Moving on

OK, back up and running at tech-nomadic.com - come on over and visit

To be continued ....

I am setting up a full web-page at the old tech-nomadic.com url. Will let you know when it is up. Meanwhile, unlike this guy, have a dry day.

equinox sunday at wind an sea

Some shots from this afternoon at Wind an Sea beach. There were a slew of bodysurfers abusing themselves. For bodysurfing this is a "Whomper" break; You catch a wave for 5 seconds and get slammed into the beach. These guys just kept going. I went out earlier in the morning and the waves were about 3-4 feet - really excellent - a lot of good rides.

instruments of fear

I have been away for awhile. At least away from blogging. Not because there has been a dearth of things to write about but I for some reason have been reluctant to write. An article in the NYT this morning got my attention. US sales of advanced weaponry abroad has skyrocketed in the last couple of years. There seems no end to the stupidity of the Bush Administration. In the text of the article is a comment from a defense dept spokesman something to the effect that we, "Are not gunrunners" but that these sales are a necessity to ensure "order in the world". This is insane. The Tao rightly says that, "weapons are instruments of fear". This makes my country probably the most massive purveyor of fear that the world has ever seen. So disappointed, ashamed, angry and feeling lost. What can a man do to stop this?

competitive american riders

I think everyone knows I ride everyday to and from work (26+ miles) up from La Jolla through Torrey Pines. I am always passed by fast riders in training and regular commuters all "spandexed up" and cranking like its the 10th stage of the Tour de France. The route that I take is a popular one for out-of-town riders - it is probably a section of some of the best and sought-after experiences in road cycling. I was noticing the other day a couple of Italians (who I had seen before) riding along at about the same pace as I do. They rode well, understood the rules of the road, and were clearly very experienced - but they didn't ride like it was an Olympic competition. They clearly enjoyed what they were doing and were getting a good workout while they took in the surroundings. That got me to thinking that the fast-pace of most of the riders I see is because of the American notion that eveything has to be a competition and done really fast, or it isn't deemed a "proper" pursuit. Made me think of the "slow-food" and "slow-life" advocates. Things don't have to be done just to get them over with.

a cyclist's nightmare

Since Team Spectra is going to ride the Rosarito-Ensenada fun ride in September, this one got my attention. A drunk driver in Matamoros fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into ten riders on a similar ride (although in a different placce). One was killed. This is what anyone who rides a road bicycle fears the most. Fortunately it doesn't happen often.

the back side of Mt. Rushmore

I love this - for some reason picking on poor shrub. I have a list of blog stuff that I will get to soon. J

nothing much to add to this one

blind eye

I don't feel sorry for the US Automotive Industry. For years it has been predicted that gas prices would rise. Now they have and Detroit is again asleep at the wheel. Late '70s deja-vu all over again. Just stupid.

bicycle commute ~ the beaches

Some people get to work grudgingly in their $4.50 per gallon cars. I ride my bike. Here is what I see everyday. Note the classic break at Wind an Sea Beach with the surfers going off on either side of the wave. Then, the La Jolla Shores crowd (some waking up on the beach, others paddle surfing) finally moving to an early moring at Torrey Pines Beach. Then I had to go in to work ..... Thanks to Chris Isaak for the music.

windansea dreams ....

Got to work early and its kind of hard to keep going today. Weather is great and the road beckons. This is a quick shot of my girls at Wind an Sea beach last Friday, which someone had designated "International Surfing Day". There were some amazingly accomplished surfers getting some great rides. Very good entertainment.

salgado is still going ....

Curtis Salgado has always been a favorite of mine. From small smoke-filled bars in Eugene, to San Francisco and outdoor venues in Portland, this guy could always bring me to my feet. Curtis was diagnosed with liver cancer a couple of years ago, underwent a liver transplant, then diagnosed with lung cancer and had it removed. The dude survived and is back TOURING! Unbelievable. any way they had a concert in 2006 for him. Here is the poster: What looks like a great line-up. Steve Miller, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan .... People who basically stood up and saved Curtis' life. Very cool.

la jolla elementary fifth grade graduation

If I could just turn back the clock. Lauren is up there somewhere - big deal moving on to middle school.

my vp choice

why do I think the caption should be, "god my shorts are crammed up my ass"

my friend peter unthank

These were pictures I posted last year and lost. I missed them so I am putting him back up to remember. Peter essentially killed himself the day after Bush was last elected -- no joke.

a new bicycling experience

I have been hit by cars, yelled at (and screamed back), hit in the head by a flying fruit-bat and all sorts of other things, but today was a new one. I had just ridden to the top of La Jolla Shores Drive near the UCSD campus when I looked up to see a good-sized dog (like a Jack-Russell Terrier, I think) flying right at me. The dog wasn't running at me to bite me, but had seen me and I think jumped out of an electric car (with no doors on it) maybe to just say hello. The trouble was that the vehicle with no doors was traveling past me at about 35 miles an hour. I swerved to miss the flying canine and didn't go back to see the eventual outcome, but now I can cross off, "Swerved to Avoid Flying Dog", from my bicycling experience list.

before the NYT corrected it ...

This popped up on the Times front page a couple days ago. I didn't think the Clinton campaign had any fun?

The Remarkable Mr. Burney

Were I only half as organized, I could take over the world. This is the irrepressible Craig Burney about ready to sort and organize a mountain of miscellaneous felt-tip markers. Note the enthusiasm!

Cosmetic San Diego and the US Open

The US Open Golf Tournament is going to happen at Torrey Pines in a week or so. I ride my bike through there every day and the cosmetic changes have been dramatic. For a bunch of fat, rich white guys the city (which can't seem to fix the pothole in our neighborhood streets) have somehow:

• Repaved a good portion of the road leading up the Torrey Pines grade of the coast highway
• Repainted all of the lane markers and bicycle lanes
• Cleaned off all the nearby roads (including the bike lanes, which they never gave a crap about before)
• Pruned all of the trees along the coast highway within a quarter mile of the golf course
• Blown new ground cover on to all of the medians and roadsides
• Carved an access road between the coast highway and the eastern side of the golf course (it would have taken an act of congress and an environmental impact statement to get this done for any other reason)
• Actually manned the ranger access station to the Torrey Pines Beach parking lots and beach access - in the 6 months I have been riding the route I have never before seen a human anywhere near the structure

Its remarkable what an influx of fat cats can do in motivating the city to actually do something. I'm certain it will fall into disrepair once they all leave.

The Finished Product

10 days - probably a world record

Now We Sand the Living Shit Out of the Floors

I must have sucked in 10 lbs. of sawdust in this lovely process ....

OK, Now the Carpet is Ripped Out

What you can't see are the double carpet tacking strips that came out maybe 6 inches at a time or the thousand tacks, nails, brads and staples that had to be pulled from the floor by hand.

Pre-Filthy Carpet Removal

In these pictures the carpet looks OK. Upon closer inspection - disaster. The house had been owned by one of those "cat ladies". You know, the old woman who has 2 cats, then 8 cats, then 20 cats and then 83 cats. Cats until she dies and the cats crap and claw everything in the house. Pulling up these carpets (until I cleaned the cooktop in the kitchen) was right in there with my high-school job of plunging out the sewer lines under the Redwood City Elks Club ... but that's another story. Anyway here are the marketing pics..

Where Have I Been?

Rode the bike today for the first time in almost three weeks and, man, I missed it. Let's see. I was sucked into the vortex of a 1957 rancher in La Jolla. Since my last post I have;

• Moved off of Mt Soledad (no more deck views or bicycling up the mountain)
• Refinished 1,500 sq feet of beat up wood flooring at the new house
• Moved everything from a 3,600 square foot house to a 1,900 square foot house (interesting furnishing environment right now)

New place is maybe 5 blocks up the hill from Wind an Sea Beach (yes, that's how it is spelled). We can see the ocean from the house and the weather is much more beach-like. Anyway, I am going to try to post the chronology of the floors ...

Political Stupidity Juxtaposed

This past week has seen two political events/proposals that kind of represent how damned stupid politics generally gets. The first is Clinton/McCain's brilliant idea for a gas tax holiday for the summer ... why not just send everyone who votes for you $300? Why even bother to hide that there is any difference or that you are somehow not pandering? The second is in Africa (although it has a kind of "Florida hanging chad" ring to it). Does anyone think Robert Mugabe really didn't get his ass kicked by the opposition party in Zimbabwe? It has only taken him a month to appropriately "recount" the votes, begin a campaign of rampant violence against the opposition and begin the "electoral" push for a run-off. I wonder who's gonna win?

bugness

Monday was super warm and on tuesday morning all "bug" broke loose. Everywhere you looked (especially near the Torrey Pines Park) there were these stink bugs running all over the place. They were after one another from the looks of them and by the end of the week they had petered out.

it will be 90 degrees today ....

7:30 in the morning on the deck - panning west to east

rundown for the week

Filling in the blanks for what I saw on the bike commute this week. The weather has turned a sharp bit warmer ~ makes everything better. The beaches have more people on them and Torrey Pines beach has been no exception. People doing everything; swimming, surfing, running and just laying out on the beach. No real super-highlights. Yesterday met a kid of 15 years old cranking up the Torrey grade; about the only person I can pass ;-). Spoke to him a little and told him to keep riding. The day before on the way home gave some directions to two guys, maybe mid 20's, adonis-bodies riding modified road bikes (nice ones) - they had begun riding at about 10:30 AM in Huntington Beach and were headed for the Gaslamp district. I saw them in La Jolla at about 6:30PM. Just having fun. I thought about it and at first didn't believe them. I thought Huntington Beach was too far away. After checking the map - its only 85 miles from La Jolla so - I am sure they did it. Have made a mental note to ride up there someday - although it just reminded me on how close LA is...

paulson seems a smart man, unlike his boss

Bush normally appoints idiots like himself as advisors. I just read Henry Paulson's suggestions for changing the Federal Reserve System. Seems pretty smart to me. Click for the link.

something we should all pay attention to; and be ashamed of

Click for the link

on bicycle commuting

I am getting the route and routine of my bike commute down and wanted to comment on a certain aspect of it that came out in a discussion with friends the other evening. Specifically, it is that, when commuting on my bike, almost every day/night, I see something or someone that I would never have run into were I in a car. These are not necessarily "big" things, just experiences that make life a little more interesting. I'll use this last week as an example. I commuted on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday I was on the road earlier than usual because I was having dinner with friends and it was light my entire return ride. About a third of the way through, near UCSD, I noticed I was cycling with a young woman who, when I asked her said she was riding home to Pacific Beach. I offered to show her the best way to go and we shared the ride for about 10 miles or so. Didn't ask her name and I'll probably see her again out on the road. Wednesday was my usual later evening ride. At the base of Mt. Soledad, as I was heading up Muirlands Road, I could see a young woman walking down the sidewalk to my right. She perked out, "Wonderful evening isn't it?" in a friendly sing-song kind of way. I responded, "Good evening", and then it got weird. She came walking at me quickly, "Why won't you help me, Sir?" she barked. My bullshit meter went off big-time and I zipped to the other side of the road and pedaled uphill as fast as I could. She continued, "What are you doing, Sir?", to which I replied, "Riding away from a crazy woman". I finished my ride wondering what the hell I had just experienced, coming to the conclusion that spring-break LSD or X had juiced the poor girl into some kind of dementia. Thursday, not much until very close to home when a guy ran out of his house squawking, "Dude, where did you get that light?", "You light up the whole street!". After multiple "Dude" -peppered exclamations from the guy (I think he had a couple drinks in him), I showed him my light (the "light & motion" brand headlamp that has changed my life and DOES, in fact, light up the whole street) he seemed satisfied and I pedaled up the hill. Admittedly, differing experiences -- but all interesting and none would have happened had I been insulated in my car.

oh, and some classic children's books