Comics are Gay

So, yeah, let’s look at this.

DC Comics has made Alan Scott (now only of Earth-2) gay.  The legacy of Alan Scott is that he was the original Green Lantern written around the time of World War II.  I haven’t read the Earth-2 books yet, but I’m sure I’ll learn how it differs from the old pre-Crisis Earth-2.

But my problem with this is that there have been gay characters scattered around DC Comics for a long time.  I can remember when they revamped Superman in 1986 that the police commissioner of Metropolis was a Lesbian.  A stereotypical skinny lesbian with short hair and dark eyebrows, but she just was.  It wasn’t a big deal.

Then there was Alan Scott’s son Obsidian, who was openly gay.

Renee Montoya, a female cop from Gotham City who ended up taking over being the Question is gay.  And so is the recently introduced Batwoman.  Then there’s the lesbian couple of Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass in the Legion of Super-Heroes.

And okay, so I’ve named one gay man and several gay woman, but I’m sure there are other characters out there. (Oh, yeah, the villain turned hero Pied Piper was gay.)

This all just seems like pandering.

Happy Geek Pride Day

So, I vaguely remember reading about this earlier this week, but it must have stayed in the back of my mind, because today I wore my Darth Vader hoodie complete with black Levi's and my black boots.

Plus I have to say that it’s pretty cool that  I’m familiar with all three special dates.

On May 25, 1977, the original Star Wars (A New Hope) opened.  I remember going to see it (not on that day, but soon after it opened).  I remember going with my parents to the theater in Walnut Creek.  It was the first time I’d ever waited in line (that I remember) for a movie.  I was really too young and had sensible parents so I never waited in line all day for the sequels.  I did however wait all day for the three prequels.  At this point, I’m not sure what that says about me.

My dad introduced me to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy back when I was in high school.  He came home one day with the original trilogy, and I burned through them pretty quickly.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth book (So Long and Thanks For All the Fish), and was slightly disappointed by the end of the fifth.  I have the bible-ish tome that collects all five, and used to read it every year.

But then I found a new obsession.

Early in my time with the marching band in college I met a saxophone player (no not this one, a different one).  I was expounding on the wonders of Douglas Adams, and he told me about Terry Pratchett, who early on in his Discworld career was considered the Douglas Adams of fantasy.  Pratchett quickly grew beyond that title, and made himself a name (and a knight) for showing us the master writer that he is.  Now I read the entire Discworld series every couple of years as well as reading every new book when they come out.

A Rose By Any Other Name

So, no I can’t explain why, but I can do this:

Mrs. Seidman:  I heard about your engagement through a mutual friend.  It was a knife that tore through me, and I even found out the date.  For a a while I brooded, but eventually, I wished you happiness and joy.  Many years later, I saw pictures of the wedding. While it hurt to see them, I saw that you were beautiful and happy.  The strangest thing that I experienced was the closest I’ll probably ever get to falling into a parallel world as I could almost see myself in those pictures.

Mrs. Baerman:  I went to your wedding and was happy for you.  I had thought my feeling gone, but later I, and others who went through similar events that summer commiserated.  I had always hoped you would be happy.

Mrs. Thomas:  This was a surreal event for me.  It was the death of a dream.  But I wished you the best, and all has been well.

Mrs. Scherr:  Yours came out of the blue for me.  I had known you were gone.  My feelings had swung on a giant pendulum for years.  I was stuck for a while, but When I let go, I felt a release.  I wanted you to be happy, but I always wondered if it were ever truly possible.  Now, I can only hope that it is.

To all of you, I wish you joy and happiness.  I love you all.

The Name Game

So it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you’ve dated someone.

It doesn’t matter how long it’d been since you saw them last.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been married.

There is an emotional impact when you learn that a ex has gotten married.

Back in the Saddle

So, eight days after my accident, I went on my first bicycle ride.

Yesterday when I got home, Jennifer and I ran a couple errands.

We crossed Ashby.  No big deal.

We went to Bay Street to return something for Jennifer, and we had dinner to celebrate.

There was no pain, and I only got nervous the first time a car passed me.

I’ll probably go for a ride on Saturday, and then try biking to work again next week.

A Postponement

So yesterday was the monthly role-playing game.  Steve hosted in his condo in the City.  I took BART in and walked the six or so blocks to his place.  I was feeling pretty good.

During the game, I sat on his couch next to the dining room table, so that I would have a cushioned seat.  I iced my back twice with a session of heating pad in the middle when things got uncomfortable.  Then afterwards John, Scott, and I walked swiftly back to BART because there were fireworks going off at AT&T Park, and we wanted to beat the Giants fans to the train.

We did just walk, but today I’m a bit stiff.  Probably just due to the total distance.

I wished my mom a happy Mother’s Day, and asked to postpone our Mother’s Day time for one week.  I just didn’t think I’d be very good company.

Then I called my grandmother who’s in the hospital in Kentucky.  She sounded pretty good, and was finishing up lunch.  The fare sounded pretty good with soup, a Benedictine sandwich, and a dietary cheesecake.  A far cry from the Jell-O you tend to hear about.

She asked if I was going to see my mother, and I briefly had to explain my circumstances.  I glossed over them, because I may be stiff, but I’m not in the hospital.  Or nearly 95 years of age.

So Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there.

Back to Work

So I’m back in the office today.

I’m learning a few things about my self today.

Opening doors uses a surprising amount of muscles in the back.

Leaning from the chair into a lower drawer also flexes interesting locations in the back.

Also, good posture is always less painful than slouching.

The Morning After

So, an update.

I’m sore, but otherwise doing okay.  I slept through the night, and even slept on my back for a few hours.

After some questions from work people, I figured I should say that I never hit my head.  My helmet has no scuffs, so that’s all fine.  I have no road rash, or tears in clothing or shirts.

The only thing that took any damage is my Chrome bag.  Not a whole lot, but you can see in the fabric where it contacted the ground.

So to sum up in GURPS terms: I made my default acrobatics to reduce injury (but did not critically succeed), and the Chrome bag game me a point or two of Damage Resistance against the fall.

Tumbling

So, today’s ride home from work was not the best of incidents. (Remember my earlier post and/or read my mom’s post, and buckle up).

I was less than two blocks from home when suddenly I was tumbling over my handlebars.  I tucked and rolled, and hit my back on a parked car.

What had happened was that in a stopped car, a girl had opened the rear door (I’m guessing to get out), and neither she nor her mother saw me.  Then right before I went past, my bike hit the inside of the door, and I went tumbling.

I didn’t hit my head, but I am a little bruised.  My right wrist is a little stiff, and I’m pretty sore along a couple of my lumbars.

The alignment on my bike is a little messed up, and one of the brake handles is askew, but I don’t think the wheels are messed up.

I had a good soak, and took some ibuprofen.  We’ll see how I feel in the morning.

Wheels on Wheels

So, I started something new for me today.  I rode my bike to BART, took BART to Walnut Creek, then rode my bike to the office.

I was semi-surprised at the number of bikes on the train, but it was a pretty enjoyable experience.  My only issue was that I dressed a bit too warmly, and was pretty warm on the train.  The rides themselves were great.

Tonight is when I think I’ll see the better part of the commute when I don’t have to wait at the tunnel to go home.  And then I don’t have to deal with waiting for the bus at the BART station.

My Over-thruster is Complete

And so tomorrow, I’m going home.

Yeah, About That…

So, I took a look at the length of the previous post, and I thought I should probably mention.  I have a tendency to make long story out of simple ones.

I’ve been told it’s a genetic disorder.

No wait, that’s wrong.

It’s a family trait.

Game On

So we’ve been doing a parking lot restoration here in Watsonville.  And that’s the kind of thing you subcontract out many of the phases of the job.  Concrete paving for example.

As some will know, I end up talking with the people I’m working with.  I met one of my best friends that way.  He was sitting on a loader in Yerba Buena Island while we were cleaning out lead paint impacted planters, and I saw he had headphones in instead of ear plugs.  And I asked him, “What are you listening to?”  That sparked a conversation that quickly formed our friendship.

So you can understand why I like talking to the subs.

So this time, I’m talking to the guy running the trowel machine in between pours.  He’s telling me about his son, and mentions a game store that he is half-owner of in Fremont.  I ask him if it’s tabletop or electronic, and he says tabletop.  RPGs and board games.  It’s called House of Games.  And I tell him I’ll be sure and check it out when I’ve got some free time on a weekend.

The next weekend, Jennifer and I were both down with being sick, and hermitted watching movies, and moving very little.

Then this past weekend, we were looking for something to do to get out of the house.  I suggested the game store, so we headed out to Fremont.

House of Games is a fun little store.  There’s a lot of selection, but not much for supplements.  I’m guessing if you’re local you can order the supplements, but they’ve most got the main books on the shelves.  As an example, they only had GURPS 4th Edition Characters, and no other GURPS books.

While wandering the shelves, I saw this, and stopped cold.  The Discworld is a series of books I’ve talked about often, and is one of many Jennifer and I read together.  I called her name and just held the box up as she turned the corner.

So we bought it.

We drove home then, and after a best of seven series of Zombie Dice to get us in the mood (I won 4 to 3), we sat down to play our new board game.

Three hours later, we were worn out from having an amazing time.  The game is like any of Terry Pratchett’s books as it builds slow, and then rushes to the end with ever growing excitement and activity.

The game itself is a melding of Monopoly and Risk, with bits of Uno and Mille Bornes thrown in.  Upon completion we immediately decided we needed to find other Discworld readers who we could talk into playing with us.  It’s be a much different game with 4 players instead of just 2.

Closing In

So, things are starting to look like a completed job here in Watsonville.

Today the landscapers began setting out the new plants and even got some of them in the ground.  We are presently on track to be able to hand over the parking lot to the restaurant owner on 5/4.

It being a Mexican restaurant, you can guess that this will be a pretty big deal.

So I’ve got a week and a half left here.

Fingers crossed.

On, On U of K

That is all.

Thirst

So, I just feel the need to mention that I surprise myself sometimes.

Most recently with the speed at which I can down a half-liter of water.

Ummmm, Hi

So...  Have I mentioned that I'm working out of town?

I typically leave Monday morning around 4:30 AM for Watsonville, work there for five days, and drive back home early Friday afternoon.

At least the days are long, and I have work to do when I get back to my hotel room too.

So, I've got that going for me.

Beware…

Beware the Ides of March

Beware the Ideas of March

Beware the Tides of March

The Dude Abides in March

Beware Tour Guides in March

Play Hide and Seek in March

Beware the Pies of March

Don’t Take Sides in March

Game Called

So for the past three weeks, I’ve been in scenic Watsonville working on a remedial excavation.

And no, that doesn’t men an excavation that’s in need of special construction in school. (And yes, I was actually asked that once).

We’re cleaning up another company’s mess.

Now, our first week, we had some rain.  It was frustrating, but it didn’t affect the dig.  But the rain on Tuesday and Wednesday (and today and tomorrow…) makes it too sloppy to dig because then you expose soil that will have to dry out before you can put anything on top of it.

So we’re shut down.  I’ll go back Monday and see how things are, and how much we can get done before the next bit of rain comes in.

Until then, Jennifer is very happy to have me home.

Treasure of Watsonville

Wrenches?

We ain't got no wrenches.

We don't need no wrenches.

We don't have to show you any stinking wrenches!

Mogo Doesn’t Socialize

Yeah, it’s the little thing s that get me.

So I’ve been working out of town this week, and will be until about the end of April. Friday I came home and was sitting around looking to just relax, but then I read this.  Now I’d been suffering through near freezing mornings, and two days of cold rain with just a picnic type canopy to shelter under.  I decided I needed to get outside.

Friday afternoon, I did 14.7 miles on my bike, making it to the radio towers out near Costco-Richmond.  Today I made it all the way to Craneway for 24.1 miles.  and while I’m tired, I feel really good.

you see the hotel I’m staying at has minimal exercise facilities.  There’s a recumbent bike, a treadmill, and a machine that allows very specific workout positions.  Plus I’ve got a big exercise ball to do crunches on as well as some other things.  But nothing beats being out for an hour or two on a bike.

Now, because I’m gone for so long, Jennifer needs some other forms of entertainment, so I shifted all of our Netflix DVDs to her queue.  But one had gotten through before I did that, so I had a movie to watch this weekend: the DC animated feature Green Lantern – Emerald Knights.

Now this is reminiscent of the old Tales Green Lantern Corps quarterlies that used to tell stories from the Book of Oa.  This DVD tells tales related by Hal Jordan, once again voiced by Nathan Fillion, to the rookie Lantern Arisia.  they are well told, and for those in the know of Corps mythology, most have an underlying story that makes them that much deeper.  Not that a lack of knowledge takes anything away from the telling.

Add to this that I’ve had a lull in books, so I’ve been catching up on my physical comics reading, and I was pretty psyched by this DVD.

As for the title… it’s from the DVD, and had me howling with laughter just like the Lanterns that said it as a joke.

HA!

If you’re cold, why should you stand in the corner?

…

…

…

…

…

Because it’s 90 degrees.

Model Behavior

Yesterday was my Grandmother and Papaw’s 50th wedding anniversary.  My mom and her brother (with my dad and aunt) took them out for dinner, and my mom performed a renewal of vows ceremony.  Details are sketchy from 2,700 miles away, but keep an eye on mom’s blog, and I’m sure she’ll have a full accounting and pictures.

Coming up in April, my parents will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.  And no, they didn’t get married when mom was 5, and I wasn’t born when she was 8.  My Grandfather passed away from cancer when my mom was a child, and Grandmother married Papaw when mom was in college (if I’m getting my math right).

But what better living examples of marriage could I have than these two?

Congratulations to Grandmother and Papaw for 50 years!

A Post and Music

It’s been a while since I did this to music, so I thought I try it again.

{Queensrÿche “Hard Times”}

So yeah, no matter what, comic book plots tend to slip into my mind at the strangest times.

This evening I was in my office/craft room looking for something and my tabby Oscar came in to see what I was doing.  I played with him a little, and was pleased when he started purring.  even as he rolled onto his back, and I scratched his belly while he gnawed on the cuff of my shirt, he kept purring.  I figured he must be really happy.

And then an old plot from the Flash came into my head. and so we descend into geekdom.

{Evanescence “The Other Side”}

One of the villains of the Flash is Gorilla Grodd.  Grodd has been around for a long time.  He is a super-intelligent gorilla from Gorilla City, a city of super-intelligent gorillas hidden somewhere in Africa. According to Wikipedia, he first appeared in 1959.  Most of the gorillas are peaceful if reclusive, but Grodd is evil with the powers of telepathy.  He constantly chafes at the presence of humans whom he views as inferior.  And if you compare intelligence and strength, he’s got a point.

{Breaking Benjamin “Skin”}

One of the Flash comics in the 90s had Grodd build a device that increased the brain power of animals all across Central City (the Flash’s base of operations).  And because humans are such jerks (or insert other synonym here) the animals attacked.  Birds swooped and pecked.  Rats rose up.  Zoos became pandemonium.  But some pets, those that were well treated, defended their owners.

{Chris Cornell “Other Side of Town”}

The main one shown was the new kitten of a little girl who at first seemed to have fallen under Grodd’s spell, but was actually upset about the squirrel that about to launch itself through the picture window to attack the little girl.  The kitten ends up killing the squirrel, and then goes back to wanting to play with the little girl.

Yes, of course, the Flash stops Grodd.  I think this was even one of those times when the invention backfires, and makes Grodd (temporarily) a vegetable.  He is returned to the custody of Gorilla City where he would later escape and wreak havoc once again.

And yes, the point of this is that as I sat on the floor rubbing my kitten’s tummy, I felt confident that if he were to suddenly gain sentience, he wouldn't attack me.

{Garbage “Stupid Girl”}

Invasion of the Syrup

So I regularly listen to Kevin Smith's podcast "Smodcast".  (I may have said before, but the M in Smodcast is for Scott Mosier.)  And when I say I regularly listen, I mean that I'm many episodes behind.

So I was listening to one yesterday, and Kevin and Scott were talking about this article by Mark Hyman about the dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Now, I've worked very hard in the past few years to get off of HFCS.  And of course it coincided with my cutting down on caffeine as well.  I had heard about the HFCS tricks you into remaining hungry after you've consumed it, but I didn't know about the other affects it has on a body.

I'm thinking that at this point, I'm going to be getting rid of anything with HFCS in it, and won't be getting any soda out of a fountain again.

Bungee Blog

So here I am bouncing in again with a long delayed post.

Hey, I’m working again, what do you expect?  Oh, so because I used to post all of the time when I was at ETIC, I’m supposed to post be back in that mode again?  But my workload there was not what it is here.  Time and Materials billing doesn’t allow for the slack that Unit Pricing does.  If you’ve got an established pattern for billing to a Unit then you need to keep that up.  So now, I’m moving from task to task here, not just doing a task, and figuring out how to bill it.

And besides if it were all about free time wouldn't I have posted all the time last year when I was mostly unemployed?  But then nothing was happening.  Sure I was reading and biking, but I posted a bit about that, but there wasn’t much excitement going on.  And yes, I realize I’ve been mentioning the unemployment thing a lot.  I try not to, but it’s just hard not to compare “then” and “now” without doing so.  It’s like “pre-break-in”, “post-break-in”, and "Emeryville Epilogue”; things are just so different.

So why am I posting in the middle of the day today?  Because I needed a break.  So there.

~~~

Now, the reading part of the blog.  For Christmas, Jennifer and I got Nooks from my in-laws.  The Simple Touch ones. We don’t know how because we’re pretty sure they were and are over the family cost limit, but we were very surprised to received them.  I acted happy, but was resistant to using them at first.  I love the feel of a book, and the whole “I can read this without charging it” thing made me feel superior.

So I downloaded some free books, and tried things out.  It was okay, but got better as I personalized the method of turning pages.  Then I thought about using it to read PDFs.  It does an okay job, but then I found an online converter that can change formats, and learned that EPUB is the way to go for the nook.

So I’ve been slowly acquiring copies of books that I like.  Right now I’m working my way through Larry Niven's Ringworld series again.

And the really cool thing is that the Nook fits perfectly in the back pocket of my Tumi bag.  I could probably even fit it inside if I really wanted to be secure, but it fits low enough that you can’t see it.  But I can have my library with me at all times.

The Nook is so what Mom and I needed when I was a kid.  Especially for all of my doctor visits.

“Yea, though I wait at the pharmacy of Kaiser, I shall fear no boredom, for my Nook is with me.”

Books! (and Candy)

I finally finished the H.P. Lovecraft compendium.While I’m glad to be done, I have to say that it was really amazing to read his works in chronological order.
Now, I’m on to the Ringworld cycle by Larry Niven.  It’s been a while since I’ve read the whole series, and I think I’ve only read the last book in the series once.  I don’t think I even own it, so I’m going to have to go on the hunt for it.
I’m also placing several books on hold at the library, so I’ll get to intersperse re-reading with new reading.
And speaking of old books, I’ve got Jennifer reading Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light.
Tonight also marks the end of my Christmas candy.  I splurged and at the last two of my See’s dark chocolate butter chews.  Wow, those are good.  But I made the box last for over a month.  In other news I also found Kraft Caramel squares on clearance at Target this weekend.  No promises on making them last.

… and a Half

Happy… to…

Happy… to…

Happy… dear…

Happy… to…

The day just doesn’t have the impact that it used to have.

A Return to Arkham

So yeah, it turns out, I wasn't really in the mood for James Watson recounting how he met Francis Crick, and how they came up with the double helix structure theory for DNA.

So I'm back to reading H.P. Lovecraft until I get a chance to run by the library and get a recent Charles Stross release.

Then once I"m done with those, we'll just see what books come next.

I'm Not Dead, I'm Working

It's just been a couple of those weeks.

Last week, I started my new job.  I'm doing geology work again, and spent most of the first week reading up on the three sites I'll most likely be working at in 2012.  Then this week, I was in San Rafael at one of those sites.  We were scheduled to be there for five days, but we were so awesome that we finished in only three days.

Now I'm reading up on a site in Watsonville.  The kind of cool thing is that our subcontractor for the excavation there is going to be the company that I worked for before coming here.  It will be good to see the guys I got to know again, and I'll know they do a quality job even before going into it.

Now, I'm already on my third book of 2012.  I had to set aside my Lovecraft book because I had all of these books come in at the libraries.  Yes libraries, because from my office I'm only two (very long) blocks from the Walnut Creek branch of the Contra Costa Library.  And I had also put in some requests at the Oakland Library as well.

First I got to devour the latest book of the Discworld, Snuff by Terry Pratchett.  This one is more of a social commentary than any he's done before.  But it was lots of fun to see His Grace, the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, the Blackboard Monitor in action again.  And very much in action.  It only took me a couple days over the weekend to finish it.

Then I read After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn.  It's the tale of a woman who is the unpowered daughter of two of the greatest heroes of her earth.  Her father is a Superman-esque hero, and her mother is a fire manipulator.  And the poor woman keeps getting kidnapped in an attempt to control her parents and their super team.  It was a fun read, and Jennifer is going to see if she'll like it.  Apparently Vaughn also writes an urban fantasy series.  Jennifer has requested the first two books of the series, so we'll see how things go with that.

And now, I'm almost done with the  latest Kate Daniels book by Ilona Andrews.  Jennifer burned through it while I was reading the other two, and I can see why.  The MacGuffin in this one is powerful and dangerous, and has toally given me a great idea for a GURPS adventure.  SUre it will take a little tweaking to make it work jsut right, but it'll be great to throw it out there.

And then after this, I've got some books by one of the co-discoverers of the DNA double helix, James Watson.

Books I Read in 2011

Yeah, I should have done this yesterday, but I didn’t think about it until I was falling asleep.
I got a lot of reading done in 2011 as I had so much free time, and I probably could have had a higher number of books read if I hadn’t been caught up in a 1,100 page tome of Lovecraft fiction.
Not that that’s a bad thing.
And I ‘m closing in on the end of that one as well.  But in the meantime, here’s my list of books I read in 2011.
The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 - Charles Schulz - ****

The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 - Charles Schulz - ****
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb - R. Crumb - ****
Bloom County: The Complete Library, Volume 5: 1987-1989 - Berkeley Breathed - *****
The Omen Machine - Terry Goodkind - ***
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - Richard P. Feynman - **
What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard P. Feynman & Ralph Leighton - ***
UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities - John B. Alexander PhD - **
Tuva or Bust! Richard Feyman's Last Journey - Richard Leighton - ***
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) - Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton, Edward Hutchings & Albert R. Hibbs - ****
A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin - ****
Ghost Story - Jim Butcher - *****
Room - Emma Donoghue - ****
Wesley the Owl - Stacey O'Brien - ****
A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin - ****
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return - Marjane Satrapi - ***
A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin - ****
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry - Jon Ronson - ****
A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin - ****
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin - ****
Bigger Damner Book of Sheer Manliness - von Hoffman Brothers - ***
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi - ***
Instructions for Living Someone Else's Life - Mil MIllington - ***
The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss - *****
River Marked - Patricia Briggs - ****
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss - *****
The Bones: Us and Our Dice - Will Hindmarch and John Kovalic - ***
The Complete Peanuts 1978-1977 - Charles Schulz - ****
The Complete Peanuts 1975-1976 - Charles Schulz - ****
Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 4: 1986-1987 - Berke Breathed - *****
Once More * With Footnotes - Terry Pratchett - ****
I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett - *****
Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett - *****
A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Last Hero - Terry Pratchett - *****
Pale Demon - Kim Harrison - ****
One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde - ****
Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett - ****
Making Money - Terry Pratchett - *****
Dark and Stormy Knights - ed. P. N. Elrod - ****
Thud! - Terry Pratchett - *****
Going Postal - Terry Pratchett - *****
Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett - *****
Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - ****
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett - *****
Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Truth - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Fifth Element - Terry Pratchett - *****
Carper Jugulum - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements - Sam Kean - ****
The Last Continent - Terry Pratchett - ****
Jingo - Terry Pratchett - *****
Hogfather - Terry Pratchett - *****
Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett - *****
Maskerade - Terry Pratchett - *****
Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett - *****
Soul Music - Terry Pratchett - ****
Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - *****
Side Jobs - Jim Butcher - *****
Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett - *****
A Catch in Time - Dalia Roddy - *

New Year, New Job

So, I think we can all agree that 2011 has been a difficult year.  It’s certainly been a personal roller coaster.

I was let go from a job of almost 5 years when the company I was working for lost their contract with Exxon Mobil. {As a sidebar, I happened to see the EM project manager at a store in Emeryville yesterday.  I showed amazing restraint, and did not ask her how she was feeling about destroying the lives of so many people with her company’s policies.  But I digress…]

Jennifer and I moved to a wonderful place in Emeryville, and we did a lot of cycling around.  Sure I had free time, but there are so  many cool shops around that it was hard to not be able to go in and get what we wanted.

In August, I finally began work again for a contracting company.  And boy was I bored there.  I wasn’t doing anything close to geology, and it was really not a good fit.

In November, I started interviewing with an environmental company in Walnut Creek, and last week, I received an offer letter.  I’ll be starting the new year with a new job.  I’ll be a project geologist, and working with some really fascinating people.

Christmas Movies

There are certain traditions we observe for Christmas.  One of my favorites is watching “The Nightmare Before Christmas” while we decorate the house.

[To preface the rest of this, please note that the last time Jennifer asked to see a movie that would make her cry, I suggested “Serenity”, and she accepted.]

Then the other day, Jennifer said she wanted to watch another Christmas movie.  I suggested “Gremlins” since she had never seen it.  She thoroughly enjoyed it, and now I debate with myself on showing her the mixed goodness and badness of the sequel.

Then last night, she wanted another Christmas movie.  I suggested “Lethal Weapon”.  We ended up watching the first and second movie, and when we finished, she suggested watching the other two tonight after our Christmas light driving tour.

Book Report

So yes, it has been taking me a long time to read the Lovecraft compilation.

In my defense it is almost 1,100 pages long.

I’ve just finished “The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath” and am starting “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”.

But I’m really enjoying going through his works chronologically.

It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

Because this is here.

Don’t stop now.

Go. Watch it.  And smile!

Have You Been Touched?

First of all there is this: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

This is not a new thing, but I think the sentiment behind it is important.

On an tangential note, John informed me today that he is now an ordained minister of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM).

When asked, the newly anointed Man of the Colander passed on to me these words of wisdom:

The Eight "Rather You Didn't's" of the FSM:

1. I'd really rather you didn't act like a sanctimonious holier-than-thou ass when describing my noodly goodness. If some people don't believe in me, that's okay. Really, I'm not that vain. Besides, this isn't about them so don't change the subject.

2. I'd really rather you didn't use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don't require sacrifices, and purity is for drinking water, not people.

3. I'd really rather you didn't judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, okay? Oh, and get this into your thick heads: woman = person. man = person. Samey = Samey. One is not better than the other, unless we're talking about fashion and I'm sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia.

4. I'd really rather you didn't indulge in conduct that offends yourself, or your willing, consenting partner of legal age AND mental maturity. As for anyone who might object, I think the expression is "go fuck yourself," unless they find that offensive in which case they can turn off the TV for once and go for a walk for a change.

5. I'd really rather you didn't challenge the bigoted, misogynistic, hateful ideas of others on an empty stomach. Eat, then go after the bitches.

6. I'd really rather you didn't build multi million-dollar synagogues / churches / temples / mosques / shrines to my noodly goodness when the money could be better spent (take your pick):
I. Ending poverty
II. Curing diseases
III. Living in peace, loving with passion, and lowering the cost of cable
I might be a complex-carbohydrate omniscient being, but I enjoy the simple things in life. I ought to know. I AM the creator.

7. I'd really rather you didn't go around telling people I talk to you. You're not that interesting. Get over yourself. And I told you to love your fellow man, can't you take a hint?

8. I'd really rather you didn't do unto others as you would have them do unto you if you are into, um, stuff that uses a lot of leather/lubricant/Vaseline. If the other person is into it, however (pursuant to #4), then have at it, take pictures, and for the love of Mike, wear a CONDOM! Honestly, it's a piece of rubber. If I didn't want it to feel good when you did it I would have added spikes, or something.

I Think Barry and Wally Blinked - Updated

So MIT has created a camera that can record one trillion frames per second.  Below is a video they made which shows the propagation wave of a camera flash.

Chef-ness

So Jennifer has been sick recently.  And she’s been making some food requests.

In the past few days, I’ve made a chicken noodle soup and eggs benedict with smoked salmon.

Poached eggs aren’t as hard as they make it out to be.  Neither was the hollandaise sauce.

The chicken soup was made with a great chicken broth, and then baby carrots, and crimini mushrooms.

It’s a bit of strong-arm tactics, but she’s making me into a better cook.

Time

In my times at home over the six months I wasn’t working, I always knew what time it was.

You see in Emeryville, there is a Clif Bar factory, and they have a whistle/tone just like in “The Flintstones.”  And it goes off at:  7:25, 7:30, 11:25, 11:30, 11:55, 12:00, 3:55, and 4:00.

Additionally somewhere there is a church somewhere nearby, and it has bells that go off at 8:00, 12:00, and 6:00.

However, it wasn’t until this past Friday that I discovered there is something definitely wrong with the church clock.  At 8:00 in the morning it rings 18 times.

Now let’s think about that.  That’s not two tolls for each hour.  It’s also not off by 12 hours and ringing military time.

That’s all.

Happy Ink Day

So last night at about this time, I was two-thirds through my latest tattoo session.  And I knew it had been a long time, but I didn’t realize until I posted the picture on Facebook that it had been over a year since my last session.  Unemployment really put a crimp in my plans.

This time I was in Davis.  The artist who was working on me is taking over a shop.  He’s wanted to open one since he stared tattooing, and this opportunity was unexpected, but is an offer he just can’t refuse.  The owner is walking him through everything, mentoring him on how to run the business, and the hand-off will be official with the start of the new year.

So if you’re in the area, and need some modification, go check out Primary Concepts Tattoo in Davis.  Phil has only been there for about two weeks, so his work isn’t up yet, but it will be soon.

But more about me…

This was one of my longer sessions we started close to 6:30, and were walking out the door about 10:15, so all told with breaks and such we did about 3 hours.

I find it is best if I'm talking to people when I’m getting the work done.  It helps me compartmentalize the pain.  So we talked about Phil taking over the shop, about his equipment, state regulations for shops and tattooists.  And I told him about this video:

We’re wondering if it’s real after seeing others from the YouTube channel.

Take the J Bus

When I had first moved out to California in the 70s, two guys who became my best friends at the time were two other Chevron kids who had moved from Kentucky the same time we had.

They had a couple Bill Cosby LPs, and I got my first real introduction to that comedian beyond the Saturday morning cartoon.  And one of the bits that he did was on Street Football.

It’s all about the planning stages that kids go through for playing football in the street.  There are so many lines from that one that can stand alone.  One of my favorites is:

“Okay now, Shorty, you’ll be the Coke bottle top.”

“I don’t wanna be the bottle cap, coach.”

“Okay, what do you wanna be?”

“I wanna be the piece of glass.”

But then this morning as I’m coming out of Emeryville, and getting on the freeway, I’m behind an AC Transit bus.  I look at the designation and I see it’s the J bus.

“Cosby, you go down to 3rd street.  Catch the J bus.  Have them open the doors at 19th… I’ll fake it to you.”

Origen Opens Tomorrow

Last week, Jennifer received an email for being a friend of Nibblers.  Nibblers was a restaurant in Pleasant Hill that did small plates and was run by a wonderful man named Daniel.

he is an amazingly knowledgeable man, and we had several great times there, not the least of which was a birthday dinner for Jennifer.

The email she received was an invitation to a preview of Daniel's new restaurant Origen on Telegraph in Berkeley.  We decided on an evening, and made our reservations.  We planned for the day, and set aside money for what we expected to be a possibly expensive evening.

Tonight we went an experienced the “Farm to Fork” plan of Origen.  we didn’t order, they just brought out food asking about cocktails or wine that we might like with the meal.  We had a squash and gorgonzola pizza.  We had a potato and chard soup garnished with bacon.  We had a salmon wrapped in Artic chard with cloved figs.  We had a chuck burger with gruyere and homemade red pepper ketchup.  And we finished with a chocolate pavê infused with plums and orange zest.

When we were done, we asked for the check, and our waiter explained that there was no cost for the meal.  This was a celebration of the new restaurant for the friends of Nibblers.  So we left a very nice tip, thanked our waiter and our host, and came home.

This is a place we plan to patronize.  And we hope that those of you who are local will as well.  Go and enjoy.

Decision Decided

So I had been leaning toward the blue rocket with red fins for coloring my tattoo, and then I saw this picture for an upcoming cover to Action Comics, and my decision was confirmed.

Wine

We got one of those wine aerators the other day at Costco.  I opened it up, and set it out, when I noticed that it came with directions.  I find the need for directions for an item like that similar to the need for directions to use a toothpick.

Insert screen.

Pour wine.

Drink wine.

Mmmm… wine.

Shake Me

I missed the first earthquake today.  I was working in Santa Rosa today, and came home to some things shifted on shelves.

Then this evening we had an aftershock.

Jennifer was upstairs taking a shower, and it really freaked her out.  It started with a pretty loud band, and then a lot of rattling and shaking.

I was sitting on the couch, and what did I do as a geologist?

I sat there and grinned and rode it out.

Chess! The Trainwreck!

Last night, Jennifer and I went to see the Willows Theatre’s production of the musical “Chess”.  It was the worst production of anything we have ever seen at the Willows, or just about anywhere else.

I discovered the music of “Chess” in the ‘80s with the song “One Night in Bangkok” on MTV.  It has remained one of my favorite songs.  Jennifer came to “Chess” from the song “Anthem” which had been covered by Linda Eder.  Both of us eventually acquired the album, and thought about seeing the musical.

A few years after we were married, we were in San Jose, and happened to be walking around downtown, and we came across a theatre there who were putting on the show.  Unfortunately the tickets were out of our range at the time, and we both had to leave disappointed.

Then last year, when the Willows Theatre announced their return season, we saw they were doing “Chess”, and we knew we had to see it.  We’d been looking forward to this for almost a year, but last night destroyed our concept of the show and our trust in the Willows.

The acting was stiff.  The choreography was horrible.  The sound was mushy, and not all of the singers could project well enough to carry their voice to the back of the theatre (and it’s not a big theatre).  The secondary male lead was horrible; he couldn’t sing in the range the songs were written, and we kept thinking his voice would crack.  And he sang “One Night in Bangkok” and muffed it.  Badly.  There was live music this time at the Willows with a bari sax, a cello, a violin, and electric keyboard, and drums and guitar.  But the violinist couldn’t hit the right notes.  There was even one song where the musicians were supposed to play in a minor key (we think), and they couldn’t even play that convincingly enough.  If you’re going to be dissonant, you’ve got to do it big and with confidence.

The only redeeming part of the show was the female lead.  She had a great voice, and carried things.

I have no idea what show this reviewer and this reviewer went to see, but it certainly wasn’t the one we attended.  We feel we wasted 3 hours of our lives, not to mention the money we spent on the tickets, and gas getting there.  We’ll certainly not be going back to the Willows Theatre anytime soon.

Tungsten Hydrogen Oxygen

As you know, one of my favorite comedy skits ever is Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First'?” and the various variations thereof.
So, I’ve recently been more serious about reading the webcomic “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal” and I came across a recent strip they did.

Working for a Living

So it has been an interesting couple of weeks.  There's been lots of driving, and learning, but the biggest thing was working for the state.

A few weeks before I had my first interview with PIVOX, I got a requests for applications from the the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (CBPELSG).  Other than being a typical application, it asked for a list of counties worked in, and the kind of work done there.

Then in the first week after I was hired, I got a phone call telling me I had been selected to review a case, and that the documents would be on their way to me.  They arrived a week or so later, and I was to review documents related to a case closure that was being appealed.  The geologist who had approved closure of the site was being asked to reverse his decision, or the complainant would request censure.

I spent the evenings of about a week looking the documents over, reviewing the last three quarters of the site, and making my decision.

So I got that in the mail this weekend, and just in time, because Friday night, I got sick.It started with itchy eyes, and by Saturday morning half of my head was plugged up, and I slept until 10:00.  Sunday was the same. Monday I stayed home, and did a little work, but ended up falling asleep during Monday Night Football.

I'm in the office today, and I'm drinking as much water as I can.

The Mood

At this moment, none of my books are appealing to me.
I so enjoyed the other books about Richard Feynman, but the book I'm on now is not thrilling me.
I’m not really in a Lovecraft mood either, so that’s out.
I’ve read my comic up to the end of “Flashpoint”, and the newly re-launched “Justice League”, but for right now, that’s all I’ve got.
As I sit here and type, I look across the room at the bookshelf full of hardcover and trade paperback graphic novels.  Perhaps, I’ll pull on of those off the shelf.
***
On an unrelated note, Kevin Smith’s newest movie “Red State” is available on demand from just about every cable and/or satellite TV carrier.  I think it’ll be available through the month, and while it’s a departure of his normal stuff, it’s still a good movie.  It’s also very intense.

The Fourth State

I like plasma spheres.  I can remember as a kid seeing them, and how insanely expensive they were.  Beyond the reach of the common man.

Then the Eye of the Storm came out, and my parents got me one for Christmas.  It can act normally, or you can adjust the intensity, and even have it react to ambient sounds.

Then other things came out, and I even got a small plasma sphere.  Jennifer and I even have small discs that react similarly to a plasma sphere.

And now Tokyo Flash is gathering votes for their new watch design, and I want them to make this one.

So go.  Vote!  And then I can have a plasma “sphere” on my wrist.

Debunk is Done

See?  I was right.

Quenched

Two weeks in Madera.  That’s where I’ve been.

Do you know how hot it gets there?  It’s just north of Fresno.  Do you know what they make in Fresno?  Raisins.  they put perfectly good grapes outside and let them shrivel up in the sun.  Today in Madera, (while I was in “scenic” yet gloriously temperate Hunter’s Point) it got up to 104 degrees F.  I am glad to be home.

The best thing about today was working, coming home, and having dinner with my wife.

And tomorrow I have the office all to myself.  the newest hire if off south to take my place in Madera (poor soul) for the rest of the project, the other two engineers are working at Hunter’s Point, and my Supervisor is there as well for a meeting with the public.

And the best part? I’ve been instructed to play with some Excel files; get to know them and see what I can do with them; fill in some data.  I get to play all day tomorrow.

Debunking Makes Me Feel Good

I’m sure a lot of people have seen this picture by now.  It’s even made it onto some news shows.  The claim is that hurricane Irene flooded one of the Caribbean Islands so badly that a shark was seen in a flooded street.

Now check this old motivational out.

Now compare the sharks.

Especially not the divots in the fin caused by light refraction and the wake around the tail and dorsal fin.  See anything familiar?

Day 3: Madera, Day 1

I’ve been training.  The refresher course took some time because the online course had a timer, and you had to have 8 hours elapsed to take the test.

I got through the training in 6 hours, and thought that if I left the training up, it would accrue the time.  But the recording has to actually be playing for the timer to count.

I had some time on Tuesday, but the power went out at the server site of the company hosting the training.  I finally finished my training Tuesday night about 9:00.  Which was good because I had to be in Madera to be on the job site at 8:00.

I’ll be here through Friday, and then back out next week from Monday through Thursday.

BART Excitement

So I’m sure by now that everyone has heard about  how Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shut down cell repeaters in its San Francisco stations and in the Trans-Bay Tube last week.
Well, now the FCC is looking into whether or not this is a fineable offense.  Last night, Anonymous hacked the MyBart database, and there was a protest scheduled for today.
Around 4:45, the principal of our company was watching a group of helicopters circling west of our office.  I figured they were over the Civic Center BART station as that was where I had heard the protest was going to be staged.
I just checked the BART iPhone app to see if Civic Center had been reoopened, and the BART Twitter feed is an amazing read (Times are relative to 8:00 PM PDT).

All stations open. For advisories visit bart.gov or m.bart.gov; sign up for email/sms at bart.gov/alerts; or txt "BART delay" to 878787
7:40 PM
Embarcadero Station reopened.
7:18 PM
Embarcadero Station now closed for entries and exits.
6:46 PM
Embarcadero now open for exits only.
6:41 PM
Montgomery Station reopens for entries and exits.
6:30 PM
Civic Center Station reopens for entries and exits.
6:20 PM
Trains now stopping for riders to disembark at Powell.
6:12 PM
Montgomery Station closed due to civil disturbance.
6:02 PM
Powell Station closed due to civil disturbance; trains now stopping to let riders off at Civic Center.
5:47 PM
Civic Center Station has been closed. Trains are running through.
5:29 PM

I got to the Montgomery station gates about 5:05, and waited less than 5 minutes for a train.  We sat for a long time for people to board (I got a seat, lucky me), so I think the times above may be the announced closure times, but not when it really happened.

Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow will bring.

UPDATE: Got the real times off of the Twitter feed on the BART app.

Working For A Living

If yesterday felt like the Sunday before school started, then this morning was definitely like school.

I woke up several times during the night, and not because I didn’t trust my alarm.  It was all just on my mind.

Then this morning, I walked to the bus stop, and waited in silence with the other people.  No bullies at the stop, but also no cute girls either.

Emery-Go-Round is such a nice service.  And it’s free.  the BART ride was fine.  Being at MacArthur, there’s just so many choices in the morning.

My day at work consisted of taking my online refresher for HAZWOPER, and getting my picture taken for the building security system.  I also got to sit in on a conference call.

It’s looking like I’m going to be the office guy who helps take the load off of the principal (yeah, another school-like reference) so that he can get some work done.  Tomorrow, we’re going to Hunter’s Point for a bit, and then the rest of the week (maybe) I’ll be in Madera.  But somewhere in there I need to get my physical.

Back to School

That is exactly what today has felt like.

Think back to those long summers as a child.  The endless days of doing what you wanted.

And then it’s August.

And then school is almost back in session.

And then it’s the Sunday before school starts on Monday.

That’s what today feels like for me after my six and a half months off.

Luckily tomorrow, I only have one street to cross by myself.

Color Test

So I’ve had a coloring book style copy of my tattoo for a bit.  and now that I’ve finally scheduled more color work (for November, Phil’s a busy guy), I’m closing in on getting the rocket colored in.
So I did a collection of color tests by coloring in.  It’s a variation based on body/fins/trim.
Now, the original rocket was blue, and DC went back to that in one retelling.  In another the ship was golden.  So I have my choices below.  Some color combinations were no good, so they’ve been ignored.
I cut the colored ships out, and had Jennifer take pictures of them all while in place.  the copy is a little larger than the actual rocket on my back, but it’ll do for now.
Please give me your color opinions.
Red with Blue Fins,

Yellow with Blue Fins

Yellow with Red Fins

Blue with Red Fins

Work, Work, Work

So, it’s official, I’ll be starting work on Monday with PIVOX Consulting Management.
They’re based out of Irvine, and I’ll be in their San Francisco office.  I’ll be taking the Emery-Go-Round to BART, and getting off at the Montgomery station.  Then I’ll walk a few steps, and enter the building.
I’m not sure what exactly I’ll be doing to start, but it will all come out on Monday.
Thanks again to everyone who’s been supporting me emotionally.  I could hardly believe the outpouring of support on Facebook when I announced that I’d gotten the job.

Full of Rice

Lots of food in the past few days, and almost all of it has involved rice.

Thursday, Jennifer made enchiladas, and Mexican rice to with them.  She made the seasoning herself from a recipe she found on the internet, and it was just amazing.

Friday for lunch, I went out to Pleasant Hill and had lunch with a bunch of former coworkers at Ming’s.  I had my usual, and was pretty stuffed until late in the day.

Friday for dinner, Jennifer had a creole craving, so we made a late night run for Popeye’s.  I had the jambalaya, and was really stuffed.

This morning, she wanted to know if I wanted a big breakfast, and I said that Cheerios would be just fine as I needed to cleanse myself before we did any more heavy eating.

Friday, we had also run out to San Rafael, and bought a replacement bike for the one that was stolen a week and a half ago.  Today we did a significant ride.  We went to Jack London and had a beer at Heinhold’s First and Last Chance Saloon.  Then we rode to Solana Avenue, and had another couple of beers at The Pub in Albany.  This was mostly to kill time until Sushi Solana was open.

This was truly the best experience we’ve ever had at a sushi restaurant.  The ambience was nice, and sitting at the bar, we chatted with the sushi chef.  He talked tings over with Jennifer for exactly what she wanted, and helped with our experimentations.  Jennifer had a dogs head fish liver pate that she said knocked foie gras on its ear.  I had a rice bowl of sushi with 7 types of fish plus a shrimp tail.  As a palette cleanser and meal closer we had lotus root that was amazing; crunchy and sweet.

Sunspots!

This morning, I read this article:

Strong Solar Activity / Spotted Sunsets

And then all day we were overcast.  Until about 10 minutes ago.

Now as a kid I used to always play with a magnifying glass.  I burned ants and sow bugs, but I also burned paper and wood.  I loved being out in the summer because it was right over head, but in the evening I could watch the sun’s rays travel up the wall.

One of the other things I noticed was the way I could recreate the image of the sun.  And I knew to never look into a telescope or binoculars with the naked eye.

Tonight, I recreated the image of the sun on a piece of white comic book backing board using a pair of binoculars.  Jennifer held the board, and I focused the image.  We were able to clearly see sunspot set 1263 and faintly see 1261.

We were so excited we didn’t think of taking a picture, but the sun was only out for maybe 5 minutes as it passed below the clouds, and then passed behind the Marin hills.

I love science.

Smackdown–Update

Last night I got a callback from the company.  he apologized that he hadn’t called me during the day, but he’d been in meetings all day.

I asked for clarification on his statement in the email, and he said that he didn’t want to leave bad feelings between us over their response.  he said they thought my letter was an all of nothing, not a step in negotiations.

He told me that the VP will be back up Thursday and Friday, and since Thursday was mostly meetings, that they would likely give me a call Friday to discuss things with me, and do some verbal negotiations.

So now I get to ponder my true feelings for this company.

Another Interview (Still Not Mine)

And the interviewee and interviewer reverse tasks.

Interview (Not Mine)

Two of my newer favorite authors talking about the latest Harry Dresden book.

Getting the Smackdown

So let’s talk about the last week.  I interviewed last Monday, and was told I could expect an offer letter in the next few days.  I was told that the salary I was asking was higher than they were willing to pay, so I was expecting a slight decrease.

Wednesday I received the letter as an attached PDF (poorly scanned, I might add) to an email.  The offered pay rate was less than 90% of what I had asked for and and even less than what I had been making at my former position.

I looked up some information, and wrote a negotiation letter with a counter offer.  I suggested a salary halfway between my original asking rate and their offer.  I also asked for a third week of vacation and that the company pay my wife’s insurance coverage as well as mine.  I was hoping that all the things I asked for would be met, but I figured that some would be denied in a counter offer.

Now, I deliberated over this with Jennifer and sent it in the evening of the day I received the offer letter (Thursday night). Last night (Tuesday) at almost 11:00 PM, I received a reply email.

Thank you for the time meeting with us in person and the counter offer letter presented for our review.  We have discussed the counter offer submitted for consideration, and feel that the original offer is still appropriate.  We certainly appreciate your time throughout the process, and wish you the best going forward.

It’s pretty vague, so I called this morning for clarification.  The cell phone I called rang twice, and then went to voice mail.  So I know I was ignored.

And did I mention that they have absolutely no webpage?  It's really odd.

The hunt goes on.  I filled out four new applications today.

Hold This Space

News has been hinted at arriving soon.

Please stay tuned.

Dream Job?

Okay, so I’ve never found how to be a professional comic book reader.

But this?  I’d love to do this:

Legs of Steel

So, you remember yesterday’s ride from the Ferry Building to Fort Point and back?  Today we went from Spear and Folsom in San Francisco to the Ferry Terminal in Tiburon.

Our friend Steve the Programmer acted as our guide.  We followed the same route, but before we turned on the final approach to Fort Point, we took the road up to the Golden Gate Bridge.  No unfortunately they are working on the west side of the bridge, so we had to walk/ride our bikes with all of the walkers and other bikers on the east side.  It was very crowded, but the downhill to Sausalito was lots of fun.

In Sausalito we looked out at the City near the ferry terminal there, and then we were off again to Tiburon.  At Tiburon we had a meal, and the barely got on the ferry.  They almost locked us out because there were so many bikes on board.  The entire bottom deck was full of bikes.  They were leaned up again the outer bulkhead, and all around the lower staircase.  We were kind of lucky to be nearly the last on because it meant that we were among the first of the bikes to get off.

This ferry took us back to Pier 41, and so we rode back to Steve’s place for a pit stop, and then rode back to Embarcadero BART and rode the train back to MacArthur.

All in all we did between almost 26 miles.  We’re tired, but it’s feeling oh so good.

Birthday Weekend

Oh what a wonderful day yesterday was.

Jennifer and I got up when we wanted, and rode our bikes to Jack London Square, took the ferry to San Francisco, and then rode to Citizen Chain.  We both got our bikes checked out, and I got axels that are not quick release, so that I can lock up without needing the cable with the U lock.

From there we rode to Fisherman's Wharf, and had our traditional meal of clam chowder in a bread bowl for lunch.  There weather was amazing, and we had a great seat at the Chowder Hut.  Then we kept on riding.

We went past the beach at the Maritime Museum, and rode out and back onto the breakwater pier.  We braved the steep hill that is behind Fort Mason. We rode along Chrissie Field and the Marina District.  And then Fort Point just seemed so close, we went on and ended up there.

We then rode back to the Ferry Building, and waited for a ferry.  it was about 15 minutes late, and then had to go to Pier 41.  Once at Pier 41, we were notified that, “This boat is broken, so we’ll be moving you all over to another boat.”  We ended up on a boat of the Blue and Gold fleet, and which was essentially commandeered by Captain Andy who took no guff from the crews.  We heard him say to one of them, “I’m the captain, you’ll do what I say, and we’re taking that boat.”  Once the new boat was checked out we were on our way to Alameda where they very quickly off-loaded and on-loaded passengers, and then jaunted over to Oakland. 

After our ride back home, it was 4:30, and we both had to get cleaned up, because we had to pick up my cake in Oakland, and then get to T-Rex at 6:00.  We arrived at 6:05.

The group was great, and we had wonderful conversation and drinks, and food.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to ME!

Birthday Addendum

First off, I forgot to relate the last thing I did on my birthday.

I’m reading the complete fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, and I had just read “The Statement of Randolph Carter” during the day.  I told Jennifer about how  it was the first Lovecraft story I ever read.

I was in a collection of horror that I came across when I was expending my reading at the library on day.  I happened to read it late one night when my parents weren’t home, and at the time, it was the scariest thing I had ever read.  The story is only five pages long, and it builds the tension so well.

So Wednesday night, I read it to Jennifer.  It being her first experience with Lovecraft, she really enjoyed the language, and she is looking forward to reading the collection once I’m through.

An update on my new external hard drive is also worth mentioning.  After a full night of formatting, and then reformatting to XFS, it turns out (after another call to tech support) that my NAS doesn’t support hard drives larger than 2 TB.  Apparently Buffalo Technologies doesn’t believe in Moore’s Law, because at the time the NAS was built, the largest drive size was 2TB so that’s all they allowed for.

I can see no need to set an upper limit in programming for additional drive sizes other than planned obsolescence.  Isn’t this just Y2K all over again?  It’s certainly something to ask my programmer friend who works at Google on Saturday.

But anyway, today we took the 3 TB drive back to Costco, and got a 2 TB drive.  This one formatted to XFS with no problem, and is right now transferring data from the old external to the new.

Un-Birthday Birthday Post

Yesterday, I turned 42.  And yesterday, I had to explain again to Jennifer what “Base 13” means.
She surprised me in the morning by asking if I wanted breakfast out.  So we took our bikes to the Royal Café in Albany.  They do a great waffle, and served the syrup in a shot glass.
Then she asked where to next.  I suggested a ride to Costco so we could ride and walk off our breakfast.  While we were there, she asked if I still wanted the new external hard drive I had been looking at.  I said yes, and the 3 TB external drive was on sale.  then as we were walking through the sporting goods, we saw that they had hydration backpacks, and they were one third of the price at REI.  So Costco ended up being a big treat as well.
The fun part was getting everything we bought into our new packs and Jennifer’s basket.  But we made it and did our normal trail ride home.
When we got home, she gave me at home present which was a bike jersey.  But not just any bike jersey, specifically this bike jersey.  It fits so well, and I can wear my long-sleeve wicking shirt underneath it too.  My other surprise is to go to Citizen Chain where we got our bikes, and get the special locking axels so I won’t have to use the cable with the U-lock, but just be able to use the lock alone.  We’ll be doing that with a special bike ride on Saturday morning along the Piers of San Francisco.
So at home, I played with the hard drive, which just now finished formatting in FAT32 to get rid of WD’s partitioning, and will be now be reformatting it in XFS for use by the NAS.  Then I’ll move our music and pictures over, and then I’ll be able to attach the old 500GB hard drive to our DVR for additional storage.
Also last night, Jennifer and I did a ride to OSH for some flowers for outside.  We got four petunias and put them in Jennifer’s basket.  I thought they looked so cool, I took a picture.

She did so much for me, and on our limited budget.  She’s really been putting aside to make this a special celebration.

Thank You

So in about a week, I’ll have been unemployed for 6 months.  It’s the longest I’ve been without a job since I graduated from Sac State.  And while I was reading this afternoon, I just had this feeling for what  I needed to do.

I wanted to thank John for his patience with me during our email sessions and games.  Sometimes I’ve been slow to respond, and he’s been very understanding.  And he’s been a good lunch buddy.

Thanks to my parents for their continued support.  It’s always good to have them there for networking, suggestions, and support.

Thanks to all of my other friends who have looked for jobs for me, and given me people to talk to.

But most of all, I’m thankful to Jennifer who has supported me with her love and kindness.  There is no way that I could have made it through this with any semblance of sanity without her.

Two Bicycles Built for One

Today Jennifer and I were adventurous.

Yesterday, she wanted to go for a ride, but events conspired against us, and we weren’t able to get away from home until after dark.  Not a big deal, and it forced us to dress up for dinner.

We went to Miyozen at the corner of 40th and San Pablo.  It had received pretty good reviews on Yelp, but we got lucky.  You see they have a conveyor sushi bar.  And they have a happy hour where every plate is $2.  We had so much fun pulling things off the belt, and trying them.  And with the little bits (2 or 3 pieces per plate) we filled up on the cheap.

So today after her midday commitment, we were all set for a bike ride.  First we hit the library to return a book, then to Trader Joe’s in Emeryville for her to make a request and return some bad bread.  And then on to the ride, and the target was Lake Merritt.

So we took the flyover by IKEA, went between Home Depot and Michael’s, and entered the dark depths of Oakland.  So take Hollis, bend onto 32nd, then Adeline to Grand Avenue, and you’re at the lake.

Jennifer commented that at least she had worn the right hat, and my first thought (as her bike helmet is red) was “Why, are we in Bloods territory?” But then I saw the Raiders baseball cap under her helmet.

Lake Merritt was very pretty with the sun and clouds, and only slightly marred by the herds of Canada geese.  Not flocks, they were walking. And then to reward ourselves for what would end up being 13 miles round-trip, we had lunch at True Burger.

Just Because

Stereo

Today I dropped off my car to have the stereo installed.  The store had required additional approval due to wire damage from the theft.

After installation I got a call telling me about the dashboard light issue.  things had gotten shorted out from the loose wires, and when I would turn on the headlights, the dash would go dark.

So, he called for an additional authorization, and luckily the body shop had made the note when I told them about it, so now we’re just waiting on the part.

And I get to drive with a car that has music again.

Myth Confirmed

Back during my time in Sacramento, I had gotten to the point of biking from 10 to 15 miles a day.  And back then I had a portable cassette player.  At this point is was probably an Aiwa.  And the best music In had found for a good constant pace was the soundtrack called “Songs from the Cool World”.  It became the soundtrack of my rides.  Now when I hear music from that album I immediately go to my time on the American River trail.

The only time I regretted having my music on was once when two cyclists coming toward me shouted something, that I couldn’t understand because of the music and headphones.  then I came around a curve and there across the pavement was a snake.

That’s when your brain goes into overdrive.  I quickly assessed which end was the head and which the tail (I saw a small rattle), and steered myself to pass behind it.  As I went passed it, the snake turned and actually struck at me.  I see it all in slow motion as my foot comes down on the stroke and the head is coming towards it.  I see the fangs, and I pump that much harder to get by unscathed.  And I did, but I had quite the clip going at that point.

Looking back I still can’t really understand the people coming at me, but while I thought they might have been shouting, “Pig!” (where was my mind?) they were surely shouting, “Snake!”

I was pretty shook up the rest of the day.  I had to work that day as a teller at Wells Fargo, and told everyone at the branch my story.  One guy said from the size and length (maybe 4 feet long), and the way it acted, it was probably a young rattler.

So for some reason this was all with me today as I went for a ride today.  No snakes today, and all dogs and children encountered were well behaved and under control.  But today I was testing something.

A few months ago I came across this on the internet:

So today, my music of choice was the soundtrack to “Tron: Legacy” by Daft Punk.

Now, unfortunately the whole soundtrack isn’t fast paced, but when the right stuff comes on, the above graphic is definitely true.

Various Repairs and Maintenance

So a few things have gotten accomplished this week.

Wednesday, the guy from the fireplace company came out and installed the replacement receiver/controller for the gas fireplace.  He got it installed (nice fire and heat; truly a source of infrared radiation), and then I asked him about getting the heat upstairs.  He said that was an optional attachment.  I said that it was the installation of that blower that had caused the problem in the first place.  In talking on speakerphone with the property manager, we found that there is supposed to be a switch somewhere that turns on the fan to pump the air upstairs.  I told him I know where all of the switches are and what they do.  So we'll see what the future holds with that.

Today, I went for an eye exam.  I found out that my eyes haven't changed since the last time I had them checked.  it sure is nice to have some contacts again.  Plus maybe I can get some new glasses.  I'm very careful with the ones I have, but I think these are closing in on 8 years old, so even with great care, there are scratches showing up.

Now my appointment was at 5:30 in Richmond.  Today was also the day for my replacement stereo for my car to arrive via UPS.  Usually they come between 5:00 and 6:00, but on Friday's with traffic and other circumstances they're usually after 6:00.  I got out of the eye appointment right at 6:00, and checked the iPhone app, and saw there hadn't been a delivery attempt yet, so I kept saying all the way home that I wanted him to arrive at 6:30.  Even allowing for the traffic (I used the wonderful frontage road along the Emeryville Mudflats) I got home in 15 minutes.  Then I raced upstairs hoping he wouldn't arrive while I was en route.  And right at 6:30 the doorbell rang.

So tomorrow, I'll go by SoundSource in Oakland, and see if they can do the work, or if they'll have to talk to the insurance company about full compensation.  And if they have to talk to the insurance company, I'll have to wait for them to do the work on Monday.

So, yeah…

I’ve had a few thoughts that have seem inspired lately, but when I’ve sat down to write about them, they’ve seemed kind of blah.

I’ve done some biking.  Monday, Jennifer had a meeting with a client, so I went on a bike ride.  I did the ride all the way to Richmond that we had done together.  This time I did it alone with my iPod.  It was fun, and I did it all in about an hour and a half. 

Then Tuesday we biked to Café Gratitude in Berkeley, and I had an amazing vegan chocolate mousse.

Wednesday, I made a quick trip tot eh bank and on the way back became preoccupied with the concept of how the spokes in my bike wheel worked.  The subtle ballet of tension and compression.  I was determined when I got back to count the spokes and try to work out some sort of calculation on how much force was on each spoke.  Then I got home and really didn’t care anymore.

It’s just been that kind of week, I guess.

Today, I am grateful for not being in Kentucky.  Tornadoes suck.

Sword Fighting

I saw this video, and it’s really quite the pastiche of Hollywood sword fights.  The only notable ones I didn’t see were the old black and white Zorro movies.

And then there’s the whole meta-ness of it by having the sword fight from “The Princess Bride” which is a tribute in and of itself to the old Ho

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Hollywood sword fights.

First!

And the first new thing to come in on the feed reader? This hilarious video:

Feed Me

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend about the things we read on the internet, and we got on the comics we read online. Once again someone with not a lot of comics in common. At least not anymore.

She asked me how I kept track of which ones to read on which day. This is because other than those that are also published in newspapers, few webcomics are published every day.

I said that all of my links to them have a not in the shortcut, so I know which ones to go to each day. Tags like: M-F, MWF, M-Th, WSa, TThSu. She asked why I didn’t use an RSS reader. I said I just had never tried it.

Last night, I thought I would experiment with the RSS feeds of the comics and other sites I go to regularly (see the respective boxes in my sidebars). I’ve just finished all the organizing, and I’ll see how things work out this week.

Now, I’m using the Google RSS reader. It was already populated with blogs that I “Follow”, but there were so many more pages out there that I visit. And the advantage will be that I can access that list from any computer that I can get to with my Google account.

The downside is that there are still about 1/8 of the comics and a handful of blogs that I read do not have an RSS feed. So those I’ll have to check on manually. But at least I won’t be dealing with the frustration of sites that update late or irregularly. Now I won’t miss them.

Frak

Yesterday I went out to the car while Jennifer and I were on a bike ride, and I discovered that one of the windows had been broken, and my stereo had been stolen. This morning I also realized that my sunglasses had been taken, but that’s not too big of a deal.

It looks like this is all going to eat up the deductible for the car as there is the window to repair, the stereo, and some pry marks on the door and dashboard from the theft.

The glass repair people are on their way today, and should do the work around lunchtime. This will be followed by a claims adjuster visit on Tuesday for the physical damage, and then stereo replacement following that.

I quote Bill Murray from “Stripes”: And then, depression set in.