Time to write ...

2011-12-11T15:01:00.001-08:00

Untitled
Originally uploaded by pipilo

St. Peter's Del Mar

2011-12-04T13:08:00.001-08:00

Susan and I have been going here for around 3 months now and we still like it a lot.

Another Del Mar sunset.

2011-11-26T17:56:00.001-08:00

This time with Susan.

Pizza night.

2011-11-23T20:03:00.001-08:00

We made three pizzas tonight. First, a standard cheese and pepperoni. Second, pear and gorgonzola. Third, veggie, including mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, and black olives. Our friend Stephen came over to play music with Scott on the guitar, banjo, etc.

New Couch and TV Mount

2011-11-22T06:34:00.001-08:00

Here it is, the new couch (on the left, east side of our family room). We also put the TV up onto the wall. It's a little higher than we're used to seeing, but I think we'll get used to it. We also decided to keep the old couch for a while, to allow for more seating. It's going to be a good place to read, but not for watching TV. I'm hoping we'll be able to test the new arrangement with the five of us watching a movie sometime in the next few days. We'll have 8 people here for Thanksgiving.

Couch shopping

2011-11-20T04:04:00.001-08:00

Day 1 of our trips to the furniture stores. We do already have some couches, but they are falling apart for various reasons (cats, general wear and tear, general cheapness), so Susan would like to replace one of them. I suppose if we had gone to an expensive store last time (or the time before), we'd probably have the original one, but with cats in the house, those might not have lasted long either. And we do like our cats.

It seems that we should be able to repair our old couches somehow, but upholstery is quite expensive, and we'd likely have a difficult time with the sewing. Even the couch covers from LL Beans are rather pricey, and it seems they'd not fit very well, or be comfortable enough.

This blue couch is the leading candidate from our first day of shopping. Susan has always wanted an L-shaped couch. She claims that there's enough room in the corner to sit comfortably and is proving it in this photo. This couch is cheap, as couches go, but we really can't afford much more and we have three cats at home who will surely make their marks soon after we would bring this home. I'm a bit worried about the fabric. It's so smooth that it would show the slightest scratch or stain. We'll go look at a few more stores tomorrow.

Kale Chips

2011-09-24T16:35:00.003-07:00

This is a lot cheaper than what I can get from the store. They're $7 or more per bag of just a few ounces of the stuff.

So, this is my first attempt at seasoned, baked kale chips. The oven was set to 375 F. I used half a bag of kale with a tablespoon of olive oil. (Yes, it was extra virgin, the good stuff, but I'm not going to use that abbreviation.) In a large mixing bowl, I added a little pepper, some onion powder, a sprinkle of ground cumin, and some Mrs Dash (I don't remember which one). Finally, I grated some mizithra cheese on top, mixed it up, spread it over a cookie sheet, then stuck it in the oven for 15 minutes. After taking it out of the oven, I sprinkled some celery salt on top. It turned out pretty well. Nice and crispy. One recipe I saw said that if you add salt before you bake it, then it comes out more chewy than crispy.

Sunset Park

2011-07-10T18:13:00.001-07:00

Sunset Park
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Scott and I finally played a few rounds of disc golf today. Morley Field being too crowded except during early morning hours, we went north first to Montiel Park for 36 holes up and down the hill in 85-degree weather, then a bit east to check out two relatively new courses.

The first new course is at Cal State University San Marcos, one of the newest additions to our state's educational system. We drove onto the campus to find the course (and were successful in finding it), but we didn't play the course, mainly because we weren't sure about the parking situation. Although the campus seemed to be deserted, we feared that parking fees and penalties were still being enforced and we didn't feel like paying the fees (or the penalties).

The second new course is this one, Sunset Park, also in San Marcos. This is an extremely active city park featuring arena soccer, beach volleyball, swing sets, basketball, and barbecues galore. We ended up playing only the first four holes of the 6-hole course that winds down the hill and through the east side of the park. People were barbecuing and playing with their kids much to close to the 5th and 6th holes, so we decided to avoid possible disc-strike injuries and skipped those two holes. It seems like they have room for a few more holes if they choose to add them. The areas around the park are being filled in with homes, schools, and shopping areas. Maybe it'll always be a third of a full course. That's okay, because it's quite a beautiful and interesting spot.

True Grit

2011-07-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

I can't get over how much I liked this movie. We rented it from Red Box last night. The kid, Hailie Steinfeld, stole the show. She's ten years younger than Matt! Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and the rest of the cast were great too. Wonderful scenes of Texas and Arkansas, seemingly authentic fashion styles and patterns of speech, and excellent acting all around made me quickly forget John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, et al., from the 1969 version. Of course, I enjoyed the old one just fine, even though I'm usually not all that crazy about Westerns. I didn't think I'd like this one very much, but it's one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Evening Beach

2011-07-04T10:07:00.001-07:00

Evening Beach
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Scott and I brought our chairs and water bottles to the beach yesterday evening an hour or two before sunset. It's so much easier to read where distractions (i.e., Internet) are limited. The beach was clearing by the time we arrived, and was almost empty by sunset when we headed back home. We must do this more often.

Snickers

2011-06-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

Snickers
Originally uploaded by pipilo

This is the brighter and gaudier of our two new bean bag chairs. Snickers likes sitting in places where he can sink in and relax, so these chairs are perfect.

Regarding the color, we had ordered one in black and one in gray. Then this one arrived. We thought about returning it, but then ended up keeping it because it's so comfortable. Perhaps it adds a touch of class to our family room, in a tasteless sort of way.

UCSD

2011-04-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

Matt and I walked around UCSD yesterday. He'll be going to graduate school there starting in the fall. We used the Stuart Collection as our guide, attempting to find each work of art marked on the map. We didn't find all of them, which is one of many good reasons to take future walks around the campus. 25 years ago, I was working at UCSD as a post-doc with CD Keeling at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Later, I would sometimes bring Matt to the office to sit or play while I was working. I never thought much about the possibility that he'd be a student here someday.

Matt will be a master's candidate in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS). It's a 2-year program, so we'll get to know the campus quite well again.Matt will be a master's candidate in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS). It's a 2-year program, so I'm looking forward to visiting Matt on campus often while he's there.

Pictured:

Upper Right - Geisel Library (also served as the Mother Ship in "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes")

Middle Right - "Bear" by Tim Hawkinson, at the Jacobs School of Engineering

Lower Right - "Sun God" by Niki de Saint Phalle, near the Faculty Club at Muir College

Lower Left - Matt walking past the "La Jolla Project" by Richard Fleischner, near the Theatre District at Revelle College

Western Metal

2011-04-18T01:27:00.001-07:00

Matt and I sat on top of the Western Metal building at the Padres game earlier this month. The seats are quite expensive and come with an all-you-can-eat buffet of salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks. Fortunately, it was an event sponsored by my employer, so we didn't have to shell out the big bucks for the fancy accommodations.

The Western Metal building is one of the signature features of Petco Park, the new downtown home of the San Diego Padres. For years, we enjoyed watching them play in Jack Murphy Stadium (later called Qualcomm Stadium), which was conveniently located in Mission Valley with plenty of parking and easy access. The new stadium is right in the middle of the city, near the waterfront just north of the rail yards. Some of the historic buildings that existed long before the stadium was built have been preserved; they add "atmosphere" to the place and make it unique. The Western Metal building has been incorporated into the new stadium as part of the left field wall. The gift shop downstairs has a place where shoppers can walk right out onto the field and watch the game, or batting practice through a fence in left field. There are a few seats on the second and third floors of the building, and bleachers up on top, where you see us here.

Ever since the new stadium was built, I had thought it would be nice to sit atop the Western Metal Building. Now that I've been up there, I realize that it's the view of the Western Metal building that makes Petco Park unique. Sitting on top of the building, you can't SEE it! The stadium, therefore, becomes rather ordinary. They're great seats, giving you a bird's eye view of the field from a unique vantage point, but there are some drawbacks in addition to the absence of the ambiance created by the view of a building right there in the outfield. First, it's windy and cold up there! Granted, it's early April, but the breeze off the bay hits these seats first and it was chilly. Second, it's difficult to see anything in deep left field. On this evening, that's where all the interesting plays occurred. Third, it's a little hard to see the scoreboard. Yes, it's right next to us, but at this angle, it's difficult to read the lineup and other details. Aside from those complaints, which, after all, aren't that important, it was great to be at the game with Matt and the seats were fine. Scott was at the game too, but he sat with some other people out in the right field bleachers.

The day ended with the Padres losing to the Dodgers twice. They completed the 9th, 10th, and 11th innings of the previous night's game (which had ended in a tie after almost nine innings of play), and the full regularly-scheduled game. We (and Scott) were among the few Padres fans who stayed until the bitter end. Matt and I left before the fireworks, which, Scott reported, were pretty good. We would have preferred to have seen more "fireworks" on the field from the Padres.

Panera

2011-04-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

Sitting at Panera for office hours without my glasses. They're out in the car, but I parked pretty far away and I don't want to pack in my computer and drag my backpack out and back again, with my dinner sitting here on the table. So I'm managing without glasses. Seems I had pretty good eyesight until 5-10 years ago. Now I need to squint to read anything at all when I'm not in direct sunlight. I can read fine in sunlight, but that's about it.

Tried working on my photo-a-day site and updating Flickr, but something seems to be wrong with Flickr.com today. Maybe it's time to find another photo blog site. Recommendations? Maybe Picasa is the way to go. It's pretty cheap.

Well, I had a productive day, preparing for my three classes and two labs, finishing the grading for a course that ended a few weeks ago (finally), and going to a senior recital performed by one of my chemistry students. She's a wonderful singer and her recital was one of the best I've attended.

Sometimes I wonder why students so rarely come to these office hours that I hold at Panera. I'm here every Sunday night for two hours. Last week one student showed up. The week before, zero. The week before that there were three or four of them. Maybe that was the week of the exam. Their next exam is in a few weeks. One student showed up today. She said that she was taking time off work and losing a lot of money to be here with me. She asked one question, then left. I hope it was worth it. She could have asked that one by email. I just pointed her to a page in the lab manual that she hadn't read yet. It took less than 15 seconds.

Without my glasses, this has been a rather unproductive couple of hours. I had a nice meal here for a change. Usually, I just get coffee and a bagel, or maybe bowl of french onion soup. Today I splurged for a cuban chicken panini with black bean soup. Pretty good. The food is always pretty good here, but it seems too pricey and the portions are small. They play nice jazz music and don't mind me sitting here surfing the web or talking with students for two hours on a Sunday night, so I'll keep coming back.

Blipfoto

2011-01-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon blipfoto.com two days before the new year started and began a "365" (photo-a-day) project on the site right away. I've found it to be a perfect place to post a photo per day, which is what a 365 project is all about. Having posted a photo each day for 5 years straight (2001-2006) on http://pqdsms.net, then occasionally, in streaks, on that same site and on flickr.com, I know how difficult it is to keep up with such a project. Most recently, in 2009 and 2010, I've attempted the true "365" project in which you post a photo that you have taken on the same day, every day of the year. I've failed in both of those attempts, doing okay up until September, when things fall apart as the fall semester of teaching begins.

This year, I'm doing parallel photo-a-day projects on flickr.com and blipfoto.com. So far so good. On most but not all days, I post a different picture on each site. It's a good feeling to post a photo each day on the Internet. It's fun posting them at all, even if it's not every day. Somehow, in addition to being a great way to let your friends and family what you've been seeing, it seems like the photos may be around for a while. Even if nobody looks at them, that's a comforting feeling.

My most recent "blips" on blipfoto.com, which actually does NOT allow its users to post more than one photo per day, are shown in a box on the right side of this blog. So, if you want to go see what I've been seeing, click on the flickr slide show that's below my picture or on the on the 4x5 array, right below that.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

Both grandfathers were here for Thanksgiving this year. We had a good, traditional meal, as always. This time, Susan and Jess made extra good sweet potato casserole, which featured a crunchy topping, rather than the usual marshmallow-only topping: a significant improvement. We enjoyed the meal, the great weather, and music from Scott and my dad.

Sunday Morning

2010-10-10T15:56:00.001-07:00

Scott and I played an early morning round of disc golf today, then had breakfast at the Pier Cafe in Ocean Beach. After a rough start, Scott ended his disc golf round with three straight birdies. It was nice spending the morning with him.

Mom

2010-08-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

It's been two years since I saw Mom. It's amazing how fast life goes. It's made up of little moments that you remember, then forget. I wish I could remember all of them. Maybe life is about creating moments that are harder to forget, doing different things that stand out like bookmarks. Photographs help; emails and letters help; visits and outings help; just being together helps too, so we can talk about the moments and remember them better.

Mom died about 103 weeks ago. I'm glad we had our moments.

Bromamine

2010-07-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

10 weeks of summer research in organic chemistry ended today. Four years at Point Loma and I never really knew what anyone was doing during the summers and hadn't done much research since graduate school and post-doc days 25 years ago. It's been fun running chemical reactions, gathering GC and MS data, and figuring out what it all means. The best part was working with Vic (photo center) and the other teacher, Dale, who got me to work early most days by convincing me to carpool with him, and nine wonderful students. I felt like everyone was speeding ahead of me because I don't really remember much organic chemistry (and I was teaching 2 days a week - and generally exhausted - during the last half of the research program), but turned out to be quite fun, and I really liked working with the students and listening to the music they played from their Pandora stations. Most of my summer was spent working closely with Vic and Mark (photo left) on bromamine chemistry. After running 35 reactions, I still don't quite know what's going on, but I wouldn't mind at all doing another 10 weeks in the lab next summer, and maybe some during the fall and spring semesters too.

The photo shows Mark, Vic, and Renae with some weird mass spectrometer data. For a day or so, we were trying to figure out how Renae had transformed chlorine into bromine, but then it turned out to be some sort of software anomaly. We still don't quite understand why it happened, but at least we can sleep at night and stop wondering about it.

Research was fun, but I'm tired and looking forward to working only two days a week for the next few weeks. It's two long days, 11 hours each on Monday and Wednesday, plus preparation and grading, but the extra time during the week will be so welcome.

2010-07-03T02:45:00.000-07:00

Matt flew to China yesterday. He arrived safely in Shanghai a couple of hours ago. Jess reports that he seems to be feeling better after a morning of stomach flu and apprehension about the flight. He's now on his own for a few weeks in Nanjing with a group of scholars and experts on China studies.

La Jolla Cliff Walk

2010-06-05T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite places, just north of La Jolla Cove, the trail along the cliffs. Most of the time, it's a beautiful quiet, with sounds of waves and sea lions far below, and the occasional seagull, pelican, or cormorant flying by or perched on the cliffs or in the trees. With flowers along the trail and benches along the way, it's a nice spot to sit and just relax.

NY Times Moment

2010-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

I love global photo projects. This is my submittal for one of the biggest, the New York Times global mosaic, "A Moment in Time." I had thought about going to some nice location in San Diego and getting a tourist-type photo, but then I ended up sleeping in until around 7:00 am and ended up snapping this photo in the backyard. It is, after all, one of my favorite places.

Music Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T17:11:00.001-08:00

Music
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Susan and Scott picked up where they left off after touring Europe for a while. Scott's been gone for 4-5 months and Susan for 2-3 weeks. It's nice hearing their music again. As usual, Susan has made the house beautiful at Christmastime.

CC Lane

2009-12-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

We drove around Christmas Card Lane yesterday evening. Crowds of people were walking around looking at the lights and displays. Many of the old favorites remain, but a few new ones have appeared. These are three of my favorites.

Hotel Del

2009-12-10T21:09:00.001-08:00

Hotel Del
Originally uploaded by pipilo

The Hotel Del Coronado is always a great place to visit around Christmas time. We go to see the huge Christmas tree that they have in their lobby. One year it was decorated all with teddy bears; another year it was a wizard of oz theme and once it was all band instruments. This year's tree was nothing to write home about, but we enjoyed the trip anyway and loved walking by the ocean in front of the hotel, where I got this shot with my D70. It's Christmas time but everything seems faster now and we're all too busy.

Lights

2009-12-10T21:06:00.001-08:00

Lights
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Christmas lights at Balboa Park. Matt, Jess, and I visited the park for "Christmas on the Prado." We like to call it that, even though the actual name has been switched to "December Nights." The event is huge and we parked quite a ways from the Park, walking in and out amidst swarms of people. The park is all decorated in Christmas lights, with vendors, singers, dancers, and people packed all about. The museums are all free too for these two evenings. We didn't visit any of the museums, or buy anything. It all seemed too crowded and commercial compared with the last time we went, when it seemed more traditional and charming. Still, we found some good stuff, including the international houses and, of course, the lights. As we were leaving, we passed a parade of singing women led by a girl with a wreath and four candles on her head. They were walking slowly and ceremoniously. Pretty nice.

Father & Daughter Trip

2009-12-10T20:57:00.001-08:00

Father & Daughter Trip
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Susan and her Dad on their way to meet Scott in Europe, so he can show them around some of the places he visited during "Euroterm," a great program put on by the art department at Scott's school. After our week in Maine this past August, Scott has visited Iceland, England, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Holland, and Germany. Susan and her dad will visit England, France, and Italy. She's been to Europe once, in high school, and Bob is enjoying his first visit to the continent. We'll be anxious to hear their stories and see their photos when they return just before Christmas Eve.

After Dinner

2009-11-28T02:17:00.000-08:00

Lots of resting and sleeping after our Thanksgiving dinner. Friday was much of the same.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner for six. Guests (Bob and Gabi) arrived at 1:30ish and we ate dinner soon after. Unfortunately, only Matt and Jess wanted to look at the camera, and they gave up before I took the picture shown here. Bob made the turkey, as usual, and it was cooked perfectly, as usual. Gabi (Susan's friend from work) brought her dessert of raspberries and whipped cream with crispy meringue.

Hidden Park

2009-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Today's walk was on the botanical trails along the north side of the Wild Animal Park. I never knew there was so much to see back there. These are a few of my favorite plant shots from the afternoon. A few more photos from my 2-hour walk are on flickr.

Bayside

2009-11-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

Took a walk around the southeast side of Coronado Island around sunset a couple of days ago. Starting at Tidelands Park and walking north is a great way to see the San Diego skyline and the bay. These were some of my other favorite sights.

Fry Day

2009-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

Probably not our best meal idea ever, but it was fun to use the deep fryer on various fruits and vegetables. We tried a bloomin' onion with creamy dipping sauces; tempura-fried zucchini, avocados, mushrooms, yams, and potatoes with a sweet/salty dip and soy sauce;and sweet-fried bananas. My favorite was the fried mushrooms. We had rice on the side. Again, not our best idea, but definitely tasty. Perhaps it's time for a salad and citrus day, or week.

Torrey Pines Sunset Walk

2009-11-15T10:13:00.001-08:00

Torrey Pines Sunset Walk
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Photo from last weekend's walk in Torrey Pines State Reserve. Probably the last decent exercise I've had in a week, and it was just a short walk. Too busy. Need more time, better priorities.

Casa de Pico

2009-11-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

We visited Casa de Pico for Matt's birthday courtesy of Susan's dad. I had a wonderful turkey mole tamales meal. Jess had shrimp and guacamole quesadilla, Susan and Bob got salads, and Matt had combo #1. (Nobody got "Tacos Victoriosos!", which is my dad's tradition favorite.)

We're thinking that this new location almost beats the former one in Old Town San Diego. They've done a nice job isolating the outdoor patio from the rest of the Grossmont Center shopping mall, and it's just as colorful. The parking seems to be less hectic and closer (although it's still no picnic), and it's easy to get to. Most importantly, the food is just as good or better. It's some of the best Mexican food in San Diego. We've probably been to Casa de Pico nearly 100 times over the past 27 years, and it's never disappointed us. Most of the people from both of our families have been here and it remains the "must go" destination in terms of San Diego cuisine for visitors from the east.

We've had perfect San Diego weather this weekend. 75-80 degrees with a light wind and blue skies. It really doesn't get much better than this.

Min Sok Chon

2009-11-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Min Sok Chon for dinner tonight. Actually, Susan wanted to avoid trick-or-treaters, and we all wanted to take Matt out for dinner, even though we already went to Sombrero's with him for lunch on his birthday. We also want to celebrate Matt's birthday with his Grampa and plan to do that tomorrow for lunch. It's all rather complicated. Nevertheless, we had a very nice dinner tonight for about $50.

The Office

2009-10-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

I found a great photo project on flickr.com a while ago and signed up to participate in it. Everybody was supposed to take a photo all at the same time to commemorate the anniversary of the first picture of earth from space. Unfortunately, the project was a bit disorganized and has bits and pieces all over flickr, facebook, and some other site.

My plan was to find a great spot in San Diego to take my photo, but it turned out that my computer was being repaired (after months of troubles) and the tech person was right in my office working and talking with me about the repairs. So, at 3:00, the time when everyone was supposed to be taking their "One Click One Pic" I just walked outside and took some photos of my office, which is in the little trailer just south of the science building at school.

I love large-scale photo projects. I uploaded the top photo here as my contribution. It seems that several other people took photos all at the same time yesterday, but most were unclear as to where to post them.

Kayaking

2009-10-17T22:44:00.001-07:00

An afternoon of kayaking on Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. Bailey loved riding on the kayak, but didn't help much with the paddling. She liked to jump off to meet whomever was onshore when we got close enough to our destination. A dinner at the original Rubio's capped off a very nice and relaxing afternoon.

Late Afternoon Beach - West Coast

2009-10-17T11:00:00.001-07:00

Matt, Jess, and I decided to do a "photo shoot" at our west coast beach in the late afternoon a couple of weeks ago. These are a few of my photos from Torrey Pines that evening. We each uploaded our "Top 5" to a shared gallery on flickr.com.

Late Afternoon Beach

2009-10-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Late afternoon is the best time on the beach in Maine. The sun is setting behind you, the ocean starts looking metallic, people are leaving. It's one of the most peaceful times I know. These moments have renewed and sustained me throughout the years.

This year, Scott brought his guitar down to the beach. It was nice listening to his sounds wafting over the waves. These times in Maine go by way too fast.

Soft Tofu Soup

2009-09-27T00:43:00.000-07:00

Jess made another fantastic meal of soft tofu soup, fish cakes, and brown rice. I cooked some vegetables, but we really didn't need them.

Mussels

2009-09-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Jess and Matt made some sauce for the mussels using Sriracha, mayo, and masago, then garnished them with more masago and a few green onions. It was sooo good.

Here's the link to the recipe they followed. http://www.theseasonedwok.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=47:appetizers&id=88:baked-mussels&Itemid=111 Although it says it's a Japanese dish, I've been told by at least two reliable sources that it's Korean-style mussels.

Mammatus Clouds

2009-09-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, on the 5th, we observed some rare mammatus clouds east of Rancho Penasquitos. We had two cameras but the batteries in both were dead, so we just got these cell phone photos.

Both photos show the anvil structure above the pouch-shaped mammatus lobes. These clouds are poorly understood and there are many theories as to how they are formed, but they're usually associated with sharp gradients in temperature, moisture, and wind shear.

Bike to the Beach

2009-09-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

A few hours after I went for a 2-mile run in the neighborhood, Matt and Jess suggested riding our bikes to the beach. Fortunately, much of the ride is downhill, so, with an offer by Susan to come down with the bike rack on the car and drive us back, I readily agreed. We had a very nice ride. Perfect temperature, a light wind in our faces, and a relatively empty bike path. We arrived at Torrey Pines North Beach just in time to see the sun drop into the ocean. After enjoying the beach for a while, we rode back to Roberto's for dinner and called Susan to come get us. When we got home, Matt fired up the jacuzzi. We soaked in the heat and gazed at the stars late into the evening. Susan saw a shooting star and Matt saw a satellite. We're all planning to learn more about what stars we're seeing up there, as most of it (except Jupiter) was quite unfamiliar.

La Jolla & Old Town

2009-09-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

We took a nice walk along the cliffs in La Jolla this evening, then drove down to Old Town to find someplace for a late dinner. The waves were pretty high so lots of surfers were out on the water. We enjoyed watching bodysurfers catch 6-8 foot waves near Boomer Beach in La Jolla. Matt and Jess stood pretty close to the edge as we attempted to take their photo with the waves breaking behind them. The middle photo is the best one I got. After a nice drive throught La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and the Sports Arena area, we ended up at Cafe Coyote in Old Town. They've got some of the best hand-made tortillas in town. We didn't wait in line long, though. The meal was great too. I had tortilla soup and salad. Susan had some cilantro chicken flautas. Jess had a carne asada plate and Matt had carne asada with shrimp, one of his favorite restaurant meals in San Diego. Even though we finished eating around 10:30 pm, Old Town was very active, shops and restaurants were all open and people all over the place. Too bad Scott had to miss playing tourist in his hometown. He's over in Europe trying to enjoy himself in some dusty old cities where the buildings are crumbling and they can't even find a good Internet connection... Poor Scotty...

Walking & Hitting

2009-09-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

We took Bailey for a nice walk at Black Mountain Park, then drove down to Canyonside Park to find an empty baseball diamond so we could hit some baseballs. Bailey loved the walk, then enjoyed running around at Canyonside fetching balls for us in the outfield. Jess hadn't done much hitting before so this was pretty new for her. Matt hit just about everything I threw at him, especially the faster pitches, which he laced into the outfield. I managed to get the bat on a few of Matt's pitches as well. On one of my hits, the end of the bat followed the ball out to the shortstop position. It was an old "Cal Ripken" autographed bat that the kids probably used over and over in Little League and when they played baseball in front of the house.

Little Italy

2009-09-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

We drove down to Kensington to see the movie "Earth Days" yesterday afternoon. It's an okay movie. Seems it could have been more positive and faster paced. I kept waiting for it to "pick up" but it never did. The subject is important: a history of America's environmental movement, as awareness of pollution and ecological damage built up during the latter part of the 20th century. Reliving the enlightenment of the 1970s and the evil backtracking during the 1980s was painful at best, but the story needs to be told and understood.

After the movie, we drove west along Adams Avenue into a beautiful sunset. Matt has some great photos and movies of the drive. We ended up in Little Italy, found a parking place, and walked around a bit until we ended up in Filippi's. They always have some of the longest lines, so we ventured in to see why. The line moved quickly through the deli/grocery store in the front part of the restaurant, and we ended up on the patio on the north side. The menu is dominated by pizza, and included antipasto, spaghetti, and other Italian fares. We ordered pizza as that seemed to be their specialty. We enjoyed the vegetarian special and "the works" which had pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, and onion. Pure tasty tomato sauce (not too spicy) and real cheese were the highlights.

Soccer

2009-09-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Mens soccer lost 1-3 today, yet they seemed to be dominating the game. They put lots of pressure on the opponent's goalie, got several shots on net, kept the ball in their opponent's zone, but could only put one ball into the net. These are a few of the close ones. In the top photo, the opposing goalie made a great dive, but missed the ball as it crossed in front of him and flew just outside the post. In the bottom photo, our players (in white) are all over the net, but the ball went just over the net. I stayed for only the first half, as I had a chemistry lab to teach. A couple of my students were on the team, so they arrived a bit late for lab, but that was okay. They still finished it on time.

Labor Day BBQ

2009-09-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Jess and Matt did some research on the web to find an excellent marinade for chicken and shrimp on the barbecue. They also learned that it's good to soak the wooden BBQ sticks in salt water overnight, so that don't burn and can add a little flavor to the food as it cooks.

Fortunately, the weather was nice enough (sunny and not too hot) so that we could have our Labor Day dinner on the patio. Susan made macaroni salad, I put a green salad together, Matt and Jess grilled up the shishkebobs. Susan's dad came over and we had a great meal together.

Scott's Travels

2009-09-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Scott's in Florence, Italy, today after a few days in Venice, an overnight in Paris, a week in London, a week in Spain and Portugal, and a day in Iceland. Seems like he's having a nice time out there. We follow his blog, facebook, and emails, along with blogs and facebooks of several of his classmates on Euroterm. Any information is good information, and we're always thirsty for more.

Here he is smoking a candy cigarette in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, a few weeks ago.

Mom

2009-09-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

2009-09-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

Matt got out his telescope last night to view Jupiter and its four Galilean moons: Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io. We were able to see all four moons, as well as the horizontal bands around Jupiter. The spot wasn't visible; it must have been on the back side. Here's a website that helped us identify each of the moons.

According to the website, Callisto was on the far right, Ganymede was on the far left. Io and Europa were closer to Jupiter, respectively, on the left side. Matt's telescope inverted the image, so everything was on the opposite side. My camera shows the direct view.

I took a few photos with my digital SLR camera. This one shows Jupiter as the bright spot. The two small spots right next to it are probably the two outer moons, while the bulge on the left side might be the other two, which were quite a bit closer to the planet, from our point of view. I don't know what the other bright objects are. The view was far better through Matt's scope. We may look into buying a few connectors that would allow us to take photos directly through the telescope with our camera.

Backyard Woodpecker

2009-09-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

This woodpecker was climbing all over our pine tree in the back yard a few days ago. We don't see many unusual birds, but this is one of the more interesting species. I think it's a Nuttall's woodpecker.

Zoo Faces

2009-08-31T04:31:00.000-07:00

Another day of sitting around in the heat, reading lab manuals, checking blogs and facebook for news from Europe, watching Chula Vista's kids win the Little League World Series, sweating out a few cups of water just sitting on the couch ...

I decided it was time to go out and do something, even if nobody wants to go with me. Susan was content sitting at home and taking dips in the pool now and then. Matt and Jess always seem content, and having slept most of the day, Matt was eager to continue the reading and homework he had to do for school. So, late in the afternoon, I drove down to the zoo. The I-15 carpool lane was open, surprisingly, so I took it past some pretty slow traffic moving past the incessant construction contraptions and barriers. (I love having a hybrid car.)

So, here are a few pictures of faces at the zoo. Hippo, Takin, and Giraffe. I've got a few more photos from last night's zoo visit on facebook. Being at the zoo brings back fond memories of the fun days we had there with our kids when they were little. It was one of the last days the zoo will be open for Nighttime Zoo, so I'm glad I went.

Beach Frisbee

2009-08-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

It was a hot day today, a good day to visit the beach and cool down in the sea breezes. We stayed home all day, though. Once in a while, a breeze would waft into the window. Mostly it was just hot. I got my grading done, and got ready for next week's classes. Didn't do much else. Spent a lot of time in front of the TV with my laptop, watching coverage of the Kennedy funeral and surfing the net. It would have been nice to be on the beach throwing a frisbee, but it was nice just hanging around with Matt, Jess, and Susan.

This is a photo of Scott and Tom playing frisbee on the beach in Maine this summer.

Internet Cookbook

2009-08-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Matt and Jess made dinner for us last night according to video instructions that they found on the Internet. Matt told me what it was again today, but I have no idea how to spell it. The food was good, though. It looked like something in Mexican mole sauce poured over noodles, but it wasn't mole. It was some sort of seasoned bean paste, with zuccini, sweet potato, pork, and other things in it. It was good, and something I had never seen or imagined. Our refrigerator and cabinets are full of foods I've not previously encountered, plus the usual things we have in there all the time. Most of the food just sits there untouched, while we wonder what to eat for the next meal. That's how it's always been. Now we have more foods to wonder about. Fortunately, Matt and Jess have lots of fresh ideas and are willing and eager to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on food preparation. I love to see them working together on things. Susan is usually more curious and willing to get involved than I am, but I still enjoy the process, and the fact that they're here with us for a while. I also enjoy tasting the new foods. This one was quite good. Maybe I'll polish off the leftovers for lunch today.

Soccer: Year 4

2009-08-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Soccer season started on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over Madonna University of Michigan. This is my fourth year as the unofficial photographer for the girls team. In August of 2006, my first semester teaching here, on my second day of class, four freshman girls in the front row, with big smiles on their faces, asked if I was going to be at their game. I asked, "What game?" and "Where?" and they explained that they were on the soccer team and they were playing their first game on the soccer field on that afternoon.

So, I went to their game and brought my camera, because I always take my camera to sports events, thanks to Scott's volleyball and basketball adventures in high school. The girls played very well and won their game easily, 6-0. One of my students was the goalie, another was a midfielder who hustled like crazy and ended up with grass stains all over her uniform because she was diving and sliding so much. Another girl ran all over the place along the front line stealing balls all the time. And the fourth girl in my class scored three of the goals in the game! I was very impressed and ended up with a few good pictures, which I posted on facebook for the girls to see. Soon I was getting emails from parents and grandparents thanking me for posting the photos.

The girls from my class are seniors now. One of them has graduated early. I'll be sad and glad to see them graduate. Several other athletes have been in my classes since that first year, and I've become quite involved in the sports program and am serving as a board member of their sports boosters association. Today I'm helping out in the hospitality room for a volleyball tournament. One of the volleyball players is in my class this semester, so maybe I'll start going to volleyball games along with soccer, basketball, track, softball, and baseball.

Dana Chemistry Hall

2009-08-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

My home for four years a long time ago: the Dana Chemistry Hall at Bates College. Scott and I visited here a week or so ago during our stay in Maine. Unfortunately we couldn't get inside to visit anyone because it was a Sunday and the place was all locked up. We enjoyed walking around the campus, though, and Scott got to see where I went to college.

This week I'm starting a new semester of teaching. It's strange thinking that many of the students are younger than my own kids. Seems just a little while ago that I was about the same age, or younger than most of them. When I started teaching in San Diego, I'd often sit in one of the seats on the first day and talk to the students before the class started. They were surprised when I got up and walked to the front of the room and started the class. Nowadays, I don't even try that little trick.

I'm teaching seven labs this semester, for the first 8 weeks. In October, I'll pick up a lecture class and two more labs. It's an odd schedule, brought on out of opportunity and the need to balance my time between two colleges. I like labs because I can get to know the students better, but when I'm not also teaching the lecture portion of the course, it's harder to keep their attention, even if I offer myself up as a free tutor for the lecture class, and work closely with the lecture profs to keep the lab connected with the material that they're covering in class.

With so many labs, and most of them in the afternoon and evening time slots, I'm expecting to be quite tired, especially after my 8:30 am three-day-a-week lecture starts up. To battle the fatigue, I've signed up for a "Lifetime Fitness" class at one of the colleges, so I can take advantage of their brand new fitness center and pool. I'll be taking a tour of the equipment tomorrow morning. Should be fun. :)

The Temple

2009-08-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

After almost three weeks in Maine and Massachusetts, I should feel ready for the upcoming semester of teaching. It seems that I'm ready, the syllabus has been written, checked, printed, checked again, edited, and posted online. I just need to print it out tomorrow morning before class. They'd prefer I just make it available to the students online, but I would prefer to make sure that the students hold it in their hands and read it, so there's no question about what I expect from them.

It was a busy few weeks back East, and relaxing at the same time. Lots of driving around to various places, eating out, eating in, sitting on the porch in Maine, poking around at home in Worcester. It was nice visiting, experiencing life and the music scene around Boston, kayaking the lake in southern Massachusetts, playing disc golf at five different courses, ... did I mention relaxing? Now I'm not quite sure I did much of that.

I've signed up for a "Lifetime Fitness" class at the college where I've been teaching for the past 19 years. It's about time I learned what students go thru when they apply for admission to a community college. It didn't take much, just some information over the internet and I was admitted within about 10 minutes. I then was able to sign up for an ID number (which turned out to be the same number I use as a teacher) and then register for my classes. Three steps; I thought it would be just one. $44 for one unit plus a health fee. The class is taught by a good friend who's in the biology and health sciences departments. It's not really a class, just a general admission to the new fitness center, which I've heard is pretty nice.

If I can exercise a few times a week for the whole semester, I'll be in good shape for my upcoming operation in December. Maybe I can start eating right again as well. I managed to lose 20-25 pounds this summer by eating better during June and July, but gained about half of the weight back during the vacation back east. Now that I'm home, I've still not gone back to the "food" diet (see Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food") that allowed me to wear old T-shirts that I had been avoiding due to "shrinkage in the laundry" for 10-15 years. I blame it on the excess amounts of tempting junk food around the house, but that's not entirely accurate. I avoided those same foods before the vacation. Somehow it's not happening now that I'm back on the left coast. Maybe I need to re-read Pollan's book. It motivated me once, perhaps a refresher is in order. We'll see.

Today's photo shows the Temple at Ocean Park, one of my favorite places. I guess I'd call this my home church, even though my visits are rare. Still, I've been going here all my life, so it's part of me and vice versa. Tomorrow I'll head over to the Chapel at Point Loma, where I will resume teaching on Thursday. I'll welcome new students and old, and think about religion and society, and wonder how people think the way they do.

Mom

2009-08-22T23:50:00.001-07:00

Mom
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Being in Maine and Massachusetts this month was not the same without Mom. In fact, it was downright difficult. This photo is from December 2006, less than two years before she died. It's been almost a year now and I don't know why she had to go so quickly. At 76, she wasn't old at all, until the last few months. I don't ever want to forget how much she cared about people, not just the people in our family, but guests and friends who came to Maine with us, people from the church and quilting groups, people on the train ...

I like this photo because she always liked the color blue.

Matt, Scott 1994

2009-08-21T22:23:00.001-07:00

Matt, Scott 1994
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Not much to say today except that it's been a good week. Three days of good school meetings. Well, mostly good. When we talk about teaching and learning, it's good. Administrative stuff, and realizing that we'll be turning away dozens of students for each class at the community colleges, is not good. They even went into procedures to follow if the students get unruly or worse (i.e., call campus security). The situation at the private college where I teach is much better: enrollment is up, classes are full, and students are already returning to campus and moving into their dorms. I'll be teaching all labs, seven of them, until October, when I will pick up a lecture section and two more labs. Should be an interesting and fun semester.

As I was browsing iPhoto and looking for a way to upload photos to blogspot directly, I came across this photo of Matt and Scott, taken about 15 years ago. It made me happy ... well, happier.

500 Days of Summer

2009-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Dad and I went to see a movie at the new Showcase Cinemas today. The theater is out near where I used to work during my last couple of summers of college. Norton Company is now some French company, but it looks about the same. Lots of old brick buildings all together with smokestacks, cooling towers, railroad tracks, and bag houses. I couldn't remember which building I worked in, but it had to be one of the taller ones because I remember the 4 or 5 flights of stairs that I ran up after riding my bike over there. They were good summers, with games of horseshoes with the old workers at break time and swimming in the Greendale Y pool during lunch hour.

We saw "500 Days of Summer" today at the cinema. I got some Whoppers and a coffee, and have promised myself to going back to eating better again when I return to San Diego. It was good during the first part of the summer, but I've gone back to old habits during the two weeks here and probably have put back at least 10 of 25 pounds that I had lost during June and July. The movie was good. Romantic comedies are some of my favorite movies. This may not be among my favorites but it was enjoyable, funny, and had a nice ending. Dad seemed to enjoy it as well. It was nice spending time with him and even nicer getting out of the 85-degree heat.

This morning we visited the "Art in the Park" exhibit at Elm Park. We were able to find 17 of the 20 exhibits and I've posted some nice photographs of the art and the park on facebook. This one was my favorite. It's made entirely of piano parts, presumably from a single piano. The frame forms the door, and the strings are wound up into circles that line the edges and are filled with the hammers and other parts. Quite fascinating.

It's been a good day. We're having fresh salmon for dinner. We walked over to Tatnuck Sea Food yesterday morning; it's the same place Dad's been buying fish for the past 41 years. The man at the counter has probably been working there that long, and his father was working there before that. Dad says he's the only one there, and that they had another guy behind the counter, but he had offended too many customers, so the owner let him go and is now the sole proprietor, so to speak.

East 2009

2009-08-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a nice visit in Maine and Massachusetts this year. Mostly relaxing on the porch in Maine so far.

Nice Return

2009-07-19T16:26:00.001-07:00

2009.185 . Nice Return
Originally uploaded by pipilo

It's been great having the kids home this summer. A very nice and unexpected treat after they've both been at college for a couple of years. I really enjoy having them around.

Matt & Jess

2009-07-19T11:18:00.001-07:00

Matt & Jess
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Matt thought it would be nice to do his college reading assignments on the beach today. We spent most of the afternoon at Torrey Pines beach, near the north parking lot. Matt, Jess, and I wanted some shade, so we bought a beach umbrella on the way over. Susan and Scott were quite content in the sun.

2009.192 . Afternoon Trail Walk

2009-07-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

2009.192 . Afternoon Trail Walk
Originally uploaded by pipilo

I'd rather not walk alone, but if I'm on my own, I want to go someplace scenic and interesting. Fortunately, we have plenty of those places here in San Diego. One of my favorite walks, and one that has plenty of up and down, is the 4-mile beach trail loop at Torrey Pines. This is the low point of the walk, just above Flat Rock. I could go down to the beach from here, but I usually head back up, because I've parked on top and the alternate walk back from the beach is along a road instead of a trail. I didn't stick around for the sunset, but it looks like a perfect "green flash" evening with the crystal clear horizon in the background.

Red White & Blue Fruit Salad

2009-07-04T20:28:00.001-07:00

Red White & Blue Fruit Salad
Originally uploaded by pipilo

We had patriotic red, white, and blue fruit salad today in celebration of Independence Day. The red is strawberries, blue is blueberries, and white is Korean melons. It's been a good day. I woke up to Le Tour de France and Wimbledon, switch back and forth between the time trial and the Williams sisters. It was nice to see Lance finish in the top 10. Seems he was being a bit too careful on the descent, and that he'll get up more nerve when he's in the mountains. Susan's dad came over in the early afternoon. It was a beautiful day outside. We played ping pong and horseshoes, then sat down for a couple of games of Taboo. Later, it was video games and more ping pong in the nicely cleaned out garage. We'll probably watch a Netflix movie later tonight.

Hayden Beach

2009-05-03T00:27:00.001-07:00

Hayden Beach
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Sue's place

Sixth Avenue Bistro

2009-05-03T00:11:00.001-07:00

Sixth Avenue Bistro
Originally uploaded by pipilo

We found most of the restaurants around Symphony Hall to be closed at 6:00 when we arrived. A few were open a block away, including the 6th Avenue Bistro, where we found a table outside in a partially sheltered, narrow patio. After a long, 30-35 minute wait for our dinner to arrive, we found it to be worth the wait. My muffeleta was perfect, and Scott enjoyed his gumbo (mmm, he gave me one of his crawdads) and half of Susan's French dip sandwich. He said he couldn't stop eating it. Bob had the dip too. They gave us free bread pudding and whipped cream for dessert, but we weren't able to eat much of it after stuffing ourselves silly.

Despite the slow start at the bistro, we arrived in our seats several minutes early for the Cole Porter De-Lovely concert by the Symphony, with Marvin Hamlisch directing and guest vocalist/pianist, Michael Feinstein.

Last Game at Sunset Cliffs Park

2009-04-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

Last Game at Sunset Cliffs Park
Originally uploaded by pipilo

The City wants to return this beautiful field to its "natural state" and build a large parking lot in the coastal scrub area (which is currently natural) just to the south of the field. They'd also put in an access road from the college campus to the newly-developed portion of the park.

The college softball team has used the field for 33 years and takes good care of the field and surrounding areas.

While I love natural areas and typically side with the tree-huggers in any dispute, this time I'm with the softball team and don't see any value in redeveloping the park with a "restored area" and a new parking lot.

2009-04-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

Early Voting

2008-11-03T02:11:00.000-08:00

For various reasons, we went to the Registrar of Voters in San Diego County today for early voting. Matt and Jess has classes all day on Tuesday in Irvine. Scott and Susan are heading to LA Tuesday for a follow-up to his surgery. I'm giving a chemistry exam on Tuesday evening. So early voting seemed like a good idea as we started the 15-minute drive south from our house at about 1:00 pm on Sunday. Our plan was to take a few minutes voting, then head down to pick up Susan's dad and have a nice birthday dinner for Matt at Miguel's Cantina in the Point Loma area. We figured we'd be home around 4 at the latest.

We arrived to find a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot. Upon arriving at the gate after a 10-15 minute wait, we were told that the parking lot was full, so we U-turned and parked across the street. We ended up waiting for about 4-5 hours in the registrar building's long hallway where they were storing all of the ballots that were to be shipped to the polling places in a couple of days. It was worth the wait.

(added after the election:)

Thank God that Barack Obama won the election.

Response to a Call for Prayer

2008-11-01T00:39:00.000-07:00

I got an email from a friend who, for some reason, had me on his mailing list for distributing some very radically right-wing views on the election, berating Mr. Obama as a dangerous, anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-American. He was calling for people to pray for Obama's defeat because, he said, God favored McCain's side.

I'm deeply offended by such views, and, although I had resisted responding to his previous emails, I found this one to be so ridiculous that I couldn't resist responding to him and the others on the list, most of whom I don't know. I'm not the best Christian in the world, if one can rate such a quality, and I'm certainly not one of the evangelical types. I see religion as deeply personal and private, and at times call myself a Christian just because I grew up going to Christian churches. The conservative right's take-over of Christianity under Reagan turned me off to Christianity almost completely. I went about 25 years without having anything to do with them except when I was in New England and could go to church with my mom to hear my dad playing the organ. Recently, though, I've been teaching chemistry at a Nazarene college and have found a community where discussion and understanding trump what I see as the exclusive and divisive element of Christianity. The emails from my friend reminded me of that not-so-good side, in my opinion, and I felt rather offended that he was including me at all on his list. So, I've copied his email, and my reply here in my blog. I've not used the word "Christian" so much in anything I've written before, but I figured it would help with his understanding of my opinion if I used it frequently here. I guess my church pedigree qualifies me to use the word once in a while, so I figured why not, even though it's not something I tend to say in everyday conversation. It turns out that someone else on the mailing list was also offended by my friend's "call for prayer," and she emailed me. It appears I may have made a new friend. It's a good world. :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the email that I received:

Prayer Can... Move Mountains

I felt dismayed recently when a family member of mine said to me with
great resignation that Obama will take the presidency. These words came
from someone who in the past has been a great prayer warrior.

My question: What is happening? Why are we Christians settling and not
issuing a battle cry, falling to our knees, taking our country back?

We allow ourselves to be stripped of the right to pray at school
functions and in school; we see the 10 commandments removed from
government places and are told we cannot pray in school-- all the while
providing public prayer places for Muslims. What in the world is going
on and why are we being apathetic?

Why aren't we praying? Our God is a mighty God who is waiting patiently
for us to raise our voices to heaven to stop the tide of the anti-Christ
actions in our world today.

Now we find we have a charismatic candidate for president who does not
respect our flag and refuses to wear one on his lapel except when it
becomes politically expedient; whose own wife and pastor that he loves
profess to have strong anti-white and anti-America feelings; whose voting
record and clear stands in favor of final-term abortion and infanticide
in the name of "women's rights" are shocking-- and we sit back and say
'It is a given; we can do nothing.'

There has never been a time in 2000 years that we can do nothing, never a
time that we must sit back and allow the evil in men's and women's hearts
to take over our world. We should be very afraid, because our apathy is
leading us to perdition.

It is time for all Christian Americans to raise the battle cry and take
our nation back. Maybe McCain on his own cannot defeat Obama, but our
God can and He will if we take to our knees in prayer and raise a mighty
cry to the heavens to 'Save us O Lord.' We have the power to change the
course of this election and to keep a man as suspect as Barak Obama from
leading our country to who knows where with his message of 'change' - a
change which I fear will be away from our Christian ideals and away from
Christ and further away from one nation under God.

We are great at passing stories and pictures around the internet, but
where are our prayers and prayer warriors praying to stop this tide of
Barak Obama? God parted the red sea, God raised Jesus from the dead, and
God can bring our country back to its Christian roots and stop the rise
of Islam in our country. We can stop our country from being 'under
Allah' (as much of Europe has already fallen victim to) but we must begin
to pray, to pray as if our country and our lives depended on it--because
they do.

We can stop all these atrocities against God's commands that have taken
root in our country through something as simple as sincere prayer, a call
to God to deliver us, to forgive us our sins of apathy, and to protect us
from the evil that is upon us. (II Chronicles 7:14 "If My people, who
are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face
and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive
their sins and heal their land.")

Okay prayer warriors, here is your challenge: start those prayer chains.
Get the spiritual power working on our behalf and stop Barak Obama the
proper way, by calling on our God to save us from the deception that
charismatic preaching is using to lead us on the wrong path. Stop those
who would take God out of our country and our government. Raise up good
men to lead us and protect us.

George Bush is being buffeted because he has fought a holy war against
the evils that attack us and we should not be surprised because a prophet
is not honored in his own country. But we should not rest on our laurels
and allow ourselves to be taken further off the path of Christianity and
to have God removed from our presence in our schools, courts, government
and businesses. Invite God into the fray. Ask that His power rest upon
us and give us the victory. Ask Him to raise up a mighty army to defend
us and to protect our country as He did in days of old. Let us be
victorious beginning NOW. The battle is His but we must call on Him
without ceasing and unite our voices and hearts in prayer and fasting.

Please pass this around to all people of prayer that you know and maybe,
just maybe, a more eloquent person of prayer will write something better
and more inspiring and even the rocks will shout that Jesus is Lord and
our Mighty God is with us, bringing the victory for us and ultimately for
Him.
'Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is

God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' I Thes 5:16-18

....Continuous Prayer is the answer to this attack on the USA ....
Please pray the Will of God will prevail through our continuous prayers to
HIM...

Remember Prayer Can... Move Mountains
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is my response to his email:

I do not wear a flag on my lapel and I never will. My love for this country is as strong as anyone's and I don't feel the need to judge people based on the symbols on their clothing. This country is stronger than that.

I plan to vote for the candidate whom I think has the strongest Christian and family values and who will heal the problems that Mr. Bush has wrought upon this great nation and the world. Mr. Obama is that candidate. I plan to vote for the candidate who will strengthen our military power, not waste it on an unconstitutional, illegal, and unholy war. Mr. Obama is that candidate. It saddens me deeply that Mr. Bush's war has cost the lives of our best and brightest young men and women. I've spent 15-20 years working on military installations and I know the incredible talent and skills these young people possess. It breaks my heart to know that they're fighting a war that will only increase the world's hatred of our great nation. These children who have chosen to fight for our country deserve better than this and we would benefit so much from having them back here contributing their amazing skill, talents, and enthusiasm toward good in our society here in our communities. The world was with us when Bin Laden destroyed the Twin Towers and the heroic people inside, and Bush has not only failed to bring him to justice, but also turned more people against us while weakening our capacity to defend ourselves against real enemies.

The fact that so many Christians have abandoned their values of kindness and compassion in favor of the mean-spirited Republican platform has troubled me for many years. The idea that God will support the Republican disregard for the well-being of ordinary people and future generations in favor of the greed of rich corporations goes against everything I've learned in church and in my Christian family.

As a Christian, I deeply respect women's rights and equality for all people on the Earth, not just those who share my religious beliefs, but all people. I believe in a single benevolent God who sees good in all of us.

Barack Obama's wife is not anti-white or anti-American. She is an educated woman who has held good jobs and raised a beautiful family, and who has worked for the betterment our society. I would be so proud to have her represent us as first lady although almost any woman on earth would be favorable compared to the alternative who owns that beer company. Perhaps I'm biased because I do not drink alcoholic beverages. I don't see Mr. Obama's pastor as anti-white or anti-American either. I see him as a good man who loves his country so much that he is willing to speak out against those who do it wrong. Yes, he could be a little more tactful about it, but I believe there is good in his soul.

I believe there is good in your soul too, which why I wholeheartedly recommend that you take a good look at Mr. Obama and see him for the wonderful person he is. He's a good Christian who seeks to bring people together and solve the Nation's problems, not one who will continue the offensive and divisive policies of the Bush administration. His unique background and strong experience give him the compassion and understanding we need to bring people together in peace. His strong understanding of our constitution and his success in communities and government will enable him to cross ideological boundaries and allow our government to be a force for good in the world, not a force for fear. Mr. Obama will not go follow Mr. Bush's spending-spree economic philosophy, but will rebuild our economy so future generations will not need to pay our bills. You have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so I do hope you'll consider their futures, not just financially, but also in their safety and general well-being. Mr. McCain mocks the ideas of safety and environmental concerns when he says "drill baby drill" and talks about coal and nuclear power. He would follow Mr. Bush's tendancies to brush aside safety and environmental concerns that we've spent so many years putting into place, not to annoy people, but to protect them and their children. His "nuclear safety blah blah blah" statements are among the most offensive I've heard from any candidate anywhere anytime. Mr. Obama does not offend me, he makes me feel like we can be better people and live well in this crazy world. I really like him.

As a Christian ... BECAUSE I'm a Christian and because I love America and desperately want my children and yours to live in a kind, peaceful, and prosperous world, I will be praying for Mr. Obama to win this election and praying for his safety during his time as President, as he struggles to solve the horrible economic, environmental, social, and military problems that Mr. Bush has brought upon us, and which Mr. McCain seeks to continue and enhance. I see kindness in Mr. Obama's soul and pray that he will maintain the strength and balance he has exhibited during the long campaign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it. In my view, it was disgusting to receive an email promoting Mr. Bush's "holy war" and bashing Mr. Obama and his family. I guess I included all this in my blog because it's a good summary of the things that bother me most about so-called "Christian" conservatives.

Picacho del Diablo

2008-10-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

This is my desktop background nowadays. It looks really nice on the new computer. Definitely worth the drive down into Mexico to be up at the Observatory, looking out onto the state's highest peak. We saw three California Condors up there, near the research dormitories. They were obviously used to having people around, gawking at them. Two of them perched up on top of the "red house" and then up in a tall tree near the maintenance yard. Nothing compares to a huge bird like a condor flying right overhead.

Summer

2008-07-12T07:09:00.001-07:00

Watching Le Tour on Saturday morning, starting at 5:30 am. My favorite part is the aerial coverage, seeing the French towns, castles, countryside, and especially the people who go to great efforts to attract the camera with elaborate displays as large as crop circles. I'm getting tired of the Saab commercials again. They're so annoying and I wouldn't buy a Saab even if they were affordable. We've been watching episodes of The Office on Netflix. We use Scott's laptop connected to the TV and it works very well. We're all getting attached to the show and have a hard time ending our viewing sessions. Last night we watched until around 1:00; the night before we were up til 2:30! I've gotten curious about the show and have been reading about it online. Tom and Amy were right a couple of years ago when they called it an uncomfortably funny show.

P1050882

2008-06-12T22:19:00.001-07:00

P1050882
Originally uploaded by pipilo

Sunday at the Wild Animal Park. Susan and I walked around the park for about 3 hours this weekend. It's nice having the pass, so we don't have to stay there all day. It can be exhausting out there in the sun. We took the long walk around past the condors and over to the lions and cheetahs. This stork was my favorite. I have no idea what kind it is, but I could watch it walk around all day.

Pipilo maculatus

2008-06-01T22:40:00.001-07:00

DSC_4342-s
Originally uploaded by pipilo

This spotted towhee just sat in these flowers screeching like a bicycle bell - no, higher and faster. Anyway, I got a nice photo of it with my D70 and 300 mm lens, even though it was pretty far away. I was reading on the web that it used to be called the rufous-sided towhee, but then people figured out it was different from the rufous-sided towhees on the east coast, so now it's called a spotted towhee and the one back east is appropriately called the eastern towhee. I guess that brown color is the "rufous" but I'm not really sure because rufous wasn't one of the colors in the Crayola box, not even in the 64-crayon box, as far as I can recall.

I walked today in the Torrey Pines Extension, a surprisingly large wilderness area in the middle of Del Mar east of the train tracks and north of Penasquitos Lagoon. I had only been to the Extension once before, a long time ago, and forgot how nice the views were looking across the lagoon to the beach. Also, it seems that you can get closer to more Torrey Pine trees at the Extension than you can on most of the trails in the main portion of Torrey Pines State Reserve. I'd like to go back there soon and explore more of the trails.

OB Pier

2008-06-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

OB Pier
Originally uploaded by pipilo

We enjoyed a nice sunset in OB last night, with acai smoothies and a walk along the pier. Susan didn't like seeing the fish flopping around or hanging from the many fishing lines along the way. Bob and Scott said it was their first time out on the pier, although I remember taking Scott out to the end and eating at the Pier Cafe several years ago.

Flickr

2008-06-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

$4.159 per Gallon

2008-05-30T07:43:00.001-07:00

What's gasoline really worth? Should we be paying less than $4, or more? Other countries have been paying more for quite a while. It's not like we're generating more gasoline anywhere. It's a precious natural resource that we use to make polymers, medicines, and all sorts of useful things. We also burn it. Should we be paying such a low price for it? It's up around the cost of milk or orange juice, but we can get more milk any time. We can't get more gasoline. Mining the northern shore of Alaska will get us about 6 months more oil, they say. Is that really worth the trouble? What happens in 6 months, then? Will that be 6 more months of underfunded research into developing alternative energy? President Carter envisioned energy independence by the year 2000, then President Reagan scrapped Carter's energy policy to please big business. What would gas prices be like if we had been developing alternative energy strategies with full federal funding over the past 30 years? Would big business be suffering from neglect? Somehow, I think we would have managed to keep the economy going.

Back to the Blog

2008-05-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I used this blog. A friend started blogging during her trip to Europe, so I signed in to say hi, and realized it would be nice to start writing here again. I wonder if this photo will work. It's one of my favorite photos ever, showing Susan and the kids at Wonder Lake in Alaska, June 1994. This was one of our favorite vacations: three weeks in Alaska. We camped and stayed in B&B's, hiked, drove and drove, took pictures, viewed wildlife, and enjoyed each other's company more than anything.

War on Terror?

2007-11-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

How does a country win a war on terror? What is terrorism? Isn't it a bunch of frustrated people lashing out against a power that's too great to fight with conventional warfare? Can we stop it by killing all of them? I suppose. But then wouldn't other people in that area of the world think that's a bad thing and wouldn't they be prone to lash out against us as well?

Are we trying to discipline terror? Will it go into the corner until it comes out reformed?

Are we being fair? Setting an example? Living the high ground? Do we know better? Would we be the terrorists if someone took over our country and tried to control our part of the world? Do the people in power ask these questions?

At the Zoo

2007-04-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Aboard the Midway

2007-04-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

USATODAY.com - Tom Brokaw joins the battle against global warming

2006-07-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

USATODAY.com - Tom Brokaw joins the battle against global warming

This is a good show. Watch it.

TourLink�

2006-07-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

TourLink�

So this is the link to EF Tours "Tour Link" website. Supposedly it is meant to contain photos of our kids and their experiences. So far, three days into the tour, nothing. I expected a little more. Still, I suspect the kids are having a wonderful time over there in London.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

2006-07-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

We saw the Da Vinci Code last Sunday. I hadn't read the book, but found the movie to be quite good. I like the views of Paris and London in this movie, and Audrey Tattou in any movie.

Pipilo's Photos, Videos and Journals

2006-06-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Pipilo's Photos, Videos and Journals

Blogging

2005-12-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

I forgot for a while that I had this blog. It was a good place to write for a while. Perhaps I need to bookmark it. I've noticed that I can tie this blog to some of my other blogs and photoblogs as well. One of these days I'll figure out how to do that.

Meanwhile, here's a link to
Cinema14.

PLEASE vote for John Kerry

2004-11-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Please get out and vote on election day. I urge to you vote for John Kerry. He's a good, honest man who has dedicated his life to public service and the good of our country. I hate to say this, because several of my friends and a couple of close relatives are going to vote for Bush, but I'm convinced that a vote for Bush is immoral, irresponsible, and bad for our country. Mr. Bush has flat-out lied to support his campaign, he has stolen our liberties, and he shows nothing but disrespect for our military volunteers and people who are less fortunate than he.

Even if you don't vote very often, and especially if you're in a "swing state" that may be decided by only a few votes, I hope you make time to go vote for John Kerry.

For me, it will be the most important action I take this year.

Thank you.

Red Sox win series!

2004-10-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

This is unbelievable. The world seems different now. The Red Sox lifted themselves out of the cloudy curse just as the sun began hitting the moon after last night's total eclipse. Mom was online with me as the last out was recorded and pointed out that even the moon was red tonight. How nervous must the pitcher and first baseman have been while they were executing the third out in the bottom of the ninth? How interesting that the last out was made by Edgar Rentaria, who wore Babe Ruth's #3 on the back of his Cardinal uniform. How amazing that we aren't lamenting the Sox this year. This doesn't seem right, but I can get used to it.

Pair A Dice

2004-10-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

Went to visit the Pair A Dice Ranch this morning. Drove right by it three or four times before we actually found it. It's nestled between a self-storage park and the San Gabriel River. I learned that one can ride a horse to the beach and back from this place, all along the river. It's a two-day trip. You can also go all the way up to Mount San Gorgonio, a four-day trip. Sounds like fun, nights would be spent camping. The ranch is all wet and muddy today. Horses in stalls, goats, dogs, and chickens running around. A pit bull is in a tarp-lined cage filled with bedding and other personal items belonging to Martin, the ranchhand who lives at the place, in the cage with the pit bull. The owner showed me a trailer that he bough for Martin to live in, but Martin would rather live in the cage. Once in a while he slaughters a chicken or goat for food, and cooks it in the burn barrel/grill. This is a life far removed from my experience.

LA

2004-10-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

okay, so we woke up early, met at 4 am, and drove through the pouring rain to LA to visit Hansen Dam by 8. Got there 45 minutes early so we had breakfast at McDonald's. Some guy held the door for me and then asked for some spare change on my way out. I said no thanks, so he started giving me crap about it and talking to a bunch of people, apparently other beggars, about me. The bathroom was full of apparent live-ins, so I held it and went to order my food. Normal McD food: sausage biscuit, greasy hashbrowns, and too-hot coffee. Ugh. On my way out, the beggar said have a nice day, then thanked me for my smile. I don't remember having smiled. Maybe he saw me smiling inside that I was leaving the place.

Turned out that our 8:00 appointment was cancelled. I guess you can't visit a dam when it's raining. We walked out to the dam control house and noticed a stream of water passing under the dam, but it really didn't seem like much was going on. Lots of people were walking or running along the top of the dam, which was at least a mile long and 90 feet high. Not sure what the big deal was about the water, but it cancelled our 10:00 appointment at the Sepulveda Dam as well. Basically, we did nothing all morning but drive around LA. Got some nice views of the city, so it wasn't all bad. Then again, it's not the best looking city in the world either.

After a lunch in the food court at the Montebello Mall, we visited the water reclamation plant in Whittier Narrows. Nice place, if you like sewer water and chemicals. Having Curtis along made it worthwhile. He's an old timer with tons of experience running water reclamation plants. He felt like it was old home day, reliving his days at his own plants. Very enthusiastic, and informative as well.

In the evening, we arrived at the Residence Inn only to find that our confirmation number had been lost. Great. Fortunately, they had a few rooms at the same rate we had originally, so we're here.

Now that I've had a lousy day, it's time for the Red Sox to change the world and make it all better.

Nebraska

2004-10-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Nebraska is pretty nice. Beautiful evening tonight as the sunset produced brilliant collors in the trees. The open spaces here are such a contrast compared to just about anywhere else I've been. The City of Lincoln is nice too, with the campus nearby and lots of good looking restaurants (although I've only tried a few of them). Lots of nice coffee shops too. Only two Starbucks in the city. Seems they're just starting to take over the place.

Restaurants I've tried here:
Runza- Good salads, weird sandwiches.
Manhattan Deli - Good sandwiches. Pastrami reuben is better than the regular reuben.
The Oven - Indian food, not bad. I had some sort of pork dish. Get the naan, it's great.
Valentino's Pizza- Excellent.
Papa John's Pizza - the usual, pretty good.
Taco Inn - okay.
Fireworks - Good dinners. I had the traditional brisket.
Pulled pork barbecue sandwiches at the Huskers game. Good.
Fairfield Inn breakfast - not great.

SOX !!!

2004-10-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, what a nice turn of events. Sox in the series. Satisfying yes, but enough, not quite. Four more wins in 2004 would be nice.

Sigh.

2004-10-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Red Sox down 12-6 in the 5th. Purdue lost a crazy game to the "we don't need no stinkin" Badgers. At least the day started out well, as I got to attend a college football game in perhaps the greatest college football town in the country: Lincoln, Nebraska. Ever since the 1960s, watching football games with Grampa in Holden, I remember associating Nebraska with college football. I wasn't disappointed. The level of fanaticism and the glare of red in the stadium were like nothing I'd experienced before in a football game. It was nice to be there on this perfectly crisp fall day.

13-6 now. Sigh...

Torrey Pines

2004-10-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Had a great run today on Torrey Pines beach, and I got there just in time. I was a bit late, actually, as the parking lot had already closed. After a couple of U-turns, I found a spot on the beach and ran down to flat rock at sunset. The beach was surprisingly crowded with people walking along the cliffs. I noticed a few new rockslides and some rock stacks. (I think these piles of 3-8 or so rocks are made by the same person or people each week or so and subsequently knocked down by the waves on the high side of the tidal cycle.) The tide today was high and I had to run on the soft sand, but it didn't make much difference, as I was able to keep up a 10 minute mile pace (my usual slow jog). The wind was light and fresh and the waves large enough to be interesting. I felt good the whole way, but didn't push it too much. The sun set as I was making my turn at Flat Rock, about 1..3 miles from my starting line. I ran back during twilight.

Interestingly, I got a phone call near the end of my run. It turned out to be Tom calling from Massachusetts. He's coming out here in November for the first time in 13 years. Amy will here too; her first time in San Diego since moving from here 33 years ago. It was nice talking with him as I walked back to my car. By the time we were done talking, it had become dark outside. I'm glad I got out there for some exercise.

Fahrenheit 911

2004-10-10T01:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I just saw Michael Moore's movie for the first time tonight. Now that I've seen it, my opinion of Michael Moore is that he's a person who loves our country and respects our military soldiers more than most people in the country do. He realizes that the people who become soldiers are people from less affluent families and that they defend our country honorably. I don't understand how anybody can see this movie and think that Moore is anything but a patriot.

The movie scares me. I don't want my kids being sent to war for "intelligence" reasons against a country that didn't attack us. People will say that's what Michael Moore wants me to think, but is there anyone who would think differently?

I did not know that the protests on inauguration day were so strong. I did not know about the arguments in the Senate from black people and that no Senator supported an investigation into their plight. Why is that, anyway? Why did no Senator sign whatever it was they needed a Senator to sign? That disturbs me.

Why doesn't Bush feel bad for the Iraqis or for the families of the dead and wounded soldiers? That disturbs me too. I see no evidence to contradict Moore's assertions. All I see lately is Bush twisting John Kerry's words to his own advantage. I see Bush lying about what Kerry says. That disturbs me.

Maybe I'm just disturbed.

Poway Preview

2004-10-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

The band tournament today was great. Our field show went very well; the music is great and the marching is fun, a lot more fun than last year. The band sounded strong and marched pretty well. I think our color guard is excellent this year too. Rancho Bernardo's band sounded pretty good, but their music was boring and their marching was rather unchallenging. Poway's show was terrific. Their music featured each section better than I've ever heard in a marching band. They seemed to have a great time doing their show, and we had fun watching and listening to it. I got lots of good photos and videos of all three bands (not of the earlier bands).

Scott's hair is just long enough to be very difficult to stuff up into his shako. He looked fine once it was up there. Matt looked great as always. He spent much of the afternoon getting gifts together for the rest of the trumpets. I'm glad we're involved with the band.

Debate #2 - Friday night

2004-10-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

...written in real time during the debate...

Kerry, good answer to first question about wishy-washiness.
Bush, same old words. He still has no idea that he also did not support, then did support the $87 billion vote. Tax cuts - not for unmarried childless middle class people.

WMD - Bush? Diplomacy first? You've got to be kidding. 75% of Al Qaeda? Bush is whiny.
Kerry has to answer Bush's mind-changing charges all the time, but he answered well.
Bush - Still doesn't understand what "global test" means.
Great answer by Kerry.

Iraq nation building. Kerry's plans for Iraq. Nice that he mentions Republicans saying that Bush is incompetent. Kerry's plans for bringing allies together are sensible.
Bush talks about Iraq elections and reconstruction, that they love to be free. Bush knows "how these people think." He talks to them all the time.
Kerry good answer about the "right war" against Osama.
Bush whiny. Twists Kerry's words: "War on terror is not 'only Osama Bin Laden'." Kerry never said that.

Aggravation from other countries. (Is this a domestic policy debate?)
Bush? Values? Oh come on. Unpopular decisions. Right thing to do. Funny that he mentions The Hague; maybe he'll be forced to stand trial there someday. That would be justice.
Kerry brought up Bush's debate here four years ago. Excellent. Bringing up Hans Blix was a good idea.

Bush joke about scowling. Dumb. He's a whiner. Nucular ambitions...ugh.

Draft. Well, it's nice to hear Bush say we're not going to have a draft. Transform military, bringing people back home. When?
Somebody must have told Bush to just stare at Kerry the whole time.
Kerry says stop-loss policy is a backdoor draft.
Bush interrupted the moderator. Not cool.
Bush says Kerry is denegrating the alliance.
Kerry: 8 countries are leaving. Missouri would equal 3rd largest country. Kerry would be a better Commander in Chief. That has a nice ring to it.

Intelligence comes from cooperation. Good idea. Bush doesn't get it.
Bush: mind furiously working working working...
Homeland security budget tripled. 1993 vote to cut intelligence budget. Working hard. Patriot Act, vital. Iraq haven for terrorists. Bush still doesn't understand. He says it requires complete understanding. All he wants to do is run over the enemy wherever they are.
Kerry. Good response. Not enough time.

Domestic policy.
Drugs from Canada. Bush wants to make sure they're safe.
Kerry. Four years ago. Bush wants drugs from Canada. Tells us about the Senate bill that Bush vetoed.
Bush says Clinton does the same thing. What has Kerry done in 20 years in the Senate.
Kerry says "we did something that you don't know how to do: we balanced the budget."

Question about Edwards. Kerry says Edwards is author of patients bill of rights. They're both for tort reform. Kerry: "I have a plan..."
Bush: Kerry is most liberal Senator. Bush doubts Kerry's plan. Frivolous lawsuits - doctors practice defensive medicine. Government sponsored health care would lead to rationing.
Bush says Kerry hasn't addressed it because the trial lawyers won't act on it.

Bush hasn't vetoed a single spending bill. $700 billion spent and not paid for by taxes.
Bush says the deficit is because of the recession and war. Bush doesn't veto because they work together.
Kerry says Bush started with a $5.6 trillion surplus. Now we have $2.6 trillion deficit. Bush says he cut taxes for everybody.

Tax burden question. Kerry will raise child care credit, new tuition tax credit, lower health care. He's shown how he will pay for things. Kerry 1990s pay as you go. Nice mention of three people who would be negatively affected by Kerry's plan. Bush calling Kerry a liar. New spending. Bush: "battling green eye shades." huh?
Kerry says Bush's figures aren't accurate. Kerry and McCain to close corporate loopholes.
Kerry: balanced budget. Did Republicans vote for this? Bush: Kerry voted 98 times to balance the budget.

Environment. Bush talks about off-road diesel engines, increasing the wetlands "by 3 million". Inner-city sore spots. Clear skies initiative. Farm bill conservation reserve program to improve wildlife and habitat. Healthy forest bill; forests not harvested become like tinder boxes. Technology: hydrogen autos, clean coal technology. "Good steward of the land."
Good answer by Kerry.
Bush: Kyoto would cost jobs. Air is cleaner.
Kerry was in Kyoto. Bush didn't try to fix Kyoto; he walked away from 160 nations doing 10 years of work. He declared Kyoto dead.

Manufacturing, wages, competitiveness. Bush does a lot of blinking. Kerry talking about sending jobs overseas. Cost of health care is big cause of lack of competitiveness. Kerry brought up education, energy independence, entrepreneurial spirit.
Bush: Medical liability reform, pooling of small businesses. Energy plan. Less regulations. Legal reform. Don't tax job creators.
Kerry. 96% of small businesses not affected by Kerry plan. Bush and Cheney are counted as small business.
Bush doesn't know that he owns a timber company. "Need some wood?"

Patriot Act. Bush says it's necessary to give law enforcement every tool necessary. He says it doesn' t abridge your rights at all.
Kerry doesn't like the way the Patriot Act has been applied. People's rights are being abused. "Never let the terrorists change the Constitution."

Stem cells. Nobody has been cured using embryonic stem cells.
Kerry. Michael J. Fox "Don't take away my hope." Chris Reeve exercises every day and thinks he can walk again. Embryos frozen from fertility clinics will be destroyed or left frozen.
Kerry stumbling a bit fishing for words today. Bush: blank stare is unappealing.
Bush says embryonic stem cell research involves destruction of life to save lives. Wants to be careful in balancing the ethics and the science. Science is important but so is ethics.
Kerry says the 22 lines of stem cells that are active are contaminated by mouse cells and are not enough. He will open things up.
Bush says the 22 lines already existed. He says he's balancing science and ethics. A lot of people would like this.

Supreme Court. Bush: "I'm not tellin." He wants all of the judges to vote for him. He would pick someone who would not allow personal opinions to interfere with their decisions. He brought up Pledge of Allegiance, Dred Scott case (slavery and personal property rights). Judges interpret the Constitution.
Kerry. Bush said "What we need is some good conservative judges, and that his favorite justices are Scalia and Thomas." Kerry likes Potter Stewart: "mark of a good judge is that when you're reading their decision, you can't tell who wrote it." Kerry brought up women's right to choose.

Abortion is murder. Kerry is religious. He cannot legislate his faith for someone who doesn't believe what he believes. Kerry wants represent all people in the Nation. Kerry doesn't want a rigid idealogical limitations on world-wide family planning. He respects the question.
Bush says we won't spend taxpayers money on abortion. He didn't understand Kerry's answer. Bush signed "unborn victims of violence act". Every child protected by law and welcomed into life. Maternity group homes. Partial birth abortion. Kerry is against, but wants exemption. He doesn't want parental notice. Bush doesn't understand. Kerry understands more possibilities.

Bush's thousand decisions affect millions of lives. Cite three examples of wrong decisions? Okay, is Bush gonna answer this? Maybe not. Today's report confirmed Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
Kerry: President made a huge mistake in not living up to his own standard to build a true coalition and not go into war unless it was a last resort.
Bush: mentions the vote against the $87 billion. "Saddam Hussein was a risk to our country, mam."

Closing statements.
Kerry. Our country is strongest when we lead the world.
Bush. Presidential election is about the future. He just doesn't understand that he's taking liberties away rather than standing up for liberties.

first post

2004-10-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a post on my new blog. Not sure what I'm going to do with this yet, but this is a start. I went to a band boosters meeting tonight. We're going to have 41 bands at our tournament this year. Should be fun.

Politics are on my mind lately. Wondering why anyone likes our President. Nobody has been able to tell me, and I'm liking him less and less every day. His lies about Kerry's words in the debate are infuriating. How could anyone who watched the debate not see what an idiot Bush is, how he lost the debate and is now lying about it?