fishing for words

(and tossing out random thoughts)

Category Archives: General Discourse


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157 miles with a fish and chips stop

Ready to Roll

Ready to Roll

Weather rarely cooperates with plans made more than 24 hours in advance, so the older boy and I were happy to see our mini heat wave break, with cooler temps Sunday morning.

Sunday was “training day” on the motorcycles. We loaded up, geared up and hit the road sometime after eight thirty in the morning. The early start paid off with only scattered traffic on Interstate 680, as we made our way my sister family’s house in San Mateo. Occasional gusts of winds and inattentive car drivers required our attention. Other than that, it was smooth sailing.

After an unsuccessful attempt at computer repair, we headed out State Route 92. Surprisingly light traffic allowed us to make to Half Moon Bay Brewery in less than 30 minutes. Fueled by excellent fish and chips, we made our way up State Route 1, past the yet-to-be-completed Devils Slide Tunnel, up to and through San Francisco and across the Bay Bridge, then home.

Yes, I was a tad bit saddle sore when I go home. Next time I’ll try out the other seat I have for the Nighthawk.

Otherwise, good day, good ride, good fun.

Ready to Roll
In San Mateo
In Pacifica
Me and my ’97 Honda CB750 Nighthawk
Sean and his Honda CB650SC

 


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dad knew global warming was coming

It’s easy to dismiss global warming as Al Gore’s pet disaster or simply a cycle of the earth.  I say we’ll know the truth when it’s all over. Regardless of the outcome, I’m beginning to think dad’s related to pikas.

Maybe he was acting on an inexpressible instinct, but what else could explain dad’s continual latitudinal movement toward cooler climates? It started in Perris, Calif. (33° 46’ 57” N); followed by Willits (39° 24’ 35” N) and Issaquah, Wash. (47° 31’ 49” N); and finally Duvall, Wash. (47° 44’ 32” N).

Now comes word of studies and requests that pikas be placed on the Endangered Species List because warming temperatures could force them further up their mountain habitats. Not convinced my dad and pikes are related? Read on:

To many scientists, pikas are a perfect study candidate because they are sensitive to temperature. They can be killed by temperatures higher than 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and prefer the rugged, rocky habitat found typically, but not exclusively, at higher elevations.

For those who know dad, ‘nuf said.


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all the aches and pains without the hassle of hiring a moving truck

Just before a “delivery” of barbecued goodness Sunday.

That’s when we finished what begun Friday afternoon with the moving around that gave us a seemingly new house.

“Moved to a new house?” you ask.

No, the creation of what feels like a new house through a refreshment of the feng shui (or lack thereof) in the so-called living room and den. Over the years the arrangement of the furniture in these two rooms had been predicated on practicality — utilitarian in the father-in-law’s view — necessitated by the acceptance of hand-me-down sofas and the sundry accessories.

But it was The Wife’s our willingness to stimulate the economy and the appearance of a nice sectional sofa at Costco that launched this change to a more welcoming arrangement of furniture (as well as the acceptance that we’d have the same sectional as the billion other folks who would no doubt also be lured by the great price). Combined with the removal of all-too-long unscrutinized debris and the steam cleaning of carpets, this rearrangement yielded not only a more elegant layout, but room enough to expand the dining space to accommodate 20-plus holiday guests. (The Wife recongnized this surprising benefit a bit too fast for my taste.)

It looks good. I know. I got to spend all of 40 minutes lounging on the new sofa before it was time to head to bed.


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wild wednesday


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maybe not so high speed or low drag now,but the bro’s still got a fan out there

The permanence of the Internet is a funny thing.  For something that’s seemingly fleeting and ever changing, it’s becoming just as much a memorial of words and images as it is a dumpsite.  In general, we don’t police those words and images, allowing them to languish, burning into the collective body of cyberspace.

It’s apparent that my brother hasn’t googled himself lately.  Knowing how, once my brother latched on to it, with his well-known tendency toward self aggrandizement, it’s surprising that his Facebook page, his friends’ and family’s email in boxes, the bulletin board information, and maybe even the refrigerator at home haven’t become a stage for publicizing his veneration on the “Hott Cops” blog.  (Scroll down 20 screens using page down, looking for “this week’s officers,” or use the “find” function in your browser.)  Amazing what a short, unplanned and, ironically, unwanted stint on “COPS” can do.

At least the last name’s spelled correctly, but the selection of one to the photo array of “Hott Cops” becomes a bit questionable when an officer is seemingly selected from each and every episode of “COPS,” “K9 Cops,” “Street Patrol,” and nearly every episode of any police reality show.  If that’s not enough, I’m sure the “Hott Cops” blog writer doesn’t have a high-definition television and missed my bro’s unibrow.

Note:  In the interest of balanced coverage, the TLC channel now offers the 10-part documentary “Policewomen of Broward County,” premiering this Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009.  Set the Tivo or check your local listings.


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casting about: 2009-05-19


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bad driver, bad driver

It’s not as satisfying as seeing the highway patrol pull over the speeder who blew past you in a Hummer while crossing three lanes without signaling, but at least you can vent about (or complement) other drivers on Zapatag.com.  Register and report those bozos bad drivers.

What is Zapatag?

In a nutshell:

Report bad drivers, track license plates, zap a tag and upgrade your commute. Compliment a carpooler. Lash a litterer. Tattle on a tailgater. Snap at a speeder. Bring accountability back to our streets the Web 2.0 way. Don’t get mad on the road. Get even online.

Who is Zapatag?

Zapatag was conceived by Ryan Ozawa, but made possible only through the input of several brilliant people, including Aaron Dragushan, Beth Berry, Eric Nakagawa, Burt Lum, Emily Chang, Matthew McVickar & Cody Robbins, Brian Dote, Watari Goro, Kalei Weber, and Ryan (typezero3).

What’s up with Zapatag?

Check out the Zapatag Blog.

You can also see if your family or friends have been naughty or nice behind the wheel…  Teenagers beware.


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casting about: 2009-04-15

  • Fun shows on various motorcycle manufacturers: http://tinyurl.com/34rhm6
  • Had some fun the last few weeks helping a club member get his fly tying Web site up and running: http://tinyurl.com/dxvjbb
  • …and I’m a new owner of a bamboo fly rod, courtesy the club auction last night. Anyone have a vintage reel they’d like to sell?

Happy Tax Day!


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old dog, new (computer) tricks

I pushed the abilities of the ol’ bean again. After an impromptu decision much thinking the wife and I opted to leave behind the unrefined masses Microsoft Windows to share one computer manufactured by a particular Cupertino, Calif.-based company.

I’ve always known that all computer systems, Apple OS- or Windows- or anything else-based, come with their own quirks, often the result of one person or a committee deciding they know the best method to accomplish a goal or reach an outcome. Switching from a WinPC to Apple’s iMac wasn’t something I took too lightly. But in the end, I didn’t assign this task enough weight.

Setting up the 24” iMac was easy enough, and it sure is nice to have a computer contained in a single unit. And it wasn’t too difficult to get it on the wireless network. Even moving mail from Outlook files to Apple Mail was relatively easy. The wife and I also found an easy way to share calendars.

Along the way we (or maybe just I) decided that it would be pretty cool efficient to place our combined iTunes libraries on an external drive and to hook that drive up to the new Apple Airport Extreme router. (Kudos to Apple for making the connection of WinPCs to an Apple network relatively painless.) After reading instructions on moving iTunes libraries, seemingly made more complex than necessary, everything was sync’d up.

Also got Windows XP running on the iMac via Parallels…software that allows the running of a “virtual machine,” on to which Windows is installed. Cool stuff!

Things were looking good.

Next step, change the TiVo settings to bring both units onto the new network. “Uh oh” or something like that came under my breath.

Both TiVos were using old-school 802.11b wireless connections…the Apple router was running 802.11g with a WPA2-encrypted password. I know y’all understand what that means. (Hint: The old TiVo adapters couldn’t handle WPA encryption.)

A week later, with two new wireless “G” adapters are playing nice with the TiVos, but a new concern claws around inside my head. Somewhere along the line I neglected to verify that the wife’s netbook had an up-to-date wireless connection. I try it. After ten minutes, it’s not connected. “Darn,” I think to myself, or something like that. Another try, this time leaving the Apple Airport software running and attempting to connect. Fifteen minutes later, it’s on the Apple network. Everyone’s happy. I do the white-boy, wiggle-your-butt dance.

Ends up the switch to an iMac is more like think-and-play than plug-and-play. But the fun has begun.


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me, the wife and bass pro shops

When a spouse voluntarily says that she’d like to visit the local Bass Pro Shops stores, and after the initial shock wears off, any sportsman will conjure up many fond thoughts as to why he married his gal. She gets me. Coolest wife ever. She loves me that much.

But fate can dealt ironic twists.

The wife was suitably impressed with the Manteca store. It took about ten minutes to soak in the sweeping atrium that greets all who enter. A quick trip to the aquarium, then upstairs for a wide-open vista of both levels. She began to grasp the attraction of this sportsman’s delight.

She’s put up with my stops at the local and not-so-local fly ships, and the fact that she’ll knit while I drool allays some of my guilt.

But it’s clear that Bass Pro Shops transcends age, sex, geography, one’s choice of outdoor sport and just about any other classification. The theory is that appealing to a wide-ranging audience gives the whole family reason enough to enjoy an hour or two or seven shopping and spending money. But I was to get schooled in how far and well Bass Pro Shops crosses these lines.

Truth be known, under the guise of acting as guide for the wife’s first experience, my goal was research. I was on the hunt for a reel or two at the fly fishing club’s coming auction, and a bit of hands-on time would help firm up my decision.

Without a map I forged ahead towards camping gear and big-a** barbecue grills, forgetting that the trail would led us through the shoe department. I’ll give credit where credit is due: Bass Pro Shops does stock the shelves with plenty o’ boots and, apparently, some pretty tasty looking women’s sandals.

And when all was said and done and paid for, we walked out of Bass Pro Shops with two pairs of women’s sandals. Good thing none of my fly fishing buddies were there to see it.

Otherwise I might’ve had to quickly figure out how to stuff those sandals into a fly rod tube.