Cute Photos on Fat Tuesday

Working from home today and have a long list of things to accomplish. Posting pictures of the cute puppy can now be crossed off. Happy Mardi Gras!

Well and Truly Sick of Snow

It has snowed every day or every other day for well over two weeks now, and I'm tired of it.

I want to ride my motorcycle - even for a qick trip to the hardware store. Last Monday I went to Arnold and at the upper end of town the roads were solidly iced over. Not good on two wheels. If it keeps up, I think I'll built some outriggers and try anyway.

I want to change the oil in our cars. They're both due, and given the mileage I'm racking up, overdue. The last three weekends have been too wet and white to even try.

I want to see my driveway. We did, for a day or two. I had shoveled and then it rained one afternoon, and that's great. All the little slushy bits washed away and the driveway and roads were perfectly clear. Then it snowed.

The long-time neighbors tell us this is unusual, so unless Al Gore's climate changes are doing it, hopefully we won't have this every year. And part of my frustration I'm sure is that with the Stockton gig I've got limited time home to do things like change our oil or build a dog run, so when the weather prevents it, it gets pushed out another week, not a day.

Thus endeth the whine.

Dogs is Fun. Snow is Somethin!

Mini Madness!

This is the car we can expect in about eight to 10 weeks. We went with the Cooper S hardtop, sport package, limited-slip diff, 10-speaker upgraded audio package and bluetooth/ipod ready.

We'll get a confirmation number in a couple of weeks and then be able to track the car from the factory in England to the ship, across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, to the port of Los Angeles. Hopefully end of March or so we'll drive it home.

Squishy-Nosed Goddess

It's how Gina hopes the villagers in Bolivia see her. It was too weird not to post.

Redneck Medical Devices

Yeah, with that title I'd be scared, too.

Here's the deal: My second toes stick out past my big toes by a substantial amount. A quarter-inch or so - and the left is worse than the right. And every winter, it gets sore and inflamed simply because everything hits it - blankets, socks, winter boots, etc. It's painful and very slow to heal because I don't think there's anything farther removed from my heart - so it gets less bloodflow.

Last night I'd had enough. I took a spare utility shelf brace and cut it down with tin snips. Smoothed the edges on a grinder. Bent it with a ball peen hammer on a vice, lined it with moleskin. Taped it over the affected toe and to the two next-door toes, so now nothing can actually touch the toes itself unless I really kick something hard. This is the result:

So far, so good. I'm trying to get my manufacturing process ISO certified now...

Snow Way!

Just in case anyone was missing weather or silly dog photos...

Go Speed-o-meter Go!

How about a break from puppy pictures just long enough for a few motorcycle parts.

This was the instrument cluster when I bought the bike. The tach (on the right) worked fine, by the speedometer/odometer did not. (The trip reset dial did work, but since it didn't ever register any miles, there wasn't much call to use it.)



It took a while to find a decent cluster on the eBay that went for what I wanted to pay, but a while ago I did. It required complete disassembly, lubrication and reassembly. I relocated my working tach into the new cluster housing, painted both needles and put it back together.

That's when I discovered that the speedometer cable was also bonky, but that's been replaced.


Here's how it looks now. I'd go test it, but it's sleeting outside, and riding in the sleet doesn't sound like much fun!

Dogs Is Funny

Gus went to the vet today to get fixed. (38.1 pounds...) He'll come home tomorrow, and if he's in a cone-head, I'm sure we'll post pictures.

I was in Stockton today for my first day, so Diane and Idgie had the house to themselves. Without the boys - especially Gus, of course - it was quieter around here.

So at one point this afternoon, Diane was in the kitchen cooking and Idgie carried in Hedgie and dropped him on the floor beside her. Diane said Idgie carried Hedgie like she was trying to avoid getting cooties, and kinda snuck away after she dropped him.

Idgie does not play with toys, period. So you have to wonder what she was saying. "I know you miss him, here's his toy?" "Where's that annoying little dog you brought home?" Some combination of the two?

Dogs is funny. I like 'em.

Vulture Dog!

Remember Snoopy, hanging out in a tree being a vulture?

Apparently Gus goes, too...

Christmas Memories

Christmas came to Avery again, and it's always a wonderful day. This year, it included the traditional tree, with decorations...

Cookies made and inspected...

Idgie getting even with racoons...

Opening presents...

A nap!

Lots of great food...

Odd kids in Russian hats...






Getting sleepy...

And a good night's rest! Merry Christmas to all.

A Spirited Driving Experience

A Mini Cooper update, for those following the action from home:

We drove a Cooper S this morning on the way to bring Frankie home from Berkeley. The one we drove in Sacramento a while ago was a regular Cooper, and we were in Friday-evening city traffic when we drove it (and with the sales lady in the back seat.)

Today was different. East Bay Mini didn't feel the need to tag along, just gave us the keys and sent us off on our way. (I guess Minis truly do sell themselves...) We had a 6-speed Cooper S, and our quest for better mileage might be detoured by the sound of the engine about 4,000 RPM... Well, a little at least.

The car is an absolute blast to drive. Quick, nimble, easy to see around you (which is major problem in most sports and sporty cars.) Gotta sell me some books and buy one!

Stockton

Very sad and disturbing news in Stockton, today. The man I work for at Lao Family was murdered last night outside the non-profit's office on Hammer Lane.

His name was Pheng Lo. He learned English as a janitor in Florida after fleeing Laos in the 1970s, got into social service work in Denver, and has been at Lao Family, mostly as Executive Director, since the mid-1980s. From what another employee told me, he wasn't robbed, just shot as he closed up the office for the evening and locked the door.

That's really all I know. I have no idea who or why anyone would do this, and don't know what it will mean for the agency. A period of struggle, to be sure, but I hope after that the agency will continue.

Random Updates and Room to Breathe

It's a rainy Tuesday monring and for the first time in three weeks or so, I don't have a thing listed in my appointment calendar or on my to-do list.

So today I get to take a deep breath.

Mostly I've been busy with grants. Three major applications, due on three successive Mondays. Got the last one wrapped up Sunday night (I was up and working on it at 5:30 a.m.) and now have to just wait and see if I hit on any of them.

Had a meeting in Davis yesterday with a public/private institute on the Davis campus. They need good out reach and writing, and it could be a nice ongoing partnership.

Have two other projects past the first-draft phase, awaiting client feedback, and a couple of others in the conceptual or out-to-bid phase. Had a nice conversation with my book editor on Friday, and it was all of the things I've heard from other publishers, minus all the "buts." They like it, they get it and they think they can sell it. ("It'll be an easy sell," my editor said.) The contract department is slow and already on holiday time, so it'll be early January before I sign the contract and get the first half of the advance.

I do have chapters on my white board now, including one I'm supposed to finsih by Friday. (My deadline, not the publishers.) So I guess I could consider that an item on my to-do list today.

Nah. Today is a mental health day. I've been repairing/restoring a speedometer I got on the eBay for my BMW, and today may be the day I get to spend a little time on it. Unless, of course, the phone rings.

Oh yeah - the storms hanging out today and tommorow might just make this a white Christmas in This Land. Haven't had snowfall here yet, but it's falling not too far up the hill. I'll post photos if it happens.

31.6 Pounds of Gusness

Gus got another shot today and he's 31.6 pounds, about 14 weeks or so. New collar. Same goofus!

Baggy Pants and a Big-Ass Hat

Here's a picture of the Cal Band marching out on the field, led by the guy dressed funny in the baggy pants and big hat.

It's interesting, today, in that next year, it'll be Frankie wearing those pants and that hat. Tonight he was elected Drum Major of the University of California Marching Band!!

Puppy and Puck

Need we say more?

A Constantly Evolving Plan...

Yes, we're still focused on cars here in This Land, and this is the latest.
This is the new Mini Cooper, redesigned for 2007 and beyond, although it's hard to see the changes. Why are we looking at such a car? There are at least 35 reasons - each one of them a mile-per-gallon the Mini gets.

We like both of our current vehicles, but bought both when we had a bicycle touring company and to use with the bicycle touring company. I love having a truck, but use it as a truck less then 5% of the time. The rest of the time, I'm highway driving in a 20-mpg vehicle. Diane's SUV gets 22, and although we will always want to have one 4-wheel-drive vehicle for the snow up here, it also doesn't need to be an all-the-time daily driver.

In San Francisco this weekend we checked out the Minis at the auto show, and compared them to the Altima Coupe I liked and a few others, and both quite liked it. I'd never sat in one before and wasn't sure how well I'd fit, but there's tons of room.

Been doing the research, and the redesigned model gets high marks. They used to get dinged hard on reliability, but now rank "above average" by consumer reports. The car reviews like them, and if you keep the options in check they're not expensive (especially compared to everything else I've been looking at.)

Did a spreadsheet today to see what one Cooper S could save us, based on it replacing 60 percent of our current miles. Even with it using premium gas, we'd save $1500 to $1800 a year in gas (depending on where prices go), more if it replaces more of our current miles.

So who knows. Plans form. And as careful readers might have noticed, change...

Well That Kinda Sucked...

The best thing I can say about Cal's season-ending loss to Stanford in the big game Saturday is 1) Stanford's new stadium really is rather nice, and 2) We got free tickets.

Wasn't much else positive to say. The Bears will play in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth (we are not going), which is nice for them (maybe) and nice for Frankie and the band. So, go band!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a puppy picture or two, in case anybody was in withdrawls...

OK Already

As ordered, here are new puppy pictures...

Got second puppy shots the other day and Gus is up to 20.3 pounds.

Yes, that's a funnel he's carrying...

That New Car Smell

No, no new car. All we have is the new puppy smell (still good) and the new puppy was here smell (not as good.)

I did go to the Sacramento Auto Show on Monday afternoon, just to kick some tires and try out some driver's seats. As you might remember, I've been interested in getting a sporty coupe for a while now, so I thought I'd take a look at some new options.

And I learned some stuff. First, the Infiniti G37 is no better than the G35 from a driver's seat perspective. So Infiniti is still on the out list. Second, Pontiac continues to earn domestic cars' crappy reputation. The seat-adjustment lever just about broke off in my hand. I'd looked a a Scion tc once before and was reasonably impressed, but looking at the one at the show left me less so. The interior is really parts-bin stuff.

The BMW 335i remains a very nice competitor, but there was also an Audi S5 there that topped it. Not a fair comparison - the A5 would be apples to apples (the S5 vs. the M3 would be fair), but I don't know I've ever sat in a nicer interior than the Audi. Purpose-built for driving at an invigorating rate of speed. There was no A5 there to compare, and the BMW that was there was all plushed out for luxery.

One car I went to see was the Honda Civic Si coupe, which isn't bad on the inside but does look funky on the outside. The Honda Accord coupe was just the reverse - looks OK from the outside, but the seats just felt odd and out of place somehow.

Two cars surprised me. One was the Subaru Legacy sedan, Spec B edition. Sporty and pretty classy looking all at the same time. The real surprise of the show for me, though, was this car, the Nissan Altima coupe. Nice looking outside, nice looking anf feeling inside, reasonably priced and reasonably fuel efficient (23/31 with the 4-cylinder, 19/27 with the 6).

What I really was able to do was eliminate and include cars at different price points. (All of which are beyond mine for the next number of years.) At $20,000, it's the Civic. At $25-$30,000, it's the Altima, hands down. At $40,000, it's the BMW (at least until I see an A5), and at $50,000, it's the S5.

At $80,000, it's the Audi R8, but that's a whole 'nother story...

Sometimes it's Calm...

That squirrel was even too weird for me, so we'll get back to some pretty dog pictures. Here's a calm moment.

Here's a more typical moment...

Embrace the Weirdness!

Oh, that's right - I can't!

Grrrragh, Grrrrrragh, Grrrrragh

Here's a cool thing about having a cute dog: I don't have to write nothing and my blog is still fun to visit.

Enjoy the cuteness!