Apparently, as an "Independent", I don't know who to vote for. Or something.
Today I found in my mailbox a card that said it was the "Voter Information Guide for Independent Voters". What the hell? I can't make up my mind on my own? I can't read the real Voter Information Guide booklet that was sent to me from the State of California and vote for myself what I think is best for me, the State of California, and the United States of America?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Someone Please Explain To Me
What right Utah voters have to interfere with California politics?
At least they called the whole idea off.
I got a phone call from an old dude a couple weeks ago. He asked me if I had made up my mind about Proposition 8. I said yes, I had, and he asked me what way I was going to vote. I said I was going to vote no (I should have told him it was none of his business!!!) and he asked me if I was 100% certain.
Why? If I wasn't would he have tried to convince me otherwise? I should have asked him questions that would really show his prejudices.
I have no idea if the old dude was calling me from Utah or not, but it sure was annoying.
I was originally not going to blog about this, but I'm starting to get sick of reading about this issue and dealing with it everywhere I go.
At least they called the whole idea off.
I got a phone call from an old dude a couple weeks ago. He asked me if I had made up my mind about Proposition 8. I said yes, I had, and he asked me what way I was going to vote. I said I was going to vote no (I should have told him it was none of his business!!!) and he asked me if I was 100% certain.
Why? If I wasn't would he have tried to convince me otherwise? I should have asked him questions that would really show his prejudices.
I have no idea if the old dude was calling me from Utah or not, but it sure was annoying.
I was originally not going to blog about this, but I'm starting to get sick of reading about this issue and dealing with it everywhere I go.
Mission To Mars
Buzz Aldrin thinks Mars pioneers should just stay there permanently.
I have to admit I like his idea. The effort and resources that would be expended figuring out how to get people off of the planet and back home could be better spent on ensuring colonists' survival.
However, I think we're a long ways from sending off colonists to the great wild unknown. At least 50 years. Unless someone discovered a way to commercialize space, and there was a resource on Mars that we absolutely needed to have.
If the political climate here gets bad enough, I think a lot of people would want to move to Mars and start their own Martian colony, complete with their own laws and way of life.
I have to admit I like his idea. The effort and resources that would be expended figuring out how to get people off of the planet and back home could be better spent on ensuring colonists' survival.
However, I think we're a long ways from sending off colonists to the great wild unknown. At least 50 years. Unless someone discovered a way to commercialize space, and there was a resource on Mars that we absolutely needed to have.
If the political climate here gets bad enough, I think a lot of people would want to move to Mars and start their own Martian colony, complete with their own laws and way of life.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Hellman Article on Nuclear Weapons
Hellman is one of the inventors of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, used in public-key cryptography. He wrote an down-to-earth article about nuclear warfare that's straight-forward and easy to read. Then posted it on Slashdot.
I have to admit I skimmed the article.
I have to admit I skimmed the article.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Krista Tagged Me!
1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse? No! On the kitchen table. . .
2. Where is your significant other? At home? In his office? One of the two places. . .
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? At home
5. Your father? At home
6. Your favorite thing? Sleeping. . .spending time with my sweetheart
7. Your dream last night? I don't remember my dreams from last night.
8. Your dream/goal? Find a way to work part-time and have enough money to buy a nice house in a good neighborhood, travel two months out of the year, and have enough left over to put away for my future family.
9. The room your in? The living room
10. Your hobby? Running, reading, watching movies
11. Your fear? Of being a complete failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? I want to have my master's done, and have enough saved for a downpayment on a house.
13. Where were you last night? At home
14. What you're not? Superwoman. I have to keep reminding myself of that.
15. One of your wish-list items? Peace of mind.
16. Where you grew up? Ontario, CA or Cedar City, UT, depending on how you look at it.
17. The last thing you ate? I'm eating green bean casserole right now.
18. What are you wearing? pink velour thermal pjs. . . .
19. Your tv? A consolation prize from when my last boyfriend dumped me. I'm fixing to throw it out the window when I move.
20. Your pet? Does a lucky bamboo plant count?
21. Your computer? Asus lappy
22. Your mood? Moody and cranky
23. Missing someone? My sweetheart.
24. Your car? Toyota Yaris. One of these days I'll blog an ode to the Yaris. :)
25. Something your not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Barnes & Noble. Or Victoria's Secret. Take your pick. I haven't really frequented either one in months.
27. Your summer? Summer's over? Aw. :(
28. Love someone? Yes.
29. Your favorite color? Dark green.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Possibly today at something I read online.
31. Last time you cried? Tonight after I got out of the shower.
I'm supposed to tag someone, huh? I suppose if you read this, have a blog, and want to fill this out, I tag you. :)
I'm supposed to tag someone, huh? I suppose if you read this, have a blog, and want to fill this out, I tag you. :)
Lying to Little Kids
Time Traveller wrote about deception and it reminded me of something that happened over the weekend.
My sweetheart and I were at the Huntington, and after wandering around the Art Gallery (formerly the residence of the Huntingtons) we took a walk by the Library. There's a lawn with Romanesque statues and a fountain at the end. There isn't water running through the fountain, but in the pond there were koi fish and gold fish swimming around.
We watched the fish for a bit, and then before we left a man and his two young sons came up. The boys were saying, "Look! Look! There's a fish in there!"
The man said, "No, I don't think there's any fish in there." By then he had noticed us and I said, "Oh, but there is!"
He seemed a little disgusted, then mouthed, "I know" before saying "Thanks." As in, "Thanks, but no thanks."
I don't know what the point of lying to little kids would be.
My sweetheart and I were at the Huntington, and after wandering around the Art Gallery (formerly the residence of the Huntingtons) we took a walk by the Library. There's a lawn with Romanesque statues and a fountain at the end. There isn't water running through the fountain, but in the pond there were koi fish and gold fish swimming around.
We watched the fish for a bit, and then before we left a man and his two young sons came up. The boys were saying, "Look! Look! There's a fish in there!"
The man said, "No, I don't think there's any fish in there." By then he had noticed us and I said, "Oh, but there is!"
He seemed a little disgusted, then mouthed, "I know" before saying "Thanks." As in, "Thanks, but no thanks."
I don't know what the point of lying to little kids would be.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Long Beach Half Marathon Race Report
I ran in the Long Beach Half Marathon yesterday. It was my first half-marathon. I hurt my leg training and decided to walk it, finishing in 3:03:31 (chip time, my gun time was 3:06:15). Now I have a time to beat!
I read about the problems with traffic at this event before (it's a bike tour, plus a marathon, half-marathon, a 5K, and a kids' 1K all rolled into one) and decided that I would avoid the traffic problems (as well as the $10 parking fee) by parking at a Metro line park-and-ride station (Wardlow Station on the Blue Line) and ride down to 1st Street, which was only a few blocks from the starting line.
My sweetheart was able to make it out that day to cheerlead for me and I texted him my splits when I passed each mile marker:
Mile 1 - 7:51 AM
Mile 2 - 8:07 AM (16 minutes)
Mile 3 - 8:21 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 4 - 8:36 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 5 - 8:51 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 6 - 9:06 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 7 - 9:19 AM (13 minutes)
Mile 8 - 9:33 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 9 - 9:47 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 10 - 10:02 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 11 - 10:16 AM (13 minutes)
Mile 12 - 10:29 AM (13 minutes)
My shins were bugging me from the start until about mile 5. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to have a good time then. Around mile 10 I was feeling great and felt that I could run the last mile. I did run part of the last mile, but by then my legs were so tired I couldn't run the whole thing. Or maybe I was running too fast. My sweetheart said I did the last part (from Mile 12 to the finish) in around 9 minutes. If that's the case I must have been running really fast, because even when I train I run around 12-minute miles. I know I really pushed it after we turned off of Ocean Ave. at the end. The finish was downhill and pretty easy. :)
I saw some characters on the way. There was one guy around mile 2 or 3 who was running the half marathon barefoot. There was an old man who was running way faster than me around mile 3, but I passed him at mile 12. There was another guy, a Filipino who was on one of the organized teams, who I met around mile 2. I passed him around mile 11 or mile 12 as well. There was one guy at mile 11 who was running slower than I was walking. He told me, "oh, you're doing really good!" I told him back, "No, *you're* doing really good!"
There was a guy (I'm not sure if he was a volunteer or a spectator) at Mile 11 who said that it was all downhill here from here, and that it wasn't the first time a guy lied to you (Mile 11 was the last or second-to-last minor incline). I told him that it wouldn't be the last, and he got a real kick out of that.
The course took us near the starting line just after Mile 6 and my sweetheart was there to cheer me on. He asked me if I was having fun and at that point, I really was! I definitely think his presence at the race helped me out a lot. I knew they had music and "stuff" going on at the finish line but I didn't want him to get bored waiting around for me.
They put our names (or a 'nickname') on our bibs, so people could cheer you on by name. At the water/powerade station at Mile 12 the volunteers saw me texting and shouted out to me. Hey, we live in a modern world. :)
It was a beautiful day too. During the middle miles along the beach it was dead quiet. All you could hear were the waves and the breeze. People were listening to their iPods and not talking. That was kind of weird, to see so many people in a group moving along and not talking.
I read about the problems with traffic at this event before (it's a bike tour, plus a marathon, half-marathon, a 5K, and a kids' 1K all rolled into one) and decided that I would avoid the traffic problems (as well as the $10 parking fee) by parking at a Metro line park-and-ride station (Wardlow Station on the Blue Line) and ride down to 1st Street, which was only a few blocks from the starting line.
My sweetheart was able to make it out that day to cheerlead for me and I texted him my splits when I passed each mile marker:
Mile 1 - 7:51 AM
Mile 2 - 8:07 AM (16 minutes)
Mile 3 - 8:21 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 4 - 8:36 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 5 - 8:51 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 6 - 9:06 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 7 - 9:19 AM (13 minutes)
Mile 8 - 9:33 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 9 - 9:47 AM (14 minutes)
Mile 10 - 10:02 AM (15 minutes)
Mile 11 - 10:16 AM (13 minutes)
Mile 12 - 10:29 AM (13 minutes)
My shins were bugging me from the start until about mile 5. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to have a good time then. Around mile 10 I was feeling great and felt that I could run the last mile. I did run part of the last mile, but by then my legs were so tired I couldn't run the whole thing. Or maybe I was running too fast. My sweetheart said I did the last part (from Mile 12 to the finish) in around 9 minutes. If that's the case I must have been running really fast, because even when I train I run around 12-minute miles. I know I really pushed it after we turned off of Ocean Ave. at the end. The finish was downhill and pretty easy. :)
I saw some characters on the way. There was one guy around mile 2 or 3 who was running the half marathon barefoot. There was an old man who was running way faster than me around mile 3, but I passed him at mile 12. There was another guy, a Filipino who was on one of the organized teams, who I met around mile 2. I passed him around mile 11 or mile 12 as well. There was one guy at mile 11 who was running slower than I was walking. He told me, "oh, you're doing really good!" I told him back, "No, *you're* doing really good!"
There was a guy (I'm not sure if he was a volunteer or a spectator) at Mile 11 who said that it was all downhill here from here, and that it wasn't the first time a guy lied to you (Mile 11 was the last or second-to-last minor incline). I told him that it wouldn't be the last, and he got a real kick out of that.
The course took us near the starting line just after Mile 6 and my sweetheart was there to cheer me on. He asked me if I was having fun and at that point, I really was! I definitely think his presence at the race helped me out a lot. I knew they had music and "stuff" going on at the finish line but I didn't want him to get bored waiting around for me.
They put our names (or a 'nickname') on our bibs, so people could cheer you on by name. At the water/powerade station at Mile 12 the volunteers saw me texting and shouted out to me. Hey, we live in a modern world. :)
It was a beautiful day too. During the middle miles along the beach it was dead quiet. All you could hear were the waves and the breeze. People were listening to their iPods and not talking. That was kind of weird, to see so many people in a group moving along and not talking.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Stressed
I've been really stressed lately. I wish I had the opportunity to go to yoga or run every day. . .
OK, maybe not running just yet. I need to start training again. Big half marathon that I'm going to end up walking on Sunday.
Sometimes I'll meet a friend at YAS and do yoga for an hour. It's really an amazing experience. They're starting to open up more studios, one of which is on the way home for me. That would be nice. Not sure when that franchise is opening.
In the meantime I guess I'll have to buy the DVD and be satisfied with that. The studio in video clip is their actual studio in Venice. I go in the evening so it's not flooded with light except from the streetlamps. It's kept fairly warm and feels good to be in.
OK, maybe not running just yet. I need to start training again. Big half marathon that I'm going to end up walking on Sunday.
Sometimes I'll meet a friend at YAS and do yoga for an hour. It's really an amazing experience. They're starting to open up more studios, one of which is on the way home for me. That would be nice. Not sure when that franchise is opening.
In the meantime I guess I'll have to buy the DVD and be satisfied with that. The studio in video clip is their actual studio in Venice. I go in the evening so it's not flooded with light except from the streetlamps. It's kept fairly warm and feels good to be in.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Hey, Dude On The Blue Line!
I took the Metro from Pasadena to work this morning as an experiment to see how viable it actually is.
It's really not bad. I was able to transfer to each of my trains without missing one or much confusion. Timewise it's maybe 15 or 20 minutes longer than driving, and I'm definitely not missing sitting in traffic. Maybe once the novelty wears off I'll want to reclaim my time.
When I got on the Blue Line today there was a fellow who gave up an extra seat he was occupying so that I could sit down. I did thank him, but forgot to tell him to have a nice day when I got off the train for my next connection.
So if you're the fellow who was getting off at Pacific Coast Hwy and let me sit down next to you on the train, thanks again! I hope you had a nice day.
It's really not bad. I was able to transfer to each of my trains without missing one or much confusion. Timewise it's maybe 15 or 20 minutes longer than driving, and I'm definitely not missing sitting in traffic. Maybe once the novelty wears off I'll want to reclaim my time.
When I got on the Blue Line today there was a fellow who gave up an extra seat he was occupying so that I could sit down. I did thank him, but forgot to tell him to have a nice day when I got off the train for my next connection.
So if you're the fellow who was getting off at Pacific Coast Hwy and let me sit down next to you on the train, thanks again! I hope you had a nice day.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Public Transportation Fascination
I think I've developed an unhealthy fascination with the Metro Rail in Los Angeles.
It all started with an afternoon jaunt from Pasadena to Hollywood, and now I'm constantly trying to incorporate the Metro in my daily life. Unfortunately, the only public transportation available to me currently is the bus system, as the light-rail hasn't been extended very far into South Bay yet.
I'll have to take photos and share, but the Metro is much cleaner than I thought it would be, not to mention quiet and cheaper. A day pass runs $5.00. I'll spend at least that much in gas trying to drive from South Bay to Pasadena.
I've been considering moving to downtown in the next year or so. If I do, I could buy a TAP card, recharge it every month, and take the Metro to work, saving even more money. That would be cool. Timewise it would probably be a little longer than driving, but I would be able to incorporate around two miles of walking a day that I don't currently get, plus not have to deal with the stress of traffic. If USC accepts my graduate application, I would be able to take the subway to school too. (My plan B was to go to Loyola Marymount, which would require driving.)
Los Angeles is the first city I've lived in with a light-rail/subway transit system. I remember going on holiday to Europe or the Washington D.C. area and being in awe with the whole process of procuring a ticket, waiting for the train, and getting on it. The idea of being able to orchestrate a situation where the novel becomes the ordinary takes my breath away.
It all started with an afternoon jaunt from Pasadena to Hollywood, and now I'm constantly trying to incorporate the Metro in my daily life. Unfortunately, the only public transportation available to me currently is the bus system, as the light-rail hasn't been extended very far into South Bay yet.
I'll have to take photos and share, but the Metro is much cleaner than I thought it would be, not to mention quiet and cheaper. A day pass runs $5.00. I'll spend at least that much in gas trying to drive from South Bay to Pasadena.
I've been considering moving to downtown in the next year or so. If I do, I could buy a TAP card, recharge it every month, and take the Metro to work, saving even more money. That would be cool. Timewise it would probably be a little longer than driving, but I would be able to incorporate around two miles of walking a day that I don't currently get, plus not have to deal with the stress of traffic. If USC accepts my graduate application, I would be able to take the subway to school too. (My plan B was to go to Loyola Marymount, which would require driving.)
Los Angeles is the first city I've lived in with a light-rail/subway transit system. I remember going on holiday to Europe or the Washington D.C. area and being in awe with the whole process of procuring a ticket, waiting for the train, and getting on it. The idea of being able to orchestrate a situation where the novel becomes the ordinary takes my breath away.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Nick Reynolds Dies
Kingston Trio's Nick Reynolds Dies At 75
The Kingston Trio is one of my dad's favorite bands. When I was growing up I listened to a lot of their music.
The Kingston Trio is one of my dad's favorite bands. When I was growing up I listened to a lot of their music.
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