Scene of the crime-restitution + bonus plant pics

It's HOT!!!!!

It was 83 at 5:30 this am, AND windy.

The day of the Oakland firestorm, it was not this warm or this windy this early. But things are not as bone dry as they were then.

Be careful.

We're taking the cats and the laptop and fleeing to the coast for a couple of days until it gets reasonable.

My Neighbor, The Artist Pt ...Whatever

So it goes

A year ago, when we hired a gardening crew to tidy up the yard each month at our 2nd house, we requested that a small patch in the front be cleared of the cape weed which covered it, so that we could replant it with native grasses. This was the first step in a change of the landscaping to more natural and water saving plants. This request seemed to be ignored, so we did it ourselves. We planted 10 bunches of red fescue, Festuca rubra "Molate", which in the interim did well and looked lovely.....until this week when the landscaping crew dug them all out. Neighbors who had seen us plant them, confronted the crew, but were assured that we "wanted them out".

The Scene of the Crime!

The biggest problem is that now we're in a dry season, so to get new ones rooted they will have to be irrigated. Water conservation is a big issue in this area, and irrigation is somewhat frowned upon.

Did I mention getting elected to the local water board?

Essential information for engineer/cat relationships

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4

Small Town Parade

Our town has an annual parade which celebrates it's history as a supplier of Dairy & Poultry products. This year is the 150th anniversary of becoming a "city"

I was gone for most of the day, but my beautiful bride took some pictures.

Our front porch.

This is the float which staged in front of our house

Technically, it's a "Tidal Slough", but you don't get federal funds for dredging those.

Another filched email

Proposed alcohol warning labels

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell happened to your bra and panties.
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WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not.
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WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a retard.
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WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe that ex-lovers are really dying for you to telephone them at four in the morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
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WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may be a major factor in getting your ass kicked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
WARNING: the crumsumpten of alcohol may Mack you tink you kan tpye reel gode

Another "out of gas" desperation post

The person who sent me this email doesn't read the blog, so it's fair fodder

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction. (this is crying out for several punch lines)

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Thought for today-

Mainly because I'm out of gas.

Good judgement comes from experience.

Experience comes from bad judgement.

WooHooo, gonna party TONITE!

After PAYING a 4 figure sum, today we got this in the mail.

Ahnald, iff you vanted it, ve vould haff let chu haff eet.

And I got the Prius back from the shop this afternoon. Does it get any better than this?

Whale of a tale or Tail of a whale

After an absence of almost a year, during which time, my neighbor the artist, has mentioned on numerous occasions how much he missed our weather vane, ("It was one of the first things I noticed when we looked at the neighborhood") A Dude observed, "It really tied the block together"

It has made a triumphant return, but not without lots of planning and angst.

Problem #1- Mounting it in it's previous position (pre new roof) would void the roof warranty. So where do we put it, and how.

Problem #2- Having chosen a site and "proper" materials, finding 3/16ths aluminum, ($4 a lb at scrap yard), then finding a way to bend it to 105 degree angle. (After numerous attempts to bend it neatly, I ended up clamping one side to a 4X6 and beating the shit out of it)

Backlash to Smug pollution?

The title is a reference to an episode of South Park. But

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES!

Vandals strike 6 hybrid cars

By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT April 13, 2008

A vandalism report involving a Toyota Prius parked overnight on the west side of Petaluma highlights a disturbing trend, police said Saturday.Someone is stalking the popular hybrids.Six such cars have been vandalized in Petaluma in the past two weeks, all but one of them parked on the city's west side.Five times a brick, rock or hammer has been thrown through a window. Once, a fender was dented, police said."We have no idea at this point" who is responsible or why, police Sgt. Mark Hunter said. "And it's possible that there are vandalisms that have occurred that have not yet been reported."The first case was reported March 30 after a rock was thrown through the window of a Prius on Oak Street not far from Oak Hill Park.Subsequent reports involved damage to cars on April 3 on St. Francis Drive; April 4 on El Rose Drive; April 5 on Fourth Street; and Saturday on Webster Street and on West Street.Anyone whose car has been vandalized should let police know at 778-4372, Hunter said.

My Neighbor, The Artist Pt Deux

What can I say, obviously the man LOVES Opera!

Lucky Me

Through the "courtesy" of an unknown person last night, I have been given an opportunity to practice my letting go skills and breathing/stress relief techniques. (And I have yoga tomorrow morning)

Somebody kicked in the driver's door of my car last night.

I've spent the morning meeting new and interesting people like our police Community Services Officer (CSO) who took pictures and made a report, estimators at two body repair places ($1750), talked to an insurance rep and waiting for a call from another. After going for a walk to use up some of the endorphines, I talked to some neighbors to see if they had heard/seen anything. (In my absence, apparently the gendarmes had made the rounds)

My Neighbor, The Artist Pt1

For those who may have gone back and read the Bad neighbor series, this is who moved into the house after they left. Actually both next door neighbors are artists, but I digress.

The Amazing Adventures of The Leg, Pt 2

Word spread quietly within the confines of the station of the amazing performance of the departments newest member, recognizing that it's future performance depended on secrecy.

A short time later, one of the station's crews was helping teach new recruits at the fire academy. The class was gathered on one side of the 4 story training tower. Firefighter Jim Pelouse excused himself, explaining he had something to do on the 2nd story. He donned an old set of turnout pants that had been altered to accomodate The Leg. Again a piercing scream of pain, and all the recruits run to the scene. One recruit firefighter was so horrified at the sight, he covered Jim's eyes, screaming "Don't Look!!" The Leg had performed once again, but now the word was out, and it was once again relegated to a warm dry corner.

Having tasted the sweetness of attention and admiration, it couldn't go back to it's safe spot, with just the occasional chuckle and being pointed at. It no longer felt like an important member. It grew impatient and longed to see more of the world. It felt like there was no communication with his former buddies. He felt used.

Finally one day a crew from the Heavy Rescue station stopped by to pick up some paperwork. They had heard the tales, and Capt Don Blagueur was anxious to meet this Leg.

From the time he entered the room, there was an electric connection between the two. Although in hindsight it might have been static electricity from the carpet, they felt a connection. Don understood it's loneliness, stuck in the fire station 24/7 just because it wasn't drawing a salary which would allow it to get a place to live, a cool ride, and chance to travel and see the world.

Blagueur hatched a plot. A diversion was created, and as they left, The Leg was swept away to the Heavy Rescue Station.

They had an engine, the heavy rescue unit and A BOAT! The Leg dreamed of hydroplaning over the waves, lashed to the bow, saltspray dripping off its foot thrust into the air. He would get his sea leg and be able to tell stories to whoever would listen.

But first there was much to learn from Blagueur.

BABY NAMING CONTEST!!!!!

But not here.


HERE! (It's not her kid either)

This is the infamous Drunken Housewife blog, home to The adorable Iris Uber Alles, & Lola/Lucy, The"DH" herself and costarring Anton as Sober Husband (SH)

I'm thinking MsCatCalls has a BUNCH of cool names up her virtual sleeves, Smeagoul, I mean REALLY (You'll have to know how to pronounce it however)

DH loves and rescues cats, rats & books and is currently addicted to World of Warcraft. 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Give it a shot! What's the worst thing that can happen? She invites you over for dinner then gets violently ill at the sight of you? (Already happened)

The Amazing Adventures of The Leg, Pt 1

Once, in a fire department, not so far away, there was a leg.

To the best of my recollection/imagination, this is it's story.

It's early years are, so far, undocumented. But it's humble entry into the fire department hint at rough years of poverty and exposure to drugs and alcohol on the mean streets.

The Leg was found abandoned in some bushes not too far from a large fire station.

This was a very nice fire station with a 110' ladder truck , a pumper, and a Battalion Chief. There were also two Hazardous Materials Trucks. The crews were very proud.

One day, a passerby rang the doorbell, he had found The Leg in some bushes, and not knowing what else to do, brought it to the fire station. The firefighters, not quite sure what to do with it themselves, cleaned it up and stood it in a corner. Now The Leg was clean, warm and dry and probably hoping that it had found a new home.

The firefighters tried to find a home for The Leg, but no one had reported it missing, no one seemed to have a use for it.

One day Capt (and future Batt Chief) Mouffette felt The Leg needed to earn it's keep. That evening, when everyone had changed out of their uniforms and into t shirts and sweat pants, he slit the back of an old pair of pants he was wearing and laid down on the apparatus floor with The Leg sticking out from one leg of the sweatpants at an unnatural angle. Then he screamed "MERDE!!! I've fallen!" with all his might. The crews came running out, only to see the captain lying there in obvious pain with what appeared to be a severely dislocated hip. The paramedics rushed into action to stabalize the trauma. One firefighter held the distraught captain, trying to comfort him until one paramedic tried to find a pulse on The Legs foot.

The Leg don't do pulses, but he did have a new job in the fire dept!

Memorable CoWorkers

An off blog discussion has reminded me of some memorable co workers. If some of them had a blog, I'm sure I'd be on their list.

#1 on my list was a guy I worked with about 10 years ago. He had the reputation of being a tad eccentric. (I'm sure I had my own reputatation) He had been a sniper in Vietnam, so there was probably a bit of baggage there, but he never talked about it. We bid into the same station, with him as the engineer and me as the Firefighter. Fortunately, I had worked with the captain quite a bit before, and we got along well.

"Dave" and I shared a skewed sense of humor, enjoying "The Simpsons", Bay area sports etc. Per his reputation he would sometimes get very quiet and avoid us. Remember, we're in a small fire station for 24 hours at a time. He was getting close to retirement. After working together for about a year, he was in an unusually long period of isolation, so one day I cornered him, and said, "Listen Dave, if there's something I've done or said, I'm sorry, and I'd like to correct any problem between us" His response was, "I never want to speak to you again". And per his word, for the next 6 months until he retired, he did not speak a single word to me unless it was necessary for the job. (He was also the crew paramedic, so he would tersely ask me for equipment he needed)

We only learned of his retirement and which day was his last, through the grapevine. I wished him well as he left. He never turned around or acknowledged me or anyone else. He got on his motorcycle and rode off never to be seen again.

PSYCH!

Ta DAAA!

Finally the chimney cap is DONE!

And only a couple of sliced up fingers! ( Sharp edges on sheet metal, GLOVES? for wusses!)

"A real Renassiance man", eh??

Hardly, but more pictures anyway

Spring is coming! Honest!

Storm/contractor update

Back in January we had a pretty good storm which resulted in the loss of our chimney cap. High winds + rusted bits = "What's this laying on the ground?"

So chimney guy is called, yes he can do it, 4-8 weeks for the cap and oh by the way you REALLY need to have the chimney repointed. (replace morter for you non chimney owners). I kind of knew that, but had been ignoring it til now. So masons were contacted, chimney was repointed for a slight phenominal fee, and we waited. and waited....and waited. A call is made to chimney guy, whose response could be summed up with "HUH?"

After about a week of lies, it hasn't come in, it's here someplace, what's your phone number again? It was NEVER ORDERED!

I went on line, found the same cap, ordered it, a week later it's here, installed in 30 minutes. It would have been faster but I was being careful and deliberate.

Ah. but NOTHING is THAT simple.

I ordered it with a 1" mesh sparker arrestor screen. I got a call a day or two after I ordered it and was advised that 1/2" was mandatory for California, but that it was the same price. No Problem!

Except that the cap which arrived Friday, that I installed today (sat) has NO arresting mesh. However, I looked around the neighborhood, and there are several of the same style caps around and NONE of them have spark arrestors! Check UPDATE at end

That was Fri-Sat. Today (mon) UPS dropped off the screens (with installation instructions) Also when I got up ,after typing in the original post, my back went into big time spasms. I have been mostly bedridden until this morning. I think the spasms have ceased and I'm just left with muscles that have been working overtime. Thanks, to a regular local reader/friend who may or may not have loaned me some muscle relaxants. (I slept REALLY well)

An "AW" moment

I had some business on the coast this morning. Late morning, when I was done, I realized it was a low tide. So I went to Miwok beach. Why? Because that's where I like to go for Me Walk!

You think I'm kidding about the name?

Seriously though, I usually take a plastic bag with me and pick up garbage while I'm there.
So I'm walking around the tide pools, picking up crap and enjoying the rest of the scenery. When I get as far up the coast as I feel like going, I get back to the beach for the return and to pick up trash enroute. I had not seen anybody else, but I had not really looked back towards the beach. When I got to one spot that had a nice wide sandy area, someone had taken a stick, and written "THANKS!" in the sand. It took me a second to realize that it was probably for me. Awwww

BTW, almost everytime I do this I find a golf ball (have we forgotten the lesson of Kramer?) and an "applicator"

Gentlemen, when you go to the beach hold onto your balls!

and Ladies.....use biodegradable "thingys"

Keystone Kops forensics

I've always been fascinated with how things work, how they go wrong, how things break etc. In hindsight, if I had the IQ, I should have gone into a career in Failure Analysis.

Moonrabbit, the woman I have tricked into marrying me and staying married for 30 years, loves CSI type shows. For some reason, me, not so much. But by osmosis I have seen and heard plenty of blood spatter theory.

Several weeks ago, a plastic bottle of liquid car wax fell off a shelf in our meticulously clean garage. OK, maybe not so clean, but anyway, the top split open and a small amount of wax spilled out. Yesterday, I was thinking that I should put the remainder of the wax in a new container so it doesn't dry out, since my waxing a car is a sign of the apocolypse. I carefully poured the remnants into another plastic wide mouth jar. I was holding it by the lid, and as I was walking to put the jar away, the jar fell off.

Here's where the fascinating and humorous forensics comes in. The jar hit the ground, and ALL the wax splashed up, all over my face, hair and shirt, but despite dropping at my feet, there was not a single drop on my pants or shoes!

Been tested?

Most People Diagnosed With Celiac Disease Show No Symptoms

Celiac.com 02/18/2008 - A greater awareness of celiac disease, coupled with better and more accurate tests for celiac disease have helped to bring about a situation where most people currently diagnosed with celiac disease show no symptoms at the time of their diagnosis.

Currently, most people diagnosed with celiac disease do not show symptoms, but are diagnosed on the basis of referral for elevated risk factors. This finding has caused doctors to call for an adjustment to screening procedures for high-risk populations.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Grzegorz Telega recently surveyed medical records of people diagnosed with celiac disease at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin from 1986 to 2003. The statistics showed that the number of celiac disease diagnosis rose from a single case in 1986 to 93 cases in 2003. The total number of cases during that period was 143.Before the mid-1990’s, more than 85% of children diagnosed with celiac disease were under 10 years old, with the average age being just over 5 years old. After 1995, less than 50% of children diagnosed with celiac disease were under 10 years old, and the average age at diagnosis had risen to about 8.5 years of age. Children diagnosed before the age of 3 years old usually complained of classic celiac-associated gastrointestinal symptoms, such as malnutrition, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and bloating, while children diagnosed at older ages had less pronounced symptoms.

One of the important conclusions made by the research group is that the possibility of celiac disease should be strongly considered in people with other autoimmune disorders, even if those people do not show gastrointestinal symptoms traditionally associated with celiac disease.

The research team called upon primary care doctors to adopt a practice of celiac screening for all people with elevated risk factors, including people with a family history of celiac disease, people with Addison’s disease Down Syndrome type 1 diabetes, thyroiditis, Turner syndrome, and type 1 diabetes. The team also called for screening of patients with short stature, iron deficiency anemia, and high transaminase levels

.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2008;162:164- 168.

Trials of a Domestic maintenance engineer

We have an old house, a very old house. We have lived in it for a LONG time (30+ yrs). It was a fixer upper when we bought it, and I think it has aged back into a fixer upper again. I have heard, and it has been roughly my experience, that "things" last about 8 years. Thus I usually write the purchase date on appliances such as water heaters, washers, dryers and I should have put one on our new furnace that replaced our aged furnace that started "acting up" just before a forecast cold snap.

So small jobs accumulate. A leaky shower valve, "fixed" but still not right. Then last night while playing with Lily, I hopped (do NOT try to visualize) a bit in the hallway to get her to run away, and CRASH! down came the glass globe from the ceiling light. (OK, maybe I need to lose some weight).

So this afternoon I dismantled the valve, and put another new washer in it. The washer worked perfectly, however, now the valve stem leaked horrendously. (Horrendously = I won't be able to BS Moonrabbit that it's SUPPOSED to do that for lubrication purposes) So off to hardware store #1 for a new complete valve kit and a replacement globe for the light. Found the kit eventually($4), then found globe that LOOKED like it was the right size ($9). It was on a top shelf, and when I tried to grab it, it rolled to the back. Get help. Get home, the diameter is 1/4 inch too big, but I have already taken off the labels. I know the other globes they had would be too small, so it's off to hardware store #2 across town, but there are some other things I need in the neighborhood. They don't have the other thing I need, and when I find the globes, they don't have the size I need. They DO have a NEW base ($3)which would fit the new globe. My old base may be out of date?

I get home, reassemble the valve with the other new parts it needed, it seems to work properly. Then I tackle the light fixture. I SO enjoy working over my head, literally and figuratively. The best description of what followed is the old adage about a monkey having relations with a football. Dropped screws, connectors, drill (as a power screwdriver) etc. Anyway it works now.

More Storm Pics

Most of what you see is sea foam. lots and lots. This is about 3 hours before high tide. Here's the satellite shot which looks like it's at high tide.

Although the water is about 30' below the edge, it looks like the waves are going to break over the road.

Mushroom & Onions, hmm (not sure I'd eat THESE!

Spring can't be TOO far away

Stolen, I mean "Borrowed" from another blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2bpc7LSRZc

Forgive me H, I have sinned.

"Was that a parable or a very subtle joke?"

Tour of California

1 picture of the early leader, then a camera malfunction...oh well

Thought For Today

"If you're NOT confused, you're probably delusional"


I believe this may be a corollary to " If everything seems to be going smoothly, you've overlooked something"

Get tested for Celiac for Valentine's day

Top Three Reasons to get your loved ones tested for Valentine's Day:

1)Nothing Says "I LOVE YOU" like not hogging the bathroom 10 times a day
2)Most Chocolate is Gluten Free
3)It's easier to cuddle when you don't have gas

http://www.celiacce ntral.org/ Newsletter/ February_ 2008/486/ #s9

Financial shenanigans

First off, a little bit after the Super Bowl, I was online, checking email etc. There was an email from a credit card company verifying that we had changed the email notification address. hmmm.

"Moonrabbit, did YOU change the email from xxxx credit card co?" "NO!"
So I tried to log on to our acct and was denied access. I'm thinking this is not good.

Called the 24/7 1-800 number, eventually got a live person, who told me the email had been changed to something like Juan Vasques Hernandez... We went over charges, and there was 1 charge made a minute before the time stamp of the notification I got, for chocolates from some East coast chocolatier. "Moonrabbit, did you charge chocolate from the East Coast?" "NO!"

SHIT!

The 1-800 guy said that to do what had been done, the @$$^%$#hole had to have had her SS#.

Double SHIT!!

So now we're on the ID theft merry-go-round. Notifications galore, new friends at Experion, Equifax etc

Now I'm on constant online patrol. This morning I log on to my bank, and there is a $25 acct fee charge.

Several months ago, I was notified that my bank no longer carried my kind of free checking, but that, since they had my mortgage, I could get fee waived checking, interest, VISA card and all these bells and whistles that I would never use. They made it sound like there were no other options. So I reluctently went with it. After several months, there was a $25 acct fee charged. When I inquired they said it was a mistake and removed it.

This time I was referred to a "specialist" who informed my that only 10% of the mortgage counted towards the minimum balance. This was the VERY first time I heard of that.

Anyway, it seems there is another fee waived acct that I can go to that has a lower minimum balance, but without the bells and whistles. He switched me to that and removed the charge.

Liars and thieves! EVERYWHERE!