Re: 2015 solstice message

[Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Here's my updated version.  Any further changes?

@@ -24,31 +24,33 @@
       friend's start-up instead because there was a bit of a mix-up at
       my work place.  It's a health care portal internship and (horror
       of horrors) he had to commute to the place on his own.  At least,
+      he didn't have to drive, but learning the public transit system
       takes some getting used to.
   * Family
+    * Peak experience.  In a last, late minute move, we failed to arrive
+      at Pinnacles National Park before sunset on Christmas Day with my
+      parents.  We saw what we could see, but eventually just turned
+      back.  Some pictures can be had at
       https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157649988867172 .
     * Nothing changes.  On New Year's Day, we celebrated Noelle's dad's
+      birthday party in Santa Barbara.  There was much haggling over the
+      food there, but there were some things acceptable to me.  And the
+      setting was a kind of funny because there was problem with the
+      fireplace and there was a thick smoke in the room.  Some photos
+      can be found at
       https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157650070585646 .
   * Home
     * Fixin' a hole.  We found a roof leak in the living room, front
       room, and bathroom, and was forced to re-felt the roof in the
+      front of the house.  Obtaining replacement tiles and getting them
+      installed took weeks.  Of course, after this mess was fixed up,
       there was a big painting job left for the rooms affected.  And,
       lucky me, it turns out that one of the rooms had all my computer
       equipment in it.  In order to have meaningful computer access
+      during this tumultuous time, I spent a couple of hours to move and
+      set-up everything in the dining room.  When dust finally settled,
+      everything was covered with a thick layer of paint dust.  The
+      story ended happily with all the electronics surviving.
     * Snowballing stucco.  It seemed like such a small task: we hired a
       handyman to fix a small piece of stucco falling off the garage
       side.  In September, upon discovering that it was due to
@@ -59,11 +61,11 @@
     * Bicycle
       * A mountful on Thanksgiving.  So that we didn't end up with just
         a day of stuffing ourselves, we packed up our folding bike and
+        trike into the car and took a trip to Pinnacles National Park on
+        Thanksgiving Day.  It was beautiful, clear, and brisk day and it
+        wasn't a terribly extensive ride, but it was a good getaway.
+        Some pictures are available at
+        https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157660280528534 .
       * Now, live from where-I-live!  Our city wanted set aside a day with
         a space within city limits where walkers, runners, and cyclists
         could all gather together safely without the danger of car
@@ -73,16 +75,16 @@
         https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157657407577123
   * Travel
     * Watching people sashay.  For our first visit to a state in the
+      deep south, we visited New Orleans in late September.  Noelle had
+      her annual health information profession organization conference
+      there and it was an opportunity for us to go.  Sadly, Noelle was
+      only able to get 3 days off to go there.  We were able to do some
+      exploring, 'tho.
+      https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/sets/72157658929004069 .
     * Castro on the hill.  In June, our friend met us in San Francisco.
+      Being a native, our friend took us on an extensive tour of the
+      Castro district.  I had never hung around the Castro much -- it's
+      usually been brief trips.  I learned a lot.
   * Money
     * A day at the breach.  Beginning in March, letters started
       arriving saying that I may become an identity theft victim due to
@@ -91,13 +93,16 @@
       protection.  It's very disappointing that, due to lack of
       inadequate laws and policy, we are all left so vulnerable.
   * Food
+    * Sonoma whine.  Our friends are members of a winery wine club and
+      suggested we join them for a picnic there along with their dogs.
+      What should have been a 2 hour trip, my nephew Alex, Noelle, and I
+      ended up on the road for 4 hours on a drive to a winery in Sonoma
+      county in August.  I can only imagine what it's like commuting on
+      this route on a weekday.  In any case, because of the traffic, we
+      only had enough time to eat and leave.  On our way back, Alex was
+      able to see Golden Gate Bridge close up for his first time on our
+      way back.  Copious pictures of stuck cars can be seen at
+      https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157657242652368 .
   * Health
     * Eyes
       * Return of the retina.  I went to a retina specialist to look at
@@ -137,7 +142,8 @@
       Games were in Pleasanton (near Dublin, CA) this year.  We do not
       typically go, but some compelling bands were playing there in
       September, including Albannach, a band that Noelle had seen
+      before, and another band we discovered playing there called
+      Brother .  It was oppressively hot and crowded.  Because of the
       crowds, we missed out on a few things, including the Scottish
       whiskey tasting.  At least, the music was good.
   * Books
@@ -149,10 +155,11 @@
       on her feet she was.  It was good hearing her stories.
   * Theater
     * Repetitive repeats.  My parents visited a second time in Aug.  We
+      attempted to see the SF Mime Troupe show with them in Santa Cruz
+      again, but failed due to a big traffic jam, again.  We ended up in
+      Los Gatos since the alternative route failed.  We didn't capture
+      the excitement in pictures, but we have some other parental
+      pictures here:
       https://www.flickr.com/photos/noelle/albums/72157657242652368
 
 Politics/Society
@@ -160,7 +167,7 @@
     * Slaves to free trade.  There was a lot of media about Obama's
       Trans-Pacific "Partnership" a.k.a. the TPP.  ("Partnership" is
       used instead of "Agreement" in order to prevent it being treated
+      as a treaty and the associated legal procedures.)  I've been
       following this legislation scrupulously since it will be very bad
       for workers, the environment, pharmaceutical drugs, electronic
       privacy, and software freedom.  It's a particularly frustrating
@@ -169,10 +176,11 @@
       words to change her mind is draining.
   * Privacy/Liberties
     * Listening in.  We attended a presentation about civil liberties
+      and electronic privacy rights featuring journalist Robert Scheer
+      and his most recent book, "They Know Everything About You", in
+      March.  It was a small panel discussion.  It made me realize that
+      these digital intrusions are really a result of the government
+      wishing to spend less money.
   * Misc
     * A big, feisty gift.  For my birthday this year, Noelle brought me
       to see Barney Frank, the former democratic congressman.  (Again,
@@ -183,9 +191,10 @@
       Air Force radar tower on Mount Umunhum here in where-I-live -- about
       whether to keep it and paying for its existence and maintenance.
       In August, we attended a detailed presentation on the radar tower
+      and and the history of the Almaden Air Force Station that was
+      there from 1958 to 1980 (see http://www.umunhum.net ).  Of course,
+      since it is easily seen and a structure known to all around here,
+      its disappearance would be sad.
 Technology
   * Computers
     * Hardware
@@ -205,11 +214,10 @@
   * Internet
     * Email
       * I am spam.  I discovered that, between January and June of this
+        year, all email sent to a certain friend was never received.  It
+        had to do with some complex configurations and the fact that I
+        was using my ISP's SMTP server to send mail.  It took a while to
+        diagnose, but I ended up having to change my qmail configuration
+        so that it connects to the SMTP server directly instead.