tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81570712024-03-08T13:12:12.523-08:00James Kew: Resident AlienBrit out of waterJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1148274212127397232006-05-21T21:58:00.000-07:002007-03-18T01:40:53.620-07:00Trust the Gorton's Fisherman?Truth in product packaging. And <a href="http://www.gortons.com/">Gorton’s</a>, with your <a href="http://www.tvacres.com/admascots_gortons.htm">advertising message</a> exhorting me to trust you: I’m looking at you.<br /><br />The dream:<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/05/trust-the-gortons-fisherman/dream.jpg" width="500" height="401" alt="Box of Gortons Beer Batter fish fillets."><br><small>Look at the <i>size</i> of those things!</small></center> <br />Don’t they look good? The reality:<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/05/trust-the-gortons-fisherman/reality.jpg" width="500" height="378" alt="Same box, with a real fillet: the real product is half the size of its depiction on the box."><br><small>Oh. Look at the <i>size</i> of that thing.</small></center><br />They’re tiny. And what the photo doesn’t show is that the box is a lot bigger as it needs to be: it’s only half-full. This is not unusual for boxed frozen products here.<br /><br />I don’t remember packaging in the UK being so blatantly misleading. Maybe labelling laws are less stringent here?<br /><br />(To be fair to the fisherman: his teeny fillets did, however, make a pretty decent fish finger sandwich.)Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1146024763252912282006-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:002006-09-23T16:52:10.723-07:00Kill Bill: chick flick?Dave Winer <a href="http://www.scripting.com/2006/04/25.html#When:7:58:17PM">writes</a>: <br /><br /><blockquote>Last year on this day I <a href="http://www.scripting.com/2005/04/25.html#flyingWithUma">wondered</a> why Kill Bill I & II aren’t the ultimate chick revenge movies, like Thelma and Louise. A year later, I still don’t get it.</blockquote> Yes, I remember that. I remember rolling my eyes then; they’re rolling again now.<br /><br />I started to draft a response back then but never got around to posting it. It would seem that, like Dave, my opinion hasn’t changed much in the interim; so here it is:<br /><br /><blockquote>Slightly disturbing: Dave’s <a href="http://archive.scripting.com/2005/04/20#When:5:33:09PM">repeated</a> <a href="http://archive.scripting.com/2005/04/25#flyingWithUma">suggestion</a> that Kill Bill is a “great chick movie”. *boggle* What sort of “chicks” does he hang out with? Kill Bill’s a violent misanthropic mess which revels in brutalising women.</blockquote> Glib statements of <a href="http://archive.scripting.com/2005/04/20#When:5:33:09PM">bodycount</a> rather miss the point: yes, many many men are briskly dispatched, but it is women’s pain and suffering (the heroine is shot, left for dead, and sexually molested while she’s in coma; beaten senseless and buried alive; need I go on?) that Tarantino’s camera lingers on long and lovingly.<br /><br />Chick flick. Riiiight. Great date movie, too.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1143127334928869422006-03-23T07:20:00.000-08:002006-09-23T16:52:48.346-07:00Welcome Contra Costa Times readersOoh look: <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/14166642.htm">I’m in the paper</a>.<br /><br />Here’s a big list of <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/09/hiking.html">hiking posts</a>; and here’s a few favourites:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/02/tilden-regional-park.html">Tilden</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/03/redwood-regional-park.html">Redwood</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/sibley-cloudwalk.html">Sibley</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/shell-ridge-4-monday-night-nature-hike.html">Shell Ridge</a></li></ul>…and here’s a few of the other things mentioned in the article:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/tips-for-dogsitters.html">Ticks</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/lime-ridge-4-paraiso-trail-loop.html">Rattlesnakes</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/05/las-trampas-ridge-adventures.html">Mountain lions</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/09/movies.html">Movies</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/09/food.html">Food</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/07/parading-fourth.html">Fourth of July</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/treelighting.html">“Proper” Christmas carols</a></li></ul> And now I feel a little guilty for not having posted on hiking for a while: work and a long commute leave little time for writing here, and I have a bit of a backlog.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1142575415811024162006-03-16T21:56:00.000-08:002006-09-23T16:54:57.550-07:00Best. Correction. Ever.From the Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine, March 2006:<br /><br /><blockquote><b>Correction</b><br /><i>In our January issue, in our description of Wolfgang Puck, one of our Top 10 TV Chefs, we said, “For [Home Shopping Network], Wolfgang cooks stuff while you buy his junk.” We meant “junk” in the colloquial sense, as “stuff,” and did not mean to imply that the quality of Puck’s line of kitchenware was anything less than stellar. We apologize for our careless word choice, and we regret the error.</i></blockquote> Colloquial, yes, that’s the ticket. <br /><br />Is it just me, or is there still a subtle but delicious hint of snark in that “anything less than stellar”?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1141011158012767012006-02-26T19:32:00.000-08:002007-04-07T01:28:31.166-07:00Two monkeysSurprise: <a href="http://www.curiousgeorgemovie.com/">Curious George</a> is a much better monkey movie than <a href="http://www.kingkongmovie.com/">King Kong</a>.<br /><br />George: playful, innocent, sweet, short; full of the joy of life; and unashamedly for kids, with no ironic in-jokes winking and mugging at adults. (There is, however, one “you go, girlfriend” which <em>already</em> feels stale and which won’t age well.)<br /><br />Kong: overwrought, overblown, overlong; full of the joy of a director with a near-unlimited effects budget and no self-control. A huge technical achievement, no doubt, but <em>why</em>?<br /><br />Go see George: it’ll make you feel good about life.<br /><br />(Oh, and <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060209/REVIEWS/60206001/1023">Ebert & Roeper</a>: where’s your sense of <em>fun</em>?)<br /><br />Categories: MoviesJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1139193374988813652006-02-05T17:45:00.000-08:002006-03-29T14:34:46.173-08:00Shell Ridge LoopNo car yesterday; it’s in the shop until Monday. So, a circular hike from the apartment; a shortened, and reversed, version of a <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/iron-horse-shell-ridge-connect-dots.html">loop hike</a> I did last August.<br /><br />We start at Howe Homestead Park, on the edge of Shell Ridge Open Space. Climbing up on the Kovar Trail, and higher onto the Summit Ridge Trail, the views back over downtown Walnut Creek soon open up.<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/summit-ridge.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Narrow dirt trail through brilliant green grass; city buildings in the background."></center><br />The trail dips back down along the rim of a disused quarry. Footing is a bit rough here; but it’s a lot easier doing it downhill on a dry day than <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/02/shell-ridge-open-space.html">uphill on a wet and windy day</a>…<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/quarry-trail.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Rocky trail, falling away on both sides, above green hills dotted with oaks."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/quarry-1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Overgrown rocky outcrop."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/quarry-2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Rocky outcrop with oak trees."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/quarry-3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Field of boulders."></center><br />Once we’re down we turn north, first on the Fossil Hill Trail and then on the Briones–Mt. Diablo Trail, which heads out of the Open Space along a short ridge.<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/briones-diablo.jpg" width="401" height="500" alt="Mountain view with cherry tree in foreground."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/blossom-1.jpg" width="500" height="497" alt="Branch of cherry blossom."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/blossom-2.jpg" width="411" height="500" alt="Single cherry blossom."></center><br />We cross Ygnacio Valley Road and head into Heather Farm; two curious ducks waddle out of the creek to check us out.<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-1.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="Two ducks leaving the water."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-2.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="Two ducks climbing the creek bank."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-3.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Two ducks crossing the trail."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-4.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Two ducks facing each other."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-5.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Mallard in profile."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2006/02/shell-ridge-loop/ducks-6.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Two ducks; one pecks at the ground while the other looks on."></center><br />From Heather Farm, it’s a quick nip west on the Contra Costa Canal Trail before the final—and rather dull—stretch home on the Iron Horse Trail. <br /><br />Categories: HikingJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1139187132992282392006-02-05T16:21:00.000-08:002006-03-01T12:23:05.636-08:00BrokenYes, I know. The images here have been broken for days. Not my fault.<br /><br />Tips for ISPs: when you migrate to a new webmail system, try to do it without:<br /><ol><li>Vanishing user’s webspace content without warning</li><li>Making users migrate their content by hand from old to new systems</li><li>Changing the URLs on the new system so no old links work any more.</li></ol> I’m looking at you here, <a href="http://www.astound.net/">Astound Broadband</a>. Poor show.<br /><br />So, images in old posts will be coming back online gradually, as and when I get around to editing the posts with the new image URLs.<br /><br />On the upside, though: it was nice to see that things really did degrade gracefully when all the scripts went missing. (For those that are counting, the following are scripted effects: category, citation, and info links; inline comments; linkblog items; reverse-chronological archives; and smart quotes and other typographical niceties in titles, posts, and comments.)Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1136085127018837182005-12-31T17:44:00.000-08:002006-03-01T02:51:55.500-08:00Photographing the hummingbirdsThrough frosty nights, rain, and wind the hummingbirds are still here and still feeding; the Annas are year-round residents.<br /><br />Last night was stormy so Melinda took the feeder down and left it safely on top of the air conditioner. This morning the hummingbirds noticed the empty hook, found the feeder, and carried on feeding regardless. So, I thought to myself, if they’l feed there: maybe they’ll feed in front of a camera?<br /><br />And so, after a few blurred and indistinct attempts, evolved the following setup:<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/studio.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Hummingbird feeder on table on balcony. The table and the balcony railings are covered with white paper; the table is viewed over the seat of a folding chair."></center><br />The chair provides somewhere to rest the camera; without it, camera shake is unavoidable, particularly as it can be a long wait for a hummingbird to approach. The paper sellotaped to the balcony railings provides a light background; hummingbirds are mostly dark and blend in against dark backgrounds. The same goes for the paper on the table, which also hides the distracting details of the table-top.<br /><br />Other things you learn you learn when trying to photograph hummingbirds: flash is a must; shutter lag is a bugger; patience pays; but luck is the biggest factor.<br /><br /><center><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/wings.jpg" width="500" height="226" alt="Hummingbird approaching the feeder from the left, wings stretched out ahead of it."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/sip.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Hummingbird sipping nectar on the wing; its wings are stretched out behind it."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/drink.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Hummingbird drinking from the feeder; wings in mid-stroke, feet tucked up underneath."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/perch.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Perching hummingbird."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/back.jpg" width="500" height="278" alt="Flying hummingbird from behind: wings stretched wide. The tongue is visible flicking out of the beak."><br /><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/12/photographing-the-hummingbirds/shadow.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="Hummingbird approaching from the right; its body casts a shadow behind it."></center>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1133066027054629672005-11-26T20:10:00.000-08:002006-03-01T02:57:35.413-08:00Thanksgiving, againMy second <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/thanksgiven.html">Thanksgiving</a>; this year a quieter affair at the in-laws. <br /><br />But much more than the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/10/one-year-in.html">anniversary</a>, Thanksgiving brings home the fact that I’ve been here a year. Now I’m experiencing things second time around; life is not as new and novel; patterns are settling in, routines becoming established. I’m integrating.<br /><br />Also in its second year: treelighting. Last year we were in <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/treelighting.html">Danville</a>. This year, we went to the Walnut Creek ceremony, which is smaller and quieter. And, surprisingly, has a few <em>proper</em> carols quietly tucked in amongst the non-denominational songbook: a real reminder of home. Although frankly, <i>O Come All Ye Faithful</i> really needs a bigger choir than 10 weedy highschoolers; not to mention a thunderous church organ for the third verse.<br /><br />I’m beginning to realize that if I want carols at Christmas, I’m going to have to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000427N/104-6379546-7972755">pay for them</a>. Unless the BBC streams the Kings service on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/listenagain.shtml">Listen Again</a>...<br /><br />On balance, the Danville treelighting was more fun. While the Walnut Creek ceremony is confined to Civic Park, the Danville ceremony takes over the entire downtown, giving it somewhat of a reclaim-the-streets vibe.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1131301376214428692005-11-06T10:20:00.000-08:002006-03-03T19:39:27.096-08:00Strangely satisfyingThere are few things as satisfying as the first dip of the knife into a nice new jar of <a href="http://www.marmite.co.uk/">Marmite</a>. Particularly when it’s a big jar you brought out with you from the UK, rather than a tiddly jar that costs upwards of $6 locally.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1130219883290188712005-10-24T22:31:00.000-07:002006-09-30T20:57:32.626-07:00One Year InThe first anniversary of this blog went by quietly and unnoted last month; but today's a much more significant anniversary. I <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/10/and-were-there.html">entered the US</a>, becoming a permanently resident alien, on the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/10/and-were-off.html">25th November 2004</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/10/one-year-in/prc.png" width="300" height="186" alt="PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD: KEW, JAMES"></div><br />Since then, I have:<br /><ul><li>navigated the bureaucracy of the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/socially-secure.html"><acronym title="Social Security Administration">SSA</acronym></a>, the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/tested.html"><acronym title="Department of Motor Vehicles">DMV</acronym></a> and the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/04/taxed.html"><acronym title="Internal Revenue Service">IRS</acronym></a></li><li>experienced the my first <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/thanksgiven.html">Thanksgiving</a>, the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/treelighting.html">odd secularity</a> of <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/12/christmas-lights.html">Christmas</a>, and my first <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/07/parading-forth.html">Independence Day</a>; not to mention my first <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/04/earth-day-at-john-muir-historic-site.html">Earth Day</a></li><li>got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/12/passed.html">licensed</a>, got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/12/wheels.html">mobile</a>, got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/01/moving.html">housed</a>, and got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/10/landing.html">hired</a></li><li>faced <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/05/las-trampas-ridge-adventures.html">dangerous</a>, <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/lime-ridge-4-paraiso-trail-loop.html">frightening</a>, and <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/11/tips-for-dogsitters.html">unpleasant</a> native wildlife</li><li>developed a <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/02/if-you-hang-it-they-might-come.html">long-running</a> <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/02/nature-notes_19.html">love</a> <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/06/hummingbirds-again.html">affair</a> with <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/07/hummingbirds-spiders-and-flies.html">hummingbirds</a>: amazing little creatures</li><li>got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/03/cookbooked.html">published</a>, albeit in the smallest way</li><li>got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/03/scary-and-depressing.html">angry</a>, and <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/04/squirmy.html">angrier</a>, and finally <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/angry-but-impotent.html">determined</a></li><li>explored the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/05/agony-of-choice.html">gloriously broad</a> world of <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/05/i-ate-em-so-you-dont-have-to.html">junk food</a></li><li>survived my first California <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/07/hot-days-are-here-for-good.html">summer</a></li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2004/09/hiking.html">hiked</a> 250 miles, got <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/07/counters-vs-timers.html">fitter</a>, and even got a little <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/maybe-it.html">thinner</a></li></ul>…and, basically, had a blast. Making the jump was one of the best things I ever did: I love this place.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1130131462258430032005-10-23T22:00:00.000-07:002006-09-30T20:58:20.840-07:00Lafayette Reservoir, reduxThe lower, paved trail at <a href="http://www.ebmud.com/services/recreation/east_bay/lafayette/">Lafayette Reservoir</a>: pretty easy going.<br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><a href="http://www.ebmud.com/services/recreation/east_bay/lafayette/LAFAYETTE_MAP.pdf"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/10/lafayette-reservoir-redux/trail.png" width="400" height="300" alt="Map of Lafayette Reservoir, showing paved trail."></a></div><br />It’s not quite as flat as I suggested <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/05/lafayette-reservoir.html">last time</a>—it doesn’t follow the edge of the lake, so it does have some gentle ups and downs—but it’s easy and short. Around 2½ miles, and we hiked it in under an hour. A more strenous hike would combine it with one or more segments of the Rim Trail.<br /><br />Categories: HikingJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1129518357685989522005-10-16T21:20:00.000-07:002006-09-30T21:02:46.146-07:00Mount Diablo: Wall PointAnother East Bay Casual Hiking trip today: this one to the trails starting at the Macedo Ranch trailhead, on the south-west flank of Mount Diablo.<br /><br />We climb from the trailhead up onto Wall Point, a ridge which runs roughly northwest-to-south-east. Although the <a href="http://hiking.bondon.com/Hike_Details.cfm?ID=84">description</a> for this hike describes it as “Remington plus,” referring to <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/10/remington-loop.html">last week's intense uphill climb</a>, it’s actually easier going. The climb is longer, but less steep and less sustained: there are occasional intervals where the trail flattens out and we get the chance for a breather.<br /><br />It’s worth it when we’re up: the views open out over Alamo and down the valley to Danville and San Ramon. We can see the ridge above Remington Loop where we hiked last week; and behind us, the bulk of the mountain.<br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/517/files/mtDiabloBrochure.pdf"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/10/mount-diablo-wall-point/macedo-ranch.png" width="480" height="220" alt="Trail map showing Macedo Ranch and Wall Point"></a></div><br />A connector trail, marked on the official trail map as "Secret Trail" but signposted on the ground simply as a connector, links Wall Point Road with Barbeque Terrace Road. (The overview map above, from the <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/517/files/mtDiabloBrochure.pdf">State Park brochure</a>, the only online map I’ve found for Mount Diablo, doesn’t show the connector.)<br /><br />Barbeque Terrace Road runs slightly downhill along the side of the ridge before joining Dusty Road--not too dusty today--and rejoining Wall Point Road for the return to the trailhead.<br /><br />Six miles, about two and a half hours, and the “moderate” rating is about right; a good hike. Take exact change for the trailhead parking lot, which runs on the honor system but which is patrolled by the ranger station: $3.<br /><br />Categories: HikingJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1129009183057729262005-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:002006-03-01T03:05:07.106-08:00Going nativeIn case the subtle shift in the last few posts went unnoticed: I'm moving to American spelling and punctuation in my posts here. This is less an abandoning of my British roots, more a pragmatic convenience. It's going to be difficult to constantly shift between writing American at work and British at home. <br /><br />And along similar lines, I really am going to have to give up my UK keyboard. The differences between UK and US keyboard layouts are small, but significant; particularly when writing code.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1128923956519061582005-10-09T21:58:00.000-07:002006-03-01T02:48:34.790-08:00Remington LoopAnother East Bay Casual Hiking hike, and Melinda’s first with the group. A brave choice, given this hike’s <a href="http://hiking.bondon.com/Hike_Details.cfm?ID=82">description</a> as “tough,” “a great cardio hike,” and “for beginner or novice types, it will seem like the steepest dirt trail you’ve ever experienced.”<br /><br />This hike is in Danville, starting just off the west end of Sycamore Valley Road; although we lived in Danville for several months, I had no idea this trail was there. There seems to be little on it on the web, either. There <em>might</em> be some information on the interactive map linked from this <a href="http://www.ci.danville.ca.us/default.asp?serviceID1=178&Frame=L1">Danville Parks and Sports Fields</a> page, but I’ve been unable to get it to load. <br /><br />[Update: Danville’s IS department mailed me. The map is fixed, but doesn’t show the trail—it's an EBRPD trailhead. Nothing on it at their <a href="http://www.ebparks.org">website</a> either.]<br /><br />The description is a fair one: it’s a steady uphill plug from the starting point at Remington Loop, and a long haul up to the ridge. The views open up fairly quickly, though, so there’s lots to look at when you pause; the ridge is directly across the valley from the west face of Mount Diablo, and when you get high enough the views north up the valley open up and you can see all the way past Shell Ridge to the refineries at Martinez.<br /><br />At the top, as we walk south along the ridge, it becomes clearer where we are: looking west, the next ridge along is Las Trampas Ridge. Bollinger Canyon Road runs north-south in the valley between us and Las Trampas.<br /><br />After the climb up, the rest of the hike is easy going: the trail along the ridge rolls gently, and the descent is simple, not actually steep enough to be any trouble. About 2½ hours; I’d guess about 5 miles.<br /><br />And the after-hike treat: ice-cream at <a href="http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/">Cold Stone Creamery</a> in the <a href="http://www.danvillelivery.com/dine.htm">Danville Livery</a>. Verdict: somewhat overpriced, gimmicky, and confusing for first-timers. Choose one or more flavors, one or more mixins, and they mix them on a marble slab for you. Fun, but there's way too much to choose from, leaving me paralyzed with indecision. The ice-cream itself is good though; and the Oatmeal Cookie Dough icecream, highly recommended.<br /><br />Categories: Hiking, FoodJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1128901964112718312005-10-09T16:41:00.000-07:002006-07-02T23:48:39.170-07:00Comment spam ramps upComment spam is rampant on Blogger right now: in the last week, I’ve received—and deleted—nearly seventy spam comments on posts here.<br /><br />They all have a strong whiff of machine generation about them: firstly, they’re poorly targeted. Since when did I have a “blog about best online casino directory”? Or “a great site for lemonade recipe”? They also tend to cluster on my previous posts about spam blogs, probably because the text there is rich in spammy keywords. And secondly, they’re obviously templated: one or two sentences of generic complements; one or two sentences of insert-keyword-here shilling; the same phrases over and over again. (I mean really: “reading your blog gave me goose pimples all over my body”? Please.)<br /><br />But what really gives the game away is the cases where the hapless spammer misconfigures the software. Sometimes there are bizarre keywords (note here I’ve replaced the spammy link with a harmless underline):<br /><br /><blockquote>You have an interesting blog. I just put up a site about <u>buy compensation gkjgsdsgs html mesothelioma wbr</u>. I know it’s a strange subject […]</blockquote> No kidding. (How did mesothelioma get to be the <em>only</em> cancer spammers latch onto, anyway?) Occasionally, keywords are missing altogether:<br /><br /><blockquote>I have a <u>##affiliate##</u> site/blog. It pretty much covers ##Affiliate Program## related stuff.</blockquote> Oh dear.<br /><br />One comment let the cat fully out of the bag—and here I’m letting the link stand, but applying a nice safe nofollow to it:<br /><br /><blockquote>You have a very good site on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.coolmobiletone.com/bloglinkgenerator/">does adsense work</a> This is something I also have a large interest in and have set up a blog about does adsense work please visit and let me know what you think.</blockquote> Yep: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.coolmobiletone.com/bloglinkgenerator/">Blog Link Generator</a>, favorite tool of asshat comment spammers everywhere. <br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/10/comment-spam-ramps-up/blog-link-generator.png" width="189" height="189" alt="Blog Link Generator: Get Thousands of Links Back To Your Site From Other People’s Blog Today!"></div><br />As the marketing fluff puts it, Blog Link Generator helps you:<br /><br /><blockquote>Use keywords to find relevant blogs on blogger.com; automatically post your comments to those blogs, including that all-important link back to your site.</blockquote> For “all-important”, of course, read “all-but-useless”. The come-on touts higher search-engine rankings (“The spiders find you, and you know what happens next. It’s all good!”) but that’s all bogus. Links in Blogger comments are nofollow, which means they’re worthless in terms of search engine rankings; the spiders of all the major search engines simply ignore them.<br /><br />Not that that’ll stop ’em trying, of course.<br /><br />A hollow laugh, too, to the claims of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.holygrailofadvertising.com/">Blog Submitter Pro</a>, a similar auto-comment-spam tool: <br /><br /><blockquote>Believe it or not, the people who run the vast majority of blogs that you post on will actually very much welcome your post.</blockquote> The use of the harmless word “post” to replace “spam comment” is slippery. But that aside; as the person running <em>this</em> blog, I don’t welcome your spam. Not in the least.<br /><br />The rise of commodity automation tools means that Blogger comment spam is only going to get worse. If you run a blog on Blogger, here’s some advice:<br /><br /><ol><li>At the very least, make sure you have a comment notification address set in your Comments settings page, so that you get email notification of new comments and can react to spam as it arrives.</li><li>Consider turning on the word verification option for comments, if you can accept the accessibility problems it causes for anyone who can’t read the verification images.</li><li>Consider closing comments on older posts.</li></ol> I also suspect we might see some quiet action from Blogger on detecting automated spam; this is going to be a big problem for them.<br /><br />Categories: SpamJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1128788940019132972005-10-08T09:29:00.000-07:002006-03-01T04:30:51.696-08:00Blogging the worldJeneane <a href="http://allied.blogspot.com/2005/10/i-used-to-have-lot-to-talk-about.html">idly wonders</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>I wonder how many pixels it would take to wrap all the way around the world. Like if pixels were string, tied in a line around the center of the earth, how many would we need to go all the way around? If we put all the blogs together, could we reach?</blockquote> My gut feel was “quite a lot” and “I bet we could”; but let’s run the numbers.<br /><br />Wikipedia lists the equatorial circumference of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth">Earth</a> as 40,075.004 km, which is about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=40075.004+km+in+miles">24.9 thousand miles</a>, which is about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=24901.453+miles+in+inches">1.6 billion inches</a>. At the 72dpi typical of computer monitors this is about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=1.57775606*10^9+x+72">114 billion</a> pixels.<br /><br />Technorati currently claims to be tracking <a href="http://www.technorati.com/about/">19 million blogs</a>; if we take an 800x600 screen’s worth of pixels from each of them, we get about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=19+million+x+800+x+600">9 trillion</a> pixels.<br /><br />So, yes. Blog pixels would wrap around the equator. Many times. And probably many more times than the calculation above suggests: most blogs have many more pages than the single screen’s worth I’ve considered.<br /><br />How about a bigger goal: could we cover the surface of the earth with blog pages? Wikipedia lists the surface area of the Earth is 510,065,284.702 square km, about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=510065284.702+square+km+in+square+miles">197 million square miles</a> or <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=196937307+square+miles+in+square+inches">791 quadrillion square inches</a>. At 72dpi this is about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=7.90602771*10^17+x+72+x+72">4 sextillion</a> pixels—in more familiar terms, 4 billion trillion pixels.<br /><br />This is a <em>huge</em> number. 4 sextillion pixels is about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=4.09848476*10^21+/+(800*600)">8½ million billion</a> 800x600 pages. By comparison, Yahoo! claims to be indexing around <a href="http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000172.html">20 billion pages</a>. We’re not even remotely close to papering the Earth with the entire content of the web, let alone with our bloggers’ introspection alone.<br /><br />Which, in a way, is rather satisfying: for all the self-important talk about the blogosphere, it’s still way smaller than the biosphere.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1128354088311092422005-10-03T08:31:00.000-07:002006-03-05T08:45:31.193-08:00Landing<div style="text-align: center"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/10/landing/accept.png" width="500" height="57" alt="Fragment of letter: “I have reviewed and accept the terms of this offer of employment with [REDACTED]. I will commence my employment on October 3 2005.”"></div>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127238034126206622005-10-02T12:36:00.000-07:002006-09-19T15:18:27.170-07:00September Movie RoundupAnother better-late-than-never roundup; somehow, I feel I write better about film when I’ve had a chance to digest it for a while.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/"><b>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</b></a><br /><br />I was a little conflicted about this going in; I’m still a little conflicted now. I’m a big fan of Tim Burton, notwithstanding his frequent mis-steps. But I’m also a big fan of the 1971 Mel Stuart movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/"><i>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</i></a>, with Gene Wilder as Wonka. While the Tim Burton movie, strictly speaking, is not a remake of that version but a reimagination of the Roald Dahl book, it’s impossible not to compare the two.<br /><br />The good news: this version is definitely its own movie. It is, unmistakably, a Tim Burton film; it’s shiny and polished and bizarre. The bad news: It’s not quite as satisfying as the earlier version.<br /><br />Johnny Depp is excellent as Wonka, but with a big caveat: this is not the manic, wild-eyed, but basically benevolent Gene Wilder Wonka. Depp’s Wonka is deeply creepy: pale, vacant, and wholly unable to connect with the people around him. Especially children: making him afraid of, and repulsed by, children was a masterstroke, and is beautifully acted by Depp. His shock and horror at being hugged by Violet Beauregarde, and his dismissive “Oh. I don’t care.” response to her announcement of her name, are a startling first indication of this Wonka’s misanthropy. <br /><br />Wonka’s visible aversion to children is fascinating because, in a society which often positions parenthood and childrearing as the ultimate personal achievement, it’s so transgressive. We’re <em>supposed</em> to like children, to want children, to feel comfortable around children. Wonka <em>doesn’t</em>—even though he’s set himself up as a granter of childrens’ wishes. And this transgression is rather appealing to those of us who, like me, are childless, who do sometimes feel uncomfortable around children, who do sometimes wonder how to relate to them.<br /><br />Less effective, though, is the delving into Wonka’s back-story, and his upbringing by a stern—and candy-hating—father. For me, this didn’t really work. Wonka doesn’t need to be explained, and the original book makes no effort to do so. He’s a cipher; a fantastic, almost unworldly figure; trying to ground him in reality only diminishes him. More prosaically, the flashbacks to Wonka’s past repeatedly interrupt the momentum of the film.<br /><br />And momentum is a problem here. The film suffers from being both an adaptation of a well-loved book and a remake of a well-loved movie; nothing here is much of a surprise. We know how the plot runs; we know the route through the factory; we know how, and in what order, each of the brats will reach their comeuppance. This movie runs on rails. This wouldn’t be a problem if it were paced like a rollercoaster, but it’s not; and it’s usually the Wonka character which kills the pace. The flashbacks are distracting, and Wonka himself, while fascinating, is too downbeat to maintain the momentum. Compare with Gene Wilder’s manic Wonka, who was the engine driving the earlier movie.<br /><br />The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oompa-Loompas">Oompa-Loompas</a> here are, as Dahl originally wrote them, brown-skinned pygmies, not the ambiguous orange-skinned dwarfs portrayed in the earlier movie and in the revision of the book. I suspect this is no casual choice: we are intended to wonder whether the Oompa-Loompas, uprooted wholesale from their native habitat and working in the factory for salaries paid in cocoa beans (one small step away from “working for peanuts”) are willing partners or indentured slaves. <br /><br />The idea of <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> as a subversive satire on class labour is explored further by Dorothea Salo at Caveat Lector: <a href="http://cavlec.yarinareth.net/archives/2005/07/17/the-factory/">The Factory</a>, and by Mike at Vitia: <a href="http://www.vitia.org/wordpress/archives/2005/07/24/chocolate-proletariat/">Chocolate Proletariat</a>. Good reading, both in the articles and the comments.<br /><br />The ending, too, is rather more disturbing in this version, with a visual twist reminiscent of Burton’s 2001 <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133152/"><i>Planet of the Apes</i></a> remake: the Bucket’s house transplanted wholesale into Wonka’s Chocolate Room. Wonka needs a family and a child’s viewpoint to continue to produce candy; the Buckets fit the bill; so, like the Oompa-Loompas, they’re absorbed into Wonka’s world. Exploitative? We’re left to decide for ourselves.<br /><br />There’s a lot to like here, and a lot that stays with you afterwards; but as a whole, it’s confused. Part of the problem is that it can’t decide whether it’s aimed at kids or adults. The glossy fun and familiar story appeal to kids; but the darkness and misanthropy suggest otherwise; and so it falls rather uncomfortably inbetween.<br /><br />3/5: abandon preconceptions and enjoy it for what it is.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436078/"><b>The Aristocrats</b></a><br /><br />Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza’s exploration of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocrats">filthiest joke in comedy</a>. For me, this fell a little flat. The joke isn’t <em>that</em> funny, nor is it really <em>that</em> filthy. For a lot of the time, the movie comes across as an extended in-joke for cliquish comedians: a lot of backslapping and self-congratulatory laughing at themselves, leaving the audience on the outside slightly bemused.<br /><br />Where the movie <em>does</em> work is where it attempts to analyse the joke, rather than simply tell it. Like a jazz standard, the joke is very simple: one line of setup, two words of punchline, and a huge gap in the middle which the teller riffs and improvises to fill. Maybe this is why the joke is traditionally one which comedians tell to each other, rather than to audiences: it’s a display of technical skill.<br /><br />1½/5: a curiosity, but not ultimately very satisfying.<br /><br />Categories: MoviesJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1128071157330894232005-09-30T01:04:00.000-07:002006-09-08T01:26:56.156-07:00A storm in the OPML teacupAn interesting little exchange over at Scobleizer. Robert Scoble wants <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/09/29.html#a11295">blogging tools to support OPML</a>. James Robertson <a href="http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView?showComments=true&entry=3305486922">questions this</a>, calling OMPL “a really crappy format”. And this sends Robert <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/09/30.html#a11296">flying off the handle</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>When users say they want something the correct answer isn’t to call what they are asking for “crappy” but it is to either say “here’s what you’re asking for” or it’s to say “here’s what you’re asking for and I made it even better.” Or, I guess an OK response would be “I can’t do that, sorry.”<br /><br />But if you say the format is crappy that makes me wonder if you have something better up your sleeve. So, I’m gonna call you on it. Do you?</blockquote> Well, I’m gonna call you on that, Robert: since when did reviewers also have to be producers? <br /><br />Ebert & Roeper have the authority to call a movie crappy; is that authority dependent on them having a better movie in production? Are book reviewers required to have sold a novel before they can comment on other novelists’ works? Am I required to get a record contract before I can say that Celine Dion sucks?<br /><br />Bullshit. Most reviewers form opinions based on their experience as consumers, not producers, of products. I suspect that neither I nor Robert are remotely capable of designing, building, or putting into production a car; but I’ll bet we both have well-formed opinions about our Ford Focuses. <br /><br />James’s opinion on OPML is clearly formed by his experience as a consumer of the OPML specification. Isn’t that enough? Does he really need to produce a newer and better specification before he’s considered qualified to comment?<br /><br />There’s a valuable insight in James’s post: it correctly identifies that Robert’s enthusiasm for OPML is an evangelism of a solution, rather than an expression of his requirements. As he puts it:<br /><br /><blockquote>I have no idea why [Robert] thinks OPML is some magic mojo that lets him escape a browser. It’s a format, and a fairly bad one. It doesn’t enable or disable anything by itself.</blockquote> Bingo. Robert says “I want OPML”, but what he really means is “I want some things that I believe using OPML will get me”: offline browsing and editing outside the confines of a web browser. This is a solution masquerading as a requirement; identifying and challenging these is part of what us software engineers do.<br /><br />Like James, I’m not convinced that OPML is the magic bullet that Robert wants it to be. But I do firmly believe that shouting down critics with “do better or shut up!” is unhelpful, unproductive, and just plain rude: macho posturing at its worst.<br /><br />[Updates: more comment from <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/09/30.html#a11306">Robert</a> and <a href="http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView?showComments=true&title=What+he+said%2C+in+spades&entry=3305533856#3305533856">James</a>. Shelley Powers has a good, and thoughtful, <a href="http://weblog.burningbird.net/archives/2005/10/01/put-up-or-shut-up/">roundup</a> at Burningbird. And Charles Miller, at The Fishbowl, calmly (and without using the word “crappy”) explains <a href="http://fishbowl.pastiche.org/2005/10/02/whats_wrong_with_opml">What’s Wrong with OPML</a>.]Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127921941318684352005-09-28T08:27:00.000-07:002006-09-08T01:27:17.693-07:00Speeding through the nightSudafed, and its active ingredient pseudoephedrine, are clearly not for me: I took one last night and had a terrible reaction to it. <br /><br />Side effects for pseudoephedrine, according to <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682619.html">Medline</a>:<br /><br /><ul><li>nervousness</li><li>restlessness</li><li>dizziness</li><li>difficulty sleeping</li><li>upset stomach</li></ul> Yes, yes, no, yes, no. A very odd feeling: although I was physically tired, my mind was racing so fast that I couldn't get to sleep.<br /><br />Says <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine">Wikipedia</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>As with other phenylethylamines, [pseudoephedrine] is very chemically similar to amphetamines.</blockquote> No kidding; I certainly felt like I was speeding. While the decongestant effect worked very well, the side effects rule this one out for me from now on.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127859511720312152005-09-27T14:24:00.000-07:002006-09-08T01:33:58.506-07:00“Name two.”I particularly like this passage from Mary Doria Russell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0449004139/"><i>A Thread Of Grace</i></a>. Set in World War Two, the protagonists, Albert Blum and his teenage daughter Claudette, are Jewish refugees seeking shelter in northern Italy:<br /><br /><blockquote> “The people in these mountains are illiterate peasants! They’re ignorant, Claudette. Priests have been filling their heads with Christ-killer lies all of their lives!”<br /> She bites into one of the pears and moans. “Oh, Papa! Oh, this is beautiful! This is the best pear I ever tasted!”<br /> “They think we poison wells! They think we murder babies and use their blood to make matzoh! They hate us—”<br /> “Name two.”<br /> Albert blinks.<br /> “Whenever we said ‘they’, Mama told us to name two.” Claudette divides the lump of cheese, handing half to Albert. “Mama said if you can’t name two actual people, then you’re just being prejudiced. So name two peasants who hate us.” She takes another bite of pear, holding his eyes with her own: ocean green and guileless in a dirt-smeared face. “Mama said.”<br /> Albert sighs. “All right,” he says, capitulating to hunger, and to a heart-deep weariness, and to the ethical precepts of a wife whose face is more difficult to conjure as each day passes. “All right, but just this once.”</blockquote> It’s a great book, well-written, and with many moments of commonplace bravery and quiet heroism.<br /><br />I’m slowly working my way through the recommendations made in this <a href="http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/22254">MetaFilter post</a>, which had some overlap with books I’d enjoyed previously (Audrey Nifnegger’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/015602943X"><i>The Time Traveler’s Wife</i></a>; Susanna Clarke’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1582346038"><i>Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell</i></a>) and makes a lot of good suggestions. <br /><br />One caveat though: it seems to me that often people find specific books memorable because they tell the story in some unconventional way. <i>The Time Traveler’s Wife</i>, on the surface at least, appears extremely non-linear; it gets away with it because underneath the time-travelling glitz is a fairly straightforward love story. Matthew Kneale’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/038549744X"><i>English Passengers</i></a> tells its story by cutting between the journals of its protagonists. David Mitchell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375724508">Ghostwritten</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375507256/">Cloud Atlas</a> both tell multiple stories, the first tangentially and the second by nesting them like Russian dolls. And Ken Kesey’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140045295/"><i>Sometimes A Great Notion</i></a> often cuts between its protagonists points of view several times a paragraph; a good story, but a very confusing technique. After too many of these in a row, I started to long for a straightforward yarn with no gimmicks.<br /><br />So I revisited Steinbeck. For most people my age who grew up in the UK, all we know of Steinbeck is classroom readings of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000671/"><i>Of Mice And Men</i></a>, which I always found a little too sentimental. Well: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000655/"><i>East Of Eden</i></a> is spectacular, very simply told, but very deep. And <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000663/"><i>The Grapes Of Wrath</i></a> is amazing, very different in technique—a lot of painting of vignettes—but my god, I’d forgotten how <em>bleak</em> it was.<br /><br />Bum recommendations: Katherine Neville’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345366239"><i>The Eight</i></a> is hokum, and was obviously somewhat of a prototype for <i>The Da Vinci Code</i>. And Connie Willis’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553562738">Doomsday Book</a> is solid, but rather dull, time-travelling-historians stuff.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127801468513087742005-09-26T22:14:00.000-07:002006-03-01T03:50:51.376-08:00Contra Costa Canal Trail 5: Pleasant HillThat’s it; it’s done; I have walked every inch of the <a href="http://www.ebparks.org/parks/canaltr.htm">Contra Costa Canal Trail</a>. But this last stretch was tough.<br /><br />My cunning plan: take a bus to the Pleasant Hill end of the Canal Trail, walk down the trail to the junction with the Iron Horse Trail, and walk home from there. County Connection <a href="http://www.cccta.org/routes/102.htm">Route 102</a> gets me from Walnut Creek BART to the <a href="http://www.dvc.edu/">Diablo Valley College</a> campus, which lies right on the trail some one-and-a-half miles short of the end. <a href="http://www.cccta.org/routes/118.htm">Route 118</a> connects from there and goes right past the end of the trail on Muir Road; but with a 40 minute wait for the connection. On balance, I think, I’ll walk out and back from DVC to the end of the trail and then strike out south for home.<br /><br />Well, the end of the trail is a bit of a wash. It’s dry, dull, and baking hot. Not really worth the trip. And it stays hot and dusty south of DVC too. This is not much fun.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ebparks.org/resources/pdf/trails/canaltr.pdf"><img class="bordered right" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/09/contra-costa-canal-trail-5-pleasant-hill/taylor-boulevard.png" width="200" height="150" alt="Map of Contra Costa Canal Trail at Taylor Boulevard."></a> At Taylor Boulevard, there’s an odd little dogleg where the trail runs alongside the road for a few hundred yards to the next stoplight. A rather officious sign reads: “YOU ARE HERE FOR <u>RECREATION</u>. FOR YOUR OWN <u>HEALTH</u> AND <u>SAFETY</u> PLEASE TAKE THE <u>LONG</u> WAY.” Uh: okay.<br /><br />There’s water at Las Juntas Park, which is welcome; and after Camino Juntas, the trail starts to become more shaded. At Lockwood Lane I connect with the end-point of a previous <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/contra-costa-canal-trail-3-pleasant.html">out-and-back hike</a>, and the most pleasant stretch of the trail: wooded, quiet, and cool.<br /><br />By the time I get to Oak Park Boulevard, I’m starting to think about taking the escape hatch I’d planned; the 102 route goes back along Oak Park towards Walnut Creek. I grab doughnuts and soda at Safeway, sit, eat, and contemplate my ebbing energy and aching feet. I feel restored after a rest and some food, and I reason that I’m two-thirds of the way through; it seems a shame not to finish out the hike.<br /><br />So, down to Walden Park; and on down the Iron Horse to home. And getting slower all the time. It’s 9½ miles and 4 hours by the time I get home, and it’s rarely felt harder; I am bushed.<br /><br />Previous hikes on the Contra Costa Canal Trail:<br /><ol><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/04/contra-costa-canal-regional-trail.html">Contra Costa Canal Trail/Ygnacio Canal Trail loop</a> (April 2005)</li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/06/contra-costa-canal-trail-revisited.html">Heather Farm–Citrus Avenue</a> (June 2005)</li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/08/contra-costa-canal-trail-3-pleasant.html">Walden Park–Lockwood Lane</a> (August 2005)</li><li><a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/contra-costa-canal-trail-4-concord.html">Citrus Avenue–Willow Pass Road</a> (September 2005)</li></ol> Categories: HikingJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127624145688719122005-09-24T21:55:00.000-07:002006-03-01T06:08:09.073-08:00Shaky QuakeyI experienced my first earthquake as a California resident at 4:25am this morning: this <a href="http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/nc40179595.htm">magnitude 3.2 quake</a>, on the Hayward fault near Piedmont, actually <em>woke me up</em>. What did it feel like? Like someone put their foot on the side of the bed and gave it a good shove.<br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><img class="bordered" style="margin-bottom: 5px;" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/09/shaky-quakey/fault-map.png" width="250" height="150" alt="USGS Recent Earthquake Activity map showing magnitude 3.2 earthquake near Oakland."><br /><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/09/shaky-quakey/did-you-feel-it.png" width="250" height="150" alt="USGS Community Intensity map."></div> <br />The <a href="http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/">USGS</a> takes online <a href="http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/STORE/X40179595/ciim_display.html">“did you feel it?”</a> reports from the public; 2421 <a href="http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/STORE/X40179595/ciim_stats_1.html">responses</a> so far, 48 from Walnut Creek. I guess a lot of people here are earthquake watchers. I've added my report.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157071.post-1127543985349317292005-09-23T22:35:00.000-07:002006-03-01T04:04:44.180-08:00Night Walk ReloadedAnother day, another hike. Why so many hikes right now—three in three days? Well, Melinda’s visiting her sister in Philadelphia, which leaves me at a loose end and gives me an opportunity to get some longer hikes in. And also, I seem to have hurt my left shoulder slightly, which means less swimming and more hiking for a while.<br /><br />Tonight’s <a href="http://hiking.bondon.com/Hike_Details.cfm?ID=80">hike</a> is a rerun of the <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/canal-trails-heather-farm-night-walk.html">night walk</a> of some two weeks ago, and again is led by Paul. A slightly different route this time, and a distraction: this week is the <a href="http://www.walnutfestival.org/2005_festival.htm">Walnut Festival</a>, which means that Heather Farm is home to what would, in Britain, be called a fair, and here is probably a carnival. Rides; food; games; music; and so forth.<br /><br />We wander up through the gardens; tonight, the fountains are lit. Paul tells us he rang the <a href="http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/leisure/">Recreation Division</a> to ask that they be turned on earlier; the summer setting of 8:30pm is too late for twilight in fall.<br /><br />And now the change. While <a href="http://jameskew.blogspot.com/2005/09/canal-trails-heather-farm-night-walk.html">last time</a> we followed the trail through Diablo Hills Golf Course and onwards, tonight we walk up the golf course to one of Paul’s favourite lookout points; a hill topped by a rocky ridgeline, which I’m fairly sure is the tail end of Lime Ridge. Great views out towards Mount Diablo from here.<br /><br /><div style="text-align:center"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.913732,-122.046046&spn=0.011952,0.014398&z=1&t=h&hl=en"><img class="bordered" src="http://users.ca.astound.net/~james.kew/blog/2005/09/night-walk-reloaded/diablo-hills.jpg" width="340" height="310" alt="Satellite view and route through Diablo Hills Golf Course to the lookout point."></a></div><br />We head back through the park and home; again parting ways at the Iron Horse trail crossing, where I head off southwards into the dark towards Walnut Creek.<br /><br />A shorter, easier walk than last time, but still: including my stretch there and back from Walnut Creek, about 7½ miles in 2½ hours.<br /><br />Categories: HikingJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01502072746955166120noreply@blogger.com0