So here we are getting about as wild and crazy as we get these day.
Friday, December 22, 2006
The Office Christmas Lunch….
Yesterday we, the employees of Infostat that is, went out for our celebratory Christmas lunch. Actually it was a combination Christmas celebration and software release celebration (we have been working on a new release of our software for what seems like ages now and we finally got something that we are comfortable with releasing this week).
So here we are getting about as wild and crazy as we get these day.
So here we are getting about as wild and crazy as we get these day.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
A very happy Christmas to all....
Well it is Christmas time again and the very best of Christmas wishes to one and all. In my Christmas Card again this year I said – no Christmas letter, just go here to my blog, if you want to catch up on what I have been doing. Well that is perhaps not a reasonable thing to do – there is a lot of stuff here for the past year, most of it pretty trivial and meaningless stuff and I couldn’t expect anyone to wade through it all. So, just in case you followed the instructions in the Christmas Card and ended up here – here is the abridged version.
Too much running – I ran the 50 Km Way Too Cool run in March, then the American River 50 Miler in April, and then because a marathon seems like a lot less than a 50 mile run, I ran the Stockholm Marathon in June (its still 26 miles and when the guy on crutches passed me at mile 24, I realized I need to train more for these things). There was a fairly quiet summer with a little bit of hiking thrown in and a visit from my mother, who at 87 made another trip across the Atlantic. Finally, to finish the year, there was a vacation in Chile (the highlight of the year) and now its Christmas. Oh and did I mention work – there was a lot of that, while so many of you out there seem to be retiring already you lucky lot.
That’s it -my 2006 in a nutshell. I hope you all have a great Christmas and I wish you the best for 2007.
Too much running – I ran the 50 Km Way Too Cool run in March, then the American River 50 Miler in April, and then because a marathon seems like a lot less than a 50 mile run, I ran the Stockholm Marathon in June (its still 26 miles and when the guy on crutches passed me at mile 24, I realized I need to train more for these things). There was a fairly quiet summer with a little bit of hiking thrown in and a visit from my mother, who at 87 made another trip across the Atlantic. Finally, to finish the year, there was a vacation in Chile (the highlight of the year) and now its Christmas. Oh and did I mention work – there was a lot of that, while so many of you out there seem to be retiring already you lucky lot.
That’s it -my 2006 in a nutshell. I hope you all have a great Christmas and I wish you the best for 2007.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
More Chile Trip Photos
I decided to post the photographs of my recent Chile trip to a SmugMug site. It seems to be a reasonable means of sharing photos with friends without having to have them log on or create accounts so I will give it a try for a while.
However, one of the problems with digital photography and large memory cards is that you can end up taking so many pictures of more or less the same thing in the hope that at least one will turn out to be really good and worth saving. Of course, that’s exactly what I did – armed with a 2 GB card I was never in danger of filling it up and as a result, when I got home, I had lots of different shots of the same mountain range from every possible angle and a dozen shots from the funicular railway in Valparaiso, not to mention the desert landscapes – way too many brown rocks.
So if you just want the highlights of the trip you can visit the Best Of Chile Vacation gallery, if you have more time to kill, or if you were on the the Torres Del Paine hike, you can visit the Patagonia gallery. If you want to see everything from the Atacama Desert trip then there is the San Pedro de Atacama gallery and if you want to see what Valparaiso is like go here.
However, one of the problems with digital photography and large memory cards is that you can end up taking so many pictures of more or less the same thing in the hope that at least one will turn out to be really good and worth saving. Of course, that’s exactly what I did – armed with a 2 GB card I was never in danger of filling it up and as a result, when I got home, I had lots of different shots of the same mountain range from every possible angle and a dozen shots from the funicular railway in Valparaiso, not to mention the desert landscapes – way too many brown rocks.
So if you just want the highlights of the trip you can visit the Best Of Chile Vacation gallery, if you have more time to kill, or if you were on the the Torres Del Paine hike, you can visit the Patagonia gallery. If you want to see everything from the Atacama Desert trip then there is the San Pedro de Atacama gallery and if you want to see what Valparaiso is like go here.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Valparaiso
I think I mentioned that Santiago was relatively clean, modern city that is somewhat unremarkable. Well Valparaiso the port town adjacent to Santiago is just the opposite - a bustling and shabby port town with a lot of character. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there on the last day of my trip.
The town has a flat business section near the ocean (El Plan) and then a hillside section consisting of a jumble of old houses of all shapes and sizes and colors overlooking the bay. The hillsides are quite steep and the roads are narrow and sinuous. To facilitate getting up and down the hills there are some 15 or so funicular railways (ascensores) around the town. These are all very old and dilapidated pieces of equipment indeed and they look like they would never pass any modern safety standards. Nevertheless, they work and they are a lot of fun.
Looking downhill from Ascensor Florida.
One of the things I did in Valparaiso was to visit Pablo Neruda's house there. Mr. Neruda, the Chilean poet and Nobel Laureate, while very much a supporter of the socialist movement and the poor and downtrodden of this world also lived a fairly comfortable life and had three houses in Chile - all of which are now museums. He was a great collector and the house in Valparaiso was full of interesting stuff that he had been given or that he had collected in his travels. I enjoyed it so much that when I got back to Santiago later that afternoon, I went to his house there to see what he had accumulated there. An interesting character indeed.
Neruda's House in Valparaiso - La Sebastiana (he named his houses)
The town has a flat business section near the ocean (El Plan) and then a hillside section consisting of a jumble of old houses of all shapes and sizes and colors overlooking the bay. The hillsides are quite steep and the roads are narrow and sinuous. To facilitate getting up and down the hills there are some 15 or so funicular railways (ascensores) around the town. These are all very old and dilapidated pieces of equipment indeed and they look like they would never pass any modern safety standards. Nevertheless, they work and they are a lot of fun.
Looking downhill from Ascensor Florida.
One of the things I did in Valparaiso was to visit Pablo Neruda's house there. Mr. Neruda, the Chilean poet and Nobel Laureate, while very much a supporter of the socialist movement and the poor and downtrodden of this world also lived a fairly comfortable life and had three houses in Chile - all of which are now museums. He was a great collector and the house in Valparaiso was full of interesting stuff that he had been given or that he had collected in his travels. I enjoyed it so much that when I got back to Santiago later that afternoon, I went to his house there to see what he had accumulated there. An interesting character indeed.
Neruda's House in Valparaiso - La Sebastiana (he named his houses)
The Astronomy Tour
One of the more interesting things that I did in the Atacama region was to go on an Astronomy Tour. The Atacama Desert is a prime location for star gazing. The climate is dry, there are few clouds, it is relatively high altitude, and the high atmospheric winds are laminar and consistent - all good things for observing the heavens. There are many large scientific telescope installations in the area and the largest radio telescope in the world is currently being built up there (the Atacma Large Millimetre Array).
A French Astronomer and his wife live just outside San Pedro and they run nightly tours of the night sky. It was very educational - the guy was so passionate about astronomy and he certainly had a knack for explaining how we fit into the solar system, our galaxy and the universe. He used a laser pointer to identify different areas of the sky and he had about 6 different telescopes in the back yard of his house that he focused on different areas so that we could "ooh and aah" about the moon, the constellations, star clusters, nebulae and the like. For a couple of hours I was completely enthralled.
Below is my picture of the moon taken through on of his telescopes.
A French Astronomer and his wife live just outside San Pedro and they run nightly tours of the night sky. It was very educational - the guy was so passionate about astronomy and he certainly had a knack for explaining how we fit into the solar system, our galaxy and the universe. He used a laser pointer to identify different areas of the sky and he had about 6 different telescopes in the back yard of his house that he focused on different areas so that we could "ooh and aah" about the moon, the constellations, star clusters, nebulae and the like. For a couple of hours I was completely enthralled.
Below is my picture of the moon taken through on of his telescopes.
San Pedro de Atacama
The second part of my trip was to the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. A totally different landscape - one of the driest on the planet. A lot like Death Valley in California but on a much grander scale. I stayed in the little town of San Pedro de Atacama - a town that was discovered first by the hippy/back-packer crowd and, in more recent times, by the more well-healed traveler set (to which I suppose I belong these days). It seems to be totally reliant on the tourism industry these days but, as they say, don't drink the water - since there is so little of it here and as it leaches through all sorts of nasty stuff before it gets to town, the local water has a very high concentration of arsenic.
This part of the trip was not so strenuous as the Patagonia part with just little day trips out to see different things like geysers, salt flats, interesting rock formations, etc. Nothing quite as spectacular as Patagonia, but a nice place to take it easier for a while.
The Iglesia San Pedro - quite a nice church in the town square of San Pedro.
Sunset in the Valle De La Luna, just outside San Pedro. Everyone goes there to watch the sun go down - with the mandatory Pisco Sours of course.
The Geysers at El Tatio. This is up in the altiplano around 13,000 ft so the air is a bit thin. The geysers are more dramatic in the early morning when the air is cold and there is more condensation of the steam, by 9 or 10 there is not much to see anymore. You can boil your eggs and heat your milk for coffee in the geysers and have breakfast among all the hissing and gurgling steam.
Flamingos on the salt flats at Laguna Chaxa in the Salar de Atacama (Atacama Salt Flats) - the one with the black tail feathers is an Andean Flamingo, the one without the black tail feathers is a Chilean Flamingo - just in case you were wondering.
This part of the trip was not so strenuous as the Patagonia part with just little day trips out to see different things like geysers, salt flats, interesting rock formations, etc. Nothing quite as spectacular as Patagonia, but a nice place to take it easier for a while.
The Iglesia San Pedro - quite a nice church in the town square of San Pedro.
Sunset in the Valle De La Luna, just outside San Pedro. Everyone goes there to watch the sun go down - with the mandatory Pisco Sours of course.
The Geysers at El Tatio. This is up in the altiplano around 13,000 ft so the air is a bit thin. The geysers are more dramatic in the early morning when the air is cold and there is more condensation of the steam, by 9 or 10 there is not much to see anymore. You can boil your eggs and heat your milk for coffee in the geysers and have breakfast among all the hissing and gurgling steam.
Flamingos on the salt flats at Laguna Chaxa in the Salar de Atacama (Atacama Salt Flats) - the one with the black tail feathers is an Andean Flamingo, the one without the black tail feathers is a Chilean Flamingo - just in case you were wondering.
Hiking the "W"
The purpose of my trip was to hike the so-called "W" around the base of the Torres del Paine. The "W" is a trail that takes its name from its outline on the map and it takes about 4 days to complete. The folks with more time and energy hike the entire Paine Circuit which is more like a 10 day trip and it goes all the way around the Torres.
The nice thing about the "W" is that you can stay each night in a Refugio (Hostel) where there is a bunk, food, hot showers and, the other essential component, a plentiful supply of Pisco Sours. On the Paine Circuit you have to resort to tents for accomodation and a more austere lifestyle.
There were lots of great experiences and sights during this part trip -
- the aquamarine blue of the glacial lakes.
- the vibrant red of the firebush which was in blossom everywhere.
- the Andean Condors. Magnificent birds and relatively common in this area.
- the many different shades of blue of the Grey Glacier which we got to see up close on our boat trip.
- the power and noise of the avalanches cascading, at a safe distance, down the opposite side of the French Valley.
- and of course the Torres themselves which were different from each perspective but always impressive even when shrouded in cloud or mist.
The nice thing about the "W" is that you can stay each night in a Refugio (Hostel) where there is a bunk, food, hot showers and, the other essential component, a plentiful supply of Pisco Sours. On the Paine Circuit you have to resort to tents for accomodation and a more austere lifestyle.
There were lots of great experiences and sights during this part trip -
- the aquamarine blue of the glacial lakes.
- the vibrant red of the firebush which was in blossom everywhere.
- the Andean Condors. Magnificent birds and relatively common in this area.
- the many different shades of blue of the Grey Glacier which we got to see up close on our boat trip.
- the power and noise of the avalanches cascading, at a safe distance, down the opposite side of the French Valley.
- and of course the Torres themselves which were different from each perspective but always impressive even when shrouded in cloud or mist.
Monday, November 27, 2006
In Patgonia
To get down to Patagonia I flew down to Punta Arenas in the south. It is the most southerly outpost in Chile and apparently it is a bit of a windswept and bleak place but I wouldn't know as I was escorted north from the airport to Puerto Natales - the gateway to the Torres Del Paine National Park - my destination.
This province of Chile has been given the name Ultima Esperanza - Last Hope - I wonder what they were thinking when they named it that.
The countryside here is sparsely populated but there were few interesting things to see on the way into the park. We stopped to visit the Milodon Cave - a Milodon is a, now extinct, prehistoric sloth which used to inhabit the cave. A useless piece of trivia about the Milodon Cave is that it was a piece of skin from a mummified Milodon found in the cave that inspired Bruce Chatwin to go to Patagonia and write his classic travel book - In Patagonia. I have always liked Bruce Chatwin's writing and it was that book that inspired me to go to Patagonia - except it took me a long time to get there - I read it when I was in my 20's.
On the drive north there was some new and interesting wildlife (for me anyway). Below are the Guanaco and the Rhea.
And then finally as we approached the park the first glimpses of the Torres - very dramatic indeed. The Torres Del Paine - (The Towers of Blue from the name of the granite spires that dominate the area and the blue glacial lakes that are around them) are the classic mountains of Patagonia - they are the granite spires you see on the classic images of the area and they are spectacular.
On arriving in the park I met up with my fellow travelers. We were a group of 10 Australians, 1 Dutchman, myself and our two Chilean guides. By the end of the trip we were all the best of friends.
This province of Chile has been given the name Ultima Esperanza - Last Hope - I wonder what they were thinking when they named it that.
The countryside here is sparsely populated but there were few interesting things to see on the way into the park. We stopped to visit the Milodon Cave - a Milodon is a, now extinct, prehistoric sloth which used to inhabit the cave. A useless piece of trivia about the Milodon Cave is that it was a piece of skin from a mummified Milodon found in the cave that inspired Bruce Chatwin to go to Patagonia and write his classic travel book - In Patagonia. I have always liked Bruce Chatwin's writing and it was that book that inspired me to go to Patagonia - except it took me a long time to get there - I read it when I was in my 20's.
On the drive north there was some new and interesting wildlife (for me anyway). Below are the Guanaco and the Rhea.
And then finally as we approached the park the first glimpses of the Torres - very dramatic indeed. The Torres Del Paine - (The Towers of Blue from the name of the granite spires that dominate the area and the blue glacial lakes that are around them) are the classic mountains of Patagonia - they are the granite spires you see on the classic images of the area and they are spectacular.
On arriving in the park I met up with my fellow travelers. We were a group of 10 Australians, 1 Dutchman, myself and our two Chilean guides. By the end of the trip we were all the best of friends.
Chile
Well I am back in the USA after a great trip to Chile. I got to see quite a lot of the country and was very impressed - being so long and thin Chile has a lot of different climate zones and has quite a lot to offer as a tourist destination. I got to see the bit at the bottom (Torres Del Paine in Patagonia) and the bit at the top (the Atacama Desert) with a quick look around Santiago and Valparaiso in the middle.
I arrived in Santiago after a tiring trip (via Los Angeles and Atlanta) and had a quick look around the city on the afternoon of my arrival. It is a clean and modern city but in many ways unremarkable. On a clear smog free day, the view would be spectacular as the high Andes are quite close to the city but as you can see below, it was not really that clear. Surprisingly there does not seem to be a lot of historical sites or many colonial buildings - perhaps as a result of it being the recipient of some serious earthquakes (in 1960 Chile had the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded - 9.5 on the Richter Scale).
For me the most interesting place was the Palacio De La Moneda, where Salvador Allende allegedly committed suicide under siege by the army back in 1973. The palace suffered aerial bombardment during the coup but there were no signs of that now. Since that time and the restitution of democracy they have erected a statue to Senor Allende and there were many fresh flowers around laid at the statue's base. It is still an issue that is contentious in the country after all these years.
Of course as I write this, the main perpetrator of the coup (not counting the US government that is) General Augusto Pinochet has suffered a heart attack.
So after an afternoon in Santiago, it was on to Patagonia - a lot more interesting area which I will write about later in the week.
I arrived in Santiago after a tiring trip (via Los Angeles and Atlanta) and had a quick look around the city on the afternoon of my arrival. It is a clean and modern city but in many ways unremarkable. On a clear smog free day, the view would be spectacular as the high Andes are quite close to the city but as you can see below, it was not really that clear. Surprisingly there does not seem to be a lot of historical sites or many colonial buildings - perhaps as a result of it being the recipient of some serious earthquakes (in 1960 Chile had the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded - 9.5 on the Richter Scale).
For me the most interesting place was the Palacio De La Moneda, where Salvador Allende allegedly committed suicide under siege by the army back in 1973. The palace suffered aerial bombardment during the coup but there were no signs of that now. Since that time and the restitution of democracy they have erected a statue to Senor Allende and there were many fresh flowers around laid at the statue's base. It is still an issue that is contentious in the country after all these years.
Of course as I write this, the main perpetrator of the coup (not counting the US government that is) General Augusto Pinochet has suffered a heart attack.
So after an afternoon in Santiago, it was on to Patagonia - a lot more interesting area which I will write about later in the week.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Off to Patagonia...
Tomorrow I am off on a hastily arranged trip to Patagonia. I have always been in awe of the granite spires of the Torres Del Paine so, if all goes well, next week I will be hiking around the base of them. Nothing technical, just gentle hiking (I hope). Then after 9 days in Southern Chile I am heading off into the Northern part and the Atacama Desert. I am not sure what I will find in that area, nothing quite as dramatic as the Torres Del Paine I am sure, but there’s something about the name that has had some allure for me since my grammar school geography lessons. We will find out if there was anything to be allured about in a couple of weeks time.
If I get near a computer in the next couple of weeks I will try and post something - if not I will catch up when I return.
If I get near a computer in the next couple of weeks I will try and post something - if not I will catch up when I return.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Things are looking a bit brighter...
After 7 years of voting in the US elections, finally last night's election was one where I could feel pleased about the outcome. Of course my first US election was the Bush v Gore debacle of 2000 so that took a little bit of getting over, but last night it looks like the tide has started to swing the other way. Hopefully it will be a slow progressive swing that doesn't turn around too soon.
I read a post somewhere from a Brit commenting on the aftermath of yesterday's election stating that "the average American has no idea how hated the US has become since President Bush came to power". I agree entirely - as a nation there is not much love lost for us these days. All those sympathies and good will generated towards us after 9/11 have been squandered by Mr Bush's actions in these last few years. Hopefully we may be able to move towards repairing the damage done, but that will be a long slow road.
By the way, any of you fellow Brits who want to know how a real democracy works (or doesn't) check out the California Voter Information Guide - some 192 pages of information. Voting in this country is hard work and we get to vote on just about everything especially here in California.
I read a post somewhere from a Brit commenting on the aftermath of yesterday's election stating that "the average American has no idea how hated the US has become since President Bush came to power". I agree entirely - as a nation there is not much love lost for us these days. All those sympathies and good will generated towards us after 9/11 have been squandered by Mr Bush's actions in these last few years. Hopefully we may be able to move towards repairing the damage done, but that will be a long slow road.
By the way, any of you fellow Brits who want to know how a real democracy works (or doesn't) check out the California Voter Information Guide - some 192 pages of information. Voting in this country is hard work and we get to vote on just about everything especially here in California.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Janis Ian
I went to see Janis Ian perform the other night. I hadn’t kept up with her music since the 70’s when I bought her classic Between the Lines LP. Now some 30 or more years later, there she was still singing many of those old songs (I wonder how many times in her career she has performed “At Seventeen”). Her voice was great – it has hardly changed in all these years, but I wasn’t prepared for how she looked. Her hair is completely white now and she is no longer the waif like folk singer from my youth. Probably what irks me more is that I also am not the same as I was in the 70’s and at least Janis has hair even if it is white.
Anyway, she did a wonderful show, highly recommended. And she's been working all these years - there's like 25 albums out there.
Anyway, she did a wonderful show, highly recommended. And she's been working all these years - there's like 25 albums out there.
Friday, November 03, 2006
What a strange world this is...
I have been reading Richard Dawkin's book – The God Delusion lately. I must admit I wasn’t familiar with Professor Dawkins but I am finding the book reassures me about a lot of things with respect to religion and atheism. Professor Dawkins by the way holds the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University – all software developers who use the Hungarian notation are indebted to Mr Simonyi.
Anyway digging around on the web for Richard Dawkins leads you to a lot of videos on You Tube, in particular the ones from his program on Channel 4 TV – “The Root of All Evil”. There is one clip where he interviews Ted Haggard from the New Life Church in Colorado and the leader of tje National Association of Evangelicals in the USA.
So anyway, just as I am reading the chapter about whether Religion is necessary for us to be “moral” individuals (it’s not by the way), it comes out that Reverend Ted has been accused of all sorts un-evangelical things by a male prostitute and, at least for now, is stepping away from his leadership role in the church.
The scary thing is that Reverend Ted has, or at least had until this week, a close relationship to President Bush with weekly conference calls to the White House!
I find it quite inexplicable that the America and the UK are so far apart when it comes to religion. I could not imagine a television program about religion called “The Root of All Evil” getting any sponsorship in the USA – there would be protests, boycotts and all manner of things going on. Then, I couldn’t imagine the USA putting Charles Darwin on its bank notes either, but in the UK the 10 Pound Note has Charles Darwin on one side and the Queen, “the Defender of the Faith” on the other side.
Anyway digging around on the web for Richard Dawkins leads you to a lot of videos on You Tube, in particular the ones from his program on Channel 4 TV – “The Root of All Evil”. There is one clip where he interviews Ted Haggard from the New Life Church in Colorado and the leader of tje National Association of Evangelicals in the USA.
So anyway, just as I am reading the chapter about whether Religion is necessary for us to be “moral” individuals (it’s not by the way), it comes out that Reverend Ted has been accused of all sorts un-evangelical things by a male prostitute and, at least for now, is stepping away from his leadership role in the church.
The scary thing is that Reverend Ted has, or at least had until this week, a close relationship to President Bush with weekly conference calls to the White House!
I find it quite inexplicable that the America and the UK are so far apart when it comes to religion. I could not imagine a television program about religion called “The Root of All Evil” getting any sponsorship in the USA – there would be protests, boycotts and all manner of things going on. Then, I couldn’t imagine the USA putting Charles Darwin on its bank notes either, but in the UK the 10 Pound Note has Charles Darwin on one side and the Queen, “the Defender of the Faith” on the other side.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
A quiet time...
Nothing much to report lately, I have had my mother staying with me so we have been taking things easy. Lots of home-cooked meals by yours truly, lots of slow walks around the neighbourhood, and endless cups of tea (not that I am complaining – I like tea).
We head back to England on Tuesday, where I will stay for a week or so - time for a visit with friends and family, a quick business trip to Aberdeen and then back to California in time for the election.
We head back to England on Tuesday, where I will stay for a week or so - time for a visit with friends and family, a quick business trip to Aberdeen and then back to California in time for the election.
Whose blood is this anyway?
So as part of my annual physical I had my blood tested the other day. I am waiting for them to come and stick me, when a lady approaches the nurse and asks why they haven’t taken her blood yet. They search around for her paperwork which turns out to be back in the lab attached to a sample of blood (someone else’s not hers). So that is perhaps some cause for concern, but they decide that at least they can take her blood now, which they do. Unfortunately, there is cause for more concern because the nurse now has two samples of blood both with her name on them and the patient, at least, is not sure which is which. So they carefully dispose of the two samples blood before taking yet another sample from her. Oh the confusion - and someone else has just had a sample drawn and the results are never going to arrive.
To add to the drama, a young girl next to me faints after watching blood drawn from her mother.
To add to the drama, a young girl next to me faints after watching blood drawn from her mother.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Wedding Crashers...
While my mother is over staying with me things have slowed down a little and we are taking things easy. In the absence of anything like a backyard to sit in at the house, we have been visiting some of the local parks to sit in and relax. (The back yard renovation at home is perhaps a story for another time, but it has been a project from hell to date - so full of expense, poor workmanship and missed promises that I just don’t want to talk about it). Anyway, our favorite place is, of course, the Rose Garden in McKinley Park which, even this late in the season, is still quite beautiful.
Yesterday we were sitting there and as more and more smartly dressed people arrived we realized we were in the middle of a wedding. We were joined on our seat by a friend of the bride and pretty soon we had got the low down on the couple getting married – apparently another case of a smart young woman marrying a less than stellar young man – “throwing her life away” – at least in the view of our new “friend”.
As more and more people arrived, they would walk past us and greet us as if we were invited guests. It would have been so easy to just mingle in with the crowd and we could have slipped along to the reception (at a nearby house).
Of course witnessing a wedding is not something you can usually do in the UK, and Mum was quite interested to see the bride in all her finery. So we stayed around for the ceremony (discretely positioned away from the main crowd) and critiqued everyone’s dress. We decided to pass on the reception however - we had dinner plans at IKEA anyway.
Yesterday we were sitting there and as more and more smartly dressed people arrived we realized we were in the middle of a wedding. We were joined on our seat by a friend of the bride and pretty soon we had got the low down on the couple getting married – apparently another case of a smart young woman marrying a less than stellar young man – “throwing her life away” – at least in the view of our new “friend”.
As more and more people arrived, they would walk past us and greet us as if we were invited guests. It would have been so easy to just mingle in with the crowd and we could have slipped along to the reception (at a nearby house).
Of course witnessing a wedding is not something you can usually do in the UK, and Mum was quite interested to see the bride in all her finery. So we stayed around for the ceremony (discretely positioned away from the main crowd) and critiqued everyone’s dress. We decided to pass on the reception however - we had dinner plans at IKEA anyway.
Friday, September 08, 2006
More Bee Adventures
The last time I wrote about the bees, I had recovered from the loss of my bees by accidentally getting another swarm to take up residence in the hive. Alas, those bees did not last too long, and they succumbed to those pesky wax moths and departed. So I was again left without bees.
After my first loss, I had put my name on a list of beekeepers who are prepared to retrieve bee swarms from around town whenever they were reported. I must admit I did not particularly think through all the issues involved with this and I had pretty much forgotten about it until I got a call on Tuesday from a lady in my neighborhood who had a swarm of bees in her backyard. So, not really knowing what I was up for, I went over to her house with a hive box and all my gear (gloves, veil, smoker - all the stuff that makes me look like a pro).
The bees were all massed on the edge of the roof, in the gutter and under the eaves. Not the nice tidy ball of bees that I had read about in books that hang from a tree and are easily dislodged into an awaiting hive. So there I was precariously perched on the top of a step ladder holding a hive box in one hand and a bee brush in the other trying to sweep the bees off the roof into my box. It could have been quite the disaster but, despite my inexperience, it turned out uneventful. Some of the bees made it into the box while others just flew around haphazardly and then went back on the roof. I had about three attempts to dislodge more bees from the roof into the box, and then decided to leave the box on top of the ladder close enough to the roof so that hopefully they would be enticed into the more salubrious surroundings of my hive.
I left things like that overnight and the next morning returned to find the majority of bees had indeed taken up residence in the hive and over the next day I was able to lure nearly everyone else into the hive.
All in all things went quite well – for the first time I have captured a roaming swarm of bees and I was pretty pleased about that. Now all I have to do is keep them alive until next Spring when the nectar flow starts again.
The lady of the house with the swarm was quite thankful and showed great interest in the whole process (a candidate for her own hive in the future no doubt). Many thanks to my step-brother Howard (another candidate for a beekeeper) who went with me to watch the pending disaster, and to my friend Brian who came to the rescue with his taller step ladder. Howard was the only one who got stung (sorry about that) – it was just bad luck.
After my first loss, I had put my name on a list of beekeepers who are prepared to retrieve bee swarms from around town whenever they were reported. I must admit I did not particularly think through all the issues involved with this and I had pretty much forgotten about it until I got a call on Tuesday from a lady in my neighborhood who had a swarm of bees in her backyard. So, not really knowing what I was up for, I went over to her house with a hive box and all my gear (gloves, veil, smoker - all the stuff that makes me look like a pro).
The bees were all massed on the edge of the roof, in the gutter and under the eaves. Not the nice tidy ball of bees that I had read about in books that hang from a tree and are easily dislodged into an awaiting hive. So there I was precariously perched on the top of a step ladder holding a hive box in one hand and a bee brush in the other trying to sweep the bees off the roof into my box. It could have been quite the disaster but, despite my inexperience, it turned out uneventful. Some of the bees made it into the box while others just flew around haphazardly and then went back on the roof. I had about three attempts to dislodge more bees from the roof into the box, and then decided to leave the box on top of the ladder close enough to the roof so that hopefully they would be enticed into the more salubrious surroundings of my hive.
I left things like that overnight and the next morning returned to find the majority of bees had indeed taken up residence in the hive and over the next day I was able to lure nearly everyone else into the hive.
All in all things went quite well – for the first time I have captured a roaming swarm of bees and I was pretty pleased about that. Now all I have to do is keep them alive until next Spring when the nectar flow starts again.
The lady of the house with the swarm was quite thankful and showed great interest in the whole process (a candidate for her own hive in the future no doubt). Many thanks to my step-brother Howard (another candidate for a beekeeper) who went with me to watch the pending disaster, and to my friend Brian who came to the rescue with his taller step ladder. Howard was the only one who got stung (sorry about that) – it was just bad luck.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Mum returns to the U.S. of A.
It's that time of year again and once more my mum has made the trip from England to visit me here in California. She is now 87 years of age and being game enough to make the trip at that age is pretty impressive, I think.
So here we are on the night of her arrival out on the town dining at Ernesto's one of our local Mexican Restaurants. Note the Margarita - not a particularly small one - which she proceeded to consume and then professed that it was better than her usual orange juice.
I can only hope I got some of her longevity genes.
So here we are on the night of her arrival out on the town dining at Ernesto's one of our local Mexican Restaurants. Note the Margarita - not a particularly small one - which she proceeded to consume and then professed that it was better than her usual orange juice.I can only hope I got some of her longevity genes.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Chalk It Up
Labour Day Weekend is the annual Chalk It Up Festival in Sacramento where the sidewalks of a downtown square are adorned with pavement drawings. The event is a fund raiser for childrens's art education and the funds being raised by renting a square of pavement for your drawing.
The quality of drawings is all across the board from the most primitive to works of excellent quality.
This one was the most technically accomplished. The skin tones were quite wonderful.
President Allende was being remembered - apparently 9/11 was the date of his death.
Another interesting subject with the pencils jumping out of the pavement.
Many local vendors had works on show like this one from Noah's Bagels. What I couldn't understand was the one from a local tattoo parlour that was just not very good at all. If they can't get the artwork right in chalk on the sidewalk, then why would anyone want to let them dabble in permanent ink on their skin.
The quality of drawings is all across the board from the most primitive to works of excellent quality.
This one was the most technically accomplished. The skin tones were quite wonderful.
President Allende was being remembered - apparently 9/11 was the date of his death.
Another interesting subject with the pencils jumping out of the pavement.
Many local vendors had works on show like this one from Noah's Bagels. What I couldn't understand was the one from a local tattoo parlour that was just not very good at all. If they can't get the artwork right in chalk on the sidewalk, then why would anyone want to let them dabble in permanent ink on their skin.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Piano
I just finished reading a most interesting book – Piano by James Barron. It describes the making of a Steinway Concert Grand Piano from start to finish in the Steinway factory in New York – also included is a bit of history of the Piano itself, and a history of the Steinway family business (a business built up by German émigrés to New York in the early 1800’s). I found it fascinating how this blend of craftsmanship, established company traditions, modern manufacturing techniques (or the lack thereof) and the forces of the modern marketplace interplay to produce what must be a magnificent musical instrument (I have never seen one up close).
Anyone who has a love of music and can appreciate fine craftsmanship will find it a great read.
Anyone who has a love of music and can appreciate fine craftsmanship will find it a great read.
Friday, August 25, 2006
The new LDS Temple
The Latter Day Saints folks (The Mormons) have just built a new temple here in Sacramento and before it is consecrated they have opened it up to the masses - to those non-believers and heathens, like me. So being curious about what Mormonism is all about, I went along for the tour.
The new structure is quite impressive from a distance - it sits on the top of a hill just outside Folsom with a gold statue on the top of its spire. However, up close and inside, I did not find it nearly so impressive (IMHO). The statue on top is apparently a representation of the Angel Moroni – the messenger that passed along the Book of Mormon, allegedly on gold plates, to James Smith the church's founder back in 1823.
I expected that the tours would be a low key affair with only a few people wanting to visit. I was totally unprepared for the crowds of people that I found there. There was a steady stream of cars going up the hill, overflow parking in an adjacent field, long lines to “check in” for the tour, and groups of 25 or so leaving every 4 or 5 minutes to go inside "the temple". I have no explanation for such a level of interest.
As you may now I am not a Christian, and I find the whole story of the LDS church very dubious, but each to his/her own and we certainly don’t need to go into that here. All the Mormons I have ever known have been fine people, but judging by the protesters and pamphleteers at the entrance to the temple, not everyone feels so friendly to the LDS church.
That aside, there were a few things that surprised me about the LDS Temple. First, I was expecting to see one large space for communal worship but the temple was divided into many small rooms for maybe 30 or so people at the most. So the temple is not a place for everyday worship, just a place for smaller ceremonies like weddings, christenings, etc. The main worship takes place elsewhere, but still in relatively small groups at an allotted time slot based on your area of residence.
The decor inside the temple was also a little strange - lots of sofas and upholstered chairs. The most sacred room of the temple, The Celestial Room, was just like a large living room – a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, 3 or 4 couches and some chairs – honestly, it would not have been out of place in Las Vegas. Needless to say, I couldn’t quite get the feeling of reverence or sanctity that the tour guides were saying they felt.
Of course the Mormons are very much into "The Family" and their belief that a wedding between two people is not for this lifetime, but for eternity - weddings in the church take place in a "Sealing Room" (again a type of small room in the temple).
I didn’t feel the welcoming hand being extended to us poor single folk. What is worse is that they believe you can be baptized as a surrogate for one of your antecedents, so say if I were to be a church member, I could be baptized for myself, and then I could be baptized for my father, my grandmother, etc and they could retroactively become church members and be spared eternal damnation or whatever (presumably that is why the Mormons are so big into keeping genealogical records). Unfortunately for me that means I am completely screwed; having no heirs, I will have no one to bring me into the fold and save me from my fate. Oh dear…
The new structure is quite impressive from a distance - it sits on the top of a hill just outside Folsom with a gold statue on the top of its spire. However, up close and inside, I did not find it nearly so impressive (IMHO). The statue on top is apparently a representation of the Angel Moroni – the messenger that passed along the Book of Mormon, allegedly on gold plates, to James Smith the church's founder back in 1823.
I expected that the tours would be a low key affair with only a few people wanting to visit. I was totally unprepared for the crowds of people that I found there. There was a steady stream of cars going up the hill, overflow parking in an adjacent field, long lines to “check in” for the tour, and groups of 25 or so leaving every 4 or 5 minutes to go inside "the temple". I have no explanation for such a level of interest.
As you may now I am not a Christian, and I find the whole story of the LDS church very dubious, but each to his/her own and we certainly don’t need to go into that here. All the Mormons I have ever known have been fine people, but judging by the protesters and pamphleteers at the entrance to the temple, not everyone feels so friendly to the LDS church.
That aside, there were a few things that surprised me about the LDS Temple. First, I was expecting to see one large space for communal worship but the temple was divided into many small rooms for maybe 30 or so people at the most. So the temple is not a place for everyday worship, just a place for smaller ceremonies like weddings, christenings, etc. The main worship takes place elsewhere, but still in relatively small groups at an allotted time slot based on your area of residence.
The decor inside the temple was also a little strange - lots of sofas and upholstered chairs. The most sacred room of the temple, The Celestial Room, was just like a large living room – a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, 3 or 4 couches and some chairs – honestly, it would not have been out of place in Las Vegas. Needless to say, I couldn’t quite get the feeling of reverence or sanctity that the tour guides were saying they felt.
Of course the Mormons are very much into "The Family" and their belief that a wedding between two people is not for this lifetime, but for eternity - weddings in the church take place in a "Sealing Room" (again a type of small room in the temple).
I didn’t feel the welcoming hand being extended to us poor single folk. What is worse is that they believe you can be baptized as a surrogate for one of your antecedents, so say if I were to be a church member, I could be baptized for myself, and then I could be baptized for my father, my grandmother, etc and they could retroactively become church members and be spared eternal damnation or whatever (presumably that is why the Mormons are so big into keeping genealogical records). Unfortunately for me that means I am completely screwed; having no heirs, I will have no one to bring me into the fold and save me from my fate. Oh dear…
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Private Willard's Grave
Just south of Sacramento is the little town of Franklin (I paid a visit there this weekend). It is a small town, real small, but it has at least one distinction; it is the last resting place of the penultimate surviving member of the Lewis and Clark expedition – one Private Alexander Hamilton Willard. Now perhaps that is not the greatest of distinctions, but understand that Franklyn is a very small place.
Apparently Private Willard was not the best of soldiers – during the early part of the expedition he was caught sleeping on guard duty one night. That offence was in those days an act punishable by death but, fortunately for the Private, he was spared death and given a hundred lashes instead. He made the entire journey to the west coast and back with Lewis and Clark and then, after the expedition, he married, fathered 12 children and, in his 75th year, joined a wagon train and went west again to California. He died in Franklyn at the ripe old age of 86. Quite a life I would imagine.
While the graveyard in Franklin has some quite impressive tombstones, Private Willard’s grave very modest indeed.
Apparently Private Willard was not the best of soldiers – during the early part of the expedition he was caught sleeping on guard duty one night. That offence was in those days an act punishable by death but, fortunately for the Private, he was spared death and given a hundred lashes instead. He made the entire journey to the west coast and back with Lewis and Clark and then, after the expedition, he married, fathered 12 children and, in his 75th year, joined a wagon train and went west again to California. He died in Franklyn at the ripe old age of 86. Quite a life I would imagine.
While the graveyard in Franklin has some quite impressive tombstones, Private Willard’s grave very modest indeed.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
One more time, some more mountain flowers.
Alright so I know this is getting a bit tedious, more mountain hiking, more pretty flowers. But this is the last, I promise. My hiking buddies are going on a long backpack trip next weekend and after that the flowers will all be over. And also there is another purpose to all this flower identification thing – I need some reference so that next year when I hike again and I see these flowers I will know what they all are (the memory is not what it used to be, and it wasn’t all that good at its best). So for the sake of my memory and perhaps someone’s enjoyment, here we are on the road to Wright’ Lake in the Desolation Wilderness.
Brian, Allison, Mike and myself.
Tiger Lilly - quite a wonderful thing to behold.
I am not sure what the proper name for this one is, but it's smell gives it the knickname - Smelly Socks - pretty nasty smelly socks too.
This is fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) which takes its name not from its color, but from its opportunistic ability to quickly colonize areas devastated by fire. In England it is called the Rosebay Willow Herb or when I was a lad we called them "tip" flowers, because, in the same opportunistic way, they were one of the few things that colonized the coal tips around the area.
Alright - no more flowers.
Brian, Allison, Mike and myself.
Tiger Lilly - quite a wonderful thing to behold.
I am not sure what the proper name for this one is, but it's smell gives it the knickname - Smelly Socks - pretty nasty smelly socks too.
This is fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) which takes its name not from its color, but from its opportunistic ability to quickly colonize areas devastated by fire. In England it is called the Rosebay Willow Herb or when I was a lad we called them "tip" flowers, because, in the same opportunistic way, they were one of the few things that colonized the coal tips around the area.
Alright - no more flowers.
Monday, July 17, 2006
More Sierra Flowers
Another hike up in the Sierras this weekend. This time to Thunder Mountain which lies above Kirkwood Meadows (the ski resort), and where, again, the flowers were just wonderful. I think I could quite get into this flower indentification thing. Allison, who hiked with us, knows quite a bit about such things and she was eductating me on the way. My problem, of course, is remembering these things from one week to the next, not to mention from one season to the next.
Here is the view from the top of Thunder Mountain looking south.
Here are Mike, Brian, and Allison languishing in the afternoon sun (where is Paul?).
And here, as I stop and smell the roses along the way, are some of the wildflowers we encountered.
Wallflower
Forget Me Not
Sierra Primrose
Here is the view from the top of Thunder Mountain looking south.
Here are Mike, Brian, and Allison languishing in the afternoon sun (where is Paul?).
And here, as I stop and smell the roses along the way, are some of the wildflowers we encountered.
Wallflower
Forget Me Not
Sierra Primrose
Saturday, July 15, 2006
The Bees continued….
In the continuing saga of my bees, there has been a change of events. Last time I reported that the bees had absconded and left the hive to the Wax Moths and I was resolved to having to find another swarm from somewhere. Well, this week my caretaker of the bees (they are temporarily at my friend Doug’s house), reported there was bee activity in the hive again. Yesterday, I went along to inspect and see what could be done and indeed the hive was occupied by bees and they were in the process of cleaning out all the damage caused by the wax moths. I talked to someone who knows far more than I do about beekeeping (Fred from the Bee Shop) and he thinks that a passing swarm decided to take up residence. So without me having to do anything, I have some bees again (or actually as Doug pointed out are they my bees or his bees, since it was in his back yard that they squatted in my hive – we will have to resolve the ownership later).
Doug and I cleaned up the hive, and replaced any frames that were too damaged by wax moth activity. We also removed a lot of debris and squished a lot of wax moth larvae (sorry wax moths). Apparently, wax moth larvae are highly prized by fishermen – they drive the trout crazy. Perhaps we should have gone into business selling larvae to fishermen; certainly we would have had more grubs than we will have honey to harvest this year.
Doug and I cleaned up the hive, and replaced any frames that were too damaged by wax moth activity. We also removed a lot of debris and squished a lot of wax moth larvae (sorry wax moths). Apparently, wax moth larvae are highly prized by fishermen – they drive the trout crazy. Perhaps we should have gone into business selling larvae to fishermen; certainly we would have had more grubs than we will have honey to harvest this year.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The Omnivore's Dilemna
I just finished reading The Omnivore’s Dilemna by Michael Pollan – a fascinating book about the things that we, as omnivores, choose to eat. And a disturbing tale of what we are doing to ourselves by going along with industrial food production as the major source of our inputs. I will not look at a farm in quite the same way again, and I will certainly be more mindful and wary as I decide what goes into my grocery cart.
It opened my eyes so many things about today’s industrial farming processes and what a road to ruin it appears to be. It is amazing how a series of small and likely well meaning decisions has led us away from small self-contained and relatively sustainable farming to the large scale agricultural monocultures that we have today. One part of the country is growing either corn or soy beans with the help of vast amounts of artificial petroleum based fertilizers, and the other part raising vast numbers of identical animals (pigs, chickens or cattle) in absolutely horrible conditions with the aid of lots of antibiotics and feed (corn) that many of these animals (the cattle at least) weren’t even designed to eat (they are ruminants).
Nevermind that the food produced may not be the best, from an environmental standpoint it is a disaster. One part of the country is suffering from toxic run off from over-fertilized fields while the other is floating in lagoons of excrement that we don’t know what to do with.
Anyway, a very good book (as was his previous book – The Botany of Desire), that I highly recommend. Check out Bill Maher’s interview with Michael Pollan on Amazon.com’s Fishbowl program.
It opened my eyes so many things about today’s industrial farming processes and what a road to ruin it appears to be. It is amazing how a series of small and likely well meaning decisions has led us away from small self-contained and relatively sustainable farming to the large scale agricultural monocultures that we have today. One part of the country is growing either corn or soy beans with the help of vast amounts of artificial petroleum based fertilizers, and the other part raising vast numbers of identical animals (pigs, chickens or cattle) in absolutely horrible conditions with the aid of lots of antibiotics and feed (corn) that many of these animals (the cattle at least) weren’t even designed to eat (they are ruminants).
Nevermind that the food produced may not be the best, from an environmental standpoint it is a disaster. One part of the country is suffering from toxic run off from over-fertilized fields while the other is floating in lagoons of excrement that we don’t know what to do with.
Anyway, a very good book (as was his previous book – The Botany of Desire), that I highly recommend. Check out Bill Maher’s interview with Michael Pollan on Amazon.com’s Fishbowl program.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
The flowers of Castle Peak
Another little hike in the Sierras this weekend – this time up Castle Peak which is another one of those easy access freeway hikes (you literally park by the off ramp from Interstate 80 and the first few hundred yards are accompanied by the roar of passing trucks).
Most of the snow had gone by now, and the flowers were just going wild. I am not sure what all these different kinds are, but to follow are some photographs that I will try and identify – help anyone?
I think I have them all named now, thanks to Allison Spreadborough, who put identified them all for me.
This is a Sierra Onion surrounded by Phlox.
and this is one of the lupines, which one I am not quite sure.
This is what I call Indian Paintbrush. But then I call everything that's red Indian Paintbrush.
This I thought was the Mariposa Lily (Calochortus Invenustus) - my favourite. Actually Allison tells me this is the Sego Lily. Same family, different species.
Above is the Penstemon.
And finally the Scarlet Gilia.
Friday, July 07, 2006
The bees are gone....
As you may know, I had moved my bees over to a friend’s house while I had some work done on my back yard. All was going well for a while, but there were some signs that the hive was perhaps weakened - the bees had some difficulty in preventing ants entering the hive. Well the other day I got the call that the activity level at the hive was down – way down.
On opening the hive, it became evident that the hive had become invaded by wax moths. Normally, a healthy hive can cope with wax moths – chasing them out of the hive and destroying their eggs. However, if the hive is weak, then the wax moths or rather their larvae get the upper hand and the bees leave for better conditions elsewhere. The larvae are extremely destructive as they feed on the wax and pollen and as they move around the hive they create these strange silken tubes in which they travel. The damage just looks awful. No wonder the bees gave up.
At this late time of year, I cannot buy any replacement bees so I will likely have to wait until next spring before repopulating the hive. However, in order to try and re-establish the hive before next spring, I put my name on the callout list for anyone needing help in removing a swarm from their property.
What usually happens when someone finds a swarm of bees on their property is that they call the local beekeeper’s association and then one of the beekeepers comes out to retrieve the swarm. I have always thought that it would be interesting to go and retrieve a swarm in the “wild” so to speak so I am hoping to get a call. However, I could imagine that it could turn into a bit of a debacle if things don’t go according to plan and I would imagine there many ways things could diverge from the plan (whatever the plan is). Stay tuned…
On opening the hive, it became evident that the hive had become invaded by wax moths. Normally, a healthy hive can cope with wax moths – chasing them out of the hive and destroying their eggs. However, if the hive is weak, then the wax moths or rather their larvae get the upper hand and the bees leave for better conditions elsewhere. The larvae are extremely destructive as they feed on the wax and pollen and as they move around the hive they create these strange silken tubes in which they travel. The damage just looks awful. No wonder the bees gave up.
At this late time of year, I cannot buy any replacement bees so I will likely have to wait until next spring before repopulating the hive. However, in order to try and re-establish the hive before next spring, I put my name on the callout list for anyone needing help in removing a swarm from their property.
What usually happens when someone finds a swarm of bees on their property is that they call the local beekeeper’s association and then one of the beekeepers comes out to retrieve the swarm. I have always thought that it would be interesting to go and retrieve a swarm in the “wild” so to speak so I am hoping to get a call. However, I could imagine that it could turn into a bit of a debacle if things don’t go according to plan and I would imagine there many ways things could diverge from the plan (whatever the plan is). Stay tuned…
An Inconvenient Truth
I finally got around to seeing Al Gore’s film on global warming – An Inconvenient Truth. It is definitely a worthwhile film that seems to get the facts right and presents them in a reasonably accessible format. But, I was a little surprised with the how much it was about Al himself. After all the fuss about him inventing the Internet, it almost seemed like he was responsible for recognizing global warming. I would have preferred it to be a bit more focused on global warming theory, and a little less about Al. But perhaps, this movie is as much about Al reinventing and repositioning himself for another run in the political arena (I would vote for him).
Friday, June 30, 2006
The Western States 100
Last weekend was the Western States 100 mile run. No, I didn’t participate – it is way beyond my capabilities. But I did go up to help at one of the aid stations and as always I am in awe at these folk that can run in such difficult conditions (not only 100 miles but 18,000 ft. vertical gain and 23,000 vertical drop).
This year’s race was more difficult than most as we had a heat wave with temperatures way over 100 degrees. There were a record number of drops as people felt the effects of the heat (399 started, 188 dropped and only 211 finished).
The other remarkable thing about this years race was that the first person across the finish line arrived in the stadium (the last 300 yards is around the High School track in Auburn), and then proceeded to fall down or perhaps collapse might be a better word. In fact he did it several times. He was helped to his feet each time and somehow managed to cross the finish line after 18 hrs. Unfortunately, although he was 12 minutes before the next runner, the fact that he was assisted over the last few yards was enough to disqualify him. How tragic is that? The lad seems to have a good attitude towards it – saying that it was the right decision by those that helped him and by those that disqualified him. But still – after 99.8 or 99.9 miles and a 12 minute lead he must be a little miffed.
This year’s race was more difficult than most as we had a heat wave with temperatures way over 100 degrees. There were a record number of drops as people felt the effects of the heat (399 started, 188 dropped and only 211 finished).
The other remarkable thing about this years race was that the first person across the finish line arrived in the stadium (the last 300 yards is around the High School track in Auburn), and then proceeded to fall down or perhaps collapse might be a better word. In fact he did it several times. He was helped to his feet each time and somehow managed to cross the finish line after 18 hrs. Unfortunately, although he was 12 minutes before the next runner, the fact that he was assisted over the last few yards was enough to disqualify him. How tragic is that? The lad seems to have a good attitude towards it – saying that it was the right decision by those that helped him and by those that disqualified him. But still – after 99.8 or 99.9 miles and a 12 minute lead he must be a little miffed.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Mt. Ralston
After spending the last few weeks in England and again becoming enchanted by the English countryside, it was nice this last weekend to get out into the California countryside and do some hiking in the Sierra Nevadas. While back in England, I had made several trips through the Peak District (a National Park near my home in England) and had once again become struck by the beauty of it all. Now, back in the US and in the middle of the mighty Sierras, I realize how wonderful that is too. Its different, of course, everything is on a much grander scale here, big dramatic mountains, not the more subtle hills of England.
Anyway four of us went up Mt Ralston on Saturday, one of the smaller and more accessible peaks on south east side of Tahoe. It was a bit of a slog up the 2,600 ft of elevation gain but it was well worth it when we reached the top – great views of the Tahoe Basin, the Central Valley and the high Sierras to the south.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Mr Straw's House
The other day I visited an old Edwardian house in the nearby town of Worksop now owned and operated by the National Trust. The house was previously owned by a couple of brothers who were grocers in the town and it has been preserved as a kind of museum to early 20th Century life in Britain. Though quite well off for their day, the brothers did not live an extravagant lifestyle and in many ways they were very frugal. The house was originally owned by their parents and when they died in the 1930’s the brothers did hardly anything to change or modernize the house. When the last brother died in the late 1980’s the house was a snapshot of how people lived in the early part of the 20th Century.
I found it quite fascinating - not the usual National Trust property (usually they are the grander stately homes), and more of something that I could relate to (though I/we did not live like that, I am sure there were people in my home town that did).
It was just like stepping back in time 60 years and to think as recent as 1985 someone was living in the home - no telephone, no TV, lead plumbing, original 1910 wallpaper and paint, calendars on the wall from the 1930's, cans in the pantry from the same period ...
Well worth a visit.
I found it quite fascinating - not the usual National Trust property (usually they are the grander stately homes), and more of something that I could relate to (though I/we did not live like that, I am sure there were people in my home town that did).
It was just like stepping back in time 60 years and to think as recent as 1985 someone was living in the home - no telephone, no TV, lead plumbing, original 1910 wallpaper and paint, calendars on the wall from the 1930's, cans in the pantry from the same period ...
Well worth a visit.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Stockholm
Last weekend I went over to Stockholm to run the Stockholm Marathon (and to have a nice relaxing weekend in Sweden). While the marathon was, yet again, one of my less stellar performances, the weekend was great. Stockholm is a lovely city – lots of water, lots of bridges, lots of ferries, beautiful old buildings (and a few less inspiring more modern ones), and, as expected, it was all very, very clean.
The marathon was one of the better organized races I have participated in. Some nice touches that I have not seen before – color coded cups at aid stations (water in blue cups, electrolyte in clear cups), bagged food and drink at the finish so that everyone gets the same and those earlier finishers don’t get to scarf it all, and, the most unusual thing I have ever seen, pickled gherkins at one of the aid stations. I cannot imagine why anyone would want a pickled gherkin in the middle of a marathon but if you do then Stockholm’s your place. I tried one but its not for me. Judging by the number of squashed gherkins on the pavement, it wasn't for a lot of other either.
The finish of the marathon was a lap around the Stockholm Olympic stadium and that nearly made all the pain and suffering worthwhile. The stadium was built for the 1912 Olympics and has the honor of being the location where 83 Track and Field World Records have been broken (that in itself is a record for a single location). Alas my performance was not quite so record breaking – actually it was a personal worst!
I have a new rule now - no more marathons unless I train for them - train properly that is.
The marathon was one of the better organized races I have participated in. Some nice touches that I have not seen before – color coded cups at aid stations (water in blue cups, electrolyte in clear cups), bagged food and drink at the finish so that everyone gets the same and those earlier finishers don’t get to scarf it all, and, the most unusual thing I have ever seen, pickled gherkins at one of the aid stations. I cannot imagine why anyone would want a pickled gherkin in the middle of a marathon but if you do then Stockholm’s your place. I tried one but its not for me. Judging by the number of squashed gherkins on the pavement, it wasn't for a lot of other either.
The finish of the marathon was a lap around the Stockholm Olympic stadium and that nearly made all the pain and suffering worthwhile. The stadium was built for the 1912 Olympics and has the honor of being the location where 83 Track and Field World Records have been broken (that in itself is a record for a single location). Alas my performance was not quite so record breaking – actually it was a personal worst!
I have a new rule now - no more marathons unless I train for them - train properly that is.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
En route to the UK.
I am currently flying at 30,000ft somewhere over Hudson’s Bay and I have never used an Internet connection on an airline before so, even though I don’t have much to say, I am posting this just because I can. I also happen to have a lot of time on my hands (still 7 hours to go) and the films are pretty bad (Fun with Dick and Jane with Jim Carrey).
So far the trip has not been entirely without problems. I started off with the hope of flying from Sacramento to Chicago to Manchester. Alas, bad weather in Chicago forced a re-routing through LA (not exactly the right direction) to Frankfurt (we actually will fly over Manchester) and back to Manchester. Just another 4 hours more – what’s 4 hours when you are traveling that far?
The whole process for rebooking my ticket in Sacramento this morning turned into quite an event – it literally took 35 minutes of the airline agent’s time to complete the transaction. Don’t ask me why. When I walked away from the counter I got a standing ovation from the crowd in line behind me (yes there was only one agent working the International check-ins in Sacramento). I also got an escort to the plane which was being held just for me. How about that!
So far the trip has not been entirely without problems. I started off with the hope of flying from Sacramento to Chicago to Manchester. Alas, bad weather in Chicago forced a re-routing through LA (not exactly the right direction) to Frankfurt (we actually will fly over Manchester) and back to Manchester. Just another 4 hours more – what’s 4 hours when you are traveling that far?
The whole process for rebooking my ticket in Sacramento this morning turned into quite an event – it literally took 35 minutes of the airline agent’s time to complete the transaction. Don’t ask me why. When I walked away from the counter I got a standing ovation from the crowd in line behind me (yes there was only one agent working the International check-ins in Sacramento). I also got an escort to the plane which was being held just for me. How about that!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Glass Blowing
Last Sunday I took a glass blowing class here in Sacramento. It was pretty cool stuff and I think I would like to do some more of that. Actually it was not cool at all, it was pretty darned hot.- lots of furnaces and flames and blobs of molten glass and it was a hot day anyway.
The whole process was quite fascinating – a chance to work with a lump of molten glass on the end of a metal rod – sliding it into a furnace, bringing it out and working with it, adding color, heating it back up again in the furnace, working with it some more.
I got to produce three things – a paper weight (not much blowing there), a vase and a bowl. I didn’t actually produce them entirely by myself; it was more very close supervision by someone who knew what they were doing and who would wrest control of the project from me whenever we got to some particularly tricky maneuver (of which there were a few).
The whole experience was quite rewarding and the end results were not that bad - for a beginner anyway.
The whole process was quite fascinating – a chance to work with a lump of molten glass on the end of a metal rod – sliding it into a furnace, bringing it out and working with it, adding color, heating it back up again in the furnace, working with it some more.
I got to produce three things – a paper weight (not much blowing there), a vase and a bowl. I didn’t actually produce them entirely by myself; it was more very close supervision by someone who knew what they were doing and who would wrest control of the project from me whenever we got to some particularly tricky maneuver (of which there were a few).
The whole experience was quite rewarding and the end results were not that bad - for a beginner anyway.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Moving the bees....
I moved my beehive this week over to my friend Doug’s house. I have been moving towards getting some work done on my back yard and no one wants to do any work with a beehive in residence.
So I learned a bit about moving bees this week. My first naïve attempt consisted of nailing a simple board over the entryway early in the morning (before the bees get active) and then attempting to load the bees on a trolley to roll to the front of the house and the awaiting truck. This did not go so well, the loading of the hive on the trolley caused a bit of flexing in the whole hive structure and the understandably excited bees started to leak out of various newly created openings. I was equipped for such events with my veil and gloves on, but alas my friend Brian was not so equipped and got stung (sorry about that Brian). Anyway, the whole thing turned into a disaster with me trying to nail on additional strips of wood to better close off the hive and more and more bees getting excited and escaping. Time to leave things for another day and some more careful thought.
I went to the bee shop and consulted with the owner who saw the humor in my naïve attempts, and who sold me a purpose built closure that closes the entry with a mesh structure – thereby still allowing the bees to breathe – good idea that.
So last Monday, I fitted the closure, and I added my own touch of copious amounts of duct tape. The tape just gave me the confidence that no other openings would appear from flexing of the hive tower. It then was a smooth operation of rolling the bees to the front of the house, lifting them into Brian’s truck bed and carefully driving to their new residence (commercial bee keepers do this all the time, but there was something worrisome about driving the streets with a hive of bees in the back of the truck – I was imagining the newspaper headlines the next day – Amateur Beekeeper loses control of hive outside Kindergarten – lawsuits to follow).
The bees are now happily installed about a mile or so away and seem to be well, though a few bees returned to my back yard and gathered on the fence where the hive was located. I guess they didn’t quite re-program their directional finding senses. I thought they would either disperse or die of exposure in the night, but some 6 days later they are still there (see below) – huddled on the fence. I feel bad for them, but not much I can do about that.
So I learned a bit about moving bees this week. My first naïve attempt consisted of nailing a simple board over the entryway early in the morning (before the bees get active) and then attempting to load the bees on a trolley to roll to the front of the house and the awaiting truck. This did not go so well, the loading of the hive on the trolley caused a bit of flexing in the whole hive structure and the understandably excited bees started to leak out of various newly created openings. I was equipped for such events with my veil and gloves on, but alas my friend Brian was not so equipped and got stung (sorry about that Brian). Anyway, the whole thing turned into a disaster with me trying to nail on additional strips of wood to better close off the hive and more and more bees getting excited and escaping. Time to leave things for another day and some more careful thought.
I went to the bee shop and consulted with the owner who saw the humor in my naïve attempts, and who sold me a purpose built closure that closes the entry with a mesh structure – thereby still allowing the bees to breathe – good idea that.
So last Monday, I fitted the closure, and I added my own touch of copious amounts of duct tape. The tape just gave me the confidence that no other openings would appear from flexing of the hive tower. It then was a smooth operation of rolling the bees to the front of the house, lifting them into Brian’s truck bed and carefully driving to their new residence (commercial bee keepers do this all the time, but there was something worrisome about driving the streets with a hive of bees in the back of the truck – I was imagining the newspaper headlines the next day – Amateur Beekeeper loses control of hive outside Kindergarten – lawsuits to follow).
The bees are now happily installed about a mile or so away and seem to be well, though a few bees returned to my back yard and gathered on the fence where the hive was located. I guess they didn’t quite re-program their directional finding senses. I thought they would either disperse or die of exposure in the night, but some 6 days later they are still there (see below) – huddled on the fence. I feel bad for them, but not much I can do about that.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
The Reno Marathon
Since I had recently run a 50 mile race, and since I am in training for the Stockholm Marathon in June, I thought I could easily just throw in another marathon without much trouble. At least that was how I felt last week when I made a last minute entry into the Reno Marathon. I am a little chastened today after struggling through another less than perfect run. It was the same old story, everything was great up to mile 18 then I had nothing left and it was a walk run deal to the finish (with a lot more walking than running).
The race was the inaugural Reno Cinco de Mayo Marathon and it was perhaps the most disorganized race I have ever been in. The start was postponed half an hour, many of the mile markers were missing, a majority of mile markers that were in place were incorrect, many of the aid stations were non-existent, un-manned, or only had water (no electrolytes). Other than that the Marathon was great – Reno is not the prettiest of cities (at least downtown isn’t, but we were quickly out of that area) but the course was very nice indeed, with great views of the snow capped Sierras.
The race was the inaugural Reno Cinco de Mayo Marathon and it was perhaps the most disorganized race I have ever been in. The start was postponed half an hour, many of the mile markers were missing, a majority of mile markers that were in place were incorrect, many of the aid stations were non-existent, un-manned, or only had water (no electrolytes). Other than that the Marathon was great – Reno is not the prettiest of cities (at least downtown isn’t, but we were quickly out of that area) but the course was very nice indeed, with great views of the snow capped Sierras.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
English Middle Aged White people are heathier than Americans!
It was interesting and very surprising to hear that a recent study has shown that White middle-aged Americans (I might resemble one of those) are significantly less healthy than their English counterparts. That is less healthy as measured by the incidence of diabetes, lung cancer, high blood pressure, etc – the serious stuff. And it wasn’t by a small amount either, for example diabetes was twice as prevalent in the US population.
I think most people would expect that the health of middle-aged White people would be similar in England and America. In fact I would have said that with America having twice the per capita spending on healthcare compared to England then Americans should be healthier. Not to mention the effects of the English diet (Fish and Chips and fried everything) and the large quantities of beer being consumed over there.
So how can this be? The researchers were baffled too. Could it be the early exposure to junk food (the English didn’t get into that until much later) so obesity has been an issue in America for a longer time and all those chubby kids are now hitting their 50s and 60s.
One factor that might be an issue is the stress level of American life. Americans do tend to work harder and longer than the average European and in general have a much more stressful environment.
Its all very baffling to me – maybe it’s just over here on the West Coast where we are relaxed and laid back and where we eat healthy. Perhaps the remainder of the US are the unhealthy ones.
The study did mention that expatriate Brits living in America (that would be me) would tend to assume the health conditions of their adopted nation if they were in the US for any considerable time (the damage is done in my case). However, they recommended rather than escaping to the UK to increase the odds of a healthier (and longer) life, the damage is done and at least in the US they are likely to spend more money keeping you alive through your middle-age and beyond.
I think most people would expect that the health of middle-aged White people would be similar in England and America. In fact I would have said that with America having twice the per capita spending on healthcare compared to England then Americans should be healthier. Not to mention the effects of the English diet (Fish and Chips and fried everything) and the large quantities of beer being consumed over there.
So how can this be? The researchers were baffled too. Could it be the early exposure to junk food (the English didn’t get into that until much later) so obesity has been an issue in America for a longer time and all those chubby kids are now hitting their 50s and 60s.
One factor that might be an issue is the stress level of American life. Americans do tend to work harder and longer than the average European and in general have a much more stressful environment.
Its all very baffling to me – maybe it’s just over here on the West Coast where we are relaxed and laid back and where we eat healthy. Perhaps the remainder of the US are the unhealthy ones.
The study did mention that expatriate Brits living in America (that would be me) would tend to assume the health conditions of their adopted nation if they were in the US for any considerable time (the damage is done in my case). However, they recommended rather than escaping to the UK to increase the odds of a healthier (and longer) life, the damage is done and at least in the US they are likely to spend more money keeping you alive through your middle-age and beyond.
A quiet time...
A quiet time in the old neighbourhood these days. Not much of any interest going on lately and even the neighbours didn’t spice things up with an inflatable rabbit on the roof for Easter.
I did make a trip to Houston the other week. That’s always good. It is nice to see old friends there, but the best thing about visiting Houston, for me at least, is that it makes me so grateful that I don’t live in Houston (I came close to taking up residence there in the 1980s, but I managed to escape). As they say, the sweetest sound in the world is the sound of the door closing as your flight prepares to leave George Bush Intercontinental Airport on its way back to wherever. (OK so I made a lot of friends with that statement I know, but I just never have thought a lot of Houston – sorry.)
I did also go to see David Wilcox in Winters last week too - a very fine performer with some excellent songs. I had known of him for some time (I have his Greatest Hits CD – highly recommended), but had never had the opportunity to see him until last week. He is on a 2 year tour around the US in his Airstream Trailer towed by his bio-diesel truck. I suppose that is being somewhat environmentally sound.
I did make a trip to Houston the other week. That’s always good. It is nice to see old friends there, but the best thing about visiting Houston, for me at least, is that it makes me so grateful that I don’t live in Houston (I came close to taking up residence there in the 1980s, but I managed to escape). As they say, the sweetest sound in the world is the sound of the door closing as your flight prepares to leave George Bush Intercontinental Airport on its way back to wherever. (OK so I made a lot of friends with that statement I know, but I just never have thought a lot of Houston – sorry.)
I did also go to see David Wilcox in Winters last week too - a very fine performer with some excellent songs. I had known of him for some time (I have his Greatest Hits CD – highly recommended), but had never had the opportunity to see him until last week. He is on a 2 year tour around the US in his Airstream Trailer towed by his bio-diesel truck. I suppose that is being somewhat environmentally sound.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Hiving some bees.
This weekend I got to help my friend Becky to start off a new bee hive. This is one of the most satisfying jobs in beekeeping. You have a queen all packaged up in a little container about the size of your thumb and a few pounds of bees ready to join her in the hive. You place the queen in her container in the hive (she can’t get out until the worker bees eat the sugar plug at the end of the container to free her from confinement) and then you get to pour the bees into the hive on top of her. At this point since they haven’t really bonded with the queen or the hive the bees are not at all threatened and are quite benign. The act of pouring in all these bees is just very satisfying.
The idea is that by the time that the other bees eat away the sugar plug to the queen container they will have bonded with the queen and they will join together and build up the hive. If things don’t go to plan – perhaps the queen gets out too early before she is bonded with the others – then the other bees kill her. Nature is cruel sometimes.
The idea is that by the time that the other bees eat away the sugar plug to the queen container they will have bonded with the queen and they will join together and build up the hive. If things don’t go to plan – perhaps the queen gets out too early before she is bonded with the others – then the other bees kill her. Nature is cruel sometimes.
A Trip to the Santa Cruz Mountains...
Last Sunday I went down to the mountains just north of Santa Cruz to attend the jukai ceremony of my friend Brian. A jukai ceremony, to the best of my knowledge, is the lay ordination of a member of the Zen Buddhist community. I had never been to one before and did not quite know what to expect, particularly since those Zen Buddhists and, in this case, those Soto Zen Buddhists are quite formal – lots of bowing and prostrating and bell ringing in just the right order and at just the right time.
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