Happy 2005 Winter Solstice!

[http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert (Robert)]

Happy Winter Solstice!

Here is my latest contact information:

Robert
.
where-I-live 
my-Oakland-voicemail-number (voicemail)
our-San-Jose-phone-number
our-Oakland-cell-phone-number (cell)
http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert

My solstice update is below.

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Lifestyle
  * Careers
    * Unfree at last.  So_ny offered me a full-time job
      (essentially converting my temporary position to a permanent one) and I
      took it.  It's still the same position and still just as fun.
      Unfortunately, So_ny's long-term financial outlook may not be so good.
    * A full-time position is not enough.  I've been doing a little
      extra consulting with that programmer co-op in , helping them
      with their mail system.  Also, a company that I worked with in San
      Francisco.  As G.W.Bush would say, "that's uniquely American".
    * Taking care of business.  Since moving to where-I-live (see below for
      more details), I ended up just giving up my business license.  (They
      required a written request, etc.)  I don't expect to do much work
      outside of my full-time job.
  * Home
    * Do you know the way?  We moved to the Japantown section of where-I-live
      in September.  Despite my best efforts to minimize the costs, it was
      still pretty expensive.  It would have been cheaper to (1) do it in
      one day and (2) use movers.  But, because we continued to work
      full-time and we didn't have vacation time, we decided to move
      slowly and it cost us.  There are still boxes everywhere; there
      aren't as many storage spaces here, unfortunately, despite this
      house being about the same size as our place in where-I-live which was
      about the same size as our place in Boston.
    * Biking for shelter.  It turned out that our most successful strategy
      to find housing in where-I-live was to bring our bicycles and ride
      around the neighborhood looking for "For Rent" signs.  The paid
      services looking for rental places were definitely the least
      successful.
    * You're getting warmer.  We may have a house-warming in March or
      April of next year (2006).  We'll send out invitations to those of
      you living in Ca.
  * Money
    * An outlet for the truly paranoid.  I went through the trouble of freezing
      all my credit reports, despite my not being in any immediate danger of
      having my identity stolen.  'Though it may be a pain in the future,
      I can sleep more soundly at night.
  * Transportation
    * Commuting
      * Travel light.  Since moving to where-I-live, we've been mainly commuting
        via light rail (trolley/streetcar/LRT).  It's fantastic!  My commute
        has been reduced to 30 minutes each way, even if I walk to/from the
        train.  I get a monthly pass at a discounted price through my work,
        too.
    * Bicycle
      * Bigger than a breadbox.  After the holidays, my co-worker and I
        stopped commuting together from where-I-live.  So, I broke down and got
        a folding bicycle.  I special-ordered it since I didn't feel like
        buying the expensive store model.  I got the Dahon 16" Piccolo.  It
        was perfect for BART and (most importantly) bus.  I really love it
        ('though I ride it far less now).
      * Maybe the French do know how to make transportation.  I have been
        regularly using Noelle's old Peugeot to/from work and to/from the gym
        since we moved to where-I-live.
      * Critical mass not yet reached.  where-I-live doesn't yet have a Critical
        Mass.  Which is surprising because there are quite a lot of bicyclists
        and bicycle enthusiasts here.
  * Travel
    * Vacation deficit.  Since my job only started in July, I wasn't able
      to take a vacation until October.  We went to Boston to see the
      autumn colors; I was there only 3 days and, because it rained every
      day and it hadn't got cold enough, there were few bright colors to
      be found.
    * Unbearably hot.  That is, the water at Harbin Springs in Middletown,
      CA, where we stayed over the July 4th weekend.  Some of the water
      was nice, 'though.  Mostly, for me, it was a weekend of relaxing and
      eating (we brought some of our earthquake food; we had decided upon
      moving to S.J. at that point and needed to lighten our load).
  * Holidays
    * Pray to the food.  At least, that's what it seemed like when we raised
      our hands, faced the food, and chanted "om" last Christmas while we
      stayed at Expanding Light Yoga in Nevada City, CA.  'Though vegetarian
      food seemed plentiful, it was hit-or-miss with me.  Perhaps it was just
      as well 'cause I had my usual routine at these retreat places and hid
      away and read.
  * Food
    * Life in Japantown.  On Saturdays, we walk down the street to San
       Tofu and buy fresh tofu.  Sunday mornings is the Farmers
      Market, also just down the street.  Although there is a Japanese
      grocery store down the street, the closest supermarket is over 1.25
      miles away.  And, we usually take the light rail or drive about 6
      miles to Campbell to go to Trader Joes and Whole Foods.
    * You know you're a foodie.  When you visit an olive ranch (MacEvoy).
      I went with friends and we did the whole tour thing.  Very interesting.
      The whole trip to Sonoma was fun.  I felt like it was a scene in
      Slacker or something, my memories about it almost surreal.
  * People
    * Missing persons.  Last solstice message, some messages bounced.  I no
      longer have email addresses for these people:

        Louis Dunne
        Michael Teixeira
        Marc Berkowitz
        Clayton Glad
        Tracey Layman (Ingle)
        Susan Norris
        Chris Golden
        Mike Hamrick
        Ben Morss
        Debbi Baird
        Peter Lipow
        Jin Young
        
      If you're in contact with any of these people, please tell them that
      I am missing their email addresses.
  * Health
    * Exercise
      * No Fred Astaire.  This month, a guy at my workplace has been
        sponsoring bi-weekly Bhangra dance classes taught by a DVD (Masala
        Workout) in the auditorium there.  I've been attending so far.  It's
        complicated and I'm a terrible dancer.  But, it's convenient, free,
        and a good workout.
      * Continue with the chain.  I ended up transferring my membership to
        the Bally Fitness here in where-I-live.  Unfortunately, it's quite far
        and I must take a bus to get there.
  * Miscellaneous
    * Never stationery.  It seems that all useful stationery stores in San
       have closed.  The closest one is way up in Palo Alto.  And it's
      a real drag getting there.

Entertainment        
  * Movies
    * Conspiring for truth.  We attended the 9-11 Film Festival in Oakland
      put on by a radio show called Guns and Butter.  It was about the
      facts behind 9/11/2001.  I wanted to see "Mohamed Atta and the
      Venice Flying Circus".  The film was pretty amateur and it was a bit
      difficult to follow, but I think the main thing I gained was that the
      9/11 Commission didn't go far enough in its investigation.
    * Best and worst.  Here are the best movies we've seen that aren't
      listed in MovieLens:
        The Sorrow and The Pity
        Bush's Brain
        The End of Suburbia
        Orwell Rolls in His Grave
        Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties
        The Party's Over
        Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed
        Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
        Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
        Soldier's Girl (HBO)
      My Movielens ratings of recent movies is always at
      http://tinyurl.com/3xxea .
  * Music
    * Never too old to rock out.  The band NoMeansNo keep getting older.
      Aren't we all?  Anyway, we saw them in San Francisco at the beginning
      of May.  It was only the second time I ever saw them and they were
      great as usual.  (They only once ever came close to the Boston area,
      and I think it was Rhode Island at the time.  It's been a long while.)
      The place was packed.  I'm glad they still have a lot of fans.
  * Television
    * NOW without Bill Moyers.  Surprisingly, despite its shortened format,
      NOW with David Brancaccio is still quite good.  But, I think it could
      cover more ground if were back to an hour.
    * Thank goodness for Netflix.  Down here, most broadcast stations do
      not come in very well.  So, we've depended upon DVDs for our
      preferred televisions shows.  We're completely caught up on Scrubs
      and Foyle's War.  We finally saw Jon Stewart on DVD (the extra
      feature having Stephen Colbert interview Al Sharpton was great!) and
      Freaks and Geeks.  We're watching Jewel in the Crown (the
      Masterpiece Theater thing) and may see more of Quantum Leap (from
      the 1990s).  We're waiting for more Mystery Science Theater 3000s
      and the next season of Monk.  You can always see my Netflix at
      http://tinyurl.com/4pxwt .  If you'd like to be a Netflix Friend, drop
      me a line.
  * Radio
    * Garofolo-co.  We can no longer get our local Air America radio station
      in where-I-live.  I finally got software to listen to Windows Media format
      streams (mplayer) so we can listen that way.
  * Books
    * Punx not dead.  Just more restful.  The only book I read in full over
      the past year: Dharma Punx.  The author captivated my interest.  (I
      heard him on the radio and he's much better on the printed page.)
    * Barnes and Noble is not an independent bookstore.  But, it seems to be
      the only one in the where-I-live area that has readings.  Bummer.
  * Museum
    * That other stinking rose.  We went to San Francisco to meet Noelle's
      friend to visit Conservatory of Flowers to meet with one
      Amorphophallus titanum, otherwise known as one of the smelliest
      flowers in the world.  'Though there was an air of excitement waiting
      an hour to get in, it actually didn't smell, at least not to me.  But,
      it did look interesting and seemed to enchant the children there.
  * Spoken word
    * Up close and personal.  Because of Noelle's contribution to KQED,
      we got to meet the one-and-only Josh Kornbluth.  On a Friday, we took
      a Caltrain train to San Francisco, walked to the Mission Distict, and
      saw a taping of his show.  Then, we went out for a very late lunch and
      talked.  Interesting guy.
  * Outdoors
    * Good enough to lick.  Along with Noelle's family, we went up to UC
      Lick Observatory (Mt Hamilton) in the hills above where-I-live.  Very
      nice ride and wildlife and beautiful views.  Very windy and cool,
      'though.

Politics/Society
  * Ecology/Overpopulation
    * Celebrate good times.  At least, while they last.  In January, we
      attended the Roe v. Wade Anniversary celebration in San Francisco.
      There were a zillion people there and it was a bit cold.  Mayor Gavin
      Newsom spoke as well as a host of other people.  Then we marched to
      Embarcadero where we promptly went to the Farmers Market and scarfed
      down some food instead of attending more speeches :-).
    * Sea?  Where?  Down here in the south bay, the Planned Parenthood
      group here is Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.  Noelle drives by one of
      their clinics on Saturday mornings and almost always notices
      protesters.  So, I decided to sign up as a volunteer with PPMM.  I
      interviewed for the volunteer position, but, since I had that in
      October, they haven't found a spot for me.  We'll see.

Technology
  * Internet
    * 4 hours.  That's how long my email and web servers were down.  I was
      very impressed with the entire process.  My DSL (ISP) provider Sonic.NET
      allowed me to overlap service between my old phone number and my new
      phone number.  Because of that, the switch over was easy.  I turned off
      my computers, packed 'em up, drove down to where-I-live, plugged 'em in,
      connected to their web server saying "I'm here!", fiddled with domain
      addresses, and I was up and running, getting web hits and receiving
      email.
  * Hardware
    * Mac
      * Not micro.  But, mini.  I bought Noelle Mac Mini for her birthday.
        She was constantly complaining that Netscape 7 kept crashing on
        her 100Mhz/64Mb Linux machine.  The 1.25Ghz/512Mb machine was quite
        an upgrade.  And she can run all the old apps she ran on Linux.
        (I recently realized that my BookPC (about 12" by 14") has the same
        power as this Mac Mini (7" x 7"); the age difference is about 3 years.
        Shrinkage continues.)