After The Fire Stone Brew

A small group of us got together at the Stone Brewery on Sunday to let off a little steam after a tough week of fires and evacuations. As you can see, were are all as happy as can be in the well-lit dinning room. We got our waitress to ask the cook if he could make the Macaroni and Cheese, as it was not on the Sunday brunch menu. She was successful and the food and beer were excellent.


Stone Smoked Porter is always a good choice. Two of these plus the Macaroni put me to sleep afterwards for a good two hour nap. I was up until midnight on Sunday.


I don't even remember this photo being taken! It had been a stressful week, and I'm still getting over a cold or some reaction to all the smoke in the air.

I did enjoy having house guests the past few days. It made the weekend more fun and I needed a break in my normal routine, also known as a "rut".

More Halloween Photos

Somehow I ended up in all sorts of photos. Pictured here is John McClane (Die Hard), Springsteen, an 80s Flashdance-like girl, Barbara (dead woman from BeetleJuice) and me.

Giving the perfect cheer, I was told. Now that was scarry!

Rockin' Homer

I don't know what look I was trying for here, but it isn't good.


A Homer and Marge showed up to the party and later when I saw the Homer mask laying around, I decided it would look better on me as a rockin' Homer with hair thanks to Dimoxinil.

Halloween Party 2007

Last night's Halloween party was adjusted for the fires and evacuations. No costume contest and costumes were optional. I was a "generic" 80s, big-hair rocker, NOT Howard Stern.

Fire Proof Container

Contents of fire proof container are fine. I don't know the brand - I'll get that information.

Shifting Though the Ashes

This is what is left of my friend's home in R.B. The fire destroyed everything. The house next door had no damage at all. They were able to recover some items, such as the contents of their fire-proof safe. So they do work. News crews were everywhere wanting interview everyone.

After two days of digging though the ruins of the house, Mark and Jayne are off to dinner to forget about the disaster.

A Strange Week it has Been

I thought life was returning to normal when I found out I could go back to work on Wednesday. However, shortly after lunch we were told that there were rolling blackouts in San Diego, and the Navy wanted to conserve power, so we were told to go home after turning off our computers. Well, I had to turn off 20 computers before going home due to several people being gone. I had time to go home and take a short nap, and get ready for my friend and his wife who are staying with me for a few days. His sister's house was destroyed by the fire and he came down to help out his family. Turns out the reverse 911 didn't work for everyone. His sister and nephew barely got out in time. They had to drive though falling embers and had no time to take anything. If it weren't for a phone call from a concerned friend, they would have not known about the early morning fire.

I'm Back at Home!

I got the news that they were allowing residents of my neighborhood back home, so I packed up and left my sister's house. I took the long route home so I could check on my brother's house, but I could only get with 1/4 mile. However, there was no evidence of homes near by being damaged by fire. Back on the freeway, there was still some brush smoldering, and I saw some the homes in the Westwood area, which was hardest hit by the fire, destroyed by the fire. Very sad, because I have friends that lost their home there. I'm hoping for normalcy tomorrow, as in returning to work.

Note: I did have a reverse 911 call on my answering machine. That is a first for me. It looks like the call came at 6:21PM, but the news stations were saying to evacuate before 2PM.

Evacuation Party

I wouldn't call it a party, but once we decided we'd be spending the night here, I asked my sister to get some beer at the store, along with the pizza and, yes, no bananas. However, I guess I was the most stressed, as I drank the most beer.

Stuck in Carlsbad

No new news. I think my condo is fine. The evacuation was for precautionary reasons due to the big fire four years ago. I'm stuck here in Carlsbad, no work today, just a day of watching fires burn. It is not good to go to bed watching homes burn - you have very weird dreams!

Evacuated again

For the second time I've had to evacuate my condo. The fire was not close, but they said mandatory evacuations, so now I am at my sister's house in Carlsbad, which is under voluntary evacuation. No fun.

San Diego Is On Fire!

I'm still at home, but I'm getting ready to leave if I have to. My brother and his wife were evaculated at 3AM and have been here all morning. This does not look good.

New Rear Derailleur

I finally got to test my new rear derailleur, the replacement for the one I mangled on that ill-fated bike ride a few weeks back. I opted for a shorter ride, but I still tackled the dreaded hill that I've only ridden up once before. For some reason, it seemed much shorter and less steep than I remembered. Maybe because I knew what to expect, plus I was riding a different bike.

Once at the top of the hill, I take a road back home that, based on the number of roadside memorials, is rather dangerous. There seems to be about one death per year on this stretch of Pomerado Road. If fact, one weekend while I was out of town, there was some fatality near my home. I don't know what happened, but I saw a group of people standing around some flowers and a cross by the road. However, a week later the flowers and cross were gone, but there was another memorial on the other side of the road about a 100 yards away. Then a few weeks later that was gone and the flowers and cross reappeared at the original spot. I have no idea what's going on. Maybe if I searched The Google I'd find an article on the accident.

UCLA Defeats Cal

I saw people playing cornhole too, so I can verify it is a real game. I guess they have nothing better to do in the mid-west.

Kickoff was at 12:30, so the day started early for me at 5:50 AM. I drove up with a friend and the rest of the group left from a hotel up in the O.C. Our aim was to get to the Rose Bowl by 9:30. What was amazing was as I was driving slowly through the nice neighborhood of Pasadena, the other other group was in the SUV next to me. Talk about good timing! We even stopped once for a bathroom/Starbucks break on the way up.

The game was very exciting, with the score being close most of the time. Near the end of the game it looked like the California Golden Bears might win, but then the Bruins scored a touchdown, as can be see in the photo, and then scored another one off an interception, or something like that. So the majority of the 83,000+ fans in attendance left very happy. With that many people, it took some time before traffic started moving out of the parking lot. Once we hit the 210, it was standard slow LA traffic. I didn't get home until 8:30, but I must say, it was a very fun-fill Saturday from start to finish.

Cornhole (The Game)

We added some excitement to today's tailgate party before the UCLA game by playing cornhole, a game we found out about last year while in Chicago and at the Notre Dame game in South Bend. The game is simple, try to throw the bean bag (you can see the blue one in mid-flight in this photo) and land it on the ramp for one point or make it in the hole for three points. It provided entertainment for the kids and adults. The added rule for adults was that you had to be holding a beer with your non-throwing hand, which didn't really and any difficulty to the game.

Mustang Show at Seaport Village 2007

Yesterday morning I attended a Mustang show down at Seaport Village with my brother and his wife. It turned out to be a nice sunny day for car viewing. I took mostly pictures of the classic Mustangs, but there were plenty of 2005-2007 models on display as well. I'm still thinking of suppin' up my '06 GT, but my first step is to get that small, $1000 "scuff" repaired. We followed the show with a Greek lunch, so we could compare it to the authentic Greek food that we will be eating in Greece next month. The plate was expensive but the meat as really tender and full of flavor. The afternoon was complete with a Chargers win and a trip to the gym.

Bloggers Unite to Clean up the Earth

So it is the first Blog Action Day. I had no idea. Well, I try to conserve as much as I can, as far as recycling and usage of non-renewable resources like water and fuel. I shred all papers that have personal information on them, but since you can't recycle the shredded paper, I now only shred the portions of my junk mail that has my name on it. At work I buy all the coffee supplies. I told the other coffee drinkers to give the empty cans and containers to me so I could take them home for recycling. I take quick showers and overall use as little water as possible. My one room for improvement is driving my cars slower for better gas mileage. However, I still think I'm doing better that those people who drive large, nine passenger SUVs to work - alone, and the people who park in the same spot everyday leaving a puddle of engine oil on the ground ready to be washed down into the ocean which I rarely swim in. One more thing, I try to eliminate all "snail" mail, opting for all bank statements and bills to be sent and paid electronically. The package that BMG Music sent every month must have contained enough paper to kill a small tree! That is all I can think of, so keep on truckin' - I mean recyclin'.

All Smiles

Just kidding, they are not members of the Mafia, but I was glad that Don't Stop Believing by Journey was not playing on the Jute Box, as some shifty characters kept suspiciously walking by.


In Mexico or at Stone Brewery, this couple is always happy.

Beer Floats and Shirts

I actually got an old-fashioned gift from my birthday. A sweatshirt and t-shirt from the Stone Brewery gift shop.

Here is my birthday desert, nothing like the sundays I got as a kid from Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. The dark beer and ice cream made a good combination, most people at the table agreed who were brave enough to try a spoonful.

41st Birthday Observed

Big party for my birthday (observed) at the new Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens. All who attended had a great time, drinking beer, wine and cream sodas along with exotically prepared main dishes and deserts. My birthday dessert was a beer float that was surprisingly good!

Please Folks, Practice Safe Computing!

I spent about six hours fixing a friend's computer that had been infected with a computer virus "contracted" from a questionable web site. First I ran every virus checker program I could find. Eventually the virus was found and removed. However, the virus had caused damaged to operating system, Windows XP of course, causing many functions such as "properties" to not work and it disabled the Control Panel, all in an effort to keep someone like me from removing the virus. So once the virus was gone, I tried re-installing the OS and that still didn't work. Finally, I brought the computer to my house and ran a few more programs that might fix the damaged files, most likely in the registry. I believe it was Spybot Search and Destroy that did the trick. After downloading the latest updates and running it, all problems were fixed! The computer ran fast and with no problems. I don't ask money from friends when fixing their computers, so my payment for this effort will add up to two burritos and a few slices of pizza. I have said before, there is lots of money to be made in the computer repair business, as $50/hour is the going rate, I believe. However, I'd rather have the free time than a few extra bucks. I value my free time away from work, where I spend the whole day working on computers.

Cars and Bikes

Well, I got my bicycle back from Trek, however, before I brought it home I tested it in the parking lot and when I went to shift gears the chain fell off again! So I stormed back into the store and had them check it out again. They once again told me to not change into the 1st gear in the front unless I was in gears 1,2 or 3 in the back. I plan to go for a shorter bike ride this weekend, not straying too far from my house just in case.

I also had a problem with my Mustang. After taking it to Ford two weeks ago for a 12,000 mile check up, the steering wheel was constantly shaking as I drove. So I took it back today and found out one of the front tires was not balanced correctly last time. Then the service advisor came back and asked me if I had the paperwork for my locking lug nut key. Seems the mechanic shredded the key and they needed to order me a new one. So I asked it I could just have the locking lug nuts replaced with regular ones on all four tires and after another 10 minutes the advisor came back and said it was all taken care of. This was a hassle, but at least it was all done for free, unlike by bike repair, where they charged me wholesale for the new rear derailleur, so the cost was only $30.

B*Day Beer

B*DAy. This is a photo of me drinking a beer in a wine bar, however, the beer was a blueberry flavored wheat beer that wasn't too bad.

Columbus Day 2007

What better way to celebrate a day in honor of the man who "discovered" America than to install some shelves in my garage and fill them with stuff that needed not be stored in my closets. It took less than one hour to put the shelves up and over two hours to pull all the boxes out of two of my closets and organize everything into two groups: stays-in-the-house and goes-out-to-the-garage. I still have one room to organize, but I still have plenty of shelf space available too. Now it is time to get out and enjoy the sun - or take a nap.

Chargers Win!

Two weeks ago I went on a hike up Iron Mt. because the Padres and Chargers both lost and I had frustrated-induced energy to burn off. Today I hiked the mountain because the Chargers were winning - and big! I felt fat and lazy after all the fun yesterday and inactivity today, so a good hike did the work. There seemed to be a slight Santa Ana blowing, making the late afternoon hike rather pleasant. There were these strange clouds on the horizon that blocked much of the sunlight, making it seem much later than it was. Tomorrow I'll wake up and finish putting up some shelves in my garage, and then hopefully do something fun on my day off.

ND @ UCLA

We arrived early for the big game in Pasadena. Notre Dame was in town for the new rivalry to continue. Mostly UCLA fans in the parking lot, but there were a many brave ND fans too, some getting harassed for their winless season. I'm wearing a green shirt, which led many to believe I was a ND fan, but looking closely, the shirt is simply from last year's game in South Bend, and it has both teams represented.


There was time for food and beer during the three hours we had for tailgating. However, there was four more of us that showed up just before the game who didn't get to enjoy the nice, sunny afternoon in the golf course parking lot.

We were all excited once in the Rose Bowl, that is, until ND scored some touchdowns off UCLA turnovers. Suddenly the few ND fans got very loud and the UCLA die-hards got quite. Very disappointing.

Instead of driving home after the game, we had reserved three rooms at an Embassy Suites in Arcadia down the road. After checking in and putting the kids to bed, the adults walked across the street to get a beer at BJs, but the wait was 30 minutes for a table, so we walked up and down the street just to find all the restaurants closing at 11. The only open bar was a local bar, and we walked in to see the patrons smoking! So back to the hotel bar for one last drink.

After eating breakfast this morning, we drove home, taking our new, convoluted route which follows the 210/57/60/71/91/15 freeways. This path takes you through many cities which I had heard of but never before been to, such as San Dimas, Dianmond Bar, Chino Hills and Azusa (A to Z, USA).

So now it's time to watch the Charger game in Denver. Keep your fingers crossed.