Kevin's Social Blog

Friday, July 28, 2017

Belva Ann Lockwood - first woman admitted to Supreme Court bar

"My Own Words", by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, mentions the first woman to gain admittance to the Supreme Court bar, Belva Ann Lockwood:

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

First Lyft Ride

Dawn and I took a Lyft car from our apartment to Capitola. Driver was friendly, car was new and clean. Recommended beer from Sante Adarius:
http://rusticales.com/

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Straw superfino Ecuador Panama hat

Not sure I've ever come across a hat I think looks good, but maybe the Straw superfino Ecuador Panama hat (?)

The Mockingbird Next Door

Notes:

Scuppernongs
Sawmill gravy
Potato logs - large fried potato wedges
Truman Capote -

"Has anyone put Truman out?" - Nelle's father
Shared old typewriter -- one would type, then turn it around for the other
"An indulllged child" -- Nelle

Nelle Harper Lee's middle name came from Dr. Harper, a pediatrician who saved the life of her sister Louise
Nelle's aunt's vocabulary:

Cyphaloon - weather so bad it might as well be a cyclone crossed with a typhoon

Journey Proud - a person who tosses and turns on the night before a trip
Pounding the Preacher - paying the preacher with a pound of chicken or vegetables when money was tight
Favorite books:

Alabama History:

Pickett's History of Alabama: And Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi from the Earliest Period (1851) - Albert J. Pickett
Stars Fell on Alabama (1934) - Carl Carmer
The Mind of the South (1929) - W. J. Cash
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) - James Agee and Walker Evans
Inside Alabama: A Personal History of My State (2003) - Harvey Jackson III
Alabama in the Twentieth Century (2004) - Wayne Flynt

Fiction:

Tongues of Flame (1986) - Mary Ward Brown
Chicken Dreaming Corn: A Novel (2004) - Roy Hoffman
Petrified Man - Eudora Welty

Saturday, July 22, 2017

A proper copper coffee pot

Carrie Fisher, from Wishful Drinking:

All I want is a proper cup of coffee,
Made in a proper copper coffee pot
I may be off my dot
But I want a cup of coffee
From a proper coffee pot.

Tin coffee pots and iron coffee pots
They're no use to me -
If I can't have a proper cup of coffee
In a proper copper coffee pot
I'll have a cup of tea.

She mentioned it was helpful while enunciating Star Wars lines.

Tuesday, July 04, 2017

No - Start Right Now

onTransition = {
no;
start(right, now);
}

https://oliveremberton.com/2014/how-to-debug-your-brain/

Mission Hill Staircase Tour - Santa Cruz

We walked the first half of the Mobile Ranger "Mission Hill Staircase Tour" this afternoon, reaching the Locust Street Stairs. We saw the Lower Plaza, the School Street Stairs, the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, the Mission Hill Tunnel, and a number of other historic and modern details.

STEPS

Post Office Stairs: ???
School Street Stairs: 73
Locust Street Stairs: ???
Walnut Avenue Stairs: ???
Red Room Stairs: ???

After, we split a Mission Hill Creamery ice cream brownie sundae (Cookie Monster ice cream) and a cherry mini pie, then purchased two pairs of socks, from the Sockshop & Shoe Company.

It looks like the Mobile Ranger app founder has decided to pursue other career interests.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Vancouver Travel Planning

Wi-Fi Hotspot Rental

WiFiCube: http://www.mywificube.com/rental-fees-and-booking?location=66
Other:

https://rent-wifi.com/pocket-wifi-canada/
Telus, Rogers, and Bell are the three biggest Canadian providers.
https://simplefi.ca/
https://www.cellomobile.com/hotspot-rental/canada.html

Itinerary

09/20 (Wed):

Arrive: SJC to YVR (11:50-2:03 p.m.)
Hotel check-in: ???

09/21 (Thu)
Stanley Park - aquarium, totem poles, etc
09/22 (Fri)
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Grouse Mountain
09/23: (Sat)
University of British Columbia, Science World
09/24-27 (Sun-Wed):

Sun:

Check-out: ???
Check-in: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

IROS Welcome reception (7:00-9:00 p.m.)
IROS Workshops only

Mon:

IROS Technical Sessions

Tue:

IROS Technical Sessions
IROS Conference Banquet (7:00-10:00 p.m.)

Wed:

IROS Technical Sessions
IROS Closing Reception (6:30-8:30 p.m.)

09/28 (Thu)

Check-out: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
BC Connector to Victoria
Check-in: Victoria...???
IROS Workshops only

09/29 (Fri)

Victoria Island

09/30 (Sat)

Check-out: ???
BC Connector to Vancouver
Check-in: Skwachàys (?)

10/01 (Sun)

Vancouver

10/02 (Mon):

Check-out: Skwachàys ???
Depart: YVR to SJC (2:30-4:45 p.m.)

Hotels

http://www.iros2017.org/registration-travel/accommodation

Conference rates:

Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown

$CAD 229 conference base rate (before taxes and fees)

$USD 176.51, as of 07/02/2017
17.5% taxes and fees:

$CAD 269.08 ($CAD 229 * 1.175)
$USD 207.40 ($USD 176.51 * 1.175)

Out-of-pocket::

$CAD 228 ($CAD 41.08)
$USD 176 ($USD 31.4)

Room availability, as of 07/02/2017: only Friday and Wed-Sun nights left

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver: $CAD 249 conference base rate (before taxes and fees)

$USD 225.20 ($USD 191.66 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 49.20
Commute:

10-15 min public transportation
10-15 min walk

Fairmont Waterfront: $CAD 299 conference base rate (before taxes and fees)
Fairmont Pacific Rim: $CAD 339 conference base rate (before taxes and fees)

Standard rates, by neighborhood:

Downtown

Days Inn Vancouver Downtown

$USD 199.75 ($USD 170 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 23.75
Commute:

15 min public transportation
8 min walk

Skwachàys Lodge

$USD 260.85 ($USD 222 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 84.85
Commute:

15 min public transportation
17-20 min walk

Kingston Hotel Bed & Breakfast

$USD 135.13 ($USD 115 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
4/5, #57 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

15 min public transportation
17-20 min walk

Howard Johnson Hotel Vancouver Downtown

$USD 157.45 ($USD 134 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
3/5, #77 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

15 min public transportation
25 min walk

Hotel Ambassador

$USD 122.20 ($USD 104 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
3/5, #79 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

15 min public transportation
25 min walk

Executive Hotel Vintage Park

$USD 197.40 ($USD 168 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 21.40
Commute:

20 min public transportation
30 min walk

GEC Granville Suites Hotel

$USD 202.10 ($USD 172 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 26.10
Commute:

15 min public transportation
20 min walk

Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre

$USD 215.02 ($USD 183 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 39.03
Commute:

15 min public transportation
20 min walk

Greenbrier Hotel

$USD 199.75 ($USD 170 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 23.75
Commute:

20 min public transportation
20 min walk

Ramada Vancouver Downtown

$USD 205.63 ($USD 175 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 29.63
Commute:

15 min public transportation
25 min walk

West End:

Sunset Inn and Suites

$USD 263.20 ($USD 224 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 87.20
4.5/5, #13 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

15-25 min public transportation
30 min walk

Sylvia Hotel

$USD 148.70 ($USD 126.55 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
4/5, #34 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

35 min public transportation
40 min walk

Buchan Hotel

$USD 98.70 ($USD 84 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
4/5, #35 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

20-25 min public transportation
35-40 min walk

English Bay Hotel

$USD 150.4 ($USD 128 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
3/5, #76 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

25-30 min public transportation
30-40 min walk

Sandman Suites - Davie Street

$USD 139.83 ($USD 119 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
3.5/5, #63 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

20-25 min public transportation
25-30 min walk

Riviera on Robson Suites Hotel Downtown Vancouver

$USD 175 ($USD 149 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
Commute:

16 min public transportation
20 min walk

Blue Horizon Hotel

$USD 263.20 ($USD 224 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 87.20
Commute:

16 min public transportation
20 min walk

Fairview (across False Creek):

Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre

$USD 229.13 ($USD 195 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 53.13
Commute:

20 min public transportation
50 min walk

Park Inn & Suites by Radisson Vancouver

$USD 173.9 ($USD 148 base plus 17.5% taxes and fees)
Out-of-pocket: $USD 0.00
4/5 stars, #44 of 90 (TripAdvisor)
Commute:

25 min public transportation
52 min walk

IROS

http://www.iros2017.org/

September 24-28, 2017
Conference site: Vancouver Convention Center West

Sight seeing

Meals and incidentals:

Canada: https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1079

All countries: https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=184&menu_id=78
Breakdown of M&IE: https://aoprals.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=114&menu_id=75

Effective Date: 07/01/2017
Applicable Timespan: 09/16/2017 -- 05/14/2018 (off-season)
Maximum Lodging Rate: $CAD 194 and $USD 150 ($USD 176 ($CAN 228.16) + 17.5% taxes)
M & IE Rate: $USD 124 ($CAN 160.75)

$USD 19 Breakfast
$USD 31 Lunch
$USD 49 Dinner
$USD 25 Incidentals

Maximum Per Diem Rate: $USD 300 ($CAN 388.91)

Transportation

Santa Cruz to/from Airport (SFO?)

Personal vehicle: Santa Cruz to/from Airport
SFO Long-term Parking: https://www.flysfo.com/to-from/parking/long-term
Shuttle to/from terminal

Airlines

Flight price tracking:

Google Flights: https://www.google.com/flights/
Hipmunk (add email address during search): https://www.hipmunk.com

SFO to/from YVR Flights (Note: direct flights only)

Air Canada

561: 6:30-8:48 a.m. (2:18 direct)
563: 11:50-2:08 p.m. (2:18 direct)
569: 4:50-7:08 p.m. (2:18 direct)

Alaska
American
~~Delta (no thanks)~~
~~United~~ ~~(no thanks)~~
Virgin America

SJC to/from VRY Flights

Air Canada (Note: direct flights only)

8113: 6:00-8:13 a.m. (2:13 direct)
8115: 11:50–2:03 p.m. (2:13 direct)
8117: 5:25-7:38 p.m. (2:13 direct)

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to/from Hotel

IROS delegates can get to downtown Vancouver from YVR via Canada Line, a light rapid transit system for $9 (CAD)
Taxis: $25

Victoria Island

http://bcfconnector.com/

Government Resources

Passport: Valid through July 2026
Global Entry:

Valid through April 2022
TSA Pre✓
Expedited re-entry clearance
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry

U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver: https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/vancouver/
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP):

TODO: When hotel booked
https://step.state.gov/step/

International Drivers Permit (IDP)

Expires after one year
Canada - Not needed; U.S. driver's license acceptable
AAA in Capitola can provide

Country Information:

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/canada.html
Passport Validity: Valid at time of entry
Blank Passport Pages: One page required
Tourist Visa Required: Not required for stays under 180 days
Vaccinations: None
Currency Restrictions For Entry: None
Currency Restrictions For Exit: None

Pet Boarding:

Peace of Mind Pet Sitting:
http://peaceofmindpet.com/PetSittingservices.html

Sites (Suggested)

Victoria (Vancouver Island)

Butchart Gardens
The Fairmont Empress Hotel

High Tea

Vancouver

International Conference Travel Checklist

Carry-on:

Eye-mask
Travel-sized toiletries:

Hair brush
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mini deodorant

Dry shampoo (recommended: Oscar Blandi)
Linen face blotters
Refreshing face spray

Electronics:

Laptop
Laptop Charger
International power adapters
Mini power strip
Cell phone
Cell phone charger
Flashdrive
Dongles which use regularly
Any adapters needed to connect your computer to a projector
Extra:

Kindle
Noise-canceling headphones

Traveling

Printouts

Condense to one page; keep in wallet/passport bag:

Flight information
Hotel reservation (with address)
Maps
Location of the conference center

Travel reason proof, for border crossing:

Conference registration
Talk/poster acceptance letter

Water bottle
Guides

TripAdvisor
US Department of State

Identification

Passport bag around neck
Passport
Printed copy of passport
Boarding passes

Conference essentials

Business cards
Color copies of poster (if presenting one)
Note-taking:

Writing utensils
Notebook (for example, Moleskin)

Water bottle
Reusable travel mug
Umbrella
Small purse or bag (note: so don't have to lug laptop bag to dinner)
Snacks (granola bars, fruit, nuts)
Travel baby wipes, hand sanitizer (note: when bathroom essentials lacking)
List of people to introduce yourself to (note: search the program online in advance, workshop, lunch, or field trip)

Packing

Outfits for each day, plus backup (in case of wardrobe malfunction)

Underwear
Socks
Accessories: belts/leggings, jewelry

Outdoor wear

Coat
Jacket
Raincoat
Umbrella
Hat
Mittens

Shoes: comfortable, weather appropriate
Toiletries:

Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo/conditioner
Hair products/hair dryer
Nail clippers
Shaving needs
contact lenses/solution
feminine hygiene products
bite splints/retainers
makeup
medication

Passport
Travel visa (if needed)
Wallet
Debit/credit cards

Talk:

Backup (!)
Poster (with print-outs, in a poster tube with your contact info)

Good to have:

Mini sewing kit (for lost buttons, etc.)
Travel laundry bag (these are great)
Books, papers, or files you need to work while you travel (or finish your talk)

Location of lodging, conference center, flight information, transportation itineraries, etc.

Before you leave:

Notify credit card companies of where and when will travel

Citi
U.S. Bank - Email them, like a barbarian: login, contact us, email....
Golden One - Email them, like a barbarian: login, contact us, email....
Capital One 360 - Don't need to
Other (?)

Resources

http://wikitravel.org/en/Vancouver

Reimbursement:

Travel Process: https://financial.ucsc.edu/Pages/Travel_Process.aspx
Travel "Keys": https://financial.ucsc.edu/Pages/Travel_Keys.aspx
Travel Forms: https://financial.ucsc.edu/Pages/travel_guide.aspx
Travel Guide (that is, all the details): https://financial.ucsc.edu/Pages/Travel_Forms.asp

Previously:

https://iokevins-social.blogspot.com/2016/07/south-korea.html

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

SmugMug

Migrating ~6,000 photos and some 30 videos off Flickr, to SmugMug.

Constraints:

Some "not found"...not sure why.
Hit 5,000 max limit, per gallery, which sounds reasonable

Created a second gallery. Started importing the remaining 1,000+ files by selecting from the bottom and Shift-selecting randomly until I got something close to 1,000 files.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Jon Lovitz

Lots of memories of Jon Lovitz, but this one seems the clearest:

PLUG AWAY WITH HARVEY FIERSTEIN: KATHLEEN TURNER
Harvey Fierstein (Jon Lovitz) lets his guests - Lee Iacocca (Phil Hartman), Kathleen Turner and John Travolta (Dana Carvey) plug their projects and asks them if they would be attracted to him if he was a gay bee. [Season 15, 1989]

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/plug-away-with-harvey-fierstein/n9819?snl=1

Sunday, May 07, 2017

Venison burgers

Toasted the buns: 350 for five minutes

Seasonings: salt, pepper, Lowry's

One egg plus one pound meat (Durham Ranch Ground Venison) plus a bit of Worcestershire sauce, into four patties.

Cooked four minutes, flipped, three minutes on the other side. Used the cover to contain splattering. Turned out medium-rare, but I didn't want to overcook.

Toppings: lettuce, tomato, ketchup.

Verdict: success. : ) Venison tasted just OK, to me.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Axel von dem Bussche

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

A friend heard this person lecturing in the US, as a child.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Japanese cherry blossom festival San Francisco

http://www.nesiamarcely.com/ - good vibe from vendor table
Http://beefyco.com - cute unicorns Dawn liked

Friday, April 14, 2017

Arguing

R.I.P Bob Taylor:

In the 1970s at Xerox PARC, regularly scheduled arguments were routine. The company that gave birth to the personal computer staged formal discussions designed to train their people on how to fight properly over ideas and not egos. PARC held weekly meetings they called "Dealer" (from a popular book of the time titled Beat the Dealer). Before each meeting, one person, known as "the dealer," was selected as the speaker. The speaker would present his idea and then try to defend it against a room of engineers and scientists determined to prove him wrong. Such debates helped improve products under development and sometimes resulted in wholly new ideas for future pursuit. The facilitators of the Dealer meetings were careful to make sure that only intellectual criticism of the merit of an idea received attention and consideration. Those in the audience or at the podium were never allowed to personally criticize their colleagues or bring their colleagues' character or personality into play. Bob Taylor, a former manager at PARC, said of their meetings, "If someone tried to push their personality rather than their argument, they'd find that it wouldn't work." Inside these debates, Taylor taught his people the difference between what he called Class 1 disagreements, in which neither party understood the other party's true position, and Class 2 disagreements, in which each side could articulate the other's stance. Class 1 disagreements were always discouraged, but Class 2 disagreements were allowed, as they often resulted in a higher quality of ideas. Taylor's model removed the personal friction from debates and taught individuals to use conflict as a means to find common, often higher, ground.
The Myths of Creativity, David Burkus

Via

Monday, March 27, 2017

The New York Review of Books

http://www.nybooks.com/

With a worldwide circulation of over 135,000, The New York Review of Books has established itself, in Esquire‘s words, as “the premier literary-intellectual magazine in the English language.” The New York Review began during the New York publishing strike of 1963, when its founding editors, Robert Silvers and Barbara Epstein, and their friends, decided to create a new kind of magazine—one in which the most interesting and qualified minds of our time would discuss current books and issues in depth. Just as importantly, it was determined that the Review should be an independent publication; it began life as an independent editorial voice and it remains independent today.

The New York Review’s early issues included articles by such writers as W.H. Auden, Elizabeth Hardwick, Hannah Arendt, Edmund Wilson, Susan Sontag, Robert Penn Warren, Lilian Hellman, Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Saul Bellow, Robert Lowell, Truman Capote, William Styron, and Mary McCarthy. The public responded by buying up practically all the copies printed and writing thousands of letters to demand that The New York Review continue publication. And Robert Silvers and Barbara Epstein continued as co-editors of the Review until Barbara’s death in 2006; Robert Silvers continues as editor.

Within a short time, The New York Times was writing that The New York Review “has succeeded brilliantly,” The New Statesman hailed its founding as “of more cultural import than the opening of Lincoln Center,” and the great English art historian Kenneth Clark observed, “I have never known such a high standard of reviewing.” The unprecedented and enthusiastic response was indicative of how badly America needed a literary and critical journal based on the assumption that the discussion of important books was itself an indispensable literary activity.

From the 1960s into the 21st Century, The New York Review of Books has posed the questions in the debate on American life, culture, and politics. It is the journal where Mary McCarthy reported on the Vietnam War from Saigon and Hanoi; Edmund Wilson challenged Vladimir Nabokov’s translations; Hannah Arendt published her reflections on violence; Ralph Nader published his “manifesto” for consumer justice; I.F. Stone investigated the lies of Watergate; Susan Sontag challenged the claims of modern photography; Jean-Paul Sartre, at 70, described his writing and politics, and how he felt about his blindness; Elizabeth Hardwick addressed the issues of women and writing; Gore Vidal hilariously lampooned bestsellers, Howard Hughes, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Reagans; Felix Rohatyn made the case for a national industrial policy in an influential series of articles; Peter G. Peterson showed why the present Social Security program can’t last; Joan Didion described, in a firsthand account, the situation in El Salvador; McGeorge Bundy, George Kennan, and Lewis Thomas outlined the nuclear threat; Nadine Gordimer and Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote from South Africa on the conflict over apartheid; Vaclav Havel published his reflections from the Czech underground; Timothy Garton Ash reported on the new Eastern Europe; Mark Danner reported on torture from the CIA black sites; Ronald Dworkin wrote of how George W. Bush’s two Supreme Court appointees have created an unbreakable phalanx bent on remaking constitutional law; Freeman Dyson described the scientist as rebel; David Cole revealed how the Bush Justice Department allowed America to become a nation that disappeared and tortured suspects; articles by Paul Krugman, George Soros, Joseph Stiglitz, and Jeff Madrick explained America’s failing economy; Tom Powers described the George W. Bush administration’s fundamental shift from diplomacy to military action; Martin Filler wrote on the many makers of modern architecture; and where Bill Moyers described the threat to the environment presented by Evangelical Christians. It is the journal where the most important issues are discussed by writers who are themselves a major force in world literature and thought.

Every two weeks, these and other writers publish essays and reviews of books and the arts, including music, theater, dance, and film—from Woody Allen’s Manhattan to Kurosawa’s version of King Lear. What has made The New York Review successful, according to The New York Times, is its “stubborn refusal to treat books, or the theatre and movies, for that matter, as categories of entertainment to be indulged in when the working day is done.”

The New York Times further described the Review as “one of the most influential and admired journals of its kind, attracting a high-powered roster of writers” and The Chicago Tribune said the Review is “one of the few venues in American life that takes ideas seriously. And it pays readers the ultimate compliment of assuming that we do too.” Look inside and see for yourself.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Take the Current When It Serves, Or Lose Our Ventures

Brutus: "There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures."

Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Books List - 2017

Ordered by most recently listened to, first.

Audiobooks

F*ck Feelings (2015) - Michael Bennett
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (2016) - Jane Mayer
When Breath Becomes Air (2016) - Paul Kalanithi
The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time (2016) - Arianna Huffington
Bossypants (2011) - Tina Fey
In Search of Lost Time (Remembrances of Things Past) - Within a Budding Grove (1913-1927) - Marcel Proust
The Princess Diarist (2016) - Carrie Fisher

We miss you Carrie

Yes Please (2015) - Amy Poehler
Night (1960) - Elie Wiesel
Just Getting Started (2016) - Tony Bennett
In Search of Lost Time (Remembrances of Things Past) - Swann's Way (1913-1927) - Marcel Proust
Gravity's Rainbow (1973) - Thomas Pynchon

Much respect for this work--sublime, vulgar...

Kabloona (1941) - Gontran de Poncins
What Happened (2017) - Hillary Rodham Clinton
Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart (2016) - James Doty

Liked this book

Are You Anybody? A Memoir (2017) - Jeffrey Tambor
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (2011) - Marie Kondo

Started putting a few things into practice immediately

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body (2017) - Roxane Gay
So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley (2017) - Roger Steffens
Boys in the Trees – A Memoir (2015) - Carly Simon
All the Light We Cannot See (2014) - Anthony Doerr

Ate a jar of peaches

Minecraft: The Island (2017) - Max Brooks
Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking (2013) - Douglas R. Hofstadter, Emmanuel Sander
The Divine Comedy (1320) - Dante Alighieri

"...[H]e followed false images of goodness, which never pay their promises in full." - Purgatorio 30 (note: President Trump's pattern of behavior came to mind)

Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) - D. H. Lawrence
Anna Karenina (1878) - Leo Tolstoy
Ulysses (1922) - James Joyce

Utterly baffled and amazed

My Life on the Road (2015) - Gloria Steinem
No Dream Is Too High (2016) - Buzz Aldrin

You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with...Show me your friends, and I will show you your future

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2006) - Haruki Murakami

Let the exhilaration...at the end of each run carry over to the next day
Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness (note: on completion of personal run to Marathon)
Local sake, especially Shimehari Tsuru is outstanding

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) (2015) - Felicia Day
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life (2016) - John le Carré
Born on a Blue Day (2006) - Daniel Tammet
Jane Eyre (1847) - Charlotte Brontë
Based on a True Story: Not A Memoir (2016) - Norm Macdonald
Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens (2017) - Eddie Izzard
My Own Words (2016) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Confessions of an Economic Hitman (2004) - John Perkins
Wishful Drinking (2008) - Carrie Fisher
Dust Tracks On A Road (1942) - Zora Neal Hurston
Between the World and Me (2015) - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike (2017) - Phil Knight
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (1996) - Robert K. Massie
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (2016) - Amy Schumer

"...like an annoying human zamboni..."

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee (2014) - Marja Mills

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (2015) - Ashlee Vance
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (2011) - Robert K. Massie

Empress Elizabeth's sunburn rinse: lemon juice, egg white, and French Brandy
34 hours labor for first son Paul: 2:00 a.m. through noon the following day
The Annals of Tacitus: caused a singular revolution in her brain

Peter the Great: His Life and World (1980) - Robert K. Massie
Born To Run (2016) - Bruce Springsteen
Shocked (2014) - Carrie Fisher
Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013) - Cheryl Strayed
No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks (2006) - Edmund Viesturs
Twelve Years a Slave (1853) - Solomon Northup
The Greatest: My Own Story (1975) - Muhammad Ali
Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road (2012) - Willie Nelson
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly (1852) - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Just Mercy (2014) - Bryan Stevenson
The 250 Job Interview Questions You'll Most Likely Be Asked (1999) - Peter Veruki
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison (2010) - Piper Kerman
Chronicles, Volume One (2004) - Bob Dylan (note: abridged, at 4 hours, vs. 10 hours, unabridged)
A Burglar's Guide to the City (2016) - Geoff Manaugh
Clapton: The Autobiography (2007) - Eric Clapton

Big fan of The Baby Whisperer books
Visvim, his favorite shoe

Walk Through Walls: A Memoir (2016) - Marina Abramović
In Other Words (2016) - Jhumpa Lahiri
Girl Undressed (2008) - Ruth Fowler
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (1885) - Ulysses S. Grant
Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo (2010) - Vanessa Woods
Life (2011) - Keith Richards

Using the Overdrive app.

Print

The Colour of Magic (1983) - Terry Pratchett *

* Purchased from Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Sea foam to the face

Driving along Westside Drive, in Santa Cruz, during a very windy Monday afternoon, we noticed chunks of sea foam blowing inland.

We rolled down my window, to see if we could get one in the car. I saw it coming--splash! Right on my face.

I laughed. Good times. : )

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Keith Richards' Cooking Tips: Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie

My Recipe for Bangers and Mash

First off, find a butcher who makes his sausages fresh.
Fry up a mixture of onions and bacon and seasoning.
Get the spuds on the boil with a dash of vinegar, some chopped onions and salt (seasoning to taste). Chuck in some peas with the spuds. (Throw in some chopped carrots too, if you like.) Now we're talking.
Now, you have a choice of grilling or broiling your bangers or frying. Throw them on low heat with the simmering bacon and onions (or in the cold pan, as the TV lady said, and add the onions and bacon in a bit) and let the fuckers rock gently, turning every few minutes.
Mash yer spuds and whatever.
Bangers are now fat free (as possible!).
Gravy if desired.
HP sauce, every man to his own.

My granddad Gus made the best egg and chips you'd ever believe in the world. I'm still trying to get up to the mark on that, and shepherd's pie, which is an ongoing art. Nobody's actually made the quintessential, absolute shepherd's pie; they all come out different.

My way of doing it has evolved over the years. The basic thing is just great ground meat and throw in some peas, some carrots, but the trick I was taught by, bless his soul, he's gone now, Big Joe Seabrook, who was my minder, is before you spread the spuds on the top, you chop up some more onions, because the onions you've used to cook with the meat have been reduced, and he was damn right--it just gives you that extra je ne sais quoi....Just a tip, folks.

UPDATE:
2018-01-27 Made Shepherd's Pie using this recipe:

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large white onions, chopped
2 pounds ground beef
2 large carrots, grated
24 oz. beef broth
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch