My Last Arizona Sunset

Arizona has some absolutely fabulous sunsets.  The desert dust in the air makes a beautiful prismatic display during the August and September monsoons, and the wide open spaces between the mountains that dot the Sonoran desert make for some beautiful back drops.  On Tuesday night, after helping the 2 man crew who packed my home Monday, load the 17,000 lbs of household belongings into their 53 foot semi trailer, I climbed into my Mazda 6 (loaded with weapons, packed up and ready to go) to drive to California.  While I heard no gun shots, out on the highway, I was also not dressed like a student or a housewife... I did get waved through the California Agricultural road block, and today, the cable guy is on a ladder outside my CA rental literally "tappin phone lines" as I type this up.  We Are still at war in Afghanistan, so I guess it is somewhat relevant.

But I digressed on a Byrne-esque diversion there.  The final sunset, as I drove West towards LA, was phenomenally pretty, and made a moving impression on me (no pun intended).  I was hyped up on a 5-Hour energy drink with enough B vitamins to feed a whole class of kindergarteners, and my hand might have been a little shaky as I took the pics through the windshield as I drove.

It will be an indefinitely long time before I am driving down I-10 again, westward, from Phoenix at sunset.  Dr Desert Flower is working with a property manager who is handling the renting out of our house there, and I detest being an engaged, active, out-of-state land lord as that's what we did for 7 years from South Carolina while our Bloomington IN FHA starter home wouldn't sell.  I used to have to cross the Appalachians and drive 7 hours along I-40 & I-75 to get to that house to fix things and check on it.  I don't want to have to drive through 6 and a 1/2 hours of Mohave & Sonoran deserts and through a check-point  on I-10 to maintenance the Phoenix residence.

The 5 and a 1/3 year Arizona experiment was not a complete loss.  I hiked the Grand Canyon twice.  Got to take friends and relatives who visited to Sedona & Torilla Flats.  Ate some really delicious Mexican food.  Saw some nice concerts.  Hiked every mountain taller than a 1000 feet in Phoenix city limits & within a 10 mile (or so) radius.  Got to swim in my own back yard pool, grew lavender & aloe, communed & bonded with hummingbirds, saw a massive number of lizards and a road runner or two (or three), got bitten by one and killed dozens of other black widow spiders, relocated  more than a dozen feral cats, farmed cactus, sculpted ocotillo, harvested vast numbers of ripe juicy lemons, drank many great wines, and paid ridiculously low taxes while watching my home value plummet by 2/3rds.  I fought & won a court magistrate case against a wrongful traffic ticket, frequently visited the nicest desert botanical garden in the world, volunteered at some good organizations, donated nearly another gallon of blood, started a blog at my old friend Rufus's prodding, and made some nice new friends as well along the way.

It's also ironic that my one friend who lives in California already texted me to ask me "do I feel flakier now?" that I'm a Californian, while back in Arizona I voted Against a flake (Jeff Flake) for US Senator.   While my candidate (Rich Carmona) lost, I am glad to leave Flake and his ilk behind, and for the first time in my life, live in a blue state.  Of course, I am in the reddest of the red counties inside that blue state - my next door neighbor has a sign on the back of his Hyundai Sonata parked in his driveway that actually says "I do not believe the liberal media" and there's no shortages of Hummer SUVs on my block (and John Campbell is my Congressman now, instead of Rahul Grijalva), but at least the governor and both Federal senators are moderate democrats, and the minority speaker of the US House of Representatives are not tea partying, racist, birther, 'build the damn' fencers.  So I think we'll get along okay here in the Golden State.  Now if it would just stop raining (as it has everyday since we got here) I can go soak in the hot tub I've warmed up in the back yard  =)

Hey Bud, You're Not Invisible

Earlier this month, I was on a flight from Phoenix to Atlanta, enroute to Dubai the next day, when I noticed something disturbing and inappropriate.   I'm sitting in seat 2A, on a 757, a nice business class seat, next to the widow.  No problem.  I'm dressed in business attire - a nice pair of trousers and a tapered fit shirt, wing tip shoes, when a kid in his late 20s, early 30s, sits down next to me in 2B, wearing baggy checkered "shorts" - i put "shorts" in quotes, because anything that is longer than one's knee, in my perspective, are not shorts, they're capri pants, and should be called 'capri pants' appropriately.   Shorts end at or above the knee.

But it wasn't the kid's attire that disturbed me.  No, it was the fact that he played with himself, fondling his genitals with one hand as he surfed with his iphone before take off with the other, repeatedly.  And then after take off, again, he started up his phone, and resumed his public self-massage.  This was not just a slight 'adjustment of the boys' as nearly every adult male (and all grade school and high school boys) has done from time to time, in public, when you think no one is looking.  No, this was an all out testicle adjustment and genital stroking, massaging, for the entire time the plane was loading.  Maybe he had a bad case of crabs?   I don't know what was on his phone, but he was certainly enjoying himself.  I tried to read my book (a Nietzsche compendium) but it was disquieting to see out of the corner of my eye, his hand and arm repeatedly moving, tugging away at his shorts, almost rhythmically.  Why Mr. Michael D. Me**ger (when you go to the rest room, don't leave your boarding pass where other passengers can see it, or you will be called out for your behaviour) thought that he was invisible, or that it was perfectly fine to repeatedly fondle himself in public, I do not know.   I hope I never sit next to such a person again, anywhere.

Spires of Dubai

Supposedly the tallest structure in the world today... but the Chinese are planning on building on even taller at 220 stories very soon..

As mentioned in the previous post, I did visit the United Arab Emirates for the first time earlier this month.  Many shiny new buildings, rising out of the edge of the desert along the Persian Gulf in Dubai.  I taught a training class on a Sunday morning, while jet lagged, before heading off to India on Monday. 

It was my first trip to a majority Muslim country, and a but of a culture shock to hear the call to prayer while in the airport, and seeing many people simultaneously kneel down and begin praying as I walked silently by.  It was my first time seeing women in head-to-toe black burqa, 3 or 4 to each white robed male, walking through the airport.  It seems the "most favored" (or perhaps oldest?) wife has gold patterns embroidered on her black burqa, while the 'other wives' don't get this distinguishing insignia. 

Waited an hour to get through an incredibly slow immigration line where they required biometric data to be given to them (either facial recognition for men and westerners, or retina scans for the burqa clad).  The whole time, the white robed immigration officials glared and leered at every western dressed woman who walked past them. Yeah, welcome.

The Western hotel in which I stayed was nice, clean, and inordinately expensive, but the company made the reservation and was paying the tab, so I shouldn't be too shocked at a $30 glass of Jameson or a $75 breakfast. (the picture below was taken from my room, looking East, towards the Atlantis resort in the distance - and Iran another 100 miles beyond that)

Bright Beginnings, Whitefield

In the Eastern Bangalore suburb of Whitefield, each day enroute from hotel to the corporate offices, we passed by a Montessori school "Bright Beginnings".  Like all private, expensive, early education facilities around the world, the parents' cars were lined up to drop off their precious little ones into the compound, all full of hopes and dreams.  While just a 100 meters down the road, there was obvious, abject, pervasive poverty in sharp contrast.

After arriving from the shiny spires of Dubai just a day before, this was somewhat of a cultural shock - though it was my 3rd trip to Whitefield.

Debottled

In an effort to jettison unnecessary clutter, I've been throwing out and recycling an inordinate amount of "stuff" this last month that is not worth moving, and consuming food and beverage without replenishing stocks of supplies.  One of my fond memories that I gently placed in the recycling bin (seriously, I could not just toss them in, I laid each one into the bin, with a heavy heart), were the wine bottles I'd collected over the 5 years of living in Arizona.  They were kept on the top of the kitchen cabinets, and I dusted them every couple of months to keep them shiny. 
In earthquake prone California such precariously perched glass would be a certain disaster of dangerous shards - the rental agreement DDF signed even stated that we understand that all water heaters in California homes Must Be firmly braced to the home's structural members to avoid being tipped over during an earthquake.  Rows of bottles will not do, and who wants to move empty bottles anyways, right? 

Included in the collection were the delicious Bordeaux wines that we drank, most of which we painstakingly personally moved here in 2 wine cases, in the 1999 I30 we drove 3 days across the country alongside 2 sedated cats in July of 2007.  The wine fridge was our first Arizona purchase, which we could fit in the car and bring to our new home, before the heat of the Phoenix summer could ruin the delicious wine - and 2 days before Home Depot could deliver our new GE appliances too.

The Amano was an inexpensive Italian Zinfandel I picked up at Total Wine, identical to a vintage that DDF and I enjoyed with our son on our first trip to the Grand Canyon as a family.  The night after he and I hiked down to Indian Gardens and back (1/2 way to the river) we sat in a nice Flagstaff cafe and drank the bottle together.

The High West Whiskey would never have been discovered if not for our friend Dr Todd, who had frequented Park City Utah, and clued us in about the High West distillery and the awesome quality products they produce. 

The Pause Cafe Cognac was given to me as a gift by my buddy François in 2011, when I visited him and his family in France while on a business trip.  It was indeed a delicious little Cognac.

The Arizona Stronghold wines that Maynard makes will be dearly missed.  It was really nice to be able to find them in Arizona retailers, and in local, sustainable restaurants.  I think finding them in California will be quite elusive. 

And yes, there's all sorts of California wines I can try. Napa, Sonoma, Russian River, etc.  I know.  And I will try to keep an open mind.  I just find it difficult to pay twice as much for a local Californian wine that is often overly-oaked and inferior quality, when I can be drinking a much better, higher quality, delicious AND inexpensive French, Italian or Spanish red that traveled much farther to make it to the same store shelves, was picked with higher paid labor, and was bottled with strict government regulation and over-sight that provides consistent, repeatable, reliable quality at a reasonable price.  But I will try to keep an open mind.

The Californians

As some (or most) of you may have heard, Dr Desert Flower and I will be moving out of Arizona and to California.  Actually, DDF is already there, and has established a residence in The Golden State several weeks ago.  We'll be renting a home there while we acclimate to the area, the housing prices, the higher taxes, and the real estate trends, to avoid making the same financial blunder that we did moving to west Phoenix 5 and a 1/2 years ago. 

I will miss the Sonoran desert and the ultra low humidity here.  I will also miss my pool  (though it is Not environmentally sustainable for a single family dwelling in the desert to maintain a pool, I know).  I'll miss being able to hike on trails where I see one or two other humans the entire day - California is so overcrowded - and the anthropomorphic saguaros that grow only in the Sonora.  And I will miss having an entire yard of crushed rock with no lawn to mow whatsoever.  I will not miss my anti-social & curmudgeon neighbors, nor the declining slide of the west side into a Romney-adise of formerly-short-sold renters with bad credit.  But DDF and I found (what we hope will be) a good property manager to handle our massively underwater Phoenix residence, who also takes care of our one friendly Canadian neighbor's Arizona properties when they are up in British Columbia.  Il faut voir, or, as they say in most of western Phoenix, ya veramos.

The packers come to pack in the next 4 hours. Then the truck gets loaded Tuesday.  Maybe it will be Tuesday night, or Wednesday night, when I will be in our new California home.  All depends on how fast the United Van Lines corporate movers will load the truck Tuesday.  Ya veramos.

Totally Arrogant Bastard

As I watched da Bears deconstruct the Minnesota Vikings today, and handily beat them (sorry Tim), I continued the process of emptying the mini-fridge of all consumable beverages.  Way in the back, was a Arrogant Bastard Ale that I'd purchased over a year ago.  I got it because 1) my little brother, who bartends in downtown Chicago, frequents an establishment where all the bar keeps and waitresses were wearing Arrogant Bastard shirts with this same logo ("You're Not Worthy") when I was last in Chicago 2 Junes ago, 2) I really like the logo, and 3) every now and then, I like to try something other than Guinness in an effort to keep an open mind and maybe discover other enjoyable options.

Arrogant Bastard did not disappoint.  Somewhat nutty flavor, it was a full-bodied ale to my un-refined ale tastes.  Right when I opened it, Fox Sports decided to switch to the Atlanta / Tampa game, missing the entire 3rd quarter of the Chicago game... grrrrrrrr.  But I did have a nice ale in a frosty mug to enjoy.

Felines Devour Turkey

Found a can of Science Diet Turkey flavored canned cat food in the pantry.  We almost never feed our cats canned food, and instead, give them the "age defying 11+ years" dry stuff, that is supposed to help with digestion, hair balls, coat smoothness, joint pain, gout and crows feet (joking on the last two).  When I put the canned food out on plates, my 18 and 19 year old cats darted for the dishes, and devoured every last morsel.  I put the spoon (used to scoop out the can) down on a cleaned plate, and it was licked clean in a matter of seconds.  I was happy to be able to provide such holiday succulence to my familiars.

Skyfall'ed

I saw the latest 007 installment Skyfall the other day, taking my friend Zim's advice and going on a weekday, in the middle of the afternoon, hoping to be the only patron in the theater.  Sadly, the place was 1/2 full (it was 2 days before Thanksgiving), and all of the hungry grazers had crinkly wrappers to grasp & rattle throughout the film.  And one older couple seated in the wheel chair area couldn't stop talking through the first 5 minutes of the film, which was a strong distraction.

All in all, it was not a bad movie.  It is not, as the over-hyped advertisements say "The best Bond yet".  No, not "the best", but not "the worst" either.  Daniel Craig is good in the role.  Still a little too dark and brooding, and DDF doesn't find him even a fraction as attractive as her beau Pierce Bronsnan, but the film provided ample gratuitous shirtless shots of Craig.  Javier Bardem continues to be remarkable in any film in which he appears.  Naomie Harris was refreshing.  Several plot holes, logic errors, and issues with physics (Bernoulli, Newton, Shockley) left me shaking my head, but it was an enjoyable ride.

(Sleep eludes me this morning, so there'll be several more blog posts)

Sad Guru Travels?

I am not sure why anyone would want to travel with the Sad Guru, or buy tickets from the Sad Guru.  A happy guru, perhaps... or an ambivalent or neutral one.. why not?   But a sad one?  The cultural nuance is lost on me.  But everyday, for 4 days during the 5 nights I was in Bangalore India, we drove past this little sign on this little office at a Very Busy intersection in Whitefield.

I don't wish the Sad Guru any ill will.  Sad guru's business success baffles me, like the South Carolina Furniture store called "Badcock", I guess sometimes it doesn't matter what your business is called.

Chateau Haut-Chaigneau 2000 Lalande de Pomerol

Chateau Haut-Chaigneau  2000  Lalande de Pomerol, made by Andre Chatonnet, mis en bouteille au chateau.  As this is a 2000, I am pretty sure this was one of the massive Cave buys I did from my Canadian buddy Sebastian back in 2002.  It's a A Jean Pierre Chambras Selection ($23.99 as the label on the picture shows).  I had it with a Double Check Ranch Sirloin grilled to a juicy rare, and it was delicious, high quality Bordeaux wine.  2000 was a very good year, all across Bordeaux.

I've always considered Lalande de Pomerol to be the 'oft ignored younger cousin' of Pomerol, to which it is immediately adjacent geographically, and since the wind blows and the bees pollinate...  not too far off genetically too.  Where Pomerol commands the higher pricing generally, Lalande de Pomerol makes good wine just a fraction of a kilometer to the North.

If you want to try a Pomerol, but can't afford the gold required to purchase one, try a less expensive Lalande de Pomerol, and it gets you "in the neighborhood".  Most wine stores will even try and label it as just "Pomerol" and make you think you're getting a Huge bargain, but a close reading of the label tells the purchaser otherwise.  It's not bad, mind you.  It is very good.  It's just often falls a little short of a true Pomerol.

La Rose Pauillac

In the continuing effort to not have to move any of the wines we brought to Arizona in 2007 onto California at the end of the month, I've been breaking out the good stuff for dinner.  Last week saw La Rose Pauillac, La Rose Pauillac, Recolle 1996, Vieilli en fût de chêne (aged in oak barrels, of course), Mis en bouteilles a la propriete.  I bought it for for $18 a dozen years ago, and it goes for about $36 now online.  This old Bordeaux  went great with a Double Check Ranch New York Strip cooked to a red rare.

If I get a chance, you'll see multiple postings this weekend on wine & liquor.  Most of it French, but some of it Arizonian or Utah-ian.  All depends on how the packing goes, and how many times this ZT Windows Desktop crashes throughout the day, from which I ma making the blog posts as I pack up my office around it.

Mac Store Curmudgeon

So DDF and I walked into the Arrow Point AZ Mac Store 2 days before I go to Dubai...  and one day after she resigned form her former employer who did not appreciate her, and I say to the "geniuses": "Ok, I am an old man who runs Windows Xp, where;s your most experienced, Mac Hating genius who has to deal with old grumpy men".  So after a 5 minute wait Tony Pizano (and a trainee in tow) approached DDF & I.  I told Tony "I am a XP Windows user, I don't like my iPad, I don't like Mac prodcuts, so tell me why I should by a Mac book.  DOn't worry. my wife has already decided on the Mac Book Retina Display 15 inch which she'll be getting.   So show me, how do I
- scroll
- print screen
- right mouse click
- show properties of all the WINDOWS items I want & need
Tony, and his observant trainee sidekick, patiently answered my questions.  OH! If only I knew to control option F2!!!!  The world, would have been my oyster!  (you know, in close up, oysters look like something much more humanly anatomical).

Anyways, Tony was able to thaw my Deep Freeze against Apple Products in general... and this week, after return from Dubai & India and making these blog posts on DDF's Mac Book.  I am convinced it is a better product than ANY pathetic windows device I used to deal with, I will likely REPLACE the Windows Xp desktop with a Apple Mac Book when I move to KALIFORNIA later this month.

I thank Tony for his patience, and I look forwards to using more Job's devices in the future.

WHY CAN'T I SCROLL ON APPLE DEVICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????

Perfect Pauillac & Porterhouse

Ok, so our wine fridge needs to be emptied.   We are not moving the bottles of wine that we moved here from South Carolina (with the cats) to Arizona, onto to California.  Therefore, we are drinking so really amazing wines with organic, grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free, DELICIOUS Double Check Ranch Steaks this month.   Dr Desert Flower and I enjoyed a 1998 Pauillac with a Delicious Porterhouse before I went to Dubai, that was one of the best dinners I've ever had in this Arizona house.   I took a picture of the bottle (it was a Rothschild Lafite, and it was really awesome Grand Cru Classe, Chateau Duhart-Milon) - but this Power Book doesn't like my Sony Camera USB port so much.

It turns out, that this bottle of Pauillac was rated from $107 to $400 dollars (over the last 15 years).  It was delicious, but I can't understand how it was a +$100 bottle.  My taste buds are not calibrated to such extravagant tastes.   I bought the bottle for $15 back in 2002, from co-worker who used to live in France.  Fantastic.

New Minority

Yes, I am a white male, who is not on welfare, who voted for Barak Obama.

That's two, count 'em, two National Elections in  row, where I voted FOR A WINNER.

And to all the Republicans who want to cry sour grapes, and that 'America is full of people who want 'stuff' '  and who are blaming others for their own short comings... get over it.    That's the new norm.   White males are a dwindling minority.  

No such thing as 'legitimate rape', as a "white majority" anymore.   Never was such a thing as 'legitimate American cheese' (it's hydrogenated, it's fake, get over it).  Never was such a thing as "the good old days" (as in the 50s, when the South was still segregated and women were discriminated against in the work place and everywhere else).

(I am sorta liking this Air Book)

How did I get so lucky?

I realized this afternoon (I am a slow learner) that I am a very lucky man, to be married to a lovely young woman, who looks 15 years younger than me, makes 20% more than me, and who gets along with just about nearly everyone - while I am an old curmudgeon who really only young, inexperienced engineers like, and who all others keep at a distance or fear.

I will miss the Sonoran desert (interesting that the Mac Air Book RECOGNIZES the word "Sonoran" while my old Windows XP desktop doesn't know that the whiskey tango foxtrot "Sonoran: is.   ANd I will miss the solitude of being able to hike on all sorts of desert mountain trails where no one else can be seen for an entire day (as opposed to the California parks that are over run by tourists and natives).

So to all of my Arizona friends...   I bid you a fond farewell.   I enjoyed my 5.4 years in the Sonoran desert, but now I'll be living in the most Republican part of the Golden State, Orange County...   ugh, but the crime is low, and there's a hot tub (instead of a pool), and my wife is working in a much happier place where they appreciate her, and getting paid more than me!

BTW - Call of Duty II, Black Ops, with all the personalities in the TV ad... is really hilarious!

Been a little busy

Well, it's the 12th day of November, and I have not posted anything.  Sorry followers.

I've been to Dubai UAE, and to Bangalore India.    I came home to find out that Dr Desert Flower and I are moving to Laguna Niguel by the end of this month.  I also have a MAJOR document that I have to complete before the 15th of November, for my boss's, boss's boss to give to the largest American Corporation CEO (other than Walmart & the government) for a massive document on the future viability of the corporation.. fun fun fun!!!

So it's been a little hectic.

I've decided that I will NOT be closing down JustJoeP after the California move.  

I WILL be drinking MOST (if not all) of the Bordeaux in our wine fridge before we move to Blue State California.

(this post brought to you by DFF's new Retina Display Power Book, while watching the tear producing, absolutely hilarious, Louie C.K. SNL from  week ago (while I was in Dubai).   TFF - Too F-ing Funny.  (Historically Insane)

Château du Grand Carretey 2009

For an amazing dessert wine, that will not break your bank account, one needs to look no further than Château du Grand Carretey 2009.  Total Wine sells it for about $30 a bottle.  It's one of Dr Desert Flower's favorites. 

It's got apricot notes in it, and an intoxicating floral bouquet.  Excellent quality and consistency.  A good "go to" Sauternes. 

Quinson Fils Côtes de Provence 2010

Dr Desert Flower and I enjoyed a nice bottle of Quinson Fils Côtes de Provence earlier this month, when it was still over 100F here in Arizona.  Côtes de Provence is a wonderful appellation in Southern France, that is under appreciated.  Great in warm weather, or with cheese and fruit on a leisurely afternoon.  Highly recommended.  Excellent quality.  We've got one more bottle left in the fridge.  

I disagree with the online reviewers who've given this one or two stars (out of 5).  It's delightful, crisp, enjoyable.  Maybe 2011 turned...  but the 2010 bottle we had was great.

Unwinded? Barely Wine

At Fresh & Easy, they have a special on "Unwined" Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio.  It is made in Romania, and the sign in the store said it was "In cooperation with the EU and the Romanian Chamber of Commerce".  They were asking $4 a bottle, so I thought... "Why not?  I'll try it". 

I opened the Pinot Grigio first - it was a 2011, lol!  Dr Desert Flower and I were eating cheese and crackers (she was) and cured meats (I was), and I thought it might pair well with the Brie and the Toscana.  Well, in DDF's words"This is barely wine".  It was flavored water basically.  The weakest, most flavorless Pinot Grigio either of us have ever tasted.  It was not offensive, or harsh.  it was just not appealing.  Weak, watered down, virtually no flavor, white wine colored water.  I finished off the bottle over the next few days.

Then, a week later, I opened the Pinot Noir - a 2010 vintage.. lol!  And it was similarly innocuous as it's Pinot Grigio sister.  I cannot recommend it, unless you are looking for colored water that has virtually no flavor.

When I took my aunts to fresh and Easy to get their no-fat, no sugar added soy milk that they were seeking, there was STILL a GIANT pallet of Unwined in the middle of the beer & wine aisle.  Apparently, Fresh & Easy can't give the stuff away.

From Oven to Coven

I saw this in Sedona last week, when I was visiting there with my aunts who were visiting from the mid west.  I found this absolutely hilarious.

Doesn't everyone have a Toad Peeler?

Good Morning Sandy

I was going to post this earlier today.. but work's kept me very busy. 

On second glance... this image DOES look photoshopped.  Lady Liberty looks south and east, out the mouth of the Hudson.  This image shows a SETTING sun, not a rising one, to the West of Liberty Island.  And the cloud swirl is clockwise, instead of counter clockwise, as every single storm north of the Equator Must rotate. 

So someone is good at photoshop, but bad at geography, science, and realism.

I hope all of my friends in the Northeast stay dry and safe.

Horses and Bayonets

This clip (link here), sums up a nice schooling, and re-direction to the facts.  It's not rhetoric, it's not socialism or fascism, it's just facts.  "We have fewer horses and bayonets today in the military".

Or, to put it more graphically:

Yeah, the USA better build more ships, pronto!

Pakistan Loves Romney

When I heard republican pundits on the radio earlier this week express how they think America has "lost standing in the world" since President Obama was elected, I thought my head would explode.   No, we've not lost standing...  in fact, most of the civilized world wants Obama to be re-elected.  Except Pakistan of course.   They're tired of Pakistani Intelligence sanctioned drone strikes inside of Pakistan, and blame it all on the US, whenever one goes wrong.  They'd rather have Romney elected (yeah, drone strikes would CERTAINLY go down under a republican..  sure).  Link here.  Too bad the whole world doesn't get to vote for 'President of the Free World'.

Un-Bound

Thanks to my great friend CKG for the Tumblr link to Binders Full of Women.  Absolutely Hilarious!

Sophomoric Workaholics

Sophomoric Workaholics  - no thanks.  Actually, to call them "Sophomoric" is an insult to "sophomoric".  The characters are unredeeming, unlikeable, and moronic. The writing is on a 6th grade level, on it's best day.    The hours it has stolen of my life - while it drones on in the background in my hotel room - will never return.  I wish I could hold Comedy Central liable for airing such total merde.

Be forewarned.   It's not even worth being called 'a waste of time.'

There Was room for 2

Dr Desert Flower and I watch the last 1/2 of Titanic together last month (I still have never seen that movie in its entirety).  The photos below illustrate one of James Cameron's biggest gaffes in the film.  There definitely WAS room for 2.  (the card game cracked me up!)

Republican Presidential Positions in 2012

amamBoing!!!!

I am not going to watch the Presidential Debate tonight, since I am not independently wealthy, not making the bulk of my income only from investments, and therefore not on the fence or undecided about who I will be voting for. If I was making the majority of my income from investments, taxed at just 15%, or hidden in a trust of an off-shore account, I'd probably vote for Romney in my own self interest, if my conscience didn't get the better of me. So I don't know who these "undecided" voters are in NY who will be asking questions tonight... but it is America, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and perceptions. The SNL skit that aired a few weeks ago on Thursday, trying to identify who the undecided voters are ("Who is the president now?" and "am I allowed to vote?" for instance) was spot on.

Just Wanted A Banana

I am sure this kind of thing has been happening for years... but now, parents (and older siblings) have cell phones to capture such moments.

Granny From The Beverly Hillbillies?

I understand the list, and as a kid in the 80s shared an attraction to most of these... but Irene Ryan, #5?  that's granny from the Beverly Hillbillies... =P  ...  very silly. 

[Yes, I even admitted to my dear wife of a quarter century that when I was an elementary school kid, I liked #7 on this list as well.]

...If You Believe It.

This sums up the first Presidential Debate strategy that Mitt Romney employed last night.  Strangely, the farthest reaches of the Right Wing applauded Mitt's shift to the middle.  None of the "extreme conservatism" that Romney repeatedly stated in his 23 primary debates with other Republican sparring partners was presented - shaking that Etch-a-Sketch, again.  NPR summaries the Romney BS here (link) so you can hear it with your own ears.

Martian Spiders

It took almost 40 years since David Bowie asked "so where are the spiders?" (see link) But NASA saw something today, that appears Bowie was way more prescient than anyone ever thought.


The NASA story is here (link).  We shall see what these spidery shapes really are, (likely geysers... but geysers of what?) when they're viewed more closely than from 200 miles away.

Yeah, the "private sector" would definitely have done a better job than NASA at getting 3 long lasting rovers to Mars, doing all the science that is so extremely profitable, and inspiring generations of youngsters to embrace science and engineering as a career path.  Martian spiders  / geysers / anything Martian, would not pass Romney's litmus test of "is it worth borrowing from China to fund?"  Sorry Mars, you and Jim Lehrer and Big Bird would have to remain in the dark.

Bears Spank Cowgirls

5 turn overs, and Dallas puts in its 2nd string QB.  34 to 18, da Bears defense played admirably.   Bears offense, was not too shabby.  I also found that MGD tastes as good as I used to remember it did 20 years ago..  and very cheap to drink at home!

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Alien Meditation

Everything That Rises

Everything That Rises Must Converge.

Carmona Is Not A Flake

Arizona's Jr Senator, Kyle, is "retiring" to pursue his true passion, self enrichment as a Washington lobbyist.  Serving his country, or state, or the greater good...  baaah!  From senator to lamprey... but that's an insult to lampreys. 

His anointed replacement from the GOP is Mormon farmer Jeff Flake, who is also an unspectacular Congressman.  Flake's opponent, is Rich Carmona.  Former Surgeon general, appointed by Bush.  Former army medic in Vietnam.  Former nurse and surgeon.  A millionaire entrepreneur in Tucson.  Oh, and did I mention he speaks Spanish?  He's blanketing ads on Phoenix radio and TV, and appears to be beating Flake, at this point, and has a fighting chance of turning the Solid Red Arizona's Senate representation to Purple.

Flake was mailing fliers via US Postal Service to our residence at the beginning of the month, saying how Carmona is Obama's "hand picked" candidate, complete with unflatering "mug shot-esque" pics of Rich Carmona next to "guy smiley-esque" Jeff Flake prom pics.  But as President Obama's poll numbers have risen after the convention, and Romney continues his downward spiral, those fliers have mysteriously stopped.

(note also how it was 102F at 5:18pm, in mid September, 6 days ago when this poll was shown on Channel 3)

Holiday Declared To Trump The Opposition's Strike

Do you have colleagues in India?  Did you try to call a tech support center in India this week?  Chances are, if you answered "Yes" to either of these questions, you found something was amiss this week.  India has lots of government sanctioned holidays; some national, some religious, for all sorts of reasons (link here).  What you don't see on this calendar, is any holiday on FW39, September 17-22 in 2012 (many Indians work Saturday, regularly).  But if you look at the Karnataka state judiciary calendar (link here), you see a peculiar September 19th holiday, called out-of-the-blue.  Why?  Well, the answer surprised me, when my India colleagues and friends explained it to me.

You see, India has lots of parliamentary parties, so they form coalitions so that they can get things done, legislation passed, and are not in a continual state of stalemate.  Recently, a bill was proposed to let BIG BOX stores, like Walmart, to have unfettered access to all of India.  Right now, as I understand it, Walmart and other Western chains are in very few cities, in very limited quantities.  Western corporations are salivating at the multi-billion dollar Indian market, and can't wait to set up shop all across the very diverse nation of a billion+ people.  So the majority party says "we like this free market bill, let's let the BIG BOX stores in".  The minority opposition party, the National Democratic Alliance, which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says "WTF, wait a minute! This is BAD for Indian farmers and small Indian retailers who will be crushed!"  The BJP doesn't want to see the Walmartization of India decimate small business across their great nation as it already has in America.  So the BJP called for a national strike (link here) on September 20th, to show how unified the country is in opposition to letting in big box stores.  Don't go to work. Don't go to school.  Don't buy anything. Protest peacefully.  Demonstrate that as a united India, we the citizens don't want any part of this, and Parliament should defeat this bill.

You see, 1000s of small Indian farmers have been committing suicide in the Indian countryside (one every 30 minutes, in the last 16 years, crushed by debt - link here), when genetically modified crops from Monsanto, which need more water than the crops they used to plant, fail and the farmers can no longer support themselves.  There's already severe supply chain, bribery, middle-men network, corruption problems across India, that hamper the free flow of goods, from the farmer's field to the grocery store shelf, with everyone taking a cut or pay-out.  Maybe refrigerated Walmart supply train super store trucks would help decrease spoilage and the supply chain, but it would also exert inexorable pressure upon the small farmers to lower their already abysmally low prices even lower, driving more of them out of business, and likely resulting in more suicides, farm failures, food shortages, and maybe even famine.  So I have mixed feelings on the issue... I don't want to see more small farms fail, as NAFTA caused some 3 million small Mexican farms to fail when dirt cheap maize flooded the Mexican market, and many of those out of work farmers headed north to illegally pick crops as migrant workers.  Of course, the xenophobic Alabama legislature passed "show me your crop picking papers" law, and so Alabama farmer's crops are rotting in their fields this fall, but that's what narrow minded Republican ideology provides for citizens.  I digress...  back to India.

So in India, the BJP tells everyone to stay home on the 20th Bharat Bandh.  Well, the Prime minister, who represents the majority party, the ones who love big corporations and globalization, and who are really well funded by international donors, they don't like this "show of unity" so very cleverly, they declare September 19th as a National Holiday!  No one needs to go to work on the 19th!   Stay home, it's a new impromptu National Holiday!   Hooray for everyone!!!

But wait.... no one had bus or train tickets home, to visit their extended families.  No one was prepared to take off the 19th... what the...?  And then, the 21st, which was a Friday.... so we're supposed to take off Wednesday (National Holiday) and 20th (general strike...?) but then the 21st... uhhh?  So many IT firms around Bangalore and other multi-national corporate branches declared the 21st to also be a "holiday" in support of the BJP (link here) .  So in Early September, it looked like there were no holidays coming until October arrives.  And then, all of a sudden, BJP declares a strike for the 20th, the Prime minister declares the 19th to be a holiday, and most big businesses also call off work for the 21st.  A "2 day" work week suddenly materializes, to confuse the European and American counterparts, delay schedules & business commitments, further disrupt everyone's Saturdays (notice the Karnataka court is sitting in session on the 22nd), and try and obfuscate the real issue at hand.  Congrats to the BJP for calling the general strike to prove their point.  Shame on you, Indian central government for calling the impromptu September 19th "holiday"and creating so much confusion. 

I hope it all comes out best for the small Indian farmers and the citizens of India.  You know, those billions of dollars for the Indian market that international corporations are salivating over?  Let them stay in India, for the betterment of Indians.  Please.

Airborn Swine

More Equity Is Better Than 10K More Salary

Over at I Love Charts they had this cool graphic this week (link here).

The blog from which they got it, was "The Upfront Blog" which is sort of cool, and useful, if you're looking to possibly change companies (link here).  It's fun to play around with and make the graph move.  =)  (and to note that engineers, in general [software engineers excluded], are under-appreciated)

Mitty the Moocher

Mitt Romney plays about 1/2 as much in taxes as I do, and he thinks that's fine.  He doesn't pay tax on carried interest.  He writes off massive donations to his cult.  He thinks those struggling on government assistance are lazy, while he refuses to pay his fair share.   The richest 1% (who I am not part of, and none of whom will associate with me) have gotten immensely richer in the last 12 years, compared to the rest of America whose earnings and wealth - on average - have been flat or have decreased.

The blue states PAY MORE in taxes to the Federal government than the red states.  That's redistribution of wealth from the thinking, responsible, conscientious America, who would rather "help those here, rather than bomb those over seas"... to the moochers who take in more from the feds than they give to the feds. 

Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie

Picked up a $5 Pinot Grigio at Trader Joes that was delightfully light, tasty, and crisp.  Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie, Indicazione Geografica Typica.   Dr Desert Flower and I had it with some cheese and fruit earlier this month on a Saturday afternoon.  Good stuff.  You should get yourself a bottle.

Entitled!

C.Montgomery Burns had a video released this week... I mean... Mitt Romney, comfortably talking to $50,000 a plate donors at a private dinner in Boca Raton, trying to get them to write him checks for his campaign, let slip how he really feels about nearly 1/2 of all Americans.  All those silly Americans who work for a living, instead of investing, like Mitt and his plutocratic buddies. 

The Daily Show characterized the Mother Jones video perfectly, so I ma going to provide all the links here:

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/president-barack-obama/17uve05r4?q=President+Obama&rel=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=msnrll




It was remarkable how "at ease" and comfortable Mitt was, amongst the plutocratic elite in Boca, compared to how rigid, stick-up-his-spine, inarticulate, forced-delivery his speaking was during town halls and diner meetings during the Republican primaries.  It's like..  he was an entirely different man.   Watch the clips yourself, to see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU9V6eOFO38&feature=player_embedded

2 million blurred views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnB0NZzl5HA&feature=relmfu
ENTITLED!

moment of zen
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-18-2012/moment-of-zen---mr--burns-speaks-at-the-springfield-republican-party-headquarters?xrs=synd_twitter

Millionaire John Hodgeman's Eloquent delivery:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-18-2012/exclusive---an-elegant-message-to-the-47-

Minnie the moocher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ5gCGJorKk

You know, I pay a hefty sum in taxes - Federal, state, FICA, et al... and I voted for President Obama, and I DO NOT feel "Entitled!" as Mitt has emphatically stated all Obama supporters feel.  I DO feel entitled to an apology from both Mitt and his boy wonder Paul Ryan for being dismissive & condescending of 1/2 the electorate.

It's really sad how many poor, white, rural and suburban Americans will enthusiastically vote for Mitt, thinking his trickle down, redistribution of wealth from-poor-to-rich will somehow help them someday.  But that's how America rolls.

Duca Di Camastra Nero d'Avola

I remain a large fan of Nero d'Avola.  More restaurants are starting to carry it, and more retailers selling it.  I got a nice bottle of Duca Di Camastra Nero d'Avola from Trader Joe's for less than $6 last month, and enjoyed it with a rare red Double Check Ranch ribeye this month.  Excellent quality.  Deliicous.  Highly recommended.  I only wish I would have bought more than one bottle.

Sweet Soft Drinks Alter Genes In Women

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study today (link here) that shows (with tiny tiny P values) that there is undeniably a link to consuming sugary beverages and obesity, and in the women studied (a tiny population of just n=21,740 over multiple years... don't they know really awesome science takes n=2 without a good control, and No Collaboration with any of your colleagues??) it has a correlation to genetic association with adiposity (being fat).

Many will say "Duh!" to this, but it is real, detailed, disciplined, peer reviewed science that published this, not some industry funded obfuscation or pseudo-science. 

For my part, I will continue to avoid sugar laden drinks, and their evil twins full of nutrasweet, sucralose, acesulfame K, phenylketonurics, and other synthetic poisons that are deliciously sweet.

Shieldaig Nasty Ashtray

Dr Desert Flower and I were at Total Wine over the summer, and they were offering a free tasting of Shieldaig "The Classic" Blended Scotch Whisky, aged 12 years. 

In Tasting at the store, it was fine.  12 year? that's pretty good.  $12 a bottle...  Why not?  So I bought a bottle, and brought it home. 

Sometime in July, I opened it up, and ew!  It tasted like an ashtray.  Very smokey, very unpleasant, it reminded me of a dive bar like Casablanca used to be in Greenville SC next to the Reedy River - but not a happy memory of many beers consumed and music listened to. No, it was a more primal memory triggered by scent, and taste, of thick smoke, permeating the bar's very existence.  DDF encouraged me to pour it down the drain, but I found that with LARGE quantities of ice and lemonade and a splash of Cruzan flavored rum (banana or vanilla) that it was drinkable.

If you LOVE the taste of smoke, then Total Wine's got a cheap bottle of Scottish smoke for you. I won't be buying the stuff again, and cannot recommend it.  I'll stick with my High West instead.  =)

Gary Taubes NuSI

 Thanks to my buddy Matt for the head's up on this:
Gary Taubes and Peyer Attia have founded a non-profit to fund real research into nutrition:
http://nusi.org/about-us/a-letter-from-the-founders/#.UFsga65Og-B

Goes along with the new finding from the University of Illinois study (link here) that poorer and less educated white Americans are living shorter lives than their parents.

Bon Midi Pays d'Herault

Fresh and Easy has a cheap red wine from France, Bon Midi, Pays d'Herault. indication geographique protegee.  It sells for $4 a bottle, and it is not bad.  I found it very drinkable.  It's a screw top.  Not too fruity.  A lighter Southern French red.  50% Merlot, 50% Grenache.  I'll be getting it again the next time I am at F&E.

And Another Ones Gone...

Another one bites the dust, hey hey!

Our lemon tree is dieing.  Another main branch wilted this month.  I cut off the first branch in July,and a 2nd one immediately began to wilt.   That one took August to die, and I cut it off last weekend.  Now, a third main branch is quickly wilting.  Leaves shrivel, bark splits, humming birds take keen interest in hovering around it, apparently looking for mites or something too small for DDF and I to see, that is high protein and irresistable to hummingbirds.

It will take the rest of September and the beginning of October for the 3rd branch to die.  Once it is gone, the tree will have less than 40% of its original growth.   Very disheartening, as the lemon tree had produced 4 years of bumper crops of juicy, organic lemons.  We are baffled by what is killing it.  Not too wet.  Not too dry.  It's likely a virus, or mites, or something over which we have no control.

Ryan Loves Charts

Blue eyed right wing ideologue darling, and Vice Presidential hopeful Paul Ryan love charts.  So here's a few telling charts, he'll never show.

I'd really love to wipe the perpetual smirk off his face, with a resounding election loss for the Republicans, or, by other means.. but I don't want the Secret Service to come interview me, so my views will remain silent on this point.  "Grew up in a middle class family" - yeah, if by "Middle Class" your father is a millionaire who owns a very profitable construction business, and he dies when you're a teenager, leaving a large life insurance settlement to your mom.  If only everyone in America was so "middle class" as poor old Paul Ryan.

I Could Become A Chargers Fan

After watching da Bears blow it, year after year since 1985, and watching the San Diego Chargers beat the Oakland Thugs, er, I mean Oakland Raiders last week, I really think I could become a San Diego Chargers fan.   Yes, it is true, that the Chargers began as a Los Angeles team, but LA can't support a football team.  They've lost the Chargers, the Rams, and the Raiders.  Somehow, they support two baseball and two basketball teams, but every city has its quirks I guess.

I am going to try and watch more Chargers games this season, and perhaps... just maybe..  I can become a Chargers fan.   Being a Bears fan is just consistently, too damn depressing.  I spent my childhood watching da Bears lose, year after year, in Soldier Field, Lambeau, the domes of Detroit (on Thanksgiving) and Minnesota, and the occasional other stadiums.  Qualcomm stadium is an extremely LAME name... but I could get over that, maybe, if the team did OK year to year.  I'll always have a love for the da Bears, no matter how much they keep losing.  But it would be nice to root for a winning team, for a change.

And I hear there's lots of bio-tech jobs all over Southern California... so becoming a Chargers fan might not be so theoretical.  Il faut voir.   They DO have the nicest weather in all the US. 

A True Friend

A true friend, is one that will hold your hair while you get sick in the bath room.

I bet these two adorable little girls will be college roommates someday.  this won't be the last time they're in this situation.