Memorize this, in case it stops a runaway Prius

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by kchristieh in travel

After years of driving big cars, I was thrilled to get my 2008 Toyota Prius two years ago. It’s easy to maneuver and I love not wasting gas. When I received a recall notice last Fall asking me to take the car in because the accelerator might get stuck under the floor mat, I examined the floor mat and decided that was highly unlikely. I’ll have the dealer take care of it when I go in for my regular service.

I was hoping that the sticky accelerator problems that have been documented on 2009-10 models wouldn’t apply to mine, but the New York Times tells how two separate runaway Prius incidents don’t appear to have anything to do with floor mats:

But a man whose 2008 Prius raced along 30 miles of Interstate in California at up to 94 miles an hour before the police helped him stop it has insisted that the floor mat was not interfering.

Also, the police who responded to a crash Tuesday morning of a 2005 Prius into a stone wall in Harrison, N.Y., said the floor mat had been tied to the seat frame, presumably by a dealer.

“We can rule out the mats,” Harrison’s acting police chief, Anthony Marraccini, said.

It sounds like Toyota doesn’t know what to do about the sticking accelerator issue. Until they do, I still need my car, and will hope and pray that my car doesn’t experience any problems.

The Los Angeles Times details how the driver of the 2008 Prius got his car to stop:

Sikes said his “nerve-racking” experience ended when a CHP officer, responding to his 911 call, instructed him through a loudspeaker to apply his emergency brake in tandem with the brake pedal. Sikes pressed down, hard. “My bottom wasn’t even on the seat,” he said.

When the Prius, which had reached 90 mph, dropped to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a stop. There was nothing else he could have done to stop the car, Sikes said.

One of the comments on the GreenCarReports.com article about the recall had a tip on how to stop a Prius if it suddenly accelerates:

I own a 2010 Prius and took it for a spin today to see if I could stop the car with my foot jammed down on the accelerator. Twice I put it in neutral with the engine roaring and each time it shifted to neutral and put the engine in idle where I could easily stop the car. Here is the trick… Just shifting to neutral didn’t do it. You have to hold the stick in the neutral position for a couple of seconds before it cuts in. Try it. It’s pretty easy and the test put my mind at ease. I’m confident that I can stop my car if this acceleration issue happens to me (whatever the cause).

The driver in yesterday’s incident didn’t want to try that:

When the accelerator stuck, he said he weighed all his options. He feared turning the car off in the middle of traffic, expecting the steering wheel to lock. If he shifted into neutral, he worried that it would slip into reverse.

Hopefully this won’t be necessary. Thank goodness I’m not trying to sell my car right now. And thank goodness I can teach my son to drive on a different car.

Summary:

Two things to try:

1. Apply the emergency brakes at the same time as you press on the gas pedal. When your speed drops, turn off the engine. OR
2. Hold the stick in the neutral position for a few seconds in order to get it to go to neutral.

Off-roading in my Prius

Posted on 20. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in travel

This morning I headed east to pick up my son from camp so that he could attend a meeting back here for a few hours. On our way back, we noticed that my GPS showed us driving through a river and over the desert sand. Apparently my GPS software doesn’t realize that the 210 Freeway now extends out to San Bernardino.

We held our breath as we went through the water. Thankfully, the riverbed was dry and we were on an 8-lane freeway.

Last field trip to Hyperion Treatment Plant

Posted on 06. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in education, parenting, travel

Yesterday I chaperoned what will probably wind up being my last school field trip ever when I accompanied my daughter’s AP Environmental Science class to the Hyperion Treatment Plant near LAX. Thanks for inviting me, Dr. E!

We got to ride in yellow school buses without seat belts. I had fun sitting next to my friend Sharon S. We sat in front so we wouldn’t make the kids feel awkward. It was strange to be able to see so much in the rear view mirror.  Apparently, other chaperones must choose these seats, too. Of course, all the kids were quite well-behaved.

I knew we were in for some fun when this was the first sign I saw. Once the waste water is processed, the clean water is pumped 5 miles out in the ocean, 90′ below the surface, via a 12′ diameter pipe.

But first, we hung out on Dockweiler State Beach for an hour and a half while the first bus took the tour. Hey, 2006! I found your cellphone!

This plant treats 350 million gallons of wastewater from 3 million Los Angeles residents each day. That’s enough to fill up 3 or 4 Rose Bowls each day.

“Wastewater” refers to what comes from your house, not what goes down the drains in the street. That goes straight to the ocean, which is why it’s particularly important not to litter on the street.

Of course, many of us in La Canada have septic tanks, so our effluent never makes it to such a fancy treatment plant. Instead, it collects under our yards and kills our beautiful oak trees. Or mine, anyway.

Guess what’s in this truck? I hope it’s not dumping it near you.

These guys are the facility watchdogs. I think one of them is in the Witness Protection Program.

If you imagine some of the worst things that could wash down the toilet or the drain, they’ve probably been sifted here. I wouldn’t want to explain some of this to younger kids.

Our tourguide says that they’ve found motorcycle parts, money, bowling balls, and even body parts coming through. Eeek!

It smelled bad enough, so I’d hate to be around when the siren sounds.

Everything was really clean on the outside.

Water is being processed under these grids.

The architecture was impressive. The Hyperion plant was named as one of the most amazing public works projects of the 20th century.

Seagulls enjoyed feasting on the bacteria in the skimmer ponds.

Everything looked so sparkling clean. But when I see this, I still smell it…

Nancy, our tour guide, was fantastic. She was sharp, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. Here, she’s showing how water leaves the ponds.

I didn’t take any pictures after this since we went to an underground area where photography wasn’t permitted. It reminded me of Jack Bauer’s haunts at CTU. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed at Hyperion, including Spiderman.

Nancy says that Hyperion is featured in the tourism book . You might be able to take a tour if you call ahead.

The best part of the day occurred before my daughter went to bed, when she thanked me for going on the trip. Awww!! I’m so grateful that my mere presence there didn’t embarrass her. Too bad this is our last field trip together.  :(

Why are Costa Ricans so happy?

Posted on 07. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, inspirational people, international, life lessons, startling statistics, travel

When I left for my week-long vacation in Costa Rica, I figured I’d come back with photos of monkeys, a few bug bites and a deeper tan. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I didn’t see a single monkey, get bitten by a single bug, or darken my skin by even one pixel. Instead, I returned home pondering the meaning of happiness and our place in the world’s ecological and economic crises.

The Happiness Question arose because before I left, I read an article about how Costa Rica was ranked highest on an international survey of happiness. How could a country be so happy when it contains so many squalid, makeshift shacks? Or when it has so much barbed wire and so many bars on the windows? Am I so materialistic that I can’t imagine being so poor and so happy, or were the people that live in those shacks not surveyed? Does the barbed wire exist out of fear, or out of a desire to protect what’s dear?

My daughter, who studied Spanish, Costa Rican history and ecology for the past month in San Jose, says that the reason that Costa Ricans call themselves “Ticos” is that it’s short for simpatico, which means “kind.” Between that and the Costa Rican motto, pura vida (which translates to “pure life”), it appears that the country tries hard to put a positive spin on things. My daughter also says that Costa Ricans are very proud of their beautiful country and their gracious countrymen. And who can blame them? Over 60 years ago, they abolished their military, and devoted their money and effort into security, education, and culture. This stable nation is home to five percent of all known animals on this planet, and has become a world-renowned ecotourism destination. And I will attest to the fact that every single person we met there was incredibly helpful and friendly.

When I returned home, I grabbed off my bookshelf to see if Costa Rica was listed as one of the happiest places that the author chose to visit. It wasn’t. So I went back and looked at the article again, and saw that the survey compared nations based upon their populations’ life expectancies, life satisfaction, and ecological footprint. Costa Rica definitely scored high for ecological footprint, considering its conservation efforts and the fact that people living in shacks don’t use many resources.

I doubt that our country could ever match Costa Rica’s ecological footprint. We’d need to severely limit our material consumption to do so, and I don’t think that on average we have the willpower to do so. And if we did, I doubt we’d be very happy about it.

That’s depressing.

A healthy traveler is a happy traveler

Posted on 16. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in health, travel

I don’t have fond memories of my trip to Madrid in 1985. I mostly remember doubling over in pain from a horrible stomachache that I probably got by drinking water with bacteria that my body wasn’t equipped to handle.

I’ve sworn to do all that I can to avoid that in the future, so that’s how I recently wound up at the Healthy Traveler Clinic in Pasadena, CA. Until I discovered them, I hadn’t realized that there’s actually a medical specialty of travel medicine. I was very impressed by the doctor, the staff and the office, and recommend Healthy Traveler to anyone traveling to an area where they might benefit from pre-trip vaccinations. My risk-aversion trumped my fear of shots, so I bravely submitted to three shots. The doctor also sent me home with chloroquine to prevent malaria and a prescription for an antibiotic that I should take at the first sign of another bad stomachache.

Hopefully I won’t need any of this, but at least I’m as prepared as possible. I have a sensitive stomach, lots of allergies, and am a mosquito magnet, so I figure I can’t be too careful.

If I do get sick, I wonder if a stuffed e. coli Giant Microbe would cheer me up. I don’t want to test it.

Two complaints about United

Posted on 12. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in things that bug me, travel

My family flew United Airlines from Portland to Los Angeles today. The flight left on time and arrived on time, and the flight attendants were fine. Just two complaints:

1. We were charged for our suitcases. Not EXTRA suitcases: we were each charged $15 for the FIRST bag we checked. That added $60 to our flight. Surprise!
2. Our flight took off at 11 am and arrived at 1:20 pm. We knew we wouldn’t get lunch, but we at least thought they’d give us pretzels or another snack. Nope. We didn’t eat anything between our bed & breakfast in Corvallis and the CPK Express at LAX. Thankfully we ate there, because many restaurants are closed today.

Next time I book a flight, I’ll avoid United.
Happy Easter!! It’s nice to be back.

Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?

Posted on 26. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel, videos

The site “Fifty People One Question” features videos of fifty people at a single location being asked the same question.

The question currently featured on the site is, “Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?” There are two videos: one for Brooklyn and one for London. Responses range from a person’s own bed to Paris to a beach in Kenya. The response at 3:28 min. in the Brooklyn video was the most touching. Visitors to the site can add their own responses and comments. As of this posting, the site has received 975 responses from 538 cities.

I love this concept. I think it shows our common human desire for safety, comfort, love, fun and adventure. Some of the ideas are very creative, and yet I wonder if there’s a deeper story behind some of them. I also enjoyed seeing normal-looking people, being honest and appreciating the fact that someone cared enough to ask them something.

Where would YOU wish to wake up tomorrow?

I’d love to wake up in a really nice hotel in Paris, with my family by my side. I got engaged there, so I’d love to be back with my husband. And I really want to show it to my kids and practice my French! I’ve only stayed in fleabag (literally) hotels in Paris, so it’d be fun to stay somewhere that’s clean and has amenities.

How to never lose your luggage again

Posted on 11. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in technical, travel

Isn’t it ironic that we could send a man to the moon 40 years ago but we still can’t track our luggage here on earth?

I think I’ve finally found a solution: the XACT TRAX. Just put this little device in your luggage before you check it, and then if it gets lost, you can either look on the internet or call a number and find out where the device is for just $1.00. Of course, you’d still have to find a way to get the luggage back to you!
If you want to track a child, the company advises that you can put the device in a backpack and set perimeters so you can get warnings if the child leaves a defined area. Any self-respecting teenager would figure out how to beat this immediately. It might be more useful for hikers, who actually WANT to be found.
Right now it costs $249.99, but I’m sure that’ll come down over time. Also, I’m sure we’ll see even more cost-effective competitors.

What else would YOU use it for? The XACT TRAX website says you can use it to track pets, but it’ll have to be much smaller before it can track my 15 lb. pooch.
Links:

• Blog posting about XACT TRAX
• XACT TRAX press release

“Le Refuge des Fondus” knockoff opens in NYC!

Posted on 10. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in food, my life, travel

When I studied in France in the early 80’s, I discovered a restaurant that remains my favorite to this day: Le Refuge des Fondus. It’s on Rue des Trois Freres, in the Montmartre district of Paris. It’s very relaxed: the tables are so long that you need to climb over them to get to your seat. There’s a very simple menu, consisting completely of fondue. People sit side by side with strangers and drink wine from baby bottles. When I got married, my friend Geoff D. even got us a set of glass baby bottles in honor of the restaurant. Ever since I started this blog, Le Refuge des Fondus has been listed as my favorite restaurant on my About page.

So I was THRILLED this evening to see that someone has created a Refuge des Fondus knockoff restaurant in New York City! According to the NY Times:

Jacques Ouari is unapologetic about having copied the concept of Le Refuge des Fondus, in the Montmartre district of Paris, for his new Cave des Fondus. This cellar restaurant at 20 Prince Street (Elizabeth Street), opening Dec. 10, mimics the original down to the silliest details: beer and wine are served in baby bottles, and in order to be seated on the benches against the wall, guests must climb over the communal tables. Eating fondue, rarely a solo activity, and often messy, does lend itself to having fun.

Mr. Ouari’s Cave is decorated with a rollicking peasant mural, sort of Bruegel the Elder meets Red Grooms. It sets the scene for cheese fondue, a melt of three kinds, served with bread, ham and salad, or beef fondue cooked in hot broth, which comes with fries, sauces and salad. Each is $23 a person. There are pastries to dip in molten chocolate for dessert. Reservations are not accepted.

We have a Melting Pot fondue restaurant near us, and it’s wonderful, but it’s expensive and not nearly as fun. It’s hard to be serious when you’re squished together drinking wine from baby bottles.

I wonder what they’d have for my kids? I’d really like to take them there!!

Handbells were my ticket to California

Posted on 01. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, music, my life, religion, travel

Miss G Dog would have played handbells if she could have. Unfortunately, she lacked opposable thumbs. Hopefully God gave them to her in heaven. At any rate, she gets them in cyberspace on my new Christmas-themed header.

I first visited California with the Tower Hill Presbyterian Church (Red Bank, NJ) high school handbell choir. We landed in San Francisco, and I was thrilled to see palm trees for the first time. The family I stayed with gave me a tour of the city, and constantly apologized for how dirty it was. Are you kidding? I thought it was 100x nicer than any East Coast city I’d ever been to. It’s no wonder I wound up out here.

Our trip continued up the coast, where we played in a handbell festival at Humboldt State. We also saw Crater Lake and Medford, Oregon, which remains the most beautiful place in the U.S. I’ve ever visited. We drove back down through California’s Gold Country, and enjoyed visiting Yosemite and the old mining town of Columbia.

I remember wondering why the palm trees didn’t have coconuts, and why I didn’t see a bear in Yosemite. I finally saw coconuts on my honeymoon to Tahiti, but I’m still waiting to see a bear. That’s probably good.

We were a pretty awesome handbell choir. We even cut a record, but I think that only our parents bought it. I played the third position from the bottom, which meant I handled pretty big bells. When the choir director would turn his back, I’d flip them. I never missed. To this day, I’m awesome at flipping my hairbrush like that. The bells were REALLY expensive, and he would have been really peeved if he’d known I flipped them.

That’s as rebellious as I got in high school. Flipping handbells. My parents were really lucky. I think they knew it, too.  :)

Photos from our roadtrip to Escondido

Posted on 29. Nov, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, travel

There was lots of traffic on Wednesday when we headed down to my mother and stepfather’s house in Escondido, so we took the 5 Freeway instead of taking the 210 to the 15. (For you non-Southern Californians, we put “the” before a freeway name. It’s a sign of respect.) My husband drove, so I decided to beat the boredom by taking a picture approximately every 10 minutes. Here are the most interesting ones:

It was raining off and on, so the clouds were very dramatic.

When you don’t know what to take a picture of, ask a teenager. My kids formed this heart with their hands in about 2 seconds.

I wonder who’s buried here?

What does Mickey have to do with feminine protection? I’m so confused by this truck.

Over the river and through the woods…yes, this is a dried up river.

My husband eventually agreed to hooking up my daughter’s iPod. I like her taste in music. “Love” by Matt White is one of my all-time favorite songs. I first heard it in the movie “Little Manhattan.”

Here’s the piano store where we bought our upright piano many years ago. I wish the kids still played. But, at least they’re doing what they enjoy now, and my son still plays an instrument (guitar).

This reminded me that we packed our new DVD set of Peanuts holiday specials. I love Peanuts, but these days it’s tied with Pearls Before Swine.

Here are the palm trees across from the gas station we stopped at in Anaheim.

Taking pictures got tough when it got dark. They all started to look the same.

Why don’t all 7-Elevens have restrooms? Why? Why? Why???

I didn’t take pictures on the way back. The 15 Freeway isn’t nearly as interesting. Even the immigration checkpoint was closed today.

Travel tips for Ojai and Santa Barbara

Posted on 26. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in food, travel

I just returned from a perfectly relaxing vacation to Ojai and Santa Barbara. I spent the first three nights in Ojai with my husband and daughter, and the next three nights in Santa Barbara with my husband while my daughter attended lacrosse camp at UCSB. My son was at church camp at Forest Home all week. I’m sure he preferred the mud and milkshakes to the pampering we enjoyed.

I’ve been to each place multiple times, and this was our best trip ever. Here are my tips about what worked for us:

Ojai:

• Lodging: If you can afford it, stay at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. The rooms are big, with comfy couches, a fireplace and a large patio. Note to self (and you, if you wish): ask for room 704. It overlooked the Artist Cottage / Apothecary (!) and golf course, and had a huge patio with 8″ thick cushions on the seats.
• Restaurants: We ate in town all three nights. Suzanne’s Cuisine was nice, of course, and the chocolate souffle at Feast Bistro was so yummy that my husband and daughter dug into it, but my favorite was Azu. We ordered a variety of tapas, so everyone had several choices of what to eat. My absolute they-must-serve-it-in-heaven favorite was the chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon. I need to get my son to cook that. (I bet he could: his creme caramel was better than what I had at Suzanne’s!) I topped it off with a scoop of mango jalapeno gelato for dessert.
• Massage: I wanted to pamper myself, and didn’t want to pay $150 / hr. at the resort, so I decided to get a $45 / hour massage from Angella Winspear at the Little Garden Spa. () I saw her little spa as I was leaving my workout at the great Ojai Curves. Anyway, the massage was so therapeutic that I sent my daughter back there for a half-hour massage. ($25)

Santa Barbara:

• Lodging: We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast called James House. It cost about half of what the hotels we’ve stayed at in the past cost, but was twice as good. Our room has spacious and comfortable, and although it was a Victorian house, we were easily able to connect to the wireless modem. It’s located a block off of State St., so it was easy to walk to dining and shopping. The owner, Marie, is very sweet and helpful, and is an excellent cook. We ate breakfast there each day and attended the 5 pm social hour, and the food was different and great each time. We also met some very nice fellow guests, and gave/got tips on what to do in SB.
• Restaurants – Dinner: For our dinner the first night, we returned to our old standby, The Palace Grill. It was fine, and I enjoyed a yummy gumbo and their famous bread pudding. However, it was really chilly inside since the door was open and the overhead fans were going full blast, so it was ok that everything arrived so quickly. I think we were in / out of there in 45 minutes. The next night we walked to Opal from our hotel. We’d had so much to eat at the B&B social hour that we didn’t order appetizers or dessert, so we were in and out of there in about 50 minutes also. My chicken scallopini was a bit dry. We hit the jackpot the next night at Stella Mare’s. It’s in Montecito, but it was right near the 101 so it was very easy to get to. My husband and I agreed that this was our best dinner all week. We shared a grilled artichoke with aioli sauce that was amazing. My scallops were served with a poached lobster flan (!) and thinly-sliced carrots that tasted like potato chips. I followed the waiter’s recommendation and had the lemon curd cake for dessert. Incredible. I only ate half because I was stuffed.
• Restaurant – Lunch / Beach: I recently reconnected via Facebook with my friend Ri-Pen, who was in my sophomore dorm. He lives in Goleta, so before we arrived in Santa Barbara I sent him a message to see if he could get together. We had a wonderful lunch with him yesterday at the Beachside Bar Cafe in Goleta. We had a noon reservation, and had no trouble parking even though it was a beautiful day and the restaurant is literally ON the beach. We were seated immediately, and the food was very good. It was great to catch up after 25 years! I couldn’t believe there was free, close parking at such a nice beach. Apparently it’s not like that when UCSB is in session, but we made a note to go to that beach in the future.

Let me know if you have any other hot tips for Ojai or Santa Barbara!

Where the Hell is Matt?

Posted on 11. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in international, travel, videos

He’s dancing on YouTube in his “” video. This 31-year-old self-described deadbeat can be found dancing his goofy dance everywhere from Alhambra to Zambia, with everyone from crabs to Bollywood dancers to African children.

It’s silly, but I bet it will make you smile. I’ve watched it twice now, and it was even better the second time. I love seeing people from all over the world having fun, and seeing how as different as we are, we’re also very similar. I also love seeing the exotic scenery.

If someone were to ask, “Where the Hell is Kathy?”, the answer would probably be at my desk. I hardly ever go anywhere. Matt notes on his website that Americans need to travel more. He’s right. If only we got more vacation and the dollar were stronger. Also, I’ve never been a self-described deadbeat. I’m not complaining, however: there are advantages either way.

PS – Don’t miss the . They show more cool places he visited. I would NEVER dance on that rock in Norway! Also, see the where he dances alone in lots of places. It inspired a gum company to sponsor him for the big trip.

PPS – I found out about this from today’s NY Times article, A Private Dance? Four Million Web Fans Say No. They’re going to have to change that headline, as he’s at over 16 million views at this point.

The heroes of today’s JetBlue Flight 481

Posted on 08. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in disabilities, inspirational people, travel

Kudos to the flight attendants of today’s JetBlue Flight 481 from Boston to Long Beach. They treated Katherine, the young woman with Down Syndrome who sat in our row, with such respect and courtesy that I thanked them on my way off the plane. They were attentive but not overbearing, and JetBlue should be proud.

I’d write a letter to the company, but their sweaters were zipped up so I couldn’t see their nametags. Perhaps that’s what impressed me even more: they weren’t doing it to get any awards, they were just being themselves.

It makes me want to fly JetBlue again.

Google Maps includes videos & photos

Posted on 17. May, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel

I continue to be amazed at how easy it is to discover more about people or destinations via the internet. Today I happened upon a new feature which shows photos and videos that people have taken near a destination. When you type in an address to Google Maps, here’s what you might see. I say “might” because some addresses I type in don’t have photos or videos show up near them. Either Google hasn’t mapped those, or people in those areas don’t take enough pictures or videos.

When you type in an address for a photo or video you upload, you should assume it’ll show up on a public map. I don’t think I’d do that for my daughter’s birthday party, but I don’t regret doing it for the in February:

The more videos and pictures people upload, the more we’ll be able to discover without ever leaving home. Here’s a map of the greater Pasadena area. The blue lines indicate where you can access another favorite feature, Google Street View. The small pictures indicate videos of those places. Notice how La Canada Flintridge is still underrepresented on Google Street View – why is that?

Which of these experiences would you prefer? It’s obvious to me.

Posted on 28. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in food, travel

Here’s where I’d love to be right now: The Nannai Beach Resort in Brazil. Too bad the super lux bungalows cost $838/night.

I’m glad I’m eating at home tonight instead of at Dinner in the Sky. They set up a crane and dangle a bunch of diners 50 meters above the ground. Here are photos from Amiens:

I’d be afraid of dropping something, and I’d hate it when the wind blew us back and forth. Also, what if you need to go to the restroom?

Hire a falcon to chase the seagulls

Posted on 22. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, travel

We met two falcons and an owl this weekend at the Bacara Resort in Goleta (near Santa Barbara) this weekend. They were perched on the back of a golf cart, and their handler explained that they’re used to chase away the many seagulls who decide to play in the hotel’s oceanfront pools. He let us take pictures of them, but didn’t take the hoods off of the falcons. I felt sorry for them.

I asked at the front desk if there was any way to see the birds chase off the seagulls, and they said that the owl and falcons were more for show, not for that work. Maybe their mere presence on the site is enough to scare off the gulls. If so, it’s much more humane and effective than using poison or spikes. Even so, it’s too bad it deprives the birds of prey of their freedom. Hopefully they spend most of their hours somewhere where they can exercise their natural tendencies.

White circle around the moon

Posted on 19. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in environment, travel

On Sunday night I saw the following when I looked up at the Santa Barbara sky:

It was much more vivid in person. The moon was nearly full, and there was a white ring around it. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it:

A coloured circle around the moon is not a moonbow: it is usually a 22° halo produced by refraction through hexagonal ice crystals in cirrus cloud.

An astronomy professor who was in the group said the ring was actually only about a mile above the earth, and that this happens more frequently on the West Coast. I’ve been out here for 26 years, and I’ve never seen this. Maybe I need to look at the sky more.

Maybe I should paint my house these colors

Posted on 07. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in art, travel

My house is yellow, but it’s not this bright and it doesn’t have purple trim. We had a color consultant help us choose the color for our house, and purple wasn’t in the palette she suggested.
I couldn’t resist purchasing this birthday card from Trader Joe’s. The street it featured looks so cheerful and colorful I think you’d have to be happy just being there. I tracked down the name of the Rock View Bed & Breakfast in the photo, and I think it’s in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Maybe I’ll visit there someday, to see if my happiness theory proves correct.

Perhaps the buildings across the street are all drab and ugly. If so, the best place to stay would be across the street, so this would be your view:

Eat, Pray, Love: Great book, excellent philosophy

Posted on 23. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in books, travel

For some reason I had low expectations when I started reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I shouldn’t have. Gilbert is a keen observer not only of others, but of herself. She lays her weaknesses and dreams out for everyone to see, but does it with such humor and grace that it’s no surprise that she finds friends wherever she goes.

The book chronicles the year after Gilbert divorces her husband, as she travels to Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Indonesia (Love) for four months each. She immerses herself in the culture of each country, and in doing so learns just as much about herself as she does about her new surroundings.

Who would like this book? I think most women would. I’d like to think that men would, but to be honest, most of the men I know would dismiss it as “chick lit.” I think the themes and some of the scenes are a bit too mature for teens.

Oprah loved Elizabeth Gilbert so much that she had her on her show twice. Click here to see a summary of the first show, including pictures.

One step airline flight tracking on Google

Posted on 21. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in travel

Here’s a tip that will come in very handy to holiday travelers, and those who transport them to/from the airport: if you type the abbreviation of the airline and the flight number into , you’ll see whether the flight is on time.

Here’s an example:

In this case, “wn” is the abbreviation for Southwest Airlines. Go figure! Here are some other popular airline abbreviations:

• AS = Alaska Airlines
• AQ = Aloha Airlines
• AA = American Airlines
• CO = Continental Airlines
• B6 = JetBlue
• NW = Northwest Airlines
• UA = United Airlines
• VS = Virgin Atlantic

You can see more abbreviations by clicking here.

I’ll use this tomorrow when my father-in-law arrives!

Would you pay 20 cents to avoid lost suitcases? Also, tips for avoiding lost luggage.

Posted on 21. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in technical, travel

Despite technological advances, airlines are losing more bags than ever. Today’s NYTimes says that,

One in every 138 checked bags was lost during the first nine months of this year, compared with one in 155 bags a year earlier.

Ouch. If my family of four each carries one bag on a vacation, we’ve got a one in 35 chance that one of our bags will be lost.

There are many things that airlines could do to improve this situation, but one of the easiest would be to implement radio frequency id tags.

American and other domestic airlines have resisted investing in radio frequency identification tags, which are used by big retailers to track inventory and are far more accurate. The tags cost about 20 cents each so it would cost $50,000 a day for American’s 250,000 bags, plus the cost of hardware to read them at each step in the process.

“We don’t lose enough bags to justify that investment,” said Mark Mitchell, American’s managing director of customer experience.

This is the very definition of penny-wise and pound-foolish. I’m sure that every traveler in the world would gladly pay an extra 20 cents for an airline ticket to pay for this. And imagine how much time it would save the airlines from having to track down bags and deliver them to passengers, and how much money it would save in compensating passengers for lost bags.

Very short-sighted, IMHO.

Here are some tips from the NYTimes and About.com to help avoid having your luggage get lost or to get it back quickly if it is:

• Arrive early.
• Put id with your cellphone number on it on your bag and in your bag.
• Include a copy of your tickets and itinerary in the bag.
• Tear off old tags from your bag.
• Carry on whatever you can, but especially important items such as medications and electronic devices.
• Color code your bag with tape, ribbon, etc.
• Lock your bag with a TSA-approved lock.*
• Make sure you’ve given your cellphone to the airline when you get your ticket.
• Know what kind of bag you have.
• Be waiting for your bag.
• If your bag is lost, go to the airline counter. Then, if you can, visit the airport again later to press them to look for it.
• Send presents ahead if possible. In fact, ship your luggage, if you can afford it.
• Try to have receipts for items in your bag. (My note: I wonder if it would help to take a photo of what you’re packing before you load the bag?)

Check out this great Squidoo page for more tips on how to avoid losing your luggage.
* I don’t lock my bag, but once my bag was returned to me with someone else’s lock on it. At 11 pm at night, I was using all the tools in our toolbox to break the darn thing!

Happy traveling!

Pot ‘o Gold in Angeles Forest

Posted on 16. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, local news, travel

Although I live in the heart of suburbia, my city includes the southern edge of the thousand square mile Angeles National Forest. The forest’s windy roads are beloved by daredevil motorcyclists, and its vast remoteness is favored as a place to dump bodies and grow pot. Is it no wonder that local children are warned never to drive north of our city? Despite its sheer awesomeness and beauty, I regard Angeles National Forest the way Tahitians regard the center of their islands, as a place where evil spirits may dwell.

Yesterday’s Pasadena Star News reported that there was yet another pot bust up in the mountains. This one brought in about $18 million worth of plants. If they’re not already doing so, hopefully the authorities are using the Google Maps satellite feature to find pot farms, just as people are using it to find Steve Fossett’s plane.

Here’s my favorite snippet from the article:

Outdoor grow farms are run mostly by Mexican drug cartels who recruit laborers at the Mexican border and throughout California to run the camps, said an officer who would only identify himself as “Gunny.”

The laborers hike in and receive food drops. They remain in place all summer, “Gunny” said.

Jameson said that many of the laborers receive what they consider to be huge paychecks to do the growing. Those who are caught often don’t speak English or know anything about the area they are in.

“We arrested one man up in the Fresno area,” said Jameson. “He thought that he was in Arizona.”

He was actually in the state of Confusion.

LCPC group hug video

Posted on 17. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in religion, travel, videos

I just returned from the La Canada Presbyterian Church camp at the Mission Springs Conference Center in Scotts Valley, CA. More about that in future posts. In the meantime, please enjoy this of everyone before the group hug this morning.

If you haven’t been to this camp, I HIGHLY recommend it! It’s a great way to get to know fellow church members better, and really feel like you’re a part of the church family. It’s also a great combination of spiritual enrichment and fun vacation. It doesn’t matter your age or your family situation – everyone’s welcome!

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Google Maps tells you how long a trip will take with traffic

Posted on 16. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in travel

Here’s another cool new feature: if there’s traffic.

For example, here’s a screenshot of a potential trip from La Canada to Corona del Mar. I overlaid the Google Maps time estimate. Check out my previous Google Maps post to see how you can change your route by dragging the blue line. If you do it wisely, you’ll see that the estimated traffic time should go down.

What an awful commute that would be!

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Why isn’t there a GPS system for luggage?

Posted on 07. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in technical, travel

I’d be one of the first in line to purchase an affordable GPS system for luggage. Ideally, it would be a tag that would attach to the inside of a suitcase or bag, and could be tracked on the internet by the owner.

I read recently that there are GPS trackers for pet collars, and I know there are tracking devices for laptops. Why not luggage?

Like the cartoon? See more like it at Slate.com.

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Retracing our steps via Google Streetview; Stalking via Google Earth

Posted on 30. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel, videos

We ate lunch at a great little restaurant in Soho in New York City a few weeks ago. I wanted to tell a friend about it, but I didn’t know the name. All I knew was that it was near a restaurant named Zoe.

I looked Zoe up on Google, and quickly found its address: 90 Prince Street. I plugged that address into Google Maps, and switched to Google Street View. I maneuvered the Google Guy to the front of the restaurant I was searching for. It looked like the sign said “Fanelli Cafe.”

I looked that up on Google, and when I linked to the restaurant’s website I found that it’s the second-oldest continuous food and drink establishment in NY.

So if you’re in NY, I recommend that you eat at Fanelli Cafe. I had a fabulous grilled chicken salad there, and loved the historic atmosphere. I wonder if any of my ancestors ever ate (or imbibed) there.

On a different note, this hilarious Slate.com video titled “Google Earth’s Downside” points out the potential that Google Earth has for stalking tracking loved ones:

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Batmobile spotted on 210 Freeway in Pasadena, CA

Posted on 30. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in travel, tv

How cool is this? My son and I saw the Batmobile in Pasadena and La Canada on the 210 Freeway today. He grabbed the camera from my purse and managed to snap a few pictures with his healthy arm.

Note the license plate and the parachute in the back. Pretty cool. Way cooler than my minivan, even with its Obama sticker.

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Natalia Paruz, the Saw Lady, brightens up NY’s subways

Posted on 25. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in music, my life, travel, videos

Several months ago I blogged about the chilly reaction that acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell received when he played in the Washington, D.C. metro. Someone who commented on that post recommended the Saw Lady’s blog to me, since she frequently promotes her fellow NY street / subway musicians.

A few days before I visited NY earlier this month, I emailed the Saw Lady (Natalia Paruz) and asked her where / when she’d be playing on the day I was visiting. She gave me the details, and my father, kids and I made a point of seeing her perform.

I’m so glad we did! She’s not only incredibly talented, but she’s got a huge smile and a wonderful personality. Talk about first impressions: if mine’s right, she’s an absolutely terrific lady! We had a nice time talking (quickly!) between songs, and she told me that she’d planned on being a dancer until she was in an accident. She went on vacation to Austria, heard someone playing the saw, and was so inspired that she wound up teaching herself to play!

If you’re ever in New York City, try to find her. If I was there this week, I’d make sure to ask her to play the Harry Potter song. The saw has such a haunting sound, so I’m sure it’s perfect for that song.

In the meantime, you can view the with my teeny weeny camera:

PS – Many apologies to anyone whom I didn’t get a chance to visit in NY/NJ/PA. We were back for only three days, and spent one day in each state. I wish we had more hours in each day!!!

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Customizing your route on Google maps

Posted on 17. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel

When I used Google maps the other day to get directions to my destination in Santa Barbara, I discovered that I could customize my route. It originally told me to take the 101 Freeway the whole way, but since I thought that would have traffic, I preferred to take the 210 to the 118 to the 23. Sure enough, all I had to do was drag the blue route to the freeway that I wanted and voila! The map changed, the directions changed, and the estimated time changed. (It added two minutes!)

Here’s an example. When you ask Google to get you from La Canada Flintridge to Anaheim, it tells you to take the 5 Freeway:

But anyone that lives in LA knows that the 5 Freeway is evil and traffic-laden. So when I drag part of the blue line to the 57 Freeway, which has a carpool lane, here’s what Google re-draws:

Too bad I didn’t know this last month! Then again, perhaps it wasn’t offered then.

Happy travelling!!

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