"I'm a Madoff"

Well, I'm not but I heard this term coined tody at a doctor's office.  I forget how it came up, but after I brought up the Madoff situation all the way in NY, my doctor said "Oh...I'm a Madoff."  His entire retirement account was gone.  He is not young.  At least he has a source of livelihood, but he will likely be working MUCH longer than previously planned.

There are others in Northern California who are not lock-step Dems!!!

Great coverage of the Palin Burlingame event by Joe Malchow.

I love this analysis:

And why not? The crowd of 25,000 she elicited yesterday is proof that Sarah Palin is attracting new voters. And today was further evidence of her effect: a ballroom flush with self-made men and women who, though accustomed to living the dreary life of a permanent political minority, now feel there's someone for them, too. They see Sarah Palin as a political Ghostbuster singularly able, by dint of her background, her charm, and her cool, to suss out the spectrous Barack Obama, holding him up for everyone to see. She should, soon.

What warming? On CA wildfires.

Warming West is ground zero for wildfires: 

The above article is full of over-generalizations and reports taken out of context.  I have lived in California, both Northern and Southern, since 1989.  From my own personal experience, it has been cooler here in the past several years than it was when I first got here.  I don't have any scientific logbooks, but I can make these observations:

-I barely run my A/C in the summer yet my heater (and pool freeze protection) have to run 24 hours most winters.

-We have to wear long sleeves in the middle of summer except for a few hours a day.

-My pool has been much cooler on average in the past 3 years or so than it was previously.

-We still suffer from heat waves, but the rest of the summer is MUCH cooler by comparison.

I don't know.  I think all of this reportage conceals the ulterior motives of the organizations behind these various studies.  For example, the US Forest Service leadership have wanted conduct controlled burns.  I would argue that they should do this since it has historically proven to be healthy for our forests.  If linking poor forest management with global warming would turn the tide of public opinion in favor of controlled burns, then have at it USFS.  That doesn't mean that I agree with the global warming link.  I think it's a stretch, quite frankly.

Many people, including some of my relatives, believe that we should be "acting now" to prevent more anthropogenic global warming.  How do they know that their "acting" will actually help and not hurt?  Maybe the scope of the recent fires was augmented by previous policies that involved putting out wildfires as quickly as possible as opposed to letting them burn?

We have people feeling so much guilt over all of this that they pay others to plant trees to make up for the CO2 they produce day to day.  Guess what?  This "action" could me more harmful than doing nothing!  Even in the above-mentioned article, there is one nugget pointing at the link between increased tree coverage and surface warming:

"The peak time of melting snow is already about 10 to 15 days earlier in different parts of the West. Scientists have projected a speed-up of 25 to 35 days earlier by the end of this century. A study just released by Purdue University found that at the end of the century, the snowmelt could come 70 days earlier. The effect of the lost snow, and increased heat from solar radiation absorbed in the exposed ground and vegetation, would raise temperatures more than have previously been expected."

There is even a study to show that trees produce methane gas, which contributes to global warming.  The trees also give up CO2 when the trees die and rot.

In fact, replacing grasslands with forests, particularly in the high latitudes, probably have a net warming effect on the planet.  

Here's another source.  I challenge you to find that study reported about, quoted, or even referenced in any mainstream media any time soon.  All of these guilty do-gooders might be doing a lot of harm.

The queen with her court

Our dog really enjoys getting dressed up and playing with the kids.  I have had lots of dogs for as long as I can remember.  This is our first poodle.  Our kids are thrilled that poodles really do like dress-up!

Feature: Get Things Done Over the Phone with Jott

This looks like a useful tool. I could lose my productivity by checking out all of these productivity tools!

Feature: Get Things Done Over the Phone with Jott

Eddie Eagle Turns 20!

This is a wonderful program.

Dartblog: "Eddie Eagle Turns 20!"

The Uneven Playing Field - Girls' Sports Injuries - Michael Sokolove - New York Times

This is stepping into taboo territory, but it is quite well-researched and ought to be read by anyone with daughters who are athletes.

The Uneven Playing Field - Girls' Sports Injuries - Michael Sokolove - New York Times

What happened to Sara's Law?

Some background about the tragic situation:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7044110

The failed attempt to pass the proposed "Sara's Law" through the California public safety committee

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9028369

They ought to be renamed "do whatever the ACLU wants at the expense of public safety committee":

The Eight Belles story is getting me sad

I didn't see the race.  I don't drop everything for the Kentucky Derby.  I wasn't even ever involved in thoroughbred racing.  The background that I do have with horses brings me closer to these animals than an ordinary spectator.

Until my life in Northern California, I had been with horses regularly since I was 5.  That means around 20 years.  Riding, driving, grooming, you name it.  I competed for fun with not too much money involved.  I rode for the thrill of understanding the animal I had become.  Balancing the horse.  Using (but never abusing) the bit.  All these things are a natural part of my being now.  

My parents were careful (or lucky) to never have us with a cookie cutter coach.  The cookie cutter coaches were the ones that had you ride a beaten down horse.  They would braid the center of the mane with a different colored braid than the rest and tell you to get off the saddle and put your hands on those braids and just do that at the right time and let the horse do the rest.  The rider's job was to look pretty and follow these rules and everything would be fine.  A horse that had some brains was deemed incorrigible or unusable.

My trainers had me ride many different animals, each one with his/her own needs.  I was taught to ride stirrupless, sometimes bareback.  I was taught to strengthen my muscles so that I could guide a horse with a small, precise, movement of my leg--so my balance change would calm the horse or signal to the horse "let's go for it."  My last trainer was a wonderful lady named Adrienne.  She was the type of person who doesn't come across well in social situations.  She was kind of abrasive and lots of people couldn't stand her.  In the ring, with horses and riders who would really listen, she was unbelievable.  She had a ladies' group of mostly moms who could get a little time off and ride together late at night.  It was scheduled for an hour.  She was generous with her time and would often keep me for 2 or more hours so I could leave on a high note.  I had a background she could really work with.  She had me ride horses in a way that got them to glide around the ring when working flat and had them well-balanced and gave them heart for jumping.  She asked me to compete as an adult amateur and in two shows I was a ranked rider.  This had never happened for me in the past because my social status is nowhere near the stratosphere that seems to be required in the more political hunter/jumper categories.  The judges could not deny me this.  Or, maybe, California shows are less political than the Long Island shows I had previously entered.  Before I met Adrienne, I had gotten to the point that I only wanted to compete in competitive jumping because the method of scoring is apolitical and me, a nobody, could do well.

Anyhow, this has gone too far and I will talk more about this and why I don't ride now (maybe I should).  A little background information into how/why I feel closer to horses than many people has become a bit of a diatribe.

Adrienne's stable was right near Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California.  Many of the animals I rode were thoroughbreds who didn't make it on the race track.  They were beautiful.  They were smart.  They were sound and strong.

For a horse to run so hard that she almost beats all of those colts at the Kentucky Derby and doesn't notice the bones breaking in her legs takes all heart.  Here was a beautiful animal that only wanted to go fast.  

(I personally believe that there is not only a genetic component that must be dealt with soon, but also we have to rethink the timing of the training of these horses.  They are being pushed while they are still developing.  This will take time, but they should really wait a few years to run these horses hard.)

Met with the contractor today.  I have to decide in two days about the plumbing layout in the kitchen.  Of course, I am overanalyzing and second-guessing myself and getting nowhere.  I need help and don't know if I should go to the original designer who helped me with the layout or the new designer who might be more capable at choosing the overall look and feel of the house.  Due in two days.  Ugh!

Building...

We are adding on to our home right now.  Living in half a house is proving to be pretty fun but takes some flexibility.  The kids like to play piano a lot.  We are the rare parents that have to kick kids off of the piano and into bed, eating, school, general self-care and good hygiene.  The piano obviously has to stay with us in an easy to access place during the entire course of construction.  We now have a piano in our kitchen.  Did I tell you we are now living in the kitchen and bedrooms and that is it?  Too true.  We eat at the kitchen counter, we read in bed.   Lucky the jackhammering is over for now.  At some points in the last two weeks, there was jackhammering right beneath the floor of our house as they removed the massive fireplace foundation.

Back to the piano.  Last night we had a meeting with a solar power contractor (yes, we are considering this again . . . more about that later).  We are not going to invite contractors for meetings into our bedroom, so we all crammed into the kitchen with the kids eating dinner (all of us still in taekwondo gear) and getting going for bed.  J wanted to play piano for a while during the meeting.  Luckily, we have a piano that has a silent mode.  He remembered this and I watched him proudly as he donned the headphones and got set up to go.  Well silent is not exactly silent and he was playing something pretty fiercely.  You still hear the hammers hitting the strings but the soundboard is pulled back, or something like that.

After listening to it and trying to concentrate on what the solar sales guy was presenting, it dawned on me what the piano was sounding like:  muffled jackhammering.

Off to the races!

I am very involved in a fascinating Spring ritual called college admissions.  Of course, you can see from my picture that my kids are way too young to be participating in the process for themselves yet.  Oh. Wait. I do hear other moms of my 6th grader ALREADY talking about what would be good for college....

Seriously, I have a volunteer position for my alma mater that is practically a full time job for a few weeks in the winter months and now in April.  I coordinate all the interviewing and enrollment activities for a few counties in Northern California.  A Few Counties.  That sounds big.  Well it is big space-wise (it would take me 2-3 hours to drive from one end of the region to the other), but I get around the same number of applicants as some of my counterparts who cover a much smaller area--the San Francisco Peninsula exclusive of San Francisco, for example.  

Let me start off by saying that I can't talk too much about the numbers or anything because it is confidential.  Actually, there is not much I can talk about here because of privacy issues, both for me, the volunteer team, and the applicants.

I will tell you that the students were admitted on Monday and we were allowed to start contacting them on Wednesday night.  They have one month to carefully consider their options, including financial aid and such, and they have to reply to the schools by the beginning of May.  With Spring Break, Passover, usually Easter (not this year), etc., the timing is truly tight.  In addition, these are all high-achieving seniors who still have a full slate of schoolwork and extracurriculars to support.  I don't know how they do it.  Having witnessed this for several years, I am so impressed with the composure and maturity of the seniors that get in and manage to make it all work.  I just hope that they all make the right choice for themselves, although many of them would be happy and successful anywhere.

What do we do now?  We hold "receptions" to introduce them to the local alumni community.  They also other admitted students from the area.  Ours is this Sunday and there is a bit to do before then because the timing is very tight.  The energy that night is amazing.  The kids come from different places and all get along so well.  The parents learn a few things and have relief and anxiety in their faces at the same time (unless they are extremely wealthy or not so well off--in either case, money is not an issue for college).

The hard thing about this week is thinking about the stellar kids who did not get in.  The application numbers get higher every year and the admission rate gets lower.  It is hard because these are such good kids with real stories.  You interview them and you get to like them.  You make lifelong connections with them.  You become a mentor for them.  Some get in but most don't.  It is hard.  This year, none of the seniors I personally interviewed were offered admission.  I try to cut off contact and move on, but there is one that I will be calling.

DadLabs

I got this update from a college friend I haven't heard about in a while.  He is the "Chief Creative Officer" for DadLabs:

Behold the power of the 89s! With the support of our classmates (and maybe just a few other folks) DadLabs won the voting for Best New Uploader on Yahoo! Video. We're really excited about the award and hope it will be a boost to our little company. Another great side effect of your message: several classmates I haven't heard from in years got back in touch. Very cool. Thanks for that.

See for yourself at the website.

Today I got stuck home with a sick kid. That was okay. The weather is picture-perfect--high 60's to low 70's and sunny. I fiddled out by the pool. My husband and I figured that we both have advanced degrees in engineering/science and we should be able to figure out the pool chemistry. So, that's what we (meaning "I") do. With the help of the kind folks at Trouble Free Pool, I keep my pool clean, clear, and healthy. We also save at least $90/month on the pool service, always a good thing. The weather this past week got me going on starting the solar heater and balancing the water chemistry.

I'm just going to get a hang of this blogging stuff. I've been reading blogs, mostly knitting, technical, and news blogs, for years. I will probably have quite a bit to add as far as knitting goes, although I have been knitting so long and most of my trove is unphotographed. Some of it is even at Goodwill right now.

I've been inspired

My brilliant older sister has inspired me to start things off here.

Here is her blog.