Forget the new down jacket: buy another swimsuit
Posted on 26. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in environment, things that bug me
When my sister visited Norway with AFS in high school, she learned how to knit warm Norwegian sweaters. This proved to be useful when she went to college in Vermont, but it was completely useless when she lived here in Southern California.
This NASA chart illustrates why: since 1878, the average annual temperature in Los Angeles has gone up around six degrees.
Not only is it getting hotter, but our heat waves are becoming more frequent and are lasting longer:
They found that the number of extreme heat days (above 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32.2 degrees Celsius in downtown Los Angeles) has increased sharply over the past century. A century ago, the region averaged about two such days a year; today the average is more than 25. In addition, the duration of heat waves (two or more extreme heat days in a row) has also soared, from two-day events a century ago to one- to two-week events today.
They also predict that this trend will continue:
The team forecasts that in coming decades, we can expect 10- to 14-day heat waves to become the norm. And because these will be hotter heat waves, they will be more threatening to public health.
Hmm. Like the asthma some of my family members suffer from?
They say that global warming caused by greenhouse gases is the cause of the generally higher temperatures, but that our paved environment, traffic, buildings and lawns all absorb solar heat and help contribute to the lengthy heat waves.
I like hot weather. Really, I do. I hate cold weather, so I love living here. But this is very depressing, since it hurts not only our health, but our planet’s. And I don’t see that trend changing any time soon.
It’s good when our world gets smaller
Posted on 25. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in international, politics, quotes
Meet Oleksiy (Alex) Palchykov and Andrii Chakov. They stayed with us the other night when the Kiev Symphony Orchestra played at La Canada Presbyterian Church. Both are singers, and Alex is one of the lead soloists. The whole group was extraordinarily talented.
Alex and Andrii only spent one night at our house, but we all enjoyed getting to know each other and learning a little about each other’s worlds. We exchanged email addresses, and hopefully we’ll keep in touch.
This is the second time this year we’ve had international visitors. Several months ago, we hosted an amazing Pakistani family at our house, and I plan on keeping in touch with them forever.
I think it’s great when we meet people from other countries.
- It reminds us that our way isn’t always the “right” way. Andrei wanted his milk heated up before he put it on his cereal. Nothing wrong with that!
- We have a chance to appreciate our blessings. We get a distorted view comparing ourselves to other Americans.
- It gives us a human face behind the stereotypes. I have a much different view now of Pakistan’s people than I had a year ago.
- When we know people from a place, we’re more likely to want to learn more about that place. Just as I keep up with the RedBankGreen blog because I used to live in that area, I also read articles that mention Kiev or Pakistan much more closely now.
The other day I saw a CNN segment where a group of young, first-time voter Mennonites in Goshen, IN were asked whether they thought it was naive for Barack Obama to want to meet with leaders such as Hugh Chavez and groups such as Hamas. Here’s a sampling of what they said:
- “How else do you fix the issues that are important to us if the leaders won’t talk to each other?”
- “I think diplomacy and trying to find alternative solutions is something that involves a leap of faith. But if you’re willing to take that risk and to have that faith, you find hope in something greater than yourself.”
- “I think that part of being patriotic is being a good neighbor to those actually in our country and to those far away.”
- “You can’t just think about what you want, but about what others want also. Maybe their choices aren’t always the greatest, but they’re human beings, and they deserve respect.”
- “When you go to another culture, you learn that the way that you were raised isn’t the only way, and maybe not even the correct way…and you learn to respect other peoples’ views and other peoples’ ways of thinking.”
- One young woman talked about how she was shocked at how her stereotypes were shattered when she traveled to Iran and was welcomed with incredible warmth into peoples’ homes.
Amen to all of that! Note to self: must find out more about this Goshen College that these articulate young people attend…too bad Indiana’s so far away!
For everything there is a season and a place
Posted on 24. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, tv
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from the crematorium that took care of my dog’s body. It appeared that I needed to go in and pick up her ashes, so I set the GPS and headed over to the northeast edge of the San Fernando Valley.
You know a location is remote when you can’t even find it with a GPS. I passed the address twice before I finally realized that it was located through an unmarked opening in a fence right next to a junk car lot. The small, non-descript building was hidden behind old cars, and the people inside were surprised to see me. It turns out I’d misinterpreted the letter, and the ashes weren’t ready. But I paid, and got to choose a little box for them. They hand-delivered them to me the next week.
Why am I writing this post? Because here’s how B.J. Novak, writer and actor for “The Office,” describes where this amazing show is created:
“We work in an industrial cul-de-sac in a scary, God-forsaken corner of the valley,” he said.”It is across the street from what appears to be a lot where they strip cars for parts, which is guarded by a pit bull, and next to a bunch of crematoriums, where they cremate bodies. We’ve been in that unglamorous location since before anyone ever gave us a compliment on the street. It fosters a lot of humility.”
It must be near where I was. It was completely absurd. I can totally understand how the creative juices could flow there.
Stay tuned Thursday night, Sept. 25th, for the season premiere of “The Office“!
Posted on 23. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, my life, shopping
When we landscaped our yard a few years ago, we installed new wrought iron fences and gates on our side yards. In case we ever got a small dog, we made sure to order an extra bar between the vertical rungs.
It was with horror that I watched the south gate close for the first time: there was a 4″ gap underneath the gate. Just enough for a little dog to squeeze under. Although the gate swings horizontally, the driveway concrete was poured at a slope for drainage.
My little dog was probably confused when I measured his head with my fingers and then held my hand under the gate. Sure enough, he could get through. He even tried it once, but I yelled so loudly that he stopped. I asked my friend / contractor Andy what to do, and he advised that I install a speed bump under the gate.
I looked at many different traffic safety websites, and all had the same deal: a speed bump would cost around $100, plus $244 in shipping, which would take 3-4 weeks. Unacceptable! Finally, a Google search showed that . Huh? Indeed, it does. I ordered one on Saturday for $117 or so, plus $20 in shipping, and it arrived on Monday. Amazing.
So next time you need a speed bump, go to Amazon.com first!
I’ll never be a Mommy blogger, as my kids would die of embarassment. But here are a few puppy pictures for you:
We start a dog training class next week. I’m probably the one that needs the training the most.
Local news
Posted on 22. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, my life
I’ll be presented with an award next week.
The party of borrowing and spending is almost over
Posted on 20. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in health, politics, startling statistics, things that bug me
I just got this breaking news alert from the NY Times:
Rescue Plan Seeks $700 Billion to Buy Bad Mortgages
The Bush administration is asking Congress to let the government buy $700 billion in troubled mortgages, according to a draft of the plan. The proposal would raise the statutory limit on the national debt to $11.3 trillion from $10.6 trillion.
How close are we to that statutory limit? According to the U.S. National Debt Clock, today we’re at $9.7 trillion. No wonder the Bush administration wants it raised. It’s a ticking time bomb.
Here’s a chart of the national debt on 9/20 of each year from data I obtained at TreasuryDirect.gov:
Over the past year, our national debt increased at a rate of $1.8 billion a day. At that rate, we’ll reach our current $10.6 trillion statutory limit on Feb. 8, 2010, and that doesn’t even include the $700 billion in troubled the mortgages the Bush administration wants to purchase.
What does this all mean? According to The Free Dictionary, the statutory debt limit is:
The cap that Congress imposes on the amount of public debt that may be outstanding whether temporary or permanent. When this limit is reached, the Treasury may not sell new debt issues until Congress raises the limit.
So the party’s almost over, folks. Batten down the hatches.
Why is this administration so eager to help out banks, but not help people without health insurance? Imagine what that money could do for the ailing!
Also, now I understand why the Republicans don’t consider themselves the party of taxing and spending. They’re the party of borrowing and spending.
Learn the facts and select a candidate
Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in politics
Here’s a cool little widget from American Public Media. They have an “Add this widget” button and I thought I’d test it out. You can see another good “Select A Candidate” quiz at ABCNews by clicking here.
If you’re not satisfied with this analysis and want to get facts about each presidential candidate, see FactCheck.org or visit Googles “” to see quotes from each candidate on different topics. Please let me know if you find any other impartial fact-checking sites!
How I chose my new dog
Posted on 16. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, my life
I’ve never been much of a procrastinator, and I usually make pretty quick decisions. So when our dog passed away recently, I knew that for myself, the best way to honor her would be to get another dog. A new dog will never replace her, because she was one of a kind. I still can’t believe she’s gone. :(
Last week I went to five animal shelters and looked at countless adoptable dogs online. I never realized how different each animal shelter could be. One shelter had mostly pit bulls and German shepards, and another no-kill shelter took in very adoptable dogs from county shelters.
We found our new dog at a county shelter. I asked each worker which dog they thought was the friendliest, and they unanimously chose the same dog. I had looked at a few other dogs first, but because of the high recommendation, I gave this little guy a second look. I was hooked, and today I brought him home. He’s very affectionate, and loves to follow us around. I think he’s around 3 years old, but I’m sure our vet will give us a better idea of that. He only weighs 15 pounds, and we think he might be part Basenji. He was neutered today, so he’s a little groggy, but he’s been very agreeable and has shown spurts of energy. He even appears to be housebroken. Yay!
This shelter was so full of dogs and cats, and it seemed like more were coming in than going out. It wasn’t the Sheraton of shelters, but I could tell that the people that worked there really cared about the animals, and it must really pain them when they run out of space to house the animals and have to decide which ones to put to sleep.
I wish every one of those animals could find a happy home!
My favorite productivity tools
Posted on 13. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, work
I hate to waste time. Maybe that’s why I studied Industrial Engineering. Here are some websites, programs and techniques that help me work and manage my life more efficiently.
I used Calendar Creator for our family calendar for about 12 years until it crashed last fall. I was crushed. Not only did I lose tons of valuable data, but I needed a new program that would allow me to print out our family’s calendar for the refrigerator. I was reluctant to use Google Calendar, but now I’m a convert. I’ve set up a different calendar for each member of our family, plus a calendar for events we all participate in, one for friends’ birthdays, and one for relatives’ birthdays. Each member of the family has access to all the calendars, and can choose which ones to see or not see. It prints out nicely and can be accessed from anywhere. Now to get certain family members to read it online. That’s why I continue to print it out occasionally.
I like to keep up with a fair number of blogs, but I don’t want to take too long to do so. I’ve tried several blog aggregators, but I’m sold on Google Reader. I’ve divided the blogs I read into groups (e.g., Design, People I Know, Technical, Local) and when I click on the shortcut on my toolbar I only see the subject lines of new posts to the blogs I follow. If I don’t want to read any of the posts, I can just click on “Mark All As Read” and they won’t be highlighted next time. If you click on the monkey in the right column of my blog, you can subscribe to my blog on Google Reader.
My worst case freelancing scenario would be if all 90 or so of my clients decided they need their websites updated the same day. Eeek!! Even though that hasn’t happened yet, I’m constantly updating websites, and it can be hard to keep track of those 3 min. – 3 hour time charges. Freshbooks allows me to click a Start button that starts a clock running to the 1/100th of a minute. If the phone rings while I’m working, I just press Pause. Then Restart, then Log Hours when I’m done. I use it to send out email bills on a regular basis, and clients can even pay via PayPal.
This website allows me to set up clients to update their own sites. It’s perfect for simple text changes, and I don’t miss being the middleman. I’d rather concentrate on more exciting stuff anyway. Note: It’s not very good at stylesheets, but if the formatting of something gets messed up, I have my clients email me and I fix it in about 30 seconds.
The coolest looking website three years ago probably looks outdated now. That’s why I check Daily Slurp each day. It highlights a collection of cool new websites, and allows me to keep up with new design and technical trends. I categorize the sites I like using NetVisualize, and sometimes use that to create thumbnail directories to show clients so that I can find out what they love and hate before I start designing their website. Unfortunately, NetVisualize doesn’t work with the new Google browser, so that’s why I’m mostly sticking with Firefox.
FastFontSet
This simple program allows me to categorize my fonts however I want, and then to see what a line of text would look like in each font. It’s much better than plowing through the million or so fonts I have. Besides the usual serif, sans serif, my categories range from Art Deco to Fun to Girly & Curly.
Of course, there are times when I give myself a break. That’s when I turn to or Etsy. A girl’s gotta have friends and shop every once in awhile! :)
How does Big Brother know so much?
Posted on 12. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, things that bug me
I’m sure you’ve someone. Whether it’s a potential business partner or a new friend, you’ve probably been curious to find out more about a person before you get to know them better. Have you ever looked up someone on Zabasearch? That’s a great way to find out someone’s address.
Now there’s iSearch. Much like Zabasearch, it’ll tell you a person’s age and address at no cost. I have a friend who didn’t think people could find out anything about her. She’s wrong. See? I can tell that she’s 48 and I even know her husband’s name now. (I blocked all the names here to protect these innocent people…though if you know them, you can obviously look this up, too.)
I heard some teens being interviewed on NPR today that weren’t upset that their school had the right to search their backpacks and lockers. They figured that if they had nothing to hide, what’s the big deal? I think it’s because not only did these kids live through the war on terror, but they are accustomed to sharing intimate details about their lives on sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
iSearch even shows schools attended, relationship status and sexual orientation. Here’s an example:
It’s not limited to adults, either. Just type in a name and click on the Social Networks tab. You’ll find people who have social networking profiles. Here’s a young woman who’s 17. I saw some kids as young as 14, complete with pictures.
For a small extra fee, I could find out any of these peoples’ phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and other background information.
What can you do to protect yourself?
- Set your social networking pages to PRIVATE or FRIENDS ONLY. There’s less information about me on here than there is about other people, and it’s probably because I have my Facebook privacy settings set as tight as they can be.
- If you don’t want your information on a site, see if you can remove it. iSearch says it’s determining how to implement a profile suppression service, but they don’t have that option yet.
- Know what information is out there about you. It’s no big comfort, but it’s a first step to knowing how to control it.
- And finally, my snarky answers: crawl in a hole and don’t get anyone angry with you.
Honestly, this train has left the station, and I don’t think it’s easy/possible to totally hide from someone looking for you. :(
What have we really accomplished since 9/11?
Posted on 11. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in politics, things that bug me
After the attacks on 9/11, we had the world’s sympathy and a determination to bring the people that planned these awful events to justice.
So where are we now?
According to the NY Times article, 9/11 Rumors That Become Conventional Wisdom, we certainly don’t have much sympathy from the Middle East. Apparently it’s conventional wisdom there that the U.S. and Israel planned the attacks so that they’d have an excuse to invade Iraq. Despite , outside of Israel, most people believe that Jews didn’t die in the attacks because they were warned to stay home from work that day.
As for the pursuit of justice, we still haven’t caught Osama bin Laden either.
The first is shameful. I’m not a violent person, but I’m all for fighting with words. I think our country should have taken these outrageous rumors seriously, and found a way to counterract them. Hopefully it isn’t too late. Whether it would be with the help of Hollywood, foreign governments, or local media outlets, our government needs to think outside the box and find creative ways to get the truth out.
And Osama bin Laden? Perhaps if we hadn’t thrown so many resources at Iraq we could have utilized more to find him. At this point his trail is very cold, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we never find him.
Blog news blackout explained, ends
Posted on 11. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, my life
After my last post about my dog, I just didn’t feel right posting for a few days. It seemed too early, and too trivial.
But I’m back. I’ll always miss her, but life goes on. I’m hoping to pick up her ashes today or tomorrow, and we’ll bury them in the hole she kept digging next to the garage.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras
My dog is gone
Posted on 08. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, health, my life
My dog’s health took a drastic turn for the worse this evening, and she could barely breathe. We took her to the emergency veterinary clinic, and they said that although they could try to make her more comfortable by keeping her there on an IV, they couldn’t actually make her better. Her heart was in bad shape. So, we made the difficult decision to put her down. I feel so bad about having to make that decision, but she was struggling so bad. Yesterday she was doing ok, so I got her groomed and bought 36 cans of dog food. At least she was clean and huggable today. I’ll give the dog food to my father-in-law’s dog.
I admit, I can’t stop crying. I miss her.
We got her 11.5 years ago from the Humane Society. She was somewhere between 3-5 years old then, so she lived a good, long life (at least the part after she arrived at our home). I’ve worked at home for the past 7.5 years, and she’s been at my side the whole time. I keep thinking I’ll look over at the couch and see her, but she’s not there. She was bright, loyal and complicated, and we loved her dearly. I’ve had a dog every day for the past 17.5 years, and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like to wake up tomorrow and not need to feed her.
This might sound weird, but as I held her when the vet administered the final injection, I felt her spirit leave the room. It was really strange. I don’t know. Anyway, I hope she gets to meet all her puppies who didn’t survive, and see her parents, and our old dog.
My daughter wants us to buy the DVD for “All Dogs Go To Heaven.” I will. I believe it.
I just saw a big rig crash into my neighbor’s yard
Posted on 05. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, my life
Thank goodness I turned right onto Chevy Chase after my workout this morning! Otherwise, I would have been in the path of this 18-wheeler that smashed through the Hill Street Restaurant driveway at the top of the street and into my neighbor’s yard. I heard a loud “boom” after I turned, and when I looked to the left, I saw a huge truck moving through the parking lot, and a cloud of dust or smoke.
Here’s the view from the west driveway of the Hill St. Restaurant parking lot.
This next one was taken before the rest of the fire engines arrived. I spoke to two guys who were in the truck. Both were pretty shaken up, but they seemed ok. One might have broken his arm, but he’s lucky he didn’t suffer worse. One guy said he was from Miami. I got him water and made sure his cell phone worked. It’s so sad to see a tough-looking guy cry.
Here’s a view up the driveway, up Angeles Crest Highway. This is the second time there’s been a truck crash there since we’ve lived here. Thank goodness it didn’t go into the restaurant or the bookstore to the right, and it’s good it happened before 7:00 am or more people might have gotten hurt either on Foothill Blvd. or in the parking lot.
There are lots of news helicopters overhead right now. It’s all over the airwaves. Wait until the gardener comes…then it’ll be really loud here!!
Links:
- ABCNews7: More details…he drove it over the mountain with 78,000 lbs. of onions inside. He truly did “thread the needle.”
- Los Angeles Times story. Driver says his brakes failed.
The Dis-United States of Abortion
Posted on 04. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in politics
I’m a complicated voter. I care about many issues, so I research each candidate’s various positions and then vote for the candidate I think will do the overall best job.
Many people don’t do this. Instead, they vote based on only one issue: abortion. Whether they’re pro-choice or pro-life, they vote for the candidate that agrees with their position on abortion.
While I understand this, I think it’s dangerous. It means that voters aren’t scrutinizing their favorite candidates on other very important issues, such as the deficit, the war, healthcare, education, etc. Abortion isn’t our nation’s only issue, and if we ignore the others, we’ll be selling ourselves and our children short.
So please please please: before you vote for a given candidate, do some research. Don’t just blindly believe him when he says the other guy will raise taxes: see what the independent think tank says. Don’t just read slanted blogs or editorials: see what the other side is saying. Then make a more intelligent choice.
A former PTA president’s thoughts on Sarah Palin
Posted on 01. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in education, my life, parenting, politics
Ouch! I never realized how little respect some people have for PTA presidents until I Googled
this evening. Writers all over the blogosphere are slamming Palin as a VP candidate, and use the phrase “PTA president” as if it’s a derogatory term.
I wish they could have sat at my side when I was an elementary PTA president for two years. It was a tough but rewarding job, and taught me more about leadership than I ever learned in any previous paid job. I managed over 90 positions, countless fundraisers, and many, many volunteer initiatives. I assembled a team of hardworking, talented volunteers, treated them with the respect they deserved and empowered them to do amazing things. I appreciated everything they did because I knew they weren’t doing it for the money, so they could walk at the first sign of trouble. No one did. We all worked incredibly hard, and made the school much better through many hours in the classroom and many dollars raised.
Granted, not every PTA presidency is the same. Some people don’t put as much into it, and some schools don’t encourage it. I was also a president at our junior high, and it was much easier since we didn’t have as many fundraisers and didn’t need to coordinate classroom volunteers. But I still continued to grow in that position.
What’s the problem here? Do I have a skewed view of PTAs just because of my own experience? Or does typically women’s work still automatically command less respect?
In any case, I bet that Sarah Palin was probably a fine PTA president, and probably grew a lot in the position.
On the other hand…the only foreign policy I ever dealt with as PTA president was overseeing “Multicultural Week.” I’d need a lot more experience before I could consider being a vice presidential candidate, and I doubt that being governor of a state with a population the size of the San Gabriel Valley for 20 months would do it. I’m still voting for Obama.
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