Me at the Peak of Mt. San Jacinto

I made it! Somehow. Yesterday's hike up San Jacinto was the most strenuous, difficult, exhausting hike I have ever been on. I thought I was in good shape and prepared for the hike, but the mountain proved otherwise. I'll discuss the hike more tomorrow when I'm not so tired and sore. I'll just say that the best word to describe the hike was "memorable".

Cleanup of Old Computers and Shopping Spree

Well I finally got rid of a ton of old computers and equipment. This stuff had been sitting in my garage and bedroom closet far too long. Most belonged to my Dad, but some of the pieces were mine. The parts I took away today included two computers, a monitor, three scanners, two printers, various tape and CD drives and more. I still have three computers and an extra printer and scanner at home. I had intended to give it all away so some poor family could enjoy "new" computer system, but no charity wants this stuff. I guess there is such a huge glut of old computers, that charities can be picky about what they take. They don't want anything too old. Hopefully some of the parts can be used, and I hope the hazardous waste within the cases is disposed of properly. Either way, I have more shelf room in the garage, which I'll need for all the camping/hiking stuff I'm buying. I made many shopping stops today. Stop one: Ford to get my first oil change for the Mustang. Two: my brother's work to dump off the computers. Three: Carl's Jr. for lunch. Four: Henry's Market to buy some Clif Bars and other snack food. Five: Sports Authority where I purchased more hiking clothes, including a rain/wind jacket. Six: Sav-ons for various items. Seven: Vons, for general food. Now I am exhausted and ready for one of my famous naps.

Foggy Iron Mountain Hike with new Backpack

This time four of the eight hikers made the Iron Mountain hike - in the fog. I don't like fog, even though it was cool outside. I used my new Gregory backpack for the first time. My only problem was upper back pain. I need to learn how to pack and adjust it properly. There are so many straps in the back. What are they all for? This Sunday we are hiking San Jacinto and I'll be using just my day pack.

Progress on old House

The "new" house is beginning to take shape. I'm glad to see that the new owner is keeping it a one story home. The garage has been turned away from the street and made into a three car garage.

Worf and Riker Star Trek Figures

Room. It is all about room now, as in not enough! Where am I going to put the six new Star Trek figures? I guess the real question is why do I keep buying them? I must have some obsessive/compulsive disorder that causes me to keep collecting. It used to be fun, going out to the stores around town, looking for all the figures. Now they are just a "click" away, thanks to the internet. What will the internet offer next, free porn?

Make-up Hike and Self Portrait

This after-work hike was a make-up hike for the one I missed on Sunday when I was sitting around drinking beer. I set a new personal record by hiking to the top of Iron Mt. without stopping and in 55 minutes. Then I hiked down without stopping in 50 minutes.

Edit: Forgot to say that my backpack weighed 20 lbs. at the start of the walk, maybe 30 lbs. next time.

Dawn and Glory plus more Faith Deluxe

I don't normally buy "2-packs", but I really wanted these Dawn and Glory figures from Buffy Series VII. Poor Dawn. She is forever trapped with Glory in this plastic case, and her "sister" Buffy can't save her.
I ordered Bad Girls Faith last year but they must have been temporarily out. I believe these two Faith figures completes my collection of the Buffy and Faith Deluxe Series I. The next Deluxe series, Angel and Spike, will be out sometime this summer.

The rest of the Buffy/Dawn figures will also be available soon. There are another eight or so figures in that line, including a Joyce Summers as part of the Summers Family Album. Good times lay ahead.

Charmed Series 2 Action Figures

I came home from work today and found two large boxes on my door step. I ordered these four figures, based on the episode Valhalley of the Dolls , from Cinequest.com. This will probably be the last series of Charmed action figures, since the show has been canceled, unless Diamond Select Toys gets the license from Sota Toys. DST has a habit of reviving action figure lines from series such as Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer - which I also received in today's shipment.

Charmed Series 2: Paige

Charmed Series 2: Piper

Charmed Series 2: Phoebe

Charmed Series 2: Leo

Memorial Day Trip

Here are the people. Woody, Chris and Steve relaxing in and around the pool.



The view from Chris's front yard includes San Jacinto, which I'll be hiking in two weeks. If you hike this mountain from this side, it is called the "Cactus to Clouds" hike. Well be taking the Fuller Ridge route. This will give us great exposure to a hike at altitude. Judging by this photo, most of the winter snow has melted.



And here is my car looking bright red, even though it has a nice coat of dust covering the new paint. For the first time, some unlucky person sat in the back seat for this trip. I was happy to drive, even though we hit heavy traffic on the way home, where thousands of people like us were returning from a weekend in the sun.

All Beer'ed Out

Every so often it is necessary to have a mixed drink in between beers. We found this cool bar in Palm Desert, called Roc's FireHouse, where there were a few women that actually talked to us and a band playing cover songs on the patio. Funny, everyone we met was from San Diego.

Where are all the people?

This is the backyard of my friend's house in Desert Hot Springs. Nothing but hills in back of his house, which has a great backyard for pool parties. Unfortunatly, there were none this weekend. We just hung out at bars in Palm Springs and Palm Desert during the evening and drank beer before and afterwards in his house.

A Walk in the Park

That is what hiking Iron Mt. has become. I can pretty much get to the top without stopping, and can hike down in less than one hour without stopping. Pictured here is the telescope and mailbox at the peak. I can't tell you what the mailing address is, but I do know there is a notebook inside where you can leave messages for someone or everyone to read. The telescope is nice on a really clear day, but any other day all it does is magnify the smog and haze. On this hike it was clear but hazy to the west. I could see the ocean and downtown San Diego. The east was much clearer, with a great view of the mountains that had snow on them not too long ago.

"Soul Patrol" comes through - Taylor Hicks Win!

Must have been those three votes I cast for him last night. Actually, since I voted once for McPhee just to hear her voice, only two of my votes counted for Taylor Hicks.

Final Episode of Charmed

Warning - spoilers to follow.... First, it was a really good episode. They wrapped up the series nicely. However, I couldn't get over the similarities between this series finally and the last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both involved time travel to the future and past with the help of someone with a "Q" in their name - "Q" and "Q-Pid", also known as Coop. I guess whatever it takes to draw an audience that has faded over the years. I didn't start watching Charmed until after the character Pure was written off, and not surprisingly, she was the only main character not in this episode (other than Cole and other past demons/lovers). It is sad that another creative, non-conventional show is off the air, but TV goes on.

Hiked Mt. Woodson - Almost

We started at Lake Poway and didn't make it quite to the top, but not because we were too tired, it was a time management issue. Still a very good hike for Mt. Whitney training. Now I was very tired, stopping to catch my breath often, and my leg muscles were still sore from Thursday evening's hike. Also, I'm still breaking in my new boots, and for some reason I have a huge bruise on my left ankle that won't go away. I think I need to see a doctor about it. And to the person from St. Louis who commented on my blog early this morning, not making it to the top has nothing to do with race.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Wins!?!

Nobody should be surprised. Just remember how Marion "the bitch set me up" Barry was mayor of D.C., was caught using drugs (crack is whack!), went to jail and later was re-elected the mayor of Washington D.C. So now I guess New Orleans can be the "Chocolate City" that Nagin had envisioned.

Edit: Just be be clear, everything in quotes are direct quotes from that mayor - not my quotes. There is a reason I don't usually blog about politics.

One More Time for Iron Mountain

This hike never gets old. This time I added one more book to my pack. When I can do this hike with 45 lbs. on my back - I'm ready for Mt. Whitney - except for that altitude thing. And like wow, the hike is about a month away!

Last night I attended a seminar at REI on hiking Mt. Whitney. It lasted 90 minutes and the room was packed with people. The speaker started off taking about basically nothing and I was thinking this was a mistake. Overall, he lectured about stuff I already knew, but I did learn a few tips that will be helpful. I also learned that I still have a ton of supplies to buy.

Vote for Taylor Hicks!

What's this? I have a blog post related to American Idol - a show on Fox? I actually just voted for my favorite, my first time voting ever for a contestant. I got through once out of 20 or so tries. Why do I like Taylor Hicks? Just look at his hair. It is gray, like mine. Plus, his dancing moves make bad dancers like me look cool. I can now go out onto the dance floor, with my gray hair and awkward steps and feel good about myself. Well, I might be exaggerating a little, but still, you got to admire the guy. I think Katharine McPhee has the best voice, but could be better with some singing lessons. As for Elliot Yamin, I believe he will get the lowest number of votes this week. But, who know. So vote for your favorite now!

Guilty on all Counts

My jury duty is over quicker than I had expected and now I can talk about the case, not that it is all that interesting. We found the defendant guilty on all four charges. One charge was driving with a suspended license. Two charges were related to drunk driving. The last charge was the most difficult for the jury to come to a consensus on - simple battery against a person with whom he was in a current or previous relationship with. Yes, the charge was that specific. He was accused of punching his ex-girlfriend - after drinking heavily. According to the law, to be guilty of simple battery he would have to only have "touched her in a rude or angry manner", or something like that. The defendant never testified, so we never got his side of the he-said-she-said story, but the woman he was accused of hitting did take the stand. Overall, I was surprised at how quickly the trial lasted. The prosecution rested before lunch today and the defense has no witnesses. We took less than four hours to agree on all four counts, which was good. I was afraid that the jurors that thought he was not guilty on the battery charge wouldn't change their mind, but after we had the testimony of two witness played back, they all changed their minds. Our jury system at its best. I should not be called for jury duty again for at least three years. So tomorrow I can go back to work - oh joy.

Testing out new hiking equipment

I went on a "make-up" hike today. I missed the last authorized hike, plus, I wanted to test out some new hiking gear. Yesterday I bought new hiking boots. I started looking at REI because they were having a big sale. However, the boot section was packed with people and kids running around screaming like it was a McDonald's playland. So I ran out of the store screaming and drove to Adventure 16. Now talk about service! The saleswoman that helped me buy my boots must have spent one hour making sure I got the best boots for me. She started off by measuring my feet in three different places. Then she had me put on some good socks, new ones right off the shelf that I didn't even have to buy (but I did), placed the boots on me and laced them up. After I walked around the store for a few minutes, she asked me if how they felt. I said there were a few places they were rubbing, so she took the boots off and used an iron rod thing to expand the boots in those areas. She also fitted the boots with Super Feet insoles, which should help my back and knees, and she showed me how to tie a double knot. I was really happy with their service and will definitely go back to A16 to buy more.

On today's hike, I also used my new hiking poles, which are ultra light and have a anti-shock mechanism. My new Camel Pack has a three liter hydration pack, which supplied plenty of water for the hike. I also placed four books in the pack for added weight, because on the Whitney hike I'll have a full backpack that weights closer to 40 lbs, and I need to get used to the extra weight. And believe me, as I sit here typing this and drinking a Stone Pale Ale, I feel the extra weight in my leg muscles and knees. Hopefully we'll go one some hikes soon at altitude, because the thin air can be more challenging that the extra weight.

Day of Returns

I'm just not a good shopper. I had to return all the clothes I bought last week. I don't like returning items, but the pants were too big in the waist. I wore them on Monday and spent the whole day walking around pulling my slacks up, even with my belt as tight as it would go. The shirts I bought were too small, didn't "breathe" well and were scratchy. I bought some Dockers today, the kind with the hidden elastic band so they can stretch, which is what I need because I'm a size 34 while standing and a 36 when sitting - damn beer belly!

Jury Duty Again

Well, I got selected as a juror today. I was almost home free, but they called my name around 2PM and upstairs to a court room I went. After sitting in the juror lounge all morning, then a two hour lunch which was almost too long and more waiting and sitting in very uncomfortable chairs, I was hopeful that my name would not be called. It was. I can't talk about the case until it is over, so I'll blog about it then.

Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton

I don't do many book reviews on my blog, if any ever, but I just had to write something about the book that I'm reading and may not ever finish. First, as you may have guessed, I am a Star Trek fan, and Wil Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on The Next Generation. I must admit, I bought this book based on the title. I thought "Just a Geek" implies that Wil Wheaton was going to write about how he is just one of us geeks, not a movie star famous for his work as an actor. Boy was I wrong. Every chapter is about how he spent all his years after leaving Star Trek looking for work and never getting any roles in movies and TV shows. He reflect about how he once hated being thought of as Wesly Crusher but now embraces his Star Trek past. I was bored with the book just a few chapter in, but kept on reading because I paid money for this book. Well, actually I didn't. I used a gift certificate to buy it. However, I'd would have been better off buying a dictionary and reading it because that would have been more interesting.

Another problem I have with his book is that most of it is just entries from his semi-famous blog. Now if you have read my blog, like the first post I made, you will see that I have a connection to Wil Wheaton, They Might Be Giants and blogs. I even have a link (which I might remove soon) to his blog over on the left hand side of my blog. But in his book he writes about an experience and then prints a long, boring entry from his blog that says the exact same thing. Like I said, every chapter is about the same topic, and should be given the exact same title: "I wish I had never left Star Trek because now I can't get an acting job and I have trouble paying bills but now I embrace my past and regret leaving Star Trek." Sorry Mr. Wheaton, I can't give your book a good review and I hope you spend the money you got from me for buying your book in a positive way.

New Toaster Oven

How dumb am I? I wake up this morning and defrost two frozen waffles, yes, a wonderful breakfast, while drinking a cup of coffee. Then I place the waffles in my toaster oven, completely forgetting that it is broken and I had planned to buy a new one today. I placed the waffles back in the freezer for anther day and looked around for something I could eat untoasted. I ended up eating a raw pop-tart and a small breakfast bar.

Then I drove to Sears to look at clothes and toaster ovens. Once again, after looking at all the shirts at Sears, I decided I didn't like any of them and proceeded upstairs to the small appliances section. I was going to buy a Black and Decker oven, but I saw this Eruo Pro that had everything I wanted. It was slightly larger than mine which will be good for cooking small piazzas, plus it has two shelves and a crumb plate on the bottom. It felt well made and only cost $35. I have yet to try it, but it sure looks nice (although the black finish doesn't match all the white appliances in my kitchen).

Clean Mustang and New Pants

I woke up early this Saturday morning so I could drive my Mustang to my brother's house to wash it for the first time, and a good washing it needed. After 90 minutes of washing, drying and bug/tar removal, my Mustang looks showroom new. I forgot how much work and time is involved when washing your car. Ever since my condominium association disallowed car washing to save on the water bill, I've taken my Rav/4 to a car wash. Paying $10 for a wash was worth the saved time and effort, plus my Rav/4 is old enough that I don't care if it might get scratched during the wash. But the Mustang, I'd never trust a car wash - hand cleaning is the only way to go.

My second goal this weekend was to buy some new clothes for work. I must have spent one hour at Mervyn's finding a pair of slacks that fit me and a shirt or two to match. Since I couldn't decide on a shirt, all I bought were the slacks. Surprisingly, I was totally exhausted and ready for an afternoon nap - hmmm, nap. Tomorrow my I plan to go to the gym and then buy a new toaster over and briefcase. Yes, my goals are simple and boring, however, if it is sunny outside, I just might skip shopping and soak up some sun.

May Gray

Can it be any more depressing outside? Today is Cinco de Mayo, which apparently doesn't mean much in Mexico but is just an excuse for us Americans to drink. I don't know if this is true, but I'm drinking a Mexican beer at home while looking outside at the grayness that covers this fine city, also know as sunny San Diego. My goal this weekend is to wash my car, buy some new clothes for work and not crash my car like one of them pill-popping, hard drinking Kennedys.

Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA, ...

Padres win one by scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie and then winning in the 10th with a single. At one point in the 9th the bases were FOP - Full of Padres!

Too much meat.

Tonight I ate dinner at the Rei do Gado Brazilian Steakhouse in downtown San Diego and enjoyed every bite of it. We were there for two hours and I have never eaten so much meat, chicken and turkey in one sitting. They come to your table and carve the meat right onto your plate until you can eat no more, plus there is a salad bar full of vegetables, salads and other sides. I'll admit that some of the carvings were better than the others, but the best ones were wrapped in bacon or smothered in cheese. Add a few Brazilian beers and the evening was complete, even without a dessert. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone, but plan ahead like me and don't eat anything for at least eight hours before you show up.

Bones

I just read an article on CNN that sounds eerily similar to this weeks episode of one of my favorite shows, Bones. It has to do with the gruesome subject of organ harvesting. Talk about a timely subjet to write about. I found The Graft in the Girl a well written, touching episode. Keep 'em comming.

Is it just me?

So I'm taking my car to Costco this morning to get my tires rotated and decide to fill my tank up with gas at the Costco gas station, since at $3.11/gal it is relatively cheap. I see a long line of cars at every pump except the ones to the right. A tanker truck is there resupplying the station and it was blocking the last pump. The station attendant motioned me to drive towards him and then directed me between the pump and the big truck. Apparently I was the only one driving a vehicle small enough to fit through. All the other people waiting in the long lines were driving monster SUVs that probably get 10 MPG at most. Now don't think I'm being all smug, like those people on that recent episode of South Park, because my Rav/4 gets only 24 MPG average, but why do so many people need cars so big? I'm happy with my small SUV. It has advantages like today where I didn't have to wait for gas.

The second leg of my Friday adventure brought me to the Fashion Valley Mall. I wanted to look at HDTV's at the Sony store and Apple computers at the Apple store. At the Apple store I asked one of the employees if the new MacBook Pro supported an external monitor. He replied "yes". Then I asked if it supported digital or analog input. Then this other salesman budded in and asked me "what type of connection? VGA?". I thought to myself, "this guy thinks I'm an idiot and he is treating me like I'm just another dumb customer, but he is the stupid one here." I finally got the answer I wanted. The connection was digital. The type of connector didn't matter to me. I know that VGA is analog and DVI is digital. When I asked my question his response should have been "digital". He should not have asked me a question in return. Who trains these people? I made sure that these salesmen knew I wasn't happy with their help and promptly left the store, never to return. I might buy an Apple computer, but not from them.

If you think I'm ranting now, wait for my post on May 1st when I'll be ranting about the big immigrant protest and where I think all these non-Americans should go. Hint: back to their own country!

Edit: Wow! How did a link to my blog end up on an Apple related web site? The power of blogging is amazing!

A Day at the Ballpark

A baseball game wouldn't be complete without food, beer and algebra homework!?!


Now that the homework is finished we can enjoy the Padres in their defeat of the Mets on this hot and cold sunny day at Petco Park.

XM Radio Follow-up

During my drive to Las Vegas I listened to my new XM radio. Having non-stop music playing the whole drive was nice. However, I found that I was constantly changing stations whenever a song came on that I didn't like. I think the XM stations need to be more specialized. Too many of their stations play a wide variety of music, and certain bands can be heard on many stations. The digital radio from my cable at home has great stations, such as power rock, 80s new wave and alternative. Even my favorite XM station, Fred, doesn't seem to stick to one type of music. Another problem I had was changing the stations. I preset 10 stations for easy access, but when I wanted to listen to a non-preset station, it was difficult due to the placement of the radio and I had to watch the road at the same time. Maybe if I mounted the unit in a better location (it was placed on the passenger seat), it would help, but I plan to use the same radio in both my cars, so I don't want to permanently install the radio.

My only option for playing the radio was to use the built-in FM tuner. You tune the XM radio to a station that is not being used and then tune your car radio to that same station. I was lucky enough to find a station that worked for 90% of the drive. In my other car, I can use the cassette adapter for input into the radio, and the audio quality is much better. However, that add another cord hanging down from my dash and those adapters tend to ruin cassette players - not that I ever used mine. The best way to connect the XM radio is through a direct RCA connection, and for some reason most new vehicles still don't have this option.

I know it sounds like I don't like XM, but I do. I'm only pointing out the negatives. Over time I'm sure I'll be very happy with my purchase.

More Hollywood Photos

I'm next to Dean Martin - the original Crooner, and also Peter Sellers at Groman's Chinese Theatre.


A view of the theatre from across the street.

Easter Sunday 2006

This Easter was even more non-traditional that last year, with an afternoon in Hollywood and a lunch at the Jazz Cafe in Downtown Disneyland. We drove to Hollywood and first looked at the old hand and foot prints in the cement at Groman's Chinese theatre. I was shocked at how many people were walking around on Easter Sunday. I'm sure that on a normal weekend there would be many more, but I can't say because this was my first time here. Then, we walked up the street looking at the stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I had to get my photo taken with the Simpon's star.

After about an hour we drove down Sunset Blvd., Rodeo Drive and then Wilshire, looking at all the famous places, rich homes and interesting people. From there we headed to Downtown Disney to eat a late lunch at the Jazz Cafe. There wasn't much of a crowd there, and it looked liked the band just finished playing. The Jambalaya hit the spot, as well as the beer and dessert.

Now I'm getting ready for my new job tomorrow. I have to turn my brain back on after two weeks of slumming around. I didn't get any household chores done, but I did have fun with hikes, car shows, Las Vegas and Easter.

Two Hikes in one Week

My leg muscles and knees hadn't even recovered from Tuesdays hike and once again I torchered them by hiking up good-old Iron Mountain.

Vegas Trip

Here is a photo of me before starting the big hike at Red Rock Canyon. The sun was out so the rocks look very red.

This is the peak that we decided to hike to. It is 2000 feet above our current location.

The path up follows this canyon, then at the top you circle around to the right to reach the peak. There is no well defined trails. Instead there are many different paths to take, but most lead to the top. On the way down we took one wrong turn and ended up at a dead end.

Here is photo of Mark at the top with a view of Las Vegas in the background.

And here I am at the top. I wish I had brought my hiking poles. The path was very steep and we had trouble keeping our footing on the way down.

Beside this hike, I also had two nice dinners with my friends, did a little gambling and drank some beer. I never made it to The Strip, nor did I need to. I left for home this morning and the drive home was much nicer with no road closures.

Me not Drinking Beer

Mark and Jayne Drinking Margaritas

Red Rock Canyon

This is the view from the top of Turtlehead Peak in Red Rock Canyon, NV. We for some reason decided to hike the most difficult trail in the park, not realizing that the 2000 ft. climb was straight up the mountain. The round trip was 5 miles and took us 3:45. The peak is at 6300 ft. and as we climbed up we never thought we would reach it, but I had summit fever once again. The view from the top was unbelievable, with views of Las Vegas and beyond to Lake Meade. It was very cold and windy there and because of the clouds, the photos I took don't really show the redness of the area. We celebrated the trek with a beer at the bottom, and then drove home for a late lunch. My legs are killing me, which will make the drive home tomorrow interesting now that I have a clutch to worry about. I'll post more photos of this hike after I get home.

Chicago Brewery in Las Vegas

After a long drive to Las Vegas this Stout sure tasted good. I thought it would be a simple drive to Vegas, but little did I know that the I-15 would be closed at Baker. Seems that there was a chemical spill and all traffic was being routed on east I-40. After a few phone calls I knew what route to take, because there were no signs telling you where to go. It took me an extra two hours to reach Vegas, plus I arrived during rush hour traffic. However, I had fun driving in my new Mustang, and didn't even get a ticket. Tomorrow I go hiking at Red Rock.

Ford Car Show at Knott's

Now that I own a Ford I'm allowed to attend Ford car shows. The car show was at Knott's Berry Farm and there were all models and years of Fords from the Model T to T-Birds, and of course Mustangs galore. Pictured to the left is a 1942 Ford. How can you tell the year? Apparently displaying the year on a Carl's Jr. table marker was the thing to do. While we were heading towards the T-Birds, we got distracted by the Pintos. If you thought that all Pintos were in the junk yard you were wrong. They are alive and well here in Southern California. After a while viewing all these cars was like viewing paintings in a museum, they all start looking the same. I was interested in seeing how someone mounted their XM Radio receive to the dashboard, but only one car had one and it didn't help me decide. I also wanted to see how people modified their Mustang, but I may just keep mine stock for now. After walking in the sun for hours, with a break to eat a filling fried chicken lunch, it was time to go home. As we drove south on the freeway, we saw many of the Fords heading home as well.

You Can Never Go Home Again

Pictured above is how the house that I grew up in looked just days before the buyer took ownership. There were a few tall weeds in the front yard, but the flowers and fruit trees that my Dad planted and took care of were thriving in the spring air. The new owner had plans to remodel the house, but he said he would try to keep most of the trees and as much of the house as he could. After all, the house was old but the roof was new. Well, the house sat for almost six months with nothing happening. It looked abandoned. Then I drove by and to my horror, all the fruit trees that my Dad planted and were taken care of by my Mom and the rest of the family, trees that had been there since 1969, like the fig tree, were gone! The whole yard was wiped clear of all vegatation and covered with wood chips.

So I drive by the house again this week because I heard that the yard had been graded and I saw the worst thing possible - the house was all but destroyed. Only the foundation and some of the frame were left. Now I was shocked but not surprised. It would have been hard to remodel the home as it was. My Dad always hoped that one of his children would move into the house after he was gone, but we all had our own homes and it would have been lots of work to fix the house up. I'm interested in seeing how the new house looks. Like all the other houses in the neighbor hood that were remodeled after being sold by the original owners, it probably will be an unrecognizable mansion. So, like they say, you can never go home again.

Blue Mustang in Progress

My brother has made progress on his project. The Mustang has been painted but more painting still to be done.

Firkin Friday

Apparently it was a Firkin Friday at Karl Strauss and I didn't even realize it. This time the Firkin was a Porter, and kind of harsh it was, but I still liked it.

XM Radio

Well, I just bought an XM Satellite radio receiver from Costco and subscribed for one year of service. So far I've only listened to XM in my house, but plan to use it mostly in my cars. I like the music selections they offer, but the audio quality isn't as good as I thought, or I'm doing something wrong. As a bonus, you can listen to the XM channels online.

Shredding the Day Away

So this is how I would spend my days if I didn't have to work. I cleaned out my filing cabinet and shredded tons of old papers. Yes, it needed to be done, and yes it was a raining day, but fun and excitement it lacked. I made a list of things to do tomorrow do I don't sit around the house again. However, the weekend and next week look better with a trip to a Ford auto show at Knott's Berry Farm and and a drive to Las Vegas in my new Mustang on Monday. Maybe next week I'll have time to do some touch-up painting and replace my bathroom sink and porch light. I should have taken three weeks off between jobs just so I could accomplish all I had planned to do.

Desert Sunset

Camping at Agua Caliente Hot Springs

I just spent this last weekend camping at the Agua Caliente Regional Park in the San Diego County desert. I drove out there Friday afternoon with a friend and we joined a large group of people for a two night adventure. There were several groups of people there, most of which I had never met before. Some people brought their dune-buggies for off-roading, others brought horseshoes for pastime games and everyone brought plenty of food and drinks. On Saturday we went on a group hike that followed the Moonlight Canyon Trail on a 2.5 mile easy loop though hills and canyons where there was wildflowers and cactus to view. Luckily it never got too hot, however at night not only was it cold but the wind kicked up and blew loudly on everyone's tents (except for those camping in RVs) , keeping us awake at night. Luckily I had my tent securely staked to the ground so it didn't blow away, but it did get a rip in a pole loop. Saturday night was the big potluck, and like I said there was way too much food. Even when I thought I was full, someone came around with homemade chilli and later there was fire-heated stuffed apples. Then came Sunday, the nicest day, and everyone packed up and left except for a few of us who stuck around into the early afternoon. I look forward to more camping this year.