I wasn't feeling so great this morning, so I stayed in bed and worked from home. While I was in bed, my girlfriend left for work and fed the whining kitty on the way out. I woke up an hour or so later to do the system admin thing in my underwear, and the kitty was whining. I figured Doozer didn't feed Isla while on her mad rush out the door, so I gave her another can.

I found out later that the cat got fed twice, and pretended the second time to be starving!

Cat or pig? If she is a pig, then maybe I can cook up some kitten bacon later?

dear blog, today I ate some queso I found under the seat on the bus I was
on. I ate it. And I liked it.

Lot of 10 P4 1U servers $800
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/1438651791.html

Lot of 10 P4 1U half-depth servers: $800
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/1438688828.html

Lot of 10 P4 1U servers: $1000
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/1438670296.html

Lot of 4 P4 Xeon 2U servers: $800
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/1438678775.html

Also, I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow.

What was Friday all about? I was deposed in the case of Lewis vs. Wells Fargo, a class action suit about misclassification and unpaid overtime.

The process was stressful but overall fairly fascinating. I was on video, there was a court reporter, and I could see everything that was being typed in real time on the laptop in front of me.

I kept thinking of the whole 4 hour long mess as someone trying to social engineer me into saying particular things. Obviously I wanted to say as little as possible, but WFC's lawyers are fairly good, so more often than not I'd fall for them prompting me to say more than I needed to. Toward the end of the 4 hours, I had warmed up to all the traps and corners I could be backed into, and the whole thing actually started to become like a game of poker to me. What are the odds? Who's bluffing? Should I call or raise?

That said, I would rather not be deposed again. It's a big production, lots of money is involved, and there are too many lawyers to watch what you say around.

I hate to be vague, but tomorrow is my big day. I can't tell you what it is about other than a bunch of lawyers are involved and my own personal ire and that I hope I get my testimony right!

Wish me luck / to break a leg.

In May, my girlfriend and I headed out to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to visit the beaches and stay for free at my boss's vacation home in working-class Valle Dorado. Valle Dorado was an interesting town, really a suburb, where the middle class go home after a long work day. Nearly shop keeper or guide we talked to on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta lived in Valle Dorado, and often gave us discounts or local tips when we told him about my boss's house. "Hey, you're my neighbor!" they'd tell us.



( More on Mexico, plus an Isla update )

For those of you who are down with looking at other people's vacation photos, I've posted photos my travels with my girlfriend while in Spain last July over in the Gallary. Unlabeled, we traveled to Madrid, Segovia, Valladolid, Figures, Cadaques, and Barcelona.




PROTIP: If you go to Spain, go to Cadaques, it is possibly the most romantic place in eastern Spain you can take a woman.

The cat has fleas again. She has been cleaning as obsessively as I clean the house. I flipped her on the back to do a flea check, and sure enough, there was a black little bug crawling around in her fine fur. I gave her a bath -- my cat loves baths like any other cat -- and hoped for the best. There wasn't any drown fleas in the tub, so I resigned myself to doing a manual cleaning her after she dried off.

Then I spent an hour with the flea comb, catching exactly one flea. As soon as I'd find one and try to scoop it out, Isla would freak out, claw me, and go hide behind the toilet. Rinse. Repeat.

Project flea collar is now engaged, so we wait...

Don't forget that tomorrow is the Cole Valley Fair at Carl and Cole from 10am to 5pm. I mention this because I helped setup and maintain their CMS on Wordpress and I host it on my Linode.

So come out and visit the vendors, buy some shirts, and check out the vintage cars that will be on display. Bring the kids and get a face painting done! The money raised goes to support the Grattan Middle school and do private street cleaning for Cole St.

There's a saying that goes something like, "Documentation is like sex, when it is good, it is very, very good; and when it is bad, it is better than nothing."

Take from that what you will; some would say bad sex isn't worth it. I was thinking though, I've encountered documentation that was not only bad, but even worse, it was wrong. Following this analogy, what if the documentation was wrong? Is wrong documentation like sex, when it is wrong it is better than nothing? One could argue that wrong sex is good sex, or wrong sex is simply perverse.

Does that mean that wrong documentation is perverse and possibly illegal in Utah?

In San Francisco, the hippies never left, they just morphed into your landlord.

TRUE: My Haight Street landlord is quite the San Francisco hippie.

Ever forgotten your PIN while at the ATM? You know, you walk up, go to punch in that ultra-secure 4-digit code that you also use for your luggage, but draw a blank? Or worse, you had to change your PIN some time ago because you forgot it, but now you think that is your PIN?

This is was my dilemma today.

pdx6 - Defender of kittens, citizen of the pawpulus

After lunch I went to get on the 45 to head back to the office. It was pretty crowded on there, so I decided I'd walk down to 4th and Market to board since the sardine can unloads there. I'm glad I waited to board, at 4th and Geary a Prius cut off the bus. Prius vs. 40' Newflyer with a hundred people on it, guess who won that one?

With the 30/45 line out of service, I walked down 4th in the warm San Francisco fall sun. At 4th and Folsom, an old overweight man in a wheel chair decided to engage me in conversation.

"Nice pants, mind if I ask what brand those are?"

"Well, uh..." I had to think, is this guy hitting on me? "Tommy Hillfinger?"

I recalled to myself that I paid $10 at a yard sale for them and that they were unremarkable. A sense of creepiness started to overwhelm me.

"Tommy! Wow! I didn't know he made work pants! Those sure do look good."

The light turned green, and that's when I decided to see if I could out walk a man in a motorized wheel chair.

And yes, I could.

This is the final reminder about the Obbbqtcws, FROM THE GRILL MASTER himself:

"If you haven't signed up yet, please do so at

http://www.markballew.com/wiki/Obbbqtcws

If you're worried about transit overload, consider:

1. Using an alternate to the 5 and N; the 38 is probably the best
option. You'll have to walk a few extra blocks to get to the site
between Fulton and Lincoln. It's a long walk on the beach from the L
at 46th and Taraval but also doable.

2. Going a little early (make a day of it!). The gates at Outside
Lands open at 11:30 and the shows start at 12. Most of the better
bands are playing in the afternoon/evening. If you leave around 11,
you should be at the beach in time to help us clean up the area, while
missing most of those crowds.

3. Carpooling: there's plenty of parking at Ocean Beach.

4. Bicycling, from Civic Center, 16th St, or Balboa Park BART. It's
about 5.5 miles; the southern route is gentler but none is grueling if
you know the correct routes. Remember that biking under the influence
of alcohol is illegal in California. There's typically plenty of time
to sober up in the evening.

Weather is expected to be average-plus, which still means around 65
with (probably) some sun. We'll have a fire going, but those of you
who do not live in the City are reminded to bring warm layered
clothing.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!"

You have options for next weekend. You could be stuck in traffic on your way to the playa, your $300 Burning Man ticket burning a hole in your pocket, and all for the honor of doing drugs while white men burn a wooden man in the dry heat of the Nevada desert. You could do that, but:

1) You aren't a yuppie
2) You're broke
3) You like normal... ahem, well "normal", non-pretentious people.

You need a solution.
You need something to do this Saturday.
I have your solution:

The Ocean Beach BBQ To Completion With Swallowing, this Saturday, starting at noon until ???, at Ocean Beach between Fulton and Lincoln.

Oh your coming huh? And you haven't signed up? Then go here and clicky clicky on EDIT link so we all know what you're up to. Bring your friends, bring some food, bring some booze, and join us for a good time with good people.

It's time once again for the San Francisco mega event you've been waiting for! The Burners have their burning man, we have our Obbbqtcws: The Ocean Beach BBQ To Completion With Swallow.

Saturday, August 29th starting at about 1PM, join us for the one party that you should go to in San Francisco. There will be meat, beer, booze, friends, food, dogs, Frisbee, swimsuits, sand, FIRE, and of course, friends making new friends.



The wiki page is up. Take the time now to stake out what grub you'll be bringing and who you might be bringing along. We always need firewood, so bring nail and varnish free things to burn!

See you there!

I got the cat back from my friend Mongo's house last night. I haven't seen my kitty in almost 3 weeks. After a little bit of skittishness, Isla went from whining and hiding to completely lovable. I can put her in my lap and she stays, pat my leg and she'll hop up on the sofa next to me, and when I lay down she tries to cuddle.

I think that either the other cats at Mongo's house taught her how to be a normal cat, or she missed me with all her kitty heart. It's like I have a new, more cuddly, kitty cat.

I woke up this morning and expected a fuzzy animal to scurry down the hallway, excited to see me awake. Alas, I was greeted with an empty hall and silence.

I made breakfast, and expected the furr ball to beg for her wet food, alas, there was no bowl where she once ate.

I'm blue, I must say, so blue that there won't be a drink night tonight. I will be at home, kittenless, nursing a bottle of Jamison in a dark corner.

I dropped Isla off at my friend Mongo's house so he can watch her while I'm in Spain and Vegas. I'll miss that fuzzy butt. :'(

No kitty love for 21 days.