The sporting world is shocked by yet another doping charge ... I mean this guy on performance enhancing chemicals? It's hard to believe... but that seems to be the case. Herb mentioned that:
Sam appreciated any opportunity to climb upon a rock.
Here we are sharing our exploring ideas from atop a rock
Mary and Sam took to the hills, rocks and trees together. They are a bit hobbitish at times. (As pointed out earlier by my anonymous commenter, they have the correct names for it.)
We are so thrilled to have such a lovely Open Space in our backyard. Although, it has a very unamerican vibe to it. I feel more like we're in the Cotswolds or New Zealand or some such away place.
No really, that's his middle name ... no quotes "Layout" here ... just Layout. Learned that today.Which is cheaper?
12 ounce can for 75 cents or 20 ounce bottle for $1.25 … shoot, they both come out to 6.25 cents/ounce.
Which is better for the environment?
According to the Stanford Recycling Center (down 101 a bit) “Aluminum cans become new aluminum cans, car parts, or any other aluminum product. Plastic soda bottles become new plastic containers, fiberfill for pillows or sleeping bags, and car parts.” So, both can be recycled easily. Virtually everywhere I turn .. bottles and cans are given equal "recyclability" billing.
Obviously, the can has less calories, high fructose corn syrup and other bad things … but this is a rare treat for me, so it also has less of the tasty beverage I am seeking. I eat and drink way too healthy to allow 8 ounces to influence.
You know what I hate? When I purchase a carbonated beverage and it falls from a high vending precipice only to come out pre-shaken, ready to burst stickiness on my pool-cue resting area. Can-vending usually lines everything up vertically, so it comes from the bottom. … No luck, the bottle is on the bottom rack, too.
But this is good … let’s look at how to prevent disappointments. I hate when you get something from a vending machine and it just rests on the glass waiting to come your way … enenenenenenenennnn .. clunk … hate that. I should get a can. But wait … what if I press the coca-cola button and instead I am served a lime diet coke? That would be horrible.
Alright … let’s leave it up to someone else and my friends at justcurio.us, so I posted this question: Bottle or Can? Oh, I just got a response … that was fast!
“neither wad” –
right. Hmmm, that wasn’t nice. It’s that kind of charm that lost you the empire, my friend.
“I take it in the can” – United States
excellent. Makes me kinda want to move to the
…
Yep. That did the trick. The machine even has a little tease, “Thirsty?” Damn straight, I’m thirsty. Just writing this blog entry has given me a sandpaper sponge tongue.
And no new updates on the justcurio.us side of things…
Alright … time to decide. Or ask Google.
Here we go, a page titled, Soda Bottle or Can Pollution … oh, I hadn’t thought about my waste product trapping some harmless animal. Geesh, that would be horrible! Maybe I should get a can, so I can crush it and make sure nothing gets trapped inside. But then I might make a sharp edge that turns into a duckling decapitator. That wouldn’t be good.
OK, time to turn to our government … we have a whole department within
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Oh wait, my mail icon is alerting me that we have a new answer to the question!
Oh bless you!
Yes, I got a Coke ... oh yum.
While I did just write about my love for words and getting a ring which represented that side of me, for some reason numbers have also always fascinated me, specifically the patterns. I love seeing them just happen randomly. This is one of the reasons I play close attention to the weather and baseball; it is all about the numbers. When I am bored in a meeting, I seek out the calculator and start playing the 142857 game. I am excited to see other people who have the same fascination, with the appearance of books like Freakanomics in the social sciences and The Wages of Wins in sports.
When Mary and I decided to get married, we thought we should buy our own rings ... and make a pact to get rings that really displayed our personalities and individuality, beyond our sharing lives together. Mary's ring (prominently displayed in a previous blog entry picture) is an antique one-of-a-kind ring, for a one-of-a-kind person. The stones are small green tourmalines, shaped like leaves, to symbolize her love for nature.
Nick Charles: I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.While I enjoyed the book, I much preferred the films and Myrna Loy's perfect depiction. One of my favorite tid-bits is that Nora was based on Hammett's lover, Lillian Hellman (a couple with more double constants in their name than I can shake a stickk at). She was apparently quite the "tough cookie."
Nora Charles: I read where you were shot 5 times in the tabloids.
Nick Charles: It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.
Nora Charles: How many drinks have you had?
Nick Charles: This will make six Martinis.
Nora Charles: [to the waiter] All right. Will you bring me five more Martinis, Leo? Line them right up here.
I buy lots of spy novels, not because they diverge from the spy novel model, but because they conform to it. I want my spy to have a troubled home life, and an impenetrable gaze and to be handy with a revolver.However, Mouse breaks away just enough to make the reader question the outcome. Most sidekicks are very predictable, they are guardian angels of the detective. Mouse is only slightly more likely to kill the "bad guy" as he is to shoot Easy or some other "friendly". It is an uneasy (no pun intended) comfort to have him in the scene. He is a killer, such as from the Devil in the Blue Dress movie:
You said don't shoot him, right? Well I didn't; I strangled him. If you didn't want me to kill him, why did you leave me alone with him?A bonus to the whole thing, Mouse is played by Don Cheadle.
[T]he eccentricity of Depp's approach sent ripples of panic through Disney's executive suites. Frantic phone calls were placed to Verbinski, Bruckheimer, and Depp's agent: Why is he walking funny? Why is he talking like that? Is he gay? Is he drunk? And it wasn't only the suits who were concerned: ''The first scene I did with Johnny, I was like, What the f--- are you doing?'' Knightley says. ''None of us knew if it was going to work.''Depp was not to be deterred. ''It was just fuel to go further,'' he says. 'not because I wanted to piss Disney off, but because I believed it was the right thing to do. Finally, I said, 'Look, you hired me to do the gig. If you can't trust me, you can fire me. But I can't change it.' It was a hard thing to say, but f--- it.''
One of my favorite films of all time is High Noon (as I exuberantly explained to Eric and Pancake one party-filled night). In this film, you have the exact opposite going on. Gary Cooper puts on one of the "plainest" performances in the history of award winning film. According to the making-of documentary, Copper's performance live was unremarkable in so many ways, there were feelings that he just plain "missed it." However, when they turned to the film, the charisma of the character grabbed the viewers' attention and would not let go. Completely different performances, but same result ... The actor was allowed to move forward and carry the film.
Geesh, I hope everyone is staying cool today... let's note, Mid-July will be a good time to come visit next year.
As Mary mentioned, we recently had the opportunity to see a Great Horned Owl at Point Reyes. I have to admit "see" is almost an exaggeration. As you can witness from the pictures, this grand beast had selected a well-hidden place, despite the crystal blue sky. At first, I was admittedly disappointed in our inability to get a good view of him. 
However as I hiked this weekend (again along Point Reyes), I saw bird aplenty scooting around everywhere, including many clumsy California Quails. This got me thinking ... I am glad I did not see that owl out in the open. What a bummer that would be. Look at these pictures ... this bird is the Batman of Birdworld, cleaning up the groundfloor of plaguing rodents. Hidden, caked in shadow despite a high noon sun and a bare tree. Seeing the Great Horned Owl on a sunny tree stump would be like seeing Batman hanging out with Scooby-Doo. Mary has the camera in South Carolina, so no new pictures this week. Plus, I am currently pre-occupied with the Civil War, thanks to Ken Burns and Blockbuster.
Eric, apparently the red and blue thing started pretty early eh?
When we had the Brüderlichkeit beer fest in Chicago, I saw a guy with this great brown shirt that had the Damen Brown Line stop on it. As I mentioned before, the El and CTA would be something I missed about Chicago, and I do. I knew I would want a piece of this institution to carry with me .. however, I also knew the tankard of beer would limit my memory cells. Cell phone to the rescue ... the shirt had a url on the back which I entered in my address book. Now months later, I am able to track it down. Does this mean one day I can just carry around a complete robotic brain? Wow, that'll make life easier.
It was such a simple thing to make, and incredibly delicious. We didn't even need rice or anything, just the shrimp and salsa. In fact, you are going to be tempted too add other ingredients ... DON'T. We opted for keeping the jalepeno seeds in, and it was spicy! You definitely could leave them out if you want a "reasonable level." Mary provided some nice natural decoration to the patio dining environment.
Yum!
The ice cream joint was a step above a lemonade stand. A little place where we listened to "play that funky music" and got one scoop for $3 even. Sure we could have gone to Bell Market across the parking lot and gotten a whole gallon for cheaper, but we all know where that leads to ... ice cream EVERY night.
The walk up the hill gets easier and easier ... especially post-cone. And the reward at the top is quite nice also: a view of Mt. Tam during sunset. (Good eye Mary, finding this shot.)
Happy birthday, Dad. I pulled out a couple of pics from the vault (warning: my scanner is not very good). Thanks for helping make the move to Marin possible, well at least a lot easier. Much obliged. When I was just in Chicago, Eric and I were discussing my dad and the longevity of his career ... we realized he must be celebrating his 30th year at the hospital... geez, that is really impressive. For those of you who didn't grow-up with a physician in the home, the incredible dedication they maintain is really something. I can easily recall the sacrifices he had to make to his (and our) time and recreation in order to meet the medical needs of our community, as well as supporting his family. Growing up with it, you don't really appreciate it .. it is what doctors do. However, as I have built my own career and learned the importance of things like flexibility and freedom, I've come to understand what he gave-up in order to be a physician.
My dad is also "fishing" to me. I was one of those stupid kids that just didn't get the joy of fishing until much later in my life (much like two of my passions: vegetables and baseball). However, as I sit on the couch tonight and plan my creek/forest/ocean hike for Sunday, I know where that excitement comes from. As a kid, I saw fishing as early morning animal slaughter ... I did not realize the beauty of the fog on the bayou with only the smell of gasoline in the air (to this day, the smell of gasoline is fishing). A time in the morning when you are only joined by the waking sun as orange meets brown-gray water, giant egrets and steadfast mallards. I would hang over the side of the boat, thinking I was "bored" .. but instead I was gazing at whole ecosystems: watching life happen under the mossy water. I would eventually come to appreciate the skill and patience of the sport and the tranquility of its environment. Not to mention fresh fish on the dinner plate. Eric and Dad can both attest to the fact that I did appreciate the wind in my face as Dad raced the brown Monarch through the Atchafalaya. Good times.
Mary forwarded on to me an initiative from the Ocean Conservancy, regarding "Protecting California's Coast."
I have to admit the images on the site got me nostalgic for Blue Planet and the propaganda stirred me, so I "took action." Which basically meant that the site sent an e-mail to Governor Schwarzenegger, expressing their views from my e-mail address.
Well, I got a reply fairly quickly ... from Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is amazing how a form letter from a known identity has so much more behind it (here is the closing from the e-mail):
Thank you for taking the time to write.
resources.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Normally, when I read such letters, I just give them the "blah-blah-blah" skim job. But once I have an identity to attach to it, and I can actually read voices and see mannerisms, suddenly thewords become interesting. I have received these kinds of things from people like Schwarzenegger, Obama, Daley, Blagojevich, Elizabeth Dole, Bush(es),
Now, Mary sent me something about Mayor Newsom's initiatives ... I tried to read about it, but I don't know how to mimic him yet ... so I quickly faded into imagining Commando standing at Point Reyes swinging a giant uprooted redwood trunk at ocean-attacking robotic bugs, complete with water-and-fish-draining elephant trunks.
Then I realize, when it comes to politics, I am part of the problem, not the solution...
Well, Mary and I are having our last grown-up weekend now. While we do miss Sam very, very, very much, it has been nice to spend some time together, especially with all the exploring we need to do. And sure enough, we ventured out again.
The mountain had some great trails where we found many opportunities to grab views of all of Marin.
Lizards were constantly scrurrying...
And the occasional varmit could be found snacking. The Mt. Tam Tree Varmit is not to be confused with the Utah Ground Varmit. [It should also be noted that I prefer the coloquial var-mit pronunciation, over the correct spelling varmint. Moreover, I find these animals to be wonderful, fascinating creatures.]
Today was a bit warm and sunny, so we decided to head to the beach for our picnic, since it was blanketed in fog. We found the secret trail to Bolinas: where dogs and surfers walk the beach panting with joy.
The fog burned off shortly after our beach walk and the especially soft sand provided a great picnic and reading spot.
Yes the beard is gone. Of course in Bolinas, that meant I was the minority.
Like many bloggers, I work in advertising. The over-representation of ad people in blogging, is probably near the over-representation of white guys in our industry.
Many people first decide to get into advertising because of one word: CREATIVITY.
Mary finally got sick of me spending so much time blogging. (The whole couples and the internet thing is an interesting discussion.) So, she started her own blog (you can see the link to it to the right permanently or just below).
So yesterday, we were trying to decide what to do with our extra 2 days of weekend. We obviously have many options still left. However, we had just bought our "new" car!! (a 2001 Honda Accord, see below), so we thought it best to do some driving to check it out. And, what better place to drive than Highway 1. We threw some camping stuff in the car and took off (we live in Tiburon at the bottom right, the yellow road along the coast is Highway 1). After passing many an opportunity for oyster eating, we ended up at an oceanside state park, Salt Point (the little red A)
We set up our little tent in a nice wooded campsite with a peek of the ocean. The campground is nice; it actually had flushable toilets and sinks. I loved being able to have a post-smores handwashing.
We hiked from our tent through some woods, where we found the occasional creek and waterfall to a beautiful area: Gerstle Cove. We watched the waves crashing against the rocks ...
Observed the interesting wildlife and sandstone geological patterns ...
Amazingly despite it being July 3rd, there was not a soul around. We saw more woodpeckers (3) than people (2) on the path.
After a flame-cooked sausage dinner, smores dessert, some fire poking, and a pillowless sleep (thank you backpacks), we woke-up early and packed-up. We started the 100-mile drive home. But first, we made a quick stop at Stump Beach, along the way.
The morning light and waves provided a nice start to the morning.
We drove back through a winding hill-road in Sonoma, where we encountered cattle and many of the Dry Creek Valley vineyards.
Happy Independence Day everyone. And Happy Birthday Mom!
