Cold mornings, warm afternoons

The season is about to change on this side of the Bay. That thin layer of morning dew will soon become a plush layer of fog and the brown hills will turn green. The mornings are too chilly to be without a jacket and the afternoons are too hot for closed-toe shoes. By 7 p.m. it’s chilly again and time to find that jacket.

Autumn is near.

(ignore the dirt & reflections, was too cold to roll down the car window.)

8-track & Beta

I constantly joke that my parents are the only people who still have a Beta, VHS and DVD player stacked neatly on top of the other, each plugged in with the accurate time displayed. And on a separate shelf resides the plugged in 8-track player. Whenever I visit I get on my when-are-you-going-to-donate horse and ultimately get kicked off for lack of compassion toward the museum pieces.

Now I must swallow my attitude because I came to appreciate their “living museum” this weekend.

A childhood friend of mine turned 36 Friday and I joined her for dinner with four of her friends, two couples, at a very nice restaurant on the peninsula. The couples were in their mid-late 40s and the topic of 8-tracks came up. This was my first time meeting everyone and one gentleman turned to me, without knowing my age, and said “You’re too young to remember 8-tracks, yes?”

And glowing with pride that I did know, I replied, “Actually, my parents still have a working 8-track player and use it from time-to-time.”

From that point on, I was in with everyone despite being the youngest at 28. It was a wonderful evening filled with non-stop conversation and wine, and all of us plan on doing it again soon.

The same gentleman turned to me at the end of the evening and said, "You must have cool parents."

"Yes, I sure do."

Over the hill to work

Sometimes I can't pass up photographing things I see when the camera is with me in the car. And it's nearly impossible to photograph while driving, so I typically just hold up the camera, point and click, and hope for the best.

This shot was taken on the way home from work last week as I was driving over the "No Stopping Any Time" hill that takes me to and from the freeway. I swear I would take public transportation to work if it didn't mean taking a train followed by changing bus lines three times. In the meantime, I'll endure the 25-minute reverse commute down 101 or 280, depending on mood, to San Jose.

The thin brown layer above the hills is smog.

One person CAN ruin it for everyone

I remember a grade school teacher, maybe two, telling the class that little Billy or Jane had just ruined it for everyone by cheating on a test or giving away an answer to everyone. Turns out it's true: one person can ruin it for everyone.

The ruiner-of-all-things-good for me, at the moment, is the current White House administration. I can only hope that evidence of how poorly Katrina was handled is enough for others to agree.

What really ticks me off, to put it kindly, is that this administration now wants to cover up one mess by creating a new one. It is actually being suggested that funds to Medicare for the elderly and portions of education programs be cut to help cover Katrina costs. Wow.

Here's the thing. If we understood that a tax increase in place of program cuts would help build a better society and help those in need, we might have a more positive perspective/understanding about its purpose.

If we viewed taxes as a Red Cross donation, we'd all be better off.

Driving me insane

I enjoy driving but sometimes Bay Area drivers drive me insane.

However, I'm editing this post now. I previously listed top examples of driving maneuvers that annoy me but I've had a change of heart. These annoyances are minor compared to larger issues. Sharing the road with occasional bad drivers certainly isn't one of them.

I'll just enjoy sharing this photo instead.

(I shouldn't take photos while driving but I like the scenery. Photo taken on Highway 680)

Jaw still dropped

I can't resist sharing what I heard this morning. Driving into work I caught the end of a female vs. male contest where a male caller is asked three questions about things women typically might know vs. the female who is asked three questions about topics a man might know.

There's a tie-breaker and here's the question, open to either contestant to shout first if they know the answer...

Q: Who is currently being questioned to become the new chief justice?

A: Rehnquist

My jaw literally dropped. I would understand this better if perhaps it was a history question, but this question is timely and has been covered for the past several weeks in the news, in papers, online. There's no excuse NOT to know, especially when you want to be quizzed by calling into a radio program. And it doesn't matter if the female or male shouted it out first, the second contestant was equally clueless.

Rehnquist recently passed away. The correct answer is John Roberts.

Today's two cents: stay informed. Then call the radio program.

Five-minute reflection

I thought I'd take a minute or five to reflect and escape from the hub-bub of work and daily responsibilities.

Last year around this time, I was enjoying a slower pace of life while visiting family in Sweden. Each morning I'd wake up early and go for a jog down by the water. I have no idea how far I was jogging, I was very much at a beginner stage (still am!), but I took a disposable camera with me one morning and would stop at all the places that made my jog worthwhile. This photo with the boats is my favorite.

Sometimes it takes a big accident...

...for changes to occur.

Ever notice that stoplights aren't added to dangerous intersections until "X" amount of fatal car accidents have shaken a community? One can complain for months on end about a dangerous area and only until there is significant proof that enough accidents have taken place -- which is inevitable -- do we see the stoplight installed.

Same concept applies when large-scale disasters like Katrina occur. All I read in the papers and see on the news now are headlines that read Are We Safe Enough?, Is the Bay Area Ready to Handle a Huge Disaster?, What You can do to Protect Your Family when Disaster Strikes.

At least we're thinking now.

Two steps in the wrong direction

None of my gay friends actually grew up wanting to be gay. Plain and simple. Who wants to grow up and be harassed? Don't answer that, it's rhetorical. We are who we are, period.

Our brilliant California governor (I use "brilliant" sarcastically) is now going to veto a same-sex marriage bill because, according to him, it would conflict with the intent of voters when they approved an initiative five years ago. Five years ago! Times change, people change, we learn from each other, and this is the best argument the governor can think of... ugh. I'm disappointed yet again by potential progress that has slipped away.

I understand the traditions of marriage being between man-woman, but I also feel strongly that gays/lesbians should have and deserve rights like any human being. These are people like you and me who deserve equal opportunities.

I have seen the governor's movies but let me give my two cents: I didn't vote for this guy and I smell trouble ahead.

Today's word: prescient

One of the reasons I enjoy reading the New York Times, and any publication for that matter, is the opportunity to learn a new word and its meaning. I’m in the habit of keeping a notepad next to me while reading and jotting down words I don’t understand, can’t pronounce, or have no clue how to define. I then find time to look them up and try to cleverly adapt them into my own vocabulary or for pure entertainment. By the way, very important to learn how to pronounce words correctly – I tried to pronounce a *big* word in front of a group of friends a few months ago and was laughed at for five painful minutes. I digress.

Today’s good word from the NY Times: prescient. I googled it and basically it means being able to understand or perceive the significance of an event before it occurs. The title of the NY Times article was Urgent Warning Proved Prescient regarding the bulletin sent by the National Weather Service the day before Hurricane Katrina detailing its “unprecedented strength”:

..."Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps
longer," the alert went on.

I found it interesting that the alert (and most alerts) was written years in advance to match potential weather conditions in various areas, quickly encouraging people to stay safe, etc.

Here’s the thing. There's now this, uh, brilliant idea to launch an investigation into Hurricane Katrina and explore what went wrong with response time. Here’s a better idea: screw the investigation, go in and help the people like most Americans and others are doing, learn from the mistakes, work together NOT to make mistakes like this again, and above all, make sure future warnings of significance are taken seriously. Maybe then a happier headline will read Urgent Response Proved Prescient.

Nice view

Lucked out with a clear day Sunday, met up with my parents and a family friend in the historic town of San Juan Bautista, CA. We ate lunch at Casa Rosa, a place we've been eating at since I was a baby. It really is painted pink, too. Then we wandered around and took in this view along the San Andreas fault. The grand finale of the afternoon included two pitchers of margaritas, chips & salsa, and the ongoing discussion of the depressing direction this country is headed. That only lasted until the buzz kicked in.

Preventable post-disaster

There is enough information online, in the newspapers, on TV and radio about Hurricane Katrina yet I have to add a brief two cents.

Nobody knew that a tsunami would hit Asia but enough people knew that New Orleans was at risk of levees breaking, etc., and still the efforts to prevent the degree of devastation that has now occurred was an afterthought. I am disgusted and saddened by the unnecessary lives lost, homes destroyed, and hard work now completely gone for countless families.