February 25th, 2018

From the picture trove this week...a sampling of facial hair.

That one is from X-mas 1983, right after I returned home from Australia and immediately before starting university.  Quite the mop for an 18 year old but can serve as a lesson to all of the mangy hipsters of today.  That message...it's been done.  Unironically. 

A bonus picture for you this week.  I pulled this one out of the box cause the facial hair combined with the expression on my face is disturbing in a 'where is my rape whistle' kinda way.  I also think there is a little resemblance to Alfonso Ribiero/Carlton from Fresh Prince in here too. 

Was looking at this photo when I got home and noticed something I didn't see originally.  In front of me is not only the LA Times sports page, but 1/3 of a meatball sandwich.  Upon closer inspection, it is not just any ordinary meatball sandwich, but the best meatball sandwich I ever had.  It was from a little dumpy Italian restaurant called Papa's in Sierra Madre, right near the Albertson's (that used to be the Shopping Bag).  Those were so good and to this moment, can still taste them.  Would go there all the time on my moped and they cost $3.59  Just seeing it in it's glory in this photo is causing so many of my senses to explode.  

I don't reply to all of the notes comments I get on this space, but after last weeks deep dive into Chinese astrology, a Mr. Richard Fader from Fort Lee, NJ wrote, "Too much Wood Snake for my taste."  I have something to say to you Mr. Fader and you can probably guess what it is.  I got a wood snake for ya that I'd be glad to have you taste.

How awesome is Chloe Kim?  Can't get enough of her.  Not only adorable and effervescent, but, multi cultural and open about talking about how great it is to be so, and the confusion/challenges that one faces being one.  I do feel bad for her in that she is being called the first star of Generation Z.  That cohort needs a cooler moniker cause my generation already has the best letter of the the alphabet designation...Gen X baby.  I think we are all becoming less impressed by the Boomers cause they really haven't contributed much good to the planet despite their size.  Even though they like to think they were all hippie love and enlightenment, they are the ones that created Fox News and are its biggest consumers.  They love to give themselves big fat tax breaks in an giant eff you to the future.  Us 'Xers' have been trying to clean up their shit for a couple decades now, but there are just too many of them any live forever.   Plus they have "Baby" right in the name.  Jury is still out on the Millennials,,,a lot to be hopeful for with them but they are equally terrifying.  Really hope that your confidence in yourselves is justified.  Guess Chloe and the rest of the 'Z' youth will have to wait for something to define them in a pithy way...and that just might have occurred.

So the above paragraph is ridiculous...boxing in 15-20 years of people into a name is insane.  As you can see from this space, am a big fan of stereotypes.  Not just that they are based in some reality, but that they can start a conversation.  Have been livid after the latest slaughter (and if you read this in the future, you'll have to date stamp to figure out which one), but the dialogue was shifted this time almost within minutes to this being a "parenting" problem.  First saw it in someones comment to a friend's post and just thought they were nutty, but then learned it was the Fox News spin for the latest mass murder.  I do admire their creativity...mental health, parenting, 'price of freedom', arm the teachers, etc.  Am too tired to argue these things constantly and have had to eliminate best I can the constant babble from that team.  Why are people so rigid in having their team win to ignore their own conscious or interest?  Scratch the surface of these imbeciles and they really don't believe what they say, but have this need to regurgitate the lines they are fed without any, let alone an second thought.  It is quite stunning and am saddened by it to the core.   What has been amazing in ways that are obvious to most, alarming to some, is the way these Generation Z kids are advancing the dialogue.  I am with you David Hogg and Emma Gonzales body and soul.  I just got finished reading David Hogg's 14 year old sister Lauren's message to Melania where she admonished the First Lady for her "war on cyber bullying", but not going after her stepson Trump Jr and his liking of the conspiracy theories that her brother was a 'crisis actor'.  Lauren has received 1000's of hate messages from lunatics that are fueled by this craziness.  I'd call them Nazi's but don't want to insult the Third Reich.  That 14 year old Lauren could so succinctly wrap up the hypocrisy in a calm and mature way is inspiring in a way you see few adults capable.  By copy to Lauren and all of the Generation Z's...we got your back.  Just let us know where and when you need us...and if you could do so by email or an ad in the newspaper, that would be helpful.

Something new that has become this weeks obsession for me has been grayscale.  Was listening to an interview with a guy named Tristan Harris who among other things was Google's Design Ethicist.  I suggest that you seek him out to get his bona fides and hear what he has to say, but for our purposes here, he has been in the rooms where companies work to find ways to get people to use their phone more.  All the companies, all of them, don't make money unless they are finding ways to entice us to use their products obsessively and a way they do that is by enticing us in a Pavlovian way to want more.  Some are obvious, but others are so devious that even the most cynical or wary of us are drawn in like moths to a flame.  He has tips to help you realize how they subconsciously manipulate us and a strategy he recommends to help you combat it is  to turn your phone to grayscale.  Having never heard that before, investigated and it is basically turning your screen to black and white.  The idea is that this turns your device  into a tool that you use instead of you being the tool of the advertisers.

I did it immediately and am now on day 4.  Hard to quantify if I am using it less as I was never a huge phone junkie, but it feels like I don't go to it as much out of boredom.    Quite disorienting at first but have grown accustomed to it.  Games are harder to navigate and some are unplayable.  Videos in black and white aren't as enjoyable.  Will let this play out for another week or so and switch back to see if I can tell if there is any difference, but the process of going grayscale has been enlightening in that it raises awareness of ones own susceptibility.  I have been talking about this to everyone I see this week, especially at the school in the hopes that the powers that be over there consider it in their teaching curriculum.  Am not naive enough to not realize that advertising manipulation  has been around forever and that I have been a willing stooge my entire life, but taking a step back and knowing when one is being led by the nose is powerful.

Have a bunch of things to share but the last week has been super busy for yours truly and didn't have a ton of time to devote to this space.  Taxes and summer planning have taken the bulk of the time this week (hope to lock summer down in the next couple of days and will start looking to friends in the States to cause some trouble June and July).  Baseball season at the school started this week and the coaches are letting me come out with the varsity this year.  So fun...pitching BP and hitting fungos...the school folks always thank me for coming out (albeit grudgingly as they would probably prefer to have someone a little less provocative out there), but I always give them the Walter White reply.  Am not doing this for you...am doing it for me.

Before signing off, have to share one interaction I had yesterday morning.  Something on my summer things to do list was to investigate these DNA mapping companies and have ours done.  I had my annual conference call with my 401 investment guy and after we were done with the account review, we moved to our usual exchange of pleasantries...what's new and how's the family thing.  My guy, will call him Duke, is 39 years old, says he has some news to share.

He tells me that he was adopted as an infant and did not know who his parents were.  He did the '23 and Me' thing a couple months ago and learned from that company that there was a person that was almost certainly his Aunt.  He contacted her and asked if she had a sibling that gave a child up for adoption, and she did.   From this interaction he was able to get in touch with his biological parents.  His parents were 16 years old when he was conceived and they were too young to deal with him and gave him up for adoption.  His biological parents split a few years thereafter and had not seen or been in contact with each other for 30 years.  Duke tells me that next Wednesday, the three of them are going to get together.

You could hear the emotion in his voice and he had all the feelings, good and terrifying, that you would imagine.  As Babydoll is adopted and her parents completely unknown, the prospect of finding her biological parents welled all of those emotions in me too,but could not fathom what it would feel like to her or her biological  mom and dad if they did find each other, but that trying was worth it.  After I hung up with Duke, immediately went on the 23 & Me site to get the process started and while they offer services in most of the world, Taiwan/China were not places that they will send their testing kit, so we will have to wait till the summer to swab it up.  Probably also means that the odds that her Chinese parents are in the system are small, but who knows?

Talk soon

February 16th, 2018

Have mentioned that before I became a Raiders fan (on January 9th, 1977), the first 11 years of my life was as a follower of the Los Angeles Rams.  There is the proof.

In another football related thought this week, as a football fan since my earliest memory, an avid consumer of all types of football content, and having met and talked football with thousands of other football junkies, I can honestly say that I have never met a single person nor heard a talking head that was a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Staying with sports, now that I am living the college life vicariously through the Boy, have become a follower of UVA basketball.  Don't follow college sports closely probably because my university didn't have that culture, but noticed the Virginia Cavaliers were highly ranked and started to listen to some games on the radio.  Noticed that ESPN GameDay was in Charlottesville last Saturday and asked the Boy if he was going out.  He was already there....details from him are few and far between, but gleaned that he had to get up at the crack of dawn to get tix and be part of the scene.  UVA lost to VaTech that day, but am so massively envious that he is having this experience.  That he is interested and follows a sports team is a tad surprising cause he has never been the die hard that I was at his age (even though I provided ample encouragement)

His mom is visiting later this week and she reported that she heard from Boy-o that he is about to pledge to a fraternity.  I spent a lot of my parenting capital instilling the G.D.I. (God Damn Independent) ethos, and must have had a hundred talks a hundred different ways about not bowing to pressure to do things that would harm himself or others either physically or emotionally.  Did you see this article from the last few days where some J-O's from a frat at Cornell had a "Pig Roast" competition where they got points for sleeping with the fattest girls?  I know you remember the Penn State frat where a pledge had to drink to a black out state, broke his neck while the other "men" laughed .  The details of the dumb assery of the frat boys in that one are too horrific to recount.

When I heard about Boy-o's intentions, sent him a note numbering 101 of the "not only for yourself, but you'd better watch out for the ones that can't watch out for themselves" speeches.  He replied..."The only reason I am considering joining is cause they have a history of being a more wholesome frat. Like their hazing is cleaning the house, taking brothers out for meals, etc. Also they are one of the few where hard drugs and shit isn't common. the guys I do know in it already I think are also super stand up guys so I think it'll be good."

Hard to argue with that, but personally, cleaning doesn't sound like hazing.  The frat he is joining (Pi Lambda Phi) has "The Elimination of Prejudice" as its philosophy.  Started at Yale in 1895 by Jewish kids that were unpalatable to the establishment and predominantly Jewish until after WWII, their mission of inclusion sounds ideal.  Still, it's a bunch of frat boys and  remain highly suspicious.  Will be following these developments closely.

That was a bit of a deviation, but one more for "Sports Corner".  Cannot find Winter Olympics on TV here and am way to lazy/lack tech savvy to figure out how to stream it, but have seen more than a few mentions in media about the luge and in particular, the suits that the men wear.  More specifically, that the fellas aren't wearing any kind of athletic supporter and you can clearly see the outline of their junk.  Had an individual discussion group on this.  Have always been perplexed as to the fact that football players don't wear cups but concluded that the lugers probably don't need them.  Then thought that since wind resistance is such a critical aspect of their sport, that I would wear a cup that helped with aerodynamics.  Finally, maybe some of the lugers appendages act like the winged keel did during the '82 America's Cup and that some from the more ethically fluid countries may be surgically altering theirs to reduce drag.

Was click baited into reading an article this week about 7 tips for losing weight/staying in shape after 50.  Most were all things you'd expect, like diet and exercise, resistance rather than weight training, etc., but one was new to me and was  super exciting...eat spicy food.  Something about it increasing metabolism.  I don't care about the science behind it and am all in.

A promised and long overdue  update.  Around this time a year ago we were in Sri Lanka and stopped at an ayurvedic medicine place.  They had remedies for everything and I invested in two; one for arthritic knees and one to combat the psoriasis on my scalp.  Suspected that my knees were beyond medicinal repair and the juice didn't really have an affect, but the scalp thing has made big changes.

The treatment was a daily application for one month...stuff didn't have a neutral smell and wasn't offensive although it was a deep red and ruined a couple of shirts.  After the month was over, I went back to the shampoo that had been prescribed and had been using for years (decades).  Almost immediately, I found that the old shampoo not only didn't work on the psoriasis, but made it much worse.  My entire scalp would explode and my whole head peeled off in sheets, so I stopped using my prescribed medicine.  I would still get patches of crust, which I could combat with a topical steroid, but even those have gone away.  I now use Head and Shoulders once or twice a week, and my head has never been better.  My mom had the same problem with her scalp and it went away when she got to be about my age, maybe a little older, so perhaps it was just coincidence, but I am intrigued and open minded to try some more of these ayurvedic treatments..  These herbs and Chinese medicine have been around for 3000 years, so they have to be onto something.  I hope, and would be stunned if they weren't, that big Pharma is breaking this stuff down to the molecular level to figure out why they work and incorporate it into western treatments.  The Boy wants to be a chemical engineer, sounds like a great research project to me.

Chinese New Year is today...Friday, February 16th.  Happy Year of the Dog to you.  This is the first time in many years we have stayed in town.  Betty is gone, so it's just Babydoll and I.  No family have invited us over to anything and while I should be insulted, am secretely happy cause doing nothing is what I do best.

Have shared a lot about CNY in this space over the years so will not rehash that, but every year I learn a few more nuggets.  For example, people give pistachios to each other as gifts as  their shell looks like a smile and doing so brings good fortune.  They do look like smiles and since I love pistachios so count me in on that one and expect the gift of them gong forward.

At Coffee Morning last week, we had our annual CNY discussion...invited the European School to send a speaker and they brought two high school seniors that told family and traditional stories.  I liked hearing about their family traditions.  One kid's family looks up in the "book" and determines what their family's lucky direction for the coming year is, gets in the car and drives for 5 minutes in that direction for good fortune in the year ahead.  One of these years, have to get someone to explain this book (aka Royal calendar) to me.  The day Betty and I  got married was determined to be auspicious based on research done by my mother-in-law based on this calendar and cannot complain so far.  Not sure exactly how it translates, but Chinese people speaking in English use the word 'auspicious' a lot...one we native English speakers don't use much but should.  The other girl at coffee morning said that her mom was worried that she was too short and their superstition to grow bigger was to go out at midnight, find the biggest tree and hug it.  She did but acknowledged it didn't see to work for her.

We also had a lady come along to do a paper cutting activity.  Was awfully proud of my effort and it hangs proudly over our kitchen table.

And we had a lady do custom calligraphy.   She would write words on red paper to hang on your door to bring whatever you needed.  She asked what I wanted mine to say and I didn't know...she suggested "good luck" and I told her that "I'm a privileged white male, how much luckier could I be?"  She didn't know how to reply to that, so we settled on something that I interpret to mean 'show me the money'.

I was born in the year of the Snake.  How do snakes do in years of the dog?   "Snakes are active when the sun is warming the ground. They hide and sleep after sunset. Dog is connected to the time from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Dog tells Snake it is the time to rest." 

As I understand it, this is then a year to recharge and wait for opportunity.  Done.   In my superficial CNY research, I looked up a lot about snakes and learned quite a bit.  First of all, based on my birth year, am a "wood" snake, and there are  even more specific characteristics once you add in your element.   I don't believe in this stuff unequivocally, but some personal aspects that are reported in  people born in my year seem uncannily accurate.  I also will note that Betty and I are both wood snakes and we are certainly not the same people.  I cut and pasted a bunch of them to extract commonalities and decided to leave them below, but some high/low lights...

- Order...we crave it. Seemingly above all else.
- We are generous with our time but not with money.  
- We have extremely good luck but are the worst gamblers (wish I had known that decades ago)
- Witty and "notoriously" good looking...I like to think I'm witty, but what does 'notoriously" good looking imply?
- Lazy
- Holder of grudges.  Absolutely.

The Boy is an Earth Rabbit and Babydoll is a Water Sheep.  Kinda spooky how they describe traits.

Had some SF trip follow-up but will save that for next time.  Also was gonna say something about this mass shooting thing, but what is there left to say.  I would encourage you to find out how your congress person voted on H.J. Resolution 40 and vote them up or down based on your feelings about it accordingly.

Wood snake stuff....

- People born in the year of the Snake do not have a lot of friends. It is extremely hard to get to know them because they keep their feelings locked up inside. Snakes are careful in choosing friends. They will never forgive a breach in friendship.

Once people are his/her friends, the Snake is willing to share his sorrow and happiness with them. Snake people guard their chosen friends much like valuable possessions, and they are easily jealous and even obsessive.

Wood snakes lay emphasis on order, so they prefer living in the neat and elegant environment. They pursue accuracy and always arrange the things in order. Wood snakes are gifted in academic appreciation and creativity. Also, they have good taste and know how to identify the good quality.

Wood snakes pay great attention to their manners and they are very prudent and easy-going, so it's easy for them to make friends and they often have many intimate friends because of their hospitality. However, wood snakes are a little snobbish and they often feel they are different, so they prefer making friends with the so-called important people but dismissing the humble one. Maybe it is because that they place strong emphasis on neatness and they think the sloppily dressed people are inferior to them. In addition, wood snakes are passive and not motivated, so they need to be encouraged by their friends to be successful. Wood snakes have lofty ideals which may be failed, so they need to be practical and learn a skill to have higher achievements.

In terms of work, wood snakes often encounter many difficulties and find it's difficult to start. Fortunately, they solve the problems with the cooperation of others. Furthermore, wood snakes always have a lot of changes in their career, such as position adjustment and part-time job; they need to seize the opportunity to make excellent achievements.

Wood snakes make unremitting efforts while others are wasting time, thus they are often successful. Once they failed, the stubborn wood snakes go off into wild thoughts and depression. They hate failure but have good luck in wealth, and they need to learn how to grasp the opportunity to show their talent.

Wood Snakes have a very friendly manner and also a great understanding of human nature which will help them out throughout their lives. The Wood Snake is very good at communicating with others which gains them many friends and colleagues. 

 They are witty intelligent and ambitious people with a large amount of interests who prefer to live in a quiet, stable environment where they can work without any interference. They enjoy art and love to collect paintings and antiques in their home. Their advice is always admired by friends and colleagues especially in social and domestic situations.

The Snake is an extremely intelligent and active person. They will always be planning and looking for ways that they put their substantial skills to use. They enjoy sitting back and thinking about everything that is going on around them, sometimes through meditation.

There will be many points in their life where they decide its time for a change and shed their old skin and take up a whole new range of activities or sometimes even a completely different area of work. Snakes rarely make mistakes as they are very well organized.

Most Snakes are financially secure in later life as long as they do not gamble; this is due to the fact that the Snake is known as the worst gambler in the Chinese zodiac. The Snake is a calm and easygoing person who prefers the quieter things in life. They hate it when somebody tries to rush them into making a decision and prefer to not be around a loud active environment. Snakes do not usually take other peoples advice and will not take kindly to anybody who tries to get involved in their affairs.

The Snake can appear quite confined at times; they are quiet and reserved and can sometimes have difficulty in communicating with others. They do however have a great sense of humor which comes in very useful in times of crisis.

They are not afraid to work hard and will always make sure all their work is carried out thoroughly. One thing that Snakes must be careful of is high blood pressure and diabetes; this is because they burn off so much nervous energy after any physical activity and demands rest for some time afterwards.

It is believed that Snakes are late starters in life due to the fact that it may often take them a while to find a job that they are truly happy doing; they will usually do well in any position that involves research and writing and where they are given freedom to develop their own ideas and plans. Snakes can make good teachers, politicians, personnel manager and social advisers.

The Snake chooses their friends carefully and although they keep a tight control over their finances, they can be quite generous to those they are fond of. They will have no hesitation to shower their friends and loved ones with lavish gifts or expensive meals but will expect their friends to stay loyal to them. If the Snakes trust is broken they can be very hurt by this; Snakes are very jealous and possessive by nature.

Personality-wise, Snakes are not people who can be easily ignored. They possess a strong,charismatic presence and a charm which has been described by some astrologers as "bewitching" or "beguiling." With a penetrating eye and attention to the desires of their conquests, they're known as experts in the art of seduction.

People born during the Year of the Snake are said to be endowed with wisdom and with deep philosophical understanding. They are born thinkers who excel in finding solutions to complex problems. In matters of business they can be shrewd, biding their time in making a deal only to strike like lightning and make a killing when they judge the moment is right. Thus in life, the majority of Snakes are financially successful and generally lucky with money; their fortunes very much depend on their careful and considered judgment in financial affairs and on their intuitive feelings in business negotiations. These are clever, intelligent people who take time to formulate their ideas and opinions. Even when they are at their laziest, their minds are working overtime, laying their schemes and hatching their plots for the future.

Snakes are wise, philosophical, calm, and understanding. They are receptive and physically alluring, often fickle. Success and fame come easily to Snakes. They can be treacherous creatures who delight in intrigue and who wouldn't think twice about double-crossing someone in order to save their own skins. Their calculating natures will never forgive or forget a slight. They can be lazy and self-indulgent. Their innate elegance can at times be ostentatious.

Subtle, secretive, elusive and enigmatic, there is an element of the mysterious that surrounds the Snake personality. Perhaps this is due to their intuitive faculties, or perhaps it is a consequence of their strong inner spirituality which can manifest itself in an interest in religion, mysticism or the occult.

A Snake can be counted on to carry a project through to the end. Their decisions are quick and firm, but they are formed by first impressions, on sympathies and feelings logically assembled in their minds -- rather than by simple facts alone. The Snake will fight and plod for anything they believe in and allow nothing to stand in his or her way. At ease in all circumstances and possessing uncommon self-discipline, the Snake achieves great heights and honors in his or her career, enjoying the well deserved respect of an admiring entourage.

Snakes are a bit tight when it comes to lending money, though their sympathy for others often leads them to offer help. The help will be in kind rather than in cash, however; the Snake is freer with himself than he is with his money! The fatal flaw in the Snake's character is, in fact, a tendency to exaggerate -- in helping friends as with everything else. If a Snake does somebody a favor, he becomes possessive toward them in an odd way, so that finally he is more a hindrance than a help. The snake's serpentine nature leads him to coil and cling to the point where he can suffocate the object of his attention. Think twice then, before you accept an offer of help from a Snake; you could regret it!

In money matters, the Snake has good luck -- he simply doesn't have to worry about it. He will always be able to get money when he needs it, and he feels this so strongly that it has never bothered him at all. Once he has got it, though, he's a little stingy; that's why he never lends. In old age he can become quite miserly.

Snakes are notoriously good looking and like to project the best image of themselves that they can. Both men and women of the sign have elegant and stylish taste in clothes; the men are sexy and always have a bit of the dandy about them, and the ladies are seductive and rave over smart accessories. Whether in looks or in circumstances, Snakes simply have a magical knack of making the very best out of the most mediocre.

In Japan, those wishing to pay a woman a compliment and acknowledge her beauty are accustomed to say: "My dear, you are a real snake!" -- a pleasantry most likely to be misinterpreted in the West.

As with real snakes, which hibernate in the cold season and come out when it's warm, Snake people shine in the hot months. And the Snake born at midday in the heat of a tropical summer will be happier than one born in the middle of an icy night in winter. The destiny of those born under this sign is so sensitive to the inclemencies of climate that the almanac warns Snakes born on a stormy day that they will face danger throughout their lives.

Earnest, with kindly wisdom and a need for complete intellectual freedom. His affections are constant and enduring and he seeks emotional and financial security. He craves admiration and public approval and will do his best to gain lasting and large-scale success.

If you stab a Snake in the back it is likely you will never be forgiven. In addition, you should prepare yourself for retaliation for the Snake always gets the last word.

While full of strength, the influence of the Wood Snake also has its own challenges. At times, the Wood Snake can have trouble letting go of the past, which manifest in the stubborn holding of grudges. Another struggle for the Wood Snake is the tendency to put to much value on what other people think. The Wood Snake can structure their interests and material desires around perceived symbols of success, instead of their genuine tastes. In this sense, the Wood Snake is encouraged to focus on being independent in their thinking.

The Snake should stick to careers that won't involve him in any risk - even the risk of working too hard, for to tell the truth, the Snake is a bit lazy. In love, the Snake male is romantic and charming. They have a good sense of humour and the female snake is usually beautiful and successful. but if a Snake chooses a partner, they'll be jealous and possessive - even if they no longer love that partner. Rejection is the worst blow their delicate ego can suffer. The Snake must be received, welcomed, accepted and approved by those with whom they come in contact with. They need a lot of security.

February 9th, 2018

Hey there,

Nice pants.  Went through a couple of boxes of old pictures at my mom's this trip and found a trove of old and embarrassing photos.  Some may call them cute but the common thread is a lot of curly hair.  Have had a lot of nicknames in my day and a common one from this era was Tumbleweed.  Will share one each time for a while...


Mentioned a while ago that it had been a good while since we had any noticeable earthquakes.  You all probably saw that we had some big ones recently but what the news didn't show was just how many.  Before the big one that toppled the buildings (locally measured as 6.1 but Fox News keeps printing 6.4), it was preceded by dozens of big ones.  Check out this screen shot of just an hours worth of activity a couple days before the largest one.

The center of this swarm is far enough away from Taipei so that we feel them plenty, but not nearly as violently.  Have spent most of my life in earthquake territory and you never get used to it.  The ones here tend to be dip slip rollers, not the violent slip strike that the West Coast gets, but what was new to me was the frequency of decent sized fore/after shocks.  Over a 100 greater than 3 and dozens of 5 and above.  As an amateur geologist, totally predicted this wave based on not having felt many for months.  As always, am ready to be interviewed.

If you read this thing, you are undoubtedly smart and cool, and that means you probably know smart and cool people.  Think about your female friends and those that are strong and fearless, and direct them to the She Should Run website.  Here is a link to it.  Was talking to the Boy and some other young single fellas recently and gave them some dating advice...look for strong and smart women.  Many (most) men are intimidated by them so your competition is less, plus they are awesome.  It shows you are confident enough in yourself to possibly not be the smartest at the dinner table.  

Have been less and less impressed by all the dudes in politics. There is a guy here that I have zero respect for that is going back to middle America to run for some office.  Guy thinks he has it all figured out when the fact is that zero people who worked for him has any respect, but he suckers in enough people to keep failing upwards.  Sound like any (every) male politician you know?   Feels like women would be more likely to govern in the interest of their constituents rather than donors.  Are there nut jobs on that side of the genitals, no doubt, but count me in and you can count on my vote.

Another thing for you smart/cool folks...octopi are most awesome creatures in the sea in my opinion, and the In Our Time podcast had a good one on Cephalopods last week.  

OK...the Super Bowl.  I took some heat a couple years ago for griping about Cam Newton and his 'look at me' antics and railed on him for being a baby when things didn't go his way.  People said that I was out of touch with this generation and worse, suggested racism cause he was a black guy.  Took offense cause the 'look at me' isn't limited to race or gender and while I get that it is the Social Media thing these days, I can still call bullshit.  Have referenced it before but do yourself a favor and watch the Generation Like documentary...you will both understand and fear the young folks more.

Full disclosure...I hate the Patriots.  Have total respect for their unprecedented run of greatness but still hate them for it.  That is on an irrational fan level.  But these guys have become so loathe some...Kraft up Cadet Bone Spurs ass (I love Cadet Bone Spurs and he will now be referred to as CBS in this space), Belichek sending CBS  a congratulatory letter, and Tom Brady's MAGA hat.  But what sent me over the edge was the latest kerfuffle with Tom v Time.

So Tom put out this web series touting his lifestyle.  Crazy devotion to his craft while pushing his bizarre food and exercise regimen as something for all.  Doesn't pass any smell test but whatever...glad it is working for you.  If we all had this same intensity for everything, can you imagine what a world that would be?  What got me was the feud with the local Boston radio station.  One of the DJ's commented that Tom's kid, who was featured in his web series, was a "pissant".  Great word.  Anyhoo, Tom went on the radio and said he was "hurt" they would criticize a child and wouldn't do interviews with them anymore...and he was heralded as a great father for doing so.  I felt completely the opposite as this "show" was a total cash grab for his TB12 line of avocados or whatever, and he is the one that put his kids out there in classic 'look at me' fashion.  When you pimp out your kids, don't get bent when someone calls them a whore.  By the way, didn't see the child you fathered with Bridget Moynihan, who you left while she was pregnant for your current wife featured in the video.  You had an amazing game in the Super Bowl and I would call you the greatest of all time...on the field...but we'd like you better if you just got cool haircuts and kept your mouth shut about how others should live.  By the way Boston fans, you buying into this troika of cretins are reasons one, two and three why the rest of the world hates you.  Fly Eagles Fly.

Before dipping into the latest SF trip, this video of a Talking Heads show in Rome from 1980 is amazing.  At the peak of their greatness with an augmented line-up including Adrian Belew and funk master Bernie Worrel.    Belew dumps a tanker truck of gasoline on the fire throughout.

When I think of my Mount Rushmore of shows I've seen, and I think about that quite a bit, my current list is:

- Midnight Oil at the Bayou in Georgetown in the Spring of 1984.
- King Crimson at the Greek Theatre in LA, June 6th, 1984
- Yo La Tengo at the Crocodile in Seattle, August 7th, 2016
- The US Festival, Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, September 3-5 1982, which is a lot of shows, but the best that weekend were The Talking Heads, which featured the same line-up as this Rome gig.  Adrian Belew was a big part of two of the above.  Aggressive, propulsive and discordant.
Took a 10 day trip to SF to hang with Mom.  A quick recap...she fell and shattered her shoulder in November and had a replacement.  Went for some of that rehab in December and she has been stuck in the Skilled Nursing part of her place since.  As she gets stronger and is getting close to being freed from that, the consensus was that she has become too weak to resume living independently and needed to move to Assisted Living.  While it was a consensus, Mom didn't want to move.  She knows that she has to give up a lot, both in space and freedom, and while we don't want to say it, it is the next step on the ladder to the end.  Felt bad about being part of the crew that persuaded her but she acquiesced.  There was a hole in Betty's travel calendar and we found a cheapo flight so I could go and help her prune some of her stuff so it'd fit in the new place, and to lend moral support.  My sister has to carry the heavy load with her and her husband (my brother in law) was having a cancer procedure during this period, so alleviating some of their responsibilities was a bonus.

Wasn't a hugely eventful trip and did not even rent a car, which in in California is a serious break of cultural norms.  I stayed in my mom's old apartment and sleeping in her bed was kinda strange.  The days went almost the same...walk to her room and watch Let's Make a Deal/Price Is Right, go to her apartment for some cleaning, and then maybe a meal or activity back at her joint.

She hasn't been able to get out hardly at all, so going to Nordstrom for some soup, or to Taco Bell was a treat.  We could wheelchair it over to the Mall for Nordstrom, but had to take Lyft to get further afield.  The Lyft drivers were invariably "ethnic" and not being a frequent Lyft rider, mom was intrigued by them.  She asked one driver, who had a Sikh-like turban, his name and he said Inderjeet.  "You can't make that up" she replied which we thought was funny in a old person's acceptable racist kinda way.

I say "we" cause in addition to my mom , her Caregiver named Lisa would come along.  Mom needed 24 hour care givers for the first month or two of her rehab cause she was a fall risk.  Lately they have been scaling her back, but she still needs some and we are trying to get Lisa to be a full time one for her.  I really like this one so hope it works out.  Her previous client lived in the place where she is moving so she knows all the nurses, other residents, and how it operates, which will help with getting her involved in stuff.  She insists that they do an activity every day just to get out of the room.  Mom typically resists, but she goes and ultimately has a decent time on most days.  I went with them to a few.  Bret, who I detailed a few episodes ago, is still there weaving his magic.  I typically can't stand music hour cause I'm a music snob.  Had to walk away from one guy who was singing 50's rock tunes when he declared before an Elvis tune that "not many people know Elvis north of the Mason-Dixon line".  What?

One I liked was a guy named Larry Martin, who was a blind piano player/singer.  A pretty decent crowd was there and he came around before the show and introduced himself to all of the residents and asked their names.  Mom's name is Mary Lou and there was another lady named Mary Ann.  He started the show and launched into back to back songs called 'Mary Lou' and 'Mary Ann' and proceeded with a medley of other songs from the 40's, 50's and 60's with women's names in them.  Did a little tango, a little classical and was terrific.  This place really tries hare to provide an active and interesting selection of things to do daily.

The new place should be nice.  They are fixing it up and it has a balcony with a pleasant view.  The nurses that I met have good energy and like to chat.  The one thing is that the residents there are in various states of disrepair.  Some are with it, but there are others in a vegetative state that is kind of depressing.  Caregiver Lisa's previous client was a guy that couldn't speak, so she just sat around looking at him for the last 6 months of his life.  Was chatting about it with Babydoll this morning and she asked how one becomes a caregiver.  Explained that there are various kinds with different levels of training, but the one common factor is they have to have the right disposition to be one.  Being able to sit with a mute or wipe an ass is simply not for everyone.  Takes a special kind of person and know I am not that type. As an example, one day I went up to take a picture of something in mom's new place and as I am walking down the hall, a lady is coming towards me from the other direction.  She has no pants on and starts yelling "somebody help me!"  Made quite an impression.

Mentioned that we watched games shows in the morning and have to say that of them, Let's Make a Deal is my favorite.  I like the games and contestants on Price Is Right and Drew Carey is fine as a host, but he is just that.  Family Feud has always been a favorite to play along with, and Steve Harvey makes some funny faces, but he isn't funny in a clever way.  Wayne Brady and his cohorts on Let's Make a Deal bring it.  He is a great improviser and his talents are on display daily.  They do goofy skits and it seems they are just trying to make each other laugh.  I turn on an episode on-line often when we need some mindless stuff to enjoy as a family.

As I was getting ready in the morning, the Hallmark Channel had two hours of I Love Lucy.  I was there during their European trip run and the show holds up excellently.  Brilliant writing and acting...the one where she stomps grapes, chosen to do so because her feet were giant, and has a brawl with the Italian lady in the grape tub was genius.  The advertisements on the Hallmark Channel are a hoot too.  A lot of adds for prunes and eczema treatment.  After Lucy they have a talk show and one of the guests was Moby who was going to "show us how to make blueberry pancakes".  I like blueberry pancakes, but what happened to you Moby?

While this was not a vacation, did manage to have a night out.  After booking the flight, next thing I did was check the concert calendar and was fortunate to see that one of my all time favorite bands was playing.  Luna, who had taken a decade or so off from playing together, has reformed, put out an album and were touring behind it.  My brother in law is a music fan too and it is not too hard to talk him into a show.   As an added bonus, he likes to throw down good and/or sleazy food.  Had been craving Thai since we (bizarrely) don't get it much here and we set off early.  Had a pre-show great meal at a place called Lers Ros and would definitely go back.  Spicy seafood soup done just right.

The show was at the legendary Fillmore and Luna had not lost a step.  Bro-in-law was skeptical after sampling some tunes in advance, but guaranteed him he was gonna love it and he did.  

Fillmore is a great room and the posters on the wall gave me the feel of stained glass.  Felt like I was in a church that was just right for me.  Perhaps I felt that way after just the right amount of vodka and (now legal) recreational herb, which is the blood and body of my God.

Gonna return there this June for two nights with my beloved and aforementioned Yo La Tengo.  Can't wait to share that with y'all.

So the day before the day before I was to head home, Bro-in-law had the procedure to remove the cancerous growth, which was in his bladder.  The prospect of a catheter post-op made for some inappropriate comments from yours truly, but he was able to pee on his own and avoided it.  I thought he'd be laid up the next day but got a message that he was willing to make a meatball sandwich run for us for lunch.  Sweet...with no car was unable to make the pilgrimage to the delicious meatball sandwich place this trip, and you know that an unexpected meatball sandwich is the best kind.

It was yummy (we order them with double meatballs...natch) and as we are plowing through them, Caregiver Lisa declares that she has never eaten one before.  How is it possible to go through 20+ years on the planet and not eat a meatball sandwich.  The life experiences others have never cease to amaze me.

Chinese New Year next Thursday...Year of the Dog don'tcha know.  Will share some thoughts on that next time..