(the details I remember)
Driving my dad's pickup truck (the one he doesn't have anymore) - at night, a full moon. Off to get gas in "west Davis" (elements of I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley.) As usual, unable to read/recognize written symbols. Inexplicably impossible to operate pump/locate truck's gas tank intake. Pump 20-30 gallons of gas...but is it going into the gas tank? When done, driving away, pickup's fuel gauge still registers as empty...where did I pump the gasoline? Have I damaged the truck?
Driving: having left "west Davis" driving north, I am somewhere between Winters and Madison and also in a Bay Area canyon with a wide flat muddy river bottom. On a narrow winding road my motorcycle encounters a trailer truck carrying lumber - a long tree trunk - which, on a curve forces my cycle offroad into the river flats, where I slow the pickup truck to a stop.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
I'M AWAKE
Awakened from slumber by a possibly defective epiglottis and an already-in-progress gag reflex. A rush to the bathroom sink and a couple of minutes spent coughing and retching saliva...nothing but saliva.
NOT recommended.
NOT recommended.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Mustaches for Charity, Part 1
not optimistic about being chosen for the
[COLA COMPANY] mustache photo-a-day project. I expect they'll go for Bondie. You know, popularity & whatnot.
Exploring, part 311
Went down to Long Beach today. Took a walk in Bluff Park, and down to the Belmont pier. I've never been to Miami, but for some reason this area reminds me of how I expect Vice City to look. Beautiful weather, lovely houses and apartment complexes; absolutely terrific view of the enclosed Long Beach harbor, the Queen Mary, and the Islands Grissom, Chafee and White.
I could live here, I think.
On my way back home, I took surface streets through northern Orange County. Westminster Blvd.; Brookhurst. Indistinguishable from the San Gabriel Valley sprawl, or from the western San Fernando Valley. Just awful.
I could live here, I think.
On my way back home, I took surface streets through northern Orange County. Westminster Blvd.; Brookhurst. Indistinguishable from the San Gabriel Valley sprawl, or from the western San Fernando Valley. Just awful.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thanks for the sunset, brush fire!
Microparticulates in the atmosphere create especially colorful clouds.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Don't you just hate it when that happens?
Knew it would be a gamble putting my beverage cup directly on the mattress.
Predictable results ensued.
Predictable results ensued.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
Barack Obama Speaks to the Joshua Generation
Hey there! Long time no see!
I was checking out this MeFi thread (the original post really kind of looks like an attempted hit piece on Barack Obama [OMG some of his white ancestors owned slaves!!!]) and one of the later responses linked to Obama's speech from Selma today. I couldn't help being struck by this passage:
Oddly, that's only the second time I've ever seen the term "Joshua generation" -- the first was earlier today, when I was perusing Michelle Goldberg's Kingdom Coming (see also)
The Joshua Generation (or, Generation Joshua) is, in radical evangelical Christian circles, that generation which will (they hope) be the first to inherit a theocratic United States (much like, in the Bible's Old Testament, Joshua was the first leader of the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. Moses [the current generation of adults] never did make it into Canaan.)
I'll admit, I'm not entirely comfortable with Democratic politicians using the language of right-wing Dominionist theocrats. If you can imagine. But if Obama can co-opt evangelicals' language to promote economic equality (and convince them it's WJWD, I'll go along for the ride.
I was checking out this MeFi thread (the original post really kind of looks like an attempted hit piece on Barack Obama [OMG some of his white ancestors owned slaves!!!]) and one of the later responses linked to Obama's speech from Selma today. I couldn't help being struck by this passage:
Moses told the Joshua generation; don't forget where you came from. I worry sometimes, that the Joshua generation in its success forgets where it came from.
Oddly, that's only the second time I've ever seen the term "Joshua generation" -- the first was earlier today, when I was perusing Michelle Goldberg's Kingdom Coming (see also)
The Joshua Generation (or, Generation Joshua) is, in radical evangelical Christian circles, that generation which will (they hope) be the first to inherit a theocratic United States (much like, in the Bible's Old Testament, Joshua was the first leader of the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. Moses [the current generation of adults] never did make it into Canaan.)
I'll admit, I'm not entirely comfortable with Democratic politicians using the language of right-wing Dominionist theocrats. If you can imagine. But if Obama can co-opt evangelicals' language to promote economic equality (and convince them it's WJWD, I'll go along for the ride.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
And in local news...
cbs2.com - Police Discover Stabbing Victim In Mar Vista
(CBS) MAR VISTA, Calif. A boy's body was found inside a car in Mar Vista early Wednesday morning. According to police, he was fatally stabbed in what appeared to be a gang-related killing.
Officers found 19-year-old Jaime Julio Padilla inside a car at Braddock Drive and Slauson Avenue at 8:15 p.m. yesterday, said Officer Marta Garcia of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. He had been stabbed numerous times, she said.
Police were called to the scene by someone reporting a car fire, said Officer Jason Lee. Although the car was not on fire when they arrived, it appeared that someone had tried to torch it, Lee said.
"It appears the suspects may have tried to set the car on fire to cover the homicide but were unsuccessful," Lee said.
Three youths who looked like gang members were seen running from the car, said Officer Jason Lee, adding that the stabbing appears to have been gang-related.
(CBS) MAR VISTA, Calif. A boy's body was found inside a car in Mar Vista early Wednesday morning. According to police, he was fatally stabbed in what appeared to be a gang-related killing.
Officers found 19-year-old Jaime Julio Padilla inside a car at Braddock Drive and Slauson Avenue at 8:15 p.m. yesterday, said Officer Marta Garcia of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. He had been stabbed numerous times, she said.
Police were called to the scene by someone reporting a car fire, said Officer Jason Lee. Although the car was not on fire when they arrived, it appeared that someone had tried to torch it, Lee said.
"It appears the suspects may have tried to set the car on fire to cover the homicide but were unsuccessful," Lee said.
Three youths who looked like gang members were seen running from the car, said Officer Jason Lee, adding that the stabbing appears to have been gang-related.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Modernize LAX Shops - Los Angeles Times
Modernize LAX Shops - Los Angeles Times
Modernize LAX Shops
City has a chance to run the airport like a business and not a patronage dispenser.
September 11, 2006
FOR SCORES OF MILLIONS OF VISITORS every year, Los Angeles International Airport is their first impression of the city and the region. Luckily, they're not coming there for the concessions. The shopping at LAX is as bland as L.A.'s is glamorous.
That could soon change — but only if city officials are willing to buck their own system. Contracts for 51 storefronts (of more than 200) at LAX are once again up for review by the Airport Commission, which is expected to make its decisions sometime next year.
The signing of multimillion-dollar deals to run duty-free shops, restaurants and other businesses at the city-owned airport has for at least two decades been the source of some of L.A.'s worst political scandals. Under Mayor Tom Bradley, airport commissioners solicited campaign funds from contractors, and some political insiders collected millions on contracts without actually managing any concessions. Mayor James Hahn was also dogged by allegations of pay-to-play shenanigans involving airport contracts.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had to give back thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from employees of a Florida company seeking an airport concession. It remains to be seen whether Villaraigosa is willing to cross his union support, which favors maintaining the status quo at the airport because new contractors might not hire union workers.
LAX's concessions are characterized by generic national chains, cookie-cutter storefronts and inflated prices. It's little wonder that in 2005, 21 airports surpassed it in sales per departing passenger at their retail facilities. This matters to taxpayers because a quarter of the revenue for the city agency that runs Los Angeles' four airports comes from concessions.
The Airport Commission, whose seven members are appointed by the mayor, deferred a decision last week. At issue is whether to continue awarding concessions to companies that then lease the shops, or to lease the spaces individually. Or the city could hire developers to essentially build and lease malls in the airport, an approach that has been successful in cities such as Pittsburgh. Then maybe LAX could have shopping as interesting as the city it serves.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Monday, September 04, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Shiny!
Now that I've got an official-type Web 2.0 logo, I'm ready to sell this blog. $40 million ought to be about right.
via the Web 2.0 Logo Creator
