Margin Notes: Will Power, Oil, Blog, Ferry

Will Power approached the start-finish line during a testing session in Toronto, Ontario on 16-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - It turns out that I took only one picture of the car that would win Honda Indy Toronto--Will Power's #12, sponsored by Verizon. (What was I thinking? The guy was the points leader!) It's been said many times, but Will Power has to be one of the all-time great race driver names, right up there with Lake Speed.

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The Indy race was a nice distraction from real news in the world, much of which centers on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Is anyone else amused by the fact that the local accent there makes the word "oil" sound a lot more like "Earl" to my ears? I'd hate to have that name and be living in that region right now; everyone would be watching for me, wanting to clean me up, and despairing that my peak had probably passed.

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I was questioning my own hearing at another point earlier this week, as a story on the radio started talking about "vets." As I pictured military veterans, it seemed to make no sense in the context of the story. Was I losing my hearing? No, the story was just talking about veterinarians.

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That story proved to be graphic enough that it almost needed censoring. One thing I learned in my recent travels is that if you are reading this, it's not in a public library. Libraries across the United States censor pretty much every low-traffic blog, including this one. Yet, high-traffic ones with sexual allusions and swearing (yes, I mean you Blatherwatch) are not censored. I'd love to figure out that algorithm. I think there's a real free-speech issue there--the little guys can't have their say to the whole public.

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One of the libraries that censors this blog is the one in Kennewick, Washington. The city of Kennewick had a moment of pride this week when Washington State Ferries announced that the third of the new 64-car Kwa-di Tabil class ferries will be named the "Kennewick." The second will be named "Salish" and the first, of course, now in sea trials, is the "Chetzemoka." Hopefully, this completes the class of boats which have been nicknamed "Tub Toys" and the next ferry to be built will be a more generally useful 144-car model.