idea of one national for all the citizens. All citizens need to pledge allegiance to the nation and the flag or leave the country. De-couple religion from the country. No single religion should be favored by the constitution. Citizens should be free to choose a religion or no religion.

All this is easier said than done of course. But it sure will not happen with the existing 2 parties and without amending the constitution.

I do not believe that the founding fathers meant our constitution to stagnate.

It is about time for a truly "progressive" party which progresses and evolves not only the party but our constitution and the processes to ensure real liberty and equality  for all the citizens and businesses.
 

Paris Apr 4 to 8 2016. Europe series part 8 of 8.

This is the last of the Europe series blogs.

We drove from Reims to Epernay in the Champagne region of France to an apartment 5 min from Notre Dame on Saint Germain. It took little over 2hrs of easy drive. I could have parked in front of the apartment if the car was a bit smaller than the Opel Insignia.

Next time, I will look into 25 euro per day parking multiple entry in 9 parking garages in Paris for 4 days. Sure it is more expensive than metro but if you have 4 people, it may be cheaper than a taxi perhaps without having to look around.
http://www.parkingsdeparis.com/EN/multi-park-parking-pass.php

We bought 10 metro tickets for 14 euro. Each ticket bought separately costs 1.8 euro. Good till use dup I guess because we used the tickets over 4 days. We used up all the tickets. We had 6 day Paris Museum pass we used in Versailles, Louvre, Orsay. We had a reservation to go to the summit of Eiffel Tower at 8pm to see the view before and after sunset. We saw Louvre and D'Orsay using Rick Steve's audio guide. No waiting anywhere. We bought for 50 euro 3 day batobus pass to cover a boat and hop 4 routes on hop on hop off bus. Took just 1hr to see D'Orsay museum. Could have spent 2hrs if we had time.

http://www.batobus.com/en/paris-a-la-carte-pass.html

We did go all 4 routes without getting off anywhere and just 1 ride on the boat. There are other choices I would consider next time. The frequency off the bus was not enough. We wasted too much time waiting. Also, compared to other buses, this one ends too soon in the evening at 7pm.

We went to the nearby Franprix and Carrfour supermarkets for food shopping.
We walked to Luxemburg gardens and Montparnase tower, Notre Dame.

Here are the photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/zGd3Z3A4pG3ygEbF8
https://goo.gl/photos/nXiue8XrTt8qo5rk7
https://goo.gl/photos/qc7LXk1pMMJMPVcT9
https://goo.gl/photos/fwNBXeCQTMbr8Grp8
https://goo.gl/photos/A3yHiDfdfEppVvVM6
https://goo.gl/photos/s7pWo7xVPXLXMsa37

Reims and Epernay Champagne region, France. Europe visit series part 7.

Left Versailles at about 3pm on Apr 4th and reached Reims in less than 3hrs. It was a very easy drive. Parking was right in front of the apartment and it was big enough for Opel Insignia car. It was free on weekend and 1 euro per hr after 9am. We stayed at a nice 1 bedroom apartment close to the city center.

That evening we walked to a nearby carrfour city supermarket and got milk, coffee and breakfast supplies. The next morning we visited the cathedral and later Pommery.

Our host took trouble to make a reservation to visit Pommery which is a producer of Champagne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pommery

http://www.champagnepommery.com/en/

http://pommery.tickeasy.com/Information.aspx

We then drove through Epernay Wine country to Paris for a 4 night visit. That will be the next blog.

Here are the photos:

https://goo.gl/photos/c2fcjhW75V9o3NHh9

US T Mobile worked great in Denmark, Norway, Italy and France. Europe visit series part 6,

I used Android phone set to use Google Voice for all calls.
In all cases I used Google navigation to find public transport and walking, driving and even Uber. In most cases 3G data was good enough for navigation, email, whatsapp. At least 70% of the time it was good enough for phone calls. Calls to US were free. Calls to other numbers were 1cent to 8 cents per minute. Text messages worked great. Airbnb worked great. When I was at Wifi, calls were like local landline calls because Wifi was 1 to 3 MBps down and 0.2 to 1Mbps up.

I used the phone in
Copenhagen - Denmark
Oslo - Norway
Rome, Rome to Sorento - Italy including driving
Paris, Versailles, Reims (Champagne area) - France including driving

We had no charges at all for data or text. Even though we set the phones to use Google voice for all calls and when we called the call seemed to have gone through google, the incoming calls went on the voice network and for 17 days, we paid total $97 extra at 20 cents a minute. Not bad at all. Even better. I asked T Mobile about this charge and they gave me full credit for the extra $97.

Folks, if you have Google voice:

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/voice/crhtHN-rUhU

Google voice is NOT supported outside the US.

Google voice only uses the tiniest amount of data during a call to do some stuff.

The call itself actually goes through your phone network. 

Hangouts does work over the internet to make calls.

Alternately, use Whatsapp or skype over data network. Of course, this may all change in future and international roaming for calls may be included.

I am surely impressed by the T Mobile service while in Europe and even when I asked them about the charge. Time for other carriers to follow T Mobile.

Versailles. Apr 3 2016. Europe visit series Part 5.

Our flight landed in Paris CDG from Rome at 7pm. On hind sight we should looked for flights landing at Orly which is closer to Versailles and the city as well. We rented a car which was a bit smaller than Toyota Camry and bigger than Toyota corolla called Opel Insignia. We left CDG at 8:15 and reached the apartment we rented about 5 min drive from the Palace gate.

We parked right in front of the gate for 20 euro at 9am when they opened. We used the Paris pass and were inside by 9:15am. Rick Steve's audio self guided audio tour was more than enough to see the palace in 90min. They had water fountain in the gardens behind the palace and just for that they charged a fee of about 12 euro. The water fountain was nothing compared to the Trevi fountain in the US but when the fountain is running you have to pay to see the gardens. That was rip off 1. They had golf carts to rent but then you have to walk 25min to get there. You could also park behind the palace and rent the cart which was another 30 euro for just 1hr. They had a tram to take people one way from the back to the front for 4 euro each. On hind sight, I should have parked in the back and seen the gardens first and taken the tram back when we were tired. The 4th rip off (after expensive parking in the front, paying to see the pathetic fountains, golf cart, tram was 3 euro for water. This is not a 3rd world country or an island like Bahamas where water is sold. When you compare it to the facilities we get in the US national parks like Yosemite once we pay the entrance fee, it was a surprise. Not really friendly for the disabled. No wonder we hardly see wheel chairs in Paris and even Rome.

Palace was nice. In the back was Marie Antonette's estate which was interesting. We were done with the visit by 2pm. Total 5hrs.

https://goo.gl/photos/buuQJovZNQheBxMP7

Recommendation:

We rented the car because we also drove to Champagne wine country and we had a heavy checkin bag. Otherwise train is convenient to go to Versailles.

I suggest parking in the back or take a taxi to the back if you take the train. See Marie Antinette's estate first, walk through the gardens, see the palace, coming back is downhill and easy to walk.  Skip the golf cart. They also rent bikes. I would try that if all the people in your party like to bike. 4hrs is plenty. Carry water and even lunch. Not much of lunch choice there and ridiculously expensive.

Rome. Europe visit series Part 4.

We were in Rome at 1 bedroom apartment rented using Airbnb within 5min walk to Trevi Fountain. We had Roma Pass which allowed free access to 2 of the attractions and unlimited access to Metro for the 4 days we were there. We bought Roma pass at Rome airport in the visitor center. The metro bus was all we used in Rome. Google nav worked great for the metro and walking.

On day 1, we visited Vatican which is not covered by Roma Pass. We reserved a time slot at 11:30am. No lines. However, we did not really see many people in the line. Even though we had an appointment, there was no guide. We could hire a private guide, rent the audio guide or walk around. We rented the audio guide. There was no real guided audio tour. You just go to each area, look a number and choose the number on the machine to hear about that area. Not really effective. The layout of the museum takes people through ridiculously long corridors on 3 floors. Hardly any windows and lot of crowds. If there are elevators, we could not find them. After 2hrs we walked out to the Baslica and then into the cathedral. That was so much nicer and well worth seeing. Weather in high 60s was great. Perhaps we should have gone with a tour guide.

That evening we walked to Trevi fountain. It was very impressive but so crowded. Took some photos and spent perhaps 30min during the day and 30min at night with the lights.

https://goo.gl/photos/chPgsQjEz3igwPrj8

Our first use of Roma Pass was to see the Colloseum. We found an excellent guide to see the Colloseum without standing in the line. It was a great tour for about 90 min and later to Palatine hill for 1 hr tour. Well worth it.

https://goo.gl/photos/yDDx1Mqd6KKWg3Xm6

That evening we walked to Spanish steps which is like many Plazas in Rome where people hangout particularly in the evenings. If you are inclined to walk about a bunch of steps, try going down the steps and walk back on gentle slope of the streets.

https://goo.gl/photos/XksoEZZtcD73JCCN6

The next day we did a self guided tour of the Forum next to Colloseum and then visited Piazza Navona (OK if you don't see it) and the Pantheon (surely worth seeing). Rick Steve's audio guide was good enough.

We ended our visit to Rome with a walk in the gardens of Villa Borghese but could not go to the museum because appointment was difficult to get.

Visit to Ruins in Italy Ostia-Antica near Rome airport, Pompei and Herculaneum near Naples. Europe visit series- Part 3.

This was our first ever visit to Italy. We stayed at a bed and breakfast close to the Rome airport. We were picked up by retired couple running the place and taken to a very nice Italian home. We were treated like family. Even though it was 10pm by the time we were home, they not only let us use the family kitchen but actually heated what we had and brought to the dining table. The next morning, they took us to the airport for us to rent a car, get some cash at the ATM and allowed us to come back with the rental car to pick up our bags even though they had a family lunch planned.

The rental car was a Puegot 308. It was a very short 10 min drive to Ostia-Antica. Parking was free and we used Rick Steve's audio guide and had a fantastic visit. Driving was very easy because they drive on the right as in the US and police do not bother to issue tickets. Yet I did not face any crazy drivers. Traffic was moving just fine. We rented another apartment in Masa Lubrense just past Sorento along the coast. Once we drove past Naples, the road was narrow and I wished that I had a smaller car. Parking was a challenge on a small street. More than that, we had to walk for 3 minutes on a 1 foot shoulder while traffic was zipping by and go down 2 flights of stairs into the apartment. The view was fantastic but parking and taking bags into the apartment was an adventure. If I did more homework, I would not have picked that place.

The next morning we drove to Sorento harbor, parked there and took a ferry to Naples and spent a day there including lunch at a famous Pizza place called L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele which serves just 2 kinds of thin pizza. We were lucky and got seated right away at 11:30am. It took 45min to get Pizza Margherita but it was just 6 euro each and fantastic. One was probably enough for 2 people. This was where Julia Roberts was shown eating in the movie Eat, Pray Love. I did not know that until I got there. This place was more than 100 yrs old in the same family. My wife was impressed that they have Michelin rating.

We then visited the Naples National Archeological Museum which was opened in 1750 and had exhibits from Pompei and Herculaneum dating back to 0050.

I did not drive in Naples but it is easier to drive in Naples than in Sorento for sure. Parking may be a challenge but there were paid parking lots.

We took the ferry back to Sorento and the next day drove to a Pompei and found a huge Carrfour supermarket where we stocked up, left the car in the parkign lot and walked 10 minutes to the ruins. We saw a long line but an excellent guide met us and we skipped the line and had a fabulous tour for 2hrs. I highly recommend a guide. We then drove to Herculaneum and arrived there just 2 minutes before they closed the ticket counter. We joined a tour group and had an excellent 90 min tour.

When we left for Rome at about 5:30pm, it was Tuesday after the Easter Monday and apparently a holiday too. The Google nav guided us off the freeway on another route which was not bad at all. We arrived at the airport around 9:30pm, took a taxi and were in a great apartment which was 5 min walk from Trevi fountain. That would be the next blog folks.

Photos:
https://goo.gl/photos/Kn5ReYwaZPcKBAgG9

4hrs in Oslo Mar 26th. Europe visit series Part 2.

Oslo was much cooler than Copenhagen the day earlier. Flight landed at 9:30am from Copenhagen. Flight to Rome was at 5:30pm. So, we decided to spend the time in the city. It was very easy to take the train from airport to the city. We were in the city by 11am.

Very small city. Temp was close to 40F. Other than the usual downtown eating places and few shops open, the only thing worth seeing is the Opera House an interesting building and Nobel Peace Center. There is Royal Palace but all you do walk up a little hill and see the palace from outside. No tours. We cut short our visit and came back to the train station at 2:30pm.

One more thing. 2 individual thin Pizzas for lunch in the airport cost $25. Also, no water fountains and SAS gives you just 4oz of water for free and offer to sell you a bottle for 3 euro. Reminded me of Bahamas.

https://goo.gl/photos/TWJ7DVdwecTYpXTs7

I would not bother to go to Oslo again.

Good to read this before renting AirBnb property outside US. Absolutely no standards set by AirBnb. Free for all "hosts".

Here is my opinion after renting 9 different properties 2 in Denmark, 4 in Italy, 3 in France.

1. Only 2 of the properties were pure rentals not occupied by the owner as primary residence. In the US, I rented often using VRBO in California and ALL the properties were vacation homes where the owner may have few closets and perhaps 1 bedroom reserved and locked.

2. When they list a kitchen, they may not even have a microwave oven. That happened in 2 of the properties. In very few cases there were coffee supplies. If they listed that a grocery was nearby, there were no directions. Too much time wasted by each guest to re-invent the wheel.

3. In one case, when I booked an entire apartment, I was received at the airport and taken to a Bed and Breakfast place without any kitchen. Too late to make a change and did not even bother to contact AirBnb.

4. In one of the cases in France a property was listed as 5 min away from a major attraction. In Europe you assume the 5 min is walking time. Wrong. It was driving time. I would not have rented if I knew this.

5. None of the properties had a clothes dryer and they advertised as such. Our only option was to increase the heat and let the clothes dry on hangers near the radiator or on chairs and such because the nearest laundromat was just not convenient.

6. When they advertised an elevator, it was barely enough for 1 person and 1 checkin bag.

7. When they say parking was nearby, it was paid parking. They did not say where exactly the parking was, if it is paid, how to pay for it and how much it costs.

8. Not even in 1 case I had simple instructions in English to operate the appliances in the kitchen, the TV, the clothes washer or even the shower in the bathroom.

9. In the kitchen, often we found an induction electric stove where you need a special flat cookware which we did not have. The cookware they had was not necessarily non-stick and there was no scrubbing pad. I had to look hard to find what looked like clorox powder and a kitchen towel to scrub it.

10. Not in one case were clear checkin or checkout instructions about what was available to use and what was expected when we checkout.


I can go on. You get the idea?

What can AirBnb do?

1. Add filters in search such as:
    a. Is the unit mostly occupied by the host?

If so, AirBnb needs to inform the host that prior to rental, they must remove their personal things enough so that the guest has enough space in the refrigerator and closets as a minimum. If they leave something in the refrigerator they must have a note if any of it can be used such as water, butter, milk, bread.

I personally will not even rent a place unless it is vacation home with an empty kitchen and perhaps 1 bedroom and 1 closet reserved for host.

    b. Filter for specific appliances including the type in kitchen.

I would not have rented if there was no microwave oven, regular non-induction cooktop and non-stick cookware.

    c. Is it a unit rented by the host or owned?

I think many hosts are illegally listing their properties as AirBnb without the consent of the landlord. I will not rent unless the landlord permits it.

    d. Is there a checkin list with instructions in english?

Thanks to Google Translate for other languages. If the answer is no, I would ask the host for it before even renting. I wasted too much time trying to figure out how to use the kitchen, clothes washer and where to put trash. Too many messages with the host for these things. Not my idea of vacation.

    e. If they list parking, the size of the car which fits there.

In almost all the cases, my car would not fit and it was the size of Toyota RAV 4 or a Corolla.

2. Qualify properties before allowing a listing.

Looks like it is totally open ended with no screening by AirBnb. AirBnb can charge a small premium for such properties.

3. AirBnb MUST ask the hosts for better photographs.

Showing entrance to the property, parking space if any, all the appliances, space available in the closets, refrigerator, what is available for guests to use (Soap, Shampoo, towels, extra pillows, blankets,  supplies in the Kitchen such as oil, salt, pepper, cooking utensils, cups, plates). In other words full disclosure.

Having said all this, I like the idea of AirBnb as long as it is not misused by renters to lower their cost instead of having a room mate or to make quick extra bucks.

First visit to Copenhagen. Europe visit series.Part 1

We spent 2 nights in Copenhagen on the way to Rome and back on Scandinavian airlines from San Francisco.

I bought online 2 1 day passes on Metro system which was emailed to me as well as a text message to show it as proof along with phone. Flight arrived at 1:20pm.  We were at the metro about 30min after the flight arrived. The metro is in the airport just as in San Francisco or Washington National and other US airports. We were told that there is only 1 metro and it goes only 1 way and we needed to get off at Femoren which was 2nd stop. There were signs that the Metro was upstairs but a local person assured us that we need to go down and then got on a train. Interesting to note that there was no need to insert a ticket for a gate to open to let you in and then your ticket comes out. It was honor system as if the train was an airport terminal loop in the US. I noticed that 2nd stop was not Femoren. We then found out that there is a train as well as a Metro M1 in the airport. The Metro was actually upstairs above ground level and train was below. We got off at orestad which happened to have a Metro M2.



As you can see from the above map, M2 meets M1 at Christanshavn and we could take M1 back to Femoren. Once we got on M2, I opened Google Maps on my T Mobile phone with free data roaming 3G and found that there is a Metro bus which takes us directly in front of the apartment. So, instead of taking a 2 minute train ride and walking half mile in about 10 minutes, we took 10 minutes total on a train and a Metro and walked for 1 minute. On second thought, there was a bus which is not as frequent but directly from the airport and 5 min walk. So, there are multiple ways. By the way, you can use credit or debit card at the airport on train station to buy tickets and select English language for the display. I suggest buying only 1 ticket at a time because it expires in 1 hour. Not sure how to buy 1 day or 3 day pass on that machine. "Please note that not all ticket types/travel cards are for sale via machines."

Finally, it is easy to use credit or debit cards everywhere and there are ATMs everywhere. I used Fidelity debit card and paid no extra fee or transaction fee and I got the exchange rate as seen on Google.

When in doubt, call them. They speak english.

So, what was Copenhagen like?

On Mar 25th and Apr 9th it was mid 40F. People were friendly. Really small city. Not much to see other than walk around and take a canal cruise. With kids, there is an amusement park called Tivoli Gardens. Don't bother if your kids saw Disneyland but if your destination is Copenhagen and you have kids, may be worth a visit. We did not go there. Canal cruise was 1 hr. You will get an idea of the city. It is so easy for Americans to drive in Copenhagen. Very bike friendly too with bike lanes as well pedestrian lanes to cross the street at traffic lights in the city center in some places. Many people were on bikes with kid carriers, luggage carriers as well which I did not see in Italy or France in a major city.