It's all happening at the zoo

Last month I went to the San Diego Zoo. I went there with the Vietnamese Crew.

As I started organizing my pictures, I remembered I never shared any of my pictures from an earlier great zoo adventure. So here is a picture from a trip to the Oakland Zoo in Spring 2008.


Bonus points if you can name the people in the picture.

Now to my recent San Diego Zoo trip. I will skimp on the descriptions as most of the animals could be identified by a competent kindergardener.




At a nearby gift shop they had paper made out of elephant dung for sale. If you ever get a letter from me you should be glad I refrained from buying it.


I waited in line to see the pandas. It was a disappointment. First, the name "giant panda" is misleading; I could almost throw one in my backpack. Second, they just sit around and eat. They have the digestive track of carnivores but eat bamboo all day. Third, they look like bears with black and white fur. If you want to see something different and not wait in line check out our friend below.


This last one is less well known; it is an okapi. If you are not familiar with these cousins of giraffes ask the Unnamed Geniuses to learn more. There is a great history of how European scientists heard stories of okapi but thought they were mere myths until some evidence of them was collected. If you want to learn more about the process check out Cryptozoology.


Here we have Larry making friends with an expert who looks like Brandon.

After the zoo we went to Dave & Buster's to eat and wait for the traffic to subside. Along with dinner many of us had drinks while it was still happy hour. Larry was heavily pushing AMFs. On that topic, I have another drink recipe.

A.M.F.

1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Rum
1/2 oz Tequila
1/2 oz Blue curacao
2 oz 7-Up
2 oz Sweet and sour mix

Mix the first six ingredients and then top with 7-up. While the drink usually goes by its initials, its full name is Adios Motherfucker. After you have a few of them you will know why. The alcohol in this is almost the same as a Long Island Iced Tea, except blue curacao replaces triple sec.

San Diego and the Island of Dr. Moreau

Last weekend I was in San Diego.

I got there early on Friday to pick up Rohit from the airport and drove back on Sunday afternoon. I was there to attend the CRP (California Republican Party) convention and spend time with Derek and Rohit. Over the weekend I saw half a dozen people I went to school with and knew from BCR (Berkeley College Republicans).

We stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt where the convention was held. The convention had the usual type of convention stuff. Candidates tried to drum up support for themselves, people argued for or against propositions on the November ballot, and there were some intense battles on rule changes and resolutions within the party. Then there were the hospitality suites. I only went to a couple but they were good ones with some food, dessert, and refreshments.

I spent some time walking around the Gaslamp district and ate at a couple of places there. I also wondered around Seaport Village. Both of these are nice places to walk around and hang out. When I last stayed in the city for the Poinsettia Bowl in December I stayed in a less exciting area.

Driving down to San Diego was easy. Take the 405 South (also called the San Diego Freeway, though I think it should be renamed) to the 5 South. Getting back was annoying. With few exits, no construction, no accidents, and no big merges or lane reductions, traffic found a way to be slow and randomly stop on the 5.

On the same weekend I started reading The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. This is the fifth of Wells's books I have read and also the fifth book of his I liked. I do not want to give anything away, but strange things happen on the island of Dr. Moreau. It looks at evolution, experiments, and the divide between humans and animals from a Nineteenth Century perspective. The novel was published in 1896. Like all of Wells's novels I have read, it is short (just over 200 pages), easy to read, and fast moving.

Some Red Cross Answers

As I have said before, I donate platelets through the Red Cross on a regular basis. Every time I go I am asked a set of questions. They are the same set for anyone donating whole blood or platelets. My answers are almost always the same.

First, I say some basic information such as my name, address, phone number, gender, and weight. Then, I acknowledge I read the educational materials, ask any questions that arose from it, and say I never donated under a different name. Next, there is a check of my physical condition. My blood pressure, iron level, heart rate, temperature, and skin condition are all checked. Eventually, I get to answer questions on a computer. I click Yes, No, or Skip for each question. I have done this so often, I know what my answers are:

EDIT: I got questions 1 and 5 switched. The corrected version is below.

1 Yes (Are you feeling healthy and well today?)
2 No
3 No
4 No
5 Yes (Have you read the educational materials?)
6 No
7 Skipped by computer
8 Skipped by computer
9 Yes (Within the past 8 weeks, have you donated whole blood, plasma, or platelets?)
10 No
11 No
12 No
13 No
14 No
15 No
16 No
17 No
18 No
19 No
20 No
21 No
22 Skipped by computer (Since I indicated I am a male, I am not asked if I am pregnant)
23 No
24 No
25 No
26 No
27 No
28 No
29 No
30 No
31 Yes (From 1980 to 1996, where you a member of the United States military or a civilian dependent?)
32 No
33 No
34 No
35 No
36 No
37 No
38 No
39 No
40 No
41 No
42 No
43 No
44 No
45 No
46 No
47 No
48 No
49 No

The Yeses for questions 9 and 31 raise flags. The first one is resolved when the technical looks at my chart and determines my last platelet appointment was two weeks ago or more. The second question about the military is answered when I explain that during my entire lifetime my Dad was stationed in the United States.

Since the donation process takes around two hours, I get to watch one of several movies they have available. The latest movies I saw with comments on a few of them are:

• Sherlock Holmes


• Surrogates I am one of the worst people when it comes to judging movies, acting, and all aspects of film making. However, if they had spent a few minutes developing the characters so I would actually know and care about them the movie would have been much better.


• Crazy Heart


• Alice in Wonderland I have not read Carrol's books nor had I seen a movie adaptation of the story so I had no idea what to expect from the story.


• Sin City I liked this best of this movie bunch.


• Little Miss Sunshine


• Cop Out Better than I though it would be based upon the trailers I remember seeing before it came out in theaters. In interrogating a suspect, a police detective portrayed by Tracy Morgan starts using famous lines from different movies to scare the person into talking. While this happens his partner played by Bruce Willis is watching from the observation room and commenting on these impersonations. My favorite exchange:
  Tracy Morgan: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!"
  Bruce Willis: "I've never seen that movie before."
  If you are not familiar with John McClane, you are missing out on some great stuff.

If you donate platelets at the right place you too can watch movies.

Aircraft in Virgina

I have a few pictures from my recent trip to Washington D.C. and Virgina.



Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian has such a large collection of airplanes, aircraft, and related flying things, they cannot display all of them at the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall. A few years ago they built a place near Washington Dulles airport. While there is plenty of space to display many items, a visit requires a special drive to get there.

The centerpiece of the collection is the Enola Gay. It dominates the pictures above and below.


If you do not know the story of this B-29 Superfortress, the Unnamed Geniuses some words and more pictures of this aircraft.


The Hurricane gained fame in the Battle of Britain. The aircraft model on display here did not enter service until later in the war.


This World War II item is a rotary-wing kite. A U-Boat could deploy one of these to look for ships to sink. While it increased the visual range of U-Boats and made it easier to find ships to sink, it also made it easier for Allied forces to spot and intercept the U-Boats.


A Concorde is in the middle of all the planes above.


Here is an SR-71. Even though it was built in the 1960s, it still holds the record as the fastest air breathing manned aircraft.


James S. McDonnell Space Hangar


A subdivision of the Udvar-Hazy Center, this houses space related items. The main attraction here is the Enterprise space shuttle. It was the first space shuttle and used for approach and landing tests. After the testing was complete, it was determined it would be easier to build a new shuttle instead of upgrading and adding all the elements necessary to make the Enterprise space worthy. It was followed by the Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.

The Apollo 11 Columbia command module is at the Smithsonian on the National Mall. However, the flotation bags and collar attached to this other module are the actual ones used when the Apollo 11 command module splashed down. In the background on the right is the Mobile Quarantine Facility where Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins were kept in until they were deemed free of contamination from the Moon.


The aircraft can be observed from the ground, a second level, or an even higher observation level. It is as if you are in the air watching them fly.


I learned more looking through the National Air and Space Museum's website and the Unnamed Geniuses of Wikipedia than I did at the museum itself. I also looked at the fine pictures online to get the exact names of some of the aircraft I photographed.

Franklin's Wisdom and Virtue

I just finished the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I enjoyed it. The book is a testament to hard work and the virtues Franklin credits for his success.

It starts out with some words about his family and then tracks his beginnings in work, his career as a printer, and how he became a person of note in Philadelphia. Franklin wrote his Autobiography in spurts several years apart. The work was not finished; it cuts off long before the Revolution. However Franklin applies hindsight and mentions events and behaviors that led to good or bad results.

I read the Penguin edition which was edited and with an introduction by Kenneth Silverman. It included a few other notable works of Franklin and short writings that provide a fuller picture of the man who some called "The First American." In "Way to Wealth" many adages from Poor Richard's Almanack are repeated as a sure path to success. "An Edict by the King of Prussia" ridicules England's actions toward the colonies by imagining the King of Prussia making similar demands upon England. There is even "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress," which explains why older woman make the best mistresses. The edition included "A Miscellany of Franklin's Opinions" which was excerpts from letters that dealt with different topics. The Philadelphia gentleman advocated the turkey as the national bird over the bald eagle because the eagle made a dishonest living by stealing from other animals.

Franklin had a list of virtues he desired and worked toward. In his own words they are:

1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.


2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.


3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.


4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.


5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.


6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.


7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.


8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.


9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.


10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloths, or habitation.


11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.


12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.


13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

As Franklin said, he never attained perfection in all of these areas, but the effort he put in made him a better person. From my limited reading, I would describe Franklin as a non-denominational Christian who was not convinced of the divinity of Jesus.

Now a story from my own experience. One night in the Yee Tenement House I was talking with Derek about Mr. Franklin and how both of us liked his sayings and works. Derek repeated "Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." However, I was thinking of a different Franklin quote, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

All of Franklin's works are available to read online.

Basic Computer Etiquette

I was writing a Facebook message tonight and then something happened. I have been in this situation many times before so I will deliver my rant in the form of an etiquette lesson for everyone's edification.

When a person talks to a person who is doing something on a computer, it is inappropriate to read the contents of the computer screen. People have walked into my room to talk to me and then stared at my computer screen. Not even five seconds after they walk into the room they are staring at my computer reading the latest Facebook message, email, or Word document I have up. I will look directly at them and talk to them but it is no use. Their attention is fixed to my computer screen like a mosquito to a light.

Now the rule that every person should commit to memory:

If you start talking to someone who is using a computer, do not read the computer screen. A quick glance is ok, but you must look at and talk to the person you walked into the room to talk to. It is ok to make a passing reference to the computer like "How are things on Facebook?" or "How is your article coming along?" but if the person does not want to talk about it do not force talking about what is on the computer screen.

Some caveats and corollaries:

• The person using the computer must stop work on the computer and devote all attention to the person who appeared to ask a question.
• An employer is always allowed to examine an employee's computer screen at work or while being paid by the employer.

That is the end of my etiquette lesson for the day. I am currently devising well worded comments for the next person who stares at my computer screen instead of talking to me.