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Author Appreciation: Robert Ludlum
My first introduction to Robert Ludlum's books was back in the 1990's. I was traveling a lot, and my girlfriend at the time tossed me a book she had finished, Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity)". Not my usual read (science fiction), but it was an absolute page turner. I went on to read the rest of…
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Fleabag hotels and internet
In this day and age, pretty much every hotel has free wifi. Woo hoo. However, there is a nasty nasty trend. Shitty free wireless that sucks just enough to make you want to pay for the faster service. Yes, the standard wifi is free, but it is so often bandwidth capped, and metered, so that…
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Apartment Living: Parking hell
Unlike most posts, this isn't about our apartment, but instead the duplexes across the street. Last night was a 3 round doosy of a fight. All the 4 letter words were dragged out. The situation: Across the street are duplexes. Two unit "houses", with two garages. One garage for each unit. All of these garages…
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Getting Back in Shape
This weekend marked a milestone. I went out both days for a mountain bike ride in Santa Teresa park. Two trips up the gnarly Bernal entry road, a couple of loops of the trail, and two personal bests (as tracked by Strava). Encouraging signs: The initial climb, while still a ball buster, is tolerable. I…
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Solve California’s Financial Issues Forever
As with most states, there is always a bit of tightness in the budget. California, although our outlook has improved, still is on the precarious edge. I have the guaranteed solution to those fiscal woes. First step, raise the fine for texting while driving. California’s is the lowest in the nation at $20 for a…
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Bike Review – 2015 Specialized Crave Expert
Having sold my old mountain bike in the move from Tucson to Chandler, I found that there was something missing in my life. Having caught the mountain biking bug in the late 1980’s, and having thrashed the local trails here in the south bay mercilessly, giving it up left a hole. To fill that void,…
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California Dreaming – Automotive Edition
Living in San Jose, you see more than your fair share of Tesla’s on the road. Smug people driving their zero emission vehicles. (although, truth be told, I see probably four Nissan Leafs for each Tesla I see, there are a LOT of Leafs here) Heck, on one message board, someone talked about how they…
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Mountain Biking – Starting from Scratch
As I return to the fold of mountain biking, it is quite like a fresh start. I used to ride a lot, beginning in the late 1980’s on an old Diamondback Ascent, and graduating to front suspension in 1997, I got quite proficient. However after a several year layoff, it is indeed like starting from…
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Apartment Living – The Edge of Poverty
One thing that living in an “affordable” apartment complex is that you live among people who are near the poverty line. No desperate poor, but people who are close. There are many signs, but one sure sign is the ubiquitous “Swisher Sweets” wrappers. Not being a smoker, I wasn’t very aware of the small flavored…
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Review – Santa Teresa County Park
As I mentioned in my last post, I have once again slung a leg over a mountain bike, in the quest to get back in shape, and to reduce my stress. One of the impetuses of this is living really close to Santa Teresa park, a place with some amazing riding. While the bike is…