Nice T-Shirt

If you were a tourist, would you buy this lovely t-shirt? Just asking out of genuine curiosity, as I can't see myself wearing it :-)

Ominous Clouds

Non-Stop Rain in Southern California

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a better picture of the rain with my phone's nonexistent zoom, but that doesn't mean the rain is any less intense.

We had severe winds this morning, at roughly 30kph, with 100kph winds forecasted for the night - though I've seen no evidence of these winds that were reported via the emergency broadcast network, as their monotonous female computer voice so kindly interrupted my Law and Order marathon.

That being said, this area is not known for its rain. It is, however, known for having schizophrenic weather, as evidenced by the photo I posted of the sunny beach on Friday (it's now 22:45 on Sunday - 55.5 hours after that post).

Anyway, this weather has severely interrupted my nightly jog/walk, and I'm feeling a bit restless. One can only walk up and down the stairs so many times before those nicely carpeted steps lose their allure.

I hope everybody had a lovely weekend. I didn't, as I am sick once again. My immune system is really taking a beating as of late.

The Harbo(u)r

Here's a view of the harbor in my town. Perhaps it's interesting if you don't live by the sea or a lake with a big harbor. I still love it after living here for 20 years.

No Nuclear Fallout Here!

A week ago I mentioned that people here in California were overreacting to the tsunami.

Now, however, there is allegedly a cloud of radioactive particles floating over our beautiful coastline. Do people here care? Nope! As you can see from this photo taken at 15:05 local time, the main beach in Laguna Beach, CA, is quite crowded.

Go figure...

Tsunami? Let's go watch! Radiation? Let's not give a shit! Funny world we live in.

What Languages Do You Speak?

I speak English and Spanish - L1 and L2, respectively. I am in the process of learning French.

What about you, dear readers? What languages do you speak? Which would you like to learn?

UPDATE: Given StareDad's proclivity for programming in many languages, I'd also like you to list any programming languages you know! Good call, StareDad!

Temporary Sickness

Hello, dear readers.

This is the longest I've gone without making a post, and that's because I was sick. I'm not really sure what was wrong, but I had a headache for a couple of days and was terribly tired.

Thankfully, though, this has all passed and I'll be back to posting regularly tomorrow!

Petrol/Gas Prices - Part 3

So this will be the final instalment* of my price of gasoline series, as it has now surpassed the psychologically significant barrier of $4 per gallon.

The petrol station pictured here is an average price for my area; $4.139 is the highest price I've seen for 87-octane petrol. That being said, last time I wrote about how we had just passed the $1/liter mark; however, that was some 18 cents ago. The price for a liter is now 107.2 cents - and climbing.

The sign pictured here started the day at a mere $4.019 - something I would have loved to have paid. By 12:30pm, the price moved up 4 cents, and this was on a day when the markets were closed.

Without using currency exchange rates, how much is a liter of fuel where you live? And, if you're in a part of the US that is not California, how much does it cost where you live?

*For some reason, the American spelling of this word - with 2 l's - looks wrong to me now.

Newport Harbor near Balboa Island

Here's a picture of some boats in the harbor as seen from Balboa Island.

Tsunami Report From Southern California

As the vast majority of my readers are au courant in terms of world affairs, I'm sure you've all heard about the massive earthquake that struck Japan - and the subsequent tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific Ocean's coastal communities.

Well, I'm in one of these communities, and the only thing that's happened is severe overreaction. The police set up a blockade for a kilometer around the harbor from all directions, preventing me from getting to two restaurants I work out of. This makes little sense, though, because Coast Highway is actually closer to the ocean in some parts than the harbor's shopping area.

The only abnormality here is that there are literally hundreds of boats out on the ocean. Even on a hot summer day there have never been so many boats out on the water around here.

Apart from that, there's nothing out of the ordinary here vis-à-vis the tsunami. My thoughts (not prayers) are with the Japanese as they struggle through this horrific disaster.