Friday, October 31, 2008

Monday, September 22, 2008

And now something new that was old


In the past I talked and posted links about the
development in the park where I practice Taichi.
This picture is the Academy of Sciences which
will open this Saturday.
I do taichi at the Music Concourse which is in the
foreground. Far in the back atop Parnassus mt. is
the University of California Medical Center.
My apartment is three blocks to the right of it.
You can read the article at leisure and look at the 
rest of the pictures. It's been at least 25 years since
I visited the Academy.


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Wild West at Ocean Beach

We went to see this yesterday morning.

tired...

of seeing and hearing my name so much.
I'm happy today will probably be the last
day.  

Yesterday was the first wonderful day
of this birthday weekend. We finally made
it to this little town by the coast called
Pescadero for this restaurant called
Duarte's. It's just an old family restaurant
but the freshness of the ingredients and
the simple way of cooking delighted us
more than the expensive well-educated
fares we've been sampling the last year and
a half.









Afterwards we spent an hour atop a bluff
over the Ocean and a huge flock of pelicans,
maybe 500, swooped in front of us to land at
a little island a quarter of a mile away. 
This was what we were planning for my birthday
in 2001, which we spent in bed watching tv.

We still have a couple of days to gorge ourselves
fat.

Friday, July 18, 2008

HD TV broadcasts on your laptop


this is the latest toy I got.
really works for me.
looking forward to watching
HD football in bed with
Charlotte. and HD concerts
on Austin City Limits and
Soundstage.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3830963&CatId=1427

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Americans eating dogs email

There is a novel called Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn.
It's about Flips.
I thought I've written about dog killing and butchering in the
past. Yup, I've eaten it a few times. Remember enjoying it.
It's been over 30 years since the last time, though.
I remember the last time. I came home one evening from the
University in 1973 or 74. There was a commotion at the house
with so many people I didn't recognize. There was a man crying.
I asked one of my relatives to explain. He or she, I can't remember
which, said that the crying man owned a beautiful large German
Shepherd and his neighbors were eyeing it mischievously. So he
decided that if anybody was going to enjoy his dog gustatorily, it
would have to be his friends. I guess he'd heard or experienced
my clan's experience with dogs.
Normally, we would tie the dog by the great Jackfruit tree and someone,
usually my grandfather, would hit the dog a few times in the head with
a 2x2. But since this is a beloved pet, we hanged it from the fragrant tree.
I think I touched the dog while it was hanging limp.
It was definitely not as normal as killing a pig or a chicken. Usually my
grandfather did it by himself alone. Or so he thought. Me and my brothers
and cousins would hide and watch him do it. I still get bothered when I
see it in my mind.
Never eaten a cat though. Although one never knows, we didn't have,
still don't, regulatory agencies in the Philippines. In a way they're
still as wild as your small town.


Monday, June 30, 2008

Cranberry Green Tea

Started drinking it an hour ago and
I feel better already. This is from Trader
Joe's. Lots of organic stuff.

Sick from the smoke!

I'm staying home today. This respiratory infection
started last Wednesday due to the forest fire smoke
all over California. It started with a scratchy throat
and dry nasal passages. Yesterday nose dripping began.
Started coughing before Audie's birthday dinner at
Hungry Hunter.
This is the worst bout of coughing I can remember.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Kidney Stone gone!


After my last client this afternoon, I felt an
urge and so I rushed to the toilet. I thought I will
pee in my pants, the urge was that compelling.
It was burning as the water made its way out.
And then I felt a rush down the urethra and heard
a popping sound out the meatus and lo and behold
a dark irregular ovoid on top of toilet paper in the
commode. I bent to retrieve it and the automatic
flusher came on.
It feels good not to feel the knives in my groin that
I've been feeling the last two days everytime I had to
pee.
I went out and had a drink with some co-workers.
I hadn't had a drink the past two weeks since I've
been taking medication. The previous two nights
I had to take Vicodin to get some sleep.
The biggest stone in the picture looks like mine.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Last night...

I had to take Vicodin at 2:30 in the morning to
get some sleep. I thought it was going to pass
through. Maybe it did, I feel better this morning.
No feeling of wanting to go to the toilet yet.

3rd reinstall

Yesterday, I bit the bullet and reinstalled Charlotte
for the 3rd time. I will try not to reinstall Bearshare
and any software that installs spyware. Bearshare is
the culprit in this latest corruption of the OS. Of course
if I didn't install it in the first place....

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Charlotte


I had to reinstall for the second time the
OOTB software on my Toshiba U405.
It's my fault.
At the same time I renamed it after
Charlotte Gainsbourg, one of my favorite
faces in the entertainment industry.

Love and Brimstone


Lesli's vampire-noir is coming out soon!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday the 13th strikes!

It has to happen.
What everybody has been speculating about came true.
At 8 this morning I started feeling the urge to one and two.
By 10 the feeling hasn't stopped. By then there were no
emissions anymore. And then I started feeling nauseous.
I put on my clothes and got on the bus to the emergency at
UCSF. Eva came from work to be with me. She was witness
to my almost climbing the walls, I felt like crawling out of
my skin. I puked a couple of times while trying to force
myself to pee in the pocket urinal.The doctor and the nurses
kept asking me if I was in pain.They said that my actions
through their trained eyes could only mean I was in pain.
But I was not in pain! I only wanted to pee and crap. And
I couldn't! After two of the most uncomfortable hours I've
experienced the doctor finally gave me medicine.Within a
couple of minutes the suffering went away. In another fifteen,
they've done a CAT scan. An hour later the doctor said there
is a 6mm stone in my kidney. It has made its way into the
ureter and probably is on its way to the bladder soon.

I'm supposed to take Flomax once a day for ten days in the
hope of passing the stone. It's 8:30 p.m. and I'm still normal
as possible. The doctor wrote a prescription for Ibuprofen and
Vicodin aside from the Flomax.

I will have to make an appointment with a urologist next week.
When I catch the bleeding stone I'll post a picture.

I don't wish this affliction on anybody.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Jury Duty Finished!

We finished deliberation at 3 p.m. yesterday.

There is this woman who has worked for 27 years at the
zoo. During a rainy day in February she espied a stray dog
rooting at garbage cans. She followed it until she lost track of it.
She went home and called the Animal Control. She got some
dog food and went out to look for the dog. She found it a few
blocks from her house in the front yard of another home, going
through the garbage can there. She went down to her knees and
befriended the dog. A large woman who can not speak
English ran out of the house and proceeded to grab the dog by the
collar. The good samaritan happened to have her fingers around
the collar by the front of the neck. Because of this her middle
finger was broken and is now deformed.
It got to be a little complicated.
The woman had ongoing problems with her hand in the past.
The dog cowered when the large woman who happened to be the
housecleaner came out of the house. The owner of the house
brought in a dog behavior expert to explain this cowering.
The housecleaner said she said in English to the good samaritan
thank you for finding Foxy and that her employer is the owner
of Foxy. She said on the stand that she can't speak English.
There was a certified translator. She said she didn't drag
the woman but on her deposition she said she did.
Both parties agreed the 14,000 medical bills should be paid.
The plaintiff's lawyer said his client is expected to live another
23 years, accdg to statistics, and deserves 120,000 for pain
and suffering. The defendant's lawyer said people get hurt and
go on with their lives. She deserves no more than 2,000.
We awarded the good samaritan 35,000.
She was as negligent as the housecleaner in not trying to
prevent the situation from escalating.
I almost lost it in the morning, it seemed like everybody
except me and this guy next to me were unclear about
the negligence part, and would have dragged the
deliberation forever. But I'm glad I simmered down and
got to understand how the other members were bewildered
by all the testimony and evidence.
It was a good experience for me.
I don't know if I mentioned this juror that I found quite
attractive. She was until she opened her mouth. Talk about
Flinty. I googled her when I got home, turned out she's an activist
who works for Amnesty International.
The woman next to me is a wedding gown designer who
is flying to Tokyo today for a fashion show of her designs.
She hopes to be the new Vera Wang.
I have the rest of the week off. My hands are happy.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

22 times in 30 days.

Official record for a month.

Friday, June 06, 2008

21 in 27 days

I watched it while waiting for
2 a.m., the time the bank post
my pay check.

Jury Duty, really.

Wednesday I was the first alternate,
yesterday the 12th juror sitting next to me
was found to have slept for some time.
So he was 86ed and I'm the new 12th
juror. Yeah!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Jury Duty

Got picked today, may go
to Wednesday. Will lose some money.
But in the end this will be
good for me as my hands will
get much needed rest.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

History made! 20 times in 24 days

I'm watching it now.
Dan in Real Life.

Went to jury duty earlier, the
judge had to be someplace by three
so we have to be back tomorrow.

Went and voted too!

19 in 23

I'm feeling I'm beginning to get tired of
it.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

18 in 22

Just finished watching at 3 a.m.

Friday, May 30, 2008

17 in 20 days!

Just finished watching it this p.m.
I did Taichi at the arboretum before
that. Then I found out I will not
have to do Jury duty on Monday!
Just 5 minutes ago Rosa called to
say I'm booked from 12 to 5:30
tomorrow! Will make up for Monday.

Trapeze Restaurant in Burlingame

Found a new restaurant Memorial Day.
Went to eat at Ecco but they were closed.
Trapeze was just down the next block, good
food, ambience. I had the Petrale and
Eva had the Salmon. Both were very good.
The Calamari was very good, the thickest
we've had. The glass of Pinot Grigio was
fantastic, the most expensive white wine
by the glass they serve. The waitress who
is Itlaian gave us pause for a while as she
didn't write down our order. She took
the order at the next table and then spent
five minutes talking to another patron at
another table. We got what we ordered and
everything's ooja cum spiff.
Serendipity Rocks!

http://www.trapezerestaurant.com/

Alison

Elaine, the Toshiba named after
Elaine Cassidy, wouldn't start yesterday so
I had to reinstall the OOTB software.
I decided to rename it Alison after
Alison Pill. She has such a fresh mien,
most delightful of the pleasant faces
of Dan in Real Life.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

16 in 19!

I watched it this afternoon
before I left to meet Eva to eat at
Ecco.

15 times in 18 days!

I didn't watch Dan in Real Life Monday
and Tuesday. Last night Eva and I did.

Monday, May 26, 2008

14 in 15!

Dan in real life rules.
Earlier today, Memorial Day Sunday,
Eva and I watched Hanna and her Sisters
and Keeping the Faith.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

13 in 14!

Duh!

Faltered, then recovered.

I didn't watch it Thursday, but I watched it
Friday. Which makes it 12 times in 13 days.
Eva and I watched it right after Little Miss
Sunshine. Thursday we watched Devil
wears Prada. Emily Blunt's in it.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

11 in 11.

I didn't finish it though.
I got so sleepy and had to turn it off
after the Townsend song. It was
2:30 in the a.m.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

New Record

9 times in 9 days.
I'm ashamed.

BTW. the most times I've seen a movie in
the theatre was Jesus Christ Superstar in
the early 1970s. 15 times I cut classes to see
it.

Monday, May 19, 2008

New Record


I watched this movie 8 times in 8 days.
The previous record is 20 times in one
month, but not more than 5 times in
5 days. That was You've Got Mail.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Vicky's new book

I just got Vicky's book and I will read it. It's not a genre I
usually read so it may take me awhile.
Here's what Amazon has to say:

Who's Your Alpha? by Vicky Burkholder.
Sunny Clark always thought she was the only shape shifter in the town where she grew up. But when she returns for her high school reunion, she is shocked to find that nearly the whole town can turn into one thing or another. Including her teen crush, David Maxwell.
After a challenge for position in the pack, where Sunny defeats the town's Alpha female, the real question becomes does David only want the new Alpha female, or has he always wanted Sunny just as she is?

Adrian's new book


Adrian's new book is coming out in August. Eva and I
are excited. We look forward to anything from that part
of Australia.
Here's what Amazon has to say:
For "Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait" specialist, Aloysius "Spider" Webb, time travel has lost its luster.
Working as a senior time machine repair technician, Spider has seen it all - past, present and future. Wanting more out of life, Spider hates time travel and everything that goes with it_after all, time travel cost him his job as a top investigating police officer.
Fixing time machines is a waste of Spider's talent. But he's resigned to do it until he discovers, inside a broken second-hand time machine, the corpse of a woman; brutally murdered, wrapped in plastic and duct tape. Before Spider can act on his old police instincts, the shadowy Department of Time and Space steps in and seizes the machine, the remains, and all of the evidence, and closes the investigation.
Spider wants answers, but his questions only lead to more questions; unsettling evidence, brewing trouble, and the knowledge that Spider, himself, might be involved in an epic battle at the End of Time. Who can Spider trust? And what will they tell him: the truth or what he wants to hear?

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Current Faves

Carlotta, a client this afternoon seems interested in some of the
things I blabbed about. So as a way of jumpstarting this blog,
here goes.

Anything For Billy by Larry McMurtry. A character in this
short novel, Kate Garza, a mexican bandit, provided the name
for my current car. I read this book in 1993 so is not really current.
http://tinyurl.com/5lnbyb

Dan in Real Life. I've seen this movie six times this week. Actually
I just finished watching it just now.
http://tinyurl.com/6ns5gq

Picante. A mexican restaurant in Berkeley that got a very good review
in Check,Please, Bay Area. I actually haven't been to this one, I just
mentioned it to my client because she is from Berkeley.
http://picantecocina.ypguides.net/

Ecco. Not inexpensive, it has become our favorite restaurant the past year.
Often it has become the highlight of the week, what with Eva's ongoing
treatment.
http://www.eccorestaurant.com/

La Collina. Has overtaken Buon Gusto in South San Francisco as our
favorite Italian restaurant.
http://www.lacollinaristorante.com/

Carrier. A series on PBS where a TV crew joined the crew of the
USS Nimitz on its six month deployment. We get to know some of
enlisted men and join in their lives. Really fascinating. The music
is wonderful. Got to discover new, for me, groups. Five for Fighting,
The 88, Little Barie, Atherton to name a few.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/

John Adams. HBO's adaptation of the David McCullogh book, which I
love. Stars Paul Giammati and Laura Linney and some wonderful actors
that really looked like the founding fathers.
http://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/index.html

Some more to come when I remember them.


Mark, who came in 2 hours later was flummoxed when I told him
I bought three computers the past four months. I now have a total
of 7. Each one is wireless.
The three ones are:
Asus eeepc http://tinyurl.com/6qpfhf

Acer Mini Desktop http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ASL100-UD400A-R

Toshiba U405 http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/satellite/U400

All I can remember from today.