November 14, 2019 · 23:03

Sunset – November 14th

From the parking lot at the new office – ground level, no horizon views like I had from the second story of the parking garage at the old office.

I think I might have missed “peak sunset” by about five minutes, maybe ten.

I also noticed a really big plane up there, probably descending toward the downwind leg into LAX from Malibu (about 10 miles over the mountains to our left) to downtown LA. It didn’t look like a passenger jet, even one of the big new jumbo jets. More like a C-5 or Antonov 225. Huh…

Just on the other side of the frontage road on the right is the 101 Freeway. At this point and at this time the traffic headed back into the San Fernando Valley through the Calabasas Grade is moving right along. One or two exits down the road it will slow to an absolute crawl. (Fun times!)

The iPhone compensates for the low light by taking a photo that’s quite bright. What did it really look like?

Something more like this. Less detail and color, but much more like what the eye saw then in real life.

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November 13, 2019 · 20:59

New York, New York (Pictures Day 20)

In summary: New York City had a life of it’s own in my head. In early August 2016, I visited there for the first time. On the first afternoon we visited Central Park and were there for hours, despite the jet lag. Day One started with a tour of the Intrepid and the Space Shuttle Enterprise, followed by the full two and a half hour cruise around Manhattan – south down the Hudson River into the Upper Harbor, up the East River under the “BMW” bridges, past Midtown and the UN, into the Harlem River, back south into the Hudson River, underneath the George Washington Bridge, past Grant’s Tomb, and finally back into port. To finish Day Two we had a death march to find a cab, went to the Mets game, left early only to miss the best part, and inadvertently stiffed a nice cab driver. Bright & early on Day Three we headed out toward Liberty Island – it’s hard to take a bad picture there, then went to Ellis Island. Bank on Manhattan, we went to World Trade Center Museum, which was emotional & grueling. Day Four started out with a trip to Times Square, after which we headed to the Empire State Building. The views of Manhattan were spectacular!

Following our obligatory tourist visit to the Empire State Building, we had to boogie off to the Bronx. We had a coincidental appointment with history and some bombers.

When we travel, we love to see other ballparks, and one of the best of the best was next on our list.

This is the third iteration of this particular cathedral of sport. Until the time machine gets out of the shop we won’t be able to visit either of the earlier ones, but this one is pretty spectacular on its own.

Even though we were there a good three hours before game time, the place was already getting pretty packed. It was a real lucky break that we had bought tickets for this particular date months earlier. It was truly a hot ticket, but we weren’t giving up ours, even though we almost could have paid for the trip in what we could have gotten if we had scalped them.

There were a LOT of news vans and media crews there, even for New York City! Local, national, international, all turned out in droves for the game this day. Satellite uplink trunks for blocks and blocks.

It turns out that the game we picked (because it fit into our schedule) was Alex Rodriguez’s final game, with all of the pomp and circumstance associated with that.

We sat around outside the gates and watched the crowd for a couple of hours, especially all of the news crews and media “celebrities.” I don’t have a clue who this woman was, but she set up shop right in front of our bench and was drawing quite a bit of attention, for example.

Once we got to our seats out by the left field foul pole, I started the usual stadium tour that I always try to take when I’m at a new stadium for the first time. Our seats weren’t quite this close to the field, but that turned out to be a good thing.

The crowd was looking for ARod and I was loving the atmosphere of such a legendary site.

Once out in dead center field, about an hour before the actual game, looking back to the west, I noticed that the clouds were building up.

Huh.

Ten minutes later, now outside of the right field bleachers, it really started to look nasty.

There were a ton of pre-game ceremonies planned to say goodbye to ARod – but maybe God isn’t an ARod fan?

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November 12, 2019 · 20:45

Cheap Thrills, Red Tags

I’ve mentioned that as a child we spent LOTS of time on cross-country road trips – crammed into a station wagon with seven siblings, and parents, and occasionally pets, playing “license plate games” was necessary for survival. They were formative years. So now I always look for the first sighting of the next year’s colored tags on California license plates.

With Hissy being a “January baby,” I get to cheat. I got her registration about ten days ago and went online and paid immediately. And I’ve been keeping an eagle eye out for anyone else who might have gotten one first. Believe me, with the commute to the new job, I’ve been staring at a lot of bumpers recently.

Haven’t spotted one yet.

I’m a weiner!!!

(Assuming, of course, you don’t take into consideration that I’m so pathetic that getting my car registration sticker earlier than everyone else is such a big event in my life. Good thing there was that wedding last weekend or this might be the highlight of the month!)

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November 11, 2019 · 23:38

Fall Arrives In SoCal

There are those who say that we don’t get fall in Southern California, or the foliage change of color that goes along with it.

Not true!

Granted, we don’t have the weeks of slow build up to an explosion of color like Vermont does. (These trees were all quite green on Friday, for example.)

In fact, our “fall foliage” season seems to last about 36 hours. Aren’t you glad that I captured some of it for you?!

In two days it will all be gone and these trees will be completely barren. Blink and you’ll miss it!

The thing to REALLY watch out for? On a cool, misty, foggy, drizzly morning like this, with a layer of these leaves covering the tile and polished brick walkway into the office it’s like being on an ice skating rink. Slippery little bastards!

But as you’re lying there, twisted and broken and bleeding, waiting for the paramedics to come, try to make sure you come down on your back so you can watch the glorious display above you!

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November 10, 2019 · 23:19

Sunset – November 10th

It’s much calmer than it was a year ago, when we were finishing three days with all of the valuables packed into two cars, waiting to see if the bugout order was coming.

Tonight all we have for existential crises are the approaching Monday.

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November 9, 2019 · 23:19

No Context For You – November 09th

There’s something tantalizing here. Almost enough detail to recognize where and when I inadvertently pushed a button and saved an image without realizing it.

Almost…

Meanwhile, Jeez Louise, *WHEN* did it become **NOVEMBER**??!!

Sorry, it caught me off guard today.

Way back at the beginning of the year I wrote about how last year became the “year without Christmas” for me. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, given what I got to exchange Christmas for, but it was odd. (And to answer the question posed at the end of that article – right here at home, given the nature of the business at my new job.)

But then 2019 has had its own unique sets of “challenges,” many of which have impacted other holidays, both societal and personal.

For example, between 2018 and 2019, it’s the first time in forever that we didn’t go somewhere to watch fireworks on July 4th. Oh, from the new house, which is on the top of a hill, we can see them off in the distance – but it’s not the same.

In both 2018 and 2019, it’s the first time in forever when we haven’t been to an Angels baseball game. None. Not one. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Labor Day or thereabouts used to be Worldcon. Maybe not every year like when I was in college or soon thereafter (i.e., before the kids arrived) but usually at least 2 out of three years, or three out of five. Now – nothing since 2009. Hell, we didn’t even get to the Worldcon in San Jose last year!

Our trips to the movie theaters have plummeted. We used to go at least once a month – now it’s once or twice a year. Maybe.

Halloween at the new house has been a non-event for two years in a row now. We used to have so, so many kids come by and bring out the telescopes. Now, even though we’re only a mile away, we might as well be on a rural highway halfway between Renwick and Hardy, Iowa.

So here we are in early November and Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away. We’ll be doing…what?

And Christmas is only six and a half weeks away. We know we won’t be traveling, but will the lights and festivities and decorations and celebrations be up to our familiar standards?

One might start to think that we’re doing this “adulting” thing incorrectly.

(Thank you for attending my TED whine!)

 

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November 8, 2019 · 23:47

Mood

Yesterday’s morning commuting weather fit my mood and state for the past week, month, bunch of months.

Foggy. Hazy.

On the other hand, when I have a moment to step back and take stock, I’m a bit astonished at how much I’m getting done, especially given the cotton candy fuzz that my brain seems to always be muddling through.

I got a gazillion things done and loose ends wrapped up at my old job before leaving (plus that whole TV shoot on site thing). Things are going very, VERY well at my new job even though it seems like we’re going at 200 mph from the time I hit the door every day. (The learning curve is a bitch!)

We got that wedding thing done! It was a huge success! With parties the day before and the day after! And relatives in town all week!

I’m even making progress on getting caught up in my volunteer gig at the CAF hangar, aiming toward the year-end close coming up.

And all while not being 100% sure which way is up half the time and not being able to remember my own name, let alone those of all my new coworkers, the other half of the time.

I guess it just proves the line from “Bull Durham” to be true.

“Don’t think. You can only hurt the ball club.”

 

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November 7, 2019 · 22:13

Discombobulated Again

Some days…

I don’t even remember what got me off balance to begin with, but about the time I hit my office door this morning I realized that I had left the house without breakfast, and more importantly, without my Diet Coke.

That’s one of the differences between the new office and the old – there are a lot more people in the new office and the kitchen refrigerator is pretty much the same size. So my habit of leaving a six-pack or more is somewhat less than practical. But when I forget to bring one in…

So at lunch, after dealing (more or less successfully) with a number of “challenges,” I went out to find a grocery store.

Which was easy enough. One cold Diet Coke from the freezer section, a couple of six packs to stick in my office, some granola bars for those times when I get a bit hangry…

Only to realize that my wallet was in my coat pocket while my coat was still hanging on the back of the chair back in my office. It had been chilly and foggy when I left home, but by lunchtime it was not. I think that the look on my face said everything to the poor guy at the checkout register.

A quick search of the car showed that there was extremely little cash onboard – I’m *SO* glad that I cleaned it out a couple of weeks ago and dumped that $30+ in loose change into the CoinStar machine! I had just enough to stop at a gas station and pick up a single cold Diet Coke for lunch…

…at which point my shoelace broke while walking back across the parking lot.

So, the laughter might have had a tinge of hysteria at that point.

Hangry, under caffeinated, gimpy with a jury rigged shoelace, I carried on and made it through the day.

How did your day go?

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November 6, 2019 · 23:15

Funcle Paul & The Telescope

We still have family in town following the wedding, including a three-year-old who loves stars and moons and planets.

It would be amazing to clean and restore the big telescope and take it out to a dark sky location and show her a whole range of deep sky objects and nebulae and galaxies and globular clusters and telling her all about redshifts and spectroscopy and how Hubble figured out that the universe was so much more immense than anyone had ever dreamed possible and inspiring her for a whole life of wonder and exploration and love of science…

But she’s three.

So dragging the scope out onto the back porch with a dusty mirror in a light polluted city and showing her the crescent moon probably worked just as well.

I am the Funcle.

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November 5, 2019 · 23:53

Flu Shot

Get one.

If you have a legitimate, scientific, medical reason to not get one, such as you’re allergic or you have a compromised immune system, then of course, you don’t have to.

But if you’re one of the 99.9999999% of the population who don’t have a legitimate, scientific, medical reason to not get a flu shot, then GET A FLU SHOT!!

If you don’t know why you should do that, aside from the fact that having the flu really sucks and you’ll feel terrible for days, or the fact that the flu still kills almost 80,000 people every year in the US alone and you could be one of them, then read this about how your getting a flu shot will also help everyone out there not get the flu.

And if you’re truly foolish and clueless enough to be reading my site and want to bring any anti-vaxx bullshit in here, well…

(Image “liberated” from somewhere on the Internet sometime in the past several months from someone I’ve never heard of because I really liked it. Isn’t that what the Internet is for?)

(P.S. – yes, I googled the image, found thousands of folks who have used the background image, a few dozen that have this version with the text, but NO ONE who has any clue who took the original image or made the text version. If your google-foo is stronger than mine and you can find a reliable credit for either version, please let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to acknowledge it.)

P.P.S. – now that we’re done with that, go get a flu shot!!

I got mine yesterday. Lots of places, like Kaiser where I was killing time, have them for free. Your arm will hurt of about 1/3 of a second. It might be teeny, tiny bit sore in the morning.

GROW A SPINE! TOP IT OFF WITH A BRAIN! GET A FLU SHOT!!

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