So, we missed the planned-for easy trail past the lakes, to the coast, etc. past Bolinas, and instead hit the harder trails of Ridge, Olema, and Stuart in Point ReyesLeft 11.45am, got back to the car in darkness at 8.00pm. Was very beautiful, but our feet were dying! Crawled back to the car on stumps ( Read more... )

What happens when SWAT paramilitaries are deployed to police the rough streets of Richmond? People get shot. So the deterrence factor of heavily-armed patrolmen lasts only 12 days in Richmond. Postmortem community pacification to result? Or gangland retaliation? Nasty business, this sort of policing.

1. All UK peeps should say hello to mahkara who is presently in London, for the next 3 months, slaving away at a business degree.

2. Loooong day yesterday, started at 4.00am! Ended 10.00pm! Still, it involved an awesome trip to Edwards AFB, and being such an aviation geek, I had to concentrate hard on my task of promoting electronics stewardship. After ( Read more... )

1. California Connected covered some significant rural poverty, especially amongst the Central Valley's fruitpickers.

2. Planet Earth - less David Attenborough, more Sigourney Weaver, with some truly outstanding photography. Still, any regret I felt about lacking HD-TV quickly evaporated when the show focussed on hunting sea crateskraites*. Ugh ( Read more... )

On climate change, renewable energy technologies, semi-conductors, and Silicon Valley.

Really interesting radio interview/panel discussion. Sobering and optimistic.

Thu, Mar 1, 2007 -- 8:45 PM ( Read more... )

New science (and policy) focused program from KQED.

Here's a link on a radio report on (trying to) travel from SF to LA on only biodiesel.

Note the clever use of Web2.0 tools like Flickr ... I haven't spotted any deli.ci.ous use yet.

1. The price of cold weather...the North East of the country is resembling the mid-90s Montreal ice storm - with power outages and cold-related deaths. Hereabouts, the central valley is declaring a 75% loss on this year's citrus harvest (prices on oranges are expected to rise $0.50 a pound), and a total loss on this month's artichoke harvest...and ( Read more... )

November Ballot (voted absentee):

Thanks to the California electoral process, I get 5 pages (two-sided) of options to vote on, and 383 pages of nonpartisan electoral material to review to reach my decision.

Here is how I voted, and generally why:( Read more... )

http://www.invisible5.org/

An art project the documents the very personal histories of beauty, ecology, and pollution along the unifying highway of California.

Amador Wineries visited and sampled included:

Villa Toscana (no website, oddly enough)
Montevina - the Teroldego 2003 was particularly notable.
Renwood
Sobon Estate(one more ( Read more... )