it's the last day of the year...

how are those resolutions holding up???

superhero

I was killing some time on the internet and found this beauty on Cindys blog. You too can take the test. I had no idea that I was such a hot head... but I do get this sweet ring...


Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 70% Iron Man 70% Catwoman 70% Spider-Man 70% The Flash 70% Superman 65% Robin 60% Wonder Woman 60% Supergirl 60% Hulk 40% Batman 25%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

90 mpg!!!

Dang... I love the scooter... I took it downtown to work today and parked it with all the other bikes... I also filled it up for the first time and figured that I am getting about 80 to 90 miles per gallon. Great news since gas is creeping up again... this was the best way to spend my tax return!!

In other hippie news... you may remember those tree sitters a way back... well a judge stopped the construction of the new stadium today in Berkeley. The trees are saved (for the time being anyway). Good job protesters... reminds me of my Humboldt State days...

Talk about a big package...

I just bought this today off Craigs list... I love it!

Poaching...

For years I have listened to NPR. Their coverage of world events, music and culture are informative and often humorous. This is especially true on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10am when Car Talk is on. Those guys kill me every week. I have learned that my next car should be a Subaru since they often plug them...
There is other great programming that I enjoy, Fresh Air, Morning Edition, All things considered and my favorite news quiz show Wait, wait, don't tell me. I want Karl Castle's voice on my answering machine... I love NPR!
So why do I always get annoyed when they have their fundraiser drive? Why do I change the channel when the ask for money and beg their listeners to contribute? Why is there overwhelming guilt during these fundraiser drives? Why do I poach?
The answer was simple... I am poor. I am a starving student. This, of course is a lie, I am not that poor. I can contribute $100 a year. I have been listening for years... it is the least I can do.

So when the announced there recent drive... I gave in and signed up to give $25 measley dollars every quarter. the best part was the gifts I got. As you may know... I love packages and this beauty was sitting on my doorstep this afternoon. A messenger bag. I also should be expecting a tin of chocolate and an emergency radio. I am excited about that. I totally forgot about these gifts which is cool since I can expect more rad packages in the mail. sweet!

Cal train...

Betsy's parents were in California this week and we got together to have dinner in Palo Alto. I took Cal train down to meet them. This was my first time taking Cal-train from the city and the first time I took the N-Judah past the ballpark. Quite exciting for sure!
The Station is pretty nice. All glass and open...
Also they have this sweet patriotic theme inside. As you can see it is large but there are few benches to sit down and wait for your train. I guess most people are commuters and do have to wait for a connecting train.
the train is a double-decker and of course I sat up top. That way I can peek into everyone's back yard...
I wonder if this is their favorite band too...
as you can see (sort of) the train is pretty long which is a good thing. There were a few annoying kids and thier parents did a bad job with discipline that sat in the first car. I simply went ahead to the next car to get away from them. Why is it always the case when you travel? Too bad we don't have that option on airplanes!
My final destination was California ave. in Palo alto. Their train station, not that glamorous. kind of looks like a taco stand. I expect more from this town. Come on Stanford...

Trains are cool. It is hard to imagine that at one time it was the fastest way to travel. Railroads were key in settling the west. I am reading this book and it discusses the role railroads had on settling this region that for many centuries before was never used by inhabitants for long term settlement. Quite an interesting read. Railroads are in danger of becoming extinct. Rail travel across the U.S. has declined due to the high cost. Americans are just not riding trains. We would rather drive.

another package...

Yes... another package. I love internet shopping...
I got a package from J.fold who is an originator of the sports wallet! I saw one in the store while Christmas shopping and liked it immediately. The website has a plethora of colors and styles and for the time being they have free shipping. I decided to pick my own.
Look how petty it looks in its decorative tin.
As you can see, I really needed a new wallet. This green number I picked up in Japan town at the dollar store. It has lasted awhile even when the zippers broke the first week and the stitching on the inside was falling apart the first month. I have had this wallet for about a year.
as you can see... gross!!!

All my cards fit in so nice and are visible when opening my wallet. No more searching for the right card at the counter! I am excited about the new wallet, but sad since I am not expecting more packages...

GOLD!!

was discovered today in California way back in 1849. This discovery was a major reason why California became a state. Also started the great migration to the west to strike it rich. Some things never change...

schools out forever....

It was the first day of class for the spring semester, today at SFSU. Lots of people running around trying to find a classroom, long bookstore lines, no parking. To this I say HA HA to them all. I am done with school. No more classes at State for me! YES!
My job at the CG Lab is also coming to a close. No longer will I have to come in and try and find something to do. I will miss my peeps though!
I do have this thesis thing that I need to finish. Luckily I have the ENTIRE month of Feb off before I start my new job March 5th. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to kill my time? Is anyone going anywhere that month? let me know...

Packages in the mail....

I got a package in the mail today! I love getting packages in the mail. It is like Christmas all over. You know, shifting through the bills, super saver coupons, grocery store sale papers, and other junk mail, when suddenly you see a package with your name on it... Or when you walk up to your door and there is that familiar brown box with a white label sitting there... of course you know what the package contains (unless you are a chronic Internet buyer) but the excitement is great anyway.

Today I got the new Shins album in the mail from Sub Pop records! What a great company Sub Pop is!

not only do they send me the cd but I also got 3 stickers and a button of some guy... What an awesome surprise... I have listened to the album 3 times so far and it keeps getting better and better. This album showcases a different shins sound compared to their other albums... I like it though.
Packages rock, especially when you don't expect extras! I have another package due from here so hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised again!

and the winner is....

So in an effort to know what is going on at the Golden Globes, betsy and I watched 4 movies in 5 days. On Wed, we watched "Notes on a Scandal" Friday, "Babel", Sat "Children of Men" and Sun, "Dreamgirls". My favorite movie was Children of Men. The idea was intersting, where humans were sterile and there are no children left on the planet. The movie also showcases lawlessness, kind of like how Iraq must feel. A great movie, but I think it is too new and wasn't nominated for anything. I loved the cinematography!

I was sure that Dreamgirls was going to win tons of awards in that there has been much hype surrounding this movie. It was good, I mean who doesn't like a musical, but I felt it wasn't the best movie of the year... "Little Miss Sunshine" was my pick for best picture-comedy/musical.

I also had my money on "The Departed" taking best picture in the drama category. Babel took top honer. I liked "Babel", especially how America always assumes terrorism whenever something happens to Americans overseas.... I thought that was brilliant, but the story was too wide, especially with the daughter. The Departed was a better film in my opinion, better cast and interesting characters.

The best part of the show (and unfortunately I did not get to see the entire show, dam you 24), was the acceptance speeches. The award winners were caviler in their thanking, especially Meryl Streep and Hugh Lauri. Good times.

the library...

so the other day when I was kicking butt at court I had the chance to visit the main public library in San Francisco. It is located in the civic center near city hall and the federal court house. It is kind of ironic that the location of our civic resources and the main storehouse of knowledge is located in a ghetto. There are homeless people, defecation, and drug use all in plain sight. There are often foul smells emulating from the downstairs lobby in the library where there is free internet access, so I tend to avoid this area and head upstairs to the 4th floor where there are workstations and free wi-fi. It is sad really since I used to love going to the library as a kid to read but would probably be frightened to visit the main library back then. Sad.

While paying my fines on the first floor (oops!) I noticed the dvd section. They have all sorts of educational and foreign films. They may have blockbusters but I did not see any. I picked up a few documentaries:
-Golden Gate (doc about the building of the bridge)
-Hollywood: An empire of their own (the formation of la as a movie empire)
-Slasher (doc about a used car salesmen)
-The fantastic world of M.C. Escher (doc about his art and its meaning)
-What happened to Kerouac? (doc about how fame changed him)

I have watched the golden gate one which was interesting. Strauss, the designer was consumed by the building of the bridge. It was his masterpiece... and he died shortly after it was finished...

So check out your neighborhood public library... you never know what gems you can find...

beating the rap....

On the morning of November 19, 2006 I was ticketed for not having a current registration sticker and parking in an "illegal" spot in the presidio. The fines for both tickets were $184 which is a large amount of money. It was a crushing blow especially since I have been parking in the same spot off and on for about 1.5 years without incident.

I got my registration for my car on time, placed it in my glove compartment and subsequently forgot about it.... oops. It was now going to cost me $124 in fees and fines. Yikes. That is more than I paid to register my car in the first place! I decided to fight it! I figured that I had a good case since the spot were I was parked is not marked with a red line like the rest of the curbs in my neighborhood.
Here is the spot in question. Notice there is no grass growing near the the curb and obvious use of the area for parking.


This photo show the "scene of the crime" in a closer view. There is no red curb and obvious compaction of the soil where there is no grass growing, indicating impaction caused by multiple cars using the site.
This picture is from across the street with an obvious red line painted on the side of the road. I was in the right and I knew it...

Today I got up super early to go to court downtown and fight for dismissal. I have to admit... the process was smooth. I got there early and was the first to sign up and see the clerks. Everyone was so helpful and friendly and were accommodating to everyone. They were even smiling! It was a pleasant experience. Not at all like our lovely DPT folks who look at you with scorn as they help you...The clerks saw my photos and documentation verifying that my car was registered and dismissed both counts. I was so happy!

Schwarzenegger a communist???

So not sure if you all follow politics or anything but after listening to our governor's state of the state address I was left with the thought that he turning into a communist. First off, he called for universal heath care for all Californians, then reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and finally new bond measures to build infrastructure. The best part is that he wants the taxpayers to foot the bill. He even labels the new taxes as fees...

Now being an Californian without health care and a desire to reduce greenhouse gasses, I was completely taken aback when I heard this rhetoric. This was the same guy who's platform was fiscal responsibility, ending runaway spending and not raising taxes. He does not sound like a Republican much anymore. Tatanka is going to be upset... I hope this moderate side of the Governor will continue.

oh by the way, our top priority should be getting out of debt, locally and federally. We need a balanced budget now!

first week of the new year....

how are those resolutions going? I do not believe in them. Why do you need the new year to decide you need to eat better and exercise more? Especially when you give them up mid-February? Eating well and exercising should be constant goals one works on throughout the year. I hate going to the gym this time of the year because it is sooo crowded with resolutions folks that it makes it hard to work out... Luckily they tend to drop out by mid-February and we regulars get our gym back!

The resolutions I make tend to be something fun like mastering the short board (surfing) or something that I want to do like entering a race (triathlon). But this year my resolutions are to 1) quit drinking pop 2)use my turn signals all the time and 3)read the scriptures every day. I blew the first one the first day of the year but the other two are going well. Pop is everywhere and I do not know what drink to substitute while eating my lunch. It is hard to get away from high fructose corn syrup. Any ideas?

sustainability...

So for the Christmas shopping season I managed to by all my gifts (except for the TV) at local shops and boutiques around town. I really did not set out to do this but while looking for unique gifts for friends and family it just happened. I am really proud of this. What with globalization and all. So when I opened my favorite weekly today I was excited to read an article about this very issue. The report was conducted by the Business Alliance for Local Living Economics based in Berkeley (i think) Check the link above and read it. You too can make a difference. As consumers we have the power to dictate how consumer products are made by buying top quality products produced locally or in our country using American workers. I know it is impossible to stop globalization. Large manufacturing firms use foreign workers and factories as a cheap resource, often closing factories here for cheaper labor. In order to stay competitive companies have to cut cost wherever they can. By shopping local companies who make their products in this country, we can keep or money in this community instead of cooperate headquarters.
Check out the SFLOMA website for local businesses.

broken axis...

So it is the beginning of a new year. Lots of things have happened in the last week. First of all we lost a president, Gerald Ford. He had the tough job of taking over after Nixon was caught.Then Saddam Hussein was executed for his crimes against humanity.
What good did his death serve? none, with all this controversy stirred up by the leaked tape of his execution... Who knows when stability will ever return to the region. His death did nothing to ease the tensions among the people of Iraq. We are heading for a civial war (if not already there) in Iraq and with the call for an increase in the number of troops to the area, things are not getting any better. Sad.

Well it looks like my blog is now turning into a report of all the people that die in the world. Kind of morbid. Not that I intended for this to happen....