Ola from sunny Mexico
I am here in San Antonio Tlayacapan with the infamous "she-who-can't-be-named" until January 19th, 2026. Over this 37 day span, we will be staying in three different locations, the second about 100 feet away from the now bloated shores of Mexico's largest lake, Lago Chapala. We just missed substantial rains lifting the water level three feet, taking over shoreline, and unfortunately pushing some residents out of their make-shift homes on what was once dry land. Brilliant sunshine is now in play. I will say that the many egrets and herons display an avian indifference to higher water, patiently perched in their hunt for fish, similar to last year. South-bound feathery migrants are still arriving daily---bright red song birds now making their crimson appearance, along with black-crowned night herons. A colorful permanent resident we enjoy seeing is the social flycatcher (myiozetetes similis), flashing its bright yellow belly through the green tropical leafy branches.
Arriving a couple of days early, I took a cab from the Guadalajara airport to my hotel located in DT Guadalajara, the Hotel Vigo. The driver was the most professional of the three, conservative on the road, with quickly getting me to the hotel through the darkened, then quiet streets of the very populated city (5.8 million) that is Guadalajara. The fare was 460 pesos and I gave him $6.00 American for his tip. I do not recommend the Vigo.
My second cab ride took me to the airport to meet my soon to be arriving companion. My initial plan was to take a cab to the nearby central bus station, about a five-minute drive from where I was standing but the cabbies sitting around said 200 pesos. That wouldn't fly because the fare to the airport was only 400 pesos from that part of the city. Nothing like dishonest, self-serving cabbies but given I didn't want to walk the 20 minutes to the station lugging my two bags, taking a cab directly to the airport the far better option. The gentleman's taxi had no seatbelt and it rattled like the tired tin can it was. This time, late afternoon traffic was simply horrible, no fun for the cabbie slogging through the congested roadways. Finally we arrived, the grumpy, surly cabbie smiling after I gave him a 500 peso note and said "keep it!" Money always makes for a happy cabbie and though he was, minus any doubt an a-hole, the cabbie's life is hard, and how could I not understand his attitude? Of course I do, with all that damn traffic earning him his tip.
The mid-evening third cab ride took us to our apartment in San Antonio Tlayacapan, a distance of about 30 kilometers east of the airport. The driver got on his telephone, holding a lively if irritating conversation. He also unexplainably twice drove on the wrong side of the road but redeeming himself by pulling up directly in front of our required address. The fare was 600 pesos and he got a $10.00 bill for not getting us lost in the dark. Concerning cabbies, I can be forgiving. Everyone else, you just better watch out.
Happy New Year 2026? End of the Year 2025 Taxi Industry Assessment
I could sum it up in one short statement: "the American taxi industry refuses to recognize that it is in last days." Now is that really true, is the USA cab industry doomed to soon disappear? Part of that future depends on whether Waymo and other autonomous self-driving cab companies are successful in convincing the American public they are a viable alternative to human-driven taxicabs and cars. Another part of this is something that have plagued the American taxi industry since my first entry back in September 1987: misplaced priorities, meaning, that when your top priority is making money minus an emphasis on customer service, you are creating a big problem for yourself.
Explaining it in a way that no one misunderstands, the American taxi industry has been myopic, nearsighted, unable to see reality directly what is in front of it. Denial is first and foremost the industry response to any potential challenge facing it. It happened in 2012 with Uber and Lyft and it is occurring now that Waymos are plying American city streets.
What will be industry response to this new threat? Probably nothing whatsoever is what I think is the answer. In my November post I suggested the need for a taxi industry lobbyist to communicate and deliver concerns to government lawmakers. Do I think that will happen? No I don't because I know, not believe, that most of the people in power running taxi associations and companies are dysfunctional. If that wasn't, and isn't the case, Uber would not exist, at least not in the form and stature we see operational today. When you do not know what you are doing, you simply do not know that you are dysfunctional, and that folks, is the end of that bad story. From my past experience working in the psychiatric world, every schizophrenia-afflicted person I met insisted that they were okay, and sane, including my own brother, denial the telltale mark of the crazed and mentally ill. Have I ever considered the taxi industry to be sane? No.
But if there is hope for the industry to survive, I declare that it must collectively admit that it is facing a dire threat, and a threat that is not going away. Waymo, Tesla, Uber and many others are backed by billions of dollars trying to sell the American driving public the mythology that traditional taxi is antiquated and out-of-date. If our voices aren't raised in official protest to all levels of government, we will be run over the same way that ill-fated feline, Kit Kat, was driven over by Waymo in San Francisco--- bloodied and dead. Factually, in real time, that is what is happening while I am writing this warning. What is everyone going to do about it?
Dumbell Seattle: It really isn't funny
Through these pages over the years I have complained about the poor government decision making plaguing Seattle and King County, and how it often impacted taxi operations. Here are two very recent examples illustrating what is a regional problem that will never change, remaining the same until the sun is blotted out two billion years from now. Maybe its in the water but there is a kind of residual mental illness that has collectively shunted rational thinking in Seattle and KC for years. It also shows that Seattle isn't very bright when it comes to thinking clearly even though 70% of the population hold a BA or higher level of education. Perhaps all of them once graduated from one of Donald Trump's bogus universities, with a Minor in Road Rage. Empty, vacuous bragging is another inherent Seattle trait. Would we know if 70% of Seattleites failed their first year of kindergarten? Heavens no!
Exhibit number one: Not repairing the Desimone levee in Tukwila along the Green River. This week (I am writing in mid-December), due to all of the recent rain and flooding rivers, the Desimone levee protecting industrial parts of the greater Tukwila area (south of Seattle) was breached by the Green River. Why is this newsworthy? Because this same levee was weakened by flooding in 2020, something duly noted then, and for the past five years various agencies have been arguing about who was going to do what and pay for the repair. Now look what happens, a big rainfall comes along and vital low lying industrial parks are threatened by the bloated Green River. Dumb! Dow Constantine, you're a bloody idiot.
Exhibit number two: Seattle City Light sells over 30 un-replaceable metal paneled artworks to a scrap metal dealer for $10.00 each. This action is truly mind boggling! In 1935 the Seattle artist, John Elliott (1883-1971) was commissioned by Seattle City Light to create 34 repousse pewter alloy metal panels displaying the evolution of light dating from prehistoric to modern times. In 1958, he added two more, finishing the series. They were all displayed together on a City Light wall for decades. During some remodeling, in September 2024, some very foolish Seattle City Light employee (or employees) sold almost all of these unique and invaluable panels to a scrap metal dealer, as I said, for a mere ten dollars each. Thankfully, the dealer understood what he had, and instead of melting them down, sold them to a private collector for the tidy sum of $12,000, someone who is trying to figure out how to reunite the entire series in a permanent display. What Seattle City Light did was more than dumb, it was criminal.
If anyone, like me, has been following how Seattle/King County has regulated the local taxi industry over the years, you will see parallels. Seattle and King County is in danger of being flooded, inundated not by water but stupidity. No, sandbags will not help. You are in trouble! Better wear your rubber boots! And learn how to swim.
No Go the Waymo
On December 20th, San Francisco experienced a large power outage caused by a power transmission substation fire, knocking out traffic signals over a large swatch of the city. This is when it appears that the Waymo robo-cabs became afraid of the dark, stalling in the streets and causing serious backups. Somehow, with the streets devoid of lighting and traffic signals, the Waymo computers did not know what to do. The safety issues are obvious. Now Wayno says they fixed the problem, with new software downloads. Does anyone believe them? Corporate lies are just like Government lies, designed to deceive and deflect responsibility. Wait for Waymo's response when one of their cars have caused a fatality accident. You can be assured they have one ready to go, knowing full well it will happen. Prepare then for yet another software upgrade. Denial is their crocodile smile, their reptilian style, lying mile by mile.
PS: It is also No Go the Washington Post guest op-ed. I wrote a very literate op-ed piece concerning Waymo and autonomous self-driving cars but it seems it wasn't mundane enough for WA Post editors, which doesn't surprise me. Why feature REAL writing when instead publishing the usual Upper-Middle-Class gibberish passing for acceptable prose an easier option. Anybody can write or say the obvious, insight then more often is rejected as offensive. Why know something when instead you can know nothing! Somehow for most that is appealing but not for me high up in the Crow's Nest scanning the cultural sea, spotting a Waymo tsunami heading our way, flooding taxicab's tranquil bay. Or something like that.
New York Times Expose' Concerning Uber's Driver Background Checks
It is not a very nice story but truly an important one. I recommend everyone reading it or any related news report concerning this. It was published online in December 22nd, 2025. The article is entitled:
"Uber Cleared Violent Felons to Drive. Passengers Accused Them of Rape." Reported by Emily Steel.
Emily Steel has written a followup to her first article. The horror doesn't get any better. Published Dec 29th, 2025:
"Flagged for Sexual Misconduct, Many Uber Drivers Stay on the Road"
Uber is not using fingerprinting in their background checks. In Seattle and King County that is certainly true. Some of this is old news, something I've written about previously. It is clear that Uber is not to be trusted. If you read the articles, check out the many comments. You will find mine there as well. I tried to cut and paste but the New York Times won't let me. I keep saying that Uber is immoral. Read the articles and you will find out why I've said it. Uber is all about the money. Anyone surprised? You shouldn't be.
All Uber wants is your cash
Pay it now, make it fast
But what happens to you Uber doesn't care
When you are trapped in some fool's TNC lair
Doing anything awful they want to you
and
If you are raped, Ha! Uber says, go ahead,
sue!
You know our response,
what we will do!
___________________________________________
I also wrote another comment concerning Steel's second article. Governmental intervention is truly necessary. Uber simply doesn't care what happens to its customers. The two Steel article confirms this minus all doubt. How does Uber justify over 3000 sexual assaults currently under investigation?
Goodbye to a Sea-Tac (Tukwila) Restaurant Favorite
The Pancake Chef, located near Pac Highway (now International Blvd) & South 154th, has closed, after being in operation since 1959. I loved the place, often stopping there for breakfast before dropping off a family member at the airport. Prices were good and the pancakes great. Its atmosphere was the 1950s, eating there a step back in time, adding to one's dining pleasure.
Slowly but surely, old Seattle and area is vanishing off the map. So many of my favorite dining choices have disappeared: The Dog House in Belltown; The Unique Bar & Grill in Belltown; Andys Cafe on Capitol Hill; Ernie Steel's Bar & Grill on Capitol Hill; The Continental (Greek) Restaurant in the University District; Steve's Broiler (24 hour Greek) DT; The Uptown (Greek) First Hill; the original 13 Coins, not the same since it moved to Pioneer Square; and another DT 24 Hour Greek restaurant, the Joker Day and Night. It was there, at 3 and 4 in the morning, where me and my taxi buddy Big Bob would chow town. It was wonderful. Unfortunately the location is now some strange sex shop. Another closed former haunt is the China Pavillon where I often ate at after dropping off at Sea-Tac, located at 148 & Pac Highway in Tukwila, about a half mile north of the Pancake Chef. It was also a frequent cab pickup, their bar a favorite dive for locals. Could you believe that as late as 1990, at Andy's on Broadway East you could still get a full meal with dessert and beverage for $5-7.00? Those were the days! drifting away in memory's haze.
Another bad example of the new Seattle was the dumbbell name change to International Blvd, an overreaction to the Goodwill Games held in1990. Thinking they would somehow match the Olympics, Seattle and King County decided changing the name of that stretch of Highway 99 would serve as a welcome mat to the world. The Goodwill Games themselves were a huge financial failure, and by renaming the road, cost the area who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in signage changes and infrastructure alterations. I did attend a couple of the basketball games. Old Seattle was smarter. This new version not so much.
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