Floor Sanding Tools

Months ago, we removed the linoleum from our kitchen and hall and sanded down the hardwood floors. Here are the tools used by the professional team came in:

• Clarke American Sanders Alto Super 7R Edger, model #07075A
  
  
• Clarke American Sanders FloorCrafter 8-inch Belt Floor Sander, model #07104A
  
  
• Thomas Ultra Air PAC Compressor 2 gallon, model #T-617HDN
  
  
• BonaKemi Bona DCS Back Vac Dust Containment Vacuum, model #AM002668
  
  
• Roto Zip Revolution Spiral Saw, model #Rev01 Type 4
  
  
• Lakewood fan, model #HV-14C
  
  
• 3M hand-masker pre-folded contractors plastic, Cp6 6x90
  
  
• Craftsman 10-inch compound miter saw with laser-trac guide
  
  
• Skilsaw 7 1/4-inch Super Duty circular saw, model #77
  
  
• Ryobi Techtronic Industries BTS10S 10-inch table saw
  
  
• BonaKemi Bona Traffic Universal Hardener
  
  
• 3M Sandpaper P100, model #761D
  
  
• Hearing protection
  
  
• Protective eyewear
  
  
• Kneepads
  

Radio Songs

Heard Arcata, California Afro-Cuban A'cappella / R&B / Folk group AkaBella on Sunday morning, July 19, on local Sacramento station 89.5 KVMR. They were singing at the California Worldfest at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. A vibrant layering of voices in life-affirming melodies. :) Visit their MySpace page for audio recordings.

Also heard Randy Newman on A Prarie Home Companion sing "Louisiana, 1927". What a voice! Video.

Also, special bonus: Rolling Stones' Waiting on a Friend. Fantastic. Video.

Birthday

Performing forensics on Randy's PC, and discovered his birthday was July 26, 1956--today. He would have been 53. We sang Happy Birthday in his honor this afternoon.



His PC did not share much insight into his final days: (1) an application to a life coach in Rocklin from March 11, 2009 discussing how he wished to improve his life by finding friends and hobbies, and by not having to worry about money; and (2) his heavy equipment operator resume, going back to 1992, when he worked in Georgia.

His last Internet access was 10:34 a.m. on July 4. He checked the California winning lottery numbers. He accessed his e-mail for 20 minutes starting at 10:40 a.m.. He read an article about the death of Michael Jackson at 11:30 a.m., then another article on the FDA's plans to eliminate Vicodin Percocet at 11:35 a.m. The trail stops there.

Randy's hotmail.com account does not use the same password as his other accounts, so his communications to others are not immediately available. His family, acting as the agents of the estate, will have to request access if they wish to pursue further.

I wept while driving a bit this afternoon while listening to Randy's cassette tape of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's "Teach Your Children":

"You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good-bye

Teach your children well
Their father's hell did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by

Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you of tender years
Can't know the fears
That your elders grew by
And so please help
Them with your youth
They seek the truth
Before they can die

(concurrently with previous verse)
Can you hear and do you care and
Can you see we
Must be free to
Teach the children
To believe and
Make a world that
We can live in

Teach your parents well
Their children's hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by

Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you"

Remembrance

Participated in the remembrance yesterday evening for my former housemate Randy. We made it a potluck, and I hard-boiled a dozen eggs for egg-salad and purchased smoothie ingredients from the list he shared with me. A small veggie pizza, carrot juice, very green liquid drink, homemade tuscan beans and rice, and tinned mackerel complemented the ecclectic evening.

A bit hard to type about it. I take a big gulp of air every once in a while to stay at peace.

Randy had made the place immaculate. It must have taken him weeks. Inside and outside, front yard and backyard. There I go again, imagining him doing all that. He arranged pieces of art in the front bay window ledge. On the front porch, he put out a few possessions. In the garage, he left his collection of antique bottles, most likely found while on the Rail Yard cleanup.

At some point on or after July 4th, he went to the backyard and chose to end his life with a gun. He chose the 4th of July so the gun report would not alarm neighbors. He returned a part of himself to the earth he grieved for.

There was no note. We lit a candle and a small sage branch and visited the location of his final moments. In turn, we shared our thoughts, wondering what sort of protocol might be appropriate. I shared how someone told me once that losing someone is like a hole being in the world. There is no one on the other end of the connection anymore. I also shared how this area was shady and cool, a favorite spot for the wildlife that shares the space of that home. Randy had cared for it.

It was not all melancholy. We shared dark humor, and laughed. My other former housemate (the homeowner) shared information about his fledgling art business. We ate by candlelight and shared stories. Randy's final days at the house with new roommates had been difficult. He was alone when he chose his exit.

This evening, I felt tired and relaxed in our backyard hammock under the branches of our catalpa and pear trees. I read, napped, read some more. As I lowered my magazine momentarily, I found myself looking straight up at a bird house Randy gave us as a going away present. He had purchased it and it was well made, detailed, and thoughtful. When we arrived two years ago, we put it up in the pear tree and shared a picture with him to thank him again.

Even though he was human, with all our faults and frailties, seeing it reminded me of him, his thoughtfulness, and his desire for peace and order.

Another deep breath. Some people believe in an afterlife, reincarnation; I do not. Death for me is final, the end, full stop. Randy is gone.

Weeds

Even weeds need a break.

A Remembrance

Randy Lee Burnz chose to take his life last week.

From June, 2002 through July, 2007, Randy was my house-mate. Through extended conversations, I got to know him and his family, his outlook, and his character. The following describe Randy as I knew him.

Food

• Randy taught me and encouraged me to make smoothies. The recipe I posted on my blog in 2007 is largely modeled after his own:
  
  Lee's Smoothies
  

  coconut milk
  Jumex
  brewer's yeast
  almond meal
  protein powder
  yogurt
  bananas
  mixed berries
  Trader Joe's Very Green Powder Dietary Supplement
  soy milk or juice (apple)

  Lee confided he dreamed of serving smoothies to people to help them live healthier lives.
  
  
• Randy loved carrot juice.
  
  
• Randy preferred cooking using the oven. He baked fish, frozen dinners, and so forth. On the stovetop, he might cook chicken, "skrimps" (shrimp, but he called them skrimps, as someone in the south might), eggs, brown a tortilla, and so forth.
  
  
• Randy loved salads. He added almond meal, Bragg Liquid Aminos, a hard boiled egg, and so forth.
  
  
• Randy made his own egg-salad. It always looked delicious.
  
  
• A card-table in Randy's room was greatly covered by health supplements.
  
  
• Randy enthusiastically shared the benefits of purification diets.
  

Opinions

• Randy did not believe the sun caused cancer and refused to wear sunscreen.
  
  
• Randy subscribed to a Native American tribal newspaper. I think Apache or Cherokee.
  
  
• Randy believed in the chemtrail conspiracy theory.
  
  
• Randy seemed to feel anger and mistrust toward African Americans. Over the period of time I knew him, he shared some of the reasons, including one violent encounter at a post office in the Atlanta area. Whether it was physically, verbally, or psychologically abusive was never clear to me. He shared he did not plan to vote for Obama, and when pressed shared he feared Obama would attempt to unfairly favor African Americans based on race. We spoke about race a number of times, and though we held polar opposite views on race, I always strove to attempt to hear him compassionately.
  
  
• Randy did not vote for many years. I believe he voted in 2004 and maybe 2006.

Personal History Stories

• Randy lived on a commune for a period of time in his youth. During our conversations, he described the group dynamics of how the group operated.
  
  
• Randy told me how he would ride boxcars as a means of efficiently traveling from place to place. He jumped from a boxcar once, rolling down the embankment, unhurt. I do not remember if he attempted this more than once.
  
  
• Randy hitchhiked across America in his youth. He indicated hitchhiking was a safer environment then.
  
  
• Randy talked about doing lots of drugs during his youth, including LSD and marijuana. I do not remember the exact list, but he seemed to indicate he tried a lot of them. He shared they never really negatively affected him too much. Others, he said, really abused them. He drew a distinction.
  
  
• Sexually, Randy was honest and forthright about his youthful partners. When he was very young, he had a partner with whom he made love five or six times a day. I am not sure this was a frequent occurrence.
  
  
• Randy told me of camping trips he took in which he would sleep in the back of his truck.
  
  
• Randy kept his Utah license plates when he moved to California. I think he said it was cheaper for him to claim he still lived in Utah. Or maybe he was dual-licensed. I forget.
  

Family and Community

• I met Randy's mother when she came to tend to his cosmetic nose surgery. She made him soup, spent a lot of time with him, went shopping and bought him clothing. I believe his mother lives in Florida.
  
  
• Randy's parents divorced at some point in his life. I believe his father eventually remarried, but I am not sure about his mother.
  
  
• Randy was part Jewish and part Native American.
  
  
• Randy has a sister who lives in the area of Beverly Hills. He has one or two brothers. My memory is a bit fuzzy here.
  
  
• Randy has a son who lives in the southern United States near his son's mother, I believe. Randy talked about him from time to time. I sensed he had given up the idea of connecting with him, though an exchange of letters would take place occasionally.
  
  
• Randy's father would RV around the country, I believe.
  
  
• Randy enjoyed the platonic (to my knowledge) company of his friend Lisa. They visited the Denios Farmers Market on Saturdays, and drink beers around the kitchen island. I always had positive impressions of Lisa.
  
  
• Randy attended the Aspire Foundation's meetings in Sacramento. He seemed to appreciate the atmosphere and attended several retreats as his budget allowed.
  
  
• Randy's e-mail was lilindio@hotmail.com
  
  
• Randy traveled occasionally to hot spring spas in the Petaluma area. I do not know which one specifically, but he really enjoyed the atmosphere and community he found there.

Worldview

• Randy described his worldview as pan-theistic. I believe his part Native American ancestry influenced him.
  
  
• Randy held angry attitudes toward Christianity. I forget the reasons, if they were ever clear.
  
  
• He loaned a copy of a book by Carl Jung to me, which I did not read, but had made an impression on him.
  
  
• Randy believed in astral projection.
  
  
• Randy painted two black Native American symbols on the back of his truck.
  

Environment

• Randy had two sides. He despaired about the environmental destruction of the planet and its resources. On the other hand, he shared how he would toss trash from his vehicle onto the roadway. In his opinion, the world was so messed up, it did not matter. For Randy, he did not see humanity making the strategic choices necessary to protect the environmental resources of the planet.
  
  
• Randy was appalled by vehicular pollution during his brief stint as a long-haul truck driver.
  
  
• Randy tried to pack garbage down as much as possible before hauling it to the garbage containers.
  
  
• Randy used to work as a waste collection vehicle operator, and did not put out the waste containers for pickup unless they were full.

Housemate Stories

• Randy had a generous heart. When I first moved in, he had adopted a set of feral kittens nesting near the house. He set out food for them.
  
  
• Randy shared his art with me. It was something he enjoyed.
  
  
• Randy told me he kept a gun in his possession, but I never saw it.
  
  
• Randy disabled the downstairs fire alarm system, presumably because of the incense and kitchen smoke which would set it off.
  
  
• Randy's room feature walls covered in Native American art and art he found attractive. His possessions were simple. I gave him his first desktop PC, a painfully slow system, but with it he no longer needed to commute to the public library to communicate via e-mail.
  
  
• Randy was often drowsy, but frequently humorous. He shared a lot, to the point where frequently I felt pressed to get a word in edgewise. We would talk frequently for long periods of time, which ended up mostly with me listening and Randy expounding on his opinions regarding human relationships, culture, his stories, and so forth.
  
  
• Randy appreciated my weight relative to other housemates. As I lived above him, he did not want someone heavy disrupting him frequently. Randy really thought deeply about who he wanted to live with. When it came time for me to leave to find a bigger place to live, Randy and I discussed at length about his preferences: (1) respectful; (2) trustworthy (and friends too); (3) willing to live separately in the house, but as acquaintances; (4) responsible, independent, mail forwarding; (5) ask about physical, independence/medical issues; (6) do they have family in the area?; (7) any mental health issues?; (8) religious preferences; (9) willing to commit time necessary to do things right?; (10) he enjoyed structure for contributions (toilet paper, soap, garbage, cleaning); (11) willing to do housecleaning in exchange for reduction in rent?; (12) sexual preference not important to him; (13) top three positives: mellow, proactive in communication, responsible, trustworthy, respectful; (14) prefers a person who prepares their own meals, meat OK; (15) weight an issue for him; (16) relationships -- an area to get a feeling for; (17) personal habits (sleep schedule, television usage, loud music, stability).
  
  We discussed it at length! :) And in the end, we ended up moving out before any interviewing took place.
  
  
• After I had moved out, Randy on separate occasions went out of his way to drop off mail he thought important I receive, which had been delivered to the old address. That is just the way Randy was--a really thoughtful person.
  
  
• Randy used jojoba oil. I love the word jojoba (pronounced ho-ho-ba).
  
  
• Randy had a lot of body hair.
  
  
• Randy thought I was one of the best housemates he had ever had. I really appreciated hearing him say that.
  
  
• Randy had a tatoo on his arms, a work-in-progress. He was somewhat dissatisfied with it, as a mistake had been made at one point, I believe, and he had attempted to work around it. I thought it looked fine.
  
  
• Randy was a very clean, careful, organized, detail-oriented person. He encouraged me to wipe down surfaces after using them to protect the surfaces from decay.
  
  
• Randy was interested in taking care of himself physically. With videos from the public library, he self-taught himself yoga and practiced light workouts.
  
  
• He began purchasing discounted VHS videos from thrift stores and would watch them frequently in the dark in the living room. He was a huge fan of Bruce Lee and his philosophy. For New Years or Christmas 2005, I rented Enter the Dragon and shared with him "Bruce Lee: In His Own Words". I think he really appreciated someone doing that for him.
  
  
• Randy fell and injured himself while on the job, requiring a trip to the emergency room for treatment. Dawn and I brought him there, got the wheelchair, and brought him home. He was in really rough shape for months, but he eventually healed.
  
  
• Randy talked about his truck, a GMC Jimmy a lot. He wanted to buy a new one as he feared his truck would give out. He complained about cheap parts engineered to fail.
  
  
• Randy blocked the sides of the front porch so skunks could not enter.
  
  
• Randy used the hose to remove debris from the driveway.
  
  
• Randy would sun himself in the nude in the front lawn. We had a tall fence and were at the end of a dead-end street, so this was not a big deal.
  
  
• Randy was always quitting smoking, but never did. He would go for a time, but then a stressful event would occur and he would use nicotine as a stress release.
  
  
• Randy kept his downstairs windows shaded at all times to prevent would-be thieves from seeing anything of value.
  

Music

• Before going out to poetry readings or coffee houses, Randy would play music from Mary Youngblood very loudly.
  
  
• Randy owned a well-traveled guitar, with carvings in the headstock.
  
  
• One night, Randy brought out an old vinyl album (Jefferson Starship?) to the kitchen island where I was sitting. He had found some very old marijuana dust in the spine. He proceeded to carefully place it into a cigarette paper, then took it outside to smoke. He returned, declaring it was awful. :)
  

Employment

• When I first met him, Randy worked as a Hazmat environmental cleanup worker. He worked long hours, up to 12 hours each day. Frequently, he returned home and collapsed, exhausted, into his bed. During this period of time, Randy was not frequently seen. When he emerged from his room, to use the bathroom, to consume food or drink, he was quiet, drained, and efficient with energy.
  
  When I met him, Randy participated in the Sacramento Rail Yard Cleanup project: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SiteCleanup/Projects/Sac_Rail_Yard.cfm.
  
  
• Randy introduced me to his "action pose":
  
  With this pose, Randy held a pose, giving the impression he was in the middle of an activity. He employed this to conserve energy.
  
  
• Randy was an expert masseuse.
  
  
• Randy did not share the same lifestyle as many of his seasonal laborer co-workers. According to Randy, they frequently drank themselves through their evenings or spent time at bars or partying. Instead, Randy frequently spent time reading, when he could.
  
  
• Randy commuted great distances at times, getting up very early in the morning and returning in the evening. Some commutes took him two hours one way.
  
  
• In the off-season, Randy went on unemployment.
  
  
• For periods of time, Randy would travel to job-site locations to work. He would describe his stays to me when he returned. As a trained heavy-equipment operator, Randy could work a back-hoe, a heavy truck, and so forth.
  
  
• Randy trained to become a long-haul truck driver. For his apprenticeship, he traveled for one month with an experienced driver. After that, he drove his own truck around the country.
  
  He described the culture of truck-driving in less than glowing terms. Food stops were generally not healthy. Trucks were left running frequently, consuming large amounts of fuel and polluting.
  
  Bathroom breaks while on the road had to be planned carefully.
  
  Point-to-point trips were carefully scripted by computers. It was challenging for him to stay on track.
  
  
• Randy worked in a warehouse in the Rocklin area for a time. He helped pack and ship foodstuffs.
  

Depression

• Randy desperately needed community. Occasionally, he talked about returning to a commune to once again live his values.
  
  
• Randy felt loneliness and wanted to find the company of a woman he might spend time with. He described most of his previous encounters with women as dysfunctional, with the women being bi-polar, or split personality, or serious traumatic issues from their past.
  
  
• Randy said he suffered from attention deficit disorder, which prevented him from continuing his education or studying things in great depth.
  
  
• Randy desperately wanted a community to meet his needs for connection and support.
  
  
• Randy seemed insecure about his height. To him, short people could not get a fair shake, whether with women or in the workplace.
  
  
• Randy seemed to frequently express anxiety about money. He made good money in the spring/summer/fall, but nothing in the winter.
  
  
• Randy felt insecure about his nose, occasionally commenting on how he wished it was different to allow him to breath better and to improve his success with attracting women. He had cosmetic surgery on his nose, and seemed much happier.
  
  
• The last time I talked with Randy in person was in 2008. Dawn and I had phoned Randy to inquire about a bike fender I had left there. When we arrived, Randy was gracious enough to have taken it from the back shed and handed it to us. We talked at length. During the discussion, he hinted at his eventual death. He shared that if we ever saw him dressed in his Native American clothing, he would be on his way to take his life. I sensed it a bit in him then. I think he was working it through in his mind.

Rest in peace, Randy.

On Thursday, several of us who knew and lived with him are going to have a remembrance for him. Should be a sober night but hopefully one where we can find connection and celebration of his life together.

Python Challenge Level 5

Ok, the Python Challenge level five was a bit hard. o_O At least for someone never having used pickle before.

Ali Akbar Khan's "Chandranandan"

Listening to Ali Akbar Khan's "Chandranandan" from "Signature Series Volume 1: Three Ragas" and being blown away by the amazing drumming and instrumentation!

A Tale of Two Dinners

Friday night potluck dinner:

Pasta with Italian Zucchini Saute
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Zucchini-Saute/Detail.aspx

Tonight, an old favorite:

Pasta with Mizithra
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mizithra-Browned-Butter-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Wednesday Evening Sights

Stepped off the light rail train to hear two youths yelling to a running friend to hurry up to make the train. It was night, the light rail parking lot was empty of cars, it was me and this lone running teenager. The train bell sounded, the doors began closing on the teenager's friend, who forced it open. The train bell sounded again, and the friend forced it open once more. The teenager rushed past me and onto the train. As the train sped away, the rails ringing softly, a train blast erupted to my right. At great speed, a commercial freight train rushed past the parking lot. Save for one bright spotlight illuminating the passing cars, the deep vibrations and noisy carriages were implied rather than seen. I walked to my car, turned the key, and left for home.

A Natural Palette

Saw this while at the doctor's office. Not sure if it was the fasting before the blood test, but I fell in love with the design and character of the architecture and interior! Original story by Susan Reifer in Ski Magazine, January 2008.

Link: http://www.skinet.com/travel/2008-03/green-dream-home


"Daniel and Isa Catto Shaw's green home near Aspen, Colorado." - Clay Ellis, photographer


"The gallery forms the architectural core of the home. Its high volume and clerestory windows are evocative of Morocco, a key theme throughout." - Clay Ellis, photographer


"The intricately carved door was reclaimed from a Moroccan structure." - Clay Ellis, photographer


"The dining room doubles as a library. A watercolor by Isa Catto Shaw hangs above the wet bar, on one of the home's temperature-regulating concrete walls. All light fixtures are high efficiency, and even the home's audiovisual system - which controls stereos, iPods and computers from a touch screen on the wall - is solar powered." - Clay Ellis, photographer


"The powder room features a waterfall faucet and cupboard from San Miguel de Allende." - Clay Ellis, photographer


"The living room, which centers around a Southwestern-style curved hearth, features an unusual tete-a-tete Mexican rattan seat. Ceiling beams are crafted from blown-down Alaskan sitka spruce." - Clay Ellis, photographer

Potemkin Stairs

A beautifully lit painting of the Potemkin Stairs, the breathtaking entryway to Odessa, Ukraine from the sea:

Zucchini!

Tonight, zucchini patties: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Patties/Detail.aspx

Notes:

• Crazy easy. Hardest part was squeezing the water out of the zucchini.
  
  
• Marinara sauce was perfect.
  
  
• We drank red wine with it, which seemed to pair well. Perhaps the wine influenced the decision of the judges?
  
  
• Saved a bunch to cook up later in the week. Will try reheating them for lunch tomorrow as well.

Also, marinara sauce on my laptop mouse. The hazards of bringing the laptop into the kitchen. :)

Radio Songs

Calgary-natives Tegan and Sara's "Speak Slow," from their 2004 album "So Jealous," on the Vapor and Sanctuary labels. Video.

Brooklyn-based Plushgun's "Maybe Tomorrow," a single on the Tommy Boy Entertainment label. I think. Audio.

Wedding Reception Notes

A place to collect ideas/thoughts:

• Backyard ala the movie Chocolat?
• Brainteasers to break the ice?
• Food from Sacramento Co-Op?
• Casual elegance
• Formal cute
• Connection via guests
• Aesthetics important
• Magpie Caterers: $2,000 minimum; tends to favor larger groups
• A Healthy Kitchen (http://www.ahealthykitchensac.com/)

Cherry Blossom Festival

Dawn and I visited the 2009 San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival on Apr 18.

Notes:

• Mochi balls
• Sake
• Belly Good Cafe & Crepes: Dawn got a strawberry/kiwi yogurt; I got a lychee nut yogurt crepe.
  
• Lumpia
• Gyoza potstickers
• Purification ceremony (rice pounding)
  
• Parasol for Dawn and Lanna
• Taiko drumming (video)
  
• Tea ceremony
• Manga exhibit
• Okinawan soba
• Long bathroom waits
• Cosplay
• Nikkei
• Ghibli Museum
  
• Nemu nemu web comic
  
• Okonomiyaki: beey and egg, squid
• Cha soba (green tea flavor, cold) with a dipping sauce
• Swensen's ice cream: not sure we stopped here, but recommended?

Color

• On the way back, we boarded a bus, only to find the bus driver had caught the front of the bus under the bus stop shelter. o_O We left the bus and walked to where we needed to go.
• Free sake! Completely unexpected. Right after the purification ceremony, they broke the casks of sake, then began handing out cups of clear liquid to the guests in attendance. Water? One sniff told me otherwise. They continued to provide free sake to the crowds throughout the afternoon, until supplies were exhausted. We stopped back several times. Donations were solicited, so we contributed.
• Food! Too much to eat everything, but we tried a lot of it throughout the day.
• We plan to go back for the Asian Art Museum's Samurai exhibit.
  

Two thumbs, way up!