MindBloggingTypos

Okie A/C Project

2011-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do this for a while. It would be nice to have a little A/C in the van while camping...and while driving, for that matter. I've seen some "red neck" A/C systems on the internet made out of a cooler and a fan and wanted to give it a shot.

Sunday was a lazy goof off day, so I took an old cooler, some PVC pipe, a DC fan, and some duct tape out to Tony's. I figured I would putter on that while he worked on the Mustang.

Instead, there was nothing to do on the Mustang- the no amount of buffing can save it -and Tony got involved with my project. So, of course, the design was revised. And eventually, I fell to a support role while he built...and over built. Exhaust tubing instead of PVC. Welds instead of duct tape. Metal frame for the fan - and while we're at it, let's disassemble the fan and take out the oscillation we won't need...

I've seen some basic setups where people put ice in a cooler and blow air in one side of the top and out the other side of the top. That just looks like an ice melting machine to me. I thought it would be more efficient to run tubing through the ice rather than just blowing air air over ice.

That red is just a little paint to keep the welds from rusting, NOT blood in the water.

Anyway - neat idea, but it creates the problem of melting ice turning to water and running out the holes. We attempted to solve this problem with snug fittings and silicone sealer. So far, it is holding water well.

Here it is blowing cold air in to my office.

You can rotate my little PVC bend to direct the air flow. I'm pretty happy with the results for a first attempt. We used stainless, and Tony was thinking aluminum would be easier to work with. I think it would also help transfer the heat better.

I am not thrilled with the efficiency. It feels like a lot of the air that is being moved by the fan is not going in the holes. It might be better to have two fans, one blowing in each hole, or just one hole.

I learned a bunch. I am trying to understand how the air flow works. The fan essentially chops air to move it and it forces air in some interesting directions. Also, it seems to work better if I move the fan out on the shaft and closer to the holes. I did some late night Googling - I had not realized that air is also a "fluid." It follows the same rules of physics - pressure, resistance, path of least resistance and so on. It made me feel like a little kid again, only I didn't have to have my Dad drive me to the library. For now, it works. And I'll keep tinkering.

Strange To Be A Parent These Days...

2010-10-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Our boy is in the middle of his Senior Project. He is turning this old trailer and air compressor tank in to a trailer grill. Our neighbor Tony gave him the idea and the trailer and tank. And this weekend, our new Friend Tony T helped out. I've been helping him as much as I can. But there are some things I just don't know how to do.

Like cutting 45s in angle bar for a cleaner looking finished product. And, you know, welding.

It is really weird to watch my son do something dangerous that I have no idea how to do myself.

Today's weather...

2010-08-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Let's see- a high of 85 and low of 52...perfect. I should golf.

Oh, but the current temperature is...95? I should sit on the couch and watch golf.

I propose and assert...

2010-06-30T00:51:00.000-07:00

...that FaceBook has badly maimed, and possibly killed blogging.

It has at the very least allowed quantity to usurp the throne of quality.

As evidence, I cite not just my own blog, but that of many of my blogger friends who are also on Facebook.

Elise: Last updated February 7, 2010

Cindy: Last updated February 11, 2010

Ted: Well, Ted is the exception that makes the rule. Last updated June 17, 2010. But he had only 2 posts in May, 7 in Arpil, 8 in March, 6 in February, and 18 in January.

Glenn: Well, Glenn gets a pass because is last post on December 29, 2009 was a monster and perhaps should remain forever the last post on that blog. However - I will add that McKenna is still growing up and there are many more sketches in you my talented friend.

Mr. Blue Meme: Last post, October 17, 2009

Rachel: February 20, 2010

Me: Last post April 4, 2010 - and before that, February 17, 2010.

All of these friends and I used to post often. And we used to all put a good deal of effort in to our posts.

And yet all of these friends post on FaceBook with great frequency.

This past weekend, I took dozens of photos with my good camera. I haven't even looked at them yet. In the past, after such a trip, I would have immediately selected the best, resized them, and incorporated them in to an elaborate blog post about how great the Kate Wolf Festival was. About how it was a lot of work, sure, but a lot of fun. And about the great food I cooked that everyone enjoyed. Greek one night, Itallian the next. And how everyone contributed in different ways. And how I always had a great seat because somebody got up early and got our chairs there. And about Bruce and his wonderful daughter and his Hebrew National hotdogs. And naked people. And how I talked about McSweeney's with the editor of The Bohemian and she was really cool. And how the live music in our camp site was often better than the acts on stage. And how I finally got a cow bell. And how I bought a Wavy Gravy Fun Pack to send to Travis, but had a few cocktails and just had to open it to try on the red clown nose. And public showers. And swimming in the river. And how cool it was to hang out with my mother-in-law's friends. And how it was great to get away with Rachel. And thanked Lauren and Paul for giving us some time alone together by watching Jake. And how my dog's dental bill was more expensive than my own. And how much I enjoyed a vegan meal at the City of 10,000 Buddhas. And how I think I got a contact high sitting in the crowd because I could have sworn Wavy Gravy was looking directly in to my soul from back stage while Steve Earle played and he pointed directly at me and said, "You, Eric, shall fill my shoes when I am gone." And how while walking home one night, I wrote part of a little folk song in my head that went:

I've been wandering around a while

On a life sized map of the world

Looking for a little red dot that says...

You are here.

But all I could muster was pushing a couple of photos and updates to FaceBook from my phone. And some great writing will never be written. Well good writing. Well, good writing for me, anyway. And some good readin' will never be read.

And I blame all of this on FaceBook.

Thoughts anyone? Especially my fellow formerly frequent bloggers?

Opening Day Night...

2010-04-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a game. An opening day preview of the ALCS series, and the Red Sox won.

It was miserable, cold, raining, and stormy all day. And the Sox were down 5-1 in the 4th. And I went to cook dinner. And when I went upstairs, I found that it had cleared up. The sun was shining and there was a rainbow out the back deck. So I was able to make what I had intended to make. It was a minor Easter miracle.

Grilled ribeyes, fettuccine alfredo, and a big bunch of vegetables cooked in a wok on the side burner.

Laurie called in the middle of dinner to gloat a bit. I finished dinner, went to the bedroom and grabbed the nice New Era official cap and my team jacket my Dad gave me after they won their first World Series that Fever Pitch year. If they were going to lose, it wasn't going to be because of my lack of team spirit.

I went downstairs, back to the game, and it was a commercial break. And when they returned, I had to blink and look again - tied 7-7 in the 7th.

I literally sweated out the rest of the game because I was NOT taking off that jacket and those suckers are warm.

Neil Diamond sang Sweet Caroline- only thing that would have been better would have been Will Farrell playing Neil Diamond.

And they won. 1 down, 1 win to go to win the various bets I have going with Facebook friends and family. And 1 down 161 to go till the playoffs.

Giants lost, but I am still happy.

The thing about Lost...

2010-02-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Lost makes me feel smart. Like in last night's episode, I noticed that the numbers corresponding to the last remaining "candidates" were Jugo's lottery numbers. OK, hurray for me, but what does that mean? For the first few seasons, whenever something like that happened, Rachel or I would say, "Oh, I get it." But somewhere in the middle of the fifth season, we started following that with, "Wait, what do I get?"

We get nothing. But it FEELS like we do.

It's like this mental spreadsheet that keeps growing in our head and became unmanageable somewhere in the middle of Season 3, but we just keep adding to it because we've got so much effort put in to it already.

Also, I may have mentioned this before here. And it requires an f-bomb. And I have to say it again - I fucking hate time travel. But I am putting up with it.

State of the Union...

2010-01-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

I think I could better understand Republicans' anger at Obama if I was happier with his performance. In my opinion, he hasn't done anything worth their anger or my happiness. Guantanamo is still open, our troops are still in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan, corporations are still making money off of the misery and/or the basic needs of the people, we don't have universal health care, the rich have been bailed out while the rest of us are left treading water, our schools are not improved, our roads and infrastructure are still falling apart, the environment continues to deteriorate, I still don't have anything that runs on solar power, and most of my non-retired family is unemployed.

I didn't expect him to fix all of this in the first year. But one thing would be nice. If any of my lefty friends can point out one good thing he's done, I would love to hear about it. And pardoning that one turkey on Thanksgiving doesn't count.

I know this runs counter to my last post about Obama, but a lot sort of sank in tonight as I watched the address.

And Wow, aside from being sick, I think I have figured out part of why I've been a bit depressed lately. I hope to find some hope again soon.

Anyway, here's the State of the Union 2010 in Wordle. (www.wordle.net)

Historian Howard Zinn Dies At 87

2010-01-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the NPR blurb Howard Zinn

He leaves a massive void, and I wonder who among our generation can fill it. My favorite thing about his writing was his ability to present very emotional events without emotion.

If you haven't read it, put aside what you are reading and get yourself a copy of A People's History Of The United States. Even (maybe especially) if you are a conservative Republican, it is worth the effort.

PS3 First Impressions...

2010-01-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

The system updates look amazing in 1080p.

Shout out to Joe Madden. We finally took the plunge. The thing is fun once it's updated, right?

Dog Bones...

2010-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Moe has a torn, possibly ruptured CCL. We are trying therapy but it will probably require surgery. It sucks.

Here's her X-rays, mostly for Hilly.

You bad bear!!!

2010-01-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

The Bear Whisperer was our new favorite thing for a few days.

Two wonderful words...

2010-01-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

"Clinical Remission." That is how Jake's doctor described his colitis. Jake's Sed rate was 3. That's the lowest it's been since this all started. He won't be eating popcorn any time soon, but if his Sed rate remains low and everything looks good on his next checkup in a few months, we will start talking about taking him off the various and sundry medications.

So, you know. Woo hoo!

Rachel is here...

2009-12-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

And Jake and I are picking her up at SFO in a few hours and she'll be home tonight and things will start to get back to normal. It's really true what they say in that song.

Oh, I don't know, pick one.

Robert "Babe" Oddone February 8, 1912 - December 14, 2009

2009-12-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

I don't quite know how to mourn the passing of my last living grandparent, Babe Oddone. There was some bad family joo-joo back in the day around my parents wedding. Anyway, as a result of this, I didn't meet him until I was 7 or so on Christmas Eve in, I guess 1975 at my Aunt and Uncle's house. And then I saw him only at family graduations and weddings and the occasional Christmas.

When we lived in the East Bay and he lived in Hayward, Rachel encouraged me to go see him. And we did a few times. And I'm glad we did and that Jake and Rachel got to meet him.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent with him. He was quick witted and always smiling, even when he was in a lot of pain from shingles.

He is the Italian in me. And people say they can see my face in his. Kind of a moon face. And I like to think I have some of his quick wit, gregariousness, and entrepreneurial spirit. And if I understand the genetics involved correctly, it's his fault that I am balding.

I really hope I have his longevity.

I thought that in the end, he might be like W.C. Fields, a life-long atheist who was caught reading the Bible on his death bed. When asked why, W.C. said, "I'm looking for loopholes." But there was no such hypocrisy in Babe. So he is being cremated and there won't be a service. I guess at 97 he outlived all of his friends anyway.

So this weekend, Babe, I will raise a glass to you.

I thank you for providing a cautionary tale about what can happen if you allow issues to come between you and your family.

I hope you are at peace.

Our new Westy...

2009-12-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

We have been a one car family since Rachel's accident, a little over two years ago. I have been sort of proud of that. Sure, there were times when it would have been convenient to have a second car, but we always got by. And it made us change our habits so that we did things more efficiently than we would have otherwise. Well, this past weekend, we decided to get a second vehicle. We bought a 1988 VW Vanagon Westy Camper from a nice guy from Sebastopol.

It may seem like an odd choice, but we think it was a good decision for a variety of reasons.

Here is our top ten list:

1. The price was right. We are confident we got a good deal and it will hold it's value. And by the time we are done fixing it up, it will go up in value.

2. Jake will be driving before long and there is no WAY we are going to let him drive the Touareg. It's too big and too fast for a new driver. This thing doesn't have enough horsepower to get in trouble.

3. We want to camp but never seem to. Hope this will help.

4. It is really convenient for lugging amps and teenage boys who play music a lot around.

5. The dogs should dig riding in it- they hate the back of the Touareg and in this they can lay on the big floor.

6. Since college, I've wanted to do the Kerouac thing and tour around. And Rachel is a way gone hippie chick at heart. We are embracing our inner beatnik/hippie.

7. We were able to move to where we live because I can work from anywhere. A few years ago, it occurred to me that if I can work from anywhere, why couldn't I work from everywhere. I hope to do this when I have the right project. This vehicle is a major step towards achieving that goal. (The Android phone gets my laptop on the Internet and takes calls.)

8. Jake didn't like the idea at first, but once he saw it and sat in it, he was convinced too. And he dubbed it "Ron" after Anchorman Ron Burgundy.

9. The golf cart was a really fun family project, and this will be the same, only bigger.

10. It just feels right to both of us. And when that happens, it is almost always the right thing to do. It is our Motel Yorba.

It was a little weird - I've never bought a car from a private party before. And so that made me a little uncomfortable. But this buying experience was way better than any car dealership experience I've had. Sure, it was a big chunk of cash, and that stressed me out - but not as bad. And it was kind of cool to sign some papers...

...hand over some cash and drive away in something we owned rather than rented from the bank. And a lot less papers to sign. I didn't know it was so easy. The dealers all make it sound like such a big favor they are doing you by taking care of all the paperwork.

The first night, we spent a couple of hours just sitting in it. I plugged in to the house with an extension cord and got my laptop running on the house WiFi.

We fiddled with just about every button and knob (there are a lot), popped the top, tried to figure out the stereo (it's got a nice aftermarket Pioneer deck), and I even boiled some water on the stove.

There a few things we need to do to it. Some safety things and some cosmetic things. Safety first- the lights suck. I replaced them with new ones, but they will need some attention. The biggest thing was how it feels to drive - it weighs twice as much as the original Westy bus, but still has the same tires and 14" wheels. That means not much rubber meeting the road and a strong wind or passing truck is a white knuckle nightmare. I have never purchased wheels before, and I learned the hard way in my Mustang what cheap tires can do - and how in the end, they aren't so cheap. I ordered 16" wheels and the correct load rated tires today.

We did a little test run today to see if I can actually work in the thing. Rachel drove and I got my laptop hooked to my phone, logged in to work, and even made a few phone calls. The only bummer is that the little power outlets don't work when you aren't plugged in to AC. So I need to get the second battery installed and hooked up so I can charge from the cigarette lighter. On the way home, it started snowing. That made the tire/wheel decision for me.

Our local mechanic who we were lucky to find here (Shannon at AutoTech 2000 in Clearlake) is a VW nut, so we'll be taking it to him to check out. He has a tricked out bug and a VW tattoo. He's always been honest and fair given us any deal he can. He's the only mechanic I've heard say, "Nah, we can turn the rotors, the brakes will be fine." Just crossing our fingers he doesn't find anything major.

It does need some body work, but that can wait. In the meantime, a few hours cleaning it up, a few parts off of eBay, and a bunch of Armor All should clean it up nicely.

We are going to have a lot of fun in this thing.

And I am sure some of you will be part of that "We."

I'm kind of a dick about Scrabble...

2009-12-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

Did I post about how I won a game of Scrabble a few weeks ago with a bingo (shields using a blank) on my last turn with no tiles left in the bag to not just beat, but psychologically crush my cousin who was clinging to what he thought was an insurmountable lead?

That was pretty cool.

And yes, I'm kind of a dick about Scrabble.

And Jake and I had a great time visiting Auntie Lisa and Uncle Dave. Thanks again!

Perception and Reality...

2009-11-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

OK, so a few years ago, we bought a scanner. We had some serious wild fires and we could never tell if the fires were just over the next ridge or miles away. We also listen to it for fun. And we pick up our local HVLA security, and sometimes it is hilarious. What we heard today was kind of funny, but also kind of sad...

"Paul 4, base- we have a report of an older male with his fly open and his hand down his pants on Sullivan Ct."

We thought, "Oh great, some perv in our neighborhood, that's all we need."

A few minutes later we heard...

"Base, Paul 4- we contacted the gentleman's daughter. He has dementia and Parkinson's and recently had a stroke. He has difficulty dressing himself, and can't pull up his zipper, and because of the stroke, he keeps his left hand tucked in his pants."

Our first reaction was to crack up laughing. And then the sadness of it kicked in. And then I got to thinking about how things aren't always what they appear to be. And how laughter heals and how quickly anger can be replaced by compassion when we take a moment to understand others.

Everything Old is new again...

2009-11-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

The following comes mostly from an old post from 2005. With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I would repost for my non-vegetarian foodie freak friends...

Lola’s Stuffing

Lola was my great grandmother. I guess she's still my great grandmother, she just isn't living any more. She died when I was an infant or toddler. But while she was alive, I'm told, she never let me cry. And she spoke only Castilian Spanish, though she understood a great deal more English than she let on. Because my Dad and Mom decided to wait to have children, Lola called my Dad "pendejo" and "mediohombre," implying that he was incapable of knocking up the Moms. Because she often looked after me, some of my first words were Spanish- while most kids had a “pacifier,” I had a “chupa.”

Anyway - Lola's stuffing is without question, the best stuffing in the known Universe. Here's the recipe:

½ - ¾ lb ground veal
½ - ¾ lb ground pork
1 green apple
1 or 2 chopped onion
3 stalks celery chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
¼ cup parsley chopped
2 eggs
1-3 cups of croutons
½ cup raisins (soaked in hot water, drained)
½ cup of butter

Brown onions, celery, garlic, and parsley in 1 cube of butter (5 min)

Add meat, apple, croutons raisins, salt, and pepper. Cook until done.

Remove from heat. Add eggs slightly beaten. If stuffing is runny, add more croutons or breadcrumbs.

Prepare the night before and let sit in refrigerator overnight.

I know there's some vagueness in this recipe - like a 50% swing in the amount of meat. I like a little more meat and a few more raisins. But mess around a bit. Add stuff until it smells right. And this year, I could not find ground veal. Normally, I would never buy veal anyway, but it's a family tradition. But this year I could not find any at three different grocery stores. So I think I'm going to sub a bit of ground beef and a bit of ground turkey. The point is for it to have beef flavor and be a bit moist. I hope it works. (Update for 2009 – It does.)

Out with the old...

2009-11-10T14:08:00.001-08:00

and in with the new...

These ARE the Droids you're looking for.

Also - from Halloween, our poor pumpkin caught H1N1...

And here's the reason I've been growing out my hair and beard...

Hi kids! Recently deceased T.V. Pitchman and possible coke fiend Billy Mays here to tell you about the amazing OxyClean Pail. Tired of old pillow cases that sag? Or paper bags that rip? And what about those old plastic pumpkins that just get in the way? Well the new OxyClean Pail replaces them all. It has a convenient handle, a removable lid and best of all, it holds all of you favorite Halloween candy! It hold Twizzlers and Kit Kats, Snickers galore! Reese's and Whoppers, Milky Way and more! Don't settle for candy holders that fail! Try the OxyClean Pail!

Last weekend first...

2009-11-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a ton o' fun. The Detroit Disciples, you know, the band that played our wedding, played the Tradewinds. Rachel and I had a date night that included a yummy Mexican dinner at Dos Amigos followed by coffee, dessert, and a little Jazz at the cafe near The Winds. Ted, you know, the guy who performed our wedding ceremony, was in the neighborhood and met us there.

The cool thing was Ted also had a friend passing through the Bay Area. Dianne was driving a Bago from Vancouver, BC to the L.A. area. She was fun to hang out with - a free spirit, cute as pie, and very kind. So at the end of the night, when she had nowhere to park her 21 (or 24) ft. camper, I called our security and asked if we could park it near us. And they said fine. So that became the plan.

The night was a lot of fun, but the addition of Dianne brought back a feeling I haven't had in a long time. It was a sense of weirdness and magic - like anything can happen and everything sounds like a good idea. In the past, it's been things like, "Hey, the bar's closing, let's go to Reno." Or "Hey the bar's closing, let's take everyone back to Club 658." This night it was, "Hey, let's caravan a monster camper through the twisty bits and not get home till 4 in the morning."

I like that feeling and want to experience it more often.

And here's Cinammon Girl...

And here's a big pot of white bean soup I made a while ago.

It was yummy. And it made the house smell like Fall.

The first drops are hitting the windows...

2009-10-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

I've got some wood in, the flashlight handy, and some mini marshmallows. I think we're all set for what we may one day look back on and remember as "The Great Storm of Ought Nine." At least that's what the TV weather folks would have us believe. From Weather.com:

"A powerful storm in the eastern Pacific plows through central California Tuesday bringing heavy rain and flooding with it. The worst of the system should be focused on central and northern California with 2 to 6 inches of rain likely with high spot amounts of over 8 inches possible. The heaviest rain should fall along the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. Flash flooding is likely Tuesday and Tuesday night with the heavy rain, but river flooding may last into late week. All that heavy rain falling on the hills and mountains could lead to landslides, especially in areas that wildfires scarred in the past few years. Snow levels with this storm are going to be high due to the recent warm spell. Accumulating snow should only occur above 9,000 feet. Rain is not the only feature with this storm, strong winds also buffet central and northern California. Sustained winds of 15 to 40 mph (strongest at the coast) with gusts over 60 mph are likely Tuesday."

We'll see. I am looking forward to the fire and hot chocolate. And to watching the rain run off our newly sealed deck and in to the shiny new gutters.

I used to care but things have changed...

2009-10-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we had a grand day out in Berkeley. Eight of us - Michael, Dolores, Jeff, Jake, Lauren, Paul, and I all went to Berkeley to see Bob Dylan at The Greek. It was a long stretch of road getting there, but a beautiful drive through the wine country - the fading smell of harvest and crush with that sickly sweet post crush grapes dead and dying from time to time.

I was looking forward to giving my tour of Berkeley, but I found there wasn't all that much to show anymore. I guess in my mind, Berkeley is a bit like Disneyland - like I could go back after twenty years and see the same rides and the same wacky characters would be there at Sather Gate to greet me with enthusiasm. And my friends would all be sitting upstairs at Milano or outside at Roma puffing on cigarettes and doing the crossword. But the people and places I remember are mostly gone, changed, or crowded out by new buildings.

Rick Starr, The Hate Man, The Naked Man, Rare, Steven Lightfoot, all gone. The high rise dorms are dramatically different, and much of the empty space has been filled in. I couldn't point and say "I lived in that room my first year," or "Scott and I climbed on this roof one night." Cafe tables are now crowded with laptops and students walk around typing or talking on cell phones.

"See when I was here, Jake, the girls were just as cute, but there were no laptops or cell phones. I had what they used to call a 'typewriter.'"

Cody's has been gone a while, yet the sign remains on the vacant building.

You can still get yourself a sandwich and salad from Cafe Intermezzo. Only it's not called that anymore. It's Cafe Mattina. Next door, Raleigh's is now Manny's Tap Room, but who cares, really?
Anyway - same bread, same bowls, same great salads, same mad dash to get a table when someone looks about to leave. So that was a genuine nostalgic moment for me. I kind of half expectd to see Subham and Matt walking up the street.

And then there was Moe's.

I like to tell people of the magic of Moe's - that the book you need in your life can fall off the shelf and hit you on the head. This time, nothing hit me on the head. But I did get a signed copy of Juliet Naked. And I ventured up to the rare book room on the 4th floor. And there I found a complete McSweeney's #4. I have #5-#32, and the reissue of #1-#3. And now I have 4, so my set is complete. Although I would very much like to have originals of 1-3.

Anyway, while Dolores, Rachel and I were book shopping the rest of the crew went to Amoeba Records.

And then it was off to The Greek.

I've heard people say "The 'U.C.' in U.C. Berkeley stands for 'under construction.' And I found that to be apt. Strange new buildings obscuring the old, scaffolding on The Campanile, blocked off pathways and orange netting denying my old shortcuts, and cranes towering over everything. So it was mostly zigging and zagging Northwest. We barely touched the actual campus.

There was a line and in that line, there was a good deal of confusion over whether the section, row and seat information was trumped by the "General Admission" text. Nobody in the line seemed to know for sure, and none of the hired wind breakers out front could answer that question. A bit of chaos ensued, but we ended up with great seats a little stage right, and in the last row where nobody could kick us.

I thought the show was excellent. Some in our group thought it was too loud. And some preferred "folk" Bob over "Blues" Bob and were disappointed. I completely disagree with the Chronicle review that said it was "just another stop on the way to the next state fair."

I got almost everything I hoped for from the show. I've posted before about my remorse at failing to see artists I admire. And I am thankful for the opportunity to see Bob Dylan perform in person. And I am glad we gave Jake a chance to see him. And, in all, it was great to get a big family group together for something like this. As achievers, it was wonderful to hear him play "The Man In Me." And Highway 61 totally rocked.

Having said that, I have one complaint. I wish he would have played even just one song in a way that we could have sang along with. I understand that he's played them all a million times and he probably has to do something to keep it interesting. And I have heard that he is having some problems with his hands. And yes, he is supporting a "blues album." But I wish he could have played us just one song with just him, his words, his voice, and an acoustic guitar. Kind of like what John Hiatt does.

Anyway - here's the set list...

1.	Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking (Bob on keyboard)
2.	The Man In Me (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on trumpet)
3.	Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Bob center stage on harp, Donnie on trumpet)
4.	Mama, You Been On My Mind (Bob on guitar, Donnie on violin, Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass)
5.	Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob on keyboard)
6.	I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Bob center stage on harp)
7.	My Wife's Hometown (Bob on guitar, Donnie on electric mandolin, Tony on standup bass)
8.	Spirit On The Water (Bob on keyboard, then center stage on harp)
9.	Cold Irons Bound (Bob center stage on harp)
10.	The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (Bob on keyboard, then center stage on harp, Donnie on electric mandolin)
11.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
12.	I Feel A Change Comin' On (Bob on keyboard)
13.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
14.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob center stage on harp)

	(encore)
15.	Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
16.	Jolene (Bob on keyboard)
17.	All Along The Watchtower (Bob on keyboard)

Catching up again...

2009-09-15T11:53:00.001-07:00

So I've been pretty busy. I was also a bit sick for a while. Had some sort of ear infection and rosacea thing going on that needed a shot in the butt, a course of steroids, and a course of antibiotics. But I'm right as rain, now. So let's get caught up.

Laurie came up Labor Day weekend. She and Rachel got all dolled up to go see Kathy Griffin. And that's just the sort of thing you couldn't pay me to see, but they had a blast.

Laurie is probably a bigger coffee junkie than me now. And so I made her a new drink I created- Behold! The Almond Roca White Chocolate Mocha(TM).

Last weekend, while Rachel and Lauren went to a wedding shower, Jeff and I had Paul come up for dinner. So I was grilling for three. Then Jake showed up and I was grilling for him too, and two of his friends. And then Rachel called and they were on their way home, and it became dinner for 8. No problem, just kept making the salad bigger and throwing more stuff on the grill.

It was fun hanging out and watching football and eating.

OK, so the big thing going on around here is some construction. We are geting two things fixed. First, that great cement deck, while a major feature of our home that affords fantastic views, especially of the 4th of July fireworks, has been a problem for some time. It leaks. It leaks down in to the former sun room (now the gym). Another problem was that the gym was an outside patio that was turned in to an inside room. But it is not counted in the overall square footage because it is "unfinished." It becomes unbearable in there because the sun beats in, and the dryer vents in to the room. We are tackling both of those problems.

Mike Salmina, of Salmina Construction, won the bid. He is using a product called Dex-Tec to seal the top deck. It's like having a giant kitchen floor outside.

Really comfortable. And it is getting the water away from the house. He's also installing some gutters and recaulking the windows properly as opposed to the way it was originally done.

And in the gym, he and his crew built a chute/step that vents the dryer outside.

I really hate spending money to just fix things - like adding the Trex Deck was fine, and building the fence was fine - both add to the enjoyment of our home, and in theory, the property value. But having to fix things that were done poorly just sucks. It's weird, because some things were done exceptionally well - like the framing of the upstairs deck. And others, well, not so much. But we really had to do this or risk having the thing rot away and fall apart. And I think the way we are doing it is smart in that we are not just fixing a leak, we are making a room useable and that will add to the square footage of our house. Plus the new material upstairs looks much nicer than the red painted cement we had before.

And I think that gets us all caught up.

Back home, safe and sound...

2009-08-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

I was out in Oak Brook, Illinois again last week. Working with the good folks at McDonald's. In an odd coincidence, there were two young ladies sitting next to me on my flight out. And one of them didn't know how to fasten her safety belt. It was her first time flying. Even with the flight attendant's instructions. I thought that was really weird - like it's been years since I first flew, but, you know, I don't remember having trouble with the seat belts. Anyway- these two gals were going to the same place I was - they were going to "Hamburger University." What are the odds of that?

I had a pretty neat thing happen. Back in my SSG (Systems Solutions Group) days, we had this running debate over the merits of part of our mission statement which was to "delight our customers." Like when is a customer ever "delighted," you know? Most of the time, we are lucky to have them satisfied, and sometimes it's a struggle just to get sign off and get paid.

Well, after like more than a dozen years of doing what I do, I finally delighted a customer. We did a little demo of the Nutrition Facts application and this was their reaction...

Literally dropped jaws while they stared in wonder at the speaker phone.

That was a pretty cool feeling.

And we made a lot of progress planning for the next phase of the project, which is speech rec everywhere. I think the most challeging stuff is behind us with what we've done already. The next part will be mostly menu navigation (call flows, not like the McDonald's menu). It should be fun because I get to put a lot of effort in to polishing and creating the system's personality. And that's fun for me.

And they spoiled us. Dinner at Ditka's and lots of McFree Stuff.

Ditka's was awesome. Coach wasn't there, but the meal was amazing. They had Pot Roast Nachos. That's right, pot roast nachos. You know, nachos, but instead of ground beef and the like, it had pot roast on it. And filet mignon sliders.

And this was my dessert, banana cream pie - you know to get some fruit in my diet. I couldn't finish it.

I got a T-shirt for me and a "Coach's Kick Ass" cigar for my Dad.

Rachel picked me up at the airport. And we stopped at the recently reopened Granzela's in Williams for lunch on the way home. And I got home and found my desk not at all the way I had left it.

Thanks wife. And let me just sing a few lines from "She Blinded Me With Science" - "She's done it again...she's tidied up and I can't find anything! All my tubes and wires..." Fortunately, she's usually right behind me at her desk, so I will get by. I still don't understand how clutter happens. It just does. It's like my clean desktop is a magnet for scraps of paper with both important and inane things scribbled on them, and mail, and harmonicas and hats and mail and coffee mugs, some half full, others half empty, and so on. I'm going to try to implement a clean desk policy - make the desk a tabla rasa after each work day. That should last until like Wednesday.

I'm reading Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice.

Travis and I are reading it together. I wanted to wait for the Kindle version, and Travis joked, "Yeah that first edition hard cover Kindle version will be worth a lot someday." So I just bought the tree killer version.

I'm about halfway through it. Can't help but think of The Dude in the early 70s instead of the early 90s. Others have made that connection as well. And it reminds me a little of The Crying of Lot 49. It's got a lot of Pynchon trademarks. But it isn't really coming together for me yet. We'll see what happens in the second half. Maybe it's not supposed to. Maybe we are supposed to be, like Doc, lost in a marijuana haze of bizarre events and strange connections- an eternal fuzzy present where nothing changes but everything happens.

God I wish I was still in College and writing things like that last line to finish a paper at three in the morning.

I got this crazy notion last night. Like, OK, we have computers that can be taught how to create music. My theory goes, somebody dumped all of Pynchon's previous works in to a computer. And then also dumped in a bunch of hard boiled detective stories. And then the instructed the computer to write a hard boiled detective story in the style of Thomas Pynchon.

I've got some chores to do. I need to fix those little Malibu lights in the yard and a few more up where we added grass. Should look nice tonight when I'm finished - see I am trying to begin with the end in mind. Because it's over 100 out right now. And sitting here right now is nice. I also want to get the car in the garage again.

And I think we are having construction start next week. Getting the upstairs deck sealed so we won't leak in to the sun room. Which is now, of course, the Hotel Yorba Gym. We're also getting the dryer vented all the way to the outside. Which I think will legally and technically make the room "finished" and add almost 400 square feet to our house. Which in this economy, should add like 10 bucks to the value of our home.

Bummer Post...Something wrong with the Universe today...

2009-08-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

Something was wrong with the Universe today. Or at least in my little space in that Universe. Lauren had a bummer day, Rachel had a crazy day and almost got in yet another car accident on Tubbs. And for me - work was crazy busy, and our customer just seemed grumpy today - like they just wanted to be mad at us about something.

And I had wood delivered, cable installed (bye bye DirectTV - you suck!), and got our contract signed for repairing our deck. Big check, that one. It sucks. And the box doesn't work and they only gave us one remote which was (and is) sticky (no way I'm cleaning that thing - they can bring me one in plastic). And they can't send someone out again until Thursday. And at least I still ahve the DirectTV boxes, but I would really hate to go back to those jerks.And if Rachel can't record Project Runway, I am going to be in trouble.

Oh, and I got Rachel a watch on eBay for our anniversary. And it got here not running, but at a different time and date than the auction photo, so I can only hope the battery died in transit. What are the odds of that, though? Oh, and it didn't arrive till like 8:00 PM. And along with it came a package addressed to my sister but with my parents' address in Novato. How weird is that? That never happens with UPS, does it?

Anyway - the biggest bummer is my boy is in an ace bandage, a knee brace, and on crutches a few days before school starts.

Jake hurt his knee a few weeks ago at Saul's party. And maybe the injury goes back as far as a bad slide during baseball season. But it's hard to tell with kids growing and all. Something always seems to ached when he's going through growth spurts. And it was never enough to keep him from doing things.

Anyway, he went to watch Kaitlin's soccer practice yesterday, and ended up kicking some balls for the boy's team or something. And something in his knee popped. We got him home. It was swollen and I could feel some things just weren't right in there when I moved it around.

Rachel took him to Kaiser today. Doctor said he may need X-rays and physical therapy, and that it is hopefully just a bad strain or muscle tear. But, of course, they couldn't get X-rays or see the physical therapist today while they were in town. No, we have to wait till tomorrow just to make an appointment. And we have Kaiser, so he can't go to Physical Therapy locally, we have to drive to Petaluma.

The next time I see one of those morons screaming against health care reform, I'm gonna scream at the TV - or in their face if it's a local protest and I happen to be in the area.

Oh, and Travis got a new Jackson guitar.

Not today, though. Nothing much good happened today to anyone I know (that I know of).

Here's to a better day tomorrow for all of us.

Hotel Yorba Guests Last Weekend...

2009-08-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Elise, Miles, and Caroline stayed with us last weekend. It was another blast.

Elise is a foodie too. And we cooked and ate a Giant Mexi-Feast. It's awesome cooking with another foodie. We all did something.

Not everyone loved the spiced sweet potato mash, but I did.

Oh, and I had trouble finding cumin. And Elise said, "Aren't your spices alphabetized?" Which will make Laurie spit out whatever she is drinking if she is drinking something when she reads this. Because one of Laurie's favorite annoying (and endearing) things to do is rearrange my spices. And she was here not too long ago. Also, I found four empty bottles of cumin and one full bottle of cumin seeds.

Thank goodness for the spice grinder Laurie gave me.

I brought out some of the toys from my childhood - Gnip-Gnop (which I only recently realized is sort of Ping-Pong spelled backwards) and Two-Cushion Rebound. And that held their attention for like 3 minutes and then they were on the computer.

And Caroline christened the piano we moved from Laurie's that has sat mostly quiet since it got here.

Anyway - we do hope they made it to Novato safely - Elise give us a call or e-mail and let us know.

And we hope Nick will make one of these trips so we can play golf here.

What really cracks me up is how Elise is one of my favorite women ever and how similar she and another one of my favorite women are. That other would be Rachel. They read the same things, like a lot of the same music, have a very similar world view, and even dress alike.

We wanted to Internet Detective Carolyn Evans, just like the last time they were here, but did not manage to track her down. Maybe next time. And Carolyn if you somehow stumble across this post, get in touch.

Jeff was around too, but somehow managed to stay out of the pictures. Jake was with Pete.

I may have mentioned that I hate plumbing...

2009-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

If I haven't, let me tell you now that I hate plumbing. I'm just not built for it. Although I do sometimes have a plumber's butt.

It's always tight spaces and wrenches that slip and things that drip and usually something awful gets in my mouth and I end up bleeding from somewhere. And I struggle with "righty-tighty lefty-loosey" when I am working upside down in the dark. It took most of a weekend to replace our kitchen faucet because I could barely fit through either door. I was tempted to Sawzall the divider. And I have replaced major components of each of our three toilets in the last few months. Most of time now I remember to keep my mouth closed.

Anyway, tonight, Rachel tells me that the washer is broken. This washer...
Well, not that washer, but one that looks just like it.

But so notice that it is a front load washer. This will matter a lot a little later in this story.

Anyway, it's broken. The water won't drain. And she checked on the internet and did everything they said to do and it still won't drain.

So I Googled it. And if you click here, you can too. "HE3 washer f-21 error"

And, after a few worthless pages, I found step by step instructions for what's probably the problem. I just need to unplug the washer, remove the front panel, and there staring me in the face will be a drain filter that I simply need to remove and clean. There was even a picture of how easy it would be...

"Rach!?" I yelled, not sure where she was.

"Yeah?" from upstairs.

"Did you take the clothes out, Hun?"

No. She did not. They weren't clothes either. They were 3 rugs that must have weighed 30 pounds each soaking wet. So I am soaked right off the bat just getting them out of the washer and in to the laundry tub. And the floor is soaked. Fortunately there were some dry dirty towels in the laundry room.

Not filthy towels, just, you know, gently used towels in need of a quick wash.

I do the smart thing, though, and get my Shop-Vac out to drain the water. And I am proud of myself for thinking of that. And I only thought of that after realizing there was no way I could siphon it because the laundry tub is higher than the bottom of the washer. So I use the Shop-Vac and it takes probably a half hour. I fill and empty it three times. That involves unplugging it, lugging it across the room trying not to spill, taking it out back and draining it. Because, you know, the 90 pounds of wet rugs were in the laundry tub.

Oh, and our rabbit chewed throught he power cord of the Shop-Vac way back when. And I cobbled it back together with wire nuts and electrical tape. And now sometimes you have to jiggle the cord to make it work. And that makes me uncomfortable standing in water on the laundry room floor.

OK, then I set about, still wet, mind you, removing the front panel screws - only guess what - they weren't screwdriver type screws they were nut-driver type screws. And I know exactly where my nut driver set is. It is spread about all over the house and also maybe in the car, and perhaps one out back where I assembled a patio table. Oh, and I think I lent one to a neighbor when we lived in Petaluma five years ago.

Oh, and on top of that, we had to get the pedestals. So, really, our washer looks more like this...
And those were a whole afternoon to put on and there is no 'f' in "weigh" I'm gonna be taking that apart - I'd need Jake's help and have to disconnect everything and move them out of the laundry room and I was just not up for that. So the three nut screws are about sort of in this metal trench. So I can't just prop up the washer on a wood block like the directions from the internet said. I need some sort of tool with very narrow parameters to fit in that little groove you see in the picture.

I manage to find a socket set. And it barely fits. I have like a centimeter of play, but only on the two outside screws. So I can noodle the side screws like one click at a time on the ratchet wrench.

Click...click...click...

"How's it going in there, Hun?"

Click...click...

"Fine, Shoog."

Click...click...click...

It will take like an hour each and I won't even be able to do the middle screw.

And I get frustrated and go for a walk.

OK, I went and took a dump.

That's where I do some of my best thinking and I had to go.

So like ten minutes I'm gone.

OK, like 15 minutes. And Rachel knocks on the door and says, "Thanks! It's working."

This gave me pause. All I had done was drain the water and look for a socket set. If what was wrong with the washer was what the internet told me was wrong with the washer, then I still had several steps to go yet before the washer would be fixed.

And even then, it still might not be fixed because, like I said, I hate plumbing. And I tend to not be very good at things I hate.

"But honey," I called back to her, "I wasn't done yet."

I tried to be optimistic. Maybe I had suffered enough. Maybe the Plumbing Gods took pity on me and something I did with the Shop-Vac did the trick. But I would have to wait 20 more minutes for the cycle Rachel ran to finish.

As it turned out, we didn't have to wait quite that long. The "F-21" error code showed up after only maybe 15 minutes. And I am thinking "F-21" must mean the odds are 2 to 1 that you are pretty much F'd.

So now I'm a little angry. And I open the washer door (and this is where it being a front load washer matters) and water comes pouring out. And in the split second it took me to realize that water was pouring out and shut the door, I found myself once again standing in an inch or so of water.

And so now I am really angry and I yell (because she was somewhere else again), "I wish you hadn't done that!!! Now the thing is filled up even more passed the window and I can't even open the door or find the flip-floppin' tools I need to get the panel off and the stupid pedestal is in the way and..." I trailed off as she drew near.

Only I didn't say "flip floppin'."

"And now I'm gonna have to suck the water out all over again but only more of it," I said calmly, quietly, politely even.

And she stood in the doorway and stared at me all flustered and soaking wet in a puddle and said, "I'm sorry. Does yelling at me make you feel any better about it?"

And honestly, it did a little.

"I wasn't yelling at you," I fibbed a little, "I just wanted you to know what happened and what I'm dealing with here and you were in the other room and..." I trailed off again.

And I added, "But you saying you are sorry does make me feel better, thank you."

And then we set about fixing the washer together.

This time it took five trips with the Shop-Vac.

Rachel stood on higher ground and jiggled the cord. And she didn't even say anything like, "You suck," but I imagine she thought it.

And when it was done and drained again, I set about looking anew in many of the same places for some tool, any tool, that could be employed to get the front panel off. I again considered the Sawzall.

And then on my third trip to the work bench, I saw our trusty DeWalt cordless drill with the screwdriver attachment on the end. And I thought, "No, it couldn't be this easy, could it?" I removed the screwdriver bit from the bit holder, took the drill downstairs and Halle-f-in-lujah, the thing fit- the bit holder was the exact right size.

And it was even charged!

The Plumbing Gods had made great sport of me enough for one day, I guess.

And also the thing not to miss here is that things generally go better when we do them together.

OK, so we got the panel off in like seconds, and the rest was realatively painless.

No more f-bombs.

And in addition to a good ten ounces of foul smelling blackish gunk the likes of which I had never seen and hope never to see again, here are some of the various and sundry things we found in the drain filter...

Yes, that is a "precision" screw driver.

And yes, that is an entire ball point pen in pieces, most of a pencil, some thread, several pieces of gum, a gum pack wrapper, some thread, a little pewter heart I gave Rachel long ago, nearly a buck in change, a handful of unidentifiable things, and as near as I can tell, a blister pack allergy capsule that held up remarkably well. Rachel took the filter upstairs to be washed while I investigated further.

I was all set to have a stern talk with Jake about emptying his pockets before laundry is done. But then I discovered the real culprit. Surprisingly, the washer ran fine with all of that stuff. But there was something else. Something soggy had gotten past the filter and was blocking the impeller causing the pump to fail. That rusted out screwdriver came in handy for fishing the thing out of the impeller. That grey patch you see is a suede Ray-Bans lens cloth.

And, OK, so I'm the only one with a pair of Ray-Bans. So in the end, I am wet, exhausted, and bleeding a little from one of my fingers, but feeling pretty good still because at least I didn't get anything awful in my mouth and the washer was probalby fixed. But I was also kind of upset to learn that I had pretty much brought all of this upon myself. And honestly, for a second, I considered hiding it. Just stash it in my pocket and no one would be the wiser. Just for a second I considered that.

OK, like maybe ten seconds. And aside from it just being wrong to lie, I was pretty sure that if I did, something awful would end up in my mouth over the course of re-assembling the washer.

Then Rachel appeared in the doorway again.

"Did you get it out?"

"Yes, Hun."

"What was it?"

"Well, I was all set to yell at Jake. But this lens cloth was the real culprit. So I'll yell at myself for a while and you talk to Jake about emptying his pockets."

Now, I have had a few washers over the years. But I have never gone through anything like this before. But I have to figure it happens to everyone. And all of you, and especially those of you with kids, will be very surprised at what you find if you ever check the drain filter of your own washer.

Remember to keep your mouth closed if you ever do.

1-800-BIG-MACS

2009-08-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

It's up and running. You have to hit 1 a few times to get to the application I designed and built. A smart guy named Wayne built the part that takes the information I get from the caller and looks up the nutrition facts that I read back. And a great guy named Michael has been a top notch project manager.

You can ask for any McDonald's menu item. Some things won't be there - like Shamrock Shakes are out of season, and some things are only in limited markets. But it's pretty neat, I think.

There's also a store locator/phone number lookup application, but that one was pretty ho-hum. Still, you know, if you want to find the nearest McDonald's, now you can. It's tough in places like Los Angeles and Chicago where there are literally hundreds of locations, but it does a pretty good job of it for most locations.

This is, by far, the most widely advertised phone number one of my systems has answered. The number is on every bag, cup, and wrapper.

I'm heading back out to HQ later this month to work on a design for adding speech recognition to the rest of the phone tree.

The weirdest thing to me about their HQ is that from the outside, and from the inside, for the most part, it looks like any other big corporate headquarters on a beautiful campus with lots of lawns and trees...only right in the middle there's a McDonald's in the building. Like you're walking along, cube after cube, and offices and conference rooms and printer stations and a McDonald's and then more cubes and restrooms and offices and... Wait, was that really a whole McDondald's there? It's kind of surreal.

Say it isn't so Paula Abdul!

2009-08-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

In the headlines - the HEADLINES, you know with stories of a mass shooting/suicide at a PA health club and Bill Clinton's trip to free two journalists from North Korea and three "hikers" in Iraq who strayed in to Iran and were captured possibly being charged with spying (really? Who goes hiking in Iraq?) - I read:

Paula Abdul To Leave
American Idol After 8 Years

And I can only muster a mutter to myself, "Holy crap, that awful show has been on for eight years?"

There's no way...

2009-07-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

...I was gonna do that drive again anyway. But it might have been worth something on eBay...

The last day of my vacation...

2009-07-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Another week would sure be nice, but I have had a blast.

Yesterday we went to Lauren and Paul's for a barbecue. That was fun. Paul made bacon wrapped sausages.
They were delicious, but I could only eat half of one because they were so rich. And as usual, the eating went on all day - chips (proper English chips) and salad and so forth. Oh, and cheesecake to celebrate Lauren's birthday.

Aside from the fun, Rachel and I have got our house pretty well in order. And we can just relax and enjoy our home and the lake and each other's company and all that. We used to always feel like we should be doing something. It's been great.

Most of it we got done a while ago, but I don't think I posted any pictures. Here's the exercise room - formerly the sun room where we crammed stuff that didn't have a place. We hung some drapes and moved all of our exercise equipment in there - got a weight machine, treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical...
and Jake's favorite, the punching bag...
We also got the garage in shape. We filled two whole dumpsters a few weeks ago. It's silly, but it is really nice to pull in to the garage instead of parking outside.
And having room in the garage lets us tackle some projects we've been meaning to get around to. Rachel replaced the sliders in my dresser drawers. And I got our inflatable kayak all patched up. We bought it at a garage sale like 3 years ago.

Today, I loaded up the Hotel Yorba Courtesy Car and drove down to Little Beach for the maiden voyage of the Hotel Yorba Kayak. It was a lot of fun. I paddled over almost to Big Beach. Saw our house from the water. I brought my little mp3 player in a plastic bag. I dropped a line in the water. It was great. Only problem was one of the patches was right where my arm brushed against the side of the boat while paddling. And the slow leak kicked in. So I headed for shore. But it wasn't bad for a first outing. I plan to do more of that.

Oh, and we got some new wheels on the golf cart. They look pretty sweet and the cart rides much better now.
The tires are low profile and DOT rated. So when Jake gets his license, we won't have to worry about him having a blowout.

That's about it.

We're home...

2009-07-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

The drive sucked. We left at 2:30 PM and pulled in to our garage just after 4:00 this morning. Two planned stops only, lasting maybe an hour each.

First there was an accident on the 5 ahead of us at Broadway. So fine, I zigged over to the 405.

Then we got back on the 5 and there was this...

*BREAKING NEWS* : July 1 Fire Backs Grapevine Traffic Up for Miles


(LEBEC—July 1, 2009, 9 p.m.)—Closure of northbound lanes of Interstate 5 due to a wildlands fire forest land north of Castaic backed up traffic for miles during rush hour today, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department public information officer. The fire was said to have consumed about 25 acres. At least three helicopters and a first-alarm unit comprising more than 100 people were dispatched to the fire, LACFD said.

But we're home now.

Not at all looking forward to the drive home...

2009-07-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

Jackson's body to be put on public display at Neverland

The cable TV network CNN and the website TMZ, which first broke the news of Jackson's death, both reported that his body would be taken in a 30-car motorcade tomorrow the 130 miles from his home in Los Angeles to the Neverland ranch.

Police were working out how to avoid major traffic problems as the convoy wends its way to the ranch, as it would draw tens of thousands of fans.

Yeah, we have to drive those very same 130 miles.

Last Day...

2009-07-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

...was fantastic.

Saw Goofy...

Smooched at the spot where I proposed...

The boys failed to be crowned Kings of Disneyland...

And we ended our trip as we began it - on Pirates. And we got to ride twice.

If you don't much like Michael Jackson's music...

2009-06-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

...then yesterday was a lousy day to be on a long drive to the L.A. area. Every station, even the Spanish language stations were playing his music.

Lots to catch up on...

2009-06-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

...but it's late and I am spent.

Why? Well, because I worked my tail off this week to get my time in so we could travel Friday. And this morning at 4:30, we left for Disneyland. Then a quick nap. Then off to Downtown Disney for some grub and a few hours at the park.

The drive...well, it sucked. I can't believe how fast and dangerously people drive - and in these little s*%t-box cars that would just be crushed if we were to mix it up in traffic. One guy in particular stands out. And I'm pretty laid back, but when you do something stupid that endangers my family, I get the urge to drag you from your car and beat you silly - whether or not I am capable of doing so, in the moment, I feel sure my rage would vanquish any foe.

I think most people drive more often than I do. So maybe it's just that I forget how awful it is. But I really think it is just getting progressively worse. And people who drive any distance every day don't notice it.

Anyway, I promised myself I would leave the journey behind me once we got here, and I think I did a pretty good job of it.

At least I look pretty happy.

We all do...

Of course we hit Pirates right away...

I need to think about it more, but I am not sure if I like the "updated" Pirates. I'm torn, because on the one hand, we LOVED that movie - all of them, really. But then on the other hand, we loved the original ride which contributed to our appreciation of the movies. So it's Movie imitating ride imitating movie. Or something. But we did manage to have a nip of rum on the ride. Probably the most pirate-ey thing we've done in a long time.

I've also invented my own Hidden Mickey game. More on that tomorrow when I have pictures.

And I have one of those "Jump To Conclusions Mat" ideas. Just don't know how to take it to market and get rich off of it. In broad strokes it would be patented as an olfactory enhancement to allow for a more realistic experience for readers of electronic texts. Basically, scratch and sniff stickers that smell like a new book, or perhaps a library or book store. I think it's a clever idea.

What have you done!

2009-05-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

WARNING: I try to keep this a family blog, but there is an F-bomb in this post.

So it's Memorial Day weekend. Got my flag out.

Things are good. Work is still challenging, but it is manageable and I am working at a steady pace and making good progress. I had that week off, then a week, and now a three day weekend. And I am looking forward to the day when I get to post that when you call the McDonald's 800-number, my system will answer.

For my birthday, I got this......and this...

That's five discs of Hunter S. Thompson's tape recordings. I've been diggin' listening to these. It's great to listen to the tapes that are essentially the source material for some of my favorite reads.

My favorite line so far is:

"What have you done! You put that fucking Chivas Regal in the Coke! You asshole! Jesus Christ! Good God man! That's horrible...put the top back on it man...that stuff evaporates...the whole thing will be gone in an hour!"

I got to see Hunter live once while I was at Berkeley. It was a great experience, don't get me wrong, but he had already become a caricature of himself. He showed up over an hour late. And when someone yelled, "Why were you late?" he replied, "Because there's no good speed in Berkeley." And then somebody shouted out a Barrington Hall phone number.

I was not in to that scene or anything, but I do know some people that were, and Hunter was right. The people that were in to that sort of thing had to road trip to Santa Cruz to get their drugs.

Some day I should do a post about Barrington Hall - my grandfather lived there and told me stories about how they would go on the roof and smoke cigarettes and look over at the girls showering in the girls' dormitory across the street. That was in the early 1900s - 1918 or so, I guess. By the time I got to Cal, Barrignton Hall had psychedelic murals throughout, purple sidewalks out front, and LSD painted in giant letters in the street. The reason was so that if someone was tripping and thought s/he could fly, s/hewould see those letters in the street and remember that they where high on LSD. Don't know if that actually saved any lives, but I would like to think it did.

Have I done a post on gender neutral writing and s/he yet?

By the time I left Cal, Barrington Hall was shut down, remodelled, and reopened under a different name. And all of the people who were in to that lifestyle moved to another co-op. Also, in 1991, during the first Gulf War, all of the real protesting was going on in San Francisco. I think we were there at the tail end of the Berkeley Legacy of hippie-freak-dom and activism. It still has its history, but in some respects, it might as well be U.C. Santa Barbara now.

So now I guess I don't need to do that post on Barrington.

Also, we're working on a major family project here. We are working hard in the Sun Room - aka the "place to put stuff that really has no place to go." Very soon, our guests will be able to use the Hotel Yorba Fitness Center and Meditation Room. I'll post pics when we're done. We've got ThermaBlock(TM) curtains up to beat the afternoon sun. We moved the Marcy Plate Home gym and the treadmill already. Hung up the punching bag. Tomorrow I'm going to K-Mart to pick up some more padded floor tiles. And Jake and Jeff and I will move the Elliptical and the Recumbent Bike and we will be all set to get a sweat on. Oh, and I'm gonna put our old stereo and a little TV in there so we can watch TV while exercising. And we'll also be able to do those Yoga DVDs. I'm really hoping this room will be a real life changer for us. And life extender, too.

And here, a result of odd lighting, is a weird picture captured from Video Skype of our dear friend Eraserted...

Queue up a little travelling music...

2009-05-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

So let me tell you a little about where I am and how I got here. Work has been challenging. I had one major go live with that TDECU Max project and then was immediately immersed in another credit union and this McDonald's project. I never got a break between projects, and I'm hearing I may be working for McDonald's through the Summer.

I had a really bad day a couple of weeks ago where I felt like quitting and finding another job. I called Cuz and talked about my problems and he said, "Sounds like you have a bad case of the fuckits." I like the way he put that. It's hard to function in high stress mode for more than a few days at a time. And I'd been running in that mode for weeks at a time. You never feel finished, you never feel like anything is good enough and despite all of your effort, it doesn't feel like you've accomplished anything.

Anyway, I think the most important thing I did that day was put in a vacation request for this coming week.

I was burned out, and then not able to work effectively. The quality of my work was falling off as well as the volume. But once I had this week to look forward to, I found myself getting things done and done well. I put in some time last weekend to make sure I met all of my deliverables for Friday.

Jake had a baseball game in Ft. Bragg, and we were fortunate that Ted was back in town and home here, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. Jake road up on the team bus and we picked up his friend Travis at school and he came with us.

We went to the game yesterday. We got there a little later than we had hoped and the game actually went really fast, so we only caught a couple of innings. Oh, and I did stop at the McDonald's drive through for some sort of weird mental transition from work to vacation for me.

Anyway, the boys are having fun. Rachel took them tide pooling this morning. Ted and I played some Facebook poker together on our laptops last night. That was fun. I slept in a bit. And I was a little grumpy today, I guess. Rachel and I couldn't seem to agree on anything. But she took the kids to town and I did my thing. And I loved doing my thing. And Ted joined me in doing my thing.

This is my thing...
Ted launched and took some pictures.

I really needed this. I love flying my kites. And the last 4 or 5 times I've tried, I haven't been able to. Usually lack of wind has been the culprit. But today was great. A lot of wind, so I got to fly my big kite for the first time ever. It was a joy.

After that, we sat in his meditation room - another thing I need to do more of. It was great. And I am out of practice for sure, but I actually wept in the middle of it. Like I was able to let go of a lot of bad energy and negative emotions. I plan to dust off my cushion when we get home and do more of that.

The boys had a bunch of fun. I love when they make music together.

Then later, Bill Walters came by for a visit with his new girlfriend who was a treat to meet. Rachel and I realized we hadn't seen Bill since our wedding. He looked happy and it was great to see him that way.

And we all cooked together. We made a bunch of pizzas and they brought a fantastic salad and roasted vegetables that we used to top the pizzas.

It has been a wonderful day, and a great start to what I hope will be a great week.

You may notice how sunburned I am. And I was only outside for an hour or so. And I forgot about how one of my medications says to stay out of the sun. Towards the end of dinner, I had to go lie down. It felt like little pain bursts were exploding across my forehead. That sucked. But I drank a lot of water and Rachel put some lotion on my face and a wet washcloth. And I woke up a few hours later feeling much better. And while I rested, Rachel took the boys to see Wolverine.

Ted and I hung out, and when Rachel and the boys got home, the boys went to bed and Ted gave us a slide show of pictures form his India trip. It was great. The pictures are amazing - like coffee table book qaulity pictures and amazing stories to go with each one.

And, you know, I also really like to blog, and I'm doing that now. So I got to do a lot of things I love and spend time with a lot of people I love today.

As for the rest of the time off, I want to let the boys fly kites tomorrow if the wind is up. And I plan to spend the week taking care of some personal business that I have been putting off and/or unable to find time for. I also want to do some puttering and chores type things - basically do an office purge and tackle some home improvement projects to make our life better. And I will turn 41 on Wednesday. And I hope to play some golf and maybe some tennis as well. And I will wear sunscreen and a big floppy hat when I do.

Oh, and it is after midnight - so Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's out there.

And to mine especially. I hope we talk soon. I love you.

So I went down to Jake's Game Today...

2009-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

..and I took the necessary precautions.

Last week, Jake pinch hit late in the game. And I got this picture...

Storti HBP - get on base any way you can, son. He took one for the team.

That's generally how it's been all season. He comes in in the later innings. And we've gone to a bunch of games. Today I got stuck working later than I wanted to. And Jeff and I went down. We got there in the 5th inning. And Jake started. So we saw him in the field for half an inning. And then I got this picture of him in the on deck circle.

And then the kid who was up drove in a run, which invoked the ten-run rule and the game was over. He went 1 for 3 before we got there.

And here's a picture of a dinner I made a couple of weeks ago.

And this is how you beat Thaddius...

Glad I work from home...

2009-04-26T15:11:00.001-07:00

OK, so this is freaking me out a little bit.

It's just like in the movies - the quick cuts of newspaper headlines, sick people, and social chaos that precede the apocalyptic entertainment starring Will Smith or whoever.

And I've been afraid to read The Coming Plague.

And if it's ever going to happen, it will surely start like this.

And that's about all I have to say about this for now.

Now, I have some work to do before I watch the Red Sox complete their sweep of the Yankees.

You don't know what you've got...

2009-04-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

...until there's no hot water for a week or so. Our less-than a year old water heater crapped out last week. So there was the weekend. And then the guy came out Monday. And needed to come back today with the parts.

The elements went bad from crap in our water. And there was so much crap in the tank it wouldn't even drain. We are getting a home water filter system installed later this week.

Funny to me how we each chose to deal with it. I boiled water on the stove to do dishes and took sponge baths and hot tubs. Rachel went down to Lauren and Paul's to shower. Jeff and Jake took very short very cold showers.

Yeah...

2009-03-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

So before her trip to Reno, Rachel took the Touareg in for brake pads and an oil change. And she came home from the shop with brake pads, clean oil, and Flowmasters.

Ain't technology wonderful?

2009-03-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

Our friend Ted is in Chamba, India right now. I think it is tomorrow morning there already. And we just Video-Skyped. It was flippin' sweet.

And in local high school sports action...

2009-03-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

Middletown vs. St. Helena, in a J.V. grudge match, sophomore Jake Storti said "Good bye Mr. Spalding," sending a 2-2 pitch to the yard for a two run, pinch hit GRAND SALAMI!!! That brings Storti's slugging percentage to 3.000 on the season.

OK, it wasn't a Spalding. But he did hit one out- this one...

A genuine over the fence home run.

I never did that.

The really cool thing is that Jake really needed something like this. He's been in a bit of a rut for a while. We've been trying and failing to help pull him out of it. This was a good thing. And I realize that he's at an age now where he needs some things that we can't give him, he has to go out and get them on his own.

There's a bailout comin'...

2009-03-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

...but it's not for me.

Neil Young - Fork In The Road

...Leave it to Neil.

I miss my sister...

2009-03-21T19:07:00.001-07:00

...and she isn't coming because of the weather.

But I was well on my way to prepping dinner when she called. So we went ahead and had a feast in both her honor and her absence.

I made Herb Roasted Chicken, Savory Root Vegetables, Garlic and Herb Boiled and Bashed Potatoes, and that awful looking black thing in the back is a Yam Casserole. Even that was good. I even opened a 2005 V. Sattui Chardonnay.

And healthy. Man it feels good to eat healthy again. Chicago should put Zocor in the drinking water.

Anyway - I love you sis, sorry you couldn't make it.

We pushed family movie night from Friday to Saturday for the release of...

...Twilight (Twilight twilight twilight!!!!).

And some time after the Laker game is over, we will watch it. It's funny because Jake, Jeff, and I would really rather watch Zack and Miri or a Bond movie or something. But Rachel's excitement is contagious. And I'm looking forward to watching it with her. And I asked Jake to try to feign enthusiasm for his mother's sake. So far he's doing a fine job.

Trip recap...

2009-03-20T14:18:00.001-07:00

So like I said, I'm home. I missed my scheduled flight yesterday. That hasn't happened in years.

How did it happen? Well, a series of unfortunate events befell me. I planned to leave the hotel by 8:00 AM to drive the 25 minutes to the airport and leaving plenty of time in case of traffic and to return the rental boat...car. Did I mention the car? A black Lincoln Town Car all week. I felt like a Czech limo driver or a getaway drive for a mob hit.

Anyway, my 7:00 wake up call came at 7:20. I cut my shower short and packed faster and less orderly than I would have liked. I checked out of the hotel at 8:15. Still plenty of time so long as traffic wasn't too bad. Then the Neverlost GPS sat "acquiring satellites" for 8 minutes. So I just started driving hoping it would kick on along the way. It did, and I found myself traveling in the wrong direction. Another 3 minutes lost while I made a U-turn.

Then there was this...

...and then this...

For me, that is one of the worst feelings - freaking out about missing a flight. Because if I miss it, I know that it will have a huge impact on others. And it also means that it will take a lot longer to get home which is where I really really really want to be.

I drive along, a little faster than I otherwise would, cursing every little thing that gets in my way. I scowl, my heart races, and I keep calculating and recalculating the odds of making it. I engage in wishful thinking - oh I hope the plane is delayed! Oh, please, just let the traffic open pick up! Maybe there will be no line to check in.

At some point, I accept the fact that I am just not going to make the flight. The point of acceptance is at least ten or fifteen minutes after the actual point where making the flight became an impossibility. And then a strange sense of calm comes over me. It's a relief, really. I am not going to make this flight, and there is nothing I can do about it. I sit back, enjoy the ride, and begin thinking logically about the tasks I will need to complete to make it home.

Anyway, it was a productive trip. The project is interesting. I am faced with some interesting challenges and problems to solve. And some ridiculous short time lines. But that's what I do. And it will be pretty cool to have this system on my resume. The number is published on every bag, cup, and wrapper McDonald's dishes out.

It was a stressful week, and at the end, our contacts at McDonald's tried to make up for it by showering us with gifts and such. I got a tote bag that looks like a French Fry box, some T-shirts, a collector's tin of playing cards, and 30 bucks worth of McDonald's gift certificates. I think I will find some needy people at Wal-Mart to give those to.

I also got to see our new offices for the first time. Here's me and Brian, my long time boss and longer time friend...

Here's me at customer site on St. Patrick's Day.

Michael took me to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and it was delicious.

You might recall how I have been working really hard to eat better. And, for the most part, doing a good job of it. Well this week, the Healthy Eating Train went off the rails. In between that dinner with Brian and the trip home, there was lunch, you know, at McDonald's. And room service pizza. I tried to get fruit when I could. But it was hard to come by.

Anyway, because Jeff is here, Rachel was able to pick me up in Oakland. And we had a really nice drive home together from there.

Today, well, I'm pretty tired. But I'm getting things done. I just need to fill out my expense report and send a couple of e-mails and I will call it a day.

I believe family movie night will be Quantum of Solace. And I am very much looking forward to that.

And now I hear my dear sister is coming up for a visits, so, you know, double yippee!

I am home...

2009-03-20T00:54:00.001-07:00

...safe and sound. Long day, so I'm going to keep this short. More tomorrow or so.

I think I deserve a break today...

2009-03-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

...and I'm lovin' it!

OK, here's another V-Blog...

I love that my new laptop has a built-in webcam. And I hate that it is a bit flaky - it keeps disconnecting and reconnecting, like maybe there's a loose wire somewhere in the display housing.

Anyway - among the many stark contrasts I have experienced in my life I need to add one more. And that is dinner last night (www.sola-restaurant.com) and lunch today (www.mcdonalds.com). I don't even need to say anything more, just follow the links.

Here's a picture of me with the newlyweds, Brian and Amy.

The meal was like an episode of Top Chef only without all of the drama and judging.

What am I doing with my hands? Playing "got yer nose" with a child out of frame?

I've got a whole bunch of ideas and possibilities swimming in my head right now. I really wish I had a white board in my room. I'm hoping if I lay down and shut my eyes for a while some picture will emerge about how to best create a system to recognize McDonald's menu items, sizes, and options and read back nutritional information about the item recognized. I am finding that in some ways, it is simpler than I had thought, but in others, it is more challenging.

Anyway, I am glad I am here and getting to spend some time in the same room with the customer. It will make the rest of the project much easier.

Also, I have to confess, I didn't get myself out and about like I wanted to on Sunday. I wanted to see a museum and maybe a parade. I just couldn't be buggered to get out the door until it was time to go to dinner. On the positive side of that, I was up at 6:00 a.m. Central Time and felt wide awake and fresh. so maybe it was for the best.

Oh, Cuz - I'm staying at a Marriott. The wake up call here now comes with coffee outside your door. Remember how we used to take turns going up to the executive lounge to get each other coffee when we were in Dallas for so long? It looks like they stole our idea.

This is an attempt...

2009-03-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

...at embracing the new paradigm.

Super Grubbin'!

2009-02-22T21:03:00.000-08:00

I am still messed up on sleep patterns. Too many middle of the night maintenance windows last week. But I'm hoping I will get tired at a normal time tonight.

It's the Oscars, and Rachel went down to Lauren and Paul's and Paul was supposed to come here. But he took one for the team and stayed home to Hector-sit. So we have tons of leftovers for tomorrow. It was great grub. Steak and Chicken fajitas, Rice and Beans, Newman's Lemonade, and a little Don Julio to top it all off at the end.

And Don Julio is my new favorite tequila.

Jake did a hot pepper...

Here is a picture of Moe and a portrait of the man she is named after...

And here are our new drapes downstairs...

Check out how well they match the Tiki Lounge...

Other than that, I replaced the fire-proof gasket on our wood stove, and I plan to go enjoy it's warmth. Rachel got all the goo off, so I am sure it will stick well.

That's it for now.

Oh, except on more thing - Max took over 25,000 calls last week. Complaints have tapered off - we discovered a lot of people were pushing 1 or 2 like they used to from the old system. We put a fix in for that. And we finally got a compliment!

This week kicked my a**!

2009-02-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

Seriously. I am beat. I was supposed to take today off, but some work things came up and, well, sometimes you just gotta. Rachel had a tooth pulled, so she's laid up. Today Jake twisted his ankle at baseball practice. So I'm working too much and playing Mommy and Daddy, and, well, those dishes in the sink? Yeah, they are going to have to wait till tomorrow.

Anyway - we are watching the Sopranos on DVD. starting with Season 1, Disc 1. A lot happened before I started watching that show.

Back to it now. More some time, you know, later, like after the dishes are done.

What I do for a living...

2009-02-13T00:31:00.000-08:00

When my wife is asked what I do for a living, she tells people, but she doesn't tell all.

"He works with computers," is a typical response. She might even share that I work from home.

But some time ago, she stopped telling people the whole truth - that I am a voice user interface designer and developer of speech recognition enabled interactive voice response systems.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that she has to explain what it means to be a voice user interface designer and developer of speech recognition enabled interactive voice response systems. The second is that once she explains it, a typical response is, "Oh I hate those things." A less typical response is, "But he seems so nice and those things are so...evil."

And that's fine. It's easier to just say, "He works with computers."

I tend to tell the whole truth. And when I explain it, and people say say, "Oh, I hate those things," I assure the person that there are a lot of really bad systems out there, but I only build the ones that work well. And I firmly believe that I do.

At various points in my career, I have had to do some soul searching about my profession - especially when I consider Buddhist Right Livelihood. I once told my friend and employer that I would not work on a system for a company like Lockheed Martin because they make weapons that kill people. Fortunately, I was never put to the test. But I have worked on systems for some big companies that many people consider to be evil. This includes Wal-mart (technically Walmart.com when it was independent back in the day).

It's really a question of where I choose to draw the line. One could make a strong case that supporting some of the companies I have worked for in the industry that I work in pretty much guarantees I will be reincarnated as a dung beetle or worse. On the other hand, one of the systems I designed allows people to renew their registration over the phone instead of wasting half a day at the DMV in New Mexico. So maybe I'll get some points for that and come back as a bonobo or something.

Anyway, I have designed and delivered a lot of systems over the course of my career. While I believe they were all the best solution that could have been delivered given the state of the technology at the time of deployment and the constraints put on the project by budgets and business rules, there are only a handful of systems that I am really proud of.

Tomorrow we go live with Max for TDECU. And I think it is going to be a big success. They have been advertising the new system with billboards and radio spots in Texas for the last month or so. And there's even a video on You Tube...

Talk about pressure to meet a deadline!

Honestly, I'm a little nervous because a lot of us have put a lot of effort in to this system and I have a lot riding on its success personally and professionally. But it's that good kind of nervous like I used to get before a big tennis match I knew I could win if I did my best.

We are scheduled to go live tomorrow night (yes, Friday the 13th, I know) at 11:00 p.m. Central Time. And I am scheduled to have a nice tall 10 Cane and Jones Cola at 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time after a successful launch. Let's hope everything goes according to schedule.

Thoughts on Peet's Coffee...

2009-02-12T18:11:00.001-08:00

Long before there was even one Starbuck's in California, I fell in love with Peet's Coffee. Back then, when I was home from college, we had to drive to San Anselmo to even find a latte. Now you can get them, or at least a gross imitation of them at McDonald's.

I had my first sip of my first cup at the College Avenue Peet's, which, if I remember correctly, was not the first, but the second Peet's location. I was doing construction work for a homeless man who read great books while dressed like a cowboy and lived out of his station wagon and paid me in cash from a stash in his belt.

It was magical. There is something about the equipment they use that simply can't be matched, even with the beans you bring home. The coffee brewed there always has these little bubbles on the top. And when I sip from their cups, a little drop of coffee love often splashes on to the tip my nose through the tiny hole in the lid for air intake- and it makes me giggle a little with joy every time. I have owned some fantastic coffee makers over the years, and unfortunately, none have ever been able to match the cup of liquid perfection they server in the stores themselves.

Now, can you see the difference between the two bags of coffee in this picture? I bet Laurie can.

I don't want to be known as a coffee snob or anything, but despite their similarities, I can tell the difference between a pot brewed from the bag on the left and a pot brewed from the bag on the right.

The bag on the left is Garuda blend, ground on four (for automatic drip ecstasy as well as an acceptable espresso) purchased at a Peet's location. It was ground and bagged with love by a cute young employee at the Peet's in downtown Santa Rosa. The bag on the right is filled with Garuda blend whole beans purchased at my local market.

Now, Garuda blend is my personal favorite of the beans the regularly have in stock. They occasionally come out with some small batches of specialty coffee that are "better" in that they are a different sort of wonderful - there's something to be said for variety among high quality products. But Garuda is my tried and true everyday favorite. I should rephrase that - I don't drink Garuda every day, I try to save it for those days when I need a little reward.

Anyway - In theory, the just ground beans should taste better than the pre-ground ones. But they don't. That's the general rule - the best coffee comes from freshly ground beans. Freeze your ground coffee, store your beans in a canister, right? Everyone knows that. Well, OK, not everyone. But Laurie does.

So how do you account for this? I would like to attribute it somehow to the cuteness of the server. But I have also had beans ground and bagged by much less well kempt, not particularly attractive people, and the results are the same. On that note - is there some law that says if you get paid to operate a commercial espresso machine, you must have tattoos?

Anyway - I can't explain why the one bag tastes better than the other. And the only way to explain the unexplainable is to attribute it to magic.

To sum up:

Peet's coffee (any variety) brewed at Peet's = Coffee Nirvana

Peet's coffee ground, bagged, and purchased at Peet's = Some kind of wonderful

Peet's coffee whole beans purchased at a market, freshly ground at home = Still wonderful, but I wish I could find the time to drive over the hill to get some from the store and drink a fresh cup on the way home.

Peet's coffee bought pre-ground from the market = A fine cup of Joe, but a far cry from Coffee Nirvana.

Anything else is a last resort for me. Except for Starbuck's which is never an option.

Oh, except for that one time.

Oh, also, you know how when you buy a new car, you tend to see that kind of car everywhere you go? We recently purchased that coffee maker, and I've been seeing it in weird places - an advertisement for Marriott Rewards, and last night at the end of Criminal Minds. I made Rachel rewind so I could show her.

And I might get around to a post about my thoughts on DirectTV, but just in case I don't, I want you to know that I think they suck.

Thoughts on Food Safety...

2009-02-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, when times are tough, I am more inclined to purchase a generic or off brand. I mean, peanut butter has become an important part of my regular diet, and I can easily justify paying a little more for, say, Adam's Natural. But then, the off brand costs almost $2.00 less. And I say, well, we are tightening our belts, so sure, why not buy the off brand. And then you see things like

Dead rodents, excrement in peanut butter plant lead to recall

and

Salmonella leads to 2nd Ohio death; peanut butter sales down nearly 25 percent

and suddenly, that extra two bucks seem well worth it. My Dad used to say, when it came time to buy cleats or tennis shoes, "The most expensive pair of shoes you can buy is cheaper than a visit to the emergency room."

16...really? Wow. 16

2009-02-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Jake is 16.

Take a minute, let that sink in. 16.

OK.

I don't think it will be real for me until he gets his driver's license. And he has not been terribly motivated to get one, so I can carry on like he is still 15 for a while yet. And he's got his band and baseball now, so his schedule is pretty full. And while I'm not looking forward to the insurance or buying another car so he can practice, I would very much like for him to be able to take the golf cart to his friends' houses, or to the store or whatever.

Maybe it's just part of the culture where we live, but the kids around here are not as excited about getting their licenses as we were at their age. I mean, we started at 15 and a half with a permit. And we all took the driving test from the same 300 pound guy in Petaluma who almost couldn't buckle the seat belt. And we couldn't wait to get behind the wheel and we'd find any excuse to drive ourselves to school.

Anyway, we had a little celebration for him on Saturday here, then went over the hill for dinner and a movie with Auntie Laurie. It was fun. We saw Coreline - In 3-D.

And I am confident that all across this great land of ours, college students on every campus are going to see this movie in some altered state or other.

Jeff and the dogs are BFFs. And it's been great having him here.

I have a really busy week ahead of me. And I am looking forward to 8:00 Friday night when AT&T flips the switch and Max goes live in Texas. I hope to be celebrating by 8:30. I've been working on this thing for months and am really looking forward to putting it behind me and moving on to some other projects.

That's it for now.

I have eaten at Val's...

2009-02-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

...and downed the Papa Burger - that's a one pound burger along with fries and a shake. They make a mint shake there with actual crushed Andie's mints. Awesome. Anyway, I did it on a dare from Andrew back in the day. And I had to nap most of the afternoon.

But there is a place in Arizona called the Heart Attack Grill that makes an 8,000 calorie calorie 4 pound "Quadruple Bypass" burger.
When I have my next good cholesterol checkup, I'm thinking about making a celebratory pilgrimage.

Also, they cook their fries in good old honest lard.

Things are good...

2009-02-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

...and getting better, it seems. Sorry I haven't been posting lately. Our little camera seems to have died on us so I haven't been snapping many pictures. If I had, you'd see us all at Lauren and Paul's for the Super Bowl. And you'd see some pictures of Jeff who is living with us for a spell. And some really nice sunsets that we've been having lately.

I was going to do a whole post about wanting to live in a parallel universe where Warner's "sack" was correctly ruled an incomplete pass and with 7 seconds on the clock he hit Fitzgerald deep who laterlalled to Boldin who ran it in thus making the greatest super bowl ever played even greater.

But I didn't get around to it, and now it feels dated.

My Horoscope from The Onion...

2009-01-22T03:22:00.000-08:00

Taurus April 20 - May 20

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, though it's your habit of cooking naked that's really pissing the neighbors off.

My Party Idea...

2009-01-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

A procrastinator's New Years Eve party. It would be held every year (or so) around the 3rd Saturday of January. It will start precisely at 5:30 or 6:00, or whenever guests can make it. A little after midnight, but certainly before 1:00 am, we would have a countdown and so on to ring in the Procrastinators' New Year. The house will still be festive because the Christmas tree is still up, as are the lights, well half the lights, I took some of them down. And we'll take a bunch of pictures and I'll do a blog post about the party some time in March or maybe April.

Almost half of January has gone by now. Wow. Just Wow.

Work is good. We started a live pilot of the banking application I have been working on for about as long as I can remember. And the good folks at McDonald's are about to sign off on the design of the application I am building for them. And there's a few other things on tap as well.

We've had weird warm weather here for a few days. I think we may have hit 70 today. And some wicked winds to go with.

Tonight I get to get excited about one of those stupid things I like to let myself get excited about - we TiVoed the first two hours last night, so tonight we get 4 solid hours (minus commercials) of 24. Another long day ahead for Jack Bauer, I'm sure. Now, on the topic of 24, there were those who said it was OK for us to commit torture because Jack Bauer does it on 24. I never bought in to that line of thinking. But then Rachel pondered whether having a black president (2 actually) on 24 helped pave the way for Obama.

And then there are those who say E.T., War of the Worlds, Close Encounters, Men In Black, Independence Day, Signs, and so on are really just propaganda put out to get the public used to the idea of aliens.

I have no idea where I was going with all of that.

Anyway. Things are good, and getting better. Who could ask for anything more?

Kickin' Father Time To The Curb...

2009-01-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

It's been a blur since Christmas. There was helping Lauren and Paul move and then all of a sudden it was New Year's Eve.

Most of us spent the better part of the evening in our jammies and it was grand.

I realized that seeing Dick Clark makes me sad not because he is old, but becuase I have been watching his New Year's Rockin' Eve for over 30 years and seeing him that way reminds me of my own mortality. Everything decays, even Dick Clark, and even you and even me.

Wow, that wasn't very celebratory.

I'll get some more pics up later.

Hot Tub Time!

2008-12-25T00:44:00.000-08:00

All done. Except for the brownies. And you know what? Forget brownies. They were coming from a box anyway. Everything else was done by me and it's better that way.

Here's how they came out...

Cookies covering every flat surface in the kitchen. Now that's Christmas! And I learned to love Silpat this year. Those Peanut Butter Blossoms slid right off.

Here's Moe and Moe...

And here's the tree that Rachel made beautiful...

And I didn't really think there was anything that would get in the way of us going over the hill tomorrow. But Rachel checked the weather and now she's worried about it. So we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings.

And, I guess, what Santa brings.

Christmas Eve Still...

2008-12-24T23:09:00.000-08:00

...barely. And I am beat. Despite the soft cushiony (yes, cushiony) floor mats strategically placed around my kitchen at work areas, my feet are killing me. So far I've made Reindeer Poop, Mexican Wedding Cakes, (My) Triple Chocolate Disaster cookies, and Peanut Butter Blossoms. I unwrapped 30 Hershey's Kisses in less than three minutes - a new record.

Rachel is wrapping and I have Pumpkin Muffins and Brownies yet to make. And some wrapping of my own. And I don't care what time we wrap up or how nasty it is outside, I am taking a hot tub when I'm done.

Speaking of how nasty it is outside...

Watches and Warnings
Middletown Forecast /O.EXB.KSTO.WS.W.0012.081225T0600Z-081225T2000Z/

CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...LAKEPORT
140 PM PST WED DEC 24 2008
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO
12 PM PST THURSDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM
10 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM PST THURSDAY.
RAIN WILL MIX WITH SNOW AND CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BELOW 3000 FEET LATE
THIS EVENING. SNOW LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER TO 1500 FEET
DURING CHRISTMAS MORNING. 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE AROUND
3000 FEET BY CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON...WITH AN INCH OR TWO DOWN TO
2000 FEET. GUSTY SOUTH WINDS UP TO 40 MPH MAY CREATE AREAS OF
REDUCED VISIBILITY IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY
CHRISTMAS MORNING. SNOW AND RAIN WILL TAPER OFF TO SCATTERED SNOW
SHOWERS CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON AND WINDS WILL DECREASE BY LATE
MORNING.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST
THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD...AND WATER IN
YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

And they must be serious because they used ALLCAPS.

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to driving over the hill and seeing family. But there is a part of me that wouldn't mind if it snowed 10 inches and the mountain was closed and we could hunker down here by the fire and read all day.

Anyway - whether I see you or not, Merry Christmas. May you get some Ray Conniff on your iPod this year!

Wrong Joe!!!

2008-12-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

I mean, right about Heroes. But wrong about the test. All groovy. A month of eating dirt and berries and the Meds worked. My cholesterol went from a really good bowling score to a good bowling score for me. And I lost 7 pounds. So if I just keep eating like this, I wonder if in 5 years or so I will be a whole new sort of me. Can you imagine me at like 180? That would be so weird.

But this weekend, it's cel-e-bration time - come on! I am grilling red meat!!!

Oh - and tonight, it's Family Movie Night - Pizza and Dark Night. I think that's the only thing that can get the foul taste of Heroes out of my mouth.

And again...

2008-12-15T23:51:00.000-08:00

...where does the time go? And why does Blogger insert so much white space now?

OK, so sorry I didn't get Thanksgiving pictures up. I may still get to that. But tonight I have two things to share.

First, I made up my mind watching the Season Finale tonight. Heroes blows. They should quit wasting money on stupid online and Sprint phone only crap and focus on the show itself. They used to have near move quality special effects. Now it's like watching Star Trek. And not recent Star Trek, I mean good old Kirk fires his phaser to heat the rock and it glows red Star Trek. And oh - Syler's dead? Sure he is. And oh, sure, she can run so fast she goes back in time. Right. OK. I can't beleive that somebody who thought that was a good idea still has a job. I hate to bag on someone else's creativity, but man, it is disappointing. I must have missed the episode where one hero has Super Shark powers and another with Super Jumping power jumped over her.

Did you like how I ended that with "her?" I'm working on gender equality. Reconnecting with my Cal friend got me thinking about that again. Once when we were walking to class, she looked at the Campanile- possibly the most famous campus phallus anywhere -and she said, "Look at that thing- it looks like a giant tampon." That is SO Berkeley! Or at least so Berkeley when we were there. I still have trouble writing s/he though.

Anyway...that wasn't the second thing.

Second, a guy at my work sent me this picture...

I think I know how that went down - somebody didn't take the time to put the lights away properly and somebody else expressed his or her frustration.

I learned how to properly wrap cables when I went through local cable access training years ago. Plus, we put each strand in it's own plastic bag so they don't get tangled with each other. So the outside lights are fine.

And we had a great idea last year - why not leave the lights on the tree and store it under the house. Here is the result...

It reminded me of that picture from work. Once Rachel works her magic on it, I'm sure it will look great. And I'll let her be the judge of whether this was a great idea or if it took longer to make pretty than it would have to restring.

Also, I got up early today to go get my blood drawn again. Follow up cholesterol check. I'm actually looking forward to finding out how much my diet changes will affect it. But it sucked. It was literally freezing cold out, and when I got there, two different nurses tried and could not find a good vein. Then when they finally got something s/he said, "That should be enough."

Why do you think the nurse was a woman? I mean they both were, but still. At least one of the nurses could just as easily have been a gay man.

So anyway, tonight for dinner, I sort of celebrated by cooking a Mexi-Feast - with real cheese and sour cream and everything. And there was a message on the machine saying they didn't get enough blood, so I have to go back tomorrow. Man, my arm is still throbbing from this morning - it's like my arm was a dart board in a rowdy Irish pub. But dinner was fantastic! I just hope it doesn't screw up my results.

And I'm taking some time off between Christmas and the new year. Once I get these gender issues resolved, I will sign up for some GLBT Sensitivity training.

Well, GLB anyway. I still have trouble with the T.

Whoah-hoah what I want to know is...

2008-11-26T23:59:00.001-08:00

Where does the time go?

So sorry for the lack of posts. Work has been kicking my butt. Juggling 3 projects. Did I mention I'm working on a store locator and nutritional information phone application for a fast food company? I wish I could tell you which fast food company, but they made me sign a McNon-Disclosure-Agreement.

I am really proud of the staff of the Hotel Yorba. Rachel, Jake, and I got everything all together, house cleaned top to bottom and everything. Rachel's Mom came up to help tonight, but by the time she got here, there wasn't much left to do. She and Rachel made the pumpkin pies and took a relaxing hot tub in the fog. We don't often get fog here, and when we do, it makes for a really nice soak.

I mopped, cleaned the bathroom, and washed the dogs. Then I made chocolate chip pumpkin bread. And, of course, I made Lola's Stuffing. I repeat, I will take the Pepsi Challenge with ANY stuffing out there. Great Grandma Lola's is the best.

Also, I missed my Blog-iversary a few days ago. 3 Years I've been at this now. So, you know, Happy Belated Anniversary to Mind Blogging Typos. Man I thought that was clever when I thought that up!

And wow, I've been so busy, I am just now hearing about the attacks in India. Thoughts and prayers with everyone touched by that.

And I wish you all safe travel and great food and lots of precious time with family.

I'll get some pictures up tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

Update...

2008-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Both suspects are in custody and everything is hunky dory.

The all clear was sounded around 6:00 in the evening. One was caught around 2:00 and the other around 4:30. In both cases residents reported seeing the suspects and our security and law enforcement closed in. A couple of scumbags on meth.

Tough to work today...

2008-11-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a picutre of a helicopter circling over my house.

Here's why...

Sheriff's deputies are searching Hidden Valley Lake for two men believed to have been responsible for a home break-in this morning that resulted in two people being assaulted.Officials also have told community residents to stay in and keep their homes secured.

The attempted burglary occurred on Noble Ranch Road at about 7:20 a.m., according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.Two men, who have not been identified, were alleged to have committed the break-in, assaulting two people inside the home, said Bauman.“It's still unclear as to whether or not they were armed at the time or not,” Bauman said.However, he said the two men should be considered armed and dangerous based on the initial incident.

The men reportedly left the scene in a white pickup truck, said Bauman.While responding to the scene a sheriff's deputy collided with a white Chevy pickup. Bauman said the pickup was abandoned on a property on Spruce Grove South near Hidden Valley Lake, as its two occupants fled on foot.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's Henry 1 helicopter has been searching the community from the sky over the last few hours, said Bauman. At the same time, detectives and deputies are on the ground looking for the suspects.

Bauman said a Citywatch Alert used in emergencies was sent out to residents in a three-mile perimeter of the incident, which amounts to about 60 percent of the community.Hidden Valley Lake Security confirmed two men were being sought, with officials paying particular attention to the Stonegate and Greenridge areas.

Lake County News will continue to report on the situation as it unfolds.

Could be my old neighbor who moved to Cloverdale up in the helicopter flying over his old house.

Got a checkup after I voted...

2008-11-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

Here's me in my prom dress...

Everything was good except for my cholesterol.

And I'm bumming about what has to happen. I have to change my diet and exercise.

Now, if you wanted to come up with a list of foods to avoid if you have high cholesterol, it's pretty easy. Just take the list of my 100 favorite things to eat and preface the list with big red letters that say:

DON'T EAT THESE FOODS EVER!

So now the further adventures of the wok every night.

Did you know that one serving of ice cream has roughly 30% of the cholesterol one should consume in a day? And did you know that one serving of ice cream is about 1/2 cup? So yeah, when I have a bowl of coffee ice cream with 3 scoops, and each scoop is about a cup, that's 180% of the cholesterol one should eat on a "normal" diet. And I have to lower mine. So I pretty much just get to lick the glass in the grocery store.

Whatever, I am learning to cook new and healthier things. And Mike and Ikes are still OK.

So yeah, if I stick to this and get some exercise and the meds help, I wonder if I will still be blogging when I'm 70.

Yes we can...

2008-11-06T23:34:00.000-08:00

...and yes we did.

Earlier, I felt like it was over when I saw the folks over at Fox discussing what Obama should do.

And later I felt like it was over when I saw Virginia go blue.

Moments before 8, Rachel looked at the numbers and said, "California will do it."

Moments after 8, California did it.

And I've been buzzing that good concert or church experience buzz and crying - no weeping, with joy and hope.

Prediction...

2008-11-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

I predict that in the weeks following the election, regardless of who wins, two things will increase: Gas prices and violence in Iraq.

(Whoops - I forgot the picture I am supposed to include with these. Thanks for reminding me commenter.)

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

So we got a late start with decorating this year. We've been busy. And Rachel took Jake over the hill for a doctor's appointment and visited dear sister. And they didn't get home until 5:30 or so.

But we did the floating head in the window thing. And set up the fog machine and strobe lights. It looked good - 90th percentile and all that. Had about maybe 50 kids or so. It was a little weird - this is the first year Jake didn't go Trick-or-Treating. A few of his friends came to the door. But he just wasn't in to it this year.

Lauren and Paul came up after work. And we played dress up a little.

And we ate pizza and answered the door and around 9:00 when kids stopped showing up, we played some pool.

Chris once said to me, "Cuz, for someone who owns a pool table, you aren't very good at pool." So I've been practicing. Mostly because Paul is really good, and it's got to get pretty boring for him. And I made some good shots tonight. And I kept leaving him "buggered." Like this...

Here's what happened...

Then we all watched the last 20 or so scariest movies of all time on VH1 or something. And then we all went to bed. But since I worked until 3:00 AM last night, I am not at all tired.

So I'm blogging.

Earlier this week, I did something pretty geeky. I hooked my laptop up to our TV and stereo so we could stream movies from NetFlix. That was pretty cool.

And I also made a grubbin' vegetarian dinner on Wednesday. Cheese ravioli tossed with chard. I stir fried the chard with some fresh rosemary a neighbor, Elva, gave me, some sage and pine nuts and garlic. I added some butter and some of the pasta water to make a sauce and then tossed in the raviolis.

It was really good. the only thing I didn't like was the chard made the sauce sort of greenish brown - not very appealing. Next time, on Tim my co-workers advice I might try blanching the chard instead.

That's it. I'm gonna go surf the internet to reassure myself that Obama is going to win. It occurs to me that this is the first election in my lifetime that either candidate winning could trigger riots.

Not Ready Yet?

2008-10-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last night after Obama's 1/2 hour special, McCain ran a misleading ad that offended me. I mean it offended me more than most. Aside from saying that Obama would "tax our economy deeper in to recession," it ended by saying that Barack is "NOT READY...YET."

My thoughts are still forming as to why this offends me so strongly. In part, I know it has to do with the history of the Civil Rights movement. And I think the ad is trying to bring up racial issues in addition to the experience issues they have been trying to raise for months. I immediately thought of the phrase, "Justice delayed is justice denied," spoken, I believe first, by Martin Luther King.

Sadly, I think this is one more lame excuse for racist people to cling to so they can justify their unwillingness to vote for a black man without admitting to themselves that they are, in fact, racists. Through his words and actions, Obama has demonstrated that he does have the experience to lead our nation. And the Palin selection took a lot of the air out of that ballon for the McCain campaign. So they have shifted the message slightly to lead people to think, "Yeah, I'm not racist, he's not ready yet, and I will vote for him in 4 or 8 years when he is ready."

Add to that Obama, once again, looks suspiciously darker (and angrier) in the McCain ad than he does just about anywhere else.

The obvious response, I think is an ad showing McCain falling asleep during the State of the Union address with text that reads "NOT READY...ANYMORE."

We'll bring you more as the story develops...

2008-10-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

Thanks Joe, for the prodding. This is me lately...

No need to rub it in, man. I feel bad enough.

I did everything I could to help. I wore my lucky shirt and cap - and the shirt was getting pretty stinky because it worked in the ALDS and I refused to wash it. I even shaved my head and not my beard.

Rachel said, "Who are you supposed to be? Kevin Youkilis?" And I think I'm a lucky man to have a wife that would make that connection. And then she added, "Well you're going to have to dye it red."

Maybe if I shave my head and my goatee and get a really good tan she will start calling me "Big Papi."

Anyway - I will try to find some time for blogging this weekend.

I did it...

2008-10-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

You might remember a little over two years ago when I had my MRI Freakout.

Well, I finally got around to getting it done today. I've been practicing lying still for a while. My doctor prescribed 4 mg of valium to help me relax. Which is just about enough to take the edge off my first cup of coffee. I took my Bucky eye shades, and spritzed them with lavender. And I had them play my Jean-Michele Jarre Oxygene album. I couldn't find Magnetic Fields which would have been more appropriate.

And best of all, Rachel sat in the room with me with her hand on my arm. That made it all OK.

So hopefully with these new pictures, my new doctor will be able to figure out what is wrong with my shoulder.

I love Heroes...

2008-10-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

But I HATE time travel.

We loved every second of Season 1. And we made excuses for the abbreviated Season 2 because of the writer's strike. Season 3, well, gee, it's time travel. And like a said a minute ago, I hate time travel. And stepping on butterflies and all of that. I hate, hate, hate it.

So my love of Heroes Season 3 is being offset by my hatred of time travel. So I'm just sort of watching ambivalently. But there are WAY too many commercials, too. So I don't know if I am going to make it through the season, even with Tivo and commercial skipping.

My resume in Wordle...

2008-10-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Wordle is cool.

This is my resume in Wordle...

http://wordle.net/create

Manny Who?

2008-10-03T23:25:00.001-07:00

I mean, sure, he's doing well, and good for him and all. But I think we did just fine in that trade.

Tonight it was a tight game late. And I got that great feeling of watching a game that really matters to me. Where you get butterflies on every pitch. And it reminded me of '86 a little.

And I realized that I will never feel again like I did in '86. It's taken me two World Series wins and another post season to realize this. Whether they win or lose, it will never matter as much to me as it did then. The curse is behind us, and a part of me misses it.

It used to be that if you were wearing a Red Sox hat, the fact that you liked them genuinely and passionately was a given. There are a lot of Red Sox Nation immigrants that never went through what I and my father before me went through. I guess the only people that can still feel the way we did are Cubs fans.

Sorry Ted.

To quote the Jesus...

2008-09-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

"It's Bush league psyche out stuff. Laughable, man!"

He was, of course, talking about Walter not rolling on Saturday's. But he could have been talking about McCain and the debate. It's on apparently. I'll be tuning in to watch in 45 minutes or so.

Maybe the plan was really to bump the VP debates. And I think that would have been a mistake for McCain. Obama is going to clobber him. But in the VP debate, Palin's performance will most likely make McCain look good by comparison.

Oh, by the way, not sure if you saw the ads out this morning on the WSJ website and other places. Somebody prematurely placed ads saying McCain won the debate hands down - BEFORE it was even announced that he would show up.

But did you see the Palin internview with Katie Couric?

Reminds me of this classic...

A bit of catching up...

2008-09-08T04:06:00.001-07:00

So I didn't say anything about Labor Day, really. Lauren and Paul came up with Hector.

He's the cutest puppy I know these days.

I had a barbecue catastrophe. And as much as I hate the big W, I was able to buy replacement burners and MacGyver (MacGruber?) them in to the grill and we were able to cook.

And I also picked up a $5 clearance impulse buy. A slip-n'-slide. And it was so worth it! I wish we'd gotten two and strung them together. It was like 160 degrees out and it was a great way to cool off. And it was a hoot.

I think I was working when they were playing poker.

The ribs were awesome. In fact, all of the food was awesome over the entire weekend. We moved the grill down to the deck from the upstairs patio. This let us all hang out in the same place. And it also let's me cook with gas - this gave us the best vegetables I've made in as long as I can remember. You really need gas for a wok.

Then there was this weekend. Lauren and Paul came up again. And we did pretty much the same things, only we didn't set up the slip-n'-slide. And if all goes well, they will be living nearby before too long. They are pre-approved on a loan and there are a lot of options to chose from up here.

Saturday was a somber anniversary - a year since Rachel's accident. I got her a card and a carrot cake with an upside down toy car on it. I couldn't find and don't know how to make an upside down cake, or I would have.

I had to work most of the weekend. The end is finally in sight on this project. It will be live on 9/23, and we should be done a few days before that.

Here's what it looked like on my whiteboard when we first started...

And here's what the main application looks like now...

And that's just the main application. A lot of those little boxes have a lot more little boxes inside of it. The nice thing for me is that there is enough functionality there now that it actually sounds really cool. And that is giving me some additional motivation.

That's it for now.

And then I saw this...

2008-09-07T00:31:00.000-07:00

...and I didn't feel so bad.

Also, let's see how compassionate the conservatives are when Ike rolls in to town and everyone isn't watching a convention.

OK, this is weird...

2008-09-04T22:50:00.001-07:00

...but is seems to me that John McCain is incapable of raising his arms over his head. Has anybody else noticed this? Like during his whole speech, his hands were seldom visible. And they never went over his shoulder.

Not a big deal, it's just curious, you know?

Also, I want to add that in 2000, he was my favorite Republican. But man, he's lost me since then. And it is shocking to me that the Republicans rely on a frightened and misinformed public to paint themselves as the party of change. They have had control of all three branches of our government for the better part of 8 years and are largely responsible for the deplorable state our country is in today. And that if they repeat a lie often enough, it will become true.

John Bush...I mean John McCain a reformer? He was one of the Keating 5. He says Obama will raise taxes, and that is true - but only on people making more than $250,000 per year. Most Americans will receive a tax reduction. The reality is we have had 8 years of the kinds of tax cuts on working Americans he talks about and it is killing us. Trickle down was never a good idea. And it never worked. Obama's Plan is progressinve, McCain's is regressive. I'm pulling this out of my butt, it's from the Tax Policy Center.

And he can talk all he wants about "empower(ing) parents with choice" in schools, it's still vouchers. And it's still privatization. And privatization benefits those who win the big contracts - like with prisons and the Iraq War.

Also, It's funny how a guy who is never going to win the coasts talks up off-shore drilling. I guess now that Jeb is out of office in Florida. I'm willing to consider off shore drilling AFTER we explore alternative energy sources. But the alternative energy sources need to come first.

There's more, but that's all I've got tonight.

Forget The Scandals...

2008-09-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

This was from a couple of weeks ago...

...and that's really all you need to know. And while I can't see my parents voting Democratic, I could see them staying home from the polls.

Still, I just can't make my mind up about her. Is she an "actress" or a "model spokesperson"?

Oh, and both the Yankees and Red Sox won again today. Woot!

For the next three nights, Glenn, Jake, and Laurie...

2008-09-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

I root for the Yankees.

I may even whear my hat, if I can find it.

With a tip of the cap (and a wag of the finger) to Glenn Frey...

2008-08-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

The heat is on!

So I'm home alone today working. Rachel took Jake and the boys to San Francisco for a little end of Summer fling. And I'm a miser when it comes to the A/C. So I don't turn it on until my legs start sweating downstairs in the office.

That happened today and I went upstairs and it was 89 degrees in the hallway at the thermostat.

Here's what it's like outside right now...

And here's the spa...

I am considering jumping in the spa to cool off.

At least it's not smoky out.

My New Favorite Thing #74

2008-08-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite thing. Street View on Google Maps. Once upon a time, Google Earth was my new favorite thing. But now it is Street View. Apparently they have these magical vans that just drive around everywhere taking 360 degree pictures. I can't see my house, I'm guessing because of the gates. But you can see the guard shack from Spruce Grove and all.

And you can see my parents' house...

I wasn't sure what that thing in the picture was - until Laurie said, "I think it's Dad picking up dog poop or something." And now that I look at it again, I think she's right. What are the odds of that? That you'd be out front picking up poop when the Google van happens to be driving by.

Also, they've captured another Bigfoot...

And finally, remember this stuff?

It makes my teeth hurt just looking at the package. But I bet it would go great with Ciroc Vodka.

Jake and I took the dogs for a nice long walk today. That was great. And they are getting better and better. Moe actually sits without being told most of the time when we stop now. And we had a nice long talk on our nice long walk.

Where were you six years ago?

2008-08-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

(Click the little green triangle... )
Link

A lot of you were at 1825 Western Avenue. With us. When we got married.

Happy Anniversary Rachel!!!

The Dude Obides...

2008-08-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say I made that up, but I read it on DailyKOS last night...well, early this morning before bed. (See tidbit about sleep disorders below)

How long before the knuckle dragging Republican "creative" types come up with Obama Bin Baden or something?

Anyway - I got my message from the Obama campaign. That was fun. But I don't give out my cell phone number for things like this so I didn't get the 3:00AM text message. I wonder if Hillary did? "It's 3:00AM, and a blackberry is buzzing at the Clinton house..."

But this is what most people got...

You might recall that after Edwards' was disgraced, I was having trouble figuring out who I wanted Obama to pick. Last week, I almost posted about selecting Bigfoot as a running mate. You know, he would be the ULTIMATE Washington outsider. He's also strong on environmentalism, personal privacy, open space, anti-logging, anti-surveilance. And he has a proven track record of avoiding confrontation. And although he was not in office at the time, I am confident he would have voted against the Iraq War.

When I first heard of his pick, I uttered a Dude like, "Huh...That's f*&%ing interesting, man." And today, I'm kind of excited. I've read criticism that Obama picked him to "plug a gap." That Biden brings foreign policy and political experience that Obama lacks. But I also read where Obama pledged to pick a vice president who would challenge him. He said:

"I want somebody who is independent. Somebody who is able to say to me, 'you know what, Mr. President, I think you're wrong on this and here's why' and will give me (applause) who will help me think through major issues and consult with me, would be a key advisor."

With that in mind, I am well pleased with his choice.

And, you know, there's always "Bigfoot/Yeti in 2016"

I guess the only question now is who will portray Biden on Saturday Night Live.

Also, I recently discovered that I have "suffered" from a known condition for most of my life. A lot of you know me to be a "night owl." But it seems I actually suffer from Delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Delayed sleep-phase syndrome (DSPS), also known as delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD) or delayed sleep-phase type (DSPT), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, a chronic disorder of the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, core body temperature, hormonal and other daily rhythms relative to the usual norms. People with DSPS tend to fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning.

Often, people with the disorder report that they cannot sleep until early morning, but they fall asleep at about the same time every "night", no matter what time they go to bed. Unless they have another sleep disorder such as sleep apnea in addition to DSPS, patients can sleep well and have a normal need for sleep. Therefore, they find it very difficult to wake up in time for a typical school or work day. If, however, they are allowed to follow their own schedule, e.g. sleeping from 4 a.m. to noon, they sleep soundly, awaken spontaneously, and do not feel sleepy again until their next "night"...

...Working the evening or night shift, or working at home, makes DSPS less of an obstacle for some. Many of these people do not describe their pattern as a "disorder." Some DSPS individuals nap, even taking 4-5 hours of sleep in the morning and 4-5 in the evening. DSPS-friendly careers can include security work, work in theater, the entertainment industry, the media, freelance writing, call center work, nursing, taxi or truck driving and hospitality work in restaurants, hotels or bars.

So maybe I should change my career up a bit and become a home office bartender who does freelance writing on the side.

Occam's Bigfoot...

2008-08-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

All other things being equal, if it looks like a big hairy rubber gorilla costume, the simplest solution is that it is a big hairy rubber gorilla costume.

Researcher says bigfoot just a rubber gorilla suit

ATLANTA - Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit. Two researchers on a quest to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a block of ice — handed over to them for an undisclosed sum by two men who claimed to have found it — was slowly thawed out, and discovered to be a rubber gorilla outfit.

The revelation comes just days after a much ballyhooed news conference was held in California to proclaim that the remains of the creature were found in the North Georgia mountains was the legendary man-ape.

Steve Kulls, executive director of

squatchdetective.com and host of Squatchdetective Radio, says in a posting on a Web site run by Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi that as the "evidence" was thawed, the claim began to unravel as a giant hoax.

First, the hair sample was burned and "melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair," Kulls said in the posting.

The thawing process was sped up and the exposed head was found to be "unusually hollow in one small section." An hour of thawing later and the feet were exposed — and they were found to be made of rubber.

So sleep easier, Sis.

But then again, just because this one was a big hairy rubber gorilla suit...

The amazing thing to me is how the Biscardi guy is claiming HE was defrauded - what a crock.

You know you're hangin' with good people when...

2008-08-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

...everyone's too polite to take the last sausage.

Frank and Marla are good people.

Rough day for them. Frank's 89 year old grandma took a spill and broke her hip. She's in surgery in Lakeport as I type this. So once again, I ask that those of you that pray, say one for her.

Anyone remember this?

2008-08-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

Glenn, you've got to check this out.

And then there's this. One of my favorite Monkees songs.

And while we're at it, there's this...

We saw Dark Knight tonight. And there were maybe 25 people in the theater and 10 or 12 were inconsiderate loud obnoxious jerks with cell phones. And I asked some of the people politely to be quiet. And that made for a tense walk out to the car. Nothing happened, but you never know, you know? And I gave Rachel the keys and had her get in the car first. And I got myself all ready to rumble in case it came to that. And you really shouldn't have to put up with stuff like that after shelling out like 40 bucks for tickets and snacks. And it all just reminds me how I would much rather watch a movie at home on DVD.

At least nobody was kicking Rachel's chair.

Breaking News!!!

2008-08-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

This just in...

Some folks in Georgia have found the corpse of a Bigfoot.

And they look reliable to me.

Some of you already know this, but I'm sure a lot of you don't. One of the cruelest things I did to my little sister when we were little was to torture her with scary stories and such about Bigfoot. I was a total Bigfoot junkie in third grade. I think that one Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman Bigfoot episode (in two parts, if I remember correctly) started it all. I had a bunch of books and studied whatever I could find from the library. And I would stomp down the hall when we were home alone saying, "Bigfoot! BigFOOT! Coming to get you!!!" And Laurie would scream and hide in her room. I seem to remember cousin Robbie joining in the fun as well.

Sis, if I never apologized for that, I'm sorry. And I'm sure Rob is not.

Anyway - since then, it has become a bit of a running gag. Rachel and I found a video of the episode and an 8x10 glossy of the Bionic Woman and Bigfoot. Which we gave to Laurie for Christmas. Of course, Bigfoot autographed the photo for her. And another year, I got her a poseable Bigfoot action figure which she promptly threw away. And Mom salvaged it from the trash and, I'm told, it still lives under the Christmas tree every year at our parents' house. Oh, and also, Laurie is the one who sent me the link to this story.

As for this news story, well, I remain skeptical. Why now? And why in Georgia? How did the Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) get there from Northern California/Southern Oregon? Big steps? Greyhound? Then again, it's not April 1st either.

I guess we'll know more on Friday. If I wasn't so busy, I would try to find a way to get down there for the press conference.

Keep in mind that I haven't played in a long time...

2008-08-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

With that in mind, I'm really happy with the 9 holes I played today. I even got a par and had a look at birdie. Sadly, I took a bogie on the birdie look, but whatever. I hit some good balls and not too many bad ones. And I only lost one.

And best of all, Rachel came for the ride.

We had a great day - packed a lunch and some drinks, got the iPod going in the golf cart and took a ride down. Almost nobody on the course, and they let us play the back nine, which is far prettier than the front.

Kind of like last night, this was one of those, "Why haven't we done this before?" things.

Best shot of the day was probably this - a tree in the way, so I ran a 4 iron from 65 yards...

to about 8 feet.

And I missed the par putt. It was like that.

Also, here's some recent things...

This is how our front door looks with the curatins Dolores made with Rachel. That's also Jake's cool coffin shaped bass case that he got to replace the one we had to return that didn't fit his bass (even though it was made SPECIFICALLY for his Thunderbird bass, but whatever).

This is what I've spent entirely too much time looking at lately, design doc, call flow, and Interactive Designer.

And this is probably the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever made - smoked gouda, havarti, and avocado. I made it on the Foreman grill, so it's a little squished, but it was yummy.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Dolores and request that those of you that do say a prayer for her and her ailing back. She is in no good way right now and might be heading for a hospital stay. We're thinking about you and trying to figure out how we can best help, Dolores. Hang in there lady!

That was so cool...

2008-08-09T01:37:00.000-07:00

I think the last time I went to a Drive In, it was to see The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams when we still lived in Daly City and the Kenney's had their first child that night. So what's that, like 35 years ago?

Anyway - it was fantastic!!! We got snacks at Safeway...

And just sat in our car watching the movie. And our car is pretty comfy. And the sound system rocks. This is my new favorite thing to do. And I learned that you can go see two movies for $15 for two people, and $20 for three or more. So, we could take Jake and two friends for the same price as just taking Jake. And the kids can sit in chairs in front of the car. And if we wanted, I think we could even have a barbecue. Well, maybe cook hot dogs on a gas grill anyway.

And I did get Rachel the popcorn she wanted. The concession stand is such a throwback to the mid-80s. They have Donkey Kong and Arch Rivals basketball.

Oh, and we enjoyed Hancock.

Wow. John Edwards. Wow.

2008-08-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Years ago I wrote in my journal that I have no living heroes - because as long as they are alive, they might let you down someday.

We dodged a bullet. Good lord, if I had gotten my way and he had won the nomination, and this stuff came out now? It would be 4 more years of Bush-like rule. Even though McCain did the same sort of thing, and probably worse, he surely would win.

There's a part of me that feels really duped - like I was really behind this guy because he was the first to talk about and the most outspoken about curbing corporate power as a means to restoring our ravaged democratic system.

And a small part of me that I don't like want to know all of the details. Like is it his kid? Is she the only one? But the better part of me doesn't care. He got caught cheating and lied about it and I'm sorry, I just can't vote for you. And with your fine hair, I'm sure you can do just fine selling cars or or doing the weather for your local NBC affiliate.

Then there's a part of me that goes, "Ah, so that's why he dropped out so early." I couldn't understand it at the time. He came in second in Iowa, and I was really hoping for an Edwards/Obama ticket.

And then I was really hoping for an Obama/Edwards ticket.

And now...

I just don't know any more. Gore? Kucinic?

And then there's the part of me that worries that something like this might be out there for Obama as well. If I was wrong about Edwards, you know, I might be wrong about Obama, too.

At least I know I'm right about McCain.

To quote Kenny Loggins...

2008-08-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

"I'm all right. Don't nobody worry 'bout me."

And to quote John Fogerty (I know, but the Creedence version is my favorite - Cosmos Factory was the only good record my Dad had when I was little)...

"I heard it through the grapevine..."

...that my Aunt and Uncle were worried about me and Cuz because they hadn't seen us around Stormwind for a while. We're fine.

I have had a rough couple of months, a rougher couple of weeks, and a brutal couple of days. I went to bed last night and tossed and turned a lot and took some Advil PM and probably fell asleep around 3:00 AM. Work pressure and home pressure and money pressure and family issues and everything swimming in my head - I think I was as close to a nervous breakdown as I've been since college, and that includes when CommTech went sideways.

But today, well, everything is OK. And I find myself wondering why I let myself get so wound up in the first place. How and why do I let myself forget that everything is going to be fine?

If I could figure that out, I would write a book about it.

Anyway, things are groovy. Jake is visiting a friend of his in Petaluma. Rachel and I are going to see a Drive-In movie tonight.

And hey, at least I'm not John Edwards, right?

I have a new least favorite commercial...

2008-08-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not talking about annoying commercials either. Head On, apply directly to the forehead - that's annoying. And the Girls Gone Wild ads - those are bad. And it offends me to have to sit through Viagra ads while watching a ball game with my son. Those things are all annoying. And then there are all of the ads for all of the drugs that are supposed to make us feel better and make us aware of symptoms to diseases we never knew existed. I mean, occasionally, Rachel or I would suffer from "The Jimmy Legs." Now it's a syndrome. And there's even a Half Man Half Biscuit song about it.

(and if you like that, check out "Joy Division Oven Gloves")

And a drug (Requip) you can take that may alleviate the symptoms. And that may also cause a host of side affects, including a strong urge to gamble.

I'm talking about commercials that really make me angry inside - that touch me deeply and trigger a reaction of shock and repulsion.

The worst of these, in my opinion was a ReMax ad that showed images of Tibetan looking monks looking for a homeland and how a ReMax realtor could surely help. That one got to me and stayed with me for the last 4 or 5 years.

But it has been replaced by this...

Wow. Just Wow.

I did some work for them for about six months some years ago - wow, it must be about ten years ago now, Travis.

Anyway while I was there, I told the IT Director that I got a Discover card in college and that since I never paid it all the way down to zero (at the time, it's since been there) I was still technically paying for a pizza I ate in the dorms. And he told me that I was just the type of cardholder they loved. And also while I was there, my credit line went up by $5,000. Odd coincidence, that.

So this commercial now hold the top spot for me as the most vile thing on television. If the commercial was just ten seconds long, it would have probably still been number one - it is absolutely NOT OK that we are a nation of consumers. That fact, while true, is both a symptom and a cause of just how bad things are - we are a great nation in decline.

But hey, what's new. We've been a great nation in decline for well over 200 years now. But we've been nosediving for almost 8.

I just hope we can level off for a while.

Relatively Recent Events...

2008-07-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Working backwards here. Dolores came up last week. Among other things, tought Rachel how to use her sewing machine. And they made curtains for the front door. It's a little weird, but they look great. And it keeps the dogs from barking at everything that walks by.

She came up last Sunday with Michael. Jeff came too. Jeff has a rockin new Miata. Fun little car. I grilled for the first time this Summer.

Before that, Elise and her kids came up. We made crock pizza and make your own sundaes. That was fun.

And Saturday night, Rachel and I went to Ting's in the golf cart. That was fun.

Oh yeah, Miyagi didn't catch the fly...

2008-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

...Daniel did.