I made a geocache, but haven't placed it yet. I made a run past where I plan to put it, but there was some kind of sporting event going on. I think it is called "Little League." Throngs of little kids were running around EVERYWHERE!
So, I continued on to the grocery store. When I came out, there was a moby truck next to mine. It cracks me up immensely to see the juxtaposition, every time! The owner of said moby truck came by as I was taking the picture. He looked at me, like I'm strange or something, so I explained my humour, and he was amused, too.
There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
I was trying to explain the joke to a girl at work, and found out that I am one of the ones who don't. After she left, probably giggling at my discomposure, I decided to try to write down the binary numbers from zero to ten, as it were. It only took me twenty minutes to get it right!
My biggest time waster, besides reading and sleeping, is probably Desktop Defender. I'd like to compare Sprint Mode Best Times with someone. Does anyone play?
Gosh, I just noticed it says "Spint" Mode. Is that not funny!
I wonder why my NA2-NS time is less than my NA2 time? No Selling is somewhat harder.
Selections from the Top 50 Searches Without Results in a middle school library 'card' catalog.:
Search Term
dork diarias
nwa
guiness book of world records
learn about gays and lesbiends
nonfiction
twlight
diary of a whimpy kid
diary of a wipy kid
dairy of the wimpy kid
kissed by an angle
simsons
the simsons
5 pillars of Islam
conner o barbra
dork daries
dork diareiys
famous sayings from famous people
fuck
genius world record
gostopolise
lattice polygons
This week has flown by, except for excruciating hours of boredom.
I rode the bike a couple of times to work, maybe tomorrow, too.
Yesterday I drove because I had a dentist appointment.
I thought.
Turned out it was TODAY!
So, I drove to work today, too.
And went to the dentist in the afternoon. Three silver fillings replaced. Thank goodness for dental coverage, I can't imagine where I would get $750 to pay for it. My copay was only $100. I got off easy!
Yesterday I saw a murder of crows in a tree at work, making a very artistic photo-op. I ran to get the camera, aimed up, pushed the button, only to find all the crows had flown away!
Crows are the tricksters!
Yesterday there was a lot of Dr. Seuss stuff going on. All our Seuss books got checked out to teachers who read them to their students. I didn't do anything in the library. I'm focused on checking out, processing, and shelving. Deborah F. says we should put the books that have been returned on a cart accessible to the patrons, as they got checked out once, they will get checked out again, and not to worry about shelving, so much.
But, man, I gotta shelve! I'm a shelver! I've alway BEEN a shelver!
I got a Dr. Seuss pin from Dorothy. I SHOULD have worn my Dr. Seuss tie, but alas, I did not think of it.
I went geocaching in Lakeside this morning. It was a bit chilly, but warmed up after a while.
I looked for twelve point five caches, and found seven. I managed to make my thousandth find (w00t!!) on Chuy! Has Lots Of Friends, an easy find but a scary moment, involving a GIANT SPIDER!!
This was supposed to be in a rusty pipe. A TALL rusty pipe. Nothing around the rim, though. I took a picture holding the camera over my head, down the pipe. I think I see it down there! How far down do you suppose it is?
Nearby I saw a couple of snakes, which was only proper since the cache was named for a boa called "Rosie" that someone let loose in the area.
Yes, they are plastic, you silly!
I was looking for one cache that I neglected to bring the coordinates for, as it was reported missing. I looked anyway, since I was there. I THOUGHT I spotted it up on a gatepost, but I was wrong.
So I've added it to my Watch list.
I utilized a shortcut through a forbidden area to get to one cache. I was encouraged by several dog walkers to do so. They said "Everyone does it. Tell 'em we said it was ok." I found the cache, but a guy in a truck pulled in before I could retrieve it to sign the log. He didn't look like he was going anywhere soon, so I came back in the the truck when I finished the rest (NOT using the shortcut, this time!) and signed the log.
I went geocaching yesterday in Parkway Plaza, or whatever it is being called this millennium. I found some caches, didn't find some others. It was rainy.
I went geocaching around central El Cajon this morning. It wasn't as wet as yesterday, although my shoes leaked. I saw a duck. I saw a BUNCH of ducks. Here is one:
Went geocaching early this Sunday morning around Santee. Some were 'urban' caches, some were in the semi-swamp lands around the glorious San Diego River.
Saw a lot of wild flowers and weed flowers, and little birdies, too!
Over by the WalMart a big pine tree had fallen down. I posed a banana schnapps mini-bottle I found on top of it.
I found Wilson!
To the west of Carlton Hills Blvd. the city of Santee has fixed up their trails a bit. Not like the last time I came through here! Talk about well-manicured!
Now, this is more like the last time!
Can you see the geocache up there? Right about in the middle...
Here is me goofing with a remote control I found on the trail. Cache In, Trash Out!
Found twelve today, didn't find two. Not a bad haul!
I stopped by the CVS Pharmacy to pick up some batteries for the bike computers (and the chicken!). Of course, they only had one that I needed. I shall have to visit Radio Shack, I guess!
Saw this cute little mini-truck low-riderish. Looks real nice, but the turn signals don't seem to be working...
Hmmm, I seem to be low on gas. Hey, is that Zumwalt's over there? I haven't visited them in a while! No time today, though.
You gotta know how I feel about lane-splitting motorcyclists. On the highway in slow rush-hour traffic, it might be ok. Heck, I did it a few times myself, back in the day. But the ones that creep around cars at a stop light to get to the head of the line, that just seems asinine and rude.
This guy, on his manly-sounding v-twin, slipped around the cars waiting for the light at Montezuma and El Cajon Blvd.
Here we are at 73rd and El Cajon Blvd., as he paddles his way forward.
Same light, he has eased his way ahead of the car in front of me.
Now we are at Parks and El Cajon Blvd. He sure is shaving the precious seconds off his driving time!
Finally, at La Mesa Blvd. and El Cajon Blvd, he has sidled his way past the waiting cars and broken free of traffic. Free at last!
What's a "coonie"? Sounds faintly salacious. I don't THINK I've got one.
In fifteen-odd blocks he has managed to get five car-lengths ahead of me. Wow, I am SO impressed! And how many drivers has he alienated? Surely it wasn't just ME!
Hey, I'm an equal opportunity ranter, a bicyclist did the same dumb'n'rude stunt on Lake Murray Blvd. today. He held up five cars crossing the bridge over the 8 when he could have stayed behind me and held up no one. I would have.
I think I'll bicycle to work tomorrow and see if I can irk someone!
Bosch, Pseudonymous If You're Reading This, It's Too Late The further adventures of Cass and Max-Ernest thwarting the plans of the nefarious Masters Of The Midnight Sun in their search for the homunculus Mr. Cabbage Face.
Bosch, Pseudonymous This Book Is Not Good For You Cass and her friends investigate a plot to discover The Secret using chocolate.
Cornwell, Patricia Port Mortuary In which we learn a lot about Scarpetta's past in the Air Force. Also, more of how she can't run an organization. Read in one day.
Eland, Lindsay Scones And Sensibility Polly is quite obsessed with Anne Of Green Gables and Pride And Prejudice. She tries to manipulate everyone's love life, to great disaster.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Great Gatsby I only read this because of a referential quote in Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker. I missed have missed the quote when I read it, though. The story is ok, but I keep picturing Robert Redford speaking as Gatsby. I found The Text Of The Great Gatsby section, by Matthew J. Bruccoli, very informative about textual errors and the editing and un-editing of them.
Gash, Jonathan The Great California Game Lovejoy ends up in New York after his Hong Kong adventure. Then on to California. He seems a bit bedazzled by American food and slang.
Harrison, Kim Pale Demon Rachel has to travel to San Francisco to proclaim her innocence for using black magic.
Ok, I admit it, I started reading this because of the jacket illustration. Ir you know what I mean...
I wanted to stop reading around twenty, but I kept on reading and stuck it out to the end. Part of the problem is I am not really interested in witchy stuff. I got interested around page two-hundred and ninety-something, at the coven meeting in San Fran.
I think one needs to start with the first book. There was a LOT of background story that I needed to understand who and what was going on. I read the uncorrected proof edition.
Mull, Brandon Fablehaven In book one of the series, Kendra and Seth learn their grandfather is caretaker of a refuge for magical beings, most of whom are not very nice.
O'Nan, Stewart Emily, Alone I enjoyed reading this recounting of the daily life of an elderly woman. There were no spaceships or battles, (it is not science-fiction!) just an old lady, a classy lady, examining the meaning of her life as events unfold. To be published March 2011, read the advance uncorrected proof.
Reeve, Philip A Darkling Plain Fourth book in the Mortal Engines, or whatever they call it, series. I wept at the ending. Twice.
Reeve, Philip Infernal Devices Book three of the Mortal Engines series. I was half-way through book four when this come in at the library. And I was lost. I recommend reading them in order, and not waiting YEARS between books. Get the cast of characters from Wikipedia, too. I'm a lot of trouble remembering who is who.
Sachar, Louis There's A Boy In The Girl's Bathroom! I read this because a student said it was not like she expected, and it was really good. It IS really good. I weeped at the end.
Sepetys, Ruta Between Shades Of Gray In WWII Lithuania, teen Lina and her family are deported to Siberia by the Russians who have invaded her country. A very moving story, easily read, and it will go on my latent list of "So Cold" books! Two maps! Read the Advanced Uncorrected Galley.
Wilks, Mike Mirrorscape In a world where the privilege to use color must be purchased as a "Pleasure" (and there are many other "Pleasures" one must purchase, too), a young apprentice artists discovers a secret world in paintings that he can enter into. First of a series, good stuff!
At work I have a screen saver on one of the Macs showing various images of motorcycles I lust in my heart for. Four of the guys who are doing computer/Promethean board installs in the classrooms came in to look at their materials, which are being stored in the library. They noticed the screensaver going and they stood there for several minutes talking motorcycles. A totally guy moment.
I got to the equistrian staging area around 6:30 and headed west. Saw a couple of deer before I passed under the big bridge over Spring Canyon.
Yes, that is one of the deer in question there. It was dark!
I headed up towards the ridge on the west.
The sun was starting to come up, and the moon was in the western sky.
Or maybe the moon was in the south-western sky...
The sun kept rising, as it will, and I saw my shadow across the canyon.
This was much more impressive in person!
I left this little penguin button-badge at this geocache.
I saw another deer--or maybe it was the same one, in Oak Canyon.
I found all the geocaches I was looking for, plus two I had looked for before, EXCEPT this one.
The sign says Federal Property, No Trespassing.
I found THIS geocache rather easily, however!
There was a note from the Military Police inside warning that the military property line was near, and not to cross it. This cache was a few hundred feet north of that sign.
I saw zillions of caterpillars on the move today. This is one!
I wonder what they turn into?
I left this horsie from a bottle of tequila (My boss gave it (the horsie, not the tequila!) to me, I don't drink that stuff? My strength is the strength of ten because my heart is pure.
I liked that star geocache a lot, but this was my favorite geocache of the day!
I took a toy soldier Travel Bug that had been sitting in it for six months. The T.B. was started by a little boy back east who wanted soldiers to take their picture with it, and pass it on. He wants it to visit Mexico, then to come home to him. The T.B. is in the plastic bag next to the cup, FYI. I'll have to find a more active cache to drop it in.
There have been several fires that went through Oak Canyon, including the Cedar Fire of 2003. I noticed this burnt-out tree trunk had rocks inside. I wonder if the tree originally grew over the rocks?
As I labored up the washed-out "road" out of Oak Canyon I stopped at a few more caches. I left a Jeep at one, so whoever found it could ease their labors...
As I headed down the ridge road, backtracking my route, I came upon many fellow walkers (and bicyclists, did I mention all the cyclists I saw today?).
I talked to this family as I passed them. They had come from Mission Trails via Oak Canyon and were now heading back.
As I was leaving MTRP I observed a tyke on a bike crossing a small stream at full speed. Trevor, it turned out was his name. I complemented him on his technique.
Did I mention how windy it was? Here is a movie...
Whoops, I see a typo! I am NOT fixing it. Just deal with it!
Snuck off to look for geocaches in the 'hood this morning. Found all of them (three), even the one I've visited three times in the last two days. And one of those times was on the trek out this morning. I find one can be much less conspicuous when one is not on the bike. I forgot to take the camera, so you do not get to see the Morris Minor nor the Opel GT I saw. Perhaps another time.
Finished reading There's A Boy In The Girls' Bathroom!, by Louis Sachar. It was recommended by a student who said it was not what she expected, but was very good. I teared up a bit at the end. Sachar wrote Holes, if you recall the movie or the book.
I want to publicly thank the good folks who left their "stamps for pans" at Albertsons. I was a few short of the required number for a small pan, but the cashier said customers had left ones that they were not able to use with her, saying to give them to someone that needs them. So, I got a free pan!
Last night I waded through the morass of the FCC website and renewed my license. Actually, once I got my password reset it was extremely painless. Now, if I could only figure out how to do my taxes online!
Speaking of, I talked to several people who PAY someone to do their taxes for them, just so they can get the refund early. If you have simple taxes, it seems fiscally foolish to pay what one person said was around three hundred bucks. I don't know, do the tax refund people REALLY charge that much for a simple return? I advised them to do it themselves, as a backup, and see if they come up with the same numbers. I remember I missed a twenty dollar refund one year that a professional would have caught, but it didn't seem worth the hassle to file a amended return. I am exceedingly lazy!
And, speaking of, at least in California, how do people not know they have to pay "sales tax" on internet purchases? I know some (most) people blow it off, but really, how do you not know? It's right on the form. Do the professional preparers not ask them about their online purchases? You really should know what you are signing!
Today I took apart another power strip that was giving me some annoyance. Turned out to be yet another bad solder connection. I don't know if it overheated and melted, or what. I tried soldering it, but it did not look too good. It looks the wire isn't even copper. Maybe I should replace the wire with piece of #12 copper.
Firstly, remember to turn on Macro when taking closeup photos...
Now, with macro on, we can almost see the bad connection. This is before soldering, remember. I could pull the wire right through the hole.
It was so warm and clear yesterday, but today the clouds and fog came in early. You can see a bit of blue to the right of Cowles Mountain, but it was totally gone by the time I rode home. I even turned on the strobe when going under a bridge, a bridge with a diminishing bike lane.
I tell a lie. I just remembered I took that photo after work. Forget I said anything!
I was going to take a photo of the ENORMOUSLY LONG (a foot, two??) curly hair that was stuck in the library front door panic bar when I came in Tuesday, but the custodians seem to have disposed of it. Too bad!
I got email notice that three nearby geocaches went active this morning, but I was at work. So sad! I did a ride-by on two of them. I think I spotted the one in the Mario's parking lot, but there were two many folks around. Maybe I'll check it out tomorrow. The other, I didn't see it. I note the second cacher to log DNFed it.
I found the cat in the garage when I got home. C. says she didn't go in there, and the cat went out around three. Maybe the neighbors (we share a garage) let him in.
I got an email from a purportedly Russian chick:
Hi dear! I am for a decent man.
As for me, I am a young Russian girl Do you like Russian women?
They are not just beautiful and smart, but very tolerant too. Russian women value family and try to be with their husbands as much as possible.
It's time to get to know each other! See you on marriage agency. Cheerio!
Do I like Russian women? I don't know any, right off hand, but I do love the accent! Sounds like they beat the heck out of Chinese Girlfriends who think they are Superior! But what's with the "Cheerio"? Is that a Russian expression? извините!
As far as the other day, I was "working" on the computer (either reading reddit or playing DTD) and I kept getting distracted by a rustling from the other room. It was very annoying. I thought that either C. was rummaging around in the closet, or we had mice.
I finally got up to look. This is what I found.
A rather despondent-looking cat!
I figured he did not want to deliver Avon products, so after making him wait while I took numerous photos, trying to get him to look up (strike a pose!), I finally took the bag off. Unfortunately, all the photos (except these) had the flash reflection, making him look rather demonic.
Last night I finished reading If You're Reading This, It's Too Late, by Pseudonymous Bosch.
As for today, I went geocaching this morning (big surprise) in Allied Gardens, Cowles Mountain, El Cajon/Santee (my canyon, as it were), and Hillside Park just off of Fletcher Parkway.
One of the caches I found on Cowles Moutain was this one. Can you spot it?
It's behind the fake green leaf, under the smaller rock, next to the larger rock!
The view is nice from up there, too. From the right perspective you can't even SEE the Santee sprawl!
Hey, I've been on that ridge over there!
I talked to a lot of people today, for a change. In an Allied Gardens canyon I talked to a fellow walking his dog about the trails there.
On Cowles Mountain there were a ton of people going up and down the trail from Big Rock Road. Up near the top end of the trail I helped some bicyclists find the correct trail to Mesa Drive. on the way back down I was queried by an Asian-looking woman as to whether I had seen a group of Asian people. I replied in the negative. I encountered a group of people with a group of dogs. One of the dogs was a Basenji, the first I've ever seen in real life, as opposed to television (and the movies--Good-Bye, My Lady, a title I always misremember as Weep No More, My Lady, which I find is the title of the short story that the book, and thence the movie, is based on.). I told her it was my dream dog. Too bad I didn't think to take a picture! Near the bottom of the trail I passed three chubby South Pacific-looking (give or take a few thousand miles) men going the other way, one of whom said "How's you doing, boss", which I thought was rather exotic.
In the interest of journalistic integrity I must clarify that I did not hike the Big Rock Trail all the way to the dirt road that goes up Cowles Mountain, much less to the peak. I went as fair as the Mesa Road trail, then down that trail for four hundred feet. Then I retraced my steps back to the vehicle.
My bathroom reading at work is The Return Of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Excellent vintage stuff.
It is passing strange how much my Happiness Quotient depends on my bowel movements. I'm sure you will be fascinated to learn that I have had a much higher Quotient this week, compared to last week. Last week was...difficult.
Overheard in the library today:
An eighth grade girl to to a sixth grade boy -- "You are a noisy little thing, aren't you?"
I arrived home from work to find the kitchen sink plugged up. BOTH sides. Insert ragetoon here.
On the other hand, I find I have Monday off. Happy surprise! I thought it was NEXT weekend!
I was thinking of collecting it and creating an artistic pile of glass crumbles with a bit of epoxy. Or maybe not.
Sunday last I went geocaching in that canyon off of Waring Road. There was an impressive mass of cactus up the hill from one of the 101 Dalmations caches. I'm glad I didn't have to go up there!
One of the caches I revisited turned out to be so beautifully camouflaged that I ALMOST didn't find it again! I must have spent an hour (total) on this one! Can you see it in there?
For the last cache I was chagrined to find that I had forgotten to load or print the coordinates. All I had was the none-too-detailed aerial image. And I remembered there was something about some pipes. I found the pipes.
Didn't find the cache. Found a camo hat hanging in a bush. Left it there.
Actually, there are four pipes. Big ones!
Turns out the cache is not really all that near to the pipes. Maybe next time!
