May 28, 2008

Odds 'n Ends

Though there are many sad stories about those who lost everything, the fire is contained and should be fully extinguished soon -- yay. Good job to the men and women who fought it; it was far from easy.

On a completely different note, I totally rocked this quiz about company mascots this morning. I challenge any of you to beat my score -- 19 out of 20 -- without cheating by looking up any of them in another window. A prize will be offered on two conditions: 1. You need to prove your score with a screen shot emailed to me; and 2. You have to look me in the eye and tell me you didn't cheat. Thus, by its nature, this is for people I know and see regularly. Everyone else is welcome to share your results in the comments (...you remember how those work right?), where I can offer only ridicule or kudos.

Switching gears again, I was sent a useful link today that I thought I'd share. It's a local gas price aggregator, which shows you the lowest reported gas prices in your area code. It may not be 100% accurate to the moment (it reflects overnight price reports) and I noticed that it doesn't include Costco gas stations, but it gives you a good idea of where you can expect to find lower prices compared to the rest of the area.

May 23, 2008

With apologies to Bob Seger

I awoke this morn to the smell of smoke
How far off I lay and wondered
Started closing windows, one then two
Ain't it funny how the smoke moves
When you just seem to have so much to lose
Strange how the smoke moves
With wildfire closing in

Not exactly what you're hoping for as you regain consciousness. Thankfully, no, our place wasn't on fire. Unfortunately, it's the result of a big wildfire not far from here.

I've mentioned before that I live in Silicon Valley. But, for those of you who don't already know it, I currently live in Los Gatos, which is at the base of the Santa Cruz mountains. This map shows really well where Los Gatos is in relation to the fire -- find where it says "17" to the left of the flames, then go up a bit. Not super-close, but it's a 3,400-acre fire at the moment, so it's plenty close enough.

Yesterday, the wind was moving south really fast and hard, which made it bad for the fire-fighting efforts, but it kept the smoke blowing in the opposite direction from us. During the night, though, the wind died and the smoke drifted back our way, so I woke up with it tickling my nose.

It's nothing, I realize, compared to what people in the area are dealing with right now, and I'm feeling for them and the incredible loss a fire like this brings. But everyone has to look out for their own well-being, so I'm planning on decamping for the weekend -- a time when I normally never travel -- to have, at the very least, a little better air quality for a few days.

So here's wishing everyone in the States (I say that because, remarkably, I get quite a number of overseas and northerly visitors...not that you'd know it!) a lovely Memorial Day Weekend. May all your barbecues be...contained.

May 15, 2008

Thank you

It's times like these that I am reminded what awesome friends I have. Thank you all for your support, I really, really appreciate it.

May 08, 2008

Turn Turn Turn

So much change, so little time. A lot going on, plus I'm grappling with the complete lack of feedback here and trying to decide what direction to go. While I decide what time it is for me, I'm going to pretend I'm in Vegas and keep Pogo-ing and sharpening my casino skills.

In the meantime, to all you mothers out there, I wish you a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday. And to those of us who aren't mothers (or fathers), do you ever wonder when we get to be celebrated for our choices? I do. Maybe we could have Saturday?