January 1, 2013 | Here it is, January 1, and we're not at the bottom of a cliff. Maybe. The Senate has voted to approve "the deal" worked out by Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden. Next, the House. As the saying goes, I'll believe it when I see the votes. more
Morning ice
January 14, 2013 | High wind warning! Freeze warning! Oh, yes, winter is here. more
Memo to self
February 1, 2013 | As 2013 approached, I got it into my head that my new year's project would be to convert this site from thousands of static HTML pages into one with just a few dynamic pages that would suck appropriate content out of a database and build the necessary HTML page on-the-fly. more
Consumer Cellular fails massively
February 2, 2013 | You've seen them on TV, Consumer Cellular customers chirping smugly about how much they just love Consumer Cellular — they don't have a contract, they save so much money, if they ever need more minutes they can just change their plan. According to them, Consumer Cellular is the bee's knees. more
Consumer Cellular redeems itself -- maybe
February 3, 2013 | This morning I called Customer Service at Consumer Cellular again, having allowed what I deemed sufficient time for them to report to work on a Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday no less. I was prepared to be righteously indignant and in high dudgeon, but a cheerful Andrew disarmed me. more
Super Bowl and Super Feast
February 4, 2013 | The usual suspects came over yesterday to watch the Super Bowl — well, the commercials, actually — and have a pre-cruise feast. more
Off to sea we go
February 12, 2013 | The usual suspects are aboard the Carnival Inspiration for a four-day cruise with stops in Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico, followed by a "fun day at sea" before returning to Long Beach. more
Ensenada and a Fun Day at Sea
February 15, 2013 | After sailing aimlessly in circles for several hours Tuesday night, we arrived Wednesday morning in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, where we had booked a winery tour for the morning. more
Cruise odds and ends
February 27, 2013 | We've been back from our cruise almost two weeks now, and I've finally gone through the pictures and videos to do a catch-up post. more
And the Oscar goes to
February 28, 2013 | Sunday was the annual Oscar ceremony and accompanying diversions and amusements, so the usual suspects gathered to observe the occasion with appropriate food, beverages, and hilarity. more
The 8.5 hour brunch
March 4, 2013 | One week ago it was the Oscars, and the usual suspects gathered to critique the wardrobe on the Red Carpet and ooh and aaah over the awards. Since there was an enormous amount of turkey left over, we agreed to assemble again to observe.... It doesn't matter. Nothing at all really. Just because. more
First harvest of the season
March 4, 2013 | We've had several days of balmy temperatures in the high 70s and even into the 80s. Caressed by the sun, the tomatoes have begun to ripen. more
Seeking Aurora
March 21, 2013 | Aurora, the Roman Goddess of Dawn, called Eos by the Greeks, flies across the sky each day announcing the arrival of the sun, and her name is given to the phenomenon of the northern lights, Aurora Borealis. Last week Jim & Angela, Bob C, and I went off to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, hoping to see a good show. more
Supreme pusillanimity at the court
March 28, 2013 | The very name, Supreme Court, evokes an image of august and learned jurists asking trenchant questions that lay bare essential legal questions that underlie a case. If that's your notion, the past two days of oral arguments on the California Prop 8 and DOMA cases must surely make the scales fall from your eyes. It's not only Justice who is blind, but several justices as well, groping in the dark for a light switch so they can find their way out. more
Easter Chez Bob
April 1, 2013 | The usual suspects assembled yesterday afternoon chez Bob for an easter feast to be preceded by the usual cocktail hour, which began with a coconut concoction blended by Bob. more
You shouldn't have to ask for a good deal
April 1, 2013 | A charge came through on my credit card today to renew my internet phone service — voice-over-IP (VoIP) which I obtain from a company confusingly named VoIPo — and was surprised to be getting a bill in April for a service that I distinctly remembered having started at the beginning of a year, so I logged on to check my account. more
Springtime blossoms in the backyard
April 2, 2013 | It's spring, and Mother Nature has been adding touches of color to the backyard. more
For want of a cap!
April 9, 2013 | Last Friday I ran the dishwasher in the morning, having forgotten to do it Thursday night before I went to bed, and that's how I found out I have a leak in the kitchen. more
Opera in the Park 2013
April 10, 2013 | Sunday was the 15th annual Opera in the Park, presented by the Palm Springs Opera Guild. more
Oho! Who's hiding in the sage?
April 18, 2013 | This morning I was in the back yard doing a bit of work and decided that I would trim the sage plant in the herb garden; it was in full bloom and invading the space for other herbs. more
My garden grows!
April 19, 2013 | I diligently planted my garden in October as "they" say one should. Frankly I'm not sure that was such a good idea. more
Three score and ten years
May 1, 2013 | Once upon a time, three score and ten years ago to be precise, my mother roared and gave forth ... me. more
When Jim and Angela came to visit
May 4, 2013 | Jim and Angela attended a conservancy conference in Anaheim and made a swing into the desert on their way home. more
Experimenting with Google AdWords Express
May 13, 2013 | Every so often I get offers from my web hosting company to try Google AdWords Express. Finally one was sweet enough that I decided to try it. more
IRS doing its job: Oh, the scandal!
May 13, 2013 | The right wing is up in arms because the Cincinnatti office of the IRS, years ago, began scrutinizing organizations applying for tax-exempt status, ones with terms like "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their names. more
Memorial Day 2013
May 28, 2013 | What kind of a holiday would it be if you didn't get together with your friends and share food and drink? more
Chip pays a visit
May 31, 2013 | Yesterday a new varmint came calling to my backyard. Well, I saw him come calling for the first time is probably more likely. more
Greedy Google and my AdWords Express budget
June 1, 2013 | It seems that almost every time I sign in to my Google AdWords Express account, I am greeted by a message, "Welcome! We made several changes to AdWords Express." more
Junk email and making it stop
June 2, 2013 | Everyone's email inbox fills up daily with junk email. What's a body to do? more
OMG! They are spying on us!
June 7, 2013 | The Guardian and Washington Post have both published blockbuster articles detailing ways that the government, namely the National Security Agency, is spying on US citizens. more
Income inequality
June 11, 2013 | Sometimes an editorial cartoonist validates the maxim about a picture being worth a thousand words in a stunningly apt way. more
Fraud detection check
June 12, 2013 | To make things easy during my up-coming road trip, I moved all my email to Outlook.com. Almost every message now shows the warning, "This sender failed our fraud detection checks." more
Simply Ink - Did they simply stop?
June 12, 2013 | Faithful readers will recall that I recently tried to UNsubscribe from junk email from SimplyInk. more
Day 1 Most excellent roadtrip begins
June 13, 2013 | Day One of Paul's most excellent roadtrip adventure of 2013 began in the most predictable way — with a panic attack: Did I close the garage door? more
Day 2 Zion National Park
June 14, 2013 | This morning I got up with the chickens in order to get into the park before the deluge of weekend visitors. Unfortunately, the chickens I was paying attention to are in a different time zone. more
Day 3 Awesome from the top down
June 15, 2013 | This 3rd day of my roadtrip began by visiting the Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park and ended with Bryce Canyon National Park. more
Day 4 Down the down staircase
June 16, 2013 | I'm a day ahead of my trip plan, so today was to be a leisurely drive and visit to Capitol Reef NP. more
Day 5 Leaving Utah
June 17, 2013 | When I gased up at the only open gas station in Torrey, Utah, the pumps were playing GSTV — Gas Station Television. It's bad enough we have to pump our own gas, and we don't need to have commercials playing at us while we do it. more
Jottings
June 18, 2013 | Since the Toyota dealer could not fit me in until the afternoon, I spent the morning doing a load of laundry at the hotel and shopping for a new belt before heading off to the Toyota dealer. more
Day 6 Black Canyon of the Gunnison
June 18, 2013 | The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is another park experienced from the rim of the canyon. Upon entering the park, a road snakes along the rim of the canyon for several miles, offering stunning views of a narrow canyon with a river running through it. more
Day 7 Crossing and being cross
June 19, 2013 | Today was a travel day, intended to put some miles to the north northwest. It wasn't my pleasure to spend so much of it sitting in "one lane road" lines while construction crews did their thing. more
Day 8 Hanging out with George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe
June 20, 2013 | Leaving Estes Park was a matter of finding Big Thompson Avenue and following it as it became Big Thompson Canyon Road following the Big Thompson River down to the lower elevations. I don't know who Big Thompson was, but he must have been an important someone. more
Day 9 Miles I have gone and now I sleep
June 21, 2013 | Today was the kind of day that just makes you ask Why? I had whittled off a few miles of today's program by spending the night in Wall, South Dakota, instead of Rapid City as I had planned. But when I woke this morning in Wall, a wall of humidity and very low hanging clouds met me at the door. more
Day 10 Canoeing on the Red Cedar with riparian entertainments
June 22, 2013 | Today I went canoeing with the nieces and nephews begat by my sister Edna Mae. more
Day 11 Cousinfest
June 24, 2013 | When the nieces and nephews learned that I would be stopping in Hastings, Minnesota, on this roadtrip, Niece Sharon volunteered to host a potluck gathering of the cousins that could make it, so that I could see as many of them as possible. more
Day 12 Blast from the past
June 24, 2013 | We lived on a farm out in the country, but I went to school in Hastings, MN, and it furnished us with our postal address. more
Day 13 Downtown looking up
June 25, 2013 | Today was a bright, sunny day, so I took myself downtown for breakfast. I also decided to walk from one end of downtown to the other and back again, paying attention to the architecture. more
Day 14 Getting ready to move again
June 26, 2013 | Yesterday was sister Ethel's "four score and seven" birthday. There was cake and ice cream and a lot of very funny birthday cards to commemorate the occasion. more
Day 16 Trailing Lewis and Clark
June 28, 2013 | After showering and checking myself for bedbug bites, I hit the road for the next stop, Cody, Wyoming, one of the gateways to Yellowstone National Park. more
Day 15 Theodore Roosevelt National Park
June 28, 2013 | This was an 11-hour drive day. It really wasn't worth it. more
Day 17 Yellowstone National Park
June 29, 2013 | I entered Yellowstone NP through the East Gate, and it was not a pretty picture. Nothing but dead trees. more
Day 18 Old Faithful to Craters of the Moon via Grand Teton
June 30, 2013 | I had to, had to see Old Faithful erupt this morning, followed by a pass through Grand Teton NP, followed by a swing back up into Idaho to visit the Craters of the moon. more
Day 19 Arco to Reno
July 1, 2013 | It happened again this morning leaving Arco, Idaho, just as it happened twice yesterday approaching Arco, Idaho. Sophie was cruising merrily along when suddenly she was in the grip of a mighty force that shook her, pummeled her, and jostled her roughly about the roadway. more
Day 20 Home at last!
July 2, 2013 | Poor Sophie. Each time I went down another level of the circular ramp in the parking garage, she said, "In a quarter of a mile, left turn." more
July 4th celebrated in usual way - by overeating
July 5, 2013 | Festivities began early in the afternoon as Bob began mixing margaritas. more
The adventures of Young William
July 15, 2013 | William is the son of my friends Carolyn and Hal, and he's decided that he will bike "in the direction of South America." more
Fire moon
July 16, 2013 | A wildfire broke out near Mountain Center yesterday afternoon and quickly spread over 1000 acres. more
Shame on you, Google!
July 20, 2013 | In May I wrote about my experiment with Google AdWords Express, with a follow-up about how quickly Google managed to run up charges for the ads using a black-box formula to calculate the value of each search keyword. Here's a new gotcha! more
Meet Ooma
July 23, 2013 | Many years ago I decided to cut the umbilical cord to the phone company and go completely cellular. It was a noble aim, but one frought with gotchas. more
Fire again
August 8, 2013 | Yesterday afternoon about two o'clock another wildfire started near Banning, and by the time to go to hapy hour, a thick pall of acrid smoke blanketed the valley, all the way down to the ground, driven by strong west winds through the pass. more
Annoying people on television
August 11, 2013 | I watch very little television, but that has not stopped me from formulating my list of the most annoying people in television ads. more
Perseid meteor shower was more like a meteor light sprinkle
August 12, 2013 | Last night, or this morning, rather, was supposed to be the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Brave soothsayers predicted that there might be as many as one hundred per hour. more
Windmills at sunset
August 26, 2013 | Between fires and tempestuous weather, we have been treated to some spectacular sunsets and sunrises lately. At last Friday's sunet I drove to the train station where there is a an unobstructed view across the valley floor to see if I could get a few good snaps. more
Labor Day observance
September 4, 2013 | Labor Day has lost most of its meaning, especially in the context of the Republican war against organized labor. more
The fair to a fare-thee-well
September 19, 2013 | If it's September, it's time to go to the Los Angeles County Fair, AKA "the Pomona fair," so called because the fair is actually held in Pomona. Naturally, we went on Wednesday, which is Senior Day when prices for us of many birthdays is dropped to $5. more
Windmills of their minds
September 23, 2013 | Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) spent the summer—and a lot of advertising dollars — trying to convince us that getting rid of "Obamacare" would be as easy as "defunding" it. more
What exceptional irony
September 23, 2013 | At the end of his address to the nation on Syria, President Obama wrapped himself in the concept of American exceptionalism as his final argument: more
Cruz missile was a dud
September 25, 2013 | Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) vowed that he would do anything and everything to stop Obamacare. To that end he began yesterday to exercise his right as a senator to talk as long as he wanted. And he talked, and talked, and talked. more
Tea Party tantrum
September 28, 2013 | Congress has been infected by the Tea Party virus, and it has now spread from the House to the Senate. They want their way, and if they don't get it they are going to blow up the government and the economy. And their way right now means sabotaging or getting rid of the Affordable Care Act (AKA "Obamacare"). more
Thirty days hath September
September 30, 2013 | It's the final hour of the final day of the fiscal year, and our duly elected representatives in Washington cannot even agree to just continue the status quo funding of the government for six weeks in the absence of a budget. more
They do not even understand how to take hostages
October 1, 2013 | Let's think about what happens when someone is taken hostage. The hostage-taker siezes the hostage and then makes a demand: Give me what I want or the hostage gets it. more
Unreality TV
October 3, 2013 | The unbridled rage and petulant demands you see coming from House Republican members, on C-SPAN and elsewhere, shows all too clearly what happens when you disconnect yourself from reality. more
Close to boiling over
October 3, 2013 | Words have consequences, and all the incendiary, uncivil, and divisive talk in Washington, on talk-radio, and on talk-TV has begun to provoke violence. more
Yes, negotiate
October 5, 2013 | The Republican position in the current Washington standoff has devolved to unceasing demands to "negotiate." more
Unconditional surrender
October 9, 2013 | When Republican intransigence shut down the government, it was ostensibly because they wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. We know how that worked out: delay the ACA, delay the individual mandate of the ACA, repeal a tax that pays for the ACA. more
Picking favorites
October 9, 2013 | I just tuned into C-SPAN and saw the Repugnicans engaging in another round of picking favorite parts of the government. more
Known by the company you keep
October 10, 2013 | A whole bunch of the Republicans are spreading the word that a US default would be no big deal; some even claim a default isn't even possible! This is whistling past the graveyard for sure. more
OMG - snow!
October 10, 2013 | Just before sunrise this morning, the temperature chez moi was 47°F. When the sun came up, the mountain sparkled with new snow! more
All pain, no gain
October 18, 2013 | During the standoff on Capitol Hill, John Boehner declared it was "not a damn game" and, equally resolute, that he would not make an "unconditional surrender" to President Obama. more
"Glitch" puts a glitch in my brain
October 21, 2013 | Ever notice that there are some words that you hardly ever hear, maybe for years, and then suddenly the word is everywhere? So is it with "glitch." more
A real glitch - the Versa Note commercial
October 22, 2013 | There is an energetic and catchy commercial for the Nissan Versa Note, titled "Door Trip," enjoying a lot of airtime on TV since the ad was released in mid August. more
Palm Springs Pride 2013
November 4, 2013 | Pride 2013 dawned clear and bright. As it should. more
The color of proud money
November 6, 2013 | Today's Desert Sun had a follow-up article on last weekend's Pride festivities with several interesting tidbits, including that festival organizers estimated attendance "up 30 percent to 40 percent from last year." more
Ouch!
November 12, 2013 | A protester in Moscow took off all his clothes in Red Square, sat down on the cobblestones, and nailed his scrotum to the street. more
The scoop on The Scoop
November 13, 2013 | I admit it — it was an impulse purchase. more
Lunch at Costco
November 15, 2013 | During The Season I avoid Costco assiduously on Saturdays. Henceforth, Friday will also be shunned. more
Watching Oklahoma! with a different viewpoint
November 18, 2013 | The other night I was casting about for something to watch on TV and came upon a performance of Oklahoma! from London's Royal National Theatre starring Hugh Jackman who is always watchable. more
Dems to GOP - enough already
November 21, 2013 | The Senate has been tied in knots for years now, with every vote requiring 60 votes in support. more
Thanksgiving 2013
November 28, 2013 | The usual suspects gathered chez moi for our annual Thanksgiving dinner and celebration of our enduring friendship. more
"Helpful" feature of the Prius
November 30, 2013 | The longer I own my Prius, the more things I find to dislike. more
Return of the wascally wabbit
December 2, 2013 | The back yard has not been visited by much wildlife since I had to empty the waterfall (it was leaking something fierce). more
Festival of Lights Parade 2013
December 8, 2013 | For most of the Saturday, it seemed that the Festival of Lights Parade in Palm Springs would be a dreary and miserable affair. more
United flight attendants on autopilot
December 10, 2013 | You have probably seen the ad for United Airlines with the symphony orchestra onboard belting out Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue while soaring through the friendly skies. more
In memorium
December 11, 2013 | I mourn the death of one who died too young. more
Christmas chez Bob 2013
December 26, 2013 | You knew there would be trouble when the appetizers began to proliferate. more
