Manic Monday!

They should really move the Kennedy Space Center to California -- like, to Edwards where it all started...

I never before realized how much lust one could have for tableware, until I walked into reclaim in Menlo Park and saw these.

Speaking of Menlo Park, why are so many of the shops closed on Sundays, when so many people descend for one of the best farmers markets around?

Top 5 Friday!

Top 5 Small- to Medium-sized Home Improvement Projects I'd love to get done by the end of the year:

5) New light fixture in the guest room

4) New light fixture in the front bathroom

3) Get rid of the excess furniture

2) Get some new furniture that works (esp. in the dining room)

1) A low fence around the front yard

Enough already with the bleeping cancer!!

Alright, Cancer, for realz, I have had it! My friend with breast cancer in her 30s, and now the bad-ass brain cancer in my friend who's even younger than me! As if that weren't enough, my uncle with the melanoma has it coming back for more and stronger than ever. Not to mention the random tongue cancer that almost killed my father-in-law four years ago. What is going on? And if I shaved my head in solidarity, would that be overkill? I should probably make some more hats instead...

Top 5 Friday!

My top 5 beefs with Project Runway:

5) Last night's snooze fest

4) Chris March got auf'd twice

3) Jeffrey

2) Daniel Franco got auf'd twice

1) Immunity

Blog Action Day

What do you know? Someone told me what to blog about today! Very convenient.

So, how does climate change relate to my blog? Well, one of the overriding themes of my blog is my irritation about people being ignorant and/or stupid. Which is the basic tenet of climate change-denial. Well, that plus greed and laziness.

Top 5 Fridays

Top 5 things that could use some editing:

5) This book I'm reading (see left)

4) 95 percent of Hollywood movies

3) My to-do list

2) Ken Burns (seriously, has anyone watched every minute of the National Parks series? I've only had time for the HH bits)

and the number one thing that could use some editing..

1) David Letterman's libido (I know, too easy)

Hello (echoes)

I have been a really lame blogger. But at least I wrote a little something today!

Top 5 things we should all remember today

5) People jumping from 70 floors up to escape burning or being crushed to death.

4) Firefighters climbing past escaping throngs with almost complete certainty that they will not make it out

3) Workers who dug through the rubble and now have asthma or cancer from the toxic dust

2) Airline passengers who fought back

1) The solidarity we felt as a nation as we mourned and moved forward

Elect Cherlene Wright to Redwood City council

Here's the second in my series of endorsements for Redwood City Council: Cherlene Wright.

I think it's important to have a variety of segments of the city's population represented in city government. I don't know Wright super-well (yet), but I think she has something of a "mom six-pack" quality: she's open an inclusive and can relate to a lot of moms -- and moms are really the people who keep our community humming along.

Cherlene is set apart from the rest of the candidates and council members because she's not already part of the political establishment in Redwood City. She offers a fresh voice, and it's important on a body like the city council, where people can stay on for as long as 16 years, to get someone totally new into the mix.

Cherlene is also clearly committed to the community; she has been and will continue to be out-and-about as much as any candidate. She really wants to take her consitutents' wants and needs into account, but she also has a strong personality, so she won't simply cave to special interests or blindly sign off on what the city staff recommends.

Finally, I think what I like best about her is that she does not give off the politician vibe. Yeah, we need some of the politician-types in office, but it's refreshing to see someone running who isn't constantly trying to say exactly what's most optimal for getting them elected.

What. Is wrong. With people. Seriously.

Yesterday we had yet another fabulous block party. There was

* a great band, featuring our neighbor, Greg;
* food and drink;
* stomp rocketing in the middle of the street;
* and best of all, our wonderful neighbors hanging out with us.

There were also

* at least two people yelling obscenities at us;
* at least one person honking in anger and speeding off;
* and one folding chair, with a "McGarvey Closed Ahead" sign taped to it, stolen.

All this anti-social behavior was from people who consider McGarvey Avenue to be their own personal freeway. They are so oblivous that they don't see it as the residential street where people live, work, sleep and play with their kids. Seriously, is everyone so keyed up that they can't accept the closure of one block of a moderately busy street on a major holiday? It's not like we're closing the Bay Bridge or something.

Biggest News of the Year in the RC

We are getting an In N Out Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of you might be thinking that I'm exaggerating, or being hyperbolic, but unless Jack Hickey gets elected to the school board, this is it. This is a very, very long time in coming. Right now, Redwood City residents have to drive to Mountain View or Milbrae -- Milbrae! that's almost San Francisco!! -- to get an In N Out burger. It's outrageous.

But in a few months, this wrong will be righted, according to the Spectrum. Opening scheduled for November, but will be closer to January, the magazine says.

Seriously, this is really, really important. I don't eat hamburgers unless they're from In N Out. And it's a California icon. When Nathan and I first saw our favorite movie, I think we pretty much viewed In N Out as a made-up entity. When we arrived from the frozen Midwest and discovered we could actually eat at In N Out burger and go through the drive through while listening to Oye Como Va, all was right in our world.

Again, I say, We Are Getting An In N Out Burger!

Redwood City Council: Vote for Jeff Ira

Here's my first in a series of candidate endorsements: re-elect Jeff Ira for City Council.

Jeff Ira is the only incumbent running for re-election this year, since two other council members (Howard and Hartnett) term out. Jeff Ira has been on the council for more than 10 years and knows his stuff. He's fiscally conservative and helped keep the city from having to make major cutbacks when the bottom fell out of the economy -- instead of blowing surpluses on recurring expenses like new staff, RC bolstered its savings and did some one-time infrastructure improvements.

Basically, Ira is a voice of reason and experience on a council that will have at least two rookies and will be relatively inexperienced overall.

Redwood City government is doing a lot of things right right now, and keeping the one incumbent running for council is a good move.

Top 5 Fridays!

Top 5 designers who have a shot at the Final Three

5) Althea: If Tim says she's gonna blow people away, that's all I need.

4) Gordanna: Love her already for her accent.

3) Louise Black: Always helps to have a full name that rolls off the tongue, like "Kara Saun."

2) Christopher: Producers love drama.

1) Johnny Sakalis: Again with the drugs and the drama.

Election season in the RC

Before you know it, people will be getting their vote-by-mail ballots and candidate signs will be popping up in what seems like every other yard. There's an election Nov. 3, and Redwood City will be electing new council members and school board members.

In coming weeks I'll be publicizing my endorsements here. What makes me think I'm any more qualified to make endorsements than the next blogger? Well, I know all but two of the candidates, at least a little. (I don't know a single person running for the high school district board, but if I have time to learn enough about them to make solid choices, I will.) And I know Redwood City, since I've lived here for seven years and have been heavily involved with entities that deal directly with local government. And before that I covered Redwood City for the Examiner for more than two years, so it was my job to know Redwood City.

Of course, I may be totally off base with the picks I make and if you think I am, let me know. Hopefully these blog posts will create some interesting dialog and spread reliable information.

LEGO mania!

Whenever you clean out a purse or bag or stoller or car or even sometimes a pocket in our house, you are almost assured of finding at least one Lego. And I am totally fine with that.

Years ago I started ordering boxes of Legos on Ebay thinking that it would be cool to have a toy around that our friends' kids could play with when they come over (OK, I thought maybe I'd want to build something, too.)

Now that Arthur is old enough to play with Legos (Noah plays too, even though it's a little beyond him), the Legos are out in force and Nathan has gotten into the act, buying lots of boxes on Ebay, plus some great sets for cheap.

Right now we're busy sorting the Legos by color and searching for a good way to store them: containers need to be clear, have lids, fit in the drawers under the train table, and not be too deep. Hopefully we can actually get the guys to keep them sorted. Arthur seems to really like it that way, and hopefully it will be a good way to get Noah to learn his colors.

Buying the sets on Ebay is definitely the way to go, because Lego sets have been getting way too specialized in the last 10-20 years -- so many of the pieces are highly customized for the specific vehicle or building that it's designed for that it's hard to build anything else out of the parts. (I wrote a story about BAYLUG 10 years ago that touched on this.)

And if I keep practicing my building skills, I can use Lego as a way to play with my kids and as a creative outlet, kind of like this guy.

Jet lag: the six-day hangover

My head hurts, and pretty much has since we got on the plane Sunday afternoon, which was Saturday evening. I'm less disoriented now than I was a few days ago, that last sentence notwithstanding.

Our boys, who were waking up daily at 6 a.m. for the months leading up to our trip, have slept past 8 (2 a.m. Sydney time) every day. I have consistently been waking up at 2 a.m. (8 p.m. Sydney time).

I've had a stuffy nose and sore throat since we left Sydney, which could be due to allergies, jet lag, a cold, or the fires that created a haze over the Bay Area, or all of the above.

And slowly, slowly, I have been processing photos.

Manic Monday (you expect me to know what day it is?)

Boys need to be woken up at 8:15; I was wide awake from 2 to 5 a.m.

More Australian words:
capsicum = bell pepper
sultana = raisin

House and cars are in good shape; I suspect they never drove the minivan, fearing it's massiveness.

Our last day in Sydney

Tomorrow morning we'll head to the airport and leave on an early afternoon flight and arrive in SF tomorrow morning.

Today I headed to the Farmers Market to load up on the best chocolates I have ever had. Then our local babysitter came over and took the boys to the park so we could pack and clean. During nap time, Linda and I went over to Surry Hills and my favorite fabric store. I'm just sorry I won't get to see her fabulous new linens in her Sydney home.

This has truly been an exciting adventure, as Arthur would say. I am going to be really happy to get back to our house, with its dishwasher and clothes drier and double-paned windows and totally awesome cars. But I'm going to miss living in a big city where you can take the bus almost everywhere and there's an awesome view around every corner.

Top 5 Friday!

Arthur's top 5 adventures in Australia:

5) Taking in the view from the top of Sydney Tower



4) Taking the ferry to Manly, twice



3) Visiting Wildlife World and petting a koala and a huge bug (on separate visits)



2) Playing in the sand at Bondi Beach



1) Hiking to a waterfall overlook in the Blue Mountains

Gunning for Health Care

This is too good just to post on my Facebook page.

I was just looking through this column for a graph or two to quote here, but the whole thing is a must-read.