June 8, 2018 · 21:25

Lights In The Night Sky

Long day. Family events.

This evening we had a lovely gathering for home-made, wood-fired pizzas at the home of a dear friend of my sister-in-law. As evening fell and we sat around their koi pond, the fireflies came out.

I hadn’t seen fireflies since I was a kid in Vermont and Kansas.

It was charming and wonderful.

My watch beeped with a pre-set alarm. I had seen that there was a outstanding pass of the ISS over Virginia tonight. I let people know that it was coming up, and the entire party trooped out to the front lawn to watch.

Through the high, thin clouds and haze, we all watched the ISS go from the northwest, through the zenith, and fade off into the east, while around us floated fireflies.

It was wonderful.

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June 7, 2018 · 21:42

Titanium Tube, 500 Knots, West To East

Getting up before sunrise sucks.

As travel goes, I’ve had a lot worse. Being old and white means I get TSA Pre status a lot (let’s get real, it’s not because of either my charm or my good looks) which helps a lot in the early hours.

Climbing out of LAX into the June gloom (coastal marine layer) means it’s very pretty on top, watching that wave of clouds break upon the mountains inland.

Around the Colorado/Arizona line there are a couple of these long, dirty, brown clouds stretching out downwind from what appear to be coal-fired power plants that are still running, despite the fact that they’re probably costing more per kilowatt hour to run than a large solar farm. Thanks corrupt and evil government officials!

On the other hand, over Telluride there was still snow on the peaks.

We crossed the Mississippi just north of Quincy, IL.

We stopped in Philadelphia just long enough to get from the far end of Terminal A to the far end of Terminal F and grab a quick lunch along the way.

At Terminal F we got on a much smaller aircraft and scooted down the coast to Norfolk.

Let the family festivities begin!!

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June 6, 2018 · 23:59

Off In The Distance

From the really nice back yard of our new house, you can look off through the trees across a good chunk of the San Fernando Valley. It’s not quite a completely breathtaking, spectacular view over all of Creation – there are other hills around and plenty of trees – but it’s not half bad.

One thing that stands out is this white, six or seven story building:

What bothered me a day or so after seeing it was that there aren’t any six or seven story buildings like that anywhere in that direction or anywhere near us.

Now, I’ve lived in this area for well over twenty-five years. Not only do I drive everywhere, but between the practices for the Avon Walk a few years back and the training for two marathons, I’ve seen just about everything around. There are no six or seven story buildings in the area, especially ones that look like that.

A little to the left of this view you should be able to see Warner Center, which has a handful of buildings in the 25 and 30 and 40 story range, but they’re all black glass and there’s a hill in the way. The direction is wrong.

Nearby there’s the West Hills Hospital, and it’s got a couple of four and five story buildings, but that’s also in a different direction and they’re different architecture.

I knew which direction this is – but there’s nothing like that to see.

Until I saw this:

It’s not a six or seven story building. It’s the top six or seven stories of a twelve-story building.

The one I work in.

Ziplines!!

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June 4, 2018 · 22:36

I Deserve It Tonight

Don’t judge.

You may be jealous, but you may not judge.

It’s been a tough day/week/month/year.

Today I take the small joys wherever I can Find them.

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June 3, 2018 · 19:28

Freds & Bubbas

At the old house there was a growing population of California Alligator lizards, who I had collectively named “the Freds.” (See here, here, here, here, etc.)

It didn’t take too long to realize that there are lizards in the yard here at the new yard as well. Today was sunny and hot, so I got out the camera with the big lens (these lizards are a bit skittish, won’t let me get as close as the Freds did, but then again, the Freds knew that something was up as we were moving out) and did a quick survey of the back yard.

Some look a lot like the old Freds.

Some have similar body types, but much different colorations.

Some have significantly different body types, thicker through the body, shorter tails proportionately.

Look at this brute at the top! He’s built more like an iguana!

And his partner is much, much darker than all of the other lizards.

While some are almost sandy or a light green color.

Depending on the sun angle, some seem to almost be iridescent.

Some are possible hybrids, with thicker bodies than the original Freds but not like the brutes, but longer tails than the brutes while not being as long as the original Freds’ tails.

And they’re all very nervous, darting away and into the bushes at the drop of a hat. The presence of so many crows and hawks may up here may have something to do with that.

I’m figuring the thick-bodied, short-tailed lizards are related to the Freds, but some sort of different subspecies. I’m also figuring that we’ll call them Bubbas instead of Freds.

Finally, I’m figuring that neither the Freds nor the Bubbas will care what I call them, as long as I leave them alone. Which, other than taking pictures, I intend to do.

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June 2, 2018 · 23:03

The Houseplants Knew Something Was Up

There’s a houseplant out on the porch that I’ve tried for years to kill. It hasn’t been a deliberate attempt. I’ve actually been working hard from time to time to try to figure out how to keep it alive, and sometimes that’s worked. Often it hasn’t. But the brave little plant somehow struggled along, sometimes with a couple dozen leaves, sometimes with just a handful.

By March, again things were looking grim.

Our brave little plant was down to just three leaves, and they were looking pretty sickly and yellow.

I watered and fed, but it wasn’t any good. By the end of March, there was nothing but the long, ropy stem with no leaves at all.

It stayed that way for almost two months. I probably should have just thrown out the pot and the plant and the dirt, but I was just plain stinking busy through April and May.

The houseplants knew something was up, and they weren’t at all sure they wanted to be part of it at all.

Then, when I was making the final big push to get out of the old house, my daughter and I noticed something. On that ropy stem, against all odds:

…there are two or three small leaves starting to poke out. The plant has decided once more that it wishes to LIVE, despite my best efforts to save it and keep it alive.

So it got moved last weekend. I’ve found a nice spot for it out on the new back patio, where it’s in the shade most of the day but gets a tiny bit of direct sun, but mainly just lots of light and air. I’ve fed it again, kept it watered, hoping for the best.

As Dr. Ian Malcom said, “Life finds a way.”

Or maybe this particular little plant is just one tough little son of a bitch!

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June 1, 2018 · 23:57

No Context For You – June 01st

So much for June.

And I had such hopes for it.

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May 31, 2018 · 23:58

Moving Out & Moving On – May 31st

Escrow closed yesterday. Really.

Now it’s the long road back to normal. It’s the little things that will mark the progress.

Finding the box that has my stapler, tape, pens, sticky notes, and so on for my desk.

Finding the box that has all of my ties. You can only wear jeans to work so many days in a row with “I’m moving” as an excuse.

Getting the printer hooked up to my computer. And a decent set of speakers.

And listening to “Hamilton” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” in their entirety as I work through the evening.

This may yet turn out to be survivable.

A royal freakin’ pain in the ass, undoubtedly.

But survivable.

Let June begin!

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May 30, 2018 · 23:54

Moving Out & Moving On – May 30th

Escrow closed today. Maybe. I think.

Mixed signals at best. I was still getting emails with documents to sign way after closing was supposed to happen, and I never did get any confirmation. On the other hand, there’s a wire transfer for about the right amount (-ish) in my checking account, so that’s good, right?

It would help a lot if tomorrow the bank website showed a zero balance on some mortgage accounts.

I also continue to be viscous – nay, may I even say ruthless beyond recognition in continuing to throw things out. The presence of a huge trash bin out in front of the new house helps the decisions. Giving a lot of side eye to some office furniture that has seen better days – it doesn’t take a lot of doubt to find myself trying to lift things over the side of this huge bin.

Madness, I tell you.

Sleep deprivation. Adrenaline. Exhaustion. Diet Coke and Extra Strength Excedrin.

Ask for it all by name.

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May 29, 2018 · 23:58

Moving Out & Moving On – May 29th

One day to go. Escrow closes tomorrow.

Wait… that was yesterday, wasn’t it? Well, yes and no.

The Memorial Day holiday seems to be delaying things a day. But the buyer has wire transferred the funds, I’ve filled out all of the paperwork at my end, and most importantly, we’re out of the old house.

I was expecting it to be far more emotional. Instead, exhaustion has made its presence known.

Last night I was at the old house until almost 1:00 AM. This morning I made two trips early to get the last load of stuff and two loads of trash out.

But it’s done.

Escrow closes tomorrow.

Then the major unpacking job starts.

This is why I only move every thirty years or so. (I’m hoping that the next move, in 2048 or so, will be done by robots controlled by my brain waves.)

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