Tralfaz

Category: blog

  • A Black Hole on Earth

    A Black Hole on Earth

    Science tells us that one of the most destructive things is a black hole. Once you pass the event horizon, you can never escape. If you are a fan of Science Fiction, and have read Frederik Pohl’s “Gateway” novel, you are well aware of the hazards of proximity to a black hole.

    Trader Joe's Logo

    A close second is the parking lot at Almaden Plaza in San José. In this parking lot there are two dynamics that feed off each other.

    The first is the notorious nature of a Trader Joe’s grocer. This is a corporation who seems to pride themselves on driving a lot of traffic to their stores, yet never have adequate parking. This leads to the parking lot fostering a full-contact conflict zone that is a competitive sport.

    Add to that the second dynamic: A Costco. The membership warehouse store offers great value for large families and small to medium businesses that shop there. Of course, this brings in insane amount of shoppers, anxious to get in the door to obtain the great bargains on offer. I will add that when we lived in Arizona, it was chaotic, but here in California, it is chaos on steroids. Oh, how I miss the relative normalcy of Arizona’s Costco.

    Both these dynamics are hazardous on their own. However, when they are in close proximity, it is a recipe for disaster.

    Today, I made a Costco run, arriving at about 10:30 AM, a pretty benign time. It was chaos in the parking lot. I had to dodge and weave to avoid being taken out by several manic parkers.

    Oh, and I highly recommend reading Gateway, a cracking good classic SciFi novel.

  • Drugs, Inc.

    Drugs, Inc.

    I have posted before on the NatGeo show, Drugs, Inc. having blown through the first 4 seasons in a binge watch, then forgot about it. Lately, I saw that Netflix had a couple of new seasons, so back I go into it.

    This set of episodes is a little different than the early ones that were more on the supply chain, and talking about the logistics. Now they go into detail on the party scene that drives demand, like the Molly users on the club circuit, or spring break celebrations, or the Independence Day celebration in Chicago, or New Year’s Eve in New York.

    Like the original episodes, they do a great job of capturing the human element, the risks taken by the people who source the raw materials, the intermediate production steps, and the traffickers.

    Of course, there is plenty of focus on the users, the “demand” component to the equation.

    In all it is a pretty balanced view, and there is little sympathy for the end users. They clearly have gotten themselves into their situation, and many of them acknowledge their problems, and don’t blame anyone but themselves. Still, it is fairly tragic to watch.

    The detail that they go into, particularly around the Mexican cartels, and the hidden camera work is impressive. Clearly, they have made good use of GoPro cameras.

    If you get a chance, drop it in your Netflix queue.

  • It’s Over (Sopranos)

    It’s Over (Sopranos)

    Not quite a marathon of binge watching, but as I have posted a couple of times already, we have been working our way through The Sopranos a couple of episodes a night. It took about a month with a few breaks (notably a week in Baja California), so it really wasn’t a binge, per se.

    In my other observations, I mentioned how unsympathetic the characters are, how callous their actions, and how quick to violence or murder they are. The last few episodes took this to an extreme. From Chris shooting his screenwriting “partner” in a alcohol and narcotics fueled rage, to Tony’s hastening the demise of Chris Moltisanto after the auto wreck (you really can’t feel too sorry for his death, he superbly played the “dick” druggie throughout the series), and the escalation of the war of the families near the end. (more…)

  • Mid series checkin – Sopranos

    Mid series checkin – Sopranos

    A while back, I posted about (finally) watching The Sopranos, and how I became hooked. I am now about halfway through season 4, and completely addicted. From the catchy opening credit music, to the music that indicates the outro, I just can’t put these down.

    It is good that so many of the actors/actresses from Goodfellas found work. Including Spider (Michael Imperioli) whom Joe Pesci shot in the card game scene.

    But, like Mad Men before it, the characters that you get into, that draw you into the episodes are so utterly horrible, so unsympathetic, that you can’t stop. Like the womanizing Don Draper, Tony Soprano is unfaithful, a louse, a fairly poor manager of his “crew”, with members of said crew testing their boundaries that contribute to chaos. (more…)

  • Late to the Party – The Sopranos

    Late to the Party – The Sopranos

    I just started watching The Sopranos. Yeah, I am lame. Of course I heard all the raving and wonderful reviews, but I didn’t have HBO, and I never rented the DVD’s.

    Now, with the Roamio, I have connected both my Netflix account and my Amazon Prime account for streaming. The Amazon app recommended “The Sopranos.”

    I am hooked, about to start the 5th episode of the first season, and it is intoxicating.

    It is also good to see all the actors from Goodfella’s getting some more work.

    Yeah, I know how it ends, but it has been long enough since it originally aired, I can really enjoy it.

    The first episode wasn’t quite enough to capture my attention, but it has grown on me.

     

  • Remembering Dad – Sailing

    Continuing in the remembrances theme, today I will share my recollections of sailing. My dad was an avid sailor, as in the wind and sails sailing, not power boating.

    Day Sailer, very similar to my memoryMy earliest recollections were fuzzy drives to the Palo Alto Yacht Club where my dad kept his boat(s), and times with the tides, sailing around the south bay, viewing the sloughs, and the various other sights from the water’s edge.

    I remember post sailing running around the board ways, the plan alleys, and the buildings of the Yacht Club while dad was doing the analogy to the 19th whole in golf.

    I remember the canteen in the club house, and the occasional hamburger that was purchased for me. Frozen patty, glue like bun, and mustard and pickles topping. To my 5 year old self, that was indeed a special day. (more…)

  • Memories of Dad – Photography

    Memories of Dad – Photography

    One of the constants of my youth, and spending time with dad was his camera. Most often, he had a twin lens reflex camera (sadly, I don’t know if it was a Rollieflex, or one of the Japanese variants (like the Mamiya), but I do recall him loading the 120 medium format film, and doing his own developing and printing of black and white.

    Wherever we went, the camera went too. Hiking, to the beach, to the park, or whatnot, we were photographed. (more…)

  • Early Memories of my Father – The Outdoors

    Early Memories of my Father – The Outdoors

    As I continue this trip down memory lane, it is odd the things that stand out from my early memories. Today, I will talk about hiking and spending time outdoors.

    As I mentioned in the first post, we were in Sunnyvale, in the south San Francisco Bay Area. This was before Silicon Valley really rose to prominence, but the early whiffs of the greatness of that movement were in the air. Being in the area meant that we were close to a lot of outdoor recreation, and the population hadn’t grown to the density it is today.

    My dad enjoyed hiking and spending time outdoors. From a very early age, I remember hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains, places like Castle Rock for short trips, or Big Basin park for longer (all day) hikes. Of course now, my memories are fond, but I am sure that I was a complaining tot to have to walk all that distance. (more…)

  • A new series – My Father

    A new series – My Father

    Recently, we gathered in San Diego to celebrate my dad’s 83rd birthday. It was a wonderful weekend, and it was good to get (most) of the family back together. Alas, my father’s cognitive ability is slipping, and while he is accepting of the changes, it is difficult to see and handle.

    While I have some spare time, I am going to begin to document my recollections of growing up, and as much as I can remember.

    I am doing this for myself, and my family, so if the posts get too mundane, I apologize in advance. You have been warned.

    Introduction

    My parents settled in Sunnyvale California when they were first married. The stories I was told indicated that their house was surrounded by fruit orchards at the time, and slowly (or not so slowly) the neighborhood was developed.

    The infamous Blue CubeMy dad worked at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale (near the “Blue Cube”) and was in the computer department there. Of course, computers in the 1960’s were quite a bit different than today, and he worked on all sorts of cool things that he couldn’t talk about, as Lockheed was a defense contractor, and infosec was the name of the game.

    I remember from a young age, on payday, my mother would drive us down to Lockheed, and we would get his paycheck at the gate, and then head to Wells Fargo bank in Sunnyvale to deposit.

    Strange how this flotsam and jetsam of memory associations appear. I hadn’t thought about that in decades, yet it is quite vivid.

    Anyway, I remember the Lockheed open house, one day a year where the family of the employees visit, presumably all classified information was hidden and locked away, and we played primitive computer games, printed ASCII art on their line printers, and were in awe of the latest and greatest acquisition to their computer lab.

    These are fond memories, and I am glad to share. Enough for part one though. Next up – early memories.

  • Napa Surgical Strike

    Napa Surgical Strike

    Yesterday, I did a quick trip to Napa Valley. The first one since before I moved to Arizona back in 2003. Being a weekday, and off season, it was a pleasant drive with not too much traffic. A bonus.

    The reason for the quick day trip? My father is celebrating his 84th birthday this coming Sunday, and we are visiting him in San Diego, and one of his favorite libations is to take a nip of the outstanding V. Sattui Madeira dessert wine.

    I first stumbled across this fine Madeira in the early 1990’s on a lark. Not being a “Port” person, I really didn’t understand the complexities of a good after dinner drink, but on a trip through the Napa valley, we stopped at this place that had a reputation for having a great delicatessen for a picnic lunch. (more…)