Exgaucho

How To Lose An Election: By John Kerry

2006-10-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

How do you manage to blow an election for your entire party?

Here's how:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen.
John Kerry drew election-year fire from President George W. Bush and other Republicans on Tuesday for saying college students could "get stuck in Iraq" if they do not study hard.

But Kerry, who unsuccessfully challenged Bush in the 2004 presidential election, refused to apologize and said his remark was a "botched joke" aimed at the president, not U.S. troops.

Dumbass. No reason for the Republican base to stay home now. Nice Going. I guess losing in 2004 wasn't enough for him, he had to go sabatoge 2006 for the Dems.

Smash is right, John Kerry is still stuck in the Sixties. And now the Democrats will be stuck for two more years as the minority party.

We're All Hoping This Was an Accident

2006-10-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

Plane crashes into Manhattan building.

Pretty scary, even if it's an accident.

UPDATE: It was an accident, with a suprising, tragic twist:

Corey Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was killed today when a plane crashed into a residential high-rise building on New York City’s Upper East Side, igniting several apartments before pieces of the aircraft crashed to the ground, a high ranking city official confirmed late this afternoon.

Police said two bodies were found on the ground shortly after the crash, one of them that of Mr. Lidle, who was a licensed pilot. The Associated Press said the plane was registered to Mr. Lidle.

A lost life is always a tragedy, but this will hit people harder because many will feel a personal connection to him.

Very sad all around.

Terror Attack, Hate Crime, or Mental Breakdown

2006-08-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Figures.

Here I recently bought a TiVo and figured I could always keep up with the news. But last night I skip the 5pm evening news because it was 5:05, and what's the point? The first stories are done with anyway.

Didn't hear about yesterday's San Francisco hit-and-run attacks until late at night, at work. Go figure.

Location in SF where the SUV-weapon was finally stopped. (via Yahoo!: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Double go figure, the guy who did it was Afghan. Let the speculation begin...

Conservatives are quick to point out the guy did most of his damage around a Jewish Community Center. His family cites mental illness as a possible cause.

At any rate, the best comments I found came from Rick Moran:

Crazy American? Or crazy Jihadist? Is the press hiding the fact the man could be and probably is a Muslim? Why no mention of a possible terror attack? Are we jumping to conclusions on the right? Is the left's non-response to this story indicative of the fact they don't care about terrorism?

There are times like this when I want to haul off and smack my friends both on the right and left upside the head in order to knock some sense into them...

As the cliche goes: read the whole post.

Does one lone, deranged nut make a terrorist attack? Probably not. But if he did act out some twisted political/religious convictions, might this be considered by some to be an act of terrorism here in the Bay Area?

Plus, the location in Fremont where his first victim and only fatality is in my old neighborhood. Oh great.

Oh, How My Head Spins

2006-08-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

What a crazy summer!

A brutal heat wave, wars, terrorist plots, and hell at work.

And now, Pluto no longer considered a major planet!?!

I need a drink.

* To be astronomically serious for a minute, this was probably the correct decision. Pluto was nerver like the other planets, and there are lots more bodies like it that areen't planets. Poor Pluto.

Tap Tap Is This Thing On?

2006-08-06T02:08:00.000-07:00

Can you say burnout?

Here I sit, nearly two months after my last post. And to boot, I'm blogging with a headache. Great, two months and I should say something profound or witty or insightful, but I have a headache. Thanks work (yes it's Saturday, but I can still blame the job, right?).

I've never been the most social person, and blogging is a little like getting up on a podium in front of the whole world. Makes it tough sometimes to come up with something to say.

I'll come up with more later on, but I think I'm just gonna be blogging less. If I don't pressure myself to blog more frequently, the end result should ironically be that I blog more often.

We'll see.

So it's nothing personal if you don’t hear from me for awhile. Those stage lights can still be a bit bright for me. I'll be more verbose and witty in the future, presumable when I'm in a headache-free state.

Thirty Plus One

2006-06-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, especially blogbuddies Jay & Deb, VW Bug, Helen, and Caltechgirl among others. Plus all you non-blog buddies out there too. You guys rock.

Haven't got all I wished for this year, but I am getting the presents of a World Cup opening Day, a new Pixar movie, and a dead terrorist. I'll take it.

Plus, I have an Amazon order on the way and perhaps a new TiVo soon too!

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Dead

2006-06-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

If any death is worth celebrating, it would be this scumbag:

Zarqawi Dead.

Screen shot of Technorati search

Why yes, I wouldn't mind a few Zarqawi collectables. How about a foot, or a few teeth, or his left testicle?

Bwahahahaha!!! The best part of the news coverage: the news conference in Iraq, when the some reporters started ululating.

Good riddance. May more of his followers join him.

California Primary Election Tomorrow

2006-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up with the upcoming election here in Cali as much as I have during past elections. But I have learned about the two Democratic candidates for governor, from each opponent's commericals:

Apparently, Phil Angeledes likes to bulldoze old folks' homes.

and Steve Westley likes to club baby seals in his spare time.

...ahh, election season. Can't wait to vote tomorrow!

Check the Spam at the Door

2006-06-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

Been a long couple of weeks, plus my work schedule switched back to 4pm-midnight. Much sleeplessness and a bit of illness ensued. Sorry for the sparce postings the past few weeks.

For those of you having a tough week like me, here's something that should make you smile:

Note to Spam King: You Got Nailed.

This guy has the cajones to now start a company where he will parse out business advice. Yeah, how to make good money by annoying people.

Speaking of annoying, I'm off to work....

What's In A Name?

2006-05-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't guess it by the frequency of blog posts here, but it seems like I often have too much free time.

Case in point: I recently googled myself...OK, that just sounded really bad. Get your minds out of the gutter, people.

Well, before I looked up my first and last name, but I only just recently thought to look up my last name and see what came up.

I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this:

* Apparently the most famous holder of my surname is one Kurt Nilsen, who was the proud winner of Norway's version of Pop Idol (American Idol for those non-Anglophiles). He even went to beat Kelly Clarkson and the rest of the competitors in the World Idol competition. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if a potential relative just happened to drop by his mansion, right?

* Oh goody, this is a proud moment: Dennis Nilsen was a famous serial killer who lived and performed his craft in London. I swear, I can't make this stuff up. I just have to quote from the Wikipedia article:

...As his murders continued, he found it difficult to dispose of the remains and had suitcases full of human organs stored in his wardrobe, and plastic bags with human remains under the floorboards. Neighbours had begun to notice the smell. When he tried to dispose of the bodies by flushing them down the toilet, he blocked the sewerage of his house in Muswell Hill (23 Cranley Gardens), north London. When a company was called to unblock the sewer system, they first found the drain to be packed with a flesh-like substance. The drain inspector then called his supervisor to assess the situation; however, this was not to take place until the next day, by which time the drain had been cleared. This aroused the suspicions of the drain inspector and his supervisor, who immediately called the police. Upon closer inspection, some small bones and what looked like chicken flesh were found in a pipe leading off from the drain; these were later discovered to be of human origin. Dennis Nilsen was arrested in 1983 on suspicion of multiple murders. He apologized to the police for not being able to tell them the exact number of people he had killed. When his house was searched, they found three heads in a cupboard, and they found thirteen more bodies in Nilsen's former place of residence at Cricklewood at 195 Melrose Avenue...

He can just stay the hell away from the next family reunion. OK, lesson learned. Google at your own risk.

Praise Be to Xenu

2006-05-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Bwahahahaha!

Maybe now he will take some time off, be with his family, and leave the rest of us alone.

Can't wait to see X-Men 3 myself and Clerks 2 myself.

A Couple Days Late

2006-05-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

Happy blogoversary to me (May 5)! I started this two years ago, and even if I don't post as much as I would like, I'm gonna stick with it. Even if I stay at once or twice a week, I'll be good and keep posting for the years and decades to come.

Also, belated Feliz Cinco de May por todo la gente.

Here's to Year Three....

Parse This

2006-05-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Since I ~~don't have the time~~ haven't taken the time to get proficient in HTML, it seems inevitable that I learn more by having to debug crap.

A perfect example was this morning:

I go to catch up on my blog reading, and I notice the RSS feed for this site doesn't load in Sage. I get an XML Parse Error.

Grrrrr.

OK, so off I go to the Blogger help pages.

Ha.

The best analogy I can give is trying to get help diagnosing car trouble and instead all the help you get is "This is what a hammer and a screwdriver look like." Thanks Blogger.

They at least provided a link to the Blogger help Google group, which suggested that I turn off XML, republish, turn it back on, republish. OK, done.

No dice.

Hmmm, OK....So I did what a seasoned websurfer does: I entered the error message into google and looked for something relevant in the results. I found a couple of useful tidbits, and discovered what a feed validator was.

Fine, are we close yet?

I put the blog URL into the feed validator, it spits back that there is a problem buried deep in the text of an old post. Oh, goody.

After five or six iterations of cleaning the offending text, rerun feed validation, finding a new error, repeat; I finally got the error back to one line:

which I can't fix because I'm not allowed tweak the HTML for the Blogger XML. Grrrrr!

While this is going on, I read some advice that writing blog text in Microsoft Word is baaad. Apparently MS Word adds some funny scripts that gets XML all aflutter. Won't be writing any more posts in Word then.

I tried one last time, and for some reason the feed worked, even though I wasn't able to work on the last bug. Hey, as long as it works, I'm happy.

Let me know if you can't get the feed. Apparently it was just a Firefox problem, IE always worked fine. One poster suggested that it may be a Version War between Atom and Firefox.

This Made Me Laugh...

2006-04-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Via Underwater Times:

Agitated Croc Chomps Chainsaw.

A crocodile agitated by a chainsaw's noise has chased the man operating it and snatched the machinery from him.

Freddy Buckland was at a Northern Territory roadhouse on Friday cutting a dead tree that had fallen against a saltwater crocodile pen during Cyclone Monica when the 4.4-metre reptile struck.

Nothing like having distractions to make yard work worse. I'm even more amused by the crocodile's tenacity:

"He chewed on the chainsaw for about an hour-and-a-half, then we finally got it out.

"We got a bit of reinforcing rod, bent with a hook on the end, and at the same time we were draining the pen. It's still in one piece but, yeah, it's buggered."

Not suprisingly, the tavern has decided to re-asses how to get rid of the tree:

As for the cleaning up effort, it's been postponed for a couple of days.

"We've just left the tree where it is. I think we'll reassess how we're going to do it," said Shappert.

Enjoy the Rain, Guys

2006-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Another day of "perfect California weather" **ahem**

At least these guys at my apartment are happy:

ducks1

ducks2

Can we start summer already?

Recent Things I've Learned...

2006-04-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

1.) Trader Joe's organic milk comes from alien cows, it has to. Just today, I finished off a half-gallon of milk that had an expiration date of April 7. It was still plenty edible.

2.) Everyone is going to get way too much Tom Cruise over the next few weeks. Mission Impossible 3 isn't in theaters until May 5. But the ads have already hit saturation point. Hold the movie, and hold the placenta.

3.) That Daniel Powter song is everywhere. And yes, I had my share if Bad Days last week.

4.) Working overnight is tough when the only restaurant open within 6 miles is Denny's. More brown-bag lunches for me.

5.) All you guys blog too much*

* Ha! You know I'm kidding. I'm just jealous you guys can do things like blog from work. Maybe this week, I'll have a few minutes at work to blog. But probably not.

6.) Nothing like traveling to pick up the car from service at the dealer, only to have the shop be closed. Hint to Toyota of Berkeley, post your service department's hours of operations, since they're different from the showroom hours. The whole Trip-in-Vain didn't do wonders for my sleep cycle either.

7.) One person in a position of authority can drive literally dozens of people nuts**

** OK, I already knew that, but I got a strong reminder this past week.

8.) There's a Jack-in-the Box on the East Coast? I though they were only a Western chain. I would like a Bojangles nearby, but there a Chick-Fil-A sort-of nearby in Fairfield.

Oh well, I have another quarter-gallon of milk that should last 'till Memorial Day, so I guess I can't complain.

Debt Free!!!

2006-04-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I paid off the last outstanding credit card balance let over from last year's unemployment period.

Who-hoo!!!!

Of course, I'm already carrying a new balance, but at least I'll pay this one off before they start charging me interest on it.

A pox on you, high-interest cards!!

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T04:25:00.000-07:00

No surpise here, I've spent Easters past going on Peeps binges...

You Are Peeps

You're the type that's more likely to play with your food than actually eat it.

What Easter Candy Are You?

Via Jelly Bean Jay and Bunny Pop Deb.

Wiki-randomness

2006-04-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Since I waste way too much time randomly reading interesting wikipedia entries, I though I would occasionally start posting them.

Today's entries:

* Exploding Animals: Includes military uses as well as naturally exploding whales. See also: Exploding Tree.

* In case you are lost, you are Here.

Exposing Myself

2006-04-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

OK, no R-Rated exposure or flashing with trench coats. Got this quiz from Helen’s blog:

Do you have:

(1) your own cell phone....Yup, but I often have it off/not with me.
( ) a television in your bedroom....No, but I can watch the living room TV from my bed.
(2) an MP3 player...I luv my iRiver.
( ) a photo printer...Nope
(3) your own phone line...Heck, yes.
( ) TiVo or a generic digital video recorder...Not yet
(4) high-speed internet access...It's an essential utility in my life.
( ) a surround sound system in bedroom...No, wouldn't fit.
( ) DVD player in bedroom...no TV, no DVD
( ) at least a hundred DVDs...more like a couple dozen.
(5) a childfree bathroom...I have a child-free life.
( ) your own in-house office...yeah right. As if I could fit my work machinery in here...
(6) a pool...the apartment complex has one.
( ) a guest house...no
( ) a game room...LOL
( ) a queen-size bed or larger...no, but the twin bed is a nice size for one.
( ) a stocked bar...I have beer in the fridge, does that count?
(7) a working dishwasher...Oh, Hell yes.
( ) an icemaker...uh uh.
( ) a working washer and dryer...I guess the apt laundry room doesn't count
( ) more than 20 pairs of shoes...ummm, I'm a guy.
( ) at least ten things from a designer store...see above response.
( ) expensive sunglasses...no, 2 uber-cheap pairs (I lose/break sunglasses anyway).
(8) framed original art (not lithographs or prints)...yes, my dad's paint-by-numbers count, dammit!
( ) Egyptian cotton sheets or towels...No (I guess I'm just not much of a playa).
(9) a multi-speed bike...Yes, my cheapo $99 college bike is rusting on the balcony.
( ) a gym membership...Don't need to, my apt has a kickass Gym room.
( ) large exercise equipment at home...a few barbells don't count.
( ) your own set of golf clubs...no.
( ) a pool table...nope.
( ) a tennis court...surely, you jest.
( ) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea...Yes!! The beach (such that it is) is about 200 yards from my apartment.
( ) your own pair of skis...no, I don't go often enough.
(10) enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area...Yes. I have a tent, sleeping bag, and a bunch of camp gear. Would need to swing by REI for food, ect though.
( ) a boat....maybe someday, but today is not that day.
( ) a jet ski...no
( ) a neighborhood committee membership...as in like the Homeowners Association? Those control freaks scare me.
( ) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin...Only in my dreams.
(11) wealthy family members...Yes, at least one millionaire on my Dad's side (A million bucks still goes a long way in Fresno, plus others that live in Marin (by default, they're rich). Don't talk to them much, though.
( ) two or more family cars...No, unless you add in my Mom's car in Fresno.
(11) a walk-in closet or pantry...Yes to the first, no to the second.
( ) a yard...Not as a renter.
( ) a hammock...No, but I'm working on getting GMP hammocks for the lab ala Homer Simpson and Hank Scorpio.
( ) a personal trainer...Knowing one doesn't count.
( ) good credit...I have average credit.
( ) expensive jewelry...I have a nice crucifix, but nothing else.
( ) a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get...Do I need to dignify this one?
( ) at least $100 cash in your possession right now...No
(12) more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards)...I have five.
(13) a stock portfolio...Yes, a 401 (k) plan from five jobs ago that I need to rollover.
(14) a passport...Yes!! Just got it a few weeks ago. Now I need to start filling it up.
( ) a horse...No, but my uncle used to have one.
( ) a trust fund (either for you or created by you)...No
(15) private medical insurance...It's good to have a stable job.
(16) a college degree, and no outstanding student loans ...Thanks, mom!!!!!

Do you:
( ) shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week...I'd say no, more like once every 2/3 weeks.
(17) do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores...Yes, although IMHO Trader Joe's is gaining wider acceptance> I plan on shopping for some items at Berkeley Bowl, however, which is more specialized.
( ) pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning)...not so lucky.
(18) go on weekend mini-vacations...Doesn't everyone?
( ) send dinners back with every flaw...Not my temperment to do stuff like that...
( ) wear perfume or cologne (not body spray)...No, but I'll use the nice after-shave.
( ) regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon...Not a metrosexual.
( ) have a job but don't need the money OR
( ) stay at home with little financial sacrifice...a big NO to both.
( ) pay someone else to cook your meals...No
( ) pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs...N/A
( ) regularly pay someone else to drive you taxis...I presume this means "to drive you around." No.
( ) expect a gift after you fight with your partner...Not necessarily, but a hug or some other gesture would be nice...

Are you:
(19) an only child...Ding! Ding! Ding!
( ) married/partnered to a wealthy person...No
( ) baffled/surprised when you don't get your way...I'm baffled/suprised when I DO get my way.

Have you:
( ) been on a cruise...No
(20) traveled out of the country...Yes, even Baja CA counts.
(21) met a celebrity...yes, I saw Urkel once at Magic Mountain (No, I'm not joking).
( ) been to the Caribbean...No, mon
( ) been to Europe...No, plan to go soon.
( ) been to Hawaii...Ditto
( ) been to New York...Ditto squared.
( ) eaten at the space needle in Seattle...No, Seattle would be fun. I wanna catch fish.
( ) been to the Mall of America...No
( ) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris...Non
( ) been on the Statue of Liberty in New York...No, and I badly want to. I hope they reopen the stairs to the top someday.
( 22) moved more than three times because you wanted to...Yes, I moved from Fresno to Santa Barbara for college, From Fresno to Fremont to start work, then from Fremont to Alameda to move coser to work (it was my choice, the place being turned into condos only sped up the process).
(23) dined with local political figures. Yes!!! In high school I was on the Academic Decathlon team. There was a congratulatory ceremony from the mayor at Fresno City Hall and cookies were served. Yeah, yeah, I know, but I'm counting it anyway. Sue me.
(24) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast...Yes, I ever so briefly glimpsed the Atlantic from a southbound Amtrak train at the Virginia coast. The Pacific goes without saying.

Did you:
( ) go to another country for your honeymoon...Maybe I will someday.
( ) hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party ...I presume this will happen.
(25) take riding or swimming lessons as a child...Yeah, swimming lessons. They turned out less than well. That's a story for another time.
( ) attend private school...I was edjumicated by the Fresno Unified School District.
( ) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you....No. Helen got 30, I got 29 25 (can't count today). I guess we both have more living to do…

I Can Barely Hold My Breath A Few Seconds

2006-04-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is cool...

Scientists: Carp Found to Hold Its Breath for Months

by Underwatertimes.com News Service

Oslo, Sweden (Apr 7, 2006 17:51 EST) How long can you hold your breath? Scientists at the University of Oslo have recently discovered how the Crucian Carp, a close relative of the goldfish, is able to live for months without oxygen. The researchers hope that understanding how some animals cope with a lack of oxygen might give clues as to how to solve this problem in humans.

Yeah, I want clues on how I can go without sleep for, ...oh say a five day workweek on grave shift.

Who the Hell Is Gary Gilmore?

2006-04-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Another quiz:

Now what's so bad about mixing cats and firecrackers?....

You scored as Antisocial Personality Disorder. Congratulations! You have ASPD! You know that blatantly disregarding social norms and the rights of others isn't just illegal; it's FUN. Jail time? Eh, look at Gary Gilmore... was he really that bad of a guy?

Unipolar Depression

83%

Antisocial Personality Disorder

83%

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

75%

Schizophrenia

50%

Borderline Personality Disorder

25%

Eating Disorders

Which mental disorder do you have?
created with QuizFarm.com

Natural Causes Was Twelth?

2006-04-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

And "Bomb" was Third? Oh well...

You scored as Disappear. Your death will be by disappearing, probably a camping trip gone wrong or an evening hike you never returned from. Always remeber that one guy who was hiking alone and got in a rock slide. He could have died, but he cut his own hand off to save himself. Don't end up like him (or worse, dead).

Disappear

93%

Suicide

80%

Bomb

73%

Gunshot

73%

Posion

67%

Disease

60%

Suffocated

60%

Stabbed

60%

Drowning

60%

Eaten

53%

Accident

53%

Natural Causes

47%

Cut Throat

20%

How Will You Die??
created with QuizFarm.com

The Vampire Returns

2006-04-09T03:04:00.000-07:00

It is 3am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. I was able to get a good bit done on Saturday: went through 2-3 weeks of backed-up up mail, cleaned the apartment, and even found my long-lost VCR remote (yay!).

I'm still up at this hour not because I went out this evening, but because I need to get my sleep schedule all set for grave shift Sunday night/Monday morning.

Yup, that's right. It's been a couple of years since the last long-term grave work and now it's back fir at least four months. At least I'll be on a consistent shift, thought. One co-worker planned on clubbing late into Saturday night to help make the adjustment. I told her she should get the cover charge and drinks taken care of as a work expense.

Another task I got done tonight was getting the apartment Grave Shift Ready. Or the bedroom, to be more specific. For anyone who wants to darken their place for daylight sleeping, I have three words: black garbage bags. They're cheap and can easily be hung up using some duct tape and pushpins. They're pretty effective, too. I can keep nearly all sunlight blocked using the strategically-placed garbage bags.

I do want to be careful, though. Last time I decided to use the bags, I ended turning the apartment into a tomb. It was a little too effective. I had this creepy disconnect from the outside world. The sealed-up apartment turned into the perfect metaphor for that overbearing, cloistered job. One of my first acts after I got the subsequent job was to take down those dark bags and let the sunlight back in. Ahhhh.

This time, I'm in a much better place, both literally and figuratively. This new apartment has a separate bedroom with walls on three sides and a fold-away partition on the fourth. That makes the job of light-blocking much easier. All I had to do was put up a few bags along the top of the partition to block the light leaking through. Linens serve the same purpose of the gap between the partition and the floor.

The best part is I can still open up the partition without taking down the bags. No more being permanently isolated in my darkened place. Working on grave shift is strange enough without being able to open up a window at home.

Here is a picture of the bedroom with the bags all set up:

I think I did a pretty good job. Not much light, eh?

I get to start this lovely midnight to 8am shift this Sunday. I better get used to being a vampire again.

123456

2006-04-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, at 1:23am it will be:

01:23 04/05/06.

From CBS5 News.

Well, Duh

2006-04-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Is anyone who knows me at all suprised?

Your Quirk Factor: 78%

You're so quirky, it's hard for you to tell the difference between quirky and normal.
No doubt about it, there's little about you that's "normal" or "average."

How Quirky Are You?

Shout-out to the Not-As-Quirky Calechgirl...

(Bi) Weekly Update

2006-03-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a nutty two weeks. Here's what's been up with me in the interim:

* Work has been fast-paced. A couple of weeks ago I was on grave shift: 12am to 8am (actually more like 10 to 10:30). Running production work for a study to determine the quality of our future product. I was running some procedures for the first time as this happened. With everybody looking at the work, that was sure fun. Plus trying to get an SOP done at the same time. Goody goody.

* George Mason. With all the work, I missed virtually all of this year's NCAA Mens' Basketball, but I did get to see GMU upset basketball badass UConn. Yay! I'm hoping for a GMU versus LSU final game.

* Waaah! I finally got around to watching the new South Park episode featuring the demise of Chef (watch it here). I know it was supposed to be funny (it was), but I felt like crying when Chef's funeral was shown. You bastards!

* Watched the British Prime Minister's Questions on C-Span. Don't knock it, it's political hot-air meets English pub. Yeeaaaaa!

* I was able to put in a couple of hours at The Marine Mammal Center. Nothing like shoving a tube down a baby elephant seal's throat and pumping fish mash into its stomach.

* It's raining. But then again it's rained just about every damn day in March (3 weeks worth). It's only rained more days in March twice before (thanks KTVU). Enough already!

* Plus a bunch of stuff involving laundry, grocery shopping, and my gastrointestinal tract. But you don't want to know all that :)

Manglish

2006-03-13T15:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to co-worker Christy for this one. She's a contributor at instructables.com, a collaborative website where users can upload instructions on such things as What to Do With All Those AOL CDs, or How To Make An Aquarium Coffee Table.

But I digress...

This cracked me up more than anything I've see lately: Jon Rahoi, an American who has immersed himself into a Chinese-based life. He posts a menu where the accompanying English is mangled beyond recognition. Specialties include: "Big Bowl Bow of Immerses from Fish Head," "Cowboy Leg Beautiful Pole," and "Man Fruit Braise the North Almond."

For anyone who think he's just another American taking shots at a culture he doesn't understand, read this.

After you've stopped laughing at the pictures of Manglish he posted, click to view this movie from the Ministry of Unknown Science: Kung-fu, F**k You. Beware, gratuitous use of The Finger. Hat tip to the above mentioned Rahoi for this one.

Habit Forming

2006-03-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Please allow me to get a little introspective for a minute...

I've never been good with the day to day stuff. If there's some sort of emergency, I seem to do a pretty good job of rising to the occasion. I've dealt with car problems, theft, job losses, and friendship meltdowns pretty well over the years.

As for things like flossing everyday, well...

Last Tuesday, I went to the dentist. I hadn't been in a couple of years, and I was a bit worried on what the dental verdict would be. It was actually about what I expected, my teeth were fine, but the gums could be in better shape.

For me, it's harder to do the daily mundane acts than it is to face down a major crisis. I guess I'm not alone, that's why so many diets don't work out. It took me this long to learn that doing the little things well everyday can sometime take more courage and energy than handling life's major crises. At least for me, anyway.

Here's to daily exercise, eating your vegetables, and lots of flossing.

Party Pooper

2006-03-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

OK, so tonight was a lovely Appreciation Dinner put on by work for all umpteen-hundred people at a nice restaurant.

Just one problem, I didn't go...

It was my choice, mostly. I wasn't really looking forward to going, having to joust with large masses of people to get food. Plus it's Wednesday. ^$$^@!@!ing Wednesday! Not to be a grump, but I have better things to do the hang out with a couple hundred strangers on a work night.

It's not that I don't like hanging out with friends and co-workers. I would love to have a Movie Night or something with the handful of people I work with. It's just that I'm not always the most bouncy person on the planet. I have to regulate what I spend my energy on, and I don't get everything done that I want to do as it is (how long since I last blogged?).

This low-watt battery needs recharging. I am off...

A Flame Few Have Noticed

2006-02-19T23:26:00.000-08:00

You Are Bobsledding

You're not a world class athlete, but you are a world class maniac.
Your need for speed could have you blazing past the finish line!

What Winter Sport Are You?

Quiz via Caltechgirl.

It's been the usual business for me lately. Last weekend was a trip to Southern CA to visit Caltechgirl, GMT, Bill, Helen, and Sandro. During the week has been lots of stressful work.

Still though, I've managed to get in some Winter Olympics viewing. However, this time around, watching has felt more like an obligation than a joy.

Thanks, NBC.

OK, so it's not all their fault. It's tough covering an event occurring ten time zones ahead of home. Even the Italians are distracted from the ~~Turin~~ Torino games. They're waiting on the 2006 World Cup, which I'll be more interested in too.

Still, watching these games have the feel of eating leftover casserole. By the time you consume it, it's already going stale, and you wonder why you didn't just get take-out to start with anyway.

In 1996, NBC dropped the most wretched, jingoistic, oversapified sentimentality on unsuspecting viewers heads. This time, the 2006 games seem to suffer from Attention Deficit Syndrome. The Olympic Games are one event, made up of several niche events. To cover the wide variety of events, NBC has decided to bounce back and forth. One 5-minute segment of bobsledding, followed by a ten-minute segment of ice dancing, then five minutes of speed skating.

Instead of covering a few events well, NBC has decided to cover all the events poorly. Is it any wonder the Olympics have taken a beating from American Idol among others?

If I were broadcasting the Winter Olympics, I would make the following (perhaps unpopular) choices:

1.) Do the research and surveying. See what events give me the best shot at ratings gold. Pick, say women’s' figure skating, and devote most of the evening to it. Show the other events on m cable channels. That way, I keep the skating fans tuned in, and fans of other events can go to the other channels.

2.) After a big event, especially an American victory, cut to the national anthem immediately after the performance. The Olympics now have a common medal ceremony for a day's events. Big mistake. It's like going out to eat, then not having dessert until breakfast the next day. Follow up on the emotion of the athletes and the spectators with the natural climax of the medal presentation and the anthem.

3.) Stick between live coverage of an event at 5am or delaying the coverage until evening? I say do both. The hardcore fans can watch on CNBC or MSNBC, then the rest of us can watch that evening on NBC if we so chose.

4.) Expanding on 1.), show more of each event. Show the foreigners with the funny names. Show the medal ceremonies of big events, even if it's the Slovenian national anthem that gets played. Yes, Americans want to see our athletes win. But the Olympics (for me as a kid anyway) were about events and athletes I can't see every day. I want to see the German luge champion in the funny orange and black tights go down the course. I want to see the cross-country skiing where the crowds are full of Austrian and Norwegian flags. That's the point; I get to see people different from me in competition for themselves and their country. That's what the Olympics are about. I don't want a snippet; I can only get the impact of an event if I see more.

5.) Get the Games off this alternating two-year system. The Athens games were barely a year and one half ago. Frequent Olympics just turn them into another (nearly) yearly World Championship of Obscure Sports. The Olympics ~~are~~ were special because of their scarcity.

You can tell the Olympics are in trouble. Before people were upset at the disappointing coverage. Now, most people just don't care.

Do You Believe In Lucky Rabbits?

2006-02-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

You're an Emmy-award winning sportscaster with three-and-a-half decades of experience. People still remember you for your broadcast of one of the greatest sporting events in US history.

In the end, how much are you worth to your employer?

Answer: The equivalent of a old-time cartoon rabbit.

ABC Monday Night Football comemtator Al Michaels was part of a trade between ABC and NBC that also involved Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The backstory: While working at Universal, Walt Disney created Oswald, but gave up control of Oswald over a money dispute. Walt went on to create a certain cartoon mouse to replace Oswald. Universal kept control and had future Woody Woodpecker creator Walter Lantz take over drawing Oswald. Universal evetually bought NBC.

It's a nice sentiment, but I'm not sure I would be as positive with the trade as Michaels is:

"Oswald is definitely worth more than a fourth-round draft choice," Michaels said, referring to what the Kansas City Chiefs gave the New York Jets as compensation for releasing coach Herm Edwards from his contract. "I'm going to be a trivia answer someday."

Franken-eggs

2006-02-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a story I'm not quite sure is creepy or cool. Actually, I think it's both:

Scientists Turn Fish Sperm Cells into Eggs.

Scientists have tricked male fish cells that were destined to become sperm into switching sex and becoming eggs instead.

The technique could one day be used to quickly produce animals with desired traits, speed up breeding programs and help repopulate dwindling populations of endangered species or creating sushi on demand, the researchers said.

Hmmm, I like the whole repopulation idea. But if this technology ever got applied to mammals (read: humans), I can see a lot of abuse. Could you imagine? You though inbreeding was bad, try breeding with yourself. Also kind of puts a new spin on that whole "men are usuless" arguement. Oh well.

Regardless of what the discovery or invention is, there are two things for certain. Decent people will use it to help improve the world they live in. And some twisted bastards will find a way to exploit it for their own good.

Sunday Update

2006-02-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to be a little more verbose the past few days, but it turned out the past week was a doozy. Work was super-intense, at least in terms of deadlines and meetings and such. Lots of late nights and little time for reflection on the meaning of life. Throw in a few misunderstandings between people (which I choose not to get into here), and it made for a week where I was just trying to get through one day, even one hour, at a time.

Likely famous last words: but next week should be better.

As I promised, I come to you with the Guppy Update. Bill's suggestions turned out to be pretty useful, as a couple of the originals ended up with the name "Waiting to Be Flushed." Sigh.

Undeterred, I went back to the pet store and got some more companions. So now I have two males and two females (males being the more colorful ones).

morefish

Wanda is a good name, so that can be the name of the lighter female on the right. Nemo is a good name for a boy guppy, so that one will be the darker of the males, in the center of this photo. I actually like the name Bait, but I'll change it up a bit and call the other male Gorton, as in Gorton's fisherman. I'll call the last female Frisky, since I had goldfish with that name as a kid.

Hopefully, I won't have to put out a request for more names anytime soon.

Yet Another Pop Pysch Quiz...

2006-02-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

You guys should know by now that I love to take these things...

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

You have low extroversion.
You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.
A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.
You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:

You have medium conscientiousness.
You're generally good at balancing work and play.
When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.
But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

Agreeableness:

You have high agreeableness.
You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly.
Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone.
You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance.

Neuroticism:

You have medium neuroticism.
You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.
Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.
Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is medium.
You are generally broad minded when it come to new things.
But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it.
You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Taken from the medium extroverted Caltechgirl.

This Remote Was Made for Muting

2006-02-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

It's over two hours before the Super Bowl kicks off, and I already hate the new Jessica Simpson Pizza Hut ad. Exactly who's idea was it to use the song from her box-office bomb Dukes of Hazzard?

Dear ad execs: It's the freakin' Super Bowl! Ya know, there are these guys and they're called writers. Try using real ones for your mega-expensive ad next time.

A Couple of Pics From Nearby

2006-01-29T21:13:00.000-08:00

I was just coming back to my apartment when I saw a great sunset. I had to grab my camera. Here are the best two. I'll see about putting up more in the coming days...

Sunset, taken from a nearby breakwater, looking West across San Francisco Bay.

Looking south arcoss the bay.

The New Time

2006-01-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

I don't know if everyone has seen the new Wendy's ad. To promote its Dollar Menu, everyone in the ad uses Wendy's food instead of dollars to express how expensive different things are.

In a converstaion last night with Caltechgirl, I mentioned how this idea could be expanded, and I came up with a good measure to express time: Hollywood marriges. You could say, "I only had that job for a Jennier Lopez," or "That flu lasted a Drew Barrymore."

Now I must be off. I need to talk to my mom for a Jason Alexander.

Added Later: OK, not Seinfeld Jason Alexander, but the Britney one. I guess everybody already forgot about that one.

Of Dusting and Lost Remotes

2006-01-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

I'm back. Never went too far, I guess. I spent the week throwing out old magazines, deleting old emails, and cleaning neglected corners of the apartment. Plus no work. Not a vacation exactly, but then again I'm more organized about things in my life than I have been for literally years.

But I can't find that damn VCR remote! Blast! You'd thing after cleaning the whole apartment it would turn up, but no! Oh well, I think God just doesn't want me to get the idea that I can actually get control over all areas of my existence. I'll just bet that remote is in the same Black Hole that periodically feeds on loose socks. I'm sure it will turn up sometime.

As for the blog, I went ahead and did a bit of minor dusting here too. "Blogs of the Month" is now "Featured Blogs" (more realistic, plus I never do well with deadlines). Added a few new Friends' Blogs (although some of them post less than even I do), plus a couple other sites here and there.

As for the three new Featured Blogs, Whole Wheat Blogger discusses current events and religious topics, The Mighty Middle dishes it out to both political extremes, and Bibi's Box features much snarkiness.

Almost makes me look forward to going back to work. Um...no it doesn't.

Melancholy? You Bet

2006-01-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

Melancholic can be a tough way to be, but I have to admit this one does fit me pretty well...

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything.
You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life.
You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you.

Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace.
You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life.
Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times.

At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you.
You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others.
You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Found via the Choleric Caltehgirl.

Help Name My Fish

2006-01-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

I had a great weekend. Finally, I brought my bed up from my mom's in Fresno. No more sleeping on the fold-out couch, unless I have company over to spend the night.

I also decided to add a few pets to this apartment. To begin, I started off small. I took care of guppies for a postdoc at UCSB, so I figured I would get a few for myself.

Guppies!

Since I couldn't think of names right off the bat, I thought I would take suggestions. Anyone? There are four fish total, and I'll take the names I like best. Feel free to suggest as many names as you like.

Hurry! It's bad luck not to have names, and guppies aren't the most robust pets out there. I'll let you know what names I decided to go with.

In Memory of Stuart Quan

2006-01-13T23:01:00.000-08:00

Stuart Quan: 1962-2006. Picture courtesy of martialinfo.com

I hate it when I return to Fresno and hear bad news:

Fresno martial arts teacher, actor and stuntman Stuart Quan died back on January 8th. He collapsed suddenly while skiing at Sierra Summit resort. He was only 43. His funeral took place last Friday in Fresno and was attended by thousands of people he connected with over his eventful life.

I had the good fortune of being his student for a couple of years during the late 80's and early 90's. Kids loved him. He had a great sense of humor, he pushed everyone to do more than they thought they could do, plus he could kick anyone's ass if it was necessary. When I was taking his classes (and ever sine then), I would wonder what the heck is this guy doing still teaching in Fresno? He was a working actor, constantly taking roles in movies and television series. He was a martial arts champion, earning the friendship and respect of the world's martial arts community. But yet his primary commitment was to his dojo in Fresno, especially to the kids who trained and learned there. He was truly one of Fresno's best kept secrets; a local celebrity to be sure, but he generally flew under the radar of the city's consciousness.

My thoughts are with his family, friends, and students. A memorial with tributes from both the famous and ordinary can be found here.

A Terrorist Is A Terrorist

2006-01-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

Looks like there was a bit of excitement at one of San Francisco's Starbucks:

Bomb found in coffee shop -- nearby streets closed off

It seems like those in the know believe that this may be linked to some past vandalism at other SF Starbucks locations. Apparently those perpetrators felt those Starbucks locations should be replaced with local coffee shops.

I can't say I disagree with that. Starbucks is the company that charged New York recuse workers for water on September 11. Plus, they committed the unforgivable excuse of introducing the word "Venti" into the American lexicon. I don't go to Starbucks. Maybe only with friends and co-workers a few times per year.

Still, the nutjob (or nutjobs) who came up with this little prank need some punishment brought into their existence. You do not put a pipe bomb into a busy eating establishment! Where exactly is the exception to the rule that says we don't hurt innocent people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There's a word for a person who thinks it's OK to kill, maim, or damage the property of innocents, attacking without even trying to avoid causing pain to innocents. That word is : terrorist.

Think it's cute to put a pipe bomb in a Starbucks and show up "the man?" It wouldn't be cute to the person who was just stopping by to get a cup of coffee and lost a limb as a result of your "political beliefs."

Oh, so maybe you think anyone who frequents a Starbucks deserves what the get. There's a word for that too: psychopath. Society has ways of dealing with either type of person.

Catch the guy, throw him down a dark hole, and let civilized methods like boycotts be the method of showing displeasure with a political or corporate entity.

Plus Ten

2006-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

In celebration of ten years: In January 1996, I moved out of my childhood home and began classes as a UC-Santa Barbara Gaucho. There were many difficult adjustments: living in a tiny dorm room with an aloof roommate, being denied my biggest addiction (television) because the dorm's TV kept getting wrecked. Having to walk down the hall to use the bathroom and several hundred feet to get a meal.

Still, after a lifetime of wanting and waiting to get out of the house, there were plenty of new things to be thankful for: living in a dorm that was less than one hundred feet from the beach, being able to come and go without even so much as notifying anybody, being in an intellectual environment far more stimulating than the one I was in before (this is even with the shenanigans of a dorm full of spoiled college kids).

Among those nifty new things was that mysterious Internet. "Get email," one friend in particular said. "Ha, just what I need. Another method that people can bug me. Please." Still, I went ahead and signed up for the free University email, and after promptly forgetting my password and having to ask Computer Services for a new one, I plunged into the online world.

It's funny; I still don't know who I initially figured out how to use Netscape and email. Nobody showed me, I just somehow figured it out.

Needless to say, I found the Internet was perfectly acceptable. That whole email thing was sort of useful, too.

On that note, here is a reprint of the first email I received, an appropriately cheesy and oversent forward, the first of what would be many. I certain most of you are very familiar with this one, but I will repost for the sake of posterity, and for those who somehow missed it:

Children of the Eighties, continued . . .

We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost
generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just
where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who
played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and
gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.
We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little
Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra
looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and
bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all
you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok
Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old
sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the
backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable
tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a
skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's. Today, we
are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and The Bangles perfectly
and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still
look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V.
stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The
Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout
Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears
and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials
were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was
nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron
reincarnated? We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy
Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the
Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and
friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reebox - and
pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean
jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just
tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands
made you cool. The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red
Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids- never drank New Coke. Entertainment
was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was
high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made
you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never
failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or
Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.

In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president
was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb
shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man?
We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the
Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the
United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we
redefined the American Dream, and those years defined us. We are the
generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The
Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us
and be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century.
Never forget: We are the children of the Eighties.

if this is familiar, you are one of us... pass it on to all the others
...

All Quiet on the Western Front

2006-01-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

Nothing quiet like working a grave shift...

It's 12;26 am, and I'm on my "lunch" break. It's OK, the quiet is a nice change of pace from the usual chatter here on the lab floor. Just me and one other guy, doing runs to record parameters on one of the machines. It's only for a week (umm....I think).

Nice things about Grave Shift.

* Listening to my iRiver MP3 player. Right now I'm being serenaded by the Pet Shop Boys.

* No waiting for the microwave to head up the Trader Joe's lasagna that I ate tonight.

* Blogging at 12:29 am.

* Being up this late, and for once it isn't insomnia! Who-hoo!

I must go act all professional now, and wait for my co-worker to get back. Off to do a filter integrity test. What else would you want to do at 12:30 at night?

Hooray, Recovery!

2006-01-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

I've spent Sunday afternoon with my attention split between three activities: football, friends/family, and finishing the housecleaning.

I ended up splitting the NFL Wild Card games this weekend: two wins, two losses. I was pulling for Carolina and New England, both winners. Sadly, Tampa Bay and Cincinnati are history. A tough weekend for Florida football with the loss of Jacksonville as well.

Also history are the nasty power cord tangles behind my furniture. Cable ties are the best; thanks top them I no longer live in a tripping hazard. Any industrious person with cable ties, duct tape and WD-40 can fix anything on Earth. Duct tape to hold things together when the come apart. WD-40 to get things apart that are stuck together. Cable ties to keep it all tied down.

In the past, when I was a kid, if I was blue the first thing I did was clean. It gave me some sense of control of things immediately around me, and I didn't have to think too hard to do it. Once my room was clean, I could then tackle other issues like studying, ect. The trouble is when you're a grownup, there's much more to clean. An apartment can sure hold a lot of junk. It is taking longer to clean than when I was a kid and it was just my room. But I still have that same feeling of accomplishment, and that solving the more complex problems is within my grasp.

Returning to school, advancing my career, seeking a new love, rediscovering my faith, all seem attainable. I'm much happier, more content than even a few days ago, let alone a few weeks back.

Also, I spend good time talking to friends and family. Sadly, my mom got a bladder infection as a result of recovery from her November surgery. Caltechgirl and GMT have a bad case of the sniffles; best wishes for recovery. Also hello to Helen, I hope you are able to get sympathy you need from those close to you.

Like a character in Monty Python's Holy Grail, I'm feeling better. Hooray, Recovery

Storm Photos

2006-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some pictures I took on January 1 of the storm that barreled through the SF Bay Area. Also gives you an idea of the view just a couple hundred feet from my apartment.

A view from my balcony: post-storm.

View across the bay to ~~Candlestick~~ ~~3Com~~ Monster Park during the Reggie Bush Bowl.

San Francisco with Sutro Tower.

The retired USS Hornet, now a museum.

Picture of waves crashing into shore.

More waves crashing into shore.

Happy New Year

2005-12-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

To each person reading, have a happy, safe New Year.

New Year's Resolutions:

* Blog More.

* Throw out a bunch of stuff in this apartment. I now realize it's cheaper to get rid of unnecessary stuff than to store it here.

* Eat baby carrots more often

* Blog More

* Pay off the credit cards. (By hopefully staying employed for a whole 12 months this next year.)

* Get the cell phone fixed. Roaming in my own living room is unacceptable.

* Blog More

* Somehow wrestle my work schedule to more often help out at The Marine Mammal Center and Bodgea Marine Lab.

* Go to more restaurants in Berkeley (work) and Alameda (home).

* Blog More

* Regardless of whether I get the girl, to continue to build up my confidence. Personal happiness is not a function of relationship status. Life goes on either way.

* Blog More

* Take more pictures, post them here.

* Use the exercise room at the apartment complex. Especially the hot tub and sauna.

* Blog More

May you achieve your resolutions one day at a time; not one month, six month, or a year from now. And keep you drunken rear off the streets.

Not Quite Burnout

2005-12-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

OK, I am a turd.

Sheesh, what the heck was wrong with me?

Too long, I was away too damn long.

First off, I'm sorry. I have this habit of retreating inward when life gets stressful. I talk to friends and family less. I blog less. Since stresses in life aren't likely to stop anytime soon, this is something I should get over. Sigh...

Plus I need to worry less about having to sound so damn profound. Talking is often just enough.

OK, so what have I been up to?

Mom had bladder surgery, but she's doing OK. That happened last week. I went back to Fresno to be with her at the hospital, plus I returned over the weekend. It's not easy to be reminded of your parents' mortality (even though it was relatively minor surgery). It must be so much harder for parents to see their kids in the hospital, to think the same things about them.

Moving sucks. I just got the last of my stuff in place the weekend before the surgery. It's not like I buy a lot of things over the years. I end up inheriting a lot of this junk. Either from my mom, who hordes to make up for a meager childhood, or from work. The best thing about your company going under is all the free stuff. I have a biotech lab quality waterbath that I use to thaw out my frozen food. Why not, what other opportunity would I have to get a waterbath? Yeah, but moving and organizing all that stuff can be a pain.

Personal stuff. Not going into excruciating detail (you never know which people will someday read the blog). Suffice it to say, it can be hard when something you want lies just out of reach, due to bad timing and/or lack of mutual interest. But we talk, we share, and if I end up with a new close friend....Well, there certainly are worse things, aren't there? Someday there will be someone; in the meantime I'm not going to moap....much.

Other than that, work is work, news happens, and life goes on. I will work better at being more specific than that from now on (..New Year's Resolution, anyone??)

Take care all: those who I've known for years pre-blog, and those who live thousands of miles away who I've never even met face to face and yet do care. And hello to the random strangers who wander through. May I work to do better to let you all in a little more often.

And may you all come up with new snarky posts while in your pajamas.

I'm Still Here...

2005-12-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

...believe it or not.

I'll explain/storytell/beg for forgiveness later tonight. Tease, tease...

Tare care all...

Still Alive:
Exgaucho Ben

Just Another Friday

2005-11-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ahh, Friday. Leave it to me to turn a Friday into a Monday. Today, I was out the door about an hour early, since I needed to head to the nearest branch of my credit union in downtown Oakland. For some mysterious reason, my ATM card decided to not work since I made the move to Alameda. It was my task to go in and basically say, "Here is my ATM card, it's screwed up. Please fix it."

Off to downtown Oakland I went. I wasn't about to pull into a parking lot and pay, so I pulled up next to a metered spot on a nearby street. Time was tight, and I had to get going so I could make it to work on time. I gathered the correct paperwork, plus a couple of quarters and prepared to head off to the bank.

SLAM!

I don't know about you guys, but I know the instant I lock the keys in my car...

I wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Merritt.

OK, so I didn't do that. But I did bang my fist on the roof of the car.

This whole locking-the-keys-in-the-car thing could be a problem, especially because of the following:

1.) AAA makes a really neat key-card that you can carry in your wallet in case you ever need it. Too bad I haven't had one since my car was stolen last year, and I inherited the Toyota. That old key-card saved my butt with the old Saturn on a couple of occasions.

2.) The cell phone was kaput because my cell phone charger was worn down and I haven't replaced it yet.

3.) I didn't have any money in my wallet bacause, um.....oh yeah, the ATM card didn't work. The reason I'm on this trip in the first place.

4.) Work was to start in less than an hour. Today was the day the boss was to come down and watch the team run the waterbath. Without getting technical, I can say it was considered a big deal.

Oh well, that God for small favors. I had the AAA card, and the road service number was toll-free. Plus I had two quarters that I could use to fend off any approaching meter maids. The tow truck service did their usual professional job, coming out in less than 15 minutes and having the car unlocked in less than two.

Work ended up just fine. However, I have to try a farther branch tomorrow to get the ATM issues settled. There was a nice bonus: while driving home tonight I saw a meteor. Yes, I made a wish; and no I'm not telling. I have no problem with days that start bad and end on a good note.

OK, Wierd For the Sake of Being Wierd

2005-11-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

You are a Gender Nazi. Your boundary-crossing
lifestyle inspires awe in your friends and
colleagues. Or maybe they're just scared you
will kick their asses for using gender-specific
language. Either way, the wife-beater helps.

What kind of postmodernist are you!?
brought to you by Quizilla

I dunno, I just don't brood enough in public to be a Po-Mo. I'd rather look normal and be freaky on the inside. Just me.

via Caltechgirl.

Amazing Race: In the Jungle

2005-11-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

I dunno, I'm having a tougher time getting into this edition of The Amazing Race. Of the teams that are left, I can't find a team I'm solidly behind.

Oh well. At least the scenery is nice.

In this latest episode, the teams had to travel from Panama up to San Jose, Costa Rica. After arriving at a volcano, teams then discovered they had to travel to a coffee plantation where they had to sort through a huge quantity of beans to find just one red bean. Yuck! It seems that whenever TAR has these "needle-in-a-haystack" challenges, one team takes forever to finish it. This time it was Team Marathon, the family with the two young children.

Just before the coffee bean challenge, the racers came upon their first Yield of the race. The Yield allows the first team in to stop a team of their choosing for a pre-determined amount of time. First up was Team New Yawk, and they decided to Yield the much disliked Team NASCAR (Weavers).

Once that elusive red bean was found, teams were off to a Detour, where they had a choice of either collecting four Mayan relics, or loading 15 bushels of banannas onto a pulley leading to the distribution center. Team New Yawk did the bananas, with the father's experience lifting heavy containers as a garbage man coming in handy. The rest of the teams collected the relics, with Team Marathon pulling up the rear.

After completing the tasks, the teams then had to travel to a picturesque Costa Rican beach town, which was the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Team New Yawk came in first and won some nifty sporting vehicles. Team Marathon couldn't make up the time and were eliminated. It was tough seeing their little daughter cry at the news of their elimination. But the team went out with pride, and even discussed returning to the beach town, finding the location beautiful.

This Wasn't Mentioned in the Lease

2005-10-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

My apartment building, one unit over. (Click on the picture for a larger version).

I see the neighbors communicate and cooperate here in my new place. Pretty neat!

Happy Halloween everybody! I must go; I need to go buy some Raid.

Now I Can Catch My Breath

2005-10-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Whooo!

It is ~~Sunday night~~ Thursday morning, and I am happy but pooped. I spent the week moving piles of possessions around in my new apartment. The place started as just being rooms holding piles of stuff. Now it feels more comfortable, more familiar. The switch happened for me when I set up and turned on the first lamp. It's really something what a simple thing like lighting can do for a room. When that lamp went on, the feeling was like a key fitting into a lock.

Click!
Now it feels like home...

October has gone by so fast; I've been out of the loop for so long. A partial list of things I've missed since the beginning of the month:

* Former 49er starting QB Tim Rattay traded.

* The USC-Notre Dame football game.

* Caltechgirl's new job.

* Hurricane Wilma and VW's experiences with said hurricane.

* A frozen body, likely a World War II airman, found in the High Sierra mountains near Fresno.

* Two disgusting, high-profile murder cases here in the Bay Area.

* California politics: It's proposition season again in California. Too many commercials, too much confusion, and most California voters will likely end up voting "No" on everything. I'll elaborate on this soon.

* I missed two and one half weeks of The Amazing Race! (I caught the last half of the show this week. Team In-Laws royally blew it when the failed to grab a ticket for the NASA centrifuge ride, and eventually got eliminated. The next week, Team Stepfamily blew it, and was eliminated in their own hometown of New Orleans. Finally, this last episode saw the annoying Team Doublemint Twins Squared come in last, but avoid elimination due to the stage being a non-elimination stage. Nuts! I can't stand them or Team NASCAR (the Weaver Family).

* The start of hockey season. Unfortunately, the Sharks are pretty far removed from first place.

* The LA Galaxy won the US Open Cup, the oldest major soccer tournament in the country.

* A surfer was bitten by a shark, not far from the Bodega Marine Lab where I assisted earlier this year.

* The Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs, had a great segment on being a volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center. Host Mike Rowe even tried to taste the fish mash fed to the elephant seals. Yuck!

* The Chicago White Sox' World Series victory, which included the longest World Series game ever. Cubs fans are less than thrilled, and now alone in being cursed.

* GMT (AKA Caltechgirl's DH), and his experiences catching cheaters in his class.

* Harriet Miers has come and gone. I sided with the conservatives on this one. She was completely unqualified to sit on the Supreme Court and I will not miss her.

I did however miss blogging, I missed checking the site meter to see who visited, and I missed the comments left here. All the best to my bloggy buddies, I will write more soon.

Moooooved!

2005-10-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hur-ray! I set up in my new place in Alameda. Naturally, I had to do a great deal of hand-holding and cajoling of the old and new rental offices in order to finally get the keys. I spent the weekend in Fresno to visit my mom for her birthday. Before I left, I called the Alameda place to double-check that all was well for the move-in on Tuesday. No answer, so I leave a message.

Fast forward to Sunday evening. I come home and see I have a message on the machine. "Great," I think, "the Alameda place left a message saying all is well."

Wrong. They had a question regarding my credit score (an old dentist bill that the office sent to the wrong address, which lead to a collection). Also, they said the Fremont place never sent back the verification sheet! I wasn't pissed at Fremont; I was pissed at Alameda for waiting until the weekend before the move to let me know. Grrrrr!!!

OK, so on Monday I call the Alameda place. I have them re-fax the sheet. I call the Fremont place and ask them to send it back when they get it. Tuesday, the day of the move comes, and I call Alameda. They still haven't received the form. By this point, I'm not very surprised by this. I go in person to the Fremont office, and the lady says their fax was down all Monday and is still down. Oh goody, I get to drive the 20-some miles to Alameda, get the form, return to Fremont to have it signed, then go back to get my keys.

Then as I'm about to leave, the original completed form is found in the inbox. Half of me is relieved, the other half wants to curse up a blue streak. I did manage to get the keys as scheduled on Tuesday. And neither office lady at either place will be on my Christmas card list.

OK, so now it's Thursday. So far I have the phone hooked up; the cable and (most importantly) internet were just hooked up. I'm sleeping in my sleeping bag until I bring up the big furniture this weekend. And I've managed to handle all thus while working swing hours (12-8pm) this week. But I'm happy the place is finally mine. Much more about basically everything soon. Plus some pics of both apartments.

Amazing Race: DC Edition

2005-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Week two of this season's Amazing Race was decent. Most of the show revolved around the Nation's Capital. After starting off in Pennsylvania Amish Country, the teams headed off to DC. After finding their clue at the Capitol Reflecting Pool (not the other Reflecting Pool!), tams had to play a silly spy game. They walked around the Tidal Pool with a briefcase, telling "spies" with briefcases "The sky is blue." The correct spy answered "The sea is green." Yawn. Didn't get into that one.

Next, the teams had to drive to a Civil War reenactment in Northern Virginia. Cool! Here the faced a Detour: Heat of the Battle or Heat of the Night. That meant teams either had to carry woulded soldiers off the battlefield on a stretcher, or the had to fill up and light twenty kerosene lamps. Once done, the teams received a battle flag and headed off to the Pit Stop.

It certainly seems that this Family Edition of The Amazing Race will be much more sedate than past seasons. Which is to be expected since many teams have kids in tow. Speaking of the kids, one of the more amusing parts of this episode was the footage of the Team Marathon (the Gaghans) kids goofing in back of the car like any family roadtrip.

As for the standings, Team Nascar (the Weavers) finished first. I really liked their reaction to winning a vacation; they seemed to really appreciate it. Team Bayou (the Rogers) can in last and was eliminated. They performed the TAR cardinal sin, they got lost during the drive.

Other than Team New Yawk's (the Paolos) constant bickering, that's about all the action. I suspect they will last about another New Yawk minute.

Programming Notes

2005-10-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned previously that I occasionally volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center on Tuesdays, when work hours and my laziness allow.

If you're interested what a day volunteering there is like, watch the next episode of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel. Along with a visit to an ostrich farm and an Hawai'ian organic coffee plantation, the show will feature host Mike Rowe doing tasks like tube feeding and cleaning up seal poop. Good times!

This Tuesday on Discovery Channel, 9pm.

Heavy Moving

2005-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

My big move to Alameda is now only nine days away. I have to get all the utilities transferred, change the address on my mail, plus disassemble what furniture I can. This weekend has been like two more workdays. Since I'll be in Fresno next weekend for my mom's birthday, it was this weekend or bust.

Fortunately, there are resources that make moving slightly less intimidating. The US Postal Service has complied some tips on how to properly pack a wide variety of household items. Someone (with a sense of humor) even added useful tips for how to move the family hippopotamus. For the USPS site:

You'll need:

* 1,000-gallon tank per hippo
* 1,000 gallons of water
* Crane
* 1-pound sedative
* Soothing hippo music
* 2 Aspirin (for you)

How to pack:

1. Fill your tank with 800 gallons of water. Start yesterday. Remember, a medium-sized hippo takes up at least 200 gallons. (Just out of curiosity, why do you have a hippo, anyway?)

2. Apply sedative. Take two Aspirin.

3. Hold it, hold it - put the hippo in the tank, first. Start with soothing hippo music, followed by a large winch and crane.

4. Now go relax in a hot bath before the forklift arrives.

WAIVER: We in no way advocate moving a hippo or any animal without the express advice and consent of your local vet or zoo keeper. If you'd like advice from a veterinarian on moving with pets click here .

My hippo is all set to move. I've been keeping him under the bed. Unfortunately, he's kind of hard to hide from company.

There's a Hippopotamus Under My Bed by Mark Thaler (1977)

At least my hippopotamus didn't eat the teacher, like this one did.

...oh yeah, the move. I can't wait until it happens and is done. I'll keep you all informed.

Bali II

2005-10-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Here we go again:

At least 23 people dead in the same Bali resort town that was hit in 2003.

We can dabate about the War in Iraq: its legitamacy (I believe it was), and its subsequent management (I believe negligent bordering on criminal). However, people like these will never understand the central tenant in the War on Terror: We may have evil ones on our side, but we are basically good. We and the terrorists do share something: we see civilians as a unique group that deserve special treatment. The difference is while we seek to minimize civilian casualties, they target their military activities to kill as many civilians as possible. Indeed, some of them see literally everyone, Muslim and not, who is not a member of their group as someone who God has instructed they kill. Talk about your population control.

Of course, they don't have the power to install a world-wide Caliphite, but they can go on killing tourists, artists, food shoppers, children and other such enemies of God. And people like Cindy Sheehan say we should have never invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban and attack al-Qaida? I guess we just throw our hands up in the air and give up. Oh wait, they would probably kill us anyway.

Even After I Cheated

2005-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(60% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(31% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

I know a few people who have already taken the quiz, and many of them think it tends to skew Democrat. I always though of myself as left-of center (a little close to the middle of the graph than the quiz has me. It seems like it might be a bit more accurate if there was a "neither" option on the questions.

When forced to choose, I go Democrat; but with the state of both parties right now, I don't feel good being associated with either one.

Via Caltechgirl, Bill, Helen , and virtually everyone else.

The Amazing Race: Season 8

2005-09-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

There are only two TV shows that I actually schedule into my week, as opposed to just happen to watch (sports don’t count): 24 and The Amazing Race.

Tonight was the premier of TAR: Season 8, the family edition. Instead of teams of two as in past seasons, there are teams of four competing. Some of the teams include teenagers and elementary school-aged kids. This is either going to be very interesting or a complete bust.

Here are this year's teams, and an idea lovingly ripped off from the best TAR recapper Jen: my own snarky nicknames:

The Gaghan Family aka Team Marathon: Bill: age 40; Tammy, 42; Billy, 12; and Carissa, 9. This team is a bit cringe-inducing, what with watching young Carissa compete with all the grown-ups. As a family, they run marathons, Carissa included. I'm glad she's in shape (most kids her age aren't), but I'm not jumping for joy that her parents have her compete in long-distance running. Still though, they're tougher as a team than you may think, and for the most part they worked well together on this first episode.

The Paulo Family aka Team New Yawk. Tony, 52; Marion, 52; DJ, 24; Brian, 16. Ho boy, is this going to be an interesting team. While I've read a few people have been put off by their spirited conversations, I was eating it up. I don't think they're as annoying as some people think; they're just relating to each other in stereotypical New York fashion. I'd actually like to see them stick around for awhile.

The Black Family aka Team Awkward Surname. Reggie, 42; Kimberley, 40; Kenneth, 11; Austin, 8. Another cringe-inducing family, for a couple of reasons: Two young kids and a surname that matches their skin color. During the show, when "Black Family" was said, it sounded more like a description than a name. I just loved how encouraging the dad was to his two boys. Unfortunately, they had trouble the whole time keeping up with the other teams.

The Bransen Family aka Team Shampoo. A father: Walter, 51; plus his three daughters: Elizabeth, 25; Lauren, 22; and Lindsay, 20. According to their TAR bio, the four appeared in a Prell shampoo ad together. Not exactly your average family, but hey, it's reality TV people. They didn't leave much of an impression on me either way.

The Weaver Family aka Team Nascar. Linda, 46; and her three children: Rebecca, 19; Rachel, 16; and Rolly, 14. This is the tragic team of the Race. Linda's husband worked at Daytona International Speedway, and he died in an accident there. This team is devout Christian, which they frequently allude to. Unfortunately for them, they often seemed flustered and unsure of themselves. They can be uncomfortable to watch, and they may not last too long.

The Godlewski Family aka Team Doublemint Twins Squared. A team of four sisters: Michelle, 42; Sharon, 39; Christine 37, Tricia, 26. Ugh! This is the most annoying team of the Race. Appropriately, they saunter around most of the time in matching pink shirts, giggling at anything and everything. I've never been a fan of airhead blondes, and I can't wait to see them go.

The Schroeder Family aka Team Stepfamily. Mark, 40; Char, 39; Stassi, 17; Hunter 15. The kids are Mark's, he since remarried to Char. This team has all the underling tension that you might expect from a stepfamily. This is a good candidate for the first Major Meltdown of the season.

The Linz Family aka Team Abercrombie. Four siblings: Tommy, 19; Megan, 21; Alex, 22; Nick, 24. I'm undecided on how I feel about this team. One moment, they're obnoxious, another moment they can be quite funny. Either they will grow on me, as the Team Brothers did last season, or I won't be able to stand them. We'll see.

The Rodgers Family aka Team Bayou. Denny, 46; Renee, 42; Britney, 22; and Brock, 19. One of two teams from Louisiana (they're from Shreveport; Team Stepfamily is from New Orleans). Since the show was filmed before Katrina, it's a strange coincidence that two of the ten teams are from that state. I'm sure both teams will get a lot of sympathy support from viewers. What is it with twentysomething Britneys and the state of Louisiana? Plus she's a former Miss LA to boot. Not coincidentally, she seemed to have a great deal of camera time. They seem OK.

The Aello Family aka Team In-Laws. Tony, 57; and his sons-in-law: Kevin, 31; Matt, 31; and David, 27. Not only is this my favorite team of Season 8, they're the likely favorites to win the Race. Since they are from Massachusetts, I can only dream that Team In-Laws and Team New Yawk both make the final group. World Series, my butt!

Here's a quick recap of the two-hour first episode. Credit to the official CBS TAR website for filling in the gaps in my memory:

* The ten teams stated off in New York City, near New York harbor. Team Bayou managed to trip (literally) out of the starting gate, as Mother and Son took a spill.

* The first clue sent the teams off to Eastern Mountain Sports in SoHo to get outfitted. It was embarrassing how many teams immediately got lost and had no clue where SoHo was. I know NYC may be the toughest city in the US to drive in, but it's the one city you know you're going to travel around in. A little pre-race map studying would have helped. Worst was Team New Yawk, who managed to get lost in Manhattan. The stress of a Race will get you lost anywhere.

* After getting outfitted at EMS, the next clue directed teams to a hot dog stand on East 91st Street. Manning this stand: Kevin & Drew from Season 1. I didn't realize it since I only got into TAR a few years ago. Oh well.

* The next clue directed Teams to Washington Crossing Historic Park, as in "Washington Crossing the Delaware." After getting their clue Team Nascar spend time wondering if they should go to Pennsylvania the state or Pennsylvania Street somewhere in New York City. Someone wasn't paying attention in history class.

* On the way out of town, Team In-Laws couldn't pass Yankee Stadium without giving it raspberries and breaking into chants of "Yankees Suck!" This immediately sealed their place as my favorite team for this season.

* Once at the Park, teams had to row a boat (complete with a George Washington look-alike) across the Delaware River, retrieve a colonial-era US flag, then row back for a flag-folding ceremony. The kids were lucky; if only my history classes could ever be this cool.

* Once the flag ceremony was over, it was off to Philly, where the teams pitched their tents in a park, and claimed departure times for the next morning, based on the order of their arrival.

* The next morning, it's pouring rain! All the waterlogged teams head out to a farm near Mount Joy, PA. We’re in Amish Country now. Once there, we see the first Detour of the season: Build It or Buggy It.

For Build It, teams have to build a working watermill. For Buggy It, teams have to move an Amish buggy a mile and a half, while two team members are riding inside. Not only was it 1 1/2 miles, but it was hilly as well. It soon became obvious the Build It was the far better option.

Team Nascar was one of the teams that initially chose Buggy It, and they underestimated a downhill slope, losing control and spilling Mom out. I was having flashbacks to last season, when Team Brothers flipped their car in Africa. Fortunately, Mom was all right, and most of the teams ultimately (and wisely) chose Build It.

* Once finished with the Detour, the teams were off to the Pit Stop in nearby Lancaster. Team Doublement Twins Square came in first (ugh!), and received a prize of $20,000 (bleegh!). Sadly, last to arrive were the Black Family aka Team Awkward Surname. The boys were crushed, and it was quite sad.

* Next week: A trip to a Civil War battlefield (Gettysburg??), and Team Shampoo Dad appears to have some kind of heart problem. Yikes!

testing

2005-09-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Just testing the option to post via my cell phones
e-mail function. Nothing to see here.

__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com

Those Pictures I Promised

2005-09-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so a week later, here are the pictures of the LA trip I took two weeks ago:

First up, picture from the Dodger game versus San Diego, attended by Bill, Caltechgirl, GMT, Sandro, Naim and myself, among others.

The "Dodgerwood" sign behind Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium.

A stadium-long mural featuring some of the current roster.

The stadium scoreboard.

The Dodger scoreboard could use spellcheck, heehee.

A solidly hit ball.

A view of the outfield.

After the baseball game, Bill, Sandro and I headed down to the Home DepotCenter in nearby Carson to watch the Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy take on Colorado.

Galaxians fan group cheering on the LA Galaxy.

Goal!!!

Galaxy goalie Kevin Hartman clears the ball.

Confetti rain after another Galaxy goal. I really like how this pic turned out.

A picture of game action. I'm still working on getting better non-blurry shots of live action.

Even if I'm tardy getting them up, I feel happy with them. I'm starting to get the hang of using my digital camera, and I hope to make event photos a common feature here.

Now I just need to process and post them quicker!

Where the Heck Did September Go?

2005-09-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Is it really September 18th?

Time flies when you're having fun (or not sometimes). Here's what ate up the last twelve days:

1.) Who hoo! I have a 95.732 percent probability of having a new place. As I mentioned below, I focused my apartment search on the city of Alameda, specifically a nice neighborhood near the bayshore and the old naval base. The place I **should hopefully** have cost almost exactly the same as this place. Plus it has 100 extra square feet, is a two minute walk to the shore, has a community sauna (Is this laptop steam-proof?), and has a room set up for wi-fi for those certain bloggy friends who should ever drop in (nudge, nudge). Am I happy and relieved? Oh yeah. I move in October 11th.

2.) Work. All I need to say is there are issues and occurrences that are best left off the page and out of my mind. Nothing drastic, just the usual steaming bowl of office politics. Such is life.

3.) Road trip! Road trip! Mostly I was worn out pooped from doing a LA trip last weekend. A summary of the trip in as few words as possible: Caltechgirl, Grand Moff Trojan, Bill, Sandro. Dodgers win, Galaxy win; too late for the Dodgers, the Galaxy are still alive. Pasadena is still cool; LA looks great on non-smog days. Will do a separate post on it with more words and pictures :)

4.) My latest toy. The iRiver H10 MP3 player. It holds music, pictures, and text files as well as has FM radio capabilities. So far, it syncs up with Yahoo's el cheapo (but good) music service perfectly. The only drawback is that Amazon users warn the customer service isn't awful, it's nonexistent. Hopefully, this will never be an issue. Life is good, and yes, I expect to be buried with the thing.

5.) In the news, it's still pretty much Katrina all the time. I have to say that I was impressed with the President's admission of responsibility for the recovery effort missteps. The Governor of Louisiana followed. It's a good start to righting the ship.

6.) Last week's 49ers win versus the Rams was so sweet that even today's uber-rout at the hands of Philly can't wipe the smile off my face. When you go 2-14 last year, the only direction is up.

Bed awaits, since my days start at 5:30am this week. Time for me to get my sleep on.

I've Been Condoed

2005-09-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

2005 has been a big year of change for lots of people I know. Caltechgirl got her degree and is now Dr. Caltechgirl, evil genius. Grand Moff Trojan, Helen, and I all got new jobs. The same three all moved. Plus, CTG and VW pulled up cyberstakes and became MuNuvians.

So why should I be surprised that I've been officially condoed.

Condoed: verb, past tense. To have the apartment in which you've been residing get turned into a condominium. Example: Since the apartment in which I've lived the past five years has been condoed, Exgaucho is now looking for a new, better apartment.

Goodbye suckers! I'm gonna move closer to work in Berkeley, and get more square footage close to the beach in the city of Alameda. Who hoo! Tomorrow, I'm going to tour a promising one bedroom place. For slightly more per month than I pay now, I'll be one block from the beach in nearly double the square footage. The place may even have that greatest of all Western inventions: air conditioning! Needless to say, I hope this particular place works out.

Good luck to the suckers who bought the apartment complex, and who have to try to market a studio condominium with 425 square feet. This apartment has been fine to rent, but I wouldn't want to own it (or turn around and sell it, for that matter).

Labor Day

2005-09-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

On a lighter note, Monday was of course Labor Day. Now that I have work, Labor Day is a day off instead of just another day. For this I am very grateful.

Here's little bit of humor, as well as a pick-me-up for those looking for work, from a Yahoo! group made up of people from my old job at Incyte ~~Genomics~~ ~~Pharmaceuticals~~ Whatever:

Odd Todd: Laid Off

When you work, there's no free time. When you're unemployed, there's no money to spend. Ya can't win.

I'm Going to Throw Up Now

2005-09-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

Stories like this is why so many people hate President Bush so much. I usually keep a more level head: The President isn't an evil man, he does care about black people, despite what Kanye West believes. Even if Iraq was bungled, the initial concepts behind it were correct. I like his choice for the Supreme Court, even if he falls to the right of my views. Just because I often strongly disagree with the President, that doesn't mean I think he's a moron or a Nazi. I always try to give him credit when credit is due, and I'm not deluded, like many, into thinking that anti-Bush must always be a good thing

But....

For his people to turn the Katrina recovery efforts into yet another polarizing campaign is repugnant.

One Republican with knowledge of the effort said that Mr. Rove had told administration officials not to respond to Democratic attacks on Mr. Bush's handling of the hurricane in the belief that the president was in a weak moment and that the administration should not appear to be seen now as being blatantly political. As with others in the party, this Republican would discuss the deliberations only on condition of anonymity because of keen White House sensitivity about how the administration and its strategy would be perceived.

In a reflection of what has long been a hallmark of Mr. Rove's tough political style, the administration is also working to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana who, as it happens, are Democrats.

"The way that emergency operations act under the law is the responsibility and the power, the authority, to order an evacuation rests with state and local officials," Mr. Chertoff said in his television interview. "The federal government comes in and supports those officials."

That line of argument was echoed throughout the day, in harsher language, by Republicans reflecting the White House line.

Oh great, perhaps as many as tens of thousands are dead, but politics as usual goes on. I'm not excusing Democrats either, but one of the reasons we have a President is to foster national unity during national crises. He's supposed to lead by example and ignore idiots like Kayne West and the MoveOn crowd. The President should stick to the relief efforts and hold off on the blame game.

Other than venting right now, I'll ignore the slime emanating from Mister Rove. I'll just wait until 2008, and hope for a Rudy vs. Hilary contest. Go Rudy!

And Karl Rove can then go slither back to rejoin the pond scum that apparently created him. Yes, I'm blogging pissed when I probably should wait to write; deal with it.

Oh, and if this somehow costs lives in the recovery efforts by diverting valuable resources, he should be arrested.

UPDATE: Pshew! I feel much calmer now. Yes, I understand all events become political, and that Democrats too have said and done many unacceptable things during all this. Saying the relief effort could have been done better is legitamate, saying it's all Bush's fault is as repugnant as anything Rove comes up with. Let's play our little political games somewhere else for now.

Leave to George Bush Senior (41) to respond perfectly to his son's critics. The local NBC station just showed a clip where he said that he didn't want to get too personal, but if anyone wanted to criticise his son's performance on this matter, they better have their flack-jacket on. That made me smile.

Impressions of Katrina

2005-08-31T22:52:00.000-07:00

Between a busy week at work (like that's a new thing), and my post-sunburn recovery, I haven't had the chance to get as into the Katrina story as I would have liked.

I like New Orleans, even though I've never been there. I very much want to go, and this hurricane hasn't changed that. I've had a lifelong fascination with weather. When I was a kid, I could tell you the difference between a cumulus and nimbus cloud, and a cold front versus a warm front.

Last weekend Hurricane Katrina was a nasty storm that had just clipped South Florida and was headed for somewhere near Pensacola (sorry VW). By Sunday night, it was aimed at New Orleans instead and was looking very bad...Hurricane Andrew bad. On Monday, it seemed almost like fun and games: ha-ha, look at the silly/stupid/brave reporters broadcasting live while ducking flying debris.

By Tuesday, it was "New Orleans got lucky, the storm missed." Bullshit. This was the biggest missed call since a certain election in the Year 2000. Plus, don't tell the folks in Mississippi how much worse it could have been. By Wednesday, everyone realized that New Orleans too was in a world of pain, and that catastrophic flooding doesn't always take place immediately after the storm.

What is the scariest is the death toll has gone up by an order of magnitude the past few days. On Monday, it was dozens dead. On Tuesday, it was hundreds. Now, I come home on Wednesday night, and I'm greeted with a headline saying "thousands" may have drowned in New Orleans alone.

What can I say? What can anyone say? The worst tragedy in America since 9/11. A significant US city if not uninhabitable is instead permanently altered. Nothing like this since San Francisco in 1906.

Downgraded? New Orleans lucky again? There should be scores of newsroom editors hanging their heads in shame.

The post directly below is my small part to help the relief efforts, and meant to offer some ways to help, should you feel moved to do so.

Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

2005-08-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

I don't mean to beat people over the head with this. If you feel moved to give, please do so.

First off, I'm joining NZ Bear's group blogging effort to raise funds for disaster relief. Thursday, September 1st is the designated Blog for Relief Day, but don't let that stop you if the date is later.

I've decided to recommend America's Second Harvest as a charity to send a donation to. They have done outstanding work for years the nation's largest food bank network. I've given to them in the past, and they do an excellent job of stretching their dollars to maximum benefit. Considering the state of sanitation through the affected areas, plus lack of refrigeration, getting food to hurricane victims will be a top priority.

Once you contribute, please go to NZ Bear's contribution logging page to record your efforts. Thanks in advance!

If you're interested in another charity, or are looking for the right charity to support, Glenn Reynolds has compiled an extensive list of worthy charities. Also, see the Katrina Help wiki page for more information.

It was mentioned on FoxNews during their hurricane coverage that the US government rated a catastrophic hurricane strike as the third most likely extreme natural disaster to strike America. It was mentioned that the single most likely event was a catastophic earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area. Number two wasn't mentioned, but I would be good money that it was/is a similar catastrophic earthquake in Greater Los Angeles. It won't likely be too far off in the future when we in California will be dependant upon the generosity of people in places like New Orleans.

With the anniversary if 9/11 next week, when better to come together as Americans?

Next Time, Sunscreen

2005-08-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. A week since I posted? Oops. Oh well, blame work, a busy weekend and a cause of moderate sunburn. More on that in a minute.

This past weekend I did two major activities on the same day, Saturday. I'm not the highest energy person in the world, so I was expecting to be pretty well wiped out by Sunday. No surprises there.

College buddy Bill has been looking to head out to the (sort of) nearby Farallon Islands for some time. He read a book where the Islands were featured prominently, and wanted to see them for himself. If you ask him nicely, he should tell the name of the book, and I will post it (I'm curious myself). Plus, the Farallones gets a lot of great white sharks. Peak season is a few weeks off, but it couldn't hurt to try to see if we could spot any.

So, against the objections of my body, I set myself to wake up at 5am on Saturday, just like it was a day at work. After a breakfast of doughnuts, we were all set to take the boat out into the San Francisco morning gloom:

It's Saturday at 7am. Shouldn't I be in bed right now?

Oh well, at least San Francisco looks great even in a cold, nasty fog.

From the boat, looking back at the Marina District.

How many opportunities will I have to go under the Golden Gate Bridge? Even shrouded in fog, I thought it was worth it to snap plenty of pictures:

North tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A shot Alfred Hitchcock would love. Creepy.

The whale watching trip was a fundraiser for the American Cetacean Society, and as a bonus, extra passengers from the nearby Marine Mammal Center came along for the ride. These seals were well enough to be released from the hospital, and the Farallones were their destination.

Along for the ride.

After two hours and twentysome miles, we finally reached the first of the Carillons Islands. Not the most attractive place if you're a human. But everything else seems to like it here.

Southeast Farallone Island, the largest of the group.

This particular island is the one that was inhabited in the past, and it is the island where researchers do things like count the number of great white shark attacks on the seal population. At least the morning commute to work isn't heavy.

Houses on the island where research scientists live. A house like that would go for at least a million or two back on the mainland.

Here are some of the islands main residents:

Lots of seals and birds.

This was an unexpected sight: we noticed dozens and dozens of dead rockfish floating by the side of the boat. The captain of our boat reasoned that a mid-line trawler had dumped the fish. What happens is that a trawler drags a net through the water. The net gets just about everything, not only what the fisherman are after, but all other fishes ect. in the net's path.

In this case, the net likely scooped up the rockfish we saw. Since the fishing boat would have been in trouble if he came in with this incidental catch, called bycatch, it likely dumped the fish back into the water. Many fisheries have their nets regulated to cut down on bycatch, but apparently these mid-line trawlers have not been made subject to such regulations. And the only ones who benefits are the gulls who get an easy meal.

Dead rockfish.

After several hours, we finally saw what most of us on the boat came to see. Whales! We had the good fortune to be surrounded by a curious group of humpbacks.

A humpback whale briefly surfacing.

Somehow a migrating songbird ended up on the boat. A couple of passengers on the boat decided to hold on to the bird in order to release it back on dry land. There were a couple of near escapes, including one time where the bird got out to the stern of the boat. Bill wasn't expecting to turn around and see a bird perched on his foot!

Bill's shoe makes a convenient perch.

Off we went to the Northern Farallon Islands. On the way, we passed a huge pod (more like a crowd) of dolphins.

Dolphins.

Finally, we reached the Northern islands. Not too much to them.

One of the Northern Farallon Islands.

It had been a long day. We were over an hour late in getting back, so we high-tailed it back to land. All of a sudden, someone calls out "Orcas!" You wouldn't think a boat could do a 180 degree turn so fast.

Orcas!

Finally, we headed back to land. By this time I was pretty pooped, but it was good to see that the fog had lifted from the coast.

A now fog-free Golden Gate.

It was a long morning and afternoon. Later on, Bill and I headed to San Jose to meet up with fellow college friend Sandro, where we watched the LA Galaxy lose to the hometown San Jose Earthquakes. I took away a few lessons from the trip:

1.) Yes, you can get sunburn from a cold, foggy day.

2.) On long days, take a couple extra memory sticks and a backup battery for the camera. Bill was better prepared, and some of his photos are here. That's the main reason there are no pictures from the Galaxy game. I'll make it up when I travel down to LA to see a game in September.

3.) Highway 280 is the best way to get from SF to San Jose as quickly as possible. However, it takes at least as long just to get out of San Francisco.

This was a long post, but it was also a long day. Now if it weren't for the extra color in the face it would be ideal.

UPDATE: In the comments section, Bill says the title of the book is The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey, which deals with the great white sharks that come to the Farallones. I wouldn't have minded seeing a few great white feed.

I Can Outquirky All of You

2005-08-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

I see that several different bloggers have decided to list some of their more quirky traits.

Amateurs. I can run quirky laps around all of you. Pity my possible future wife.

Yes, I too much sleep covered. But I think I take it one (or more) step(s) farther. Not only must I sleep covered, but it must be a heavy blanket. No exceptions for hot summer nights. Plus, when it does get hot, I must have a fan blowing air directly on my face. Positioning the fan in the exact position is a major part of my bedtime chores. I often listen to music when I sleep, which is not unusual in the least. My tastes vary, but the music I find most soothing is 2000's dance/club music. I find that the simple melodic structure and uncomplicated lyrics actually relax me. Go figure.

OK, here's one I'm kind of embarrassed to admit: Going to the barbershop is a big deal. I don't have any fear of scissors or losing my hair. For me, it's the claustrophobic nature of the experience that makes me leery. I'm stuck in a chair for at least fifteen minutes, and I have to sit still and try to make decent conversation. Plus, I hate staring at myself in the mirror for extended periods of time. I have to work up the will to get my hair taken care of. Yes, I'm officially nuts.

Here's one: I eat the courses of my meal one at a time. If I get a burger and fries, I always finish the fries before I start on the burger. Or I eat all the mashed potatoes before I start in on the steak. Of all my quirks, this is the one that the widest variety of people has commented on.

Caltechgirl mentioned she cannot stand the sound of people chewing. I have something weirder; I cannot stand the sound of a beverage being poured in TV/radio commercials. If I hear a Coke commercial where the Coke is being poured, I get grossed out. I guess to me it sounds too much like the sound of Coke leaving the body.

I don't think I'm unique in this department: I have sports quirks. If I'm watching a game and my team does well, I have to sit, act, and/or eat the same way during the rest of the game. Because of this I feel I am personally responsible of at lest a couple of 80's Laker championships, and the 49ers come-from-behind playoff victory over the New York Giants a few years back.

A childhood holdover: When I walk down a sidewalk, I often, consciously avoid stepping on lines and cracks. I will not be responsible for breaking either my mother's back or spine.

I have a nasty fear of heights, but I love to look out the airplane window. I guess my subconscious can't process the faraway scenery as being really high up.

The TV must always be on. These days, I have it on mute more often than not, and I'm reading or on the computer. But I still feel weird if that TV isn't on.

As evident on this blog from time to time, I hate to review my own writing. This ends up with more spelling goofs than my IQ and education would allow for. This quirk would be a good one to change.

I've never had a committed romantic relationship, although there were a few dates, loves, and flings. I scored very high on the quirkyalone test, big surprise. Yet the majority of my friends since toddlerhood have been women. Even most of the bloggers I've gotten to know are women, go figure.

For some weird reason, if I'm on the freeway and I don't read the exit sign at an interchange, I'll often afterwards turn my head and read the same sign on the opposite direction of the highway. I guess my subconscious needs that reassurance that it really was Sixth Street I just passed.

My morning quirks are the stuff of legend. No conversation or bright lights allowed for at least forty-five minutes. When the alarm goes off, the TV or radio goes on, and I listen to it for at least half an hour before getting up. Coffee right away will usually make me feel worse. And I am not fully awake until I have loudly stretched a half dozen times, and most strangely, coughed like a chain-smoker. I do this even when I'm perfectly healthy.

One thing I do not do: insist the TP must go a certain way. When people bring up to me that they care about this, I look at them like they have a form of brain damage. But I think I usually end up with the TP on the outside, if you must know.

Vent of the Day

2005-08-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

OK, I know it's not much, but I've had it with trying to get %@#%#ing work shoes!

Since the job requires moving big, heavy stuff, the company chips in for a pair of work-quality shoes. There are a couple of companies that send shoemobiles around once a month. I missed the first couple, waited once because everyone said one brand was better than the other, and then when I finally went to get my shoes, I couldn't find the damn mobile because of construction on campus.

GRRRR!

I decided to bite the bullet, and drive up to the company's store. I figured they would be open on Saturdays. Fortunately, I called in first. No weekends, drat.

Oh well, they stay open till 5:30 on weekdays. Plenty of time to get out of work and head over. I can take a half-hour lunch, leave at 3:30 and easily make it.

Wrong.

I lost nearly an hour and a half because the buffer we were preparing wasn't ready, and it was made in the wrong tank! D'oh! That meant I had to hook a line between the two tanks, pressurize the first one to push the liquid along, then wait. Bleegh!

Fortunately, I was able to hand off the last of the work, but by then it was 5pm. No way was I going to make it in the peak of rush hour traffic.

Hopefully, I can get the shoes tomorrow. Unless the lab is burning down, I'm getting out on time. By the way, I love that this is one of my top annoyances, as opposed to "Hmmm, how many more months can I survive unemployed before I run out of rent money?"

Ahh, perspective.

Of Penguins and Polar Bears

2005-08-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of marine bio stories of note:

This has to be the funniest story of the day: A penguin at a zoo in Scotland reviewing visiting Norwegian troops. Story via the Scotsman.

HE is the most decorated animal at Edinburgh Zoo.

Now, Nils Olav, the city's most powerful penguin, is to receive yet another promotion from the Norwegian Army.

And as if that wasn't enough, the Scandinavian military machine is paying the ultimate homage to the feathery mascot by unveiling a statue in his honour.

The king penguin is shooting through the ranks at such a rate, he could one day even become general.

The latest promotion will see Nils sport a new three-starred Norwegian military badge on his wing.

Apparently, king penguins have been mascots of the Norweigen King's Guard regiment since they first visited the Edinburgh Zoo back in the Sixties. The video of the penguin reviewing the troops is here*.

*Unfortunately, the video is stuck in the wretched NBC FeedRoom, the place where local NBC news stations have their video clips. You have to use Internet Explorer. To get the video, click on "search" on the right side, enter "penguin" into the search field, and then click on the subsequent link that appears. Not very user friendly at all. Curse you Microsoft!

I'm sure there are some vetrans of the armed forces out there who would rather have served under that penguin than their CO.

Next, polar bears!

File this under how NOT to conduct a scientific research expedition:

Researchers Rescued From Polar Bears
By DOUG MELLGREN, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 17,10:40 PM ET

OSLO, Norway - Three unarmed Polish researchers stranded on a remote Arctic island were rescued by helicopter as polar bears were closing in on them, officials said Wednesday.

Sheesh. Too bad their research didn't involve a quiet Tahitian beach instead. Oh well, since they are scientists, they're pretty smart. That came in handy for their survival:

Braaten said the ship repeatedly tried to send in another small boat to pick them up, but conditions were too rough. The ship finally used a harpoon canon to fire a rope to land, so it could send the researchers food and water. Then it called for help.

"They managed to start a fire, to keep warm and keep the polar bears away," he said, explaining that the men used the spark plugs from their capsized craft's outboard motor to get the fire going. The island has some dried grass and scrubby plants.

"It was a bit like MacGyver," Braaten said, referring to the adventure television series featuring a character who relies on science and his wits to solve problems.

The three men got away with minimal injuries, and were eventually flown back to a research base. No mention of if they are all set to go back out on the ice.

Via the Marine Biology International Yahoo! group.

Dueling Auroras

2005-08-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sometime I just like to put a nice picture up. It's been awhile since I put up one of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day...

Courtesy of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. Taken by Phil Hoffman.

This wa taken from Yukon Territory, Canada. It would be a nice vacation from the Bay Area commute.

Morning Person? Never!

2005-08-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

Monday was my first shift at work that began at 7am. So far, so good, but this was only the first day. Come Friday, let's see what state I'll be in. Although, I have to admit it’s nice to have the extra hour before most of the engineers and contractors get in. Plus, leaving an hour earlier is nice too.

I just expect my circadian rhythm to go into full rebellion in about two weeks. We'll see.

As if getting used to waking up an hour earlier wasn't enough, I have to deal with potential jury duty! I have to phone in from work during the day to see if I have to spend the afternoon in the courthouse. I understand it's my civic duty, but I'm rooting for not being called in.

Yes, I'm rooting to go to work. Go figure.

Mmmm, Rock-Star Themed Dessert

2005-08-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

CHERRY GARCIA!
You scored 66% SWEET, 55% CHUNKY, and 70% UNIQUE!

cherry sweet cream base with cherries and fudge chunks

Awesome...you are one of my personal favs: Cherry Garcia. You fall in
the middle on all measurements- sweet, wild, and unique, but not
overwhelmingly so on any of those. You make a good friend, able to
share your unique perspectives on things, and able to have fun without
winding up in jail or something. Good job.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 14% on SWEET
You scored higher than 7% on CHUNKY
You scored higher than 63% on UNIQUE

Link: The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor Test written by weered1 on Ok Cupid

Enough is enough. I'm gonna make a root beer float. Y'all eat your heart out.

Happiness Is...

2005-08-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

...waking up around 5:30, turning on the television, and the first thing I see is the Space Shuttle safely on the ground. Yaay!

It looks like the bad weather over Florida is going to cost NASA a extra million dollars or so; that being the cost to piggy-back fly the shuttle from its landing at California's Edwards Air Force Base back to the Kennedy Space Center.

I bet the local stations that sent their reporters down to Edwards are happy they did.

Peter Jennings, Last of the Big Three

2005-08-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. Peter Jennings died tonight. I knew he had cancer, but I didn't realize he was so sick.

First Tom Brokaw retired. Then Dan Rather,..ahem..., I guess the polite way to say it is he "left." Now Peter Jennings has died. With all due respect to NBC's Brian Williams, there is no Big Anchorman left on network TV.

For my mom, the evening news was as much a part of dinner as the food. Without all those viewings of the network news, I probably wouldn't care as much about world or local events, I wouldn't be politically knowledgeable, andI probably would have cared to read blogs or start one myself. Now all three of the men who anchored the evening news during those years have moved on. I feel quite a bit older tonight.

Rest in Peace, Peter Jennings.

Another Weekend

2005-08-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Another weekend, another festival. This time, it was the local Fremont Festival of the Arts. Billing itself as "the largest free street-festival in California," it wound up its two-day run on Sunday. I like the fact that the festival is less than two miles from my front door.

It consists mainly of rows of cubicles where independent artists sell their wares. This year, I walked away with a few trinkets, including a few things that will end up as birthday or Christmas presents. Why not spend the money on mom-and-pop artists as opposed to Wal-Mart and Target?

Also, this was the sixtieth anniversary of the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima. I'm not going to get into the debate of the whole thing; I just wanted to mention that the Discovery Channel did a fine show telling the story of the bombing. That stirred up my curiosity, so I went surfing online for World War II stuff.

Because I like to look up stuff I get curious about. As opposed to, say, blogging regularly. I'm a big Wikipedia addict, but I digress.

Anyway, I found out some neat facts about the war on the US West Coast. I knew that an oil refinery near Santa Barbara had been shelled by a Japanese sub. However, I did not know about some other events: the "Battle of Los Angeles," when antiaircraft gunners shot the hell out of the sky, thinking that enemy aircraft were conducting a raid; a couple of balloon bombs that fell on rural California, and an oil tanker sunk by a Japanese sub off Cayucos, on the California Central Coast.

I never realized that there was combat so close to places I'm familiar with. But then again, there were plenty of other states, like Florida and Oregon, that had warfare so near.

My weekend was the Festival, satisfying my inner history geek, and cleaning around the apartment. Coulda been worse.

And to close, happy late birthday Helen!

Mid-Week Blahs

2005-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hump Day.

Nothing much to report on my end. Work has had its typical ups and downs. I will be a while longer until I'm comfortable there, but I like it. I'm starting to assist with writing our documentation, and learning how to operate the lab equipment. Or more accurately, helping the eingineers fix the malfunctioning lab equipment.

OK, since that's all I have, here's a sily quiz that has nothing to do with summer:

Official Survivor
Congratulations! You scored 65%!

Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the
right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere.
Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 20% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

OK, so I can survive a plague of the undead. I'm still working on surviving in the living world.

Uh Oh

2005-07-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sigh. I was afraid NASA would have to face this kind of decision during the Shuttle flight. I know space flight will always be dangerous, but to me it looks more and more like NASA might have glossed over some of the tile problems. After the spectacular launch, there has been a great deal of uncertainty orbiting the Shuttle program.

I'll keep my fingers crossed, and hold my breath (not literally) until the Shuttle crew is safely back on Terra Firma.

OK, time to end this with good astronomy news! Ice on Mars! Tenth planet?

Meat, Fire, Garlic, Good!

2005-07-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

I took a couple of hours to head down to Stinktown, USA, better known as Gilroy. This weekend they had their famous Garlic Festival. I've gone in past years, so I wasn't planning on going. However, a couple of friends had never gone, and I didn't have to drive.

The last one was most important. I didn't feel like sitting in the five-mile backup the festival produces.

It was a better time than I thought it would be. But then again, I can usually be convinced to go somewhere that features good food.

Meat!

Not the vegetarian section.

Fire!

This is how you cook garlic shrimp for tens of thousands of people; with flames that shoot eight feet in the air.

Ice Cream

A friend purchased pistachio-garlic ice cream. Everyone else liked it, but I feel that garlic and dessert need to kept as far apart as possibly. I won't be asking Ben & Jerry's to make a garlic flavor anytime soon.

Crowds

Since we got there in the morning, the crowds weren't too bad. It was still pretty packed. Plus admission was twelve bucks, a little too pricey for my liking. All in all, I had a good time but I don't think I'll go next year.

Cutting Edge? Heh.

2005-07-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm not as vulgar as I used to be:

the Cutting Edge
(60% dark, 47% spontaneous, 33% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | DARK

Your humor's mostly innocent and off-the-cuff, but somehow there's
something slightly menacing about you. Part of your humor is making
people a little uncomfortable, even if the things you say aren't in and
of themselves confrontational. You probably have a very dry delivery,
or are seriously over-the-top. Your type is the most likely to
appreciate a good insult and/or broken bone and/or very very fat person
dancing.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: David Letterman - John Belushi

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 54% on dark
You scored higher than 45% on spontaneous
You scored higher than 45% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

I'm glad someone can appreciate my ability to make people uncomfortable. Don't know if they're always laughing...

Hat tip: Helen. Bill's results here.

Godspeed, STS-114

2005-07-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of NASA.

Please go well, please go well. PleasePleasePleasePlease.

UPDATE: Yay! Successful launch. Still, there is concern regarding debris that appeared to fall off the external tank. Stay tuned.

My Weekend

2005-07-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I hosted old college friend Bill, plus his friend Naeem. Bill is on a sacred quest to visit every single major league ballpark. This weekend was San Francisco's turn. Plus Bill would get the chance to enter the belly of the beast; a LA Dodger fan in SBC Park.

Bill and Naeem brought up more than a meal of Pioneer Chicken for another friend (don't ask). They also brought up a bright-blue Dodger Curse for those hated Giants. Final score of the Marlins vs. Giants on Saturday night: 16-4.

Ouch.

Being a lukewarm Oakland A's fan, I was able to take in the action in nonpartisan fashion. I could enjoy the pregame ceremony honoring ex-Giant Gaylord Perry, and I could enjoy the cascade of boos that the fans gave the struggling home team. Bill has his own (better) pics, including the actual people in our group. Unlike mine, where I went for the scenery.

Shipping Containers at the Port of Oakland.

Stuck in traffic waiting to get on the Bay Bridge? Why not snap some pictures? This shot is (naturally) from the Port of Oakland. Not quite "pretty," but I like this picture just the same.

Number 36 Retirement Ceremony.

The game we attended happened to have the retirement ceremony for Gaylord Perry's number 36. He was famous for his tenacity and his, ...ahem... spitballs. Oh well. And yes, we were in nosebleed seats. It was still fun.

Home-run fireworks. The lone highlight of the Giants' night.

Splash Landing

Looking south; the right field wall, McCovey Cove, and the stadium parking lot.

Gameshot

This was the best picture I took of actual game footage. The game got away pretty quickly, and I wasn't paying that close attention anyway.

A shot looking north from the concession stands underneath the stadium. I know I couldn't afford to live in any of these condos.

Bay Bridge

The view of the Bay Bridge from the stadium. With views like this, it's easy to forget there's a game on.

What the Heck Is A Hornbeam Tree?

2005-07-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

OK, time to lighten the mood.

You Are A Hornbeam Tree

You are a reserved person, looking in from the outside.

Naturally attractive, you take good care of your looks.

You are not egoistic, and you make life as comfortable as possible.

You look for kindness in others - though you are seldom happy with yourself.

A bit mistrusting and unsure, you dream of being swept away by someone unusual.

What is Your Celtic Horoscope?

Hmmm, those Celts can make a pretty decent horoscope. This one is actually pretty accurate for me. "Swept away by someone unusual." That could either go really well or horribly wrong. Wounldn't mind finding out though.

Taken from the currently hurricane-free VW, who offers a blessing for the ~~Hurricane~~ Sunshine State.

London Redux

2005-07-21T05:51:00.000-07:00

It's still early to tell, but it appears that there has been another attempt to cause more carnage on the London Underground. This has started around 12:35 London time. Three stations evacuated, one ~~unconfirmed~~ now confirmed report of a malfunctioning nail bomb. Fox News reports a witness saying of another possible indicent on a bus. No causualities confirmed yet. The Command Post is on top of the story, and should update frequently all day. I'll be at work (and away from an internet connection), so I'll update much later today.

Looks like a likely follow-up London attack ended up stillborn. Every time I take the local BART trains to work, this seems to happen. Oh well, the last thing people should do is give in to these bastards and uproot out lives.

By the way, we are still not afraid!

UPDATE: Fortunately, no more incidents in eather London or anywhere else. As for effects locally, there was an announcement on BART this evening that trains coming from SF into the East Bay through the Transbay Tube would be about 10 minutes late due to security precautions. Fortunately, this doesn't effect my route. BART has a press release that mentions one of the precautions being taken is employing a bomb-sniffing dog to check trains headed toward San Francisco. Is it too difficult to get another dog to check trains moving through the Tube away from San Francisco? Duh!

Also, here is a transcript of Australian Prime Minister John Howard answering a question regarding the London terrorism and any connection to British involvement in the Iraq War. The jist of it was these people were threatening long before Iraq, and before even Afghanistan. Say what you want to about Iraq, these people wouldn't hate us any less if Iraq didn't happen.

However, that alone doesn't justify everything that took place in Iraq, but that's another matter.

Attack-Hugged!!

2005-07-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

...or is that hug-attacked? Whatever. I'll get to that in a minute. Warning: heavy-duty cuteness at the end of the post.

OK, so I still may or may not be an aspiring marine biologist. With the new job, it will be at least a couple of years before I go back to grad school, and jump back into the MB world with both feet. In the mean time, I've been occasionally volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands, and more recently at the Bodega Marine Lab on the Sonoma Coast.

Once a week or so, I've been helping a postdoc with his mussel study, doing exciting things like removing dead predators, checking the water flow, and feeding the live predators. Ehh, it's not much yet, but I do enjoy it. And I might be able to do a research project soon, if time and circumstances allow.

This Saturday was the bi-annual BML Open House, where the public was able to tour the facility and see what the heck we do. Thanks to an article in the SF Chronicle, tons of people came up. I spent the day explaining as best I could what the mussel study was:

1.) Collect and measure mussels.
2.) Put them into tanks.
3.) Add sea stars and whelks to the mussel tanks; in their own containers so they can't eat the mussels, yet exposed to the same water the mussels live in.
4.) Wait a few months.
5.) Re-measure mussels to see what physical effects have occured, due to the mussels being exposed to their predators. Are there chemical cues in the water that affect mussel growth?

Back to the attack-hug. The highlight of the whole day was a sweet little girl, no more than four years old, who came from nowhere to hug my leg. I didn't want to startle her, so I didn't pull back. Apparently she thought I was someone else, because two visibly embarresed adults (parents, heehee) told her: "Honey, that isn't Brian [or some other name]."

Oops!

Oh well, there are far worse things than getting an accidental hug from a toddler. I told the young girl that her daddy was ready to go now, and somewhat perdictably her mother replied "We'll loan her to you!" Heh, that's OK.

I won't take the girl, but I'll keep the hug. Brian (or whatever his name was) can get a make-up hug from her later.

Not Too Shabby

2005-07-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

An over-simplified quiz, but I still ended up with the same score I usually get on longer IQ tests:

Your IQ Is 125

Your Logical Intelligence is Above Average
Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius
Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius
Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I'm sure there are...ahem....some readers who can beat my score.

Hat Tip: Bill, Helen, and a Bunch of Others.

The Slow Posting

2005-07-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

The new job has been going well. The past couple of weeks, I've worked from 12pm to 8:30 pm. For me, it sure beats the usual 8 to 5 grind, as I usually spend my moring hours in a sleepy daze anyway. The work itself is interesting. There are a lot of big expensive machines that will eventually filter and aloquat the drug product, plus the equipment to sanitize those machines. All this hardware works when it feels like, and this can make training on them an excercise in patience.

OK, so I got my wish: a job. Now I have to learn to juggle all my interests and obligations along with that job. Honestly, I don't know how parents do it all. So, I've got a time management schedule all worked out. Now the hard part is saying to myself, "Yes I'm tired, but I can still quickly (read, blog, clean up, cook a decent meal).

Couldn't we just make the day 30 hours long?

Finally

2005-07-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

So the National Hockey League finally reached a tentative agreement with its players? This is after:

* An entire season lost to the lockout.

* Millions of dollars in revenue lost to players, teams, vendors, and local hockey-dependant businesses like sports bars.

* Likely millions of fans who grew tired of waiting and have no interest in supporting ice hockey again.

Was it really worth it? I never thought too highly of the game of "chicken."

We Are Not Afraid

2005-07-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend this was. A trip to my mom's in Fresno was on the agenda; I hadn't been back in two months. Plus, I got to see Caltechgirl, her husband GMT, plus Caltechmom and Caltechdad. I always get a kick out of seeing that CTG's high school mementos are still in the same places they were ten years ago.

More to say later on, but a couple of items first:

Hurricane Dennis did its worst, which fortunately wasn't too bad. No deaths in the USA (condolences to the Caribbean, which lost 20 people), and less damage than last year's Hurricane Ivan, which took the same path. Hopefully the US death toll will stay at zero, and crooked reconstruction contractors will be kept away.

Via Instapundit: WeAreNotAfraid.com.

This totally rocks. People send in pictures of themselves, or someone close, with the words "We Are Not Afraid" support the people of London against terrorism. Some people who are good with PhotoShop also have sent in some neat stuff.

Some of my favorites are here, here, here, here, and here.

It's such a simple thing, but I felt really uplifted looking at some of the submissions. I guess it's that feeling that the world is smaller than it often seems, and that good people will always come together to support each other. It makes me feel like many from around the world would care and help, if God forbid, something heinous happened much closer to my home. I'm sure Londoners who visit the site are uplifted.

God Bless London

2005-07-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

Not again.

This time I didn't receive a wake up phone call. I slept in today, blissfully ignorant.

At 9am (US Pacific time) I turned on the TV.

Not again.

Here I sit, ten minutes later, in a state of confusion, attempting to catch up with the rest of the world. Just like last time. Too scared and shocked, to be angry but that will come soon. I can already feel it.

Last time it was New York and Washington, now it's London.

Motherf*****s.

Sons of bitches. I just took BART last night too. I don't know the exact details yet, but in a way those details don't matter.

First Madrid, now London. Europe has an islamist threat to its people in it's midst, it cannot deny it, and it needs to aggressivly take these people out. No more attempting to "understand." We understand your bombs, now they can understand out guns.

Unlike last time, it wasn't a pre-planned day off. I have to get my day started, somehow.

UPDATE: US Homeland security raised threat level on transport systems to orange. Locally, more security placed on BART trains and San Francisco Muni buses and trains. No delays on either system.

These Little Piggies

2005-07-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

I can't complain about my Fourth of July. I spend the evening at the Alameda County Fair, and I can't think of a more stereotypically all-American way to spend what was a perfect summer evening. Sadly, no fireworks, but I did see an event just as good:

Piggies!

You may have skydived, visited Antarctica, or had dinner with a celebrity, but noting compares to pig racing.

More Piggies!

The highlight of the racing was one piglet that took the creative approach. The crowd was promised that this piglet could not only clear the hurdle, but could clear a hurdle with two extensions added on top. The anticipation built. Whoosh! Off went the piglet, racing toward the formidable barrier. And then, he stopped...

After pausing for a few seconds, he did what any of us would do. He ran around the hurdle and jumped the fence, racing to the finish line and he food reward.

Who says pigs aren't smart?

Sweet Land of Liberty

2005-07-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July to all Americans, and best wishes to all others!

Liberty Bell

Celebrate the independence of your nation by blowing up a small part of it. -- Apu-like convienence store owner, pitching Fourth of July fireworks to Homer Simpons.

Stay safe. Everybody keep all the finger you had before tonight!

UPDATE: Here's a classic post from Michele featuring a sign that vividly points out why it's bad to blow your fingers off.

Gimme My Receipt!

2005-07-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Alameda County, where I live (main city: Oakland), decided to keep the electronic voting machines it's been using the past couple of elections. The machines are manufactured by Diebold, which has received quite a bit of criticism, some of which is noted in the article.

I have to admit I'm pretty wary of the touch-screen machines. I do worry that the votes contained electronically within the machines could be deleted or altered. But honestly, it can't be said that paper votes can be deleted or altered too. Shortly after the November 2001 election, several ballot box lids from the City of San Francisco were found floating in the bay! Clearly, someone can screw up or falsify votes regardless of which method is used to tabulate.

This is why I'm put more at ease that a state law was passed requiring all electronic voting machines to print out a paper receipt of the vote. And also, at least in California, any voter can demand to use a paper ballot at the polling booth. The poll workers won't tell you this fact, but once you ask, they will gladly provide the paper ballot. This is what I did for the November 2004 election.

Please, no more Floridas.

Kablooey!

2005-07-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. Yesterday, one more task was added:

Poof!

Get a new tire!

Tire guts.

Check out gnarly tire damage! I knew it would be a great idea to always keep my new digital camera with me.

I had a blowout coming back from my weekly trip assisting at Bodega Marine Lab. Fortunately, when the tire went, I had enough time to pull over safely off the freeway. I made an attempt to put the spare on myself, but I was starting to strip the bolts on the hubcap. Little did I know that those hubcap bolts were ~~fake~~ ornamental, so it didn't matter. I ended up calling AAA, and theyy did their usual professional job. Still though, I got a little more sun yesterday than I was planning on. At least I had some scenery to look at while I waited.

Novato, CA, in northern Marin County, CA.

Whenever I travel up Highway 101 North past Novato, I always wonder what this building in the picture is. It's kind of isolated, halfway up the hill overlooking the rest of the town. I always inagine something sinister going on there. Perhaps it's a field office of a James Bond villian, or Hank Scorpio, the villian on the Simpsons who took over the East Coast.

Hey, I had to have something to think about while I was stuck on the highway waiting for the road service.

California West Nile Season Begins

2005-06-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Considering how much rain California got this year, there are likely to be (literally) tons of mosquitoes. That can only help make this season a nasty one in terms of West Nile virus. Today, the state got its first human case of the year.

(06-29) 18:05 PDT SACRAMENTO, (AP) --

A 47-year-old Tulare County man is the first human case of West Nile virus infection in California this year, the state Department of Health Services announced Wednesday.

The man sought medical care for fever and headache earlier this month and is recovering, the agency said.

Mental note: Add the following to my to-do-list:

1.) Buy deet.

2.) Get Industrial Strength Bug Zapper.