2009!

Have a safe and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2008!

So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun. And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun; the near and the dear one, the old and the young.

A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one without any fear.

And so this is Christmas, for weak and for strong. For rich and the poor ones; the world is so wrong. And so happy Christmas, for black and for white. For yellow and red ones; let's stop all the fight.

A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one without any fear.

And so this is Christmas and what have we done? Another year over and a new one just begun. And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun; the near and the dear one, the old and the young.

A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one without any fear.

War is over over, if you want it. War is over

Now...

- John Ono Lennon

Easing the Deficit

Here's one idea to help toward getting some cash back into the state's coffers: raise the traffic fine to $351 for the recently enacted law prohibiting cellphone use while driving (unless it's hands-free). I see plenty enough drivers out there who continue to yak away. Let's say each officer can cite 20 drivers daily. Have 1,000 officers do this and that's 20,000 citations. This will amount to over $7M per day, $35M per week... you get the picture.

Crime and Taxes

We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business?

- Will Rogers

Water U Waiting 4?

For SoCal, they're waiting for more water. In another anticipated drought year, there'll be a water grab yet again, water which is diverted from the mighty Sacramento River... the water from the snowmelt in our (yes, I said our) Sierra mountains that fills the river flowing out to the Delta.

Yup, it takes plenty of water to fill those swimming pools, wash those fancy wheels and keep the fairways green. And yup, I'm somewhat jealous about keeping our water in our region instead of having it abused in an overpopulated desert.

CA State Budget

Deficit. This is the largest budget deficit in California's history, while under an administration headed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. No taxes, no spending cuts... you continue to shell out money without raking any in. Talk about voodoo economics!

Caroline

Caroline Kennedy runs for the NY senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. While she has less political experience than Sarah Palin, the Alaskan governor who ran as the 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, she has not endured the criticism that Palin received for her inexperience. That's because running for senator is not the same as running for vice-president, I'm told. Or it could be the Kennedy connection.

Perhaps Governor Palin could make a race for the NY senate seat even though she is not a resident of the state. It can be done... just ask Hillary!

Snow

And here we have... snow! It has fallen, is falling, and reached lower elevation levels (but I haven't seen it here in the valley near sea level). This morning I still chose to motorcycle in to work, the area having experienced overnight lows in the upper-20s to low-30s.

Not sure how much will fall in the upper Sierra with this storm system, but any is a blessing.

No Snow

It's just over a week away before Winter officially begins and we're still lacking snow in the hills!

Living here in Northern California is (usually) a skier's paradise, where numerous resorts are within easy reach for a day's, or weekend's, worth of bombing down the mountainside. Squaw Valley, Alpine, Heavenly, Northstar, Sugar Bowl, Donner, Boreal, Sierra, Kirkwood... to name a few. There are also enough terrain besides these resorts that cater to the nordic types who'd rather schuss along on skinny x-country skis.

But maybe not this season. It's really that bad, and unless a lot of snow is coming around the corner, we are also looking at a severe drought year; we depend on the water content in the mountain snow packs.

More 3D Art

3D Chalk Art

I have several of these forwarded from Steph, so I thought I'd share one in a post as an example of 3D chalk art by Kurt Wenner. Amazing isn't it?

Fog!

The Sacramento Valley was socked in fog all weekend long, making it a bit chilly for me to really want to bundle up and ride. Of course, if I rode up to the foothills and out of the valley, I'm betting I'd be rewarded with sunshine. But then again, it's these types of days that should have me keeping close to home and getting much neglected chores done.

I strung a few colored lights up in my back patio for the holidays (LED is the way to go). Went out and bought a new overhead light fixture for the kitchen from Home Depot. I moved the one in the kitchen to the dining area; the one from the dining area is now relegated to my storage room. The new fluorescent fixture is SO much brighter and reveals many spots where I missed cleaning. I'm slowly trying to thin out the stuff I've squirreled away in my other bedroom, as well as what's stashed here and there throughout the house.

Had to throw a battery charger on my pickup since it's been awhile since I last drove it. Grabbed several bags of grocery, including 10 12-packs of Diet Coke that were on sale. Did I mention that my boys love asparagus and green beans? They also enjoy brussel sprouts, which I haven't yet prepared (but finally bought at 89 cents per pound... it was over $2.00/lb. for the longest time!).

Tonight I heated up some soup, chopped up some garlic and threw it in along with some frozen peas and corn. Mmm, hot soup on a chilly, foggy evening and Christmas carols playing on the radio in the background. 'Tis the season!