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.

Newness

Yesterday (Friday), was supposed to be a day for getting work done on my tattoo.  However, it turned out that my artist was getting over being sick, and so he postponed that until today.

So yesterday I go the new iPhone 5S.  Now, I had waited for my contract to end, and then waited for the new version of the phone, so I had been using an iPhone 4 for over two and a half years.  I had already experimented with the new iOS 7, and had been very happy with it.  I was just ready for a faster phone, and the new features really interested me.  Plus the home button onthe 4 was about shot.

I love the speed onthe new phone, very much an improvement after so long, and the fingerprint reader is amazing.

So for those who know, you may be wondering, how do you get to Davis without a car?  Well, you take Amtrak.  Emeryville to Davis is not much more that and hour and a half, and is really a nice ride.  Home is about 10 minutes from the Emeryville station, and Primary Concepts in Davis is only 0.2 miles from the station on that end.

And, sad to say, I'm not done; however, seeing what the artist did today, I'm happy to take another session.  The colors are amazing and intense.  And it makes the black of space that much more 

A Bridge Kind Of Near

Yesterday when I got home, I changed into biking togs, and Jennifer and I biked out to the new span of the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Once we got to the gate we felt pretty good, but there was a growing wind as approached the bridge proper.  At the end of the land trail there is a steep incline that is reminiscent of the climb at Golden Gate Fields.  And then, you're on the bridge, and it is a constant 2% grade.  Even when you get to the suspension section, it doesn't really slope down.  We got to the end of the bike lane which is where the trail would almost intersect the old span.  According to signs and such, we will have to wait for the old span to be removed for the lane to be connected to Yerba Buena Island.  That isn't scheduled to happen until 2015, so we've got some time to wait.

It was a good time to rest and take some pictures.

Then we went downhill home.  That was an awesome payoff and we laughed, yahooed, and chortled the whole way to back to IKEA.

Of course, I forgot to run my tracker app, so I'll have to do it again, but after almost half an hour of riding to the end of the lane on the bridge, we seemed to get back to IKEA in 5 minutes.

I am Disappoint

So Jennifer and I have been bummed from being sick and unable to ride our bikes across the new span of the Bay Bridge.  And tonight after dinner, we had a bit of energy and thought we'd do a little night jaunt to Yerba Buena and back.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

The weekend before Labor Day we had ridden the trail to a set of gates that allowed us to see the toll plaza, but go no further.  Tonight those same gates were closed again.  And taped to them was an 8.5x11 sheet of paper stating that the trail was closed at 6:00.

To this I ask, "Why the hell is the bridge closed to bikes at night?"

There are lights.  More than four of them, even.

I cannot determine why the bridge is so much less safe for bikes after dark, not even dark, but 6:00 PM, that the trail would be closed.

I'll certainly be making some phone calls tomorrow to find out why I can ride on any surface street 24 hours a day, but can't ride on a well lit bike and pedestrian trail after 6:00.

Phonebloks

Earlier today, I was pointed to Phonebloks by two sites that I regularly visit.

Technically, I was referred to this video below:


I think the concept is incredible.  It's like legos and reminds me of my old PC tower.  I was gettign good for a while upgrading my PC.  This could really be a thing.

Failed Health Rolls

Many of my friends who read this may or may not know that my mom has a blog.

And last Thursday, mom was admitted to the hospital due to heart and blood pressure problems.

I just to go visit her today because Jennifer and I were sick last week and didn't really recover until Saturday night/Sunday morning.  I figured one of the last things I should do is go see mom in the hospital while I have a fever and a cough.  Really, the only time you should go to the hospital with a fever and a cough is because you have a fever and a cough.

We weren't that bad, just bad enough we felt we shouldn't subject others to our condition.

I saw her today though since I work about 10 minutes from the hospital, and she looks pretty good and is in good spirits.  Her only complaint (other than the whole heart thing and missing out on volunteering) is that the heart monitor will not allow her to shower, so her hair is a little flat after five days.

She's still not going to get to go home today, but hopefully she will soon.

Magma Illumination

I think one of the coolest gifts I ever got was a lava lamp.  And I didn't get it until I was in college.

Lava lamps were fascinating items when I was a kid.  Watching them in stores was amazing.  The easily surpassed those other kitschy items: the miniature Venus de Milo surrounded my what looked like rain falling.

I'm actually on my second lava lamp now (same color scheme yellow wax in blue liquid in a brass stand) because the original one stopped circulating no matter how I changed the light bulb.

And today I read this article.

Friends of mine have a huge collection of lava lamps and variations on the theme.  They have all different colors, plus glitter lamps that swirl.

It might be a night to turn on the lamp again.  It's been a while.

Elevators of Blood

So yesterday, I watched "Room 237" a documentary about symbolism and trickery in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining".

Most of the documentary was pretty good, but I realized that I had seen part of it on YouTube (the section on the architectural tricks).

Over all, it's an interesting film with guesses on it's hidden meaning.  But of course there's no way of knowing.  Is it a statement on the Jewish Holocaust?  Is it about the massacre of Native Americans throughout US history?

And then suddenly, I was taken out of he movie and angered.  One of the "experts" started going off on how there are hidden messages in the movie that Kubrick is using to tell everyone how he was the person behind the filming of the faked Apollo missions to the moon.

At that point I half tuned out because I was so pissed off.  The rest had some cool ideas like using the mirror imagery to show the film forward and backward projected on the same screen.

So, if you like the movie, I would recommend the documentary, but take some of the ideas with a grain of salt.

Bridging the Bay

Tonight about 10:30, I heard a helicopter hovering outside.

Yes, I know, of course it was hovering outside.  But anyway,

I looked out at the new Bay Bridge, and saw a fleet of police cars with lights flashing heading across the bridge towards Treasure Island.  And they were followed by a swarm of red taillights.  I watched with binoculars as they kept going, and I could only assume that the bridge was open.

Then a few minutes later, another fleet of police cars came the other direction followed by headlights.

It is certainly a sight to see.

On a lighter note, I also discovered that if you have a high enough powered telescope, you can see into my bedroom from the Hills Brothers sign in San Francisco.

Just an FYI.