I returned home the other day, from various SAR related activities, to find a flier from the yes on 8 campaign, with a handwritten note that read, "Sorry we missed you."
You know what? I'm pretty sorry I missed them too. I'm sorry I missed the opportunity to tell them to their faces that I think they are bigoted assholes, and that I stand in firm opposition to the hate that they're peddling.
According to them "61 percent of California voters said 'Yes' to marriage as a man and a woman." Well apparently I'm in the minority 39 percent; those that really don't care how other people love, figure that it's their own damn business, and that they should have the same basic rights as every other Californian. Including the right to marry whoever they damn well please.
How exactly does it hurt your marriage if two dudes, or two girls, decide they want to be married as well?
Protect families? Maybe some families have two mommies, or two daddies. How about protecting them? And just how does their existence threaten your family?
Oh, because under Proposition 8, it "just wouldn't be called marriage, and public school teachers wouldn't have to tell children it is the same as marriage."?
So basically the whole opposition to gay marriage hinges on spurious concern for "the children" -- somehow it's always about "the children"" -- and the purported fact that public school teachers wouldn't be required to parrot the bigotry that you're teaching your own children? That maybe if, horror of horrors, your child turned out to be gay, they wouldn't have to contradict the message they've received, from you, their whole lives, that they are an abomination?
I can't help but think that the Yes on 8 folks are the same type of people who, 50 years ago, would have been vigorously opposed to having their children in the same school as black kids, or, heaven forbid, having their daughters or sons date a black man or woman. Didn't the segregationists use religion as an argument in favor of anti-miscegenation laws? Even a cursory reading of the flier reveals language that sounds a whole lot like the "separate but equal" tripe trotted out 40 or 50 years ago, by those who were busy enshrining their hate into law.
So why don't we just call the "yes on 8" campaign what it really is: out and out (no pun intended) bigotry -- hate under the guise of piety. Funny how often the two are conflated, isn't it?
This campaign, in addition to the obvious Jim Crow throwback, also sounds eerily like another recently popular, ridiculous, policy plank of self-righteous zealots everywhere, once again out of concern for "the children"; that being the teaching of creationism as science. Nevermind about 150 years of peer-reviewed science, confirmed time and time again by factual observation and experimentation, the theory conflicts with our favorite fairy-tale, that has no basis in demonstrable reality, so we don't want it being taught in the classroom. Science, or in this case equal rights, be damned.
I can think of a few other countries that base their laws on two-thousand-year-old fairy tales, as opposed to the ideals of democracy and equality for all. I'm sure the Prop 8 people would love it if we simply stoned to death those who's concepts of morality don't match up their own warped mythology-based morals; just like they do in those other countries. Lets hope the CA voters are a little more enlightened.
Sadly, I'm not holding my breath.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Cocktail Project: Abbey Cocktail
A slightly higher-brow version of its ghetto cousin, Gin N' Juice; the Abbey Cocktail is composed of 1 part gin, 1 part orange juice and couple dashes of orange bitters. The orange bitters add just enough tartness to counteract what would otherwise be the cloying sweetness of orange juice.
I quite enjoyed this one. Maybe, in part, because it's in the triple-digits here today, and the refreshing combination of the sweetness of orange juice, with the pleasant tang of gin and bitters hits the spot on a hot summer evening. That Gin runs a close second to whiskey, as my personal hard-alcohol of choice, doesn't hurt matters any.
I give this one 3 1/2 stars. Short of a 4 or 5 only because of the aforementioned preference for whiskey.
Maybe Snoop was onto something...
Abbey Cocktail
1 1/4 oz orange juice
1 1/4 oz gin
dashes orange bitters
Shake over ice in a shaker and strain into a cocktail glass
I quite enjoyed this one. Maybe, in part, because it's in the triple-digits here today, and the refreshing combination of the sweetness of orange juice, with the pleasant tang of gin and bitters hits the spot on a hot summer evening. That Gin runs a close second to whiskey, as my personal hard-alcohol of choice, doesn't hurt matters any.
I give this one 3 1/2 stars. Short of a 4 or 5 only because of the aforementioned preference for whiskey.
Maybe Snoop was onto something...
Abbey Cocktail
1 1/4 oz orange juice
1 1/4 oz gin
dashes orange bitters
Shake over ice in a shaker and strain into a cocktail glass
SAR, SAR, and more SAR
Don't remember the last time I went this long without riding a bike, but apart from a jaunt to the grocery store, I didn't even touch a bike all week.
Feels weird.
Monday night: rope rigging practice.
Tuesday night: SAR team monthly meeting.
Wednesday night: rope rigging practice.
Thursday night: BBQ at Mom & Dad's w/ Diana.
Friday night: One more, last minute, rope practice, prior to Saturday's TRBC certification test.
TRBC is the San Bernardino County Sheriff's basic level of rope rescue certification. Without a TRBC cert. a SAR team member can't participate in a rope rescue, in any capacity which requires operation or rigging of the rope rescue system.
A TRBC certified individual is expected to demonstrate competency in several aspects of a rope rescue operation, under time constraints. The skills tested include:
Saturday was the TRBC test. Thanks to a lot of practice, and the tireless assistance of some dedicated team members, who helped me prep for the test, I easily passed.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning was more SAR activity, as this weekend was also our team's monthly training. We ran a mock search scenario followed by an overnighter at Grinnell Camp. I opted to camp with only what I usually carry in my 3-season SAR pack, which does not include a tent, sleeping bag, stove, or sleeping pad. Instead I had a gore-tex bivy sack with a silk liner, underneath a tarp shelter pitched on a taut-line between two trees. I was plenty warm, but the lack of a sleeping pad made for a fitful night's sleep.
We hiked back out on Sunday morning, followed by an early lunch at The Oaks, in Angelus Oaks, where I happened to come across Matt, Joy, and Shelli, who apparently still ride their bikes, and were taking a break at the store, before continuing on down the hill.
I was jealous of their itinerary, in all its singletrack-laden glory. Unless somefool poor soul gets lost, I think I'm caught up on SAR stuff, for a little while at least. I plan to ride this week.
Breakfast at camp.
Scrambling off-trail.
Might have to come back and throw a rope over that rock...
Feels weird.
Monday night: rope rigging practice.
Tuesday night: SAR team monthly meeting.
Wednesday night: rope rigging practice.
Thursday night: BBQ at Mom & Dad's w/ Diana.
Friday night: One more, last minute, rope practice, prior to Saturday's TRBC certification test.
TRBC is the San Bernardino County Sheriff's basic level of rope rescue certification. Without a TRBC cert. a SAR team member can't participate in a rope rescue, in any capacity which requires operation or rigging of the rope rescue system.
A TRBC certified individual is expected to demonstrate competency in several aspects of a rope rescue operation, under time constraints. The skills tested include:
- Anchor construction, including pre-tensioned back-ties
- Construction and operation of a mechanical advantage system using rope and pulleys. (Operation includes a "hot changeover" from lower-to-raise, and raise-to-lower, and the "Arizona Progression" for pulley rigging: 3:1, 3:1 w/ change of direction, 5:1, 9:1)
- Litter rigging and patient litter packaging
Saturday was the TRBC test. Thanks to a lot of practice, and the tireless assistance of some dedicated team members, who helped me prep for the test, I easily passed.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning was more SAR activity, as this weekend was also our team's monthly training. We ran a mock search scenario followed by an overnighter at Grinnell Camp. I opted to camp with only what I usually carry in my 3-season SAR pack, which does not include a tent, sleeping bag, stove, or sleeping pad. Instead I had a gore-tex bivy sack with a silk liner, underneath a tarp shelter pitched on a taut-line between two trees. I was plenty warm, but the lack of a sleeping pad made for a fitful night's sleep.
We hiked back out on Sunday morning, followed by an early lunch at The Oaks, in Angelus Oaks, where I happened to come across Matt, Joy, and Shelli, who apparently still ride their bikes, and were taking a break at the store, before continuing on down the hill.
I was jealous of their itinerary, in all its singletrack-laden glory. Unless some
Breakfast at camp.
Scrambling off-trail.
Might have to come back and throw a rope over that rock...
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Cocktail Project: A & B
For about 10 years now, I've had a fascination with cocktails. It was the mid 90s, and I was just barely of legal drinking age. Dot-com madness was at a fever pitch, and all the cool kids were either swing dancing in Hollywood and experiencing the revival of cocktail culture, or getting blissed on E at a desert rave.
I somehow managed to miss out on the dot-com bandwagon, that seemingly every other techie in my demographic has stories of, and I never went swing dancing at The Derby, or took E in the middle of the desert. I did, however, catch the cocktail bug; mostly due to a tech-support job with a lot of downtime, broadband internet, and wired.com, née hotwired.com's, cocktail site. On Cocktail, San Francisco bartender Paul Harrington would hold forth weekly on a classic cocktail, it's origins, maybe a pithy anecdote, and a snarky commentary on lesser mixed drinks and pale imitations of the classics.
For a 20-something non-binge-drinker, this was the holy grail of booze. "You mean people actually drink 'cause they enjoy the taste? There's more to booze than fratboys getting shitfaced?" Alas, trying to actually order any of these drinks at a local bar, in my locale, will generally garner you a blank stare at best. "Sidecar? WTF is a sidecar? Here, have a jack & coke, and shut up."
Therefore, I was restricted to the few drinks my meager budget would allow the supplies for, so my experience of the classics was limited to a few of the old standys. Martini, Manhattan, etc.
That's pretty much been the case to the present day, which brings us to "The Cocktail Project". I'm endeavoring to work my way, from A to B, through a, by no means authoritive, but at least somewhat respected, work on American Cocktails American Bar, strangely enough, by a German, Charles Schumann. I plan to blog occasional updates of my experience, from the viewpoint of a cocktail neophyte.
I will be skipping some drinks. Those that I'm already pretty certain I will not enjoy, such as anything with Pernod or Absinthe, as I find the taste of liquorice abhorrent, anything that requires expensive liquors with a short shelf-life, i.e. any champagne cocktails (I'm not going to blow a wad of cash on a bottle of champagne, to sample a single cocktail.), and anything that's a near duplicate of other cocktails. (Unless it's one that I really enjoy, such as the Rob Roy, essentially a perfect Manhattan with scotch instead of rye.)
I may also go slightly out of order, as the financial commitment required to amass the various mixers, additives and base liquors required is not a small one, especially for someone whose current liquor cabinet consists of mostly various whiskeys, and a few common cocktail modifiers.
At the end of my quest I should have experienced a wide variety of classic American cocktails, acquired a pretty well stocked liquor cabinet, and hopefully enlightened all three of the people who read this.
Which brings us to today's drink, the A & B. The A & B is Armagnac and Benedictine. I'd not had Armagnac before, but I have had Cognac and Brandy. All possess a somewhat similar taste and are made from distilling wines. I enjoy Cognac, but confess that it's not a frequent indulgence. I'd much prefer a good bourbon or scotch.
I was not displeased by the A & B, but I did find it a little sweet for my liking, as both Armagnac and Benedictine (an herbal spice liquer), are somewhat sweet, and my palate is more attuned to whiskey, or gin cocktails.
It must be a relatively popular combination though, as you can purchase a similar concoction, B&B i.e. Benedictine & Brandy, pre-bottled.
Bottom line: I'd prefer a Manhattan any day. I guess I'm just more into grain than grapes.
Overall, I'd give it about 2 1/2 stars.
A & B
1 oz. Armagnac
3/4 oz. Benedictine
Stir in an old fashioned glass over ice.
I somehow managed to miss out on the dot-com bandwagon, that seemingly every other techie in my demographic has stories of, and I never went swing dancing at The Derby, or took E in the middle of the desert. I did, however, catch the cocktail bug; mostly due to a tech-support job with a lot of downtime, broadband internet, and wired.com, née hotwired.com's, cocktail site. On Cocktail, San Francisco bartender Paul Harrington would hold forth weekly on a classic cocktail, it's origins, maybe a pithy anecdote, and a snarky commentary on lesser mixed drinks and pale imitations of the classics.
For a 20-something non-binge-drinker, this was the holy grail of booze. "You mean people actually drink 'cause they enjoy the taste? There's more to booze than fratboys getting shitfaced?" Alas, trying to actually order any of these drinks at a local bar, in my locale, will generally garner you a blank stare at best. "Sidecar? WTF is a sidecar? Here, have a jack & coke, and shut up."
Therefore, I was restricted to the few drinks my meager budget would allow the supplies for, so my experience of the classics was limited to a few of the old standys. Martini, Manhattan, etc.
That's pretty much been the case to the present day, which brings us to "The Cocktail Project". I'm endeavoring to work my way, from A to B, through a, by no means authoritive, but at least somewhat respected, work on American Cocktails American Bar, strangely enough, by a German, Charles Schumann. I plan to blog occasional updates of my experience, from the viewpoint of a cocktail neophyte.
I will be skipping some drinks. Those that I'm already pretty certain I will not enjoy, such as anything with Pernod or Absinthe, as I find the taste of liquorice abhorrent, anything that requires expensive liquors with a short shelf-life, i.e. any champagne cocktails (I'm not going to blow a wad of cash on a bottle of champagne, to sample a single cocktail.), and anything that's a near duplicate of other cocktails. (Unless it's one that I really enjoy, such as the Rob Roy, essentially a perfect Manhattan with scotch instead of rye.)
I may also go slightly out of order, as the financial commitment required to amass the various mixers, additives and base liquors required is not a small one, especially for someone whose current liquor cabinet consists of mostly various whiskeys, and a few common cocktail modifiers.
At the end of my quest I should have experienced a wide variety of classic American cocktails, acquired a pretty well stocked liquor cabinet, and hopefully enlightened all three of the people who read this.
Which brings us to today's drink, the A & B. The A & B is Armagnac and Benedictine. I'd not had Armagnac before, but I have had Cognac and Brandy. All possess a somewhat similar taste and are made from distilling wines. I enjoy Cognac, but confess that it's not a frequent indulgence. I'd much prefer a good bourbon or scotch.
I was not displeased by the A & B, but I did find it a little sweet for my liking, as both Armagnac and Benedictine (an herbal spice liquer), are somewhat sweet, and my palate is more attuned to whiskey, or gin cocktails.
It must be a relatively popular combination though, as you can purchase a similar concoction, B&B i.e. Benedictine & Brandy, pre-bottled.
Bottom line: I'd prefer a Manhattan any day. I guess I'm just more into grain than grapes.
Overall, I'd give it about 2 1/2 stars.
A & B
1 oz. Armagnac
3/4 oz. Benedictine
Stir in an old fashioned glass over ice.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Baggin' San Jacinto - the hard way
So the Mt. San Jacinto trek went off pretty much without a hitch.
Troy and I met up at my house, where after some final preparations, we rolled over to the start of this month's Red Asphalt Ride at Augie's Coffee shop. In the interest of time we skipped the ride this month, but we did hang out and socialize for a bit before hitting the road. I had more than one person ask me something along the lines of "Are you one of those crazy guy's doing that trip?", "Ummm. Yeah. I guess.". Geez, word travels fast. I guess someone must have had to explain the presence of lycra-clad dudes with big backpacks, at a social cruise-ride.
After some go-juice and conversation, we left the group ride in the capable hands of Alan,
and started rolling.
The trip up was pretty uneventful. After making our way through Redlands and Yucaipa to Banning we were at the base of the climb, and from there it was a long, steady grind to the trailhead. With a stop or two to regroup, and to top off our water at Bay Tree Spring.
Sometime around 0200 we were finally at the Marion Mtn. Campground, and preparing to start the hike. Following a bit of hunting around in the dark, to locate the trail, changing from biking to hiking clothes, a short water/food break, and finding a place to stash the bikes, it was time to start walking. A check of the gps said sunrise was at 0600. Would we make it?
As it turned out, we couldn't have timed it much better. After hiking all night, on a moonless night with clear skies; enjoying the beginnings of the annual Perseids meteor shower, I started dragging ass. We were near the summit, shortly after first light, when Troy & Keith pulled a couple minutes ahead, and I was having my doubts whether we, or at least I, would summit by sunrise. However, upon arriving at the summit, Keith informed me that it was 0559. A look to the east confirmed that the sun had not yet crested the horizon. Shortly thereafter Jonathan arrived at the summit, and we all enjoyed a sunrise at 10,834 ft.
Following the sunrise we hung out for a while, relaxed, ate some food, and enjoyed a bit of celabratory scotch and dark chocolate before starting the trip back. We stopped briefly, at the hut just below the summit, to sign the peak register.
Now it was time for the knee-punishing descent, and the ride back to Redlands. Did I mention that Marion Mtn. Trail was steep? Some 4500 ft. of elevation in ~6 mi. steep. We did get to enjoy the views, that were obscured by darkness the prior night. That helped distract from the pounding. For me, hiking downhill is always harder than climbing, but my knees were mercifully easy on me this day.
The pounding must've been bearable, as we made pretty good time back to the bikes. Keith and I arrived 15 or so minutes ahead, just enough time to unlock the bikes and retrieve them from their hiding places, before Jonathan and Troy arrived. Soon, we were back at the campground, and ready for the ride home.
The screaming descent down Hwy. 243 was interrupted by a couple climbs, and a stop at Bay Tree Springs, for more water,
before our penultimate stop at the bottom of the hill. Here, we enjoyed the world's best ice cream sandwich from a corner liquor store. After a climb and descent of ~10k ft. *any* ice cream qualifies as "world's best".
In a perfect world, we'd have been done at this point. Alas, it's not a perfect world and we still had to get home. There were no major climbs or obstacles to speak of, no one was bonking, dehydrated or otherwise out of sorts, we were just four very tired riders with another 25 or so miles between us and home, in near triple-digit heat.
Not a lot of lively conversation at this point. Just heads down, keep those pedals turning. It's at this point in a looong excursion that the visions of what you're going to consume at journey's end are motivating you to keep going. I think we all had pizzas dancing in our heads.
On the home stretch, spirits were lifted, even if the pace was not.
I'm not sure if twice counts as tradition, but we once again found ourselves at Gourmet Pizza Shoppe, at journey's end. This time with assorted family on hand.
Troy and I met up at my house, where after some final preparations, we rolled over to the start of this month's Red Asphalt Ride at Augie's Coffee shop. In the interest of time we skipped the ride this month, but we did hang out and socialize for a bit before hitting the road. I had more than one person ask me something along the lines of "Are you one of those crazy guy's doing that trip?", "Ummm. Yeah. I guess.". Geez, word travels fast. I guess someone must have had to explain the presence of lycra-clad dudes with big backpacks, at a social cruise-ride.
After some go-juice and conversation, we left the group ride in the capable hands of Alan,
and started rolling.
The trip up was pretty uneventful. After making our way through Redlands and Yucaipa to Banning we were at the base of the climb, and from there it was a long, steady grind to the trailhead. With a stop or two to regroup, and to top off our water at Bay Tree Spring.
Sometime around 0200 we were finally at the Marion Mtn. Campground, and preparing to start the hike. Following a bit of hunting around in the dark, to locate the trail, changing from biking to hiking clothes, a short water/food break, and finding a place to stash the bikes, it was time to start walking. A check of the gps said sunrise was at 0600. Would we make it?
As it turned out, we couldn't have timed it much better. After hiking all night, on a moonless night with clear skies; enjoying the beginnings of the annual Perseids meteor shower, I started dragging ass. We were near the summit, shortly after first light, when Troy & Keith pulled a couple minutes ahead, and I was having my doubts whether we, or at least I, would summit by sunrise. However, upon arriving at the summit, Keith informed me that it was 0559. A look to the east confirmed that the sun had not yet crested the horizon. Shortly thereafter Jonathan arrived at the summit, and we all enjoyed a sunrise at 10,834 ft.
Following the sunrise we hung out for a while, relaxed, ate some food, and enjoyed a bit of celabratory scotch and dark chocolate before starting the trip back. We stopped briefly, at the hut just below the summit, to sign the peak register.
Now it was time for the knee-punishing descent, and the ride back to Redlands. Did I mention that Marion Mtn. Trail was steep? Some 4500 ft. of elevation in ~6 mi. steep. We did get to enjoy the views, that were obscured by darkness the prior night. That helped distract from the pounding. For me, hiking downhill is always harder than climbing, but my knees were mercifully easy on me this day.
The pounding must've been bearable, as we made pretty good time back to the bikes. Keith and I arrived 15 or so minutes ahead, just enough time to unlock the bikes and retrieve them from their hiding places, before Jonathan and Troy arrived. Soon, we were back at the campground, and ready for the ride home.
The screaming descent down Hwy. 243 was interrupted by a couple climbs, and a stop at Bay Tree Springs, for more water,
before our penultimate stop at the bottom of the hill. Here, we enjoyed the world's best ice cream sandwich from a corner liquor store. After a climb and descent of ~10k ft. *any* ice cream qualifies as "world's best".
In a perfect world, we'd have been done at this point. Alas, it's not a perfect world and we still had to get home. There were no major climbs or obstacles to speak of, no one was bonking, dehydrated or otherwise out of sorts, we were just four very tired riders with another 25 or so miles between us and home, in near triple-digit heat.
Not a lot of lively conversation at this point. Just heads down, keep those pedals turning. It's at this point in a looong excursion that the visions of what you're going to consume at journey's end are motivating you to keep going. I think we all had pizzas dancing in our heads.
On the home stretch, spirits were lifted, even if the pace was not.
I'm not sure if twice counts as tradition, but we once again found ourselves at Gourmet Pizza Shoppe, at journey's end. This time with assorted family on hand.
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