June 2003 Archives

Carole's sister Crystal and her family left early Monday morning for 10 days in Cancun. Carole did the 2:00 am LAX shuttle. Crystal and Terry dropped off Alexis (on the laptop) and Logan (with the SNES controller) around 4:30 Sunday afternoon on their way to the mall to do some last-minute shopping. We met them at Chili's in Monrovia for dinner, then everyone met back at the house to do final prep on the packing, and to veg to a couple of movies. (Jeremy set Terry up with LOTR:TT).

For the first time in two weeks, the sun was shining (almost) at lunch time today, so I hit the pavement for my two mile walk through the hilly residential neighborhood just south of my office building. It's been a while since I've done the walk, so I took the camera so I could have an excuse to stop and rest every so often. I also wanted to submit a collage to the 800x600 project website, and this seemed like a good topic.

The mailbox above is one of the 64 photos that make up the collage. Click here for the full collage.

Newly promoted Major Sharpe and Sgt. Harper battle a pack of deserters, 10 French Battalions, a foppish English Colonel and the old enemy Sgt. Hakeswill over Christmas, 1812.

One of three CDs in my car changer.

After reading some good things, I downloaded a bunch of Weakerthans songs from the 'net. The catchy music (a little pop, a little punk, a little folk) blends with the witty lyrics with great effect.

Still one of my favorites. David Cantor's lyrics sung by Kelly Flint combine sophisticated but unpretentious jazz with intelligent and witty lyrics.

Mark Everett ("E") brings us bittersweet wit and lighthearted drama.

I've decided to demote Chris Pirillo's blog to the second tier of my blog roll. Chris has a lot of good things to say, but overall, his is a second tier site. Fun to read when you have the time, but not something that warrants day-to-day reading.

Sharpe matches wits with the French spychaser Leroux during the Battle of Salamanca, held on my birthday in 1812.

From SmartMoney.com: Gemstar-TV Guide International (GMST) continued to slide on late-breaking developments around a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Just before the market close, the SEC said it had it has filed a lawsuit against two former high-ranking executives -- Henry Yuen, 55, former chief executive and chairman, and Elsie Leung, 57, former chief financial officer -- for their alleged role in inflating the company's revenue.

Here's a link to the whole story: SEC Blindsides Gemstar-TV Guide

My kids and I started noticing the progression of California license plates a few years ago. The current format is #AAA### - a number, followed by three letters, followed by three numbers. My '92 Escort started with 2Z; my '02 Escape is 4X.

I just saw my first 5C, on a new 350ZX as we went under the 210 on Rosemead Blvd. I thought I'd gotten a photo of it, but when I looked the photo was messed up.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is now saying that copyright holders should be given the legal authority to destroy the computers of anyone who downloads copyrighted materials. Here's the Washington Post story.

Lawrence Lessig said it best:

Senator Hatch has been swallowed by the extremists. (Though this might not be such a bad idea. Can we bomb the offices of stock brokers thought to be violating SEC regulations? Or bulldoze houses of citizens with unregistered guns? Or — yes, this is good — short the telephones of people who use indecent language?)

This brisk story reunites Sharpe with his lover Maria and his old enemy Sgt. Hakeswill as Wellington's army lays siege to Badajoz.

My two teenage boys give me empirical evidence to support this story...

By Leslie Earnest, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Link (reg required)

David Shaw wears long pants to protect his shins when he's skateboarding, or if it's rainy or very cold. Or for a special event, such as his eighth-grade graduation Wednesday.

Otherwise, forget it.

"The only other time I wear pants is if all my shorts are dirty," said the 14-year-old Newport Beach resident, shopping with his mom and little brother at the Metro Point shopping center in Costa Mesa recently.

As if retailers needed more trouble, teenage boys are spending less these days on long pants, content instead to buy shorts or simply keep wearing — and re-wearing — the same old jeans and cargo pants.

There's a nice little garden pathway behind the building next to the one I work in. I sometimes go there in the afternoon to refresh the creative juices, or to read a few pages from the current book. The two buildings share the same owner, so it's there for anyone in either building to use.

Instead of a babbling brook to provide soothing sounds, the path is 20 feet from the busy Figueroa on-ramp to the eastbound 134 in Eagle Rock, just west of Pasadena. The traffic does provide some white-noise background, which can be a nice distraction when reading.

In mid-May, I decided I wanted to grow something. It takes some effort to find a really good tomato. Supermarket tomatos just don't cut it - they pick them too early. They look okay when you buy them, but the flavor just isn't there. I've found some good ones in some farmer's markets. There's a nice farmer's market in South Pasadena every week, but I haven't stopped in yet.

We had a nice breakfast at the Coco's on Las Tunas, with my dad, my sister Carol, and my nephew Sheehan. We caught up on things, some important (but not that important), some trivial.

In the picture, that's me with the folded hands, Justin looking at the jelly basket, Jeremy, my dad Jim, Carol, and Jason's hands. Sheehan was between me and the picture taker Carole.

A few months ago, I started a three-times-a-week running program. I thought it was going pretty well, but I had to admit that I was pretty tired some nights after work. In late May other distractions came along, and it was easy - too easy - to let the running fall by the wayside.

I'm going to try the CoolRunning Couch-to-5K Running Plan. It might be just the ticket to ease me back into shape. link

As the British begin to push the French out of Portugal and into Spain, Sharpe gets himself in trouble (for doing the proper thing, as usual).

Gloom of June likely to stay
Ocean cycle cools things off in state
By Becky Oskin , Staff Writer

From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune...

PASADENA - The thick fog cloaking Southern California in a gloomy gray will continue through July and likely may linger a few days in August, according to a forecast from JPL and Cal State LA scientists.

In fact, they predict we may be in for cooler-than-normal summers for the next 20 years.

The Ducks win over the Devils was pretty cool - even Jaz gave Kariya some credit for scoring after taking the big hit from Scott Stevens.

Jeremy agreed to go to Vroman's to pick up Sharpe's Gold for me. I staked him $5 to get a book for himself, but he was still a little short.

From Recipe Circus and the Betty Crocker Working Woman's Cookbook:

Combine all ingredients in a suitable pan; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

This sauce is mild. To spice it up a little, add a teaspoon of garlic powder or fresh minced garlic, and/or increase the amount of chili powder and cumin.

I had finished Sharpe's Havoc on Wednesday, so when the Ducks' game finally got out of hand around 7:30 Thursday night, I decided to go looking for Sharpe's Eagle.

With all the turmoil over the last couple of weeks, I hadn't taken the motorcycle out at all. With Carole in Tucson, it was easy to take it out of the garage, so I suited up and headed up to the Vroman's in Hastings Ranch. They had a bunch of Sharpe's, but not Eagle, so I asked the nice girl at the Info Desk to check at the other store.

They had one, so I reserved it and headed down the 210 to the main store. I got lost on the second floor looking for the Will Call, and finally asked an employee, and she politely pointed out the huge Will Call sign on the southeast wall. The book hadn't made it up from the first floor info desk, so I had to go downstairs.

I avoided the freeway on the way home, taking Green and Del Mar instead. Carole wasn't due back until late Friday - I decided to splurge and park in the middle of the garage.

I'd love this tachometer for my motorcycle:

Some people will take the last cup from the coffee pot at work, then leave the empty pot on the warmer until the whole office smells like burnt coffee.

Some people will take the last cup, and make a fresh pot.

Some people will get a glass of water, notice the pot is empty, and make a pot with no intention of having any.

Sharpe and the French invasion of Portugal in early 1809.