Author Archives: momdude

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About momdude

Space cadet | Family dude | Photographer | Music lover | Traveler | Science fiction fan | Hugo Award nominee | Writer | 5x NASA Social participant | KC Chiefs fan | LA Kings fan | Senior Director of Finance & Administration for ALS Network | Member & former staff Finance Officer at the Commemorative Air Force SoCal Wing | Hard core left-wing liberal | Looking for whatever other shenanigans I can get into
November 20, 2018 · 23:59

Monday Night Football

If you don’t follow sports, or if you’re not in the US and just don’t follow US pro football, you may or may not know that last night’s Monday Night Football game was an instant classic, being labeled by many as one of the greatest regular season games in history. But you might not care, so feel free to ignore today’s rant!

“I’m out of the office at 2:30, go to NoHo, Red Line to 7th Street/Metro Center, Metro Line to USC – should be there about 4:30” – 11/18/2018 text message to The Younger Daughter

“No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy” – Helmuth von Moltke, 19th century head of the Prussian army

It was much closer to 3:00 before I left the office. The freeway onramp at DeSoto was blocked by an accident. I tried to get to the Winnetka onramp, only to find a few thousand other folks had the same idea. It took twenty minutes or so to work my way through the side streets down to the Reseda onramp. Free sailing until I got to the Universal Studios Metro station, only to find ALL the parking spots full with dozens of Rams and Chiefs fans circling the lot in gridlock. I bailed and drove ten minutes out to the NoHo Metro station (which has a much larger lot), only to find ALL the parking spots full with dozens and dozens of Rams and Chiefs fans circling the lot in gridlock. I went to the NoHo Metro station overflow lot, only to find ALL the parking spots full with…

I started cruising the streets of North Hollywood, looking for street parking. All of it was metered, most for one or two hours max. (How much is a parking ticket compared to what I paid for the tickets that I was going to miss using? Would they just give me a ticket or tow me?)

I finally found a spot about eight blocks from the Metro station with a four-hour limit. So-so neighborhood judging by the graffiti and piles of dog poop, but any port in a storm, eh?

Got to the Red Line and on a train to Metro Center with no problems. A couple of Chiefs fans on the train, but LOTS of Rams fans. Let the friendly banter begin.

The Expo line train from Metro Center to USC was packed. Then they let us out to start the cattle herd to the Coliseum.

Fighting through those crowds, only to get to a twenty-minute-plus wait to get screened through security at the gate.

Finally at my seat with The Younger Daughter and The Fiance! “Should be there about 4:30,” he said in ignorance. The time stamp on the photo is 5:36.

But we were there!

There’s a lot of construction going on at the LA Coliseum. And it was absolutely packed.

We were in the end zone, about halfway up, so our seats didn’t suck, but weren’t fantastic either.

At half time, the ESPN guys were doing their report from right down in front of us. You can also get a good feel for how many Chiefs fans (dressed in red) there were compared to the Rams fans. Unlike the games we’ve seen at the Chargers’ stadium (where it’s literally more Chiefs fans than Chargers fans) here the Chiefs fans were in the distinct minority.

Also at halftime we got a three-song “concert” from The Chain Smokers – who I have never, ever heard of. But the fireworks were nice.

As I said at the top, the game was an instant classic, being labeled by many as one of the greatest regular season games in history. It was something like the third highest scoring regular season game in history, and by far the highest scoring Monday Night Football game. The crowd was on its feet and just electric all night.

In the end, my beloved Chiefs fell to defeat, 54-51, in large part due to far, far too many penalties and three touchdowns for the Rams off of Chiefs’ fumbles and interceptions. We made more mistakes than they did. But we never, ever gave up. Even with all of those mistakes, we were driving with less than a minute less and could have easily tied it and sent it to overtime or won it outright in regulation.

It was utterly fantastic, and we were there.

It was a freakin’ adventure.

And if you think those crowds in the stadium and on the Metro trains were bad coming in (when the crowd arrived spaced out over four hours or so), you can’t even imagine how bad they were when 100,000 people all leave the game at the same time at the end. It took almost three hours to get home.

Worth. Every. Bit. Of. Effort!!

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Filed under KC Chiefs, Los Angeles, Photography, Sports

November 19, 2018 · 17:15

Calming Clouds

Barring a disaster, I am currently in the process of losing my voice while screaming my lungs out at the LA Coliseum while my beloved Kansas City Chiefs (9-1 on the season) are stomping on and defeating the Los Angeles Rams (9-1 on the season). It should be one hell of a game. Rest assured, I’m not typing this from the stands. But I figure it’s likely that I won’t have much time to post anything Monday night, so I’m setting this up in advance.

When the season’s schedule was first announced I thought it was fantastic that I would have a chance to see the Chiefs in person twice, once when they play the Chargers (they’re in the same division, so this happens every year – there are pictures on this site from the past several years’ visits) and once when they played the Rams in Los Angeles. Then the league announced that the Rams game would be played in Mexico City as part of their international expansion program. I was not going to go to Mexico City to see that game. However, the gods have conspired on my behalf, the field at Azteca Stadium was ripped to shreds by a couple of concerts, heavy rain, and some soccer games, and last week on an emergency basis the NFL moved the game back to Los Angeles.

So I will get to see the Chiefs live against the Rams. But it won’t be just twice this year – you’ll be hearing more about it, but for the holidays we get to see two more games. As shitty as 2018 has been in many ways, seeing the Chiefs live four times, especially considering how well they’re playing, might be one of the few highlights.

Anyway, while I’m screaming myself hoarse, you’re invited to enjoy some calming clouds that were over our construction site on Saturday when we had our Key Ceremony. They were stunning to look at and also kept the temps down to a reasonable level while we handed out the keys and other gifts to the latest veterans moving into our homes in Santa Clarita. (See our website if you want to see more details about that.)

Go Chiefs!

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Filed under Homes4Families, KC Chiefs, Photography, Sports, Weather

November 18, 2018 · 21:47

Owl

After all of the “excitement” (i.e., stress, adrenaline, and existential terror) of the last few weeks, it was time for some “domestic down time” today. Groceries. Changing the sheets. Cleaning up some crap in the yard.

I was folding clothes this evening when I heard this guy again:

I’ve heard “him” (I’m assuming – I don’t have a clue if it’s a male or female and the Audubon Society website says they both hoot) a dozen or so times over the past month or two. By his call (identified here) I’m betting he’s a Great Horned Owl. (I would also note that by their call, we also have Screech Owls. I’ve heard that sound on several occasions as well.)

One of the coolest times I’ve heard him was last Friday night after the worst of that evening’s fires had been put out. I went out just to get a sense of what was going on with the fire. It was much quieter than it had been. I was listening and still hearing sirens and helicopters and jets coming out of LAX and jets coming into Burbank and it stank of smoke but all the while our owl friend was calm as can be, marking his territory with his hoots, across the street and down the hill about half a block.

He’s loud. The first time I heard him he was in one of the trees in a neighbor’s yard and I could hear him inside, even over the television. Tonight I didn’t have the television on (had to concentrate on folding those socks, couldn’t afford the distraction!) and when I heard him I figured he was back in our yard or the neighbor’s yard. Nope, he was five or six houses down the street and I could still hear him in the house.

He’s big. Once or twice when he’s been in our tree or one of the immediate neighbors’ trees I’ve gone out to listen and spooked him into flying off. I only see him by moonlight, but he’s got to have at least a five foot wing span, maybe six. I’m obviously no owl expert, but I would think at that size he’s not looking for rats, mice, or squirrels, but more likely rabbits, stray cats, or baby raccoons.

I’m happy to have the owl in our neighborhood and hope he stays around. His hooting is a sound that brings me joy and calm.

Probably not so much for the rabbits, stray cats, and baby raccoons.

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Filed under Critters

November 17, 2018 · 22:56

Possibly My Patronus

Yes, today was as long as I thought it would be. There was much accomplished and little significant, long-term bodily harm, so we’ll count that as a win.

One interesting thing that occurred in the midst of a day which involved a lot of routine keeping-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other events, were two encounters with this guy:

The pictures aren’t great for several reasons. First of all, it wasn’t that close to me, maybe 30 feet away.

Secondly, I was caught off guard, surprised to see this critter since I’ve only seen them in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico before now.

Thirdly, they’re pretty well camouflaged.

But yeah, that’s  a roadrunner. A pretty good sized one too.

Given the current status of my chaos and karma levels, it can’t be ruled out that this was my patronus appearing to me.

I watched carefully after seeing the roadrunner – no coyotes, explosives, exotic Rube Goldberg contraptions, or falling Acme anvils  were seen.

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Filed under Critters, Photography

November 16, 2018 · 22:02

Too Tired To Sleep

Bad night.

Long day.

Tomorrow’s going to be much longer.

Have to get up at O’Dark Thirty – need to go get some sleep while I can.

Too tired to get up and go to bed.

Too tired to sleep once I get there.

This shit was a badge of honor when I was twenty-two and I did what I had to do to get through college.

This shit was a pain in the ass when I was forty-two and I had to do what I had to do as a single dad.

Now it’s just shit. Maybe twenty years from now I’ll have something clever to say about it – right now, not so much.

G’night all.

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Filed under Deep Thoughts, Health

November 15, 2018 · 23:50

What’s That Dinging Noise?

Stressed? Me? NAH!

Tired? Moi? NO WAY!

A block from work tonight on my way home I finally became aware of a red warning light on the dashboard, one that I don’t recall ever seeing. What is that?

And then the dinging noise started. What am I doing wrong? What’s that warning icon?

The airbags aren’t function? Well, good, I haven’t hit anything. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense, I’ve never hit anything, why is the alarm going off now?

Do I have something heavy on the passenger’s seat that is making the car think that I have someone sitting there and whoever it is needs a seat belt for safety? But there’s nothing on the passenger seat!

Wait…

Okay, you need to understand that I’m one of those guys who ***ALWAYS*** puts on his seat belt. I literally will not move the cars around in the driveway without putting on the seat belt. I put on the seat belt in New York City taxis. I’ve lost friends who would be alive if they had been wearing seat belts. I put the seat belt on before I put the key in the ignition.

EVERY.

DAMN.

TIME.

Except tonight.

Damn, that’s weird.

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Filed under Paul

November 14, 2018 · 23:54

Never One Around When You Need One

Cops? Well, yes, but that’s not what I was thinking of.

Winning lottery tickets? Obviously, but I know the math and the odds and that whole reality thing totally sucks when you know those.

Scissors? Yeah, but solved that by buying a couple dozen pair and leaving them all over the house.

No, basing my argument in reality while bemoaning the nature of reality (and not being in the presence of any scofflaws whose activities might be endangering me), I speak of the one great item (given that whole adulting thing and the odds of successfully running away and joining the circus being on a par with that aforementioned lottery ticket) that’s missing from my life when I really need it.

A pillow fort.

I’m telling you, I’m sitting here, exhausted, looking for inspiration on what to write tonight and what kept coming back to me was how much I would love right this second to crawl into a warm pillow fort with my iPad (it has a whole library on it, as well as movies) and read for a while from a book I’m really enjoying and then falling asleep and not waking up to an alarm clock more tired than when I went to sleep, but instead waking up only when I was rested and was ready to wake up…

I need that pillow fort.

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Filed under Uncategorized

November 13, 2018 · 23:51

No Context For You – November 13th

Everything’s creaky and tired.

The house is creaking and popping with the high winds (sans flame) pushing it this way and that. Got so bad at one point earlier this evening that I check to see if we were actually having a small earthquake.

This entropy thing sort of sucks.

 

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Filed under Paul, Photography

November 12, 2018 · 22:58

Standing Down

The wind continues to howl. It’s got to be 25-35 steady with gusts to 50+, if not more.

But there is no known fire near us.

The air has more than just a whiff of smoke and ash to it, along with the calling card of a particularly pissed off skunk somewhere nearby upwind. They’ve been telling us to watch out for wildlife displaced into urban areas by the destruction of their natural habitat. Perhaps that’s why the skunk is pissed off. Can’t say that I blame him.

But they’ve taken down the police barricades two blocks away from home.

It’s gotten cold, which I guess is good, but it’s staying dry, which is horrible. There were spots this weekend reporting relative humidity in the single digits for days on end – THAT’s a huge problem when fighting brush fires. One report I saw had a reading of 1% relative humidity! That’s rivaling what it would be like on Mars.

But as of about 20:30 tonight, the mandatory evacuation order for all of the neighborhoods on the west side of Valley Circle have been lifted.

So tonight I started standing down. I started unpacking the cars. I started putting all of those valuable pictures, documents, video tapes, jewelry, and priceless memories back away in the house instead of leaving them pointing out of the driveway, ready to be scrambled like a couple of SAC bombers when the ICBMs start streaming over the Pole.

It’s time to stand down.

And maybe get some sleep.

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Filed under Castle Willett, Disasters

November 11, 2018 · 23:41

The Roller Coaster

The thing I have learned today is that when you live close enough to the open brush areas in California and the conditions are right, you’re going to spend a few days on a roller coaster of emotion and adrenaline. If you think you know what’s going to happen, you’re wrong.

First of all, the winds that had been predicted to kick back up overnight had failed to do so. It was calm as could be when I got up at 07:00. It was fairly clear, not nearly as much smoke in the air as on the previous couple of mornings. Looking out at Castle Peak it was interesting to see some grey-ish areas that almost looked like some sort of ground fog or giant spider webs clinging to the side of the mountain – I realized it was just the slightest traces of smoke from smoldering hot spots.

But it was so nice out. Most of the smell of smoke was gone. I figured that we would be able to unpack the cars and get back to normal. I sort of planned on doing it after the Chiefs’ game.

I was wrong.

We went out to our usual Sunday morning breakfast and while there I noticed the winds picking up. And then they were blowing fairly hard. When we were done with breakfast we went across the street to do our weekly grocery shopping.

From two miles away, this is what we saw. Our house would be right about under that tallest column of smoke. Needless to say, we burned our way through the grocery list and hustled our way back home.

That flare up was a bit north of us, on the north side of Bell Canyon Drive, up by Roscoe, a mile or so away. By the time we got home there were several large aircraft called in to make repeated passes dropping Phos-Chek, the fire retardant with the red coloring which they use so the pilots can see where they’ve already sprayed on earlier passes. It was interesting to watch it live on television from the TV helicopter’s point of view from 6,000 feet while also watching them roar north up Valley Circle outside our front window. It’s also bizarre to see your house on television when they’re showing a disaster in progress.

After an hour or so that hot spot was out and I figured the excitement was over. They had hit it pretty hard and that Phos-Chek will last for a while.

I was wrong.

An hour later I started to hear helicopters again, low and fast. We had another flare up, this time over behind the baseball fields.

An hour later there was another flare up, this time with some pretty significant (i.e., “freakin’ huge!”) flames shooting up over one of the lower ridges down in Bell Canyon.

At least then the wind started dying down. We’re done, right?

I was wrong.

While we were okay for the moment, back to the south along the Calabasas western border and down to the ocean in Malibu things were getting extremely hot again. In between the two trees on the left you can see a dot which is a water-dropping DC-10 heading that way. (That’s an impressively HUGE plane to be getting down among them in the canyons while that heavy, that slow, and in that kind of turbulence!!)

So much for unpacking the cars. I was tired of being wrong. All of the areas on the west side of Valley Circle, which is less than a quarter mile away as the crow flies, are still shut off and evacuated with no one allowed back in. Until that evacuation that close to us gets lifted, we’re going to stay ready to bug out. Cars packed, face out of the driveway for a quick exit.

This evening the wind was still blowing (you can see the palm trees bending to the left) but it was again calm and smoke-free.

For now.

We’ll see how early tonight or tomorrow morning I’m proven wrong again.

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Filed under Disasters, Photography, Weather