January 1, 2014 | It's a new year, so you know what that means: time for another round of preposterously impossible-to-achieve resolutions. more
magicJack versus netTALK
January 4, 2014 | The magicJack ads on TV are ubiquitous and extraordinarily annoying: "Phone service for $1.70 a month, just $19.95 a year. A YEAR!!" more
My garden grows
January 17, 2014 | Two bright green tomatoes have appeared among the vines, presaging a perhaps bountiful harvest. more
Brunch al fresco
January 19, 2014 | The usual suspects came for brunch today, and it was so nice out we dined al fresco. more
Super Bowl 2014
February 4, 2014 | Super Bowl XLVIII (48) and the impending party Chez Paul so preoccupied my mind that I totally forgot about Punxatawny Phil and his weather prognostication. more
Bracing for winter
February 10, 2014 | It has been a very mild winter. I have only felt compelled to break out the long pants a couple of times. more
Who is listening? And to what?
February 15, 2014 | You see a lot of strange things out in the desert, usually far out in the desert. But this one is less than 3 miles away. more
Obama comes to town
February 15, 2014 | President Obama seems to use any excuse to leave our nation's capital. Who wouldn't? more
Can you make that in a crock pot?
February 23, 2014 | Recently the usual suspects went up to Idylwild to have brunch at the Gastrognome, our new favorite restaurant at the top of the hill. As soon as we sat down on the patio, a brisk wind came up, so we were very receptive to the idea of a bowl of French onion soup to start. more
Dirty birds
February 23, 2014 | After some strong winds the other day, a lot of crap appeared on my patio table, originating obviously from the fan above the table. A quick glance confirmed the presence of "deposits" on the blades of the fan. more
The thickest part of the thigh
March 4, 2014 | I prepared a turkey for this year's Oscar party. And as always one asks, You want me to stick it where? Meaning the thermometer, of course! more
Oscar party 2014
March 4, 2014 | The desert glitterati — AKA Brunch Bunch Plus — assembled chez Paul to watch the Oscar festivities. We were quite festive ourselves. more
Ultra-Soft or Ultra-Strong?
March 11, 2014 | There are some things a person buys without much thought, and for me, toilet paper is one of those things. more
Soup-er Sunday
March 12, 2014 | When there's turkey, soup is sure to follow. more
Casting Chrome
March 13, 2014 | There have been times when I have wanted to show something from my laptop on my TV. For instance, showing a web page to a group of people. more
Exhuberant red yuccas
March 19, 2014 | Last year when several agave parryi plants died, I replaced them with red yuccas. more
Missing mystery
March 26, 2014 | Almost three weeks ago, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went mysteriously missing. more
Cruising with a Princess
March 27, 2014 | It's time for another cruise, this time on the Sapphire Princess. more
Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of ... champagne
March 31, 2014 | The usual suspects boarded the Sapphire Princess last Thursday for a 4-day cruise with stops in Santa Barbara and Ensenada. more
Today I ate a strawberry
April 3, 2014 | I harvested and ate the first strawberry from my garden. It was delicious! more
Goodbye Norma Jean
April 4, 2014 | For nearly two years, Marilyn Monroe has held court on the main downtown intersection of Palm Springs, a veritable magnet for locals and visitors alike. more
Opera in the Park 2014
April 7, 2014 | After several days of nasty cold and wind, Opera in the Park Sunday was the kind of day that makes you say, This is why I moved here! more
Land of the free and freely violent
April 9, 2014 | Two disturbing sets of images dominated today's news: a school stabbing in Pennsylvania and a memorial service in Texas. more
Adios, dead ocotillo
April 10, 2014 | One of the prized plants in my backyard landscaping was a large ocotillo that stood as tall as me. more
An international Easter 2014
April 13, 2014 | The Easter feast was held Chez Paul this year, and it was very special because we could share it with visitors from France, namely Bob's nephew Michel, his wife Benedicte, and their daughter Marie. more
Let's close!
April 24, 2014 | AT&T is running a series of commercials that make me laugh out loud every time I see them. more
Mrs Quail comes to visit
April 24, 2014 | This afternoon a quail hen came calling in the back yard and brought along her new family. more
May 13, 2014 | One of the worst things about getting old is when you realize that entropy is winning. more
What a cash-flow problem looks like
May 16, 2014 | For years the city of Desert Hot Springs was run by a City Council in thrall to Mayor Yvonne Parks who watched over the city checkbook with a rubber stamp. more
Catching something?
May 19, 2014 | In recent weeks there has been a tidal wave of spam hitting my inbox, and a large number of the messages contain viruses trying to infect my computer. more
More election disinformation
May 21, 2014 | The No on F campaign is in full swing, sowing disinformation to create fear in order to defeat Measure F on the June ballot in Desert Hot Springs. more
Fabulous Fiona
May 23, 2014 | Nobody likes to vacuum. It's boring, it takes time, and all that back-and-forth with the arm is tiring. more
And thus spoke the electorate
June 7, 2014 | Voters went to the polls in several states on Tuesday to vote in primary elections. Goddess, have mercy on our collective souls. more
Faces of the lunatic fringe
June 10, 2014 | We have yet another example — not that we needed one — of what happens when you mix anger and disillusionment with antigovernment fervor and guns. It's that last ingredient that makes this stew such a deadly combination. more
Hoist on his own petard
June 10, 2014 | Eric Cantor, currently House Majority Leader, second in command, lost the Republican primary in his district tonight to a Tea Party backed challenger in a stunning upset. more
Brunch chez Paul
June 17, 2014 | The usual suspects assembled chez Paul for brunch on Sunday. We had not had an at-home brunch for a while, and I volunteered to host. more
Best performance by a supporting actor in a comedy
June 20, 2014 | House Republicans yesterday elected Kevin McCarthy as majority leader, replacing Eric Cantor who is stepping down after losing his Virginia primary. They also elected Steve Scalise as majority whip, replacing Kevin McCarthy who moved up to majority leader. more
Shame. See: Cheney, Dick. See also: Cheney, Liz
June 21, 2014 | Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz are the new Axis of Evil. more
Supreme Court rules in favor of Hobby Lobby
July 1, 2014 | The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is the modern-day equivalent of Pandora. They keep opening legal boxes visiting awful consequences into our lives. more
4th of July on the 6th of July
July 7, 2014 | We held our 4th of July celebration on the 6th of July this year, since Real had to work late on the 4th. more
Traveling with Sophie: I love/hate the Prius navigation system
July 14, 2014 | I generally love the navigation system in my Prius. more
Get-together getaway to Twain Harte
July 15, 2014 | Long-time friends Bob and Carolyn are in residence in Twain Harte, and they invited me to come up and visit for a few days. more
Obsession
July 20, 2014 | Since Malaysian Airways flight 17 was shot out of the sky over rebel-controlled Ukraine on Thursday cable television has been in all-crisis all-the-time mode, bordering on obsession. more
EVENTually this too will pass ... I hope
July 21, 2014 | Have you noticed that nobody has a sale anymore? more
Mystery parcel in the mailbox
July 28, 2014 | Yesterday on my way to brunch, I stopped to pick up my mail and discovered an unexpected parcel in my mailbox. Hmmm. more
HTTP port is disabled
August 11, 2014 | After putting a powerline adapter in the living room, my Samsung Blu-Ray player worked like a charm — except when it didn't. more
Shock and awe in Ferguson
August 15, 2014 | After days of demonstrations and sporadic violence and looting since a young black man was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri, the police unleashed their own version of shock and awe on the citizens of Ferguson. more
Mix-n-match with Cialis
August 16, 2014 | A current Cialis commercial has me scratching my head, unsure of what, exactly, is being portrayed in the ad. more
So, where's my refund?
August 16, 2014 | On July 5th I switched my internet service from Time Warner Cable to Verizon FiOS. A couple of days later, I called TWC to cancel my account. more
Shocking prudery on MSNBC
August 19, 2014 | The events in and about Ferguson, Missouri, continue to shock, often in unexpected ways. more
Foley beheading: deniers out in force
August 22, 2014 | The beheading of journalist James Foley has transfixed the world, when they could prise their eyes away from Ferguson, Missouri. more
Just say no to wheat
August 22, 2014 | Not to put too fine a point on it, since I got back on all my meds last October, my weight has skyrocketed. more
Did someone say 'burn'?
August 28, 2014 | Alka-Seltzer has a cute commercial featuring a hunky fireman helping to quench the heartburn of a damsel in distress. more
Where was my refund?
September 2, 2014 | Earlier in our story, I bemoaned the fact that Time Warner Cable had still not refunded the credit due me after I cancelled TWC internet service. more
Feeling nostalgic for the cold war
September 5, 2014 | The world is going to Hell in a handbasket, and the good old days of the Cold War look better and better. more
Here we go again
September 6, 2014 | On June 30, President Obama stood in the Rose Garden and declared that if Congress did not act to fix our broken immigration system, he would do what he could on his own. more
Big rain
September 7, 2014 | Sometimes the sky is so blue, the air is so clean, the temperature is so comfortable that you can't help but remark, "This is why I moved here!" more
Say "PC Matic" 21 times fast
September 9, 2014 | If you watch TV you have surely seen commercials for PC Matic, a magic elixir that will make your PC happy and bring about world peace. more
If it's September it's fair time
September 18, 2014 | The LA County Fair, popularly known as the "Pomona Fair" in deference to its actual location, runs the entire month of September, and the usual suspects always go on "Senior Wednesday" when the admission is only $6 — or so we thought. more
Frankenweb — intrusive web design
September 24, 2014 | Back when Al Gore invented the internet (it's a joke!) things were much simpler. Pages consisted almost entirely of text, but the beauty of it was that the text could include links to other pages. So, you could start in one place and end up in some fascinating other place just by clicking away. more
Taunted by the black cat
September 28, 2014 | I'm not a cat person, thus it is only logical that a neighborhood cat has adopted me. more
Great no-wheat experiment
October 3, 2014 | During the last visit to my doctor in late August, he told me about a book he had been reading, Wheat Belly by cardiologist Dr William Davis. I bought a copy of the book and a companion cookbook. more
Movie under the moonlight
October 4, 2014 | The Palm Springs International Film Festival is sponsoring two free outdoor screenings at Sunnylands this month. Last night was Rear Window starring Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter. more
Apple season in Oak Glen
October 19, 2014 | Every year we make a trip to the apple-growing area known as Oak Glen. more
Brave new world of junk email
October 26, 2014 | The world of junk email keeps evolving and it is now in a particularly insidious and annoying phase. more
I ❤ AdBlock Plus
October 31, 2014 | A few weeks ago Jim wrote me about a missing image on one of my web pages. As it turns out, the actual image file was called "banner_ad.png" and Jim's AdBlock Plus plugin had blocked it from display! more
Time to vote again
November 3, 2014 | I voted by absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago. I held my nose and I voted. Without enthusiasm. more
Swamped by a red tide
November 5, 2014 | The election results, as my Mama would have said, are a fine kettle of fish — a very smelly kettle from my point of view. more
I forgot my username
November 8, 2014 | Websites that you go to just once a year are a pain in the ass. more
Palm Springs Pride 2014 takes over downtown Palm Springs
November 10, 2014 | The Palm Springs Pride festival and parade were both held in downtown Palm Springs this year, to great success. more
The Hillary bandwagon is on the roll
November 11, 2014 | Hillary Clinton must be the only person in the country who doesn't know she's running for president in 2016. more
Frickin' Quicken
November 20, 2014 | Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away, Quicken was looked upon as a godsend for those wanting to manage their finances on their computers. No more. more
The emperor is fully clothed
November 21, 2014 | The Republicans have their knickers in a twist over President Obama's decision to take executive action on immigration. Their latest epithet for the president is Emperor. more
Thanksgiving Chez Paul 2014
November 27, 2014 | All was in readiness: the table was set, most of the food was done, and it was just a matter of waiting for the usual suspects to arrive with the usual bounty. more
Thanksgiving 2014 - the after-party
December 1, 2014 | It's a tradition that following Thanksgiving Day, traditionally chez Paul, the usual suspects reconvene for turkey soup lovingly crafted from the carcass. more
A river runs through it
December 4, 2014 | Mother Nature has decided to wash us clean. more
Palm Springs Festival of Light parade 2014
December 7, 2014 | The 2014 edition of Palm Springs Festival of Light was graced by nearly balmy temperatures, clear skies, and an almost-full moon overhead. more
Torture is wrong — to say it out loud
December 10, 2014 | The long-awaited and much-debated report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the CIA torture program in the wake of 9/11 was finally released yesterday. more
Soup Sunday
December 15, 2014 | The usual suspects came over Sunday for the traditional post-Thanksgiving turkey soup. more
Cheney would do it all again 'in a minute'
December 16, 2014 | The Prince of Darkness himself, Dick Cheney, appeared on Sunday's Meet the Press to give a breathtakingly tortured defense of torture by the Bush administration. more
Out of all proportion
December 21, 2014 | Yesterday a gunman walked up to a patrol car in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of New York City and shot the two patrolmen sitting inside at point-blank range, killing both. more
Christmas 2014 Chez Bob
December 25, 2014 | The usual suspects celebrated Christmas Chez Bob again, something of a tradition now. more
For auld lang syne
December 31, 2014 | It's time to sing Auld Lang Syne which asks the provocative question, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?" more
Brrr! It's winter!
December 31, 2014 | Mother Nature has decided to send 2014 out with a massive blanket of cold covering much of the entire US, including the desert. more
