Chapter One, The Bride

I've said before that while I do get up early, I do not quite rise at the same hour as Ninja Space Monkey.  This morning as I was getting in the elevator at the hotel (yes, still in Lodi), I received a YIM beep.  NSM has sent me a link to a webcomic that we regularly read: Alina Pete's Weregeek.  Specifically, today's strip:

Now anyone who knows me and/or has read this blog, has surely discovered my deep and abiding interest in "The Princess Bride", and I have read the book as well.  I even wrote in for the bit that William Goldman teases about.  I think I have the letter folded up inside the book.

But this was my movie in college.  As I've said, I wore out two VHS tapes watching it before I got the DVD.  Becasue of this, NSM told of a coworker of his (and future coworker of mine) as a teller at Wells Fargo who tried to stump him with a quote.  I'm not sure of the quote itself, but it wasn't an altogether obscure one.  NSM threw out the countersign with a bit of derision, and asked the guy if he didn't realize how many times I had watched it.  NSM would watch it with me, but while he was working on our next game.  He picked up a lot on a subconscious level.

Magnets, the Inverse Cube Law

Last week I received another purchase from Kickstarter in the mail: my Polar Pen.

If I remember correctly, I read about the Polar Pen Kickstarter on iO9 or Gizmodo.  They linked to the sales pitch video, and I was hooked.

I had missed out on Buckyballs, since they were alarmistly forced from the market in the US, and out of business.  I had put off buying them, thinking they would be available for a long time because they were so popular.  I was even leaning towards the Buckycubes, but alas, it was not to be.

I once again agree with George Carlin.

So, I wasn't going to miss out on another cool magnet toy.

I remember when neodymium magnet started coming out.  I bought a tiny one in a plastic disc from my mineralogy class in college.  The disc was about the size of three dimes stacked together, and open up to give a small disc to hold onto while the other half holding a half centimeter diameter cylinder magnet dangled from a thread.  It was perfect for detecting iron in the samples were had to identify in class.  We found that the magnet was a little stronger than the typical bar magnets, and tended to show minerals were magnet when they had not been described that way in our texts.  Our teacher was a bit surprised, but said to make note of it, and add it to our practice flashcards.

Now I have to get home this weekend, and find where I have that stashed...

Tentacles... -NT-

This weekend I finished Kraken by China Miéville.

I had said that the style of language used took some getting used to.  I found that I needed more focused time to get into it.  In a way it was like when I have read books from the 1800s (Wells, Verne, Dumas, etc.); language has changed, and it takes work to get into the rhythm of the words.

That being said, the story was incredibly original and intricately woven together.  I really liked that no one seemed to know how the world was going to end, even when so many were working to read the future.

Also the trope of the extremely evil pair, while much like Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin from Pratchett's The Truth and Croup and Vandemar from Gaiman's Neverwhere, is creepily explored in the book.

Now, I must move on and see what is next in my library.

The Smell of Pain

So when I was little, I think 4 yeas old, I was running down a ramp in Louisville's Belvedere.  I was with my parents, but I broke away to run downhill.  Being little, I fell and face-planted before the term was in wide use.  I hit my upper lip hard enough that it split open.  Other than the pain, I don't remember much about what followed.

I'm sure my parents applied tissues or something to staunch the bleeding, but it was found that the bleeding wouldn't stop.  So off to a hospital I went.  I ended up getting three stitches in my lip and was limited to foods I could take through a straw (Kool-Aid, Campbell's Soup, etc.).

I would swear that I was screaming through most of the suturing, but Mom denies that.  But since that day, one of the things I would remember upon waking from nightmares was this chocking chemical smell.  It was a sensation that would linger for minutes after I woke up.

When I started working in environmental, I started wearing nitrile (non-latex) gloves to prevent contaminating myself with chemicals of concern.  The first time I opened a box and the smell hit me, I finally knew where the nightmare smell had come from.  The doctor(s) that worked on my lip must have worn nitrile gloves (or something similar) and that smell stayed with me.

I kind of let the connection fade over time, but today I opened a new box and the smell hit me taking me right back.

What is it...

What is it about the tale of Superman that touches me so deeply?

I'm sitting here watching "Man of Steel" and each flashback, each time he manifests a new power each time he does what Superman does, I get choked up.

There must just be just something about it that triggers me.

Proximal Reading

So, today at lunch, I had the most amazing experience.

I was reading Kraken by China Miéville which was referred to me by a friend.  It's a bit of an odd book.  The language is semi-colloquial British, and then there's the strangeness going on in the book, and then there's the strange characters int he book with their own strange speech patterns, and so all in all, it's a bit strange.

So I'm reading at lunch, sitting at my table in the little rented house, and I'm getting into the book.  Then as I sank into the book, it was like I felt my friend sitting next to me.  It was like she was in the non-existent chair next to me reading her own book.  I just wanted to turn to her and say, "This is a pretty messed up part right here."

It was that real.  And I've never had that feeling before.

The Martian

So tonight I finished Andy Weir's The Martian.  In a nutshell, it's the story of a man who gets left behind on Mars by the rest of his crew during an evacuation when they think he's dead, and how he manages to survive alone on another planet.

Let me say now that I laughed harder at pints in this book than I have in a long time.  Probably since the first time I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It's got some intense survival portions and follows the normal path of a disaster tale of something go wrong and others go amazingly right.  But the book is told in a very straightforward manner.  There is math in it, but you don't have to know it all or even follow all of it.  The humor comes when the thoughts that all of us would be thinking just come out.  It's all very natural and highly entertaining.

I've got a few other books in my personal queue, but I'm thinking of putting some of his other stuff into rotation.

And that's the beauty of the Internet.  I've found other free fiction out there that is truly amazing.  I think I've linked to this site before, but there's a bunch of stories here.  Sam Hughes' Ed Stories are a ton of fun as well.

An Update

Sing Credence Clearwater Revival to me.  I dare you.

Tomorrow will be the conclusion of two months in Lodi.  Not much changes out here.  The site has reached a point of low visible change.  We're doing deep work that produces a lot of soil to be hauled off, but at the end of the day doesn't look that different.  Eventually yes, but not so much right now.

So then there are my evenings.  I get up early.  I'm talking nearly Ninja Space Monkey early.  Nearly.  I'm on site between 10 and 11 hours, typically and then I get back to the hotel.  I make dinner, and read a little.  I tend to fall asleep around 9:30.  I am reminded of the anger my mother speaks of occasionally about how I when I was very little, she would find me smiling and quiet in my crib when she came to get me in the morning.  I'm no less quiet now, and actually quieter than my parents ever were in the morning.  I really don't like a lot of noise until I've been up for at least half an hour.  Or more.

This has made breakfast a bit of a trial at the hotel as they have both a television going with KCRA morning news as well as background music.  I do tend to get the day's ear-worm there though.

Reading has been good.  I finished Pratchett's Discworld, and have blazed through three Stephen King books.  Doctor Sleep is really a great book that answers the questions "Whatever happened to Danny Torrance after the events in The Shining?"  The fun thing about Dan Torrance is that he is about my age.  If it's been several years since you've read The Shining, I would recommend re-reading it before hitting Doctor Sleep.  It's not essential, but it keeps you in the mindset.

Now I'm moving on to a book by Andy Weir.  The route to getting to this book for me was a little circuitous, but still kind of cool.  I read a lot of webcomics.  One of the oldest out there, and truly the standard for regularity in internet publishing (he's missed only one update in over 5,000 strips, and that was a software or server failure) is "Schlock Mercenary".  It has been the source of much humor over the years, one of my favorites coming from an AI saying, "Please don't make me add "rounding pi down to 3" to your list of crimes."

On the side, Howard Tayler paints miniatures, reviews movies, and occasionally reviews books.  Recently he recommended The Martian by Andy Weir.  I immediately recognized the name from a now defunct and truly missed webcomic "Casey and Andy".  Please note that the link goes tot he first strip, because the last strip is incredibly full of spoilers.  Another strip full of geekdom jokes, it makes me all the more exscited to check out the new book.

All Grown Up

What common phrase is it that we all suffer through as children?

"Don't worry, you'll grow into it."

I had issues with shoes.  I rarely got to wear a pair out, and if a pair did happen to wear out, then it was a sure sign of shoddy workmanship.

Jennifer talks about growing out of pants in a season.

And where does that leave me now?  It has taken years to be comfortable in clothes that fit, specifically ones that do not have room to grow into.

Now this isn't an attack on my parents.  I know how expensive shoes are, and as a necessary wearer of Stride-Rites due to narrow ankles and wide... whatever you call the end with the toes, I was not cheaply dressed.  We developed a pattern of buying the shoes as a first stop in the mall, then doing the rest of the shopping.  If Erik was uncomfortable walking or developing blisters from walking in the mall, then the shoes got returned (this happened more than once).

So, now I am becoming comfortable with wearing clothes that cling and hug.  I will admit that I still have trouble buying shoes without allowing for at least an extra half an inch of room in the toes.

Yes, yes, I Know

So, I am stuck in Lodi.  Please don't sing the song; the construction site manager played it all for us recently.  I hate it now, and soon, I am sure I will loathe it.

Today, I am finishing I Shall Wear Midnight, and I am finding it so well written.  I have said before when I first read it, that Pratchett was wrapping things up and in his own way saying goodbye.  But at the same time it is continually witty, funny, poignant, and amazing.

Books I Read in 2013

So I was hoping to finish the Discworld series before then end of the year.

I came very close.

1.                  Making Money - Terry Pratchett - *****

2.                  Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett - ****

3.                  Going Postal - Terry Pratchett - *****

4.                  A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett - ****

5.                  Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett - *****

6.                  The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett - ****

7.                  The Night Watch - Terry Pratchett - *****

8.                  The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents – Terry Pratchett - *****

9.                  The Last Hero - Terry Pratchett - ****

10.              Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett - *****

11.              The Truth - Terry Pratchett - *****

12.              The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett - *****

13.              Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett - *****

14.              The Last Continent - Terry Pratchett - ****

15.              Jingo - Terry Pratchett - *****

16.              Hogfather - Terry Pratchett - *****

17.              Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett - *****

18.              Maskerade - Terry Pratchett - *****

19.              Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett - *****

20.              Soul Music - Terry Pratchett - ****

21.              Men At Arms - Terry Pratchett - *****

22.              Lord and Ladies - Terry Pratchett - *****

23.              Small Gods - Terry Pratchett - *****

24.              Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett - *****

25.              Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett - *****

26.              Moving Pictures - Terry Pratchett - *****

27.              Eric - Terry Pratchett - ****

28.              Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett - *****

29.              Pyramids - Terry Pratchett - ****

30.              Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett - *****

31.              Sourcery - Terry Pratchett - *****

32.              Mort - Terry Pratchett - *****

33.              Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett - *****

34.              The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett - *****

35.              The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett - *****

36.              Blood Song - Anthony Ryan - *****

37.              Zealot - Reza Aslan - ****

38.              Magic Rises - Ilona Andrews - ****

39.              Dad is Fat - Kim Gaffigan - ****

40.              Bowl of Heaven - Larry Niven & Gregory Benford - ***

41.              The Goliath Stone - Larry Niven & Matthew Joseph Harrington - ****

42.              Prophet of Bones - Ted Kosmatka - ****

43.              The Long War - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - ***

44.              The Folklore of Discworld - Terry Pratchett & Jacqueline Simpson - ****

45.              The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman - ****

46.              Impulse - Steven Gould - ****

47.              Shade - Steven Gould - ****

48.              Reflex - Steven Gould - ****

49.              Jumper - Steven Gould - *****

50.              Sandworms of Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ****

51.              Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ****

52.              Chapterhouse: Dune - Frank Herbert - ****

53.              Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert - *****

54.              Frost Burned - Patricia Briggs - ****

55.              Ocean - Warren Ellis, Chris Sprouse & Karl Story - ****

56.              Superman: The Dark Side - John Francis Moore, Kieron Dwyer & Hilary Barta - ***

57.              Ever After - Kim Harrison - ****

58.              A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson - *****

59.              God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert - ****

60.              The Kingdom - Mark Waid - ***

61.              Kingdom Come - Mark Waid & Alex Ross - *****

62.              Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - ****

63.              Incorruptible - Mark Waid - ****

64.              Irredeemable - Mark Waid - ****

65.              Children of Dune - Frank Herbert - ****

66.              Nemo: Heart of Ice - Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill - ****

67.              Justice - Jim Kreuger & Alex Ross - *****

68.              The Winds of Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

69.              Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert - ****

70.              Planetary: Crossing Worlds - Warren Ellis & John Cassaday - *****

71.              Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology - Warren Ellis & John Cassaday - *****

72.              Planetary Vol. 3: Leaving the 20th Century - Warren Ellis & John Cassaday - *****

73.              Planetary Vol. 2: The Fourth Man - Warren Ellis & John Cassaday - *****

74.              Planetary Vol. 1: All Over the World and Other Stories - Warren Ellis & John Cassaday - *****

75.              The Road to Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

76.              Paul of Dune - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

77.              Miracleman - Alan Moore & Neil Gaiman - ****

78.              A Whisper of Caladan Seas - Brain Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - ***

79.              Dune - Frank Herbert - ****

It's Almost Like New

So how long does it take to determine you have something really wrong with your computer?

A couple weeks before Christmas, I started having issues where my computer became very slow and started flipping back and forth between open applications.  Going off of John's issues, i thought it might be my power supply because I had some loose wires.  I finally ordered a replacement power supply (twice because the first one as a generic ended up not being able to supply enough power).

The new power supply works great, but I still had the problems.  So I did the last option as a PC owner.

I reformatted and re-installed windows.

I've been doing that since New Year's day, and I've almost got everything back to the way that I wanted it.

It certainly does help you clean out the programs you don't use anymore.

A Clean Shaven Man

So, tomorrow I have my annual physical and respirator fit test in compliance with my HAZWOPER certification.

Because of the respirator fit test, I have to be clean shaven to ensure a snug fit.  This is essentially the only time that I am clean shaven.  Typically, I have a beard.  Except for the occasional Halloween, I only shave completely for this test.

New Year's Eve, Jennifer and I were in the San Francisco on Union Square, and I saw this store on the corner next to Macy's.

I believe had seen a store one of their stores in Las Vegas a few years ago when we were there for Christmas.  I was tempted at the time to try them out, but decided it was not the time.  This time I made an appointment.

This evening I went into San Francisco, and sat down for a complete shaving at the hands of another man.  This is the first time anyone other than myself has ever shaved my face.  My experience at The Art of Shaving was incredible.  Hot towels, essential oils, clay masque, and a fine shave.

LDB - Everywhere

Here comes drummer boy,
Here comes drummer boy,
Right down drummer boy lane...

***

O little town of drummer boy...

***
Pa rum pa pum pum,
Pa rum pa pum pum,
Pa rum pa pum pum all the way
Oh what fun it is to sing
With the little drummer boy.

***

Oh come all ye drummer boys,
Joyful and pa rum pa pum pum...

***

Hark, drummer boy,
Sweet drummer boy,
All seem to play,
pa rum pa pum pum...

***

And I was going to do "White Christmas", but... it comes off like a pedophile's song.  Try it in your head, it's really bad.  Consider it the one you just don't do.  Like when Tiny Toon Adventures didn't do Plucky in the Name Game.

The Ride

So, it's not really news to most people that 30 Seconds to Mars is one of my favorite bands.  When I came across their music, their second album (A Beautiful Lie) was brand new.

When their third album came out, they pre-released a singles called "Kings and Queens" with a video.



Today that song came on my iPod as I was making my way towards the BART station.  It's a great song, and an even better song to ride to, if a bit tiring to keep up with the tempo.

Decorating

So a few weeks ago, you all saw the picture of our finished Christmas tree.

I think that this Imy comic best describes how I feel.

We (meaning my family) has never had a store-type decorated tree.  Even when we had two front windows in Kentucky and the family room tree was colored lights and the living room tree was white lights, we just split the number of ornaments in half.  Yes, mom and dad ended up buying a bunch more ornaments, but the trees weren't made to look like a store display.

LDB - The Wonder and Beauty

So most of this weekend, except during the GURPS game on Saturday, my iPod was playing a randomized loop of every version I have of "The Little Drummer Boy."

Now, the song permeates me, and it is all I hear.  Soon everyone will feel this way.  It will become the new start-up sound for Windows.  It will play year-round over MUZAK systems.  It will be the anthem for the world.

Can't you hear it?  Don't you wish you could be listening to it right now?

Go on... Give in...  You know you want to.

LDB - The Truth

So, the other day I announced I was out of the LDB game.

But you know, since then I've listened to it now probably a dozen times, and it's really grown on me.

There are really some subtle nuances to the song, no matter who is singing it, that it takes several listens to really catch.

I urge everyone to take some time and listen to your favorite version of the song.  And if you're playing LDB, maybe this year, just stop, and enjoy the song.

LDB

I'm out.

Little Drummer Boy came on the satellite music Jennifer was listening to.

PV=nRT

As you know, I recently got new tires for my bike.  What was bugging me was that even though my tires felt well inflated inside, a few blocks from home I got the familiar "slogging though sand" feel of flat tires.

So, let's talk science.

First off, here is the Ideal Gas Law defined.

Now for simple comparisons, the constants can be ignored, so you are left with PV/T; meaning, the ratio of  the product of the pressure and the volume to the temperature is constant.

So let's look at my bicycle tires.  The volume (the space inside the inner tube) is constant.  So when I take it outside and the temperature of the air inside drops, then the pressure has to drop as well.

Then I started to think about the differences during the year.  So in the winter, the tires are experiencing a drop in temperature of around 40 degrees (yes, I know that's Fahrenheit, so maybe 20 degrees Celsius).  In the summer to get the same effect, I'd have to be riding in 110 degree heat or more.  Fortunately it never got that hot in Walnut Creek this year.  At least not while I was riding.

Chillin'

It almost seems that my past has been preparing me for riding my bike to work in all kinds of weather.

Several years ago, a friend had a Chrome bag.  I was fascinated by the seat belt buckle straps and clasp.  I believe I bought it for my birthday one year.  Now it is perfect for carrying things to and from work (it is a messenger bag after all).  And it's great on those rainy days being nearly waterproof.

Today I had to be prepared for the cold.  There was a 10 degree difference in temperature from Emeryville to Walnut Creek, and that 10 degrees was colder to the east.  I wore a long sleeve pullover, a thick hoodie, and a North Face rain jacket my parents gave me many years ago.  Now this is without the removable liner, which being a North Face liner, would bake me in my own juices while I sat on the BART train.  Today, it was perfect for blocking the wind.

Then there's this little scarf I have.  It was probably a hand-me-down from my dad who as provided me with many cool pieces of clothing through the years (not the least of which is a great red and paisley button up shirt that he thinks may be anywhere from 30 to 50 years old).  This scarf is black, synthetic, and very thin.  However, it is incredibly warm.  It's perfect for biking.

My gloves lately have been CLC hi-visibility work gloves that are bright orange with a reflective stripe as well as reflective finger tips.  They're not too thick, but have a padded grip, and keep my whole hand warm while also making me feel safer when I signal.

And finally some behind the head fleece earmuffs.

So, I promise, I'm keeping warm.

A Following Wind

So, last night I was awakened by the wind.  It had worked our window open from half a crank to nearly three cranks.  The breeze was a bit much, so I went ahead and closed the window completely.

This morning when I got up, it was still blowing, and I checked the weather to see what I'd be dealing with on my ride.

As it turns out 20 mph winds aren't so bad when they are predominantly a tailwind.  They're even better when you're going uphill.

Interior Decorating

So, yesterday Jennifer and I took down our Thanksgiving decorations, and brought our Christmas decorations out of storage.  We didn't get very far doing anything else lacking the motivation.

Today, we buckled down and decorated while watching football on NFL RedZone.

Felix was the first to discover the tree skirt.

Then we had the blinds open for the beautiful weather, and he found the storage boxes.

Then he left, and Oscar found them.

Keep in mind, cats are only semi-solids, and will flow slightly in direct sunlight.

Felix was frustrated by the packing material being in his sunlight.

And here is the completed tree.  The rest of house will be decorated this week.

Away for the Holy Day

First off, I would like to declare myself participating in LBD (http://littledrummerboy.info/).

I've been lucky so far, but I'll need to make sure it are it off of Jennifer's iPod so that it doesn't accidentally come up while I'm at home.  Last year Starbuck's got me, so we'll see how I do this year.

Today, Jennifer and I are on our way to the Harvest Festival in San Jose (http://www.harvestfestival.com/).  We're enjoying a nice Amtrak train ride south.

BTW, football sucked yesterday.  None of the teams we liked won; although, we do enough watching the Lions win.

Refurb

So, I've had my bike for almost three years now; we bought it right after I was laid off in 2011.

It's had some work performed on it over the years, not the least of which was the repairs after it was stolen.

We've found a local bike guy, so that we don't always have to go into the city for bike maintenance, and one thing he had pointed out was that the brakes on my bike were pretty cheap.  We think the brakes that had come originally with the bike had been switched out between theft and recovery.

We'd placed orders for parts, including brakes and tires since my rear tire was going bald, but hadn't gotten around to getting the work done.

Saturday things became a little more important as after an afternoon ride with Jennifer, I was coming back to the front door of our building, and with a snap, my front brake cable broke.  We made an appointment, and Sunday took a little ride to see if I could handle one brake.  It wasn't too bad, just forced me to keep extra stopping distance in mind.  And last night we got our work done on our bikes.

It turns out that Bike Man Dan has moved, and is just a couple blocks from the MacArthur BART station.  He needed a little time to work on both bikes, so we took a walk for dinner.  We were going to try Cafe Biere (nice site right?), but when we got there, the place was closed with an eviction notice and list of assets inside posted on the front door (yeah, I know I should have taken a picture).  Looking online today, it appears to have moved to Albany.

So we had dinner at Miyozen instead.  Jennifer ate small, and I had my new Miyozen favorite: the Flaming Dragon Roll.  This has a spicy tuna and tempura shrimp core with salmon on top with a bit of sauce.  They then wrap it loosely in aluminum foil, and put it on a plate with alcohol of some sort which they then set on fire.  The heat is not too high so the roll comes out slightly cooked, and incredibly tasty.

Afterwards, we walked back to Bike Man Dan's, got our bikes, and rode home.

Pressure Equalization, Part 2

Yeah, so it looks like it's going to be one of THOSE days.

So not long after I posted, the previous post, I got a notification that BART was now back up and running.

So, I said goodbye to the cats again, got in my gear and rode to BART.

Now at work, and just a little bit winded.

Pressure Equalization

So... BART's shutdown.

Apparently it has something to do with a computer system problem.  At this point, I'm kind of wishing I had taken a picture fo the station.  The metal gates were almost closed, and people (including me) would walk up to them in confusion, getting slower and slower, then read the signs and walk away with a puzzled look on their face.

The wind was absolutely insane last night.  The gusts were so powerful that up on the top floor it felt like a series of magnitude 4 earthquakes.  thew cover was halfway blown off of my grill, and the empty, spare propane tank had been rolled around the patio.

On the way to BART this morning there were lots of empty garbage cans on their sides as well as broken  branches.  I saw one tree that was at least a foot and a half in diameter that had been snapped off just above the ground.  Luckily it fell towards the street and not the house it was in front of.

But, at least the predicted 30+ mph winds weren't blowing on my way to (and much slower return from) BART.

In the Village

So, I have three songs by the Village People on my iPod.

One is "YMCA", because it's "YMCA".

Another is "In the Navy", because it's also a fun song, and has good memories attached to it.  I remember more of the emotions associated with it, but they're happy and fun parts of childhood.

The last is "Go West".  I first heard this last one in the movie "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert".  It's jsut one of those songs that strikes all the right chords.

So today, on my ride home, I was just about to turn onto Alcatraz Avenue, and "Go West" came on.  That kind of thing just has to be acknowledged.

Smashed Tomatoes

Two weeks ago I sent a couple days in Lodi preparing for last week.

Last week was also spent in Lodi doing digging and drilling.

Jennifer and I took this weekend for some Us Time, and today I am back at work.

I had wondered if I might end up riding my bike in the rain, but the predicted storm hasn't hit land yet, and so it was just riding to work after a bit more than a one week lapse.

At least I can say that I didn't get overly sweaty, but it was a tough ride nonetheless.

Now I get to have a short week this week from having Monday off, and then next week is a nice three day work week.

In the intervening time since my last post, I have passed the halfway mark for the Discworld books.  I can feel the reading accelerating since at this point Pratchett has got his stride and characters set.  And now he begins exploring new characters while putting the main characters into the background.

Additionally, I've been reading the relevant pages from the Annotated Pratchett Files after I finish each book.  Most of the little bits I've already picked up from articles about the author, explanations from the quizbooks, and the occasional news article that ends up revealing the hidden secrets from which Pratchett pulled his ideas, but every now and then there is a note that just makes me smack my forehead.

Fragility

So I had my first iPhone for two and a half years.  In that time I dropped it once.  I was bringing it out of my pocket, and it slipped out of my fingers.  I was in the kitchen at home, and for those that don't know, it's all hardwood floors downstairs.  I could see it all happening in slow motion.

And then it hit and landed on one of the two floor pads.  All was well, and I started to breathe again.

Then there are the things that are valued in the single digits and I can't seem to keep them whole.

I am on my third acrylic straw cup combination at work.  Drop them once and the join where the inside cup meets the outside cup just snaps.

I'm also on my second "coffee" mug at the office.

No idea where I was going with this originally, but I guess I'm just saying.

Things Take a Turn

Last week, I had an errand to run on my way home from work.  I'd put it off all week because I didn't want to get back on my bike for an uphill ride after getting home.

So I did some Google Maps research, and found a way to hit the store after getting off at Rockridge instead of MacArthur.  And then the ride was mostly downhill.

So yesterday I did essentially the same ride without stopping at the store.  Jennifer and I think I made it home at just about the same time.

I looked at the distances and it's only two-tenths of a mile farther from Rockridge, and with the majority of it being downhill it's similar time.  All this because after Rockridge, the BART tracks and Highway 24 turn a bit south.

On a related note, I was paying a little more attention yesterday than Friday, and noticed that the Safeway at Claremont and College is gone.  There's just an empty lot ringed in fence.  I checked the website, and it's still listed, so I'm guessing that it's being renovated.  And it sure needed it.

Travel

So, next week, I'll be in Watsonville helping out with some regular sampling.  So I'll be there Monday through Wednesday.

And today I get to drive to Lodi to submit permits.

At least I'll be away from the Bay Area if BART decides to strike next week.