Shoe Guide - Reddit

Reddit has a shoe guide:
https://www.reddit.com/comments/p7usf/shoe_guide_v20/

Reading list suggestions

"Mastery" by Robert Greene
"Bold" by Peter Diamondis and Steven Kotler
"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven Johnson
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl
"Born Standing Up" by Steve Martin
"Bounce" by Mathew Syed
"An Astronaut's Guide to Earth" by Commander Chris Hadfield.
"Zero to One" by Peter Thiel
"Quiet" by Susan Cain
"Antifragile" by Nassim Taleb
"Mindset" by Carol Dweck

Via: http://qr.ae/RoCmQh

Mark Twain - A return to India

In the second volume of his autobiography, he expresses a desire to return to India, the only country he has visited that compels him to do so:

I am not acquainted with my own books, but I know Kipling’s—at any rate I know them better than I know anybody else’s books. They never grow pale to me; they keep their color; they are always fresh. Certain of the ballads have a peculiar and satisfying charm for me. To my mind, the incomparable Jungle Books must remain unfellowed permanently. I think it was worth the journey to India to qualify myself to read “Kim” understandingly and to realize how great a book it is. The deep and subtle and fascinating charm of India pervades no other book as it pervades “Kim;” “Kim”] is pervaded by it as by an atmosphere. I read the book every year, and in this way I go back to India without fatigue—the only foreign land I ever day-dream about or deeply long to see again.

Source:
"13 August 1906: Paragraph 9," in Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2. 2013, 2008. <http://www.marktwainproject.org/xtf/view?docId=works/MTDP10363.xml;style=work;brand=mtp;chunk.id=dv0039#pa001358>

I'm Still Here - Elaine Stritch

Command performance: I'm Still Here - Elaine Stritch ("From Sondheim's 80th Birthday Concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall / Lincoln Center.", c. Sep 2010)

(Via)

Gradually waking up

Enjoying the gradually increasing feeling of satisfaction from caffeine and the warmth of sunrise through a coffee shop window, over the course of 90 minutes.

Exercise - Back on the treadmill

During our staycation last week, we exercised nearly every day. On one day, I ran for 45 minutes and felt an energy boost and feeling of wellness. It felt noticeably good!

I have a lot of outdoor running experience and I miss that boost.

Politics, at 0.5 Playback Speed

Literally laughing out loud: the fun of watching political debates, on YouTube, at 0.5x playback speed:

https://youtu.be/DtoAjFwKBmU?t=2003

De Rhetorica's Definition of Seven "Circumstances"

From the Wikipedia Five Ws article:

Pseudo-Augustine's De Rhetorica defined seven "circumstances" (μόρια περιστάσεως 'elements of circumstance') as the loci of an issue:

Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis.(Who, what, when, where, why, in what way, by what means)

How to control LED notification lights, at night?

Light Flow
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rageconsulting.android.lightflow&hl=en

Waking when using earplugs

A conundrum--how to use sleeping mask (to block out light) and earplugs (to block out ambient sound) and still wake at a certain time?

• Coffee (smell)
• Vibration
• Phone on vibrate, volume 11
• Phone in your sock (um, ew?)
• Pads that fit under the mattress or pillow (used by deaf students)
• Arm pouch + vibrating alarm
• Earbuds (as a substitute)
• Sonic Boom alarm clock -- up to 113dB (um, for me, this represents the last resort option, ugh)
• Don't worry--you will hear alarm, earplugs will fall out, and so forth

Also: wearables.

Sources:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1c202a/lpt_request_how_can_i_sleep_with_ear_plugs_but/

The Hum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hum

Sounds like a Stephen King novel name, but it actually seems to describe something I experience:

• "persistent low-frequency sound, often described as being comparable to that of a distant diesel engine idling" - yes
• Noticed it since 2006, possibly earlier

Late Summer Mini-Staycation Recap

September mini-staycation; lots of rest, some day trips:

• Sat , 5
• Costco
• Sun, 6
• Big Hero 6 (2014 film), online streaming
• West End Tap & Kitchen (Parisian Gnocchi, hamburger)
• Mon, 7 (LABOR DAY)
• Coffee - Cafe Iveta
• Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine (2015 film), at the Nickelodeon
• Tue, 8
• Coffee - Companion Bakeshop
• Jury duty (afternoon)
• Wed, 9
• Munch - Philly Cheesesteak
• Jury duty (afternoon)
• Evening walk to the ocean
• Thu, 10
• Coffee - Starbucks; tried new Pumpkin Spice Latte
• Fri, 11
• Coffee - Companion Bakeshop
• Whale watching
• Sat, 12
• Press Juices And Sandwich Kiosk, downtown
• Coffee - Lulu Carpenter's 
• PetSmart - played with kittens
• Costco
• Sun, 13
• Coffee - at home
• Ironman Santa Cruz triathlon, so stayed home
• New Leaf 
• Swanton Berry Farm
• Called mom
• Dinner: manicotti, asparagus, cheesy garlic bread, corn on the cob

Pacific Shores - Exercise Equipment

Noting, just for reference.

Elliptical trainers

1. Precor EFX 546i Commercial Series Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer
1. Faulty incline switch, so can elevate the incline, but not lower it
2. Heart rate monitor seems to need maintenance...it displays a value, but does not seem accurate (for example, 58 bpm, but in middle of workout?)
3. Circa 2008
4. User Manual - EFX 546i Experience Series - June 2008 (5.23 MB)
2. Precor EFX 532i Commercial Series Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer
1. All functionality seems to work as expected
2. Circa 2008
3. User Manual - EFX 532i Experience Series - March 2008 (9.04 MB)

Treadmills

1. Precor C932 (c. 2004) Note: removed, as of October 2015
2. Advantage Fitness Products Star Trac Fitness S-TRx or S-TRc (note: disabled) Note: repaired, as of October 2015
3. Advantage Fitness Products Star Trac Fitness S-TRx or S-TRc, brand new, as of October 2015

Recumbent stationery bike

• Precor C846 (c. 2004)
• Functions, on minimum resistance, but no power; it does not seems to turn on

Weight machines

Stickers on the equipment seem to indicate installed and maintained by TuffStuff Fitness International, Inc. (?)

1. Advantage Fitness Products Leg row
2. Advantage Fitness Products Bench
3. Advantage Fitness Products 

Exercise balls

Mirrored wall

Entertainment

• Xfinity (Comcast Cable)
• Two flat-panel displays
• Right-most display seems to lack remote and/or seems disabled (?)

Notes

• Precor Owners Manuals : http://www.precor.com/en-us/customer-service/owners-manuals
• EFX stands for "Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer" (via)
• Seem to have 10 year equipment replacement policy (?)
• UPDATE: October 2015: just installed On Demand Fitness room, with two exercise bikes and a display, for team exercise.

Na hoku jewelry pendant

Dawn likes this one:

Na Hoku: "Yellow Gold and Sterling Silver Asch Grossbardt Koi Fish Pendant with Spiny Oyster and Mother of Pearl Inlay (Chain Included)"

Nature's 1 Jewelry

Saw Subject brand jewelry on display at a store on Fisherman's Wharf, in Monterey, California. The brand seems managed by supplier Wheeler Mfg Co., Inc., out of South Dakota.

Wheeler Manufacturing, Pendant (WMP), #169, a turtle pendant

Note: this seems like it has a lot of similarity to Na Hoku:

Na Hoku "14K Rose Gold Honu (Turtle) Pendant with Pink Mother of Pearl Inlay." (link)

Who came first (?)

Companion Bakeshop - Oven loader

Subject seems to use an oven loader from French vendor URM, for bread. Maybe the lift, also?

Monterey Whale Watching trip 2015

Dawn and I returned to Monterey Bay Whale Watch (MBWW) today for a 5:00 p.m. end-of-day excursion.

Pre-excursion:

Ate a late lunch at Nino's Wharfside (spaghetti & meatballs, chicken parmesan). Purchased two candies, from Carousel Candies: 1) dark chocolate peanut butter cup; and 2) Oreo marshmallow on a stick.

Excursion notes:

• Was: 4:30 p.m., but MBWW canceled that trip, per low sign-ups, and pushed us later
• Somewhat alarmingly, they had not written down our names for the 4:30 p.m. or the 5:00 p.m., even though we had called at noon and they said they would send an email (never came?)...luckily, they had room
• We exchanged our raincheck voucher, from October 2010, no questions asked; nice!
• Struck up a fun conversation with the desk attendants and a man about Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles : o ) Good senses of humor! .
• Boarded around 5:15 p.m., left the harbor around 5:30 p.m. (had to wait for boat to return, disembark passengers, reset, and so forth)
• We took two pills each of the over-the-counter antiemetic Meclizine, prior to departure...once again: best advice ever...at least for me
• Sky looked a bit hazy, which cooled things off...we donned our warmies while waiting for the boat to leave
• Sea lions on the breakwater
• MBWW staff maintain a list of seabirds in the local area
• Whale sign! Spouts of water sighted, ahead
• Reaching the anchovy feeding area, we understood the magnitude of the sea life around us:
• 40 whales
• Hundreds of dolphins
• Uncountable seabirds
• Breaches, or whales jumping vertical, then crashing and splashing, occurred multiple times...sort of like  getting lucky and spotting a shooting star, one has to face the right way and spot it, during the few seconds it lasts, for the best effect
• Pec-slapping and lobtailing also observed
• One hundred yards separated us from the whales, per the federal whale watching guidelines
• Observed dolphins porpoising, in small and medium-sized schools
• Kate Spencer, naturalist, has moved on, to FastRaft
• I did not catch the names of the naturalist or captain, for our trip
• Choppy water, going out and coming in...evenings can get a bit rougher than day
• Seasickness:
• Meclizine saved us, thankfully, though it may have worn off a bit
• Several people not so lucky: a man near retirement age, a father, his son (multiple times, poor guy), a 20-something, his female companion, and so forth...presumably, all suffered
• Crew suggested using the back of the boat, if needed
• Felt overheated several times, and cool air saved me, as well as switching orientation
• Ginger treat helped soothe Dawn's stomach, as we departed, later
• On the way back, I found focusing on the horizon helped me...however, after some time, it became too dark to see
• Indoor computer-driven displays show maps of weather, depth, water temperature, as well as estimated speed and time remaining to destination...very helpful!
• Crew took lots of photos during the viewing portions
• Naturalist on board (most likely correctly) noted a light I saw, near Santa Cruz, was likely a boat light, not the lighthouse
• Complimentary hot chocolate and/or tea/coffee, I think, to warm up, on the way back
• Friendly crew, everyone helped out
• Rode in the 2002 Geo Shipyard Inc-built ship "Blackfin", USCG Doc. No.:1124507, call sign WDC3326, hull number GSY0171B202
• Noises of birds very audible
• Saw only a few jellyfish, appearing as yellowish-white blobs, close to the surface
• Leaving, near twilight, we saw a number of breaches, in succession
• Arrived in port around 8:30 p.m., a three hour trip
• A sea lion briefly barked at disembarking passengers, from the bottom of a short stairway leading to a boat-level access. We watched it for a moment, as it watched us, whiskers visible.

Sign reads, in a pseudo-handwritten script: "Help! Save Us / Ns smoking on the wharf! MCC 22-29 (b) (8)". The sign depicts various marine animals, under a cloud (presumably, of smoke), with cigarette butts on their heads: sea lion, sea otter, and pelican, as well as a crab who only show its claws, from the bottom of the sign.

Post-excursion:

• Returned to Carousel Candies and purchased a small turtle plush: "10" SLIDE SEA TURTLE is an adorable stuffed friend featuring wide eyes! Perfect for any sea life lovers! Part of Aurora's Dreamy Eyes collection. Featuring all new styling- soft & fluffy with loveable expressions!"
  
• Walked through a few tourist shops
• Purchased a milk chocolate turtle and a dark chocolate turtle, from Wharf Chocolate Factory (yum)
• Festa Italia, 82nd annual, which we walked through as we returned to the car, after the excursion
• Popped into Candyland Two, at 200 Alvarado St, to gape at a ginormous 60" giant sea turtle plush, item #308101, on sale there for $300, from vendor The Petting Zoo, Inc. (via their 2015 Sea Life and Wild Life catalog, page 39)

  

  So big! 60" giant sea turtle plush, item #308101, vendor The Petting Zoo, Inc.

Ambient notes, from Fisherman's Wharf:

• Man playing somewhat melancholy music on a wharf street piano, near MBWW (older, asian pacific-islander, with long beard)
• People smoking despite signs pleading for them not to:
• Three dogs, on the MBWW boat "Sea Wolf II", which we watched disembark passengers, then swing around to the marina-side and out of sight...seemed like they boarded when the boat returned, as we noticed the golden-haired dog trot out of the MBWW building with a dog treat
• Name of the "Sea Wolf II": I listened to Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf just recently, so seemed a curious name to see 
• Noticed the Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater (a.k.a. The New Wharf Theater), though nothing advertised...their Facebook page lists their next production as "Seasons of Love", a tribute to the person who helped revitalize the organization, who died in 2014
• Burial at sea: we gathered their intent while watching them, from inside Nino's Wharfside:
• Flowers
• Teenage girl carrying gift bag, which presumably held the ashes
• Hispanic American family members, several generations, several with bright pink shirts
• Middle-aged woman looking somber, possibly grieving
• Rest of party respectful, restless
• Came back more thoughtful
• MBWW sign: "No AM burials"
• Sea otter rolling-over while eating what looked like a shrimp, and then diving and returning with a crab
• The Little Mermaid Glass Bottom Boat Tours ticket booth contained Disney toys, including plush Inside Out character Bing Bong, Riley's long forgotten imaginary friend, as well as plush emotion "Anger"

Notes for next time:

• "Book a morning trip rather than afternoon, for smoother seas." (via)
• Eat a light meal, but limit the desserts until after
• Use the restroom, to ensure this does not contribute to nausea
• Warmies--even more layers, for evening excursions
• Sit comfortably and switch, if getting exhausted or nauseous
• Ginger treats, to calm unsettled stomach

Previously

Synergy Clothing

Passed by their store, on Wednesday.

Evening walk

Dawn and I walked down Shaffer Road to an ocean overlook, this evening, where we watched the ocean waves crash and a sea otter dive and surface. We walked back by the Gray Whale and Miss Blue, at the Long Marine Lab. Very pleasant.

Jury duty, County of Santa Cruz

Selected at random to serve as juror #4, on what I believe was a criminal jury trial, case #M83925, in the County of Santa Cruz. Defendant was Sean Michael Martinez. The charge was theft of an auto.

The trial ended after taking testimony from three people:

1. The woman who received a gift of the auto (something like Jeanne Payne?)
2. Kraig Evans (Capitola police department)
3. Ricki Trindade (Santa Cruz police department)

Judge on the trial was Marjorie Laird Carter. Counsel for the County of Santa Cruz prosecution was Mr. Nguyen. Counsel for the defense seemed like someone operating out of the Santa Cruz Public Defender's Office. Mentioned in the trial was a Ruben Trevino (spelling?) of Salinas, the spouse of witness #1, and the registered owner of the vehicle in question (which was gifted to witness #1).

Judge Carter provided no explanation for the dismissal of the jury, after the taking of the testimony, above. She hinted, paraphrasing, "A lot of this will probably make no sense to you."

After the trial, as I sat in the atrium, both counsel lawyers saw me and we very briefly discussed my thoughts on whether I found witness #1 credible. I told them I had found her mostly credible, but was waiting to hear testimony from the defendant. I told them I thought the defendant made a mistake, in my opinion, to arrive unshaven and without appearing to take care in their dress. I don't think my answer pleased either of them. After a moment, the counsel for the defense left with the counsel for the prosecution to, presumably, discuss another case, or the aftermath of the case I served on.

This represented my first selection to serve on a jury trial.

Based on my brief discussion with counsel for both parties, I am guessing something which came up during examination of the witnesses precluded them from proceeding:

1. Mistake with the incident report (I think it may have said "Jan 5" but it really occurred on the morning of Jan 6?)
2. Counsel for the prosecution decided witness would not survive as a credible source (only witness)
3. One of more of the officers mentioned something they should not have (for example, Mr. Martinez having another parallel issue at the time of this incident)
4. Other (?)

So many details of this trial which lie fresh in my mind but will soon all disappear. Sean was driving with an expired license. The woman mentioned the defendant had been assaulted, separately, during his time as a renter. The officers reported the defendant as very polite and forthcoming...the officers said nothing bad about him, and only gave him a misdemeanor (later, corrected to an infraction). Defendant had rented a room at the two-bedroom apartment with the woman, after the woman's sister left. The first year went quietly and predictably; he paid his rent on time. She became pregnant, with another man's child, and told him she planned to move out. They drank wine on the balcony. She and her 7-month old son went to sleep, around 8:30 p.m.. He drove and crashed the car, around 2:00 a.m. He was either returning with wine, going to fill up the car with gas, or had dropped off the wine and had left on other errands...I thought I heard all three descriptions.

There was another man, Mr. Ruben Trevino, the father of the child, who had gifted the woman the 2014 Chevrolet Impala. He works as a regional truck driver and owns two trucks. He had gifted her a Chevy Camaro, but that did not work for the already-born young child, so he gave her the Impala. The address was 511 Capitola, within walking distance of a liquor store and gas station. She claimed she had never, ever given the defendant permission to take her car. She claimed she had not talked with him since the day of the accident, until a text-message conversation, in which they discussed making arrangements with AAA (the insurance carrier). It seems she filed the criminal charges against the defendant without telling him. It seems the woman's sister left, after an argument. She may have made him pay the entire deposit for the apartment rental. She grew up in Napa valley, moved to Arizona, then moved to So-Cal. She moved to Santa Cruz, with her sister. She had worked as a manager for 25 years, training other managers and assisting them with setting up new stores. Opening arguments seemed to indicate the prosecution was betting everything on the jury finding the woman's testimony credible and that she had not given permission to the defendant to take her car. The defense claimed he had driven her car many times, seemed to indicate a possible love triangle, and the charges represented the wishes of Mr. Trevino.

Just a mess. Apparently, the woman and Mr. Trevino are happily married, so I wish both them and the defendant well, so they can move on with their lives.