Yep - once every four years - like the Olympics, or the Presidential Election.
Here it is.
Anyone born on a leap day? that would be crazy.
I just read this in sfgate, and thought it was kind of funny:
The Tiffany and Co. jewelry stores took out a big ad to remind people that Leap Day is the "one day when girls can pop the question.'' Tiffany would also like to remind people that it has engagement rings for $1.3 million, a sum than can make boys pop the answer of "no.''
I can see that look on your face now - No, I am not planning on proposing to Dick today. ;)
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Friday, February 27, 2004
"the snack that smiles back"
Mmmm. Munching on goldfish crackers right now. yum.
I really like their little jingle/slogan. It's catchy. It's cute. It plays in my head anytime I eat them.
It's almost as good as:
"looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker"
remember that one?
Truly random thoughts today... :)
what are your favorite jingle/slogans? (she asked, trying to encourage audience participation) Post your favorite in the comments field (just below)!
I really like their little jingle/slogan. It's catchy. It's cute. It plays in my head anytime I eat them.
It's almost as good as:
"looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker"
remember that one?
Truly random thoughts today... :)
what are your favorite jingle/slogans? (she asked, trying to encourage audience participation) Post your favorite in the comments field (just below)!
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Windows Media Center
Today, Dick and I drove to the Gateway store in Berkeley and bought a Media Center PC! (Yep, it's the latest and greatest addition to our collection of Techie-Toys)
What's a media center? Here's the description from the website:
A complete entertainment solution integrating the functionality of a DVD player, digital jukebox, Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and PC in one!
We got the FMC-901.
So, it's a PC, that has a DVR (like a TIVO), can play music (like a jukebox, but with a better User Interface Design) and can show slideshows of all of your digital pictures! It also has a DVD player, and can run any PC application (ie: we can use it just like any other PC). It comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse so (if you want) you can browse the web, check email, ... whatever!
We bought it because we needed a new DVR solution - long story. Will explain that all later.
So far, it's very cool. The DVR part works great - again, nice U.I. It is (of course) networked to the rest of our computers, so we already copied over all of our music and pictures.
What's a media center? Here's the description from the website:
A complete entertainment solution integrating the functionality of a DVD player, digital jukebox, Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and PC in one!
We got the FMC-901.
So, it's a PC, that has a DVR (like a TIVO), can play music (like a jukebox, but with a better User Interface Design) and can show slideshows of all of your digital pictures! It also has a DVD player, and can run any PC application (ie: we can use it just like any other PC). It comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse so (if you want) you can browse the web, check email, ... whatever!
We bought it because we needed a new DVR solution - long story. Will explain that all later.
So far, it's very cool. The DVR part works great - again, nice U.I. It is (of course) networked to the rest of our computers, so we already copied over all of our music and pictures.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Flood in the basement!
yep - you read it right. We had a flood in the basement from all of the rain last night. Not a huge surprise - we usually have a flood down there at least once a year, and the storm last night was really strong. The drain gets overloaded, and just can't keep up with all of the water! Luckily, we have a good system now to sweep the water out - it took 4 years, but we have a system!
It's not as bad as it sounds, either. It's just the back half of the back of the basement. We don't have much back there - just the washer & dryer, and the hot water heater, and the furnace. We've never kept anything stored back there, except for the earthquake kits that are in rubber tubs. We probably had about 2-4 inches, which I suppose isn't all that bad.
Check out this picture. I just found it on sfgate.com. It shows an intersection that's just about 6 blocks from us! So again, a few inches in the basement isn't bad at all :)
It's not as bad as it sounds, either. It's just the back half of the back of the basement. We don't have much back there - just the washer & dryer, and the hot water heater, and the furnace. We've never kept anything stored back there, except for the earthquake kits that are in rubber tubs. We probably had about 2-4 inches, which I suppose isn't all that bad.
Check out this picture. I just found it on sfgate.com. It shows an intersection that's just about 6 blocks from us! So again, a few inches in the basement isn't bad at all :)
Monday, February 23, 2004
Funny MINI article
Alice sent me this article this morning...
Who needs a date when you have the Mini Cooper for company?(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 7/5/2002; Carey, Art
Have you ever walked into a room and seen someone so lovely, so cute, so perfect that you instantly fall in love?
Then you have some idea what it's like to meet Mini.
The full name is Mini Cooper, and it's a car. Between you and me, Mini is a car you want to adopt rather than merely buy, a car you want to sleep with instead of just drive.
Who needs a date when you have the Mini Cooper for company?(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 7/5/2002; Carey, Art
Have you ever walked into a room and seen someone so lovely, so cute, so perfect that you instantly fall in love?
Then you have some idea what it's like to meet Mini.
The full name is Mini Cooper, and it's a car. Between you and me, Mini is a car you want to adopt rather than merely buy, a car you want to sleep with instead of just drive.
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Computer Recycling Center
Ack! Sorry - no posts for a few days. Been busy. Trying to catch up.
Thursday, Dick and I put my MINI to it's first "let's see how much this baby can hold" test. We filled it up, and made a run to the computer recycling center. The people at the center were pretty impressed with how much stuff fit in the car. We kept unloading more boxes.... they said we won the "clown car" award. Here's a short list of what we had:
17" monitor
old Epson SCSI scanner
Laser Writer Printer
color inkjet printer
fax machine
External Syquest EZ Drive
External CD/RW drive
DSL modems
4 or 5 telephones
boxes and bags full of old cables
it all fit just fine in the car. I should have gotten a shot from the side so you can really see how much is in there. You can get an idea by seeing the size of the 17" monitor in picture.
The Computer Recycling Center is a really nice service if you have old hardware and office supplies taking up space in your garage or basement. They will either donate the working equipment to schools, (repair them if necessary) or they will dispose of the equipment properly.
Thursday, Dick and I put my MINI to it's first "let's see how much this baby can hold" test. We filled it up, and made a run to the computer recycling center. The people at the center were pretty impressed with how much stuff fit in the car. We kept unloading more boxes.... they said we won the "clown car" award. Here's a short list of what we had:
17" monitor
old Epson SCSI scanner
Laser Writer Printer
color inkjet printer
fax machine
External Syquest EZ Drive
External CD/RW drive
DSL modems
4 or 5 telephones
boxes and bags full of old cables
it all fit just fine in the car. I should have gotten a shot from the side so you can really see how much is in there. You can get an idea by seeing the size of the 17" monitor in picture.
The Computer Recycling Center is a really nice service if you have old hardware and office supplies taking up space in your garage or basement. They will either donate the working equipment to schools, (repair them if necessary) or they will dispose of the equipment properly.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Why my ♥ is in San Francisco
This article was in sfgate.com this morning. I LOVE living in San Francicso. This article reminded me of some of the reasons why this is such a great City.
Now, That's San Francisco
Nothing like a few thousand gay marriage ceremonies to reignite your urban pride
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Friendly sex shops. Peet's. Dog parks. Stellar restaurants. Superlative tattoo artists. Fabulous weather. Unparalleled natural beauty. Organic foods. Fewer SUVs, more Priuses. Mission burritos. An overwhelming anti-Schwarzenegger sentiment. Sushi. Bush never visits.
There are things that make you happy to live in San Francisco, truly grateful, along with plenty of things that make you hyper-aware that you live in the country's most progressive open-minded convoluted messed-up liberal bubble, for both good and ill.
But few are the things that transcend mere gratitude, things that our struggling budget-strapped modern metropolis has offered of late that makes you say, oh my God, I am right now so incredibly proud to say I live here, I mean just look what we're doing, look what ground we are breaking, what stagnant trends we are blasting, what history we are making.
But for the moment, that's all changed. There is one astounding beacon of political and social (and romantic) action about which San Franciscans can be truly emboldened: The move to legalize same-sex marriage, to hold genuine same-sex wedding ceremonies, this should make any progressive soul proud to live in this amazing city. Deeply, genuinely, thoroughly.
Here's why: No matter what the final outcome, this past week will go down as one of those defining moments, a seminal point in American history. It hearkens back to the civil rights movement and to women's suffrage, though with less screaming chanting effigy-burning marches and beatings by angry cops, and more roses and warm-hearted grins and life-affirming smooches on the steps of city hall.
It was a delicious and heartwarming historic spectacle indeed, and there was simply no way for any person of any elevated consciousness or spiritual awareness -- anyone with any heart whatsoever -- to witness the huge line of happy, eager same-sex couples snaking around city hall and not be deeply moved, profoundly touched.
I was there. I saw the lines, the smiles, felt the intense emotional energy. It was simply irrefutable: These are people in love. These are couples who have been together for years, decades, who have started families and raised children and set up homes replete with dogs and dinner parties and antiques and regular shopping excursions to Safeway and the mall. You know, just like "real" Americans.
These are couples who are willing to go the distance, to commit and connect, and who are eager to prove to themselves and the world that their love is something true and real and momentous, something that, in truth, can only serve to reignite and reunite our stagnant, fractured, contentious, 50 percent-divorce-rate nation. Hey, we need all the help we can get.
And one other thing was very apparent: It was a situation in which you simply could not imagine anyone hurling gobs of intolerant hate at it. It would have required a serious amount of nasty, inbred ignorance and appalling nerve to march up to any of the passionate and committed couples waiting patiently in line for their marriage ceremony and say, you know, God hates you for this, you immoral disgusting sodomites, and it's intolerable and unacceptable that you wish to love and honor each other till death do you part.
Which, yes indeed, is exactly what a great many antigay groups are doing, in effect, right now.
But here's the best part: The City's brave move was not merely a giant well-manicured middle finger to the Christian Right and indignant homophobic conservatives everywhere.
Nor was it just an audacious act of civil disobedience, guaranteed to raise the ire of Bible thumpers and so-called pro-family groups hailing everywhere from Orange County to Colorado Springs. That's just a nice bonus.
It was, more than anything, an incredible celebration of love. The more than 2,600 wedding ceremonies performed so far were the purest evidence, an irrefutable outpouring of the most wondrous and messy and baffling and orgasmic and desperately needed of human emotions, the air electric and warm, the ceremonies themselves radiant and poignant and genuinely tearful.
And no question became so clear, so obvious, as the one being asked by same-sex-marriage advocates around the world: What, really, is so wrong about this? What is the horrible threat about two adults who love each other so intensely, so purely, that they're willing to commit to a lifetime of being together and sleeping together and arguing over who controls the remote? And what government body dares to claim a right to legislate against it?
It is a question no group, no homophobic senator, no piece of antigay legislation, no BushCo stump speech, no Bible-humping pastor has been able to answer with any clarity or conviction.
They can only mumble about immorality and quote some vague Scripture about sodomy that makes them all tingly, as wary biblical scholars all over the world roll their eyes and point to a thousand proofs that demonstrate, over and over again, how the Bible is basically a reinterpreted regurgitated piece of classic patriarchal misogynistic mythmaking that says exactly what the church rewrote it to say.
But I might have part of an answer. From what I can glean from some of my hate mail and the general conservative outcry, here is what the homophobes fear about same-sex marriage: bestiality.
That is, they are utterly terrified that same-sex marriage is a slippery slope of permissive debauchery that will lead to the utter breakdown of social rules and sexual mores, to people being allowed to marry their dogs, or their own dead grandmothers, or chairs, or three hairy men from Miami Beach.
In short, to the neocon Right, a nation that allows gays to marry is a nation with no boundaries and no condoms and where all sorts of illicit disgusting behaviors will soon be legal and be forced upon them, a horrific tribal wasteland full of leeches and flying bugs and scary sex acts they only read about in chat rooms and their beloved "Left Behind" series of cute apocalypse-porn books.
You know, just like how giving blacks the right to own their own land meant we had to give the same rights to house plants and power tools, or how granting women the right to vote meant it was a slippery slope until we gave suffrage to feral cats and sea slugs and rusty hubcaps.
This, then, is why it is a time to be incredibly proud. San Francisco is slapping this moronic worldview back to the dank basement of subhuman intellect, where it belongs. We have broken the taboo, challenged the ignorant and the easily terrified, made it beautifully clear that what matters most in a modern society is not unfounded, naive fears, not uptight religious puling, but a humane and equal, joyous sense of love for all.
The war is far from over. It will be a brutal battle, with much hate yet to be spewed, much Bible waving and law mangling accompanying what will undoubtedly be a slow, painful sea change for a very uptight, easily terrified American society.
But S.F. has taken the lead, has sounded the battle cry, has defined itself anew. And for that, more than any other of its wonders, I am incredibly proud that I live in San Francisco, the best city in the whole goddamn world -- gay, straight or anywhere in between.
Now, That's San Francisco
Nothing like a few thousand gay marriage ceremonies to reignite your urban pride
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Friendly sex shops. Peet's. Dog parks. Stellar restaurants. Superlative tattoo artists. Fabulous weather. Unparalleled natural beauty. Organic foods. Fewer SUVs, more Priuses. Mission burritos. An overwhelming anti-Schwarzenegger sentiment. Sushi. Bush never visits.
There are things that make you happy to live in San Francisco, truly grateful, along with plenty of things that make you hyper-aware that you live in the country's most progressive open-minded convoluted messed-up liberal bubble, for both good and ill.
But few are the things that transcend mere gratitude, things that our struggling budget-strapped modern metropolis has offered of late that makes you say, oh my God, I am right now so incredibly proud to say I live here, I mean just look what we're doing, look what ground we are breaking, what stagnant trends we are blasting, what history we are making.
But for the moment, that's all changed. There is one astounding beacon of political and social (and romantic) action about which San Franciscans can be truly emboldened: The move to legalize same-sex marriage, to hold genuine same-sex wedding ceremonies, this should make any progressive soul proud to live in this amazing city. Deeply, genuinely, thoroughly.
Here's why: No matter what the final outcome, this past week will go down as one of those defining moments, a seminal point in American history. It hearkens back to the civil rights movement and to women's suffrage, though with less screaming chanting effigy-burning marches and beatings by angry cops, and more roses and warm-hearted grins and life-affirming smooches on the steps of city hall.
It was a delicious and heartwarming historic spectacle indeed, and there was simply no way for any person of any elevated consciousness or spiritual awareness -- anyone with any heart whatsoever -- to witness the huge line of happy, eager same-sex couples snaking around city hall and not be deeply moved, profoundly touched.
I was there. I saw the lines, the smiles, felt the intense emotional energy. It was simply irrefutable: These are people in love. These are couples who have been together for years, decades, who have started families and raised children and set up homes replete with dogs and dinner parties and antiques and regular shopping excursions to Safeway and the mall. You know, just like "real" Americans.
These are couples who are willing to go the distance, to commit and connect, and who are eager to prove to themselves and the world that their love is something true and real and momentous, something that, in truth, can only serve to reignite and reunite our stagnant, fractured, contentious, 50 percent-divorce-rate nation. Hey, we need all the help we can get.
And one other thing was very apparent: It was a situation in which you simply could not imagine anyone hurling gobs of intolerant hate at it. It would have required a serious amount of nasty, inbred ignorance and appalling nerve to march up to any of the passionate and committed couples waiting patiently in line for their marriage ceremony and say, you know, God hates you for this, you immoral disgusting sodomites, and it's intolerable and unacceptable that you wish to love and honor each other till death do you part.
Which, yes indeed, is exactly what a great many antigay groups are doing, in effect, right now.
But here's the best part: The City's brave move was not merely a giant well-manicured middle finger to the Christian Right and indignant homophobic conservatives everywhere.
Nor was it just an audacious act of civil disobedience, guaranteed to raise the ire of Bible thumpers and so-called pro-family groups hailing everywhere from Orange County to Colorado Springs. That's just a nice bonus.
It was, more than anything, an incredible celebration of love. The more than 2,600 wedding ceremonies performed so far were the purest evidence, an irrefutable outpouring of the most wondrous and messy and baffling and orgasmic and desperately needed of human emotions, the air electric and warm, the ceremonies themselves radiant and poignant and genuinely tearful.
And no question became so clear, so obvious, as the one being asked by same-sex-marriage advocates around the world: What, really, is so wrong about this? What is the horrible threat about two adults who love each other so intensely, so purely, that they're willing to commit to a lifetime of being together and sleeping together and arguing over who controls the remote? And what government body dares to claim a right to legislate against it?
It is a question no group, no homophobic senator, no piece of antigay legislation, no BushCo stump speech, no Bible-humping pastor has been able to answer with any clarity or conviction.
They can only mumble about immorality and quote some vague Scripture about sodomy that makes them all tingly, as wary biblical scholars all over the world roll their eyes and point to a thousand proofs that demonstrate, over and over again, how the Bible is basically a reinterpreted regurgitated piece of classic patriarchal misogynistic mythmaking that says exactly what the church rewrote it to say.
But I might have part of an answer. From what I can glean from some of my hate mail and the general conservative outcry, here is what the homophobes fear about same-sex marriage: bestiality.
That is, they are utterly terrified that same-sex marriage is a slippery slope of permissive debauchery that will lead to the utter breakdown of social rules and sexual mores, to people being allowed to marry their dogs, or their own dead grandmothers, or chairs, or three hairy men from Miami Beach.
In short, to the neocon Right, a nation that allows gays to marry is a nation with no boundaries and no condoms and where all sorts of illicit disgusting behaviors will soon be legal and be forced upon them, a horrific tribal wasteland full of leeches and flying bugs and scary sex acts they only read about in chat rooms and their beloved "Left Behind" series of cute apocalypse-porn books.
You know, just like how giving blacks the right to own their own land meant we had to give the same rights to house plants and power tools, or how granting women the right to vote meant it was a slippery slope until we gave suffrage to feral cats and sea slugs and rusty hubcaps.
This, then, is why it is a time to be incredibly proud. San Francisco is slapping this moronic worldview back to the dank basement of subhuman intellect, where it belongs. We have broken the taboo, challenged the ignorant and the easily terrified, made it beautifully clear that what matters most in a modern society is not unfounded, naive fears, not uptight religious puling, but a humane and equal, joyous sense of love for all.
The war is far from over. It will be a brutal battle, with much hate yet to be spewed, much Bible waving and law mangling accompanying what will undoubtedly be a slow, painful sea change for a very uptight, easily terrified American society.
But S.F. has taken the lead, has sounded the battle cry, has defined itself anew. And for that, more than any other of its wonders, I am incredibly proud that I live in San Francisco, the best city in the whole goddamn world -- gay, straight or anywhere in between.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
MINIs Everywhere!
The MINI Cooper really is the perfect city car. It's small (for parking) economical, good power, and cute as can be. I've certainly noticed them a lot more in San Francisco over the past year.
The morning was the topper, though. I was driving to get bagels this morning, and spotted 3 MINI Coopers driving along the way. The bagel store is about 1/2 mile away, so that's a LOT of MINIs within a short amount of time/space. Very funny. All different colors, too! I'm red, I saw a black Cooper with a white top, a blue Cooper with a white top, and a Pepper White Cooper with a Black top.
They're EVERYWHERE! :)
The morning was the topper, though. I was driving to get bagels this morning, and spotted 3 MINI Coopers driving along the way. The bagel store is about 1/2 mile away, so that's a LOT of MINIs within a short amount of time/space. Very funny. All different colors, too! I'm red, I saw a black Cooper with a white top, a blue Cooper with a white top, and a Pepper White Cooper with a Black top.
They're EVERYWHERE! :)
Monday, February 16, 2004
Penguin Baseball!!!
This is hysterical!!!
found this on Reeve's blog:
Penguin Baseball
My high score so far: 1197.1
Dick's high score: 1214.7
found this on Reeve's blog:
Penguin Baseball
My high score so far: 1197.1
Dick's high score: 1214.7
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Update on the neighbor's Xmas Tree
Looks like they finally took it down. I think it was yesterday.
So, just for our records: February 14, 2004.
Yep, about 1 1/2 months after everyone else took their trees down.
To top it off, I think it was a real tree! I noticed that it was starting to look brown through the window.
Ugh. What a fire hazzard!
So, just for our records: February 14, 2004.
Yep, about 1 1/2 months after everyone else took their trees down.
To top it off, I think it was a real tree! I noticed that it was starting to look brown through the window.
Ugh. What a fire hazzard!
Saturday, February 14, 2004
More pictures from Chinese New Year
My Uncle Bill just sent a whole bunch of nice photos from our Chinese New Year celebration. I've added his pictures to the web site that I made.
♥ Happy Heart Day ♥
Happy Valentine's Day!
Dick and I had a really nice day. He isn't into Valentine's Day at all (who can blame him, really) so we pretty much had a nice, normal day. We made a very nice meal tonight to "celebrate": we roasted a chicken, and found a great recipe for leeks and carrots. Yum!
Honestly, I think my most memorable Valentine's Days were the years that I celebrated "un-Valentine's Days" with friends. Most notably:
Valentine's Day 1990:
"Single and Unattached Day". My sister and I were living in Dayton, OH, doing the color guard thing. We had a bunch of people over - probably 12-16. We made dinner (or perhaps ordered pizza). I remember that our friend, Beth, baked 2 heart-shaped cakes, frosted them, then proceeded to cut through them with jagged lines (like a broken heart). It was a lot of fun.
The other memorable "un-Valentine's Day" was 2000. Dick and I had been dating for over a year, and he was in Japan (on business) for the 2nd Valentine's Day in a row. Since he was literally out of the country, I went to join a bunch of friends for a "Bitter Valentine's Party". My friend, Philip, arranged it. There was a group of us (10, maybe?) who met at Nirvana in the Castro. We had a contest for "who was the most bitter". I think it was Laura who won - she had a speech about not dating because she was a "fag hag", had dated too many men who turned gay, and then just couldn't find any decent straight men. She did, of course, meet the man of her dreams later that year, and was married 1 1/2 years later. They've been married for a couple of years now, and have a little baby girl! :)
So, however you choose to celebrate (or not) Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
Dick and I had a really nice day. He isn't into Valentine's Day at all (who can blame him, really) so we pretty much had a nice, normal day. We made a very nice meal tonight to "celebrate": we roasted a chicken, and found a great recipe for leeks and carrots. Yum!
Honestly, I think my most memorable Valentine's Days were the years that I celebrated "un-Valentine's Days" with friends. Most notably:
Valentine's Day 1990:
"Single and Unattached Day". My sister and I were living in Dayton, OH, doing the color guard thing. We had a bunch of people over - probably 12-16. We made dinner (or perhaps ordered pizza). I remember that our friend, Beth, baked 2 heart-shaped cakes, frosted them, then proceeded to cut through them with jagged lines (like a broken heart). It was a lot of fun.
The other memorable "un-Valentine's Day" was 2000. Dick and I had been dating for over a year, and he was in Japan (on business) for the 2nd Valentine's Day in a row. Since he was literally out of the country, I went to join a bunch of friends for a "Bitter Valentine's Party". My friend, Philip, arranged it. There was a group of us (10, maybe?) who met at Nirvana in the Castro. We had a contest for "who was the most bitter". I think it was Laura who won - she had a speech about not dating because she was a "fag hag", had dated too many men who turned gay, and then just couldn't find any decent straight men. She did, of course, meet the man of her dreams later that year, and was married 1 1/2 years later. They've been married for a couple of years now, and have a little baby girl! :)
So, however you choose to celebrate (or not) Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
Friday, February 13, 2004
Gettin' Married at City Hall
No, Dick and I did not get married at City Hall today. :)
We were there as witnesses for the marriage of our good friends, Pete & Richard.
Pete & Richard were one of several hundred gay & lesbian couples who were married at San Francisco City Hall today. Today's estimate is about 850, plus yesterday's 90 marriages.
I was pretty amazing to be a part of our friend's wedding, and to be involved in such an important historical act.
I'm reading SFgate right now, and they state that "Same sex couples waited up to 2 hours to get married at City Hall." We arrived at 2:00, and waited in line for about 4 hours. It's was pretty cool though - it was such a joyous occasion for everyone. The couple ahead of us drove from Santa Cruz, while the 2 men behind us were on vacation from New York. I loved hearing about their day: They went to Alcatraz this morning, had lunch, then decided to go to City Hall to get married.
Congratulations to Pete & Richard, Andrew & Barry, and to the other several hundred couples who were able to get married legally for the first time ever! (we'll see what happens next week, but for now, let's celebrate!)
By the way, SFgate reports that the City stood to take in $50,000 in wedding license fee. I assume that's just for the first two days. Imagine how much money that will be by Monday night. I think our new Mayor may have found a way to reduce the City's deficit!
Congratulations, Pete & Richard!!
We were there as witnesses for the marriage of our good friends, Pete & Richard.
Pete & Richard were one of several hundred gay & lesbian couples who were married at San Francisco City Hall today. Today's estimate is about 850, plus yesterday's 90 marriages.
I was pretty amazing to be a part of our friend's wedding, and to be involved in such an important historical act.
I'm reading SFgate right now, and they state that "Same sex couples waited up to 2 hours to get married at City Hall." We arrived at 2:00, and waited in line for about 4 hours. It's was pretty cool though - it was such a joyous occasion for everyone. The couple ahead of us drove from Santa Cruz, while the 2 men behind us were on vacation from New York. I loved hearing about their day: They went to Alcatraz this morning, had lunch, then decided to go to City Hall to get married.
Congratulations to Pete & Richard, Andrew & Barry, and to the other several hundred couples who were able to get married legally for the first time ever! (we'll see what happens next week, but for now, let's celebrate!)
By the way, SFgate reports that the City stood to take in $50,000 in wedding license fee. I assume that's just for the first two days. Imagine how much money that will be by Monday night. I think our new Mayor may have found a way to reduce the City's deficit!
Congratulations, Pete & Richard!!
Thursday, February 12, 2004
There's a PC in my Mac!!!!
I just installed Virtual PC onto my Mac. I also had to install Windows XP Professional.
Crazy, man.
There's a PC in my Mac now.
I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet, but it's pretty cool so far.
Why would I do this?
Because I believe that the world is a good place, where PCs and Macs can live together in harmony. ;)
The real reason is that I want to use it to test out all of my web sites on PC Browsers as well as Mac browsers. True, I do have Dick's PC (sitting behind me in the office) but this way I can do it all in one place. Also, I run Quickbooks on Windows, so now I can do everything from one computer.
.... or is it because I'm simply too lazy to turn around and use the other computer? :) No not really. It's mostly "Because I Can".
Omar (a.k.a. "The Oracle") is a Project Manager for Virtual PC for the Mac. I'm sure I'll have all kinds of questions to ask him! (hi Omar!)
Actually, after reading Omar's blog, I see there's an update for Virtual PC for Mac. (downloading now.....) thanks, Omar!
Will report more on this soon!
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Gallery Reception
Busy day at Adler & Co. Gallery today. We had a reception tonight which showcased the new Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Hilla Rebay Show.
We will be having another reception sometime soon. Tonight's was actually a private reception. We'll be doing another soon that will be open to the general public. I'll keep you posted.
The show will be up through May 1st. It's a pretty remarkable show - 2 amazing women artists where were really pioneers in their fields. It's very inspirational. You should drop by and see it sometime.
We will be having another reception sometime soon. Tonight's was actually a private reception. We'll be doing another soon that will be open to the general public. I'll keep you posted.
The show will be up through May 1st. It's a pretty remarkable show - 2 amazing women artists where were really pioneers in their fields. It's very inspirational. You should drop by and see it sometime.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Pictures from Chinese New Year
We had a (late) Chinese New Year celebration with my family on Saturday. It was an all day event - from 1:00 til 10:00pm! My Grandmother has always done all of the prep work and cooking for the feast, until last year. We all thought it would be a good idea to let her relax and rest more, tell us what to do, and teach us how to cook our favorite dishes! We started this new tradition last year.
It was quite a feast: Steamed Chicken, Steamed fish, bok choy, guy-lon, tin foil chicken, roast duck, spare ribs, shrimp, etc.,...
Last year, Grandma decided that Dick was the one who should help with the wok cooking! (Good thing he already knows how to cook with a wok!) She said that he's the only one tall enough to really have the leverage to work the wok well.
It was a lot of work, a lot of time prepping and cooking, but a LOT of fun! ... and did I mention how DELICIOUS it was??!!
Here are some pictures.
It was quite a feast: Steamed Chicken, Steamed fish, bok choy, guy-lon, tin foil chicken, roast duck, spare ribs, shrimp, etc.,...
Last year, Grandma decided that Dick was the one who should help with the wok cooking! (Good thing he already knows how to cook with a wok!) She said that he's the only one tall enough to really have the leverage to work the wok well.
It was a lot of work, a lot of time prepping and cooking, but a LOT of fun! ... and did I mention how DELICIOUS it was??!!
Here are some pictures.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
update on the Christmas tree...
Today if February 4th.
Our neighbors (across the street) STILL have their Christmas Tree up in the front window, and decorated! wow. I may have to take a picture of that to show you guys. It's fairly unbelievable.
I'm really curious to see just how long they're going to keep it up. It's like a game now!
Our neighbors (across the street) STILL have their Christmas Tree up in the front window, and decorated! wow. I may have to take a picture of that to show you guys. It's fairly unbelievable.
I'm really curious to see just how long they're going to keep it up. It's like a game now!
Monday, February 02, 2004
Now That's a monitor!
This just in! (I LOVE amazon.com) Here's my new 17" Sony Monitor! It's gorgeous! Just hooked it up. So far, so good. And... It's HUGE!!! It's dwarfing my little 15" Powerbook monitor.
pretty
Oh, and while we're at it.... here's my "home office" set up! (It's a little messy right now, so please ignore that) The new monitor is (obviously) on the left side, with my 15" Powerbook set up on the right. I LOVE using two monitors to work on. Makes life so much easier. My Powerbook is sitting on a clear, acrylic stand. Yes, that is my old Powerbook G3 sitting underneath. I still find the need to pull it out every once in a while, so I like to keep it available. My keyboard is in front of my Powerbook(s) - it's so nice to have a full-size keyboard and mouse hooked up to the Powerbook at home.
Ok, that's all for now. I'll submit a full report on the new monitor after a few days of using it. For now, I just know that it looks pretty!
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Day Two: Still LOVE my MINI!
Yep. Still fabulous.
Forgot to mention that after we came home from the dealership yesterday, Dick took the wheel, and drove the MINI up to Twin Peaks. It was a great ride - he was amazed at how well the car took to all of the turns! Lots of fun. Even better: it gets even better after going through the 1,200 mile break-in period! After that, we can rev it up above 4500rpm, and try using the CVT Steptronic mode! :) Unfortunately, I didn't bring our camera with us. If I had it with us, I could have taken a great picture of the MINI, on it's first day home, on top of Twin Peaks, overlooking the City, during a gorgeous sunset. Try to visualize it...... Pretty, huh?
We also had another good test of the MINI's performance today. We had dim sum this afternoon at Ton Kiang (in the Richmond district). We drove out there with Pete & Richard, and tried it out on some moderate hills - first time riding with 4 people in the car. It went well - I honestly didn't notice the extra weight. That's a good sign! We fit in pretty well, although Pete was a little cramped in the back seat. We called it a clown car when we all stepped out.
Forgot to mention that after we came home from the dealership yesterday, Dick took the wheel, and drove the MINI up to Twin Peaks. It was a great ride - he was amazed at how well the car took to all of the turns! Lots of fun. Even better: it gets even better after going through the 1,200 mile break-in period! After that, we can rev it up above 4500rpm, and try using the CVT Steptronic mode! :) Unfortunately, I didn't bring our camera with us. If I had it with us, I could have taken a great picture of the MINI, on it's first day home, on top of Twin Peaks, overlooking the City, during a gorgeous sunset. Try to visualize it...... Pretty, huh?
We also had another good test of the MINI's performance today. We had dim sum this afternoon at Ton Kiang (in the Richmond district). We drove out there with Pete & Richard, and tried it out on some moderate hills - first time riding with 4 people in the car. It went well - I honestly didn't notice the extra weight. That's a good sign! We fit in pretty well, although Pete was a little cramped in the back seat. We called it a clown car when we all stepped out.