My cache
Since my apartment didn’t come with a garage and has almost no storage, I had to do a lot of thinking ahead with my space planning. I was surprised at how much I was able to get in and shove out of my sight, but I’ve been planning to reorganize what little space I do have and see if I can get better use of it. I’ve always wanted to have some kind of Earthquake preparedness kit, and have been eyeing an area of my living room that I can use for that. Up until yesterday it had been so long since there’s been an earthquake in California that whenever I would bring up the idea of earthquake preparedness, people would look at me like I was crazy. It’s not like I’m miss over-organized or anything. I just know how bummed I’d be if I found myself stuck at home without any food, water or electricity. I have to at least set aside some extra water, and while I’m at that, I might as well set aside some other supplies. So yesterday at the store I realized I could at least buy some of the stuff I’d need, and just set it aside until I can make space for it. I picked up 2 gallons of water, some evap milk, some canned goods, some applesauce (mmm), and some things I could make with my camping stove and evap milk. I spent the whole shopping trip feeling like I was walking a very fine line between being overboard and being naively under-prepared. I mean, I have to keep in mind that I’ll have to turn over my kit every 6 months, so I have to get things that I would consume, but not things that I would be tempted to consume. You know, things like canned fruit cocktail, canned soup, potatoes au gratin in a box. I would not object to packing those into my lunch in 6 months. When I got home I looked up earthquake safety and got this interesting video on CNN. I also realized that with my complete cache of camping equipment, all I really need to do is keep my pantry more full. They say to set aside enough for three days, and if you look at it the way you’d look at camping, it’s easy. 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners, and 3 days worth of snack food. And make it comfy snack food, because you might be a little stressed out. Mmm. EZ Cheese.
In reality, I will probably be with Tim at the bar/restaurant that he invested in last year and we’ll be living large off of that pantry.
Home
We had a great time in Cabo. Exhausted by the end of it, but it was a lot of fun. Wore a lot of sunblock but still ended up with a tan. We got pretty indulgent with the eating. I came home craving more ceviche.
I’m going through the pics now.
Sunday
I’m sitting by my friend’s condo in Cabo, and he only gets internet access by the pool. We got here on Friday afternoon, and i’ve taken hundreds of photos. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my card reader, so all of the pictures will have to wait until I get home. We spent the morning at a beautiful snorkeling spot called Playa Chileno, and got some use out of the underwater camera. Here’s an image I pulled off of Google:
I’ll be home Monday eve.
And there was much rejoicing, all over cyberspace
Robert Soloway was sentenced to 47 months in prison (PRISON!) for flooding people’s e-mails accounts with spam. I’m so glad he got what he deserved, and that an example will be set for other potential or current spammers. Although lately the spam I get in my work e-mail is so heavily laden with Engrish that it’s just plain funny. I want to print it and collage it, but it’s full of graphic sex references so I can’t do that, at least not at work. I have enough trouble with just keeping my foul language to a minimum. The worst part of spam invasions at its peak was looking down at my then Jr High-aged niece’s hotmail account and seeing subject lines that talked about huge cocks. That really bothered me, and the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. She will never be sexually harassed as badly as she was by spammers. At least I hope not. But at least she has an innate ability to ignore people when they’re being idiots. She doesn’t get her buttons pushed nearly as easily as I do.
On a related note, I was recently Googling Roger Ebert to check out pictures of him post jaw surgery, which he is apparently very open about (“We hide illness too much, and we should be talking about it” -I agree). It’s not like I did any in-depth research, it’s all on his Wiki page. But I found an anti-spam oath that he wrote, called the Boulder Pledge. Basically, it is a pledge directed at not encouraging spammers:
“Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as the result of an unsolicited e-mail message. Nor will I forward chain letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online community”
I kind of want to get his prison address and mail him tons of offers for online pharmacies and a college degree in 2 weeks.
The Egret tree
Today I found myself laying on a grassy slope in the sun, using my zoom lens as binoculars to stare at the newly discovered tree full of Egrets by my house. I don’t know why I am so fascinated with the birds near my house, because I’m not a birdwatcher. I think it’s just my ever expanding appreciation of my zoom lens. The entire area underneath the tree is sectioned off with that cloth-like orange fencing, and up close it’s like the backyard of somebody who raises poultry. I guess it is very much a sanctuary. A sanctuary for long legged birds that like to stare at you with great suspicion, while also trying to act invisible.
All of these quiet little egrets live in a peaceful little world inside of the tree. An umbrella-like canopy stretches over their whole breeding area, and they peak in and out of the sunny treetops to quibble amongst each other, or stand around looking noble as only Egrets can. Just below the highest leaves is the nursery layer, with huge messy nests housing both of the kinds of Herons that live in the tree. I stood underneath the tree and admired these sweet, quiet birds until one of them noticed me and started bitching at me. Even the bitching was somewhat peaceful and lazy. I quietly moved over to another part of the tree and continued watching them through my lens. Look at all the nests:
I barely caught a glimpse of a baby Egret poking out of its nest to look around.
This one pictured below is another kind of Heron. I guess Egrets are a type of Heron, and a woman who was standing next to me was telling me that the sanctuary is really set up for the darker Heron, and that the white Egrets just settled in too. I can see Egrets doing that. Staring, staring, and slowly moving in on that lovely tree, and then looking over at the other Herons like, “what?”.
You too?
You know what’s fun? Traveling with somebody that doesn’t know you very well, and at the outset of the trip, telling them that you occasionally wake up screaming.
In doggy time it was a half hour.
This is a group photo taken last night at Tim’s house. Our friend Becky snapped several photos back to back, and I used Photoshop to leave in all the phases of Becky’s Jack Russel Terrier jumping off of Andrew’s lap.
Asia and the Extra Terrestrial
Asia is being kept company by E.T. while she’s up in Northern California. How would you like to be riding along the road and have those four eyes staring at you on their way by?
Palo Alto
I recently visited my sister in Northern California. The area she lives in is incredibly beautiful, and I wish I could relocate myself and everyone I know up there. There’s a hillside full of horses nearby, and on Sundays there’s a Farmer’s Market walking distance from her place. I was taking photos the entire weekend.
Unintended encouragement
Do you think that the average household pet gets excited and happy whenever somebody steps on them by accident? Because it is always followed by lavish petting and apologies. I mean, no matter how hard they get stepped on, after they’re done yelping or meowing, they sit up happy and ready to receive buckets of attention.
