Weekend Update - March 4th
Weekend Update
The Prelude rolled over to 340,000 miles / 547,200 kilometers on Saturday. I might have taken a photo of the rollover but I was traveling on 405 Freeway at 70 miles an hour / 112 kilometers an hour at the time. I felt it was better to skip the rollover and stay in control of the Prelude.
Excitement in the Park
I live next to a park.
Today, we had some excitement in the park. The park has a lot of trees and it has followed a practice of letting the trees grow in a semi-natural state. That means the ground is covered with dead leaves and branches, just the stuff that will burn very well.
Something, either a tree or building on the other side of the park, caught fire this afternoon. I first became aware of something happening when I saw fire trucks pulling into the park’s parking lot and the firemen rushing about with the hoses.
I went out on my balcony to see if I could get a better view. I really couldn’t see that much better but I felt good for trying to see what was happening. About this time, a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department helicopter began to circle the park at a low altitude, maybe 500 feet / 150 meters. This was very unusual since the park is in the landing / flight path for the local general aviation airport.
This was about when I noticed the thick, black column of smoke with flames in it boiling up to my right. It appeared to be in the park because of the nature of the smoke and flames.
One of the local television stations had their news helicopter fly overhead so I guess I can watch the news tonight and see what happened. The helicopter was circling above the Sheriff’s Department helicopter at maybe 1,000 feet / 300 meters.
I wonder what the control tower at the airport was doing or saying.
The fire was quickly put out. That made me very happy since a rapidly spreading fire would have presented a serious danger to my building.
It was nice to see my tax dollars at work this afternoon.
The New Stylist
The New Stylist did an excellent job on my hair on Saturday. I think it was the best haircut that I have had in years. Doug thought I looked good when he snapped this photo at the Original Tommy’s Hamburgers in Westminster where we went for lunch on Saturday [see below].
Now, I have to decide when does The New Stylist become The Stylist?
I suppose I could go with that change now. I think I will wait until after the next haircut which ought to be in about another four weeks or so to move her to the status of The Stylist.
Maybe, I should wait until after the third trip to The New Stylist before I switch and refer to her as The Stylist.
Anyway.
The salon has some funky chairs. They are covered with an Ultrasuede [synthetic suede] like material that prevents you from sliding out of the chair. I though that was a good idea. I was not too keen on the leopard skin print fabric.
I took a couple of photos while I was there. I was going to take one of The New Stylist but she said that she was not photogenic and did not want any photos taken. I accepted her view of the world because it is not a good idea to argue with a woman who has sharp things in her hands and is standing over you.
For the record, I think she is very photogenic.
The only thing that troubles me about The New Stylist is parking is problematical at best. Her salon is located on the edge of an older residential district, Belmont Shores, in Long Beach. The streets are narrow and there are no public parking lots close to her salon. I was lucky and only had to walk a block and a half to the salon from where I parked.
Of course, I could come during the week when parking is likely to be better. That becomes problematical for me depending on what I am doing and where I am doing it.
The Original Tommy’s Hamburgers
I drove behind the Orange Curtain after my haircut on Saturday to drop off the shirts and jacket to have the buttons sewed back on. I also dropped off the completed tax returns; the refunds were very nice.
All refunds are nice.
Then, Doug and I went out for lunch. We had a couple of favorite options for the lunch venue. We could have gone to Fatburger, Albertacos, the Original Tommy’s, or In n Out. I suggested that we go to the Original Tommy’s in Westminster since it has been the longest time since we were there. The last time we were there was in the week before Christmas when we took the Princess and Fiancée there.
We had our usual meals of two Mega Combos. I had a Diet Pepsi and Doug had a Sierra Mist. It is a large meal as you can see. Since this was a late lunch, I ended up only having a peanut butter sandwich for my dinner.
Texting and SMSs
I got a text message from a friend over the weekend, Saturday actually.
This was a big event for me. I do not get text messages. Before Saturday, my first and only other text message was on January 5, 2006. The first message was from my friend Lara in South Africa.
I decided to send a text message reply. Unfortunately, my cell phone was not cooperative at all. I was unable to figure how to make it work. I was able to very successfully send a couple of blank messages.
I asked Doug to help me since he sends dozens of text messages a day. He gave up in a few minutes, complaining that my Samsung phone was a piece of junk. Actually, I think he used a slightly more colorful phrase.
When I got home, I spent about fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to send a text message. I discovered the user manual was not written properly. The instructions were not correct. I was only able to send a text message because I stumbled on to the key that controlled the text message settings function.
I am so looking forward to Labor Day 2007 when I can junk these Samsung pieces of crap and get good reliable, easy to understand Nokia clamshell style cell phones. Of course, I am hoping and assuming that Nokia will still offer a simple clamshell phone that is very good on conversations and maybe easy with text messages.
I don’t need a camera or a MP3 player on my cell phone. I have a very nice Sony digital camera and modestly good radios in the Prelude and the Pathfinder.
I did send some text messages to my friend today to prove that I had mastered the task. It felt good to accomplish something for a change.
Doug
Doug asked me to take a look at his latest school paper while we were at lunch. I said I would be glad to do that. Doug said he would send it on up to me later in the day.
I looked at it this morning and it was really interesting. It was about how films tend to further adverse stereotypes. In this case, it was adverse stereotypes of African American women. He used two recent films, NORBIT and MEDEA’S FAMILY REUNION, as examples of films that present a bad or poor view of African American women.
I think he did a good job with the assignment. I wish some of my students could write as well as he does.
Visitors
This past week was a particularly good week for visitors. We had visitors from Philippines [3], Germany [4], Japan [2], Hong Kong, Switzerland, United Kingdom [6], Singapore, Poland [2], France [2], Canada [5], Texas [2], Taiwan, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Chile, Egypt, Lithuanian, and Hungary.
We had two curious visitors who stayed for twelve minutes and twenty eight minutes.
We had three looker visitors who viewed six pages in four minutes, six pages in two minutes, and five pages in three minutes.
We also had one crossover visitor who viewed fifteen pages in ten minutes. I think was the first time for a crossover visitor.
Woman of the Moment
It is time for Mandy Lynn again. None of the remaining photos are sequential as far as I can tell. You can expect to see a new Woman of the Moment later on this week.
DAE JO YOUNG
Dae Jo Young, as a military leader, is reminding more and more of Thomas Jackson, perhaps better known as Stonewall Jackson, from our Civil War. The Saturday episode had him planning and leading a campaign against a larger and better equipped Tang army. Dae’s plan had all of the hallmarks of some of Jackson’s classic Valley Campaigns were he used swift movement and intimate knowledge of the area to defeat larger, but separated, forces individually. In the end, his campaign destroyed eight of the ten supply depots for the Chinese army.
Obviously, the victories went over very well with the Korean court. The King was ready to promise anything to the leader who destroyed the supply depots. The court only knew of the destruction but not which Korean forces were responsible for the victory.
Dae did run into the nomad khan’s daughter and they have a sort of emotional quarrel where she tried to kill him with her sword. This lends a new meaning to lovers’ quarrel I guess.
See what I mean about being careful around a woman with sharp things in her hands.
Being a better fighter, he did not draw his sword. She could only manage to cut him on his arm. Then, she went through all sorts of emotional angst and doubt and self hating at the same time. I think that she still has strong feelings for him from when he sucked the snake’s poison venom from her leg.
The show ended on two opposite notes. Dae Jo Young had a very emotional meeting with his father just before Dae Jo Young went off on a next to suicide mission to steal the Tang army plans so they can be defeated. This was a necessary point in the overall story arc.
The other point note was the revelation that the Korean version of Publius Quintilius Varus, the Korean Supreme Commander’s son, apparently survived the Battle of the Yalu but he is no condition to fight or lead any forces for the time being.
Neighbors
I live near a Jewish temple.
Someone has to live near it I suppose.
Anyway.
The temple is having some sort of a Purim event. I think it is a carnival or something like that because they have a live music group playing songs from the 1970s. I can hear the concert from my place whether I want to or not except for when the helicopters were overhead and their jet turbine engines tended to overpower the band’s amplified music.
People are selling their flats in the building now. When I came home yesterday, there was a new for sale sign out in front of the building. I think there are five or six units up for sale based on the number key boxes hanging from the gate. I was not expecting sales to pick up so soon in the year.
That was my weekend gentle readers.
Be well and stay happy.
The Prelude rolled over to 340,000 miles / 547,200 kilometers on Saturday. I might have taken a photo of the rollover but I was traveling on 405 Freeway at 70 miles an hour / 112 kilometers an hour at the time. I felt it was better to skip the rollover and stay in control of the Prelude.
Excitement in the Park
I live next to a park.
Today, we had some excitement in the park. The park has a lot of trees and it has followed a practice of letting the trees grow in a semi-natural state. That means the ground is covered with dead leaves and branches, just the stuff that will burn very well.
Something, either a tree or building on the other side of the park, caught fire this afternoon. I first became aware of something happening when I saw fire trucks pulling into the park’s parking lot and the firemen rushing about with the hoses.
I went out on my balcony to see if I could get a better view. I really couldn’t see that much better but I felt good for trying to see what was happening. About this time, a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department helicopter began to circle the park at a low altitude, maybe 500 feet / 150 meters. This was very unusual since the park is in the landing / flight path for the local general aviation airport.
This was about when I noticed the thick, black column of smoke with flames in it boiling up to my right. It appeared to be in the park because of the nature of the smoke and flames.
One of the local television stations had their news helicopter fly overhead so I guess I can watch the news tonight and see what happened. The helicopter was circling above the Sheriff’s Department helicopter at maybe 1,000 feet / 300 meters.
I wonder what the control tower at the airport was doing or saying.
The fire was quickly put out. That made me very happy since a rapidly spreading fire would have presented a serious danger to my building.
It was nice to see my tax dollars at work this afternoon.
The New Stylist
The New Stylist did an excellent job on my hair on Saturday. I think it was the best haircut that I have had in years. Doug thought I looked good when he snapped this photo at the Original Tommy’s Hamburgers in Westminster where we went for lunch on Saturday [see below].
Now, I have to decide when does The New Stylist become The Stylist?
I suppose I could go with that change now. I think I will wait until after the next haircut which ought to be in about another four weeks or so to move her to the status of The Stylist.
Maybe, I should wait until after the third trip to The New Stylist before I switch and refer to her as The Stylist.
Anyway.
The salon has some funky chairs. They are covered with an Ultrasuede [synthetic suede] like material that prevents you from sliding out of the chair. I though that was a good idea. I was not too keen on the leopard skin print fabric.
I took a couple of photos while I was there. I was going to take one of The New Stylist but she said that she was not photogenic and did not want any photos taken. I accepted her view of the world because it is not a good idea to argue with a woman who has sharp things in her hands and is standing over you.
For the record, I think she is very photogenic.
The only thing that troubles me about The New Stylist is parking is problematical at best. Her salon is located on the edge of an older residential district, Belmont Shores, in Long Beach. The streets are narrow and there are no public parking lots close to her salon. I was lucky and only had to walk a block and a half to the salon from where I parked.
Of course, I could come during the week when parking is likely to be better. That becomes problematical for me depending on what I am doing and where I am doing it.
The Original Tommy’s Hamburgers
I drove behind the Orange Curtain after my haircut on Saturday to drop off the shirts and jacket to have the buttons sewed back on. I also dropped off the completed tax returns; the refunds were very nice.
All refunds are nice.
Then, Doug and I went out for lunch. We had a couple of favorite options for the lunch venue. We could have gone to Fatburger, Albertacos, the Original Tommy’s, or In n Out. I suggested that we go to the Original Tommy’s in Westminster since it has been the longest time since we were there. The last time we were there was in the week before Christmas when we took the Princess and Fiancée there.
We had our usual meals of two Mega Combos. I had a Diet Pepsi and Doug had a Sierra Mist. It is a large meal as you can see. Since this was a late lunch, I ended up only having a peanut butter sandwich for my dinner.
Texting and SMSs
I got a text message from a friend over the weekend, Saturday actually.
This was a big event for me. I do not get text messages. Before Saturday, my first and only other text message was on January 5, 2006. The first message was from my friend Lara in South Africa.
I decided to send a text message reply. Unfortunately, my cell phone was not cooperative at all. I was unable to figure how to make it work. I was able to very successfully send a couple of blank messages.
I asked Doug to help me since he sends dozens of text messages a day. He gave up in a few minutes, complaining that my Samsung phone was a piece of junk. Actually, I think he used a slightly more colorful phrase.
When I got home, I spent about fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to send a text message. I discovered the user manual was not written properly. The instructions were not correct. I was only able to send a text message because I stumbled on to the key that controlled the text message settings function.
I am so looking forward to Labor Day 2007 when I can junk these Samsung pieces of crap and get good reliable, easy to understand Nokia clamshell style cell phones. Of course, I am hoping and assuming that Nokia will still offer a simple clamshell phone that is very good on conversations and maybe easy with text messages.
I don’t need a camera or a MP3 player on my cell phone. I have a very nice Sony digital camera and modestly good radios in the Prelude and the Pathfinder.
I did send some text messages to my friend today to prove that I had mastered the task. It felt good to accomplish something for a change.
Doug
Doug asked me to take a look at his latest school paper while we were at lunch. I said I would be glad to do that. Doug said he would send it on up to me later in the day.
I looked at it this morning and it was really interesting. It was about how films tend to further adverse stereotypes. In this case, it was adverse stereotypes of African American women. He used two recent films, NORBIT and MEDEA’S FAMILY REUNION, as examples of films that present a bad or poor view of African American women.
I think he did a good job with the assignment. I wish some of my students could write as well as he does.
Visitors
This past week was a particularly good week for visitors. We had visitors from Philippines [3], Germany [4], Japan [2], Hong Kong, Switzerland, United Kingdom [6], Singapore, Poland [2], France [2], Canada [5], Texas [2], Taiwan, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Chile, Egypt, Lithuanian, and Hungary.
We had two curious visitors who stayed for twelve minutes and twenty eight minutes.
We had three looker visitors who viewed six pages in four minutes, six pages in two minutes, and five pages in three minutes.
We also had one crossover visitor who viewed fifteen pages in ten minutes. I think was the first time for a crossover visitor.
Woman of the Moment
It is time for Mandy Lynn again. None of the remaining photos are sequential as far as I can tell. You can expect to see a new Woman of the Moment later on this week.
DAE JO YOUNG
Dae Jo Young, as a military leader, is reminding more and more of Thomas Jackson, perhaps better known as Stonewall Jackson, from our Civil War. The Saturday episode had him planning and leading a campaign against a larger and better equipped Tang army. Dae’s plan had all of the hallmarks of some of Jackson’s classic Valley Campaigns were he used swift movement and intimate knowledge of the area to defeat larger, but separated, forces individually. In the end, his campaign destroyed eight of the ten supply depots for the Chinese army.
Obviously, the victories went over very well with the Korean court. The King was ready to promise anything to the leader who destroyed the supply depots. The court only knew of the destruction but not which Korean forces were responsible for the victory.
Dae did run into the nomad khan’s daughter and they have a sort of emotional quarrel where she tried to kill him with her sword. This lends a new meaning to lovers’ quarrel I guess.
See what I mean about being careful around a woman with sharp things in her hands.
Being a better fighter, he did not draw his sword. She could only manage to cut him on his arm. Then, she went through all sorts of emotional angst and doubt and self hating at the same time. I think that she still has strong feelings for him from when he sucked the snake’s poison venom from her leg.
The show ended on two opposite notes. Dae Jo Young had a very emotional meeting with his father just before Dae Jo Young went off on a next to suicide mission to steal the Tang army plans so they can be defeated. This was a necessary point in the overall story arc.
The other point note was the revelation that the Korean version of Publius Quintilius Varus, the Korean Supreme Commander’s son, apparently survived the Battle of the Yalu but he is no condition to fight or lead any forces for the time being.
Neighbors
I live near a Jewish temple.
Someone has to live near it I suppose.
Anyway.
The temple is having some sort of a Purim event. I think it is a carnival or something like that because they have a live music group playing songs from the 1970s. I can hear the concert from my place whether I want to or not except for when the helicopters were overhead and their jet turbine engines tended to overpower the band’s amplified music.
People are selling their flats in the building now. When I came home yesterday, there was a new for sale sign out in front of the building. I think there are five or six units up for sale based on the number key boxes hanging from the gate. I was not expecting sales to pick up so soon in the year.
That was my weekend gentle readers.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 2:29 PM
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