TBD

Blackett's Ridge

2010-05-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Way back in January, I went on a bunch of new hikes, all up in the Sabino Canyon area. The first was Blackett's Ridge. It turned out to be a bit difficult, so luckily it was partly cloudy that day.

There had been a lot of snow up in the mountains the week before, so the road to the trailhead was flooded. The water was crazy cold, as cold as any creek in Washington, which was weird but refreshing. The current was actually pretty strong, probably strong enough to knock down a child.

Wooshing water...

Apparently. the shuttle could still get across. If we had just waited a few minutes, we could have hitched across the water with all the lazy people (who paid $8). Actually I'm joking, the shuttle goes 3 miles up to another trailhead, and I've paid for it, so I can't knock it.

So, did I mention that the trail was steep? Does it look steep? Cuz it was! I had to stop a lot, and then middle-aged ladies would pass me, which was a little embarrassing.

The moon was rising.

And, of course, I must include the view of Tucson from a resting point.

It was hard, but totally worth it. It was cool and breezy at the top, with a spectacular view of the snowy mountaintops. This is the first time I've attached a location to a post. FYI, I placed the marker at the trailhead, if my label doesn't work right.

Hash House a Go-Go

2010-04-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

Got a little sidetracked by work. Time to post some more about Vegas. So, even though Imperial Palace was old and a little dumpy, hiding in the back was one of the best parts of the trip. A restaurant called Hash House a Go-Go. I don't know what's up with the name, but it was amazing. (Except don't ever try to go there with a group of twelve on a weekend. We waited over 2 hours to get seated, almost lost the table because of an airhead host, then waited another hour for food. They did get our money at the bar in the meantime, though, so maybe it was strategic.)

First off, you must order a beer in a bag. Yes, that's what it says on the menu, and this is what they bring you:

If beer with breakfast isn't your thing, you can get a S'mores mocha, hand-torched. If you think the mug looks huge, you're right. Everything they serve is GIANT. Even the boys shared meals here.

And in a clash of classics, the BLT Mary! A Bloody Mary that comes with lettuce, tomato, a slice of bacon and toast. I'm more of a mimosa girl, but I was told they are delicious.

And now some food. The main specialty here is Eggs Benedict, of which they have multiple varieties. I ordered the "basic" one, which comes with bacon, tomato and spinach, plus mashed potatoes and an incredible roasted red pepper cream. Unlike a typical restaurant that would give you bacon and potatoes on the side, here they go right into the pile. It's a mouth explosion, except the salt content could probably give you hypertension in one sitting.

They also had incredible burgers as big as your face! Yes, between those patties (I think they are a 1/4 pound each) is a layer of mashed potatoes and bacon. And they serve it stabbed with a steak knife, in case there isn't enough drama.

Man, I'm hungry now. I wish there was one of these in Tucson. Well, probably it's good that there isn't. I've got enough blubber to shave off for bikini season as it is.

Classiness

2010-03-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas has some seriously huge buildings. They are like little towns inside. The extravagance in some is ridiculous. Exhibit 1: the Paris Hotel and Casino

And a closer look...

Exhibit 2: the famous Bellagio. My pics of the fountain show were wimpy, so just imagine.

For perspective, the sign to my hotel. This is what you get for $50 a night. But really, it was perfectly decent, and it had a restaurant to die for...

In case you think you didn't spend enough on the airline ticket...

2010-03-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

...you can gamble as soon as you get here!!!

Yes, those are slot machines in the Las Vegas airport. They were the first thing I saw getting off the plane. I was thoroughly entertained while waiting to meet my friends there. If I had been hungover or jetlagged, I could have paid to huff air freshener -- um, I mean meditate while inhaling aromatherapy essential-oil infused oxygen -- at the Oxygen Bar and Spa.

Note the sign on the right that mentions massages. It means that the girl rolls one of those wooden sticks with balls over your back. I didn't check the price, but it was still probably at least $50.

Another amusing particular. In Tucson, I can't drive a mile without passing at least one dollar store, but here there is the $10 store.

It does look like the merchandise is a little nicer than what you get at the dollar store. And, just for fun, a view of the grand canyon from the plane, since I was so excited to not be sitting over the wing.

Seven Falls, Again

2010-02-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

Pics from a recent hike up Bear Canyon to Seven Falls. Trust me, there are falls. None of the pics of the actual falls were very good, so I'm not posting any. You can see some from my older post.

I was very amused this time by the warnings on the information board about being prepared for hikes.

Personally, I would probably pass out if I wore long sleeves to hike in this climate. I think I might be a lizard or something (my legs get scaly in the dry weather if I don't use lotion!) since my body can't seem to manage it's temperature very well. Put me in the sun and I start baking unless I'm half naked. And walking sticks? The trails at Sabino Canyon aren't that difficult, but lots of people use store-bought walking sticks. On the only steep trail in the area, along Black Ridge, almost nobody uses them. Maybe this is a clever marketing scheme by the local outdoor equipment retailers. The one thing that's not a joke is bringing water. Sure, you'll get to the end of the trail and back alive without it, but you'll probably get a crappy headache from being dehydrated.

Of course, you could take your chances with the water from the falls, which was lovely.

Abstract art, kind of.

View from the top, but a little hill is blocking the view of the city.

A rock tower, just for fun. Someday, there will be a report on the Tucson news: "Hikers Lost Due to Excessive Misinforming Handmade Trail Markers" and someone will feel really guilty.

My favorite type of cactus, the cholla. This is a particularly wonderful specimen, and unusually tall. I love how the color fades from the newer to older parts. From a distance, the look so fuzzy and lovable...

...but don't hug it!

The "Artsy" Side of Drinking

2010-01-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

A camera is a great tool for avoiding social interaction at parties. I like them, so there.

Santa Barbara

2010-01-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

Another odd collection. Apparently Santa Barbara is so fancy that the pay phone at the mall is gold.

A funny tree.

Went to visit the UCSB campus. They are ON the beach and they have a freaking lagoon! With swans!

On the beach by campus.

Berkeley Botanical Garden, Part III: Weird Stuff

2010-01-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

If I had posted all these pics sooner I would remember the fun things I learned about the plants when I was there. Too bad.

Excellent use of my time

2010-01-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

I just discovered that the New Yorker has animated cartoons, available through Hulu. Yep, I'm subscribed. My favorite so far:

I also subscribe to the new Onion clips. Freaking hilarious. They have animated Dilberts too.

Berkeley Botanical Garden, Part II: Flowers and Other Pretty Things

2010-01-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

Why can't everything work this way?

2010-01-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

Wireless Firms Speed Up Texted Haiti Donations

There's something pretty amazing going on. I think collective guilt from Katrina has really pushed an attitude of doing the right thing. This is one of those moments when I think that all our advancements in technology have come about for a real reason, not just for convenience and entertainment.

Berkeley Botanical Garden, Part I: Um, plants.

2010-01-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

The UC Berkeley campus has a botanical garden that is very nice. Not much to say.

San Francisco, Part II: Things I Found Amusing

2010-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

Piles and piles of sea lions on the docks.

Chinatown was the kitchest thing I've ever seen. Stores packed with imported crap.

Ah, the zen of a martini...

A restaurant specializing in dishes with garlic.

In a gift shop, I think in Ghiradelli Square.

Tourists on Segways!!!!

Nothing is classier than the "Majestic Collection Fine Art Galleries."

Wrestling masks in the Mission District.

San Francisco, Part III: Stuff and Places

2010-01-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

The view of Alcatraz from downtown.

I'd never seen a pile of heirloom tomatoes where the bottom half wasn't already rotten. I guess people have enough money here to actually buy them.

The famous curvy road.

People have freaking gorgeous homes here.

The boardwalk shopping area. Kinda boring, but nice.

This random set of steps in a residential area, I think in the Castro District. The pic just doesn't do it justice.

San Francisco, Part I: Buildings I Liked

2010-01-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

Enough nature, back to civilization. There was lots of cool architecture in San Francisco. I thought this old building was beautiful, and it was being violated by it's occupant, a Forever 21.

I think this building has is museum with modern art.

Lots of modern stuff with art deco style.

This was was cooler in person. You can't see the wavyness in the pic.

LOVE the old townhomes with super-cool paint jobs.

Cool state building at night.

Redwoods

2010-01-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

There's not too much to say about the redwoods. We only visited the park for a few hours. I was super dumb and didn't stop to take pictures when we were driving though. There were some really amazing huge trees.

We found a slimy friend while hiking around a bit.

Even More Garden D'Lights

2009-12-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

My favorite plants were the ones that made the surrounding foliage glow:

At the end there was some food! Like these pumpkins:

And a vineyard with GRAPES!!!

More Garden D'Lights

2009-12-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

All the electric foliage was arranges into scenes as you walk along the garden paths.

Inside the scenes were some animals. In the lagoon, there was a swan.

In the jungle there was a monkey...

...and a parrot.

Inside the Visitor Center, there was a glass display case set up as an aquarium.

Garden D'Lights

2009-12-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

I will be taking a short break from posting summer pics to bring you fun things from Seattle, so that I don't feel so ridiculously behind all the time.

Bellevue Botanical Garden has a holiday display put together by hundreds of volunteers, called "Garden D'Lights." Strings of lights are fashioned into all sorts of things. This happy guy greeted us at the entrance:

Most of the lights are plants and flowers. Many, many, flowers.

Obligatory close up abstract shot:

Just piles and piles of glowing flowers.

Foliage at Heceta Head

2009-12-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

I don't think commentary is necessary. Flowers and stuff.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

2009-12-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

The Oregon coast between Waldport and Florence is a gorgeous drive that everyone should do at least once. We stopped at Heceta Head and took a tour of the lighthouse.

Seemed in pretty good shape, but the guide said there are plans to renovate.

You might get a little dizzy taking the very skinny staircase to the top.

The light...

Chicago

2009-12-26T00:20:00.000-08:00

I know this is totally out of chronological order, but I totally had to post about my favorite food. So, I went to Chicago recently with Mom and Sis. It was halloween season, so we were greeted by super-classy decorations everywhere we went. The hotel lobby:

Gotta have that hotel coffee every morning to function!

They really love Obama here.

My favorite place in the world to eat: "The Bagel," a deli in Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Yes, those are real salami's hanging on the wall.

They have a dessert case that has just about anything you can think of dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles.

Mmmmm...nova lox...

These guys know how to fix up a bagel.

And they give you meat on your sandwich. (Yes, that's cream cheese with my corned beef. Live with it, I'm not trying to be kosher.)

Coast

2009-12-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

The coast was pretty amazing. A beach at the Oregon Dunes NRA:

A view of the coast. I'm pretty sure this is at Battle Rock Park in Port Orford, OR.

Um, there's lot's of sand on the coast?

I have no idea. I think somewhere between Tillamook and Waldport.

Random thing on the beach, just outside of Crescent City, CA.

Catching a wave...

Beach.

More beach.

And more splashy waves.

Just can't get enough of the beach.

Sunset. I think this was just before our last dinner in Oregon, so that would make it Brookings, if I remember correctly. I really should have documented the whole thing on Google Maps as we did it. Now I can barely remember what we did.

Vancouver

2009-12-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

We saw most of the city, but I seemed to be in a odd mood for picture-taking. So, my pics are kinda weird.

Chinatown was fun. All sorts of crazy unidentifiable (edible, I suppose) things...

I could definitely identify the lizard on a stick!

The library is a really cool building.

There's this convention center or something. It has grass on the roof and cool wooden walls. I should have been taking so many more pictures but somebody made me feel self-conscious about being "touristy."

We got fancy cheese and meats and bread at the market for lunch.

The more I look at these pics from last summer, the more upset I am that I didn't take more, and that I didn't carry around my big camera. I will not make the same mistake this year.

Birthday Boots

2009-10-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! Wow it looks like blogger will let me post bigger pics now...let's see if I can adjust other posts...

Awesome Videos

2009-10-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

I found this via Wired today. It's clips from Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series (with a little Stephen Hawking) mixed into a techno song. One of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life.

Speaking of crazy-cool things, an amazing video I wandered onto of members from the dance group Pilobus, which I'd never heard of before, doing a TED performance.

Larrabee State Park

2009-10-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

Just outside of my second home, Bellingham, is Larrabee State Park. On the way up to Vancouver, we stopped by to hang out. Not too much commentary here, just some beachy pics...

Cake!

2009-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

I made a fabulously awesome chocolate cake. From scratch, not a box! Here's the cake and frosting recipes.

So beautiful!!!

Um, but I didn't level the layers before I stacked them, so it started cracking...

...and finally fell apart under it's own weight.

But it was still delicious!

Snoqualmie Falls

2009-10-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Time to get posting again!

Another day trip was a visit to Snoqualmie Falls. This amazing place is only a half hour drive from my parents' house. On these trips I finally realized the paradise I left behind when I moved to the desert. The view from the top (and note that this was in August, when the water flow is the lowest of the year):

Then you can take a windy path down the bottom. It's been changed since I was a kid. There used to be a million stairs and no crooked boardwalk. A sign says that you are supposed to stay on the boardwalk, but that would be lame and no one pays attention to it.

It's way too tempting to get down and play in the rocks.

This guy was fishing! I wonder if he had any success. Do the salmon make it all the way up here, through the city?

No trip is complete without the obligatory rocks in the water photo...

...and some random foliage...

San Juan Island, Part V: English Camp

2009-10-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our last stop on the island was a park called English Camp. The island used to be split between the Americans and the English (there is another park called American Camp on the other side of the island). Here's the story:

A shelter of some kind.

Pretty flowers in the garden of the main house.

A monument erected to honor those who erected the monument (seriously, that's what it says).

On our way out at the end of the day, we stopped for dinner at the harbor. Mmmm...crabcakes and a beer, with this view, what else can you ask for?

We even got to watch a romantic sunset for the ride home.

Today I am 28.

2009-10-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

Globular Cluster M28

Wikipedia Facts About 28. In particular, I like this: In Gematriya, the system of Hebrew Numerology, the number 28 corresponds to the word koakh, meaning "power," "energy."

xkcd's thoughts on a 28-hour sleep/wake cycle (click image for original).

Moon cycles in crop circles!

For My Mom

2009-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

I usually hate chain mail, but this one was not so bad...

The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

Powerful message, especially the "cartoon." Let us never forget!

63 years later

In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER

Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful. Then read the comments
at the end.
I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider
doing the same.

In Memoriam

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europeended This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming theHolocaust to be 'a my th,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!

Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.

Please send this e-mail to people you know and ask them to continue thememorial chain.

Please don't just delete it.

It will only take you a minute to pass this along. Thanks

Beer from Costco!

2009-10-02T19:27:00.001-07:00

I never saw it before just now. I will have to get some for my birthday party!

Finally

2009-10-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

Data is from the National Weather Service Website.

San Juan Island, Part IV: Boats!

2009-09-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

There was a guy trying to sell yachts at Roche Harbor. Some of them were open for public viewing, like this one. I think the price tag was $2.9 million. Pocket change.

Fancy-schmancy! The master suite has his-and-hers bathrooms because cramped yachting conditions shouldn't mean that you have to share a bathroom with your spouse! On the lower level, there is a second bedroom and bathroom, plus a TV den.

Oh yeah, don't forget the granite and stainless kitchen, dining room, and fully furnished living room...

Geeky Things on the Internets

2009-09-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Monkey Music
Thinking About Virtual Growth
Reading Minds

TED talks are my new addiction

2009-09-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's not really a "talk" but it's SO COOL!!!

San Juan Island, Part III: Roche Harbor Flora and Fauna

2009-09-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

Roche Harbor has gorgeous gardens. Some were very manicured, European-style.

There were lots of beautiful brightly colored flowers.

An artichoke!!!

A romantic trellis walkway. (Seriously, I had to sit on the sidewalk for 20 minutes, waiting for a moment when there were no people to take the picture. This one guy was pacing on a business call for forever.)

There was a lot of naturally occurring beauty, especially the rocks by the water.

Chart Porn, Energy Consumption Edition

2009-09-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

All the other bloggers have repeating themes with cute titles, so I will too.

From an NYT article that's OK. This article is better, about energy inspections on homes, although it's chart is less pornish. They have a whole series on the little things that can change global warming, which is a nice alternative to the blah-blah-blah about carbon taxes vs. cap-and-trade and trade wars with China.

Photo Adjustment

2009-09-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

I messed up and my pics were too small in the last couple posts. I fixed it in case anybody wants to go back and see.

San Juan Island, Part II: Roche Harbor Historic Buildings

2009-09-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

At the north tip of the island, we stopped at Roche Harbor. I had heard of this place as a vacation spot, bu never been there. The harbor was first developed by some guy with a lime and cement company, but at some point that business wasn't hot anymore, and the spot turned into a tourist area. The original homestead has been modified and is now a pricey restaurant. Actually, considering the multi-million-dollar yachts in the harbor, I think the menu was quite reasonable. We, however, are poor and brought sandwiches.

The pier had some building that I guess origanlly housed some business operations. Now it is a small grocery and deli.

Another gorgeous old building, now a hotel.

The yard outside the hotel, with a peek at some of the vacation condos up the hill.

San Juan Island, Part I: Ferries and Camels

2009-09-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Finally!! I have 1,100+ photos from this summer. It took me a while to get them all loaded, then sorted, then I had to decide which ones to post...it was exhausting! Now I have material for an eternity.

The first "trip" we took was on the ferry out to San Juan Island in the Puget Sound. The original plan was to visit all four islands in one day, but that turned out to be impossible. I think the best plan would be to take the crack-of-dawn ferry out to San Juan on a Saturday morning, stay the night, then visit the other three islands on the way back Sunday. You only have to pay the ferry fare in the westbound direction, so if you go in the right order on the way back, the ferry is always free, which would be nice because it costs $60 for a car and two passengers.

View Larger Map

I had read that the wait is often 2+ hours on the weekend, so we got there pretty early. That turned out to be totally wrong (at least the day we were there) so we ended up getting on an earlier departure and still an hour early. So we went down to the beach to explore, and I took random pics of things on the beach.

We got to the island and headed of on a random road that headed through the center of the island. Luckily, we had found a map of the island in a pamphlet on the ferry. I hadn't thought of that, of course. We rolled through, stopping occasionally to check out ponds and other scenery. At one corner, we noticed a bunch of cars pulled off the road. Everyone was stopped, hanging out with a camel. Well, we had to stop too. People driving by would holler out the window, "Her name is Mona!" so we said hi to Mona the camel.

She was very nice and mellow. She would eat weeds from the ground, or any other food you offered, right out of your hand. She enjoyed being petted and getting all the attention.

Also hanging out nearby was an alpaca, who was not so social. He didn't want to eat or get pet.

But he liked to roll around in the grass.

I want to move to Copenhagen

2009-09-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe it will work now...

2009-09-13T18:10:00.001-07:00

Ok, seriously, it better work this time. A pic of the Rec Center pool should be here.

2009-09-13T17:43:00.001-07:00

This is a test.

I am trying to figure out how to post from my phone

So I've been reading a lot lately...

2009-09-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

I love this article about health care because it articulates everything I believe about the system, and it's not written by an economist, so maybe more people will take it seriously. It is possible to support both health care reform and less bureaucracy.

But on the topic of actual economics, I think Paul Krugman's latest is spot on, even though he bugs me most of the time. He's careful to say that Keynesian policy is the best set of theoretical tools we've got right now, not that it is the correct set of tools. However, is it really that ridiculous to think that people overreact to things en masse (i.e. the crappy retail season right after the all the financial hoopla), causing firms to cut back, resulting in a recession? Isn't that exactly what just happened???

Last but not least, I totally knew that fake sugar is STUPID!!! The processed foods industry will still probably try to slap health food labels on to it anyway. Ugh.

OOPS: The Krugaman link is here.

Power of the Wolf

2009-07-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

This website has been circulating via email among my friends lately, no one knows who discovered it. It has to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It's better that ranting on Craigslist. It's an awesome product on Amazon, but don't get sidetracked by your desire to buy it right away, read the reviews and look at the customer images.

Phone Pics

2009-07-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm really bored right now. I figured out how to send the pics from my phone to my T-Mobile Album online, then move them to Picasa, so I can post them here!

This is a statue at a park on Lake Washington in Kirkland, WA. It's been there as long as I can remember, and I always loved it as a kid. I never thought of putting clothes on it though. (Update: It's Marsh Park)

I'm using the library wireless from a bench outside because they aren't open yet. I thought this tree looked cool.

I Love The Onion

2009-07-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Police Still Searching For Missing Productive, Obedient Woman

I am SO handy!

2009-07-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Because I had nothing to do after I finished teaching, I decided to satisfy my craving to make something with my hands. First, I made some curtains for the living room window, but that wasn't hardcore enough, so I made an island for my kitchen. This was tricky because, being a poor renter, I do not have many tools. My only "real" tool is the $10 drill I got at Fred Meyer from the Christmas clearance table. It's pretty awesome. It's cordless, but if I use it for five minutes on battery power, it gets too weak to drill into anything but drywall. So I had to take many breaks to let it charge.

The next challenge was to design something that could be assembled with only a crappy drill. Solution: precut lumber and shelf brackets! Lowes will cut any wood to length for you, but I was worried because the guy helping me seemed super-stoned and was having some difficulty operating the giant saw. He managed to get it cut correctly, though, after some time.

I learned a lame lesson in this project. Apparently, wood is always smaller than the dimensions on the label. This sucks because my building plans assumed that, you know, a 1x2 would actually be 1 inch by 2 inches. So I ended up having to go back to the store to buy more wood when things weren't fitting right. Grrr! Like this piece was supposed to be 3 inches...

I also had to be creative in other ways. Who needs a clamp when you have heavy things?

The funnest part was pouring the epoxy on the top. It's a resin that starts out liquid when it is first mixed, then hardens slowly. You have to spread the goop across the surface with a spatula then keep it protected from dust for 8 hours. The box says it's equivalent to 60 coats of varnish. Now it's all shiny and professional.

Here it is all painted in it's place in the kitchen!

I Made Bread!

2009-07-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

The other day, I learned how to make bread. Here is my masterpiece, can you tell what it is?

2009-07-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

I found a great new econ blog today, that actually rivals the entertainment value of Freakonomics. It's economistsdoitwithmodels.com

A little ways down, I found a post with this video:

Freaking hilarious!!!

She also had a recent post featuring an xkcd.com comic, so that makes her pretty cool.

Craigslist as Therapy

2009-07-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

This just totally made my day. I love a good rant.

San Diego

2009-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

So, I have been a total slacker on posting. Now that I am officially on vacation, I am going to try to make up for it. Really.

I went to San Diego a month ago. It was way cool. The city is gorgeous and right on the water, just how I like it. There were old ships docked on the waterfront. Some of them you had to pay to tour.

And this one has a gift shop inside, but we didn't go in.

There were several statues along the "boardwalk" I guess you would call it. They seemed kind of random. Only a few had nautical themes.

As in any city, there was the occasional street performer. This guy stood in front of the silver mime for several minutes, holding cash out. I don't know if he was trying to screw with the guy or genuinely didn't understand the standard protocol.

A guy that was selling stuff gave me this flower made out of something like a corn husk...I think I might be wrong about that.

For the lazy people, there were lots of carriage things. There seemed to be an oversupply, so some tried to distinguish themselves with touristy "character." There was one with a boombox playing Bob Marley but I didn't get a pi of that one. This one was kinda creepy.

Apparently cabs are funny too in San Diego. I wonder if he has free coffee inside.

There was an old aircraft carrier that was converted into a military museum, I think, but being super cheap, we did not go inside. There was a cool memorial outside, though.

The big deal was an airshow. There were lots of drunk people, and I ended up having to give up my awesome spot for picture taking because one guy that was nice at first started bugging me to take pictures with my camera. There were tons of sober people too, and I tested out my zoom lens with the anti-shake feature. I think it came out pretty good.

After wandering past the airshow crowd we found the tourist shopping area. It was really nice.

Complete with a cute duck pond in the middle.

And...at this point Mario just couldn't hold back anymore...a fountain with a muse!!!!

Then we found the historic district.

Apparently, the Hard Rock Hotel is very "historic." In true Southern California style, there were even sexy people on bathing suits hanging out on the balcony.

Now, I was taking pictures in the name of art and tourism, but I caught this guy next to me just hanging out with binoculars. I was too slow to catch him, but he wanted to pose for me anyway.

Further down the street, there were many actual historic buildings, gorgeous!!!

And then we ended up back in the same place where we got off the bus, a perfect loop!

Being Sick is REALLY Boring

2009-05-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the most entertaining thing I have ever found on the internet.

Best of Craigslist

Some people have nothing better to do than read EVERYTHING on Craigslist and share the jewels they find with the rest of us. Some of my favs:

Republican governor for sale

SPICY BUFFLO WINGS

Vintage British 3 Speed Bicycle, Very Nice!

Roommate needed, but try not to actually live here, just pay

Build a new, rational, primitive but free life w/ me in Alaskas wild

I have it in my RSS feed now...

Cute Vegetarian Contest

2009-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Genius or pathetic?

Cutest Vegetarian 2009

:S

2009-04-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

At least the depressing news can still sound funny when you hear it...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Elizabeth Warren Pt. 1

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Economic Crisis

Political Humor

Sabino Canyon

2009-04-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have been writing too much and not posting pictures lately (that is, if I remember to post anything at all). I'm going wacko working on a paper right now, so I think it's time to post some pics from a recent trip to Sabino Canyon.
It was really nice, except it felt touristy because we took the shuttle instead of hiking. The tour guide/driver was funny, though, and I learned some things (which I cannot recall now since I see only equations spinning around my head), so the $8 wasn't a total waste. Anyway, pics...

Wildlife! (I need to work on my National Geographic skills)

Grass with flowerish things.

Rock with water.

Rock without water.

Tree, rocks, person. (The driver mentioned his obligatory "bikini check" whenever passing this spot, hahaha.)

Funny signs along the road/trail.

I apologize for the utter lack of verbal skills at the moment.

This is only a test

2009-04-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

I recently downloaded Windows Live Writer with my messenger update, so now I am testing it out to see if it is easier to use than blogger’s web-based post editor. So far it is nice because it has detected my style sheet, so my post has the background and correct font as I edit. Also, the preview feature shows the post in the context of the whole blog, which is much more than blogger’s “preview.” I am now noticing that spell check is working well (Chrome’s built-in spell check doesn’t always work in all text fields).

So, let’s add some media.

Wow! I have the option of sizing the image for the post, then setting a different size for the pop-out link. I also easily added alternate text commentary. I can also choose from several nice border styles.

Now a video.

Cool. There’s also quick links for inserting tables and maps, although I will probably still embed maps manually since Google Earth is WAY cooler than Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. (Actually I wouldn’t know cuz I haven’t even used it, meh.)

I’m waiting for my video to upload and “process”…hmmm…it seems to be taking a long time (10+ minutes now). But I am using free wireless at a cafe.

I think the only thing I won’t like about using this program is that my images will get uploaded to some Microsoft-affiliated sharing website instead of Picasa, which may be annoying since Picasa is so easily accessible from Gmail.

Oh no! Fatal flaw! As you may have noticed, there is no video above. Finally, after waiting for about 20 minutes, the video failed to upload. The explanation: Soapbox does not support Chrome! hahahaha…I don’t usually upload my own videos anyway.

Ok, now I need to do some actual work…

9.99

2009-03-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

For anyone who doesn't know what this post is about already from the title, 9.99 is a novel by Frederic Beigbeder. If you go to that link, you'll see that the title has been changed to reflect the discount price since it's gotten older. It's actually available for 3.50 from some seller, but I guess they have to stop at some point, or the joke gets too old. Basic summary and reviews here.

Obviously, I read this book recently. Some thoughts:

Mostly, I’m not sure how to feel at all. :S I think that’s Beigbeder’s intention—to make me conflicted about my feelings for Octave. I am lured in by his charismatic, articulate expression of modern anti-consumerism, then repulsed by his actions ostensibly justified by these very ideals.

Octave is the embodiment of hyperbole, the ultimate caricature of the little voice inside us all that says “something’s just not right.” I imagine that most have fantasized, at some time, of being him (minus the coke habit, maybe). It is easy to idealize him from his clever insights: "Plato's cave really did exist now: it was called television," but eventually issues of fundamental morality smack you in the face.

I was arguing with someone the other day about who is the "worse" character. Obviously, Charlie wins the prize, but it was a battle between Octave and Tamara. They both played games with people who cared about them. Can you really determine who behaved more atrociously?

Sociologist in da hizzouse!

2009-03-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

I first read about Sudhir Venkatesh's adventures in the Chicago projects in Freakonomics, one of the coolest books ever written, and now one of my favorite blogs. I'm sure Steve Leavitt had to peel himself off the floor when he first heard about the kind of data Venkatesh had come away with. I guess that too many people wouldn't stop asking Venkatesh about all the details of his experience, and who wants to read a 15+ year old dissertation, so he decided to put it all in a book, Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets.

I'm not going to summarize the book, the link is better anyway. I'm just going to say that I could barely believe it was a true story at times, and I was shocked by the level of corruption even among the "good guys." Taxation, extortion...it's all the same thing, really.

I think that reading a lot makes the world seem more messed up than it is, or maybe the world is really messed up and not reading is how most people lie to themselves. I guess I could start reading silly chick lit or Stephen King...but I'd probably puke all over the book, hahaha. Now I'm finally reading 9.99 (blah, I don't know the code for the british pound symbol). It appears that the book is now discounted, so the title has changed to 6.99!!! Stay tuned!

Viral Marketing

2009-03-04T20:39:00.001-08:00

I guess ads aren't good enough anymore. Somehow I doubt that all the extra work that goes into this kind of stuff actually gets more people to see a movie. They really do call it "viral marketing."

Anyway, so I never click on ads in Facebook, but this one said something about being "committed to regulating non-human activity on earth." How could I not look? It takes you to www.d-9.com, some kind of alert system for non-human activity. There are other sites, www.multinationalunited.com and www.mnuspreadslies.com

All of this is for some sci-fi movie about aliens coming to earth. The websites are nicely done, with lots of detail, but will I actually go to see the movie? No. I'm so glad I got out of graphic design.

Vertigo

2009-03-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves.

Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Musicophilia

2009-03-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading the book Musicophilia, by Oliver Sacks. It describes many neurological normalities and abnormalities, all related to the perception, creation and experience of music in the brain, told though case studies, personal stories and historical anecdotes.

The fascinating theme that emerges from this book is the simultaneous independence and interdependence of music in our minds. It is clearly associated with distinct physical regions of our brains, but the perception of music engages our entire brains. Musical abilities and disorders often occur without similar effects in language or other auditory perceptions. At the same time, music can intensely affect or be affected by other processes in the brain. Some people with synesthesia literally see notes or chords as having color. Music can give people with severe neurological conditions the ability to speak, move, learn, remember...to overcome otherwise insurmountable disabilities.

It's all pretty deep, but the best parts are the amazing individual cases. Like one guy who is struck by lightening, and though he was previously uninterested in music, becomes obsessed with learning the piano and composing.

Or this story about the author, who heard some music in a dream that continued into a musical hallucination when he woke up.

...I found something deeply disturbing and unpleasant about the music, and longed for it to stop. I had a shower, a cup of coffee, went for a walk, shook my head, played a mazurka on the piano--to no avail. The hateful hallucinatory music continued unabated. Finally I phoned a friend, Orlan Fox, and said that I was hearing songs that I could not stop, songs that seemed to me full of melancholy and a sort of horror. The worst thing, I added, was that the songs were in German, a language I did not know. Orlan asked me to sing or hum some of the songs. I did so, and there was a long pause.

"Have you abandoned some of your young patients?" he asked. "Or destroyed some of your literary children?"

"Both," I answered. "Yesterday I resigned from the children's unit at the hospital where I have been working, and I burned a book of essays I had just written....How did you guess?"

"Your mind is playing Mahler's Kindertotenlieder," he said, "his songs of mourning for the death of children." I was amazed by this, for I rather dislike Mahler's music and would normally find it quite difficult to remember in detail, let along sing, and of his Kindertotenlieder. But here my dreaming mind, with infallible precision, had come up with an appropriate symbol of the previous day's events. And in the moment Orlin interpreted the dream, the music disappeared; it has never rucurred in the thirty years since.

Unfortunately, there isn't really any unifying thesis in the book. In the end it is just a collection of individual stories, without much in the way of psychological theory. I'm too much of a geek. I think I liked my former psych-major roommate's textbooks better, haha. Sacks isn't the greatest writer, but I'm still glad he put all these stories together, as someone who always prefers music to a silent room...

Seven Falls

2009-02-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend I hiked to Seven Falls, in Bear Canyon. It is part of the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Notice On the Forest Service rules, it lists "no nudity." I imagine that 40 years ago the falls were a great secret spot for hippies to come swim naked in the pools...ah, the good ol' days...

The first part of the hike sucks because it's almost 2 miles along a boring road.

But it gets better when you see...ta da! Water! Actual running, moving, "babbling" water!!!

There is even evidence of wildlife, like this duck that was very seriously stalking a female along the banks, and a crowd of at least 4 bunnies (not all visible, they are so freaking fast). We also saw deer but they blended so well into the backgroud you can't even see them in the pic I got.

For some reason, I think it's really cool how the flesh of a dying cactus looks like the bark of a tree. When they are completely dead they look like driftwood!

It was so amazing to hike along a creek. It had been so long! I was entranced by the moving water; I have about a million pic of the cold stuff flowing over and around the rocks. Here is a sample:

There is enough water in the canyon to support some non-desert foliage. In some places the air actually smelled fresh.

Finally, the falls.

And a close-up of the pools. Some of the rocks are smooth enough to slide on, if you don't mind the cold water.

It's a popular spot. This was taken at one of the quieter moments.

A Musical Tangent

2009-02-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the Rialto Theater's website to see if there were any upcoming shows I might want to see. I was intrigued by the name of a band that performed last week, so I checked them out. They are called DeVotchKa, which is apparently some kind of Russian-British slang made popular by the book A Clockwork Orange. I've been meaning to read it, since it's supposed to be really good. I stopped watching the movie version about fifteen minutes in because it was too hard to watch, but maybe I'd do better with print.

Anyway, while listening to the sample song (which I liked a lot), I was struck with a sense of familiarity. I figured it out right away that it was the main theme from one of my favorite movies, Little Miss Sunshine. It turns out that the band was a collaborator in composing the entire score. Here's a nice combination:

The band also has a gorgeous website, further proof of my assertion that the prettiest websites are always for indie record labels and bands.

It all got me thinking that I don't listen to enough new music. I guess I'm getting old and set in my ways...but I remembered this really cool internet radio site, Pandora. You tell them what artists you like, and they have some fancy way of cataloging music that populates your station with music that you like! I've started building a station, check it out!

New View

2009-02-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

Today there is a new version of the view out my bedroom window. It's COLD and it snowed last night. Not in town, that is, but in the foothills. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of the palm trees and the snowy hills...

I guess this means another trip up Mount Lemmon is due, if only I could find a source for current conditions! The ski resort (Ski Valley) has no official website, and the phone numbers I found are either not up-to-date, disconnected, or have no one answering. I guess that's how a ski resort in Tucson works.

Super Creamy Vegan Veggie Soup

2009-02-05T19:05:00.001-08:00

I am eating this soup invention of mine at the moment, and I love it so much I think I need to share it with everybody. The recipe makes about a gallon, which is great for me because I like to cook only once a week. I calculated that it's something like 80 calories per cup, so I usually eat 3 cups at a time. You may want to halve it. (Side note: The USDA has a nutrient database that has just about everything in it. If only they had something like a recipe-builder feature so I wouldn't have to use Excel to do the calculations...)

The original idea came about because I love asparagus but it's SO expensive. I bought frozen asparagus at Costco, but trying to roast or steam frozen asparagus was a miserable failure. The texture is totally destroyed by freezing. At the same time, I love creamy soups, and though I am not vegan (I am half-heartedly vegetarian on some days), I used to live with one, so I know a few tricks to veggie substitutions. Plus it makes things lots healthier, anyway. With creamy soups, the secret is super-waxy Yukon Gold potatoes. You can get away with other types of potatoes if you have to, but the Yukons really make the difference.

Ingredients:
3 T olive oil
1/2 lb carrots
1/2 lb celery
1 small-med onion
3 cups vegetable stock
1 lb spinach
1 lb asparagus
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
salt, pepper
2 T your favorite herb, recommended: tarragon or dill

If you are doing the whole recipe, remember it makes a gallon, so use a HUGE pot (make sure it has a lid, though).

Get the pot going on medium heat with the olive oil. Rough chop up the carrots, celery and onion, then saute until slightly soft (5-10 minutes). Add about 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock, then throw in as much of the spinach as you can fit in the pot. Cover to let the spinach steam. As the spinach shrinks, keep adding more until it's all in there. In the meantime, chop the potatoes (~1 inch cubes) and the asparagus. When the spinach has all cooked down, add the rest of the stock, potatoes and asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste, and herbs.

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The potatoes should be soft and the veggies all mushy. Now, sometime in the future I want to get one of those hand blenders, but until then I use a regular blender. BE CAREFUL doing this! Get out another pot or bowl. **Take the little round handle out of the blender lid so the lid has a hole in it** This is vital because blending hot things expands the air in the blender and the top will explode off if you don't have a hole to let the pressure out. Use a small towel to cover the hole in the lid instead. Fill the blender halfway with the mush-mix, then blend ~30 seconds until the mixture is uniform. Pour into the extra pot/bowl. Repeat until all the soup is blended.

If you used a bowl, rinse any veggie chunks out of the original pot and pour the blended soup back in. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes, stirring a lot so nothing burns to the bottom.

Now eat!!! I like to sprinkle some stinky cheese like gorgonzola or asiago on top, but I'm sure pretty much any cheese will do, or maybe a dollop of sour cream might be good too. It's also yummy to dip some french bread in it.

Tomorrow when I eat some again I'll take a pretty picture and add it.

I might need to go veggie again...

2009-02-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

I've slacked on my veggie diet. If PETA's sexy banned Superbowl ad is right, maybe I should consider getting strict again. I'm surprised they banned it, since PETA made sure not to use any english cucumbers, haha!

Say it!

2009-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

I recently became aware of this Obama victory video from another blogger (thanks, Lluvia!). It combines two of the coolest things ever, Daft Punk and Speak-and-Spell (sorry, Obama's great and all, but not on par with the other two).

I had nearly forgotten my old toy, which might still be somewhere around my parents' house. I got curious, and look what I found! A Speak-and-Spell emulator!!! Plus another one that is prettier but less functional. And if you are wondering, see how much these things are going for on Ebay....

Totally unrelated (kind of), aren't record label websites always gorgeous? Like speakandspellmusic.com

Parade of Lights

2008-12-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

After thoroughly enjoying myself at the All Souls Procession, I thought I'd try another Tucson event, the Parade of Lights. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the saddest things I've seen. I had read that there would be awards in seven categories, so I assumed that people would pull out all the stops making their floats. Nah. Tucson is a city of over 500,000 people, but this felt like I was in a town a quarter the size.

Now, I'm not saying that big budgets are necessary to make a good parade. Low-budget public events say much more about local culture. Recently I went to a neighborhood mesquite festival organized by Desert Harvesters (some photos here) where I had yummy pancakes and a great time.

If the parade was a showcase of local culture, however, then I am thoroughly confused. I thought that living in the southwest would expose me to a unique blend of American and Mexican traditions. I suppose this is true, but in a very strange way. For example, the live entertainment at the parade was a mariachi band, and they actually played "Feliz Navidad." It seemed a bit cheezy. This float, instead of having a reindeer, was sporting a big yellow donkey. Seriously.

There was a clear religious theme, which should be expected considering that Chistmas is about Christ's birth and all, but the religious floats were mostly about Mary, rather than the standard nativity.

The biggest theme was....ta da! Utility vehicles. There were lots of fire trucks...

...buses (city, school, and library?) ...

... a cement truck ...

... and, yes, a garbage truck, complete with a crew pushing garbage cans behind it.

There were some normal things, like a local high school marching band.

But there was also a man on a mini-scooter doing magic tricks.

And no holiday event is complete without Storm Troopers!!!

There were also several floats that appeared to have no theme other than the sheer quantity of people aboard. Dare I make a joke about the border?

So, that was my "downtown" Tucson holiday experience.

New Mexico, part IV: The Dunes

2008-12-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

White Sands National Monument might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The dunes appear suddenly while driving through a typical southwest expanse of nothing. It is so barren in the area that the US military chose this spot to test missiles, including the H-bomb. The scenery change is quite sharp, as you can tell from the satellite view.

View Larger Map

There are a several trails to hike (I am absolutely going back to backpack...the stars must be amazing). Once you get just a short walk from the parking lot, the landscape becomes surreal. It's impossible to tell how far out you are.

I could have taken pictures for hours more, but we were constrained by daylight. The low angle of the sun made the calcium-salt-sand sparkle like snow.

And sunset, as always, was stunning.

New Mexico, Part III: NMSU

2008-12-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

Finally, another New Mexico installment. We stayed the night in Las Cruces on the way home. The city happens to be home to New Mexico State University, so we decided to check out the campus. In some ways, Las Cruces and NMSU were much nicer than Tucson and UA, but it felt very false. Driving 5 minutes away from the city in any direction , and you can see the landscape is an empty wasteland. Instead of embracing their desert location, they pretend to be somewhere else, with oak trees and grass planted everywhere.

The campus wasn't particularly interesting, but I got some pics I liked, so that's why I'm bothering to post. There was a pond with the biggest, most aggressive gang of ducks I've ever seen.

Some beautiful trees in picturesque fall colors.

My New Motto

2008-12-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

"All people are equally good at time management, but some people are more willing than others to admit that they are doing what they want to do, while others maintain the illusion they wish they were doing something else." - Tyler Cowen

I say, down with the idea that making yourself do all the lame crap that you don't want to do makes you a better person! Life is for living, which is why I'm reading blogs (and drinking tea in front of my mountain view) in the middle of the afternoon while most of my peers are diligently studying or punching timeclocks.

Speaking of my view, this is what it looks like right now...

...and at sunset...

Chickens, Eggs, and Studying for Finals...

2008-12-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today was my very last day of econometrics class. In an unimaginable display of geekalicious splendor, the professor (renowned econometrician Ron Oaxaca) gave the following notes as the grand finale of the course. Apparently, US data on chicken and egg production shows definitively that the there is unidirectional Granger causality for eggs to chickens.

I was so impressed that I ordered Mario to make sure the board was not erased as I went to my desk to get my camera (which for some strange reason I had the feeling I should put in my purse this morning, go figure). Later, I learned that this led to a most interesting conversation about the relationship between pirates and global warming.

Here you go, the proof that eggs Granger cause chickens, as shown by Thurman and Fisher, 1988.

Flashbeagle

2008-12-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

I was downloading A Charlie Brown Christmas to get in the holiday spirit, when I remembered my absolute favorite Snoopy Special, It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown. I can't find it on DVD or download. If anyone knows how to get it, tell me!!!

UPDATE: I looked around, and holy crap! $80 for a like-new VHS!!!

New Mexico, Part II: The VLA

2008-12-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

On the way back from Santa Fe, we stopped in a few places for fun. The first was the Very Large Array. It's an array of 27 radio antennas, made semi-famous by the book/movie Contact (fyi, the movie sucks and the book is wonderful). I was expecting a cluster of a few antennas, but no. Three "arms" of 9 antennas each spread out in a Y shape. They are on railroad tracks, so they can be placed close together or spread out to 13 miles long for each arm. They were far apart they day we were there. You can see them fading off into the distance.

We wandered though the visitor center, where I found this very helpful poster. Now I know exactly how the telescope works, hahaha!

There was also an "educational" video, full of awesome 1970's style. I was blown away, man...

The antennas were super-cool. My favorite shot...

New Mexico, Part I: Snow in Santa Fe

2008-12-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is the first installment of my Thanksgiving road trip to New Mexico. It was quite an adventure! First, of course, is the snow. Silly me, I thought that Santa Fe would be pretty similar to Tucson. No, it was 20 F colder, and there was tall grass, trees, and no cacti! It snowed nearly all day on Thanksgiving, so we went out for a walk after dinner. It was the first snow of the season, which was pretty late for the region. I thought it was just perfect that we got to see the before and after.

This is part of the amazing view of the greenbelt behind my cousin's house. Lucky!

It wasn't quite freezing, so the snow started to melt during our walk, but the sunset was still pretty gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of downtown Santa Fe, so I will have to go back! It is an adorable town, with tons of galleries, nice restaurants, and beautiful jewelry and crafts for sale. Mario got all the great pics, so I'll add the link when he posts.

Wine Country

2008-11-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

So, Arizona has wine country. You wouldn't think it from the landscape, but the sign on the highway said we were entering it.

Recently, I went to the Sonoita Vineyards for a special event wine tasting. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see actual grapes being grown in Arizona (I still don't believe it's possible). One of the white wines had a distinct mesquite flavor, so maybe it's true. Here is the view of the "vineyard" from the winery:

There was a good crowd there, and they were serving food, either as full plates, or paired with some of the wines. We were pretty hungry, and I knew I'd have to drive through a Border Patrol checkpoint on the way home, so we opted for less wine and more food with the full plates. Mmmm....grilled steak, beans, salsa, and tortillas. Standard Arizona food, but made well.
Here's a peek at the winery's yard, with festivities:

Inside, the owner was giving talks about the wine-making process in the back room. I learned all about yeast, oak barrels, and the difference between making red and white wine. Sorry Carlo Rossi, but it's only aged red wine for me from now on.

The tanks below have wine in them at this very moment! They have lights strung on them because the founder's granddaughter recently had a wedding at the winery, and they used the back room as the dance floor! Too cute!

All Souls Procession

2008-11-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Nearly 20 years ago, some local Tucsonians were inspired by Mexico's Dia de los Muertos, and decided to create the All Souls Procession. It's an annual parade where people dress up and build floats, with the theme of honoring passed loved ones. Here's some of my pics from the procession last night:

Some followed traditional Spanish or Mexican styles:

For some reason, there seemed to be a Southeast Asian feel to many of the "official" costumes:

But mostly, people just looked dead, but classed up:

Then there was the grand finale, with aerial performers suspended 20 stories in the air by cranes, and an "alien" that lit a giant orb on fire, which was hoisted into the air above the crowd (people really liked that part):