Category Archives: Uncategorized

5 hours

I grew up watching a lot of television — admittedly too much. From Saved by the Bell on Saturday mornings to Conan at late night, I was on the high side of data that shows the average American watches 5 hours of television per day.

Through a combination of natural attrition and concentrated effort, that amount has decreased significantly. I only have limited basic on one television set in the house (broadcast networks plus local access plus QVC and WGN; I’m not sure how Comcast arrived at that combination). And I primarily watch only by-appointment. The tv is never on just idle or channel surfing.

I would now like to take this a step further and limit tv viewing to 5 hours per week — as much as the average American watches each day. (This includes downloads and streaming via Hulu — my primary watching modes.)

I allot 25 minutes for each half-hour sitcom and 45 minutes for each full-hour drama on network tv (to account for commercials) and the full half-hour and hour for each show on pay cable.

Just a few years ago I regularly watched The Office, Brothers & Sisters, Numbers, Law & Order, King of Queens, even Two and a Half Men occasionally.

Last year I stopped watching House and 30 Rock after a few episodes.

This year I plan to drop Parks and Recreation (after two trial episodes that failed to rekindle enough interest to make it must see), Modern Family, and HBO’s The Newsroom (too much of an alternate reality to be comfortable, too preachy, and no likable characters). And I gave Louie another chance but plan to cut it next season.

I routinely give a couple new shows a try — the first seasons of Happy Endings, Better off Ted, Up All Night (which we gave up before the season ended), and Life on Mars (I learned my lesson re: network cancellation) — to see if they’ll stick. Last year I also watched Girls on HBO but it too did not make the cut.

I plan to give Copper a shot this season, but based on recent viewing patterns, I assume it won’t pan out — not necessarily because of the program’s quality but due to the lack of available time.

The same goes to Homeland, which just recently won the Emmy for best drama. Based on the demonstrated success, I plan to catch up on the first season, but even if it is as exciting and entertaining as reported (and awarded), the time component again may govern.

Without further ado, this season’s roster (in no particular order):

– Louie (FX, 25 mins, comedy, season 3 just ended);
– Parenthood (NBC, 45 mins, drama);
– Mad Men (AMC, 45 mins, drama);
– It’s Alway Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 25 mins, comedy);
– Southland (TNT, 45 mins, drama);
– Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 30 mins, comedy):
– Copper (BBC, 45 mins, drama); and
– Homeland (Showtime, 60 mins, drama).

That is a “weekly total” of 320 minutes or 5 hours, 20 minutes. Of course, the total aggregate of all the episodes will be far less than the target allowable 250 hours (50 weeks x 5 hours per week) since those programs do not run at the same time and have season lengths of 10, 13 or 26 (not 50).

Some shows may slip (Curb, Copper, Always Sunny). The great difference allows for general viewing — award shows, sports (what once consumed my life, along with political news, a very rare event now), the Bachelor (for the wife) — and random YouTube time wasting (which should most definitely count), as well as Pixar and Thomas movies with my young son.

I should clear this goal easy. The plan is to drop to 4 hours next season.

A Fulham supporter

This past summer I made a decision to support the Fulham Football Club. It was based on several parameters. I wanted to choose a club to support in that it would organically infuse my interest in the game — I started playing in a league in Berkeley around the same time.

First, the club must currently play in the English Premier League (choosing EPL had its own decision process; it mostly hinged on the fact games would be broadcasted in English, increasing the likelihood of me watching).

Second, the club must be near London. In the off chance I do visit England, it will very likely be to London — even if it were a day or two to take advantage of a Heathrow connection — and I would not want to then travel to Manchester or Liverpool. If the team were in the London area it would be possible to go to a game.

Third, the club must not be a superpower (like the Yankees in baseball). I hate the Yankees, and the sentiment translates across the pond: I hate Manchester United and I don’t know a single thing about them (except that they are the Yankees of the EPL). The club must be competitive however — I didn’t want my support following a club out the door through relegation (unless that happened after some time). I’m supporting an EPL team, goddam it!

Fourth, the uniforms must be slick. I didn’t want to regret wearing a jersey.

All of these parameters led to two clubs (Tottenham and Fulham) and then secondary criteria were evaluated. Tottenham had a loose affiliation with the San Jose Earthquakes (the local MLS team) and were in competition to make the Champions League. Fulham had a better name (the Cottagers), better jerseys, an underdog standing, and an American star (Clint Dempsey) — although rumors persisted that he was on his way to a better club in La Liga, and still persist.

Fulham was my choice. I have been supporting the club since August.

I have since studied the club exhaustively — its history (oldest club in London) and its stadium along the Thames (Craven Cottage, soon to be updated). I’ve subscribed to a Cottagers blog and followed a few Fulham twitterers. I’ve purchased two jerseys (a black away Dempsey jersey and a 2010/11 third green kit). And in a few years I plan on attending a game with my son. I’m all in.

I have also watched a few matches — the ones I can download — and had a long mid-week lunch at an Irish pub to enjoy a devastating loss to Man U. I knew the club was not a juggernaut but already my emotions flow with the ups and downs of the EPL season and various cups.

Fulham!

Walking home with dinner

It was a California Saturday in December, a perfectly pleasant day — not at all cold, but with a chill that eventually came through as the sun set behind Marin’s peaks. I was on my way back from the Pinole Creek trail. I stopped at Sala Restaurant on Railroad Avenue. I had phoned in an order twenty minutes earlier as I took my dog on a late afternoon walk. Sala must still not receive many to-go orders because each time I call it seems as though I’m asking for driving directions to the moon and they never take a name or phone number for my order. It works though.

The brown bag emitted a powerful sweet smell of spices and its warmth served as a personal heater on the way home with the wind expectedly picking up through the valley opening at Sycamore bridge. An unobstructed view of the Mare Island draw bridge lied ahead in the distance. I was nearly home, ready to eat and enjoy the evening with my wife, son, and a now-fatigued labrador retriever.

Walking home with dinner. What is a very simple errand has become nearly impossible — or even illegal (thanks to Euclidean zoning) — in suburban communities. But it is the perfect example of an errand and everyday subtlety that is at the core of what we have fought for in the waterfront for the better part of a decade. A cafe, a bar, an upscale restaurant, shops and a grocery store. A place to sit down and talk, in a park, along the bay trail, while waiting for a train — with the car at home in the garage (or parallel parked out front).

The businesses that have opened in the waterfront and survived, now struggling to burden a perilous economy and a structurally-collapsed city, hold on with the hope that the promised development will come, better late than never. Their endeavors — and those that choose to follow — remain threatened by a continued failure to commit to a future of Hercules, one that is defined by controlled, sustainable growth along the waterfront, a walkable urban community built around public transportation.

And the issue is now front-and-center. Again, perhaps for the last time.

Thank god for Charlie Long — when he pulled the alarm last fall he made clear that the unique opportunity on the waterfront should not be abandoned, that its success could very well be a catalyst for the city to recover. Thank god for Jim Anderson — thrown every which way, knocked down to the canvas, month after month, year after year, but resolute through it all, buoyed by a people not willing to give up despite the odds.

Thank god for this new council who do seem to get it, retaining Long and engaging with Anderson, weary of an upside-down budget and a seemingly unlimited number of constraints.

Thank god for my wife who called to remind me that it was my night to do dinner. And thank god for Sala.

§ [insert_php] the_ID(); [/insert_php] · Originally published [insert_php] the_time(‘F j, Y’); [/insert_php].

Ruminating on a failed government

The state is broken, yet I am intrigued by the circumstance. (This post is an aberration of sorts.)

Mark DeSaulnier is coming to town, well, Pinole. The state senator will be hosting a town hall event on state reform Thursday evening in what I would presume to be a packed Pinole City Hall. Unfortunately, “proposals […] on the pressing need for state government reform” is not all that is needed to right the California ship. The state needs to do like France and wave the flag of a second bear republic (or third, depending on the count, while obviously maintaining ties to the union, of course; no South Carolinian separatist first-man-overboard motives here).

A rewriting of the state’s constitution is clearly essential; a constitutional convention in Sacramento, er, Monterey. Anything short of a complete rewrite is merely surficial; the root of the problem is deep and unmoving.

An aversion to taxes — to the point of being perverse — is a principal culprit, in my opinion. Nothing in government is more powerful than local taxes (and nothing is more tangible). If you desire better schools, more police and fire protection, well-kept parks or preserved open spaces, taxes collected and spent at the local level is the answer. And the more taxes kept local, the better.

But in the climate of a body politic, both state-wide and local, demanding no new taxes (pay the teachers by cutting police; pay the police by cutting prisons; pay for prisons by cutting parks; pay for parks — well, get rid of the parks altogether, I guess), meaningful reform is simply not possible beyond a very, very long list of overly positive assumptions. Proposition 13 should be repealed, sure; but government could surely be smaller even if it is repealed and taxation was normalized, stabilized. Local taxes — taxes paid by me, and my neighbor, to pay for streets, schools, parks and police — nothing is more effective.

But the state’s constitution — as it stands — can not stand. This may be an extreme view, but a wholesale reform of the system is needed (the way politicians are elected, the way taxes are collected and tax dollars spent, the amendment/initiative process, etc., everything). This perilous occasion may be perceived as an insult — the failure of a government to serve its people — but it is also an opportunity, nothing short of priceless in its uniqueness, and an equally enormous responsibility, to be present at the creation.

§ [insert_php] the_ID(); [/insert_php] · Originally published [insert_php] the_time(‘F j, Y’); [/insert_php].

GEOtechref

This blog will serve purpose to monitor and provide updates as it relates to the development of GEOtechref, the absolute best reference location on the web for geotechnical engineers. It will also serve as the official support forum.


12/11/2008

Hello world!

I’ve kept GEOtechref on the back-burner for a long time, but I think I’m ready to start developing again. That means more articles, more references, more links, more everything. This blog will track the development progress of the site, and will also serve as the official support forum. Check back here for updates and any new releases.


12/11/2008

Developers Needed

I’m looking for a few good men or women. I need developers with PHP experience. Let me know of any interest in the comments. And remember, this is a dot-org.


12/11/2008

MediaWiki v1.13.2

I’ve upgraded and installed the latest version of MediaWiki — 1.13.2. That means there will undoubtedly be some down-time as I run a few necessary scripts from the shell. The down-time will only affect the editing process and not reading or downloading files or any site navigation.

Let me know in the comments if you are having any particular issues.


12/12/2008

Cavendish

I’ve uploaded the Cavendish skin and installed it as the default. Cavendish is a streamlined skin, and should provide for the best user experience, both for the casual and repeat visitor. If you have an account, you can change your personal skin under My Preferences. Let me know if you have any thoughts — or constructive criticism — on the new (and default) skin in the comments.


12/12/2008

Beta

With the update of MediaWiki and the application of the Cavendish skin (which was on my to-do list for a long while), I’m moving GEOtechref from Alpha status to Beta.

The goals for the Beta version are:

  • expand the library twenty-fold;
  • simplify the end-user experience and make it more efficient; and
  • reduce potential down-time on the backend.

As of right now, my time-table for this Beta version is to last through 2010. It will remain as a fully-accessible website throughout that time, but I do not have plans to rush the development at a frantic and an ultimately unsustainable pace.

Be sure to stay tuned for more updates along the way — including successes, hiccups and failures — with this blog.

For posterity, here is a screen-shot from Alpha, which lasted nearly 18 months…

geotechref-alpha


12/17/2008

Categories

I started a massive re-organization of the site today using the Category tool within MediaWiki. This will help users find the content they are looking for without users doing a search (although a search is the most effective method). This is the growing list of categories.

The navigation panel on the left-hand side now includes an Index. I am working on which of the principal categories should be included in this list. Obviously I will need to settle on only a few at some point. A link to all categories (“Entire Index”) is at the bottom and will probably remain.

Some categories will also include sub-categories (Textbooks, for example). I do not want to have the categories and subcategories become too deep and nested (and cumbersome), however, which may result in the categories becoming counter-productive, both for creating and editing pages and reading and navigating the site.

To categorize an article, add this code to the end of the page…

[[Category:NAME|SORT]]


12/18/2008

Markup Validation

One thing that I strive to keep-up is the site’s validation. It may not be the most important aspect to the user, but on the back-end, it may mean the difference of items not rendering properly on certain pages in certain browsers. I want GEOtechref to be compatible with all browsers, and markup validation is the first step.

I checked the site’s main page with the W3C’s markup validation service and GEOtechref was found to be XHTML 1.0 Transitional.

As a parting gift, W3C offers a banner…

Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional

It’s the thought that counts.


02/26/2009

New Partition

I have moved both the wiki and this blog to a new partition on the server. The blog move — obviously — was without incident. The wiki — on the other hand — not so much. I will try to have this resolved as soon as possible. In the mean time, please refer to you hard-copy library for guidance.

The reason for the move was for more personal than practical reasons. The behavior of the site will not change (once everything is sorted out, that is).

UPDATE: The wiki is back up. Down-time lasted roughly one hour.


08/06/2009

MediaWiki v1.15.1

Late yesterday afternoon, I upgraded and installed the latest version of MediaWiki — 1.15.1. The downtime was minimal, in fact, non-existent, but that doesn’t mean that something will not arise (something always does). Let me know in the comments if you are having any particular issues.

on the hill films

Bear Creek

Bear Creek is a post-Civil war film taking place in the San Francisco bay area. An East Bay man returns home from the war to find his hillside town overrun by a corrupt preacher. The admittedly-cheesy original working title was “Bear Creek Revival.”

As the corrupt preacher is cornered by main character, he shoves gun in his face (six-shooter), woman says “You can’t do it, he is a man of god.” He continues to look at the preacher, but he draws his gun down, looks at the woman, ponders, “a man of god…” Looks back at preacher, heavy breathing but calm. The preacher relaxes a bit. The main guy then draws his gun up very fast and says, “… then he’ll rise from the dead as jesus mother-fuckin christ did.” shoots three shots at him. The surprised preacher falls to the floor, parishioners rush to aid him. The main star hears noise from outside the church, he goes to the porch, sees 3 (?) cowboys (bad guys) come over the not-so-distant hill. He picks up a loaded shotgun (on porch) and shoots 1 guy with 1 shot (sharpshooter style). The 2 (?) others flee from whence they came…As the corrupt preacher is cornered by main character, he shoves gun in his face (six-shooter), woman says “You can’t do it, he is a man of god.” He continues to look at the preacher, but he draws his gun down, looks at the woman, ponders, “a man of god…” Looks back at preacher, heavy breathing but calm. The preacher relaxes a bit. The main guy then draws his gun up very fast and says, “… then he’ll rise from the dead as jesus mother-fuckin christ did.” shoots three shots at him. The surprised preacher falls to the floor, parishioners rush to aid him. The main star hears noise from outside the church, he goes to the porch, sees 3 (?) cowboys (bad guys) come over the not-so-distant hill. He picks up a loaded shotgun (on porch) and shoots 1 guy with 1 shot (sharpshooter style). The 2 (?) others flee from whence they came…


Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn is a political satire comedy about a recent college graduate who works as a manager at a Holiday Inn in Santa Rosa, California. The graduate just completed his MBA at Syracuse University and is given the manager job of a hotel his uncle owns.

The Motel (title to be determined)

A slacker graduates with an MBA (takes a “year off” first) t o get a management position at one of his uncle’s motel chains. Working title “Holiday Inn.” His only solace is him swimming in motel pool at night.

A politically incorrect satirical comedy.
– latino stuff
– guests (the way they leave rooms), fights, etc., havoc!
– old people walking around in circles
– help strike
– “lesson learned”

Narration (as he discusses people around motel)…
And this guy, he comes in three times a week, usually four, with a different woman each time, most of them skanks. And his wife, a milf, a pure milf, the definition of a milf. I wonder — should I tell her, empathize with her, and then get in some kinky milf-style sympathy sex.

Possibly helps/falls for battered woman (w/ child?)


Mendocino

Mendocino is a short horror film (approximate running time: 75 minutes) taken place along the Big River in Mendocino County, California. The original working title was “Big River (The Mendocino War).”


American Tourist

American Tourist is about an American traveling through Europe (and the world). He (or she) deals with the language barriers and different customs.


Trinity

Trinity is an idea for a Bigfoot film. The viewers follow a group of hunters along Trinity River in Northern California.


Humatas

Humatas is a science fiction “thriller.” Thriller is in quotes because that is largely dependent on how the story turns out. The story is centered around Earth one million years from today. Obviously, it will be a much different place. Humatas is the working title.

As a result of thousands of years of nuclear (and chemical and biological) warfare, other technological advancements, and evolution, the humans on Earth that survived the near-extinction are, in fact, mutated humans. These humans, called “humatas,” are the only humans adapted to survive in this wild war zone called Earth.

Other humans that were so isolated they felt little effect from the nuclear wars and technological advancements, would also adapt to survive in their environment, but are considerably weaker than the “humatas.” They are make up a variety of “tribal humans” that are reminiscent of the original humans millions of years ago.

A shrinking population of “true humans” does exist. Tese humans were the only humans to have survived the wars without mutation, but are so frail and fragile, they are easily preyed upon. The “true humans,” however, do have political power and aid in the war against the other evolved species.

Cross-breeding between “true humans” and “humatas” are an active and relatively successful program designed to increase the number of “true humans.” The idea is that after several generations of breeding, the mutated genes of the “humatas” will deteriorate but the the added strength, durability and resistance that define the “humatas” will remain.

Background information.
For the most part, humans have stopped evolving. Humans continue to rule the known universe because of scientific and technological advancements, but there has been very slight change in human physical makeup. These advancements have made humans, as a whole, weaker and more vulnerable.

What happened to humans?
After several thousands of years of near-annihilation due to nuclear warfare, disease, and famine, the only people who have remained are either very weak and fragile or are amongst peoples so isolated they had very little contact with other humans.

The animals and plants evolve.
Over the following millions of years, a very small population of nomadic humans would live on, however struggle with ever-evolving wolves and tigers, apes and falcons. Sea creatures, such as sea lions and dolphins, would exit the sea much like species millions years prior would do through evolution. All of these creatures, in the end, would evolve to become more human-like because that is what has worked on Earth in the past.

Humans have no defense.
After all of the devastation on Earth, or what we know as Earth, the technology that humans came to rely on for power has become obsolete. They have no means to develop weapons that would easily defend them and conquer the animals.

Humans and animals coexist.
A warming follows a periodic ice age. Humans begin growing in population. The humans, however, are outnumbered, outstrengthed and outsmarted by a variety of evolved species.

Human/Animal offspring.
Through the course of time, humans and animals will be able to coexist, depending on species, location, etc. Their offspring, this new breed of species coined “humanimals,” will be the key ingredient for future peace on Earth. (Film tip: the female offspring will be very attractive if the mother is human.)

Tagline.
And the human’s fight for survival will be the next great battle.

Future Earth.
Earth will be much more lush — after years of no technology and mass pollution. But there will be “hot zones,” zones of intense heat due to the eradication of the ozone layer and areas so damaged by nuclear (and chemical and biological) warfare, that being within 100 miles will cause creatures to welt.

Evolved plants.
I am not sure about plants, except that in this lush Earth, there will be dominant plants. Maybe the flytrapper will evolve to catch young animals. Sea plants, algae and coral will dominate their realm.

Story Board

Millions of years from today…
In a time we can not comprehend.
In a place we can not understand, but must realize is Earth.
Things have changed.

Evolution has continued.
Humans have evolved.
Animals and plants have evolved.
Some faster than others.

And after the human race was nearly obliterated.
Nuclear warfare, disease and famine.
The animals caught up.

The sea lions evolved.
The dolphins evolved.
The dogs and cats evolved.
The falcons evolved.
And the monkeys evolved.

Living side-by-side with their equals: humans.
Without the aid of weapons of mass destruction.
The fight for global domination is on.
The human race’s fight to survive is real.
And deadly.

Eddie Lyons (edrl187)

March 5, 2007

[14:25] prefidentBUSH: hibby
[14:26] edrl187: huh?
[14:26] prefidentBUSH: to the jibby
[14:26] prefidentBUSH: whats up eddie
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: how is life?
[14:27] edrl187: good whos this?
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: when u coming up to sf
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: wisniewski
[14:27] edrl187: whats up man
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: im good
[14:27] edrl187: i was just there for thanksgiving
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: started a new job two months ago
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: working in berkeley
[14:27] edrl187: doing what?
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: geotech
[14:27] prefidentBUSH: thats cool
[14:28] edrl187: did you get your PE?
[14:28] prefidentBUSH: went up to tahoe on saturday; fucking insane weather — 40 deg, cool, ten feet of new snow; 2 feet of powder
[14:28] prefidentBUSH: yes
[14:28] prefidentBUSH: u?
[14:28] edrl187: nice
[14:28] edrl187: yeah
[14:28] prefidentBUSH: congrats
[14:28] prefidentBUSH: i sold mine for weed
[14:29] prefidentBUSH: still have teh silver card tho
[14:29] edrl187: ha
[14:29] edrl187: do you see hosley at all?
[14:29] edrl187: hes got a club and a restaraunt
[14:29] prefidentBUSH: i saw him at his club a couple months ago;
[14:30] prefidentBUSH: pretty danky place, but nice
[14:30] prefidentBUSH: i’m hoping i could get up to tahoe sometime with hosley, crash at his cabin;
[14:31] edrl187: does he still have it?
[14:31] prefidentBUSH: yea
[14:32] prefidentBUSH: well, nice talking to you, next time your up here, get in touch; we’ll get ‘cused in the city or something./
[14:32] edrl187: ha
[14:32] edrl187: yeah for sure
[14:32] prefidentBUSH: later
[14:32] edrl187: later