December 31st 2004
Well, quite a year.

Tragedy in South East Asia still dominating the news. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, may be considered positive from this event. There is much talk of what the United Nations should have done, more telling is what will the nations that make up that organization, manage to do.

Cynically, the higher the toll on western countries, the more likely is a move toward a more organized global warning and response protocol.

The irony is that the outpouring of financial, logistical and human effort to assist in the relief is hampered in many places by decisions of who gets to manage that relief and ingrained bureaucracy. Although considering we are just 4 days into this, the response of the countries affected appears to have been quite effective in clearing up the dead and debris.

Almost real-time coverage of wars, disasters and gruesome murder trials (at least in the US) bring all-the-action, all-the-time to viewers and listeners worldwide. Instant experts pop up on TV, talk shows and now blogs (like this), proffering their, often wrong, analysis of this or that event. Once respected news organizations let poorly researched stories reach their audience just to be the first then have to retract, maybe apologize and assure us that it will not happen again. But, it does.

Who is at fault? Someone has to be. Right? My view? The consumers. Doesn't matter what is consumed. Drugs, tobacco, alcohol, sex, instant 'it's our God given right to know' news.

Call it dumbing down, Bell curve or whatever, an instant ON world of communication drives need. This need is exemplified by the Weather Channel. This has gone beyond an information channel on cable TV into an entertainment channel on many mediums. Do they fill a need or drive a market?

Returning to world disasters, this article on a mega Tsunami appeared on August 11th 2004. I would probably not have found out about it if it had not turned up on Slashdot, a story driven by an actual disaster.

As moving the east coast of the US to higher ground is unlikely, I hope sometime before a catastrophe of unimaginable proportion occurs, an effective warning/response engine is in place.

A pretty good movie, Deep Impact, dealt with an asteroid causing an Extinction Level Event (ELE). Recent sightings of asteroids that might threaten earth have usually been contradicted after the 'instant' press, attempting to grab market share with a mad rush to be first to the wire with "END IS NIGH" headlines. However, watch this space. That prediction seems damn close to me.

Real scary (OK, worthy of consideration) is the fact that the billions of tons of water moved by the the Boxing Day earthquake actually caused the earth to wobble on its axis. The effect was similar to a gyroscope being touched; it could move the orbit, change global weather pattens, cause another ice-age and/or place the earth in the path of an errant asteroid.

Click link for a computer generated prediction of asteroid 1950 DA.

Enough of world catastrophe. what is happening in North West US of A?

Looking out of my office window this morning, the clouds had lifted and the leaves have fallen enough to take in my 'seasonal' view of Mount St. Helens. I Did not realize it was that close!

Hope to see you next year! Have a good one.

December 24th 2004
I really enjoy Christmas. I have for some time. Not that I am into the family thing especially. Quiet, intimate with good food, drink (Morning Mimosa), ripping open of presents stacked deep under a tree. Ah!, the tree.

Last year I had a small (really small) artificial tree that came out of the box with ornaments and lights already attached. Not quite what I am used to but a tree none the less. Of course this was Los Angeles so it was sunny and quite warm. New England weather can be great for a white Christmas.

I recently vowed if I found the right decorations I would get a tree. Talking to a friend (OK, my shrink) he suggested Sleighbells, a Sherwood based farm with a great Christmas decoration shop. Just over the state line from Rhode Island, Connecticut used to have a terrific Christmas Tree shop. Designer trees, fully decorated with many different themes costing thousands of dollars. Jennifer and I picked up several neat decorations. Unfortunately, I did not bring any with me. They were really all Harrison Ave decorations, so they stayed with the house.

Although a little disappointed with Sleighbells when I first went in, the place did grow on me and, notwithstanding the designer trees, offers a vast selection of decorations from many parts of the world.

Armed with decorations (reflecting an attempt to reproduce the silver/gold theme I once used in the UK), I drove off in search of a tree. I passed a tree place and went in. They offered pretty good trees that were half off the marked price. I paid less than $13 for mine. Oregon is the biggest producer of trees in the US. I guess this explains the price.

December 13th 2004
For many years I thought of myself as Mr. 75%. The kinda guy that started a lot of things but really only finished 75% of them. I couldn't even manage that this time. Yes, I flunked (failed is such a harsh word) the State Tax Preparer exam. 74%. Yes, you guessed it; I needed 75%.

I always thought 75% was enough. It would have been this time too. So now I have to resit the damn thing. January 14th.

Otherwise, not a lot has happened here in the northwest. It has been a lot wetter, rains most days.

Link to Saddam Yacht.

December 8th 2004
Yikes! December? What happened to the summer?

What happened to Jef?

OK, two Alfa's. And two new garages. One is more workshop. A large single or smaller double, it has some challenges with regard to entry and exit. Not for regular in and outs but it is pretty nice. I am in the process of getting electricity hooked up. This one is near SE 75th and Foster, about 5 miles from home. The other is just the other side of Ross Island bridge, about 2 miles distant. This second garage is a single with easy access.

Courtney was bored so Eben and I got 'awards' for truck driving duties for Habitat for Humanity Restore.

My current home has a fireplace and let me tell you, it is great. I started with man-made logs that were actually pretty good but I soon graduated to real logs. I need to find a cheaper source and get a cord to stack under the balcony.

A local chap started a business several years ago renting Christmas trees. He delivers them then removes them after the holidays and gives them to organizations that can replant the trees. Cost is similar to usual but a tree lives. Not sure if that is very logical. Planting more pine seems retrograde.

On a personal note, in 1981 while working for Audix in the UK I had the opportunity to travel to Denmark to work on what had been described as Saddam Hussein's personal yacht. After the 2003 Iraq war I heard that the yacht was destroyed in an air attack.

Having just searched for info on what happened I can say that I am a little confused. The ship shown in the news reports is not the ship I worked on in 1981. Strange, as the wrecked ship, al-Mansur, was reportedly built in 1982. Another source suggests the al-Mansur was a gift from those friends of Dubya's also known as the Saudi Royal Family, in 1982 for services rendered in fighting Iran. 'My' Saddam yacht was smaller (maybe 250') and called, at the time, QADISSIYAT SADDAM.

1981 marked the second year of the Iraq-Iran war. The war was not called that by the Iraqi regime; it was known as Qadissiyat. Saddam would often couple his name to Qadissiyat, the name of the first ever battle in history fought between the Persians and Arabs.

"That earlier battle, which took place in 637 AD, led by the Arab general Sa'd ibn Waqqas lasted for three days, resulting in the death of both the Persian general Rustum as well as the end of Persian Sassanian rule in Iraq. The collapse of the Zoroastrian Iranian forces at al-Qadisiyya allowed the Arabs to spread Islam eastward, thus giving the battle a religious significance.

As Ofra Bengio has written, "The myths woven around al-Qadisiyya are a most instructive example of the Ba'thi technique of using an event with a core historical truth that is deeply etched into collective memory in order to further the party's ideology of Arab nationalism and to appeal to the public by means of a challenge of great emotional power."

Thus, by invoking the name of al-Qadisiyya, Saddam justified his war as a continuation of the struggle between Persian and Arab. Saddam's label of the Iran-Iraq war as al-Qadisiyya revealed his vision of how the war should end: a decisive Arab victory over the Persian masses, leading to the complete surrender of the Iranian nation."
From an article by Ibrahim al-Marashi

From my 'office' window I can see a parking lot that has rose borders. Yesterday I noticed the blooms were not quite as plentiful as the last time I noticed them. Then I realized it was rather late for roses. A testament to Portland weather; while possibly drab during winter the last bloom and the first are not separated by many months. We shall see.

October 22nd 2004
One year ago today (thanks for reminding me Linda) I left on my trip cross-country.

Am I better off now than 12 months ago? Certainly happier. I don't think I ever wanted to get away from anywhere so much.

The photo below was taken one Thursday (early Spring, 1994) on the way back from work. I dropped into the building site where our house was being raised. I thought that was it. Home.

Guess not. I had less gray hair then as well.

It is amazing, to me at any rate, that I was able to move away from a place that was so important to me. I used to sit on the front steps, and wonder at the beauty of it all. I loved that house and the land it sat on. That home.

An HBO series, Six Feet Under, went through a period where the mother hooked up with a group that used building metaphors to describe their life. A house is like a life. The foundations need to be secure, the structure maintained and ideas developed through expression. That expression could be how the furniture is arranged, the flowers planted the colors of the trim. That was my pleasure. My 'why?'

I now live in a rental unit. And, I really like it! Not working precludes taking on a mortgage anyway. Although the garage situation is getting pretty comical. I had thought about building a 3-bay garage with an apartment over it. Renting out the apartment and one garage and having my own double garage. However, even miniscule plots of land in Portland often have multi-unit zoning so it is not really practical.

So I rent a garage. It is about 5 miles away and has almost nothing in it apart from a pair of axle stands. It waits in anticipation. So do I. I have looked at quite a few cars but none have worked out yet. To complete this picture, I took the truck down to the garage as I needed to do some routine maintenance. I knew the approach to the garage was a challenge. Was I ever wearing rose-tinted specs. The truck ended up on 3 wheels with the rear wheel spinning. I need to find another (garage, not truck). Hopefully before I get the car.

I have not really been into keeping this site up-to-date. Just lazy I guess. I have been busy though. I am almost half way through a tax preparation course with H&R Block. We have a mid-term exam on Monday. Challenging and enlightening. Monday and Wednesday mornings. On Tuesday I volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I drive the truck that picks up donations. Big sucker, 30' box truck. 6-speed diesel ISUZU. It's fun, I have only crushed one trash can so far.

I also developed and am working on more content for, a web site for a Cape Cod based therapeutic riding stables. Elfnwood is a not-for-profit organization that uses equine therapy to promote wellness, confidence and increased motor skills in disabled students. A great cause and hard work. Several students are competing this weekend in a Special Olympics event.

Using my technical skills I provide ongoing consultancy services to the American Slavic Society in Portland. Another volunteer gig.

And, I earned $165 for 3 days work promoting Aidell's gourmet sausages. Awful job so I quit.

The trick is to generate regular income to support my lifestyle. Not quite there yet. But tax season will hopefully keep me employed. Oregon has the toughest Paid Preparer requirements; they actually want you to spend 80 hours in the classroom, maintain grade averages during the class, pass the schools exam and the State's exam.

I have also been spending money. I bought a 450 disk record collection. Yup. Vinyl LP's. And of course, the car hunt continues. Earlier this week I missed out on a nice looking Alfa Romeo GTV6. I had one of these back in the 80's in England. Great car.

An especially nice Alfa Romeo GTV6

The one I just missed in Bakersfield, California looked very similar. The one I had in the UK was like that as well.

I am also looking at one in New York. Silver, a lot of work done to it but it is New England. Not great from a rust perspective and there is some rust on it.

Other candidates for toy status are the Fiat 124 Spider like the one below and the Alfa Romeo Spider below that. Of the two, I am leaning more toward the Fiat then the Alfa Spider. A huge advantage of the Fiat is the cost of maintaining it.

Pretty in Blue Fiat Spider (1981)

The Alfa below was another candidate. I even had a local expert go through it. It was pretty good and drove well but a lot of the things the owner did, I would want to do my way. It was also too expensive (sorry Avid).

Alfa Romeo Veloce Spider (1973)

So, that is pretty much it. Come back soon. So will I.

October 21st 2004
So the curse is broken. Why?

I moved from New England. This time last year I listened to the playoff game against the Yankees on the radio. And I am no baseball fan, in fact I don't understand most of it.

I have worked with Red Sox fans, those that missed work to watch afternoon and early evening games at Fenway, the excitement of "maybe this year?". Maybe not.

So, here I am, 3000 miles away. As you can see below I wear my colors proudly.

I feel the pain no more. I am happy for those souls that never lost hope.

October 3rd 2004
I guess a volcano that may blow up in my own backyard is newsworthy.

Hiked to Dog Mountain, about 35-40 miles east of Mount St. Helens. St. Helens erupted with great ferocity in May, 1980. Killing 57 people, burying part of a river under 600ft of ash and debris, flattening forest and moving an entire lake from existance while creating another. 1300 ft was removed from the top of the mountain and it reportedly altered global weather patterns for 10 years.

St. Helens in the background about 35 miles distant from Dog Mountain

While not expected to cause as much carnage this time, it is causing some concern locally. My landlord advised the tenants to close the houses up while away from the building as the much anticipated eruption could be more than predicted.

The hike was great, the weather was perfect.

Columbia River looking West From Dog Mountain (elevation 2500')

August 10th 2004
Just added a counter to this site. I used (after a whole 3 minutes of research using google, StatCounter.

Free and very good. Lots of features, one account can manage multiple projects and allows multiple users to access their accounts with various levels of user access rights. Hard not to like.

If you are wondering why the art photos mentioned below are not appearing, so am I. I'm working on it. As they say.

The hill I mentioned that was 3-400 feet? Is actually closer to 150 and the last 50 feet still beat me! I reckon 1 in 3 is correct but the percentage may be wrong. Not sure how that is calculated. 15%?

May even be closer to 1 in 2.

July 26th 2004
My aging body is creaking this morning. Long bike ride around Portland yesterday. Great at the time; paying for it today. 3 1/2 hours. Lane, the last hill before home must be 3-400 feet of 3 in 1 or 30% grade. I could barely walk the last 100 feet!

I guess I have found my new training ground. I'll stick close to my Lair.

In 1986 I bought 2 lithograph's by Bruce McLean (2 of a triptych). Hey, it was the eighties, art was bought to complement decor. I just liked them. They are large, I have never had anywhere where I could hang all 3 anyway. Interestingly, I came across the third print in a corner of a makeshift gallery at the South Bank in 1990 or so. It was framed the same as mine and available for 50 pounds, exactly what I paid to have each of mine framed; I paid 350 pounds for each print.

They are now in my Lair on the hill. Click here to view

July 23rd 2004
102 degrees at 5pm and 16% humidity! WOW!

July 22nd 2004
HOT HOT HOT. But COOL COOL COOL where I went today. Hiked at 6000 feet. Strode (carefully) across melting glacier.

Views of Mt Hood from 6000 feet and the hike can be seen here.

July 21st 2004
David's Birthday today; 45.

My new living space in Lair Hill can be seen here.

June 26th 2004
Added the Local Hike finder by ZIP code. Yes, I'm still alive.

June 13th 2004
Still not got around to the redesign.

I have put a page together of my apartment.

May 29th 2004
Check my blog by blogger.com.

Just an idea.

May 27th 2004
Yesterday, when I went out to the store there was a line of large trucks parked along Belmont. They were part of a movie crew. Not sure what or who was working but the trucks dwarfed the street.

I also got the call to pick my watch up. I had taken it in for a service, supposed to be very 5 years or so the last time was 1991. The crystal was pretty scratched, must remember to take the watch off when I work on the truck.

It cost over $300 to do but it is all relevant, my wireless phone bill was over $175 last month. At least I have a land line now which should help.

It took forever to get it back, over 4 weeks. Quite lost without it. The first time it has been off my wrist for 13 years longer than overnight (except when I forget to put it on in the morning). It's amazing how much we get used to stuff. Now I have it back it looks so good that I don't want to wear it in case I scratch the damn thing.



Rained almost all day today. Very dull, especially in a basement.

The next place has to have light! Maybe I'll end up homeless and won't have any walls or roof, that will be light!

Pretty uneventful week. Someone, Tom, organizes walks around downtown Portland every wednesday. A loop around the river banks and a stroll around an area just south of downtown developed during the sixties so far. There are a lot of open spaces, often city blocks that feature large fountains with lots of space for lounging.

I'm bored with this site. It needs to change!

May 19th 2004
Joined the local library today. East on Yamhill, a mere six blocks from my apartment, it is an easy walk. Small, I will probably use the online locator service. Well used by a wide range of individuals. Internet access is popular. I had planned to use it myself but the wait was too long.

Now, the apartment is located pretty much on the corner of 33rd and Yamhill. An area known as Sunnyside. A grassroots Portland initiative calls for rebuilding neighborhoods and one feature is an area where neighbors can hang, maybe play games, get a cup of coffee while enjoying whimsical structures and intersections that are painted. The junction of 33rd and Yamhill is just one such intersection. Known as Sunnyside Piazza, a huge sunflower mandela in vibrant colors dominates the junction. Every year it needs to be repainted. Tomorrow, Thursday, there is a fundraising dinner for paint. Should be a good place to meet my new neighbors. Coincidently, one of the woman (Jenn, believe it or not) at the no exit basement apartment, works as a volunteer on the rebuilding neighborhoods planning committee.

I need to change how this front page is kept, it's getting to large! I will add some Yamhill Street photos when I rationalize this main page.

May 18th 2004
Once again it has been awhile. Not that there was nothing to share. On the contrary, it has been a busy, taxing time both emotionally and physically.

Busy as I moved out of and into 2 apartments, stayed three nights in hotels and slept on a couch on Cape Cod while returning to Massachusetts for a few days to ship my remaining possessions to Portland. All this in 15 days.

Emotionally? Can't really go there, but it involved my ex-house, ex-dog, ex-wife and her new boyfriend. Not a good combination. The house looked horrible, the dog had turned into a barrel and a potentially fun Friday night turned, intentionally or otherwise, into a beat the crap out of Jef night. An honest review of our relationship indicates it may not be entirely undeserved. Mind you I was feeling a little insecure after being told of her new boyfriend; you know, sentimental crap. Not that I am surprised, she is an attractive, vivacious, confident woman. Isn't that what originally attracted me? I also half expected to hear a male voice answer on the rare occasion I would call the house. It has also been two years. But it still cut.

Apparently, telepathy does work. About ten minutes after willing Joe and Diane to beg their leave they did just that. I also rose and made a silent, dignified (at least in my memory) but not particularly graceful exit. My voice would have betrayed the pain. However, Jennifer looked happy and I wish her well. Credits roll. The End. Fade to black.

Physically? Typical Jef, I have procrastinated picking my stuff up from Massachusetts as I never really knew if I would stay out west. So the time came as I thought I would stay in Portland for awhile.

As my Beaverton apartment lease came to a close I decided I would make the effort to get my stuff shipped across the country. But how? There were, I thought, a couple of options; get a full service moving company to pick the stuff up and deliver to wherever or pile it into a truck and drive it yourself. The latter was what I had originally considered. Another road trip!

Reality set in when I started pricing out the drive it yourself option. Typically U-Haul but Penske and Ryder are alternates. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a complete idiot (except when it comes to relationships, wise career moves, alcohol intake and 'appropriate' driving behavior (not at the same time!)). However, in the back of my mind, never a totally conscious thread, I thought five days at fifty bucks a day would get my stuff here if I drove it myself. Now, considering the cost of gas would be around $700 and four nights at $50 gets me to around $1000 without the cost of renting the truck, it had not really kicked in just how much this was going to cost.

A quote for a truck from U-Haul came to $2500, add the $1000 dollars and a flight for say, $200 and It looks a little pricey. A quote from a full service company looked pretty good at $2500 door to door. My main concern was a couple of lithographs I bought in London in 1986. I had packed them pretty well but not necessarily well enough to withstand being loaded and unloaded by trucking company gorillas.

Concern turned to obsession. A check of epinions.com confirmed my fears. almost all full service companies were trashed. Broken possessions, late or missing deliveries. I had to do it myself. However, $3500 plus was just too much.

Another search of the Internet bought to my attention ABF. An interesting solution. They are a commercial trucking company that reserve the front part of 28 foot trailers for residential moves state to state or greater than 500 miles. You pack, secure the load behind a baulkhead and they drive to the destination dropping off their commercial loads on the way, and then you unload. Really cheap (Like $1250) compared to the alternatives and almost unanimous raves on epinions.com. I had a couple of guys and a truck unload and deliver at Portland but I did it all myself in Massachusetts. That's why I hired the guys in Portland. Bloody hard work.

Getting to Mass. was a trip in more ways than one. The idea was to fly to Boston, pick up a truck to move the stuff from the Middleborough storage unit to the trucking company. See some friends, drink some beer. Fly back and repeat.

I have used Expedia.com since 1998 or so to arrange many flights all over the US and Europe. A really good service. Until this time. Having left it to the lst minute I expected to pay more but it was worse than that. As I clicked to purchase the cheapest flight a message came up that informed me that some airlines selected (there were 3 jumps to get there) did not issue electronic tickets and it was too late to mail a paper ticket (this was the day before I intended to depart). The only flight I could get through Expedia was 1200 bucks! No fricking way!

In the end I did it my way. I went directly to the airlines. I flew Frontier from Portland to Denver and Jet Blue from Denver to Boston. The return trip four days later was the reverse. I booked an economy car through Expedia and a U-Haul truck. A lot of things to go right for a short trip.

My plan was to leave Portland at 2:45pm (PST) on Wednesday, arrive in Denver around 5:30pm (MST) and layover for six hours (at least I could get a good dinner) waiting for the Jet Blue flight at 11:55pm that was to arrive in Boston at 5:30am (EST) the next day.

That was the plan. Now, it is not the first time I have missed a plane. I almost missed a Concorde flight once. It was quite the sight as an immaculate Concorde stewardess ran toward me calling "Mr. Fowler? Mr. Fowler? The plane is leaving now. Hurry. Please." So polite. Actually, I did not feel too bad, the first time I flew Concorde British Airways were 2 hours late.

So I went from six hours in Denver with a relaxed meal to 25 minutes running to catch the Jet Blue flight. To add an interesting twist, not many people book two separate but connecting flights. As I only had to go from one gate to another on the same concourse I did not go through security in Denver. So when I got to the gate and said "Hi, my name is Jef and I am on this flight" the attendant looked a little askance. The beauty of electronic tickets is you just get a paper receipt that doubles as a boarding pass when you check in and everything else is all done online, so when I appeared without a ticket or boarding pass at the gate it took awhile for them to understand (and accept) how I could get there without a ticket or boarding pass. Clever questions designed to trip me up revealed I was not a terrorist or maniac and I was allowed on.

A quick word about Jet Blue. Use them. They are a great airline. Not too many cites served but terrific prices (Denver to Boston, about 2000 miles was $250 return, Portland to Denver with Frontier, about 1000 miles was $475 return). New planes (Airbus), leather seats with transatlantic Business class legroom, and Direct TV. Really great.

Boston, 5:30am. Pink tinged buildings as the sun rose above Bean Town. Enterprise car rental. Overly enthusiastic representative, far to jolly for the hour, came through with words of magic, "would you like an upgrade"?. Sure. Could I drive an SUV? Sure. Three week old Jeep Grand Cherokee, black with 875 miles on it. Sure. Mind you, it was only a 6-cylinder. 28 bucks a day.

The very first page of this site described the day I left Massachusetts seven months ago and how I (once again) left too late to grab lunch at a Lakeville Portuguese restaurant. I made it my first stop this time for breakfast. Better late than never.

At this point I had been awake for about thirty hours (I sleep badly at the best of times and rarely on planes). I now needed to pick up the U-Haul, load my gear on it, drive to the shipping company, unload/load and that was it. It actually took two trips and I finished the next day after catching some z's at a local Days Inn. I finished the first day tired like you would not believe, exhausted and filthy. I slept without eating since breakfast the day before.

On Saturday (skipping over anymore Friday night details) I met up with Jim and Mary for lunch at Friendly's then we drove over to Joe and Diane's as I had planned to go for a walk with them. After, I drove down to Cape Cod to see P.J. and Annmarie.

I had planned to get to CCCDP on Friday but ran out of time to get there before they closed. Yes, I am in deep doo-doo.

Annmarie runs Elf-n-Wood Stables specializing in the therapeutic use of horses for the benefit of individuals with special needs. Interestingly, my cousin Michael also runs a similar facility in Germany.

Many people passed through the house on Saturday and Sunday. Very busy home.

I stayed in East Falmouth Saturday night. Slept on a couch. Annmarie's home is open house to many. There must have been eight there that night.

On Sunday I helped groom a horse. First time. Really hard work. The hair and dust just kept coming out. Then I had a lesson on Stanley. Just around the ring but I probably learnt more about control in 30 minutes than all the cumulative hours trail riding hacks that just wanted to get back to the stable. Fun. Two days later my legs hurt. Bad. Thank you P.J. for the lesson.

I don't know what it is that causes me total dysfunction when it comes to getting anywhere on time. But after missing the first plane getting to Boston I was determined not to hit replay. I could have sworn the clock was approaching 6. That would give me plenty of time. Of course, it was approaching 7 so I was in a tailspin getting out, off Cape and up to Boston. I also had to return the Jeep and I had 'misplaced' the address and 'phone number of Enterprise.

I won't bore you with the details, suffice to say I made it with about 7 minutes left for the check-in cutoff.

The downside of my itinerary was an 8 hour wait in Denver. The airport pretty much closes after midnight (when I arrived). I considered getting a room but decided against it. Settling into a departure gate seat I tried to sleep. Hopeless. The anti-terrorism message asking travelers to not leave their baggage unattended, played to empty seats except for the two occupied by the intrepid traveller; every 10 minutes.

I arrived back in Portland around 10am. One last item for Monday; find somewhere to stay as I had moved out of the Beaverton apartment. For Monday night I decided to return to the Econolodge (I got the name wrong in a previous entry) on E. Burnside.

A scan through Craig's List bought up a very short-term let (not sure if 'let' will be understood by American readers, a non-lease is probably close but even that may be wrong) of two weeks for $125. So I found myself in a dark basement with no door and no alternate means of escape in a shared house with two young women and up to four dogs. There was high speed internet though.

I also found a 2 month lease in the Belmont area. Jeremy was going to India and Thailand and wanted to hold onto the apartment. So I write this in yet another basement (legal this time) that is lighter but no Harrison Avenue. I purchased many high output lightbulbs and floodlights to brighten the place. I also got some natural color-temperature units. Big difference but Jeremy's utility bill will be a lot higher. Utilities were included in the $650/month rent but we may have to recalculate that. I also set my hifi up which runs 300 Watts standing still. The place gets pretty warm! Decent Sound at last! Not a great install or room dynamics but so much better than the ubiquitous Aiwa stereo systems in the last 3 places.

Once again I lost Internet access as it takes (Qwest in this instance) a week to hook the phone line up. I will be using DSL this time. Pretty good deal if it all works. Should be hooked up Wednesday after 5pm. But why does it take so long? As the customer service rep was entering my information she could have done the credit check and configured the switch software at the same time. All the wiring was in place. Nuts. 21st Century meets Ma Bell antiquity.

I am too attached (pun intended) to Internet access. How did anything get done before it? Same with ATM's.

Adding some excitement to the housing mix was a house for sale in a pretty neat area known as Lair Hill. The, once again Crag's List, post described a typical Portland bungalow with a contemporary interpretation of the interior. A link to photographs showed a great conversion with some really cool touches. Very much in tune with my design preferences. A minor hack got me back to the sellers professional web site. Degree119 is a pretty interesting. Well worth a view.

I emailed the seller, Jed, expressing my interest but with no current income I asked if there were any creative financing options he might consider. Not hopeful, I was really surprised when I received a reply indicating that there could be a lease for a year with an option to buy.

This of course would complicate and dramatically increase the rent as I had paid the full 2 months on the Belmont apartment and there may be issues sub-leasing a sub-lease. The rent on the Lair Hill house (the actual street address is 0322; yes, the zero is needed) was $1350 so I would need to get a roommate as it was too expensive at this point.

That Sunday I roamed Lair Hill and the surrounding areas. It is pretty old and almost ex-communicated by a couple of major thoroughfares that effectively cut it off from other areas. I really liked it. Quiet, it offers many interesting views, very steep hills that reminded me of San Francisco. Many houses are hidden behind unruly growth or feature winding stone steps rising and twisting toward entrances hidden from street level.

Most East/West streets end at the newer roads that slice through and usually have stone steps and railings that take you to those roads. A small deli serves the usual fare. I got so lost that at one point I could see where I needed to be but had no idea how to get there. So, I crossed the disecting roads. Not easy even on Sunday as they are wide, busy and not designed for pedestrian traffic.

Monday I called Jed and aranged to view the house.

Better in the flesh than the photos, I was really impressed. Not the best layout, the bathroom was off the kitchen, likewise the bedroom was off the main room/entrance. Most rooms were pretty small but functioned well. I would probably have opened the bedroom which would make the downstairs much more spacious. At the very rear a spiral staircase snakes up to a large loft area with the potential and plumbing, for another bathroom. This area had small deck with a view across to Mt. Hood, at least on a good day.

Fixtures and fittings are of the highest order, a slate based countertop and stainless appliances made the kitchen very sharp alhtough there was not an ideal location for a microwave which would upset the balance the design has. Trick, above counter basin in the bathroom sits on custom walnut cabinetry with sleek brushed metal fittings. A slash of crimson shower curtain oozes color in an otherwise restrained interior.

The house covers almost the entire lot. Any ladder work would require using neighboring property and the very neat side deck butted up, legally, to the next property. The street itself was not the most attractive and was close to Interstate 5 so it is noisier than further 'up the hill'.

Further investigation of Portland databases showed that the house was just in an area designated as Very High Density multiple homes. In fact there appeared to be no limit on the number of units or any hieght restrictions. Three lots directly behind the property had just sold, probably to a developer. So, reluctantly, I passed. Saved me paying for two leases! I would be really interested in doing a similar conversion at some point.

So here I sit in Belmont. One of Portlands very pretty neighborhoods in the South East quadrant. Yamhill Street lies East/West between Belmont, one block to the north and Hawthorne to the south. Both streets host many coffee shops, restaurants and other stores. The Bagdad movie house is run by McMenimin's, a local brewary.

April 25th 2004
I have uploaded the audio files recorded during the cross-country trip last year. They are in Real Audio format so you will need the player to hear them.

Most of them have not been edited so don't expect radio quality, either aurally or content and as for the speaker, words failed me. I'm looking for a speech therapist! Many of them were made while driving and the truck is not the quietest environment. I found them interesting you may get bored. I don't care.

The London Marathon results can be found here. Why? My brother David entered and finished (31,679 finishers out of 32,101 starters). He ran as number 14282, was 10456 overall and the 9018 male to cross the finish line in 3:57:27. Well done David!

April 19th 2004
Some of my reade...there are readers? Singular? Aren't there? Hello!

No? Well, I don't care.

If there is/are a/any reader(s) you may have noticed that some sound links do not work and others are a waste of time. They are. I will work on it.

Well. it finally happened. While I shiver in a dreary rain-filled Portland day, Boston soaks up the rays in 80 degree weather. Boston Marathon today, the 108th.

April 9th 2004
Wow! Over a week since I wrote. Mind you, almost nothing happened. Almost.

I also realize I never finished the Mojave story below. click this to go there.

Glad you're back. The truck checked out OK. Although skeptical at first I now believe it is the Portland roads. As it does not freeze very often here the tarmac (blacktop) roads survive quite well, unlike Massachusetts roads. Lasting for so long they are victim to trucks wearing grooves into them. In Los Angeles many of the roads are concrete. Concrete does not suffer as much as tarmac.

I think the problem with the steering is the truck tends to follow these grooves so the steering feels vague. I did have the entire suspension/steering aligned while it was there.

March 30th 2004
What happened to the sun? Almost a 30 degree drop in temperature as well.

Drove the truck over to the dealer. Actually, I guided it carefully. The lack of steering precision was a little disconcerting. I had decided to walk back, although I would have to pick my way through unknown streets as I got there on the 217 highway. Potentially 6 to 7 miles, I needed the exercise. I also went blind as I had not picked up a map at this time.

A consistent gripe about America is how poorly pedestrians are treated. Too few sidewalks. Rarely is it possible to find a pedestrian walkway between 2 points in a major town let alone smaller places. There are usually several places that one is forced to walk in the road. The worst offenders are shopping malls that are next to each other. Not only is there a complete lack of sidewalk, there are rarely any connecting roads for vehicles. In Los Angeles there are two shopping areas separated by a railing. Getting from one to the other was a major exercise requiring negotiation of traffic signals and several turns.

It is America's obsession with the automobile. After being here for 14 years even I look with pity on those walking or waiting for public transportation. Portland and the North West in general, has a well deserved reputation for providing bike lanes on many roads, with many signs warning drivers that cyclists may be in the area. But pedestrians? Second or third class citizens. Probably seen as pariah's for not 'fueling' the economy.

Now I feel better.

Showers in the forecast made me question my sanity but I have a showerproof jacket that would also keep me warm as I sheltered under a tree while the deluge passed by. As it turned out a light drizzle, not even that, fell while I walked and the occasional truck threw spray in my face. Walking briskly kept me warm.

The bike lanes made acceptable substitute sidewalks.

An acute sense of direction kicked in and I found a road I recognized. I was on track!

Elated, I stopped at a Denny's and devoured bacon and eggs. A newspaper article told a story of a husband and wife team who admitted they were a 'leave it to Beaver' family, decided to walk across America.

A personal goal they drew sponsorship for Habitat for Humanity, a charity they had supported in the past. They had quite an adventure but it was carefully planned with support vehicles and stopovers organized in advance. They wrote a book called Sole Mates.

Walking 20 miles a day they went from Portland, Oregon to Georgia (not sure where) making my 6 mile or so seem pretty tame. They were also in their fifties

I passed Linens and Things where I bought a coffee maker yesterday. I saw Powell's the bookstore so I decided to look for a street map. Powell's is a Northwest tradition. Rightly so. More overstocked library than mere bookstore it features used and new books, a cafe and aisles upon aisles of bookshelves maybe twelve feet high.

Handwritten reviews by staff and others attached below many books indicate how enthusiastic everyone is for this institution.

I found my maps and bought an Insight Guide to the Pacific Northwest. It covers Oregon and Washington. Mainly the major cities and the coasts it includes some remarkable inland features like Crater Lake and Mount St. Helens. Good book.

When I walked outside Powell's the ground was soaking and a large grey cloud was moving away. It must have poured, large puddles and everything was dripping. I was lucky to have entered Powell's missing the downpour. There was no indication that it had been raining inside the building. I would have been caught in that and thoroughly soaked. My jacked is not that showerproof!

Arrived 'home' in pretty good shape. I had walked pretty fast so my time was around 2 hours walking. Checking the map, it was about 7 miles. I shall check it with the truck. The dealer called and told me they are still testing it. Not ready until tomorrow. They probably never got to it. Not sure if I am going to walk back. Maybe.

March 29th 2004
Sunny again. And really warm. Mid-seventies. Two days of sun and warmth but tomorrow, rain.

I found out that my mail that should have been held in Los Angeles was still being delivered to the old apartment. So much for web-based control of your mail. It still depends on the mail man. If he doesn't get the info, forget it.

The truck has a steering problem. Goes in tomorrow for a check up. Maybe ball joints, I hope it is not the steering box. That could be expensive.

Of course, I may just have shaken something loose when off-road. A trip I did not share here took me, on a whim, off to the Mojave Desert. I had wanted to get back to Death Valley to see Marta Beckett at the Amorgosa Opera House. Some of you are familiar with this incredible lady. I may write a little about this at some point.

Mojave. Not just a return trip to Amorgosa but I wanted to check out Bagdad. In the eighties there was a movie called Bagdad Cafe. A German tourist, abandoned by her husband walks into Bagdad, and a unique story unfolds. I highly recommend it. The thing is, although Bagdad exists in the California desert near the Mojave National Reserve, about 30 miles north of Twentynine Palms it is not where the movie was actually shot.

The town of Newberry Springs about 50 miles west of Bagdad, has the actual cafe. Both Newberry Springs and the... what? Although Bagdad appears on the map, there is no actual indication it exists. No sign (may have been nicked) and certainly no town. Both locations are on the old Route 66.

Further west from Bagdad is the town of Ludlow. I ended up in Ludlow in my search for the actual location of Bagdad. This is a good example of the ghost towns created by the rise of the interstate highways and the demise of the Mother Road, Route 66.

For more views of a Twentieth Century ghost town drink beer!

It was getting late, the sun was setting and I was low on gas, not that ever happens. I made my way toward the Mojave.

Heading north I stopped for a railroad crossing. Clanging bells, Screaming trumpets and thundering hooves as this monster followed its masters silver trails. (Listen)
.

Pressing ever further north, the curtain of light fell from the inky black eternity strewn with glittering pinpoints. I think I'll call them... stars!

Enter, mystery.

Fingers of black crept across desert and road alike, nothing was immune to its hunger.

Gas gauge does not work. Never has. The FEED ME ME NOW! light works. I know I get somewhere around 260 miles per tank, plus a little more. What's the problem? Tripmeter shows 196 miles.

A full moon is scheduled for this night. Perfect for crossing deserts. Reluctantly, I decide gas is more important. Reluctantly? 20 years ago I would have gone for it. Fuck, I hate getting old!

Sorry, mystery. Route 40 between me and Mojave but first I have to cross the railroad again. Now black, the eery bells and flashing lights illuminate the few vehicles waiting for the train.

Seconds turn to minutes. Cyclops stare pierces the night. Mile long train thunders past drowning any sound but its own. Fades. Bells. Lights. Headlights in the rear view mirror.

More minutes pass. Then more. Lights move around me, not over me, but I think of Steven Spielberg anyway. Impatient trucks make their way around the barriers. Still the bells and lights. (Listen).

Another Cyclops light, screaming shriek, clickety-clacking, thunder. Gone. Except the lights. Except the bells. Continue. I think of Steven King. This could be how his next novel begins. Or ends.

Bells and lights. Black night. Just me. Me and the bells and flashing lights. And a truck with 201 miles on the tripmeter.

Gingerly I tempt the waiting demon, crouched behind the red white red bariier. Poised to slap its dragon fist upon the wary traveller, followed by miles of molten crust to bury its prey.

Moving forward I too cross the devil's trail and recede into the night. Only the bells and winking blood red dragon eyes remain, guardians of the devil's gate.

I join another monster, route 40 and follow it east to Needles where I fill the tank, get a room and eat then sleep.

Morning

Mojave proper.

I followed a dirt road through the middle of this barren place. Missed the Kelso Dunes that I later learned were spectacular, hundreds of feet high. I turned right instead of left.

This part of Mojave is pretty barren almost,, desert like. Ahhh, now I get it. Actually not as interesting as Death valley. Wish I had got to the Kelso dunes. They are so high and it is so quiet that as grains of sand (presumably billions of them) move down the slopes of the dunes you can hear the sound, whispering to you. Cool. Left not right.

March 28th 2004
Sunday. Literally. Sun for the first time in a few days. Actually, yesterday was rain free but not great. Today is great. Except I have spent the entire day inside apart from picking up the Sunday Oregonian to search for jobs at 7:30am (bright and chilly) and around 4:40pm to get some CD's from the truck (sunny and pretty warm).

Yes, back on the job hunt.

I am without Internet access until late afternoon Wednesday. For better or worse, Comcast (a local cable provider) seems to be the telco of choice. So I went with them for phone service and Internet access. As it appeared that Internet could be provided sooner than telephone I decided to get high-speed cable access rather than wait for a phone line to get modem access. In the end both will be installed at the same time.

I think I may regret the high-speed choice. It is expensive but I thought it would give me access to public radio from Boston and LA. The local PBS station is a little hokey.

Hatred to this condo development has waned a little. I went for a walk and it is pretty well done. Great landscaping and well kept up. Local stores still leave a little to desire but I may try some of the local restaurants/bars.

Checked out the exercise room. Very well equipped. I now have no excuse. There is also a racquet ball court. None of it looks used but there are handwritten signs asking residents to police each other to stop the use of black soled shoes on the court. There are also 2 open air swimming pools with jacuzzi hot tubs and an indoor pool. Pretty nice.

So I have some jobs to apply for that look promising. Several of these openings actually have addresses to apply to rather than email.

One of these jobs is located in Salem, the state capitol, 50 miles south of Portland. Another is located in the City of Battle Ground, Washington state just north across the Columbia River. The job in fact is working for the City of Battle Ground. Pretty uninspired name huh?

I am considering what my next move will be. Do I throw my lot in with the Portland area and stay no matter what? It is a pretty good place to hang. Or, do I wait to see if there are any positive work developments until the lease expires at the end of April before sticking my finger in the wind and moving on? Economically it is makes sense to stay here rather than Los Angeles. Similar pay for a much less expensive cost of living. If you can find a job!

One decision intimately connected to this is "What do I do with my belongings in Massachusetts?".

Before I left last October, I crammed a storage unit with over 40 boxes large and small, a mattress (SORELY missed!) my beautiful HiFi (very unfriendly apartment wise), works of art and my home maintenance/building tools. You know MY LIFE in things and pictures. OK, the past. Now is real life. Great.

However, to explain the 'SORELY missed' comment imagine this. A bare apartment except a fitted carpet. A camping bed roll in the bedroom with a sleeping bag for warmth.

Of course, it is not only the bed that is missed. Knives, forks, a microwave (Emily left an old one in the apartment. It barely works, requiring many pushes of the Start button before it kicks in. Think of an old car needing new plugs and points) and all the things that make getting up in the morning painless. A toaster for example. Plates and dishes, pots and pans, my favorite coffey mug : - )

Gripe. Gripe. Gripe.

March 26th 2004
Portland, Oregon (OR) or, more specifically, Beaverton.

Arrived in Portland last Saturday. Found a cheap motel (Travelodge) near downtown on East Burnside. The city of Portland is divided into quadrants. NE, SE, SW and NW. Burnside divides North South and the Willamette River East West.

Portland is a neat city. Small, active downtown and loved by its inhabitants. Locals complain of traffic but it is relative. compared to LA it is a smooth ride indeed.

Bicycle friendly, light rail (MAX?) and trollies wind through downtown. It has a European feel. It is dreary though and has rained for the last two days. Although when I first arrived it was sunny and warm it was, apparently, unseasonably so. It can be windy, and has been on occasion.

But, what is a Beaverton?

South West of Portland proper, Beaverton is a city in itself but more appropriately a suburb of Portland. A 'burb. Oh yes, I hate it. And now I live here. Why?

I answered an ad off Craig's list. Emily wanted to have someone take over her lease through the end of April. Cheap as the Travelodge may be at $33 a night plus taxes (there's always taxes) it would still cost me over $1000 a month. Then there is security. Or lack thereof. I could stand losing my printer, it was pretty cheap. But the laptop was something else. Everytime time I went out I needed to pack it up and secure it in the cargo box atop the truck. As this once cost me $375 by not securing it properly (it was bashed to bits) it takes awhile. So $550 for five weeks is a good deal.

The downside is that Emily is moving to another apartment which meant I would have no furniture. Similar to St. Paul, Minnesota but that is another story.

The apartment is pretty nice. Larger than the one In Los Angeles, on the ground floor and access from the street. It is at Sterling Pointe. Absolutely the largest condominium development I have ever come across. There must be thousands of apartments. Quite nice, landscaping is very well done. Duck crossing signs added a cute touch until I almost killed a duck. They weren't kidding! Several ponds and streams wend their way through the development. Just like SW Teal Boulevard which, also winds its way up and down hill crossing the same road (SW Murray) several times. Whatever, I have in two short days developed a hatred for it.

Too many 'nice' mostly white, middle-class or aspiring middle-class people crammed together. A nearby mall is typical "'nice' mostly white, middle-class or aspiring middle-class" national brand America. The local Safeway is so dysfunctional it did not have the Lysol product I buy that is a disinfectant. Just a deodorizer. One cannot clean a toilet with a deodorizer. And lots of wine boxes in the liquor aisle. Not a lot of class.

One area or quadrant, I liked was the North East. Close to where the Travelodge is, it had great character and a Trader Joe's. Good Stuff. A movie house from the 1930's called Hollywood completed the picture. Houses are pretty cheap compared to LA.

However, in the Sunday Oregonian there was an article about trendy "'nice' mostly white, middle-class or aspiring middle-class" Portland denizens buying houses in these urban areas only to find when they walk their dogs or jog the neighborhood, they are intimidated by (or mistaken for) pimps. prostitutes and drug dealers. Now they want to sell their beautifully remodelled homes or sue (a great American tradition) their real estate agent for not pointing out the 'high' crime rate. I should point out fewer people meet a violent end in Portland in a year than in a week on the streets of LA.

But it rains. Some places get more than 3 times the amount of London or Boston. Dreary. Not sure I will stay even if I get a job. I may change career. Too many techies pursuing too few tech positions. Retail sales, property management (something I actually know about) and healthcare jobs seem to be the most in demand. Most tech jobs that do get advertised are high end, with specific skills (many of which I do not possess). These other career paths often offer training which suggests they are desperate to get bodies.

An ex-colleague in Massachusetts, decided to pursue a career in nursing. That is a great growth area. Although I do not see myself ministering to the sick one of my first jobs (actually the second) was in the pathology lab of a local (UK) hospital. It went something like this.

A somewhat green sixteen year old who was not told during the interview they would be expected to take blood samples every morning found themselves vitually passed out with tie loosened by a nurse and a glass of water presed against their lips before they even slid a needle into soft, yielding flesh. (nice trick huh? Slipping from first to third person). No? I could have done a Nixon.

The final insult? Many of the tech jobs are offering sub-$15/hour and some as low as minimum wage (who needs to outsource). Even higher end jobs that once commanded $120K plus are down to $70K. Not good times for techies. Especially those that just quit without another in the piupeline. I'll keep you posted.

March 18th 2004
Redcrest, CA. A cabin in the woods. The redwoods. Just off 101 heading north toward Eureka.

Why? The lease ran out on my apartment and I had to vacate. No job. Actually had an interview that went well but did not go any further. A couple more irons in the fire so to speak, but I stopped looking for anything else over two weeks ago.

So. The plan? Me? A plan? Yea of little faith.

Sure. A vacation. I'm on my way north heading toward Portland, OR. Oregon to my English fans. Often described as 'very European' Portland is reckoned by many to be the best US city. I will not be able to grow palm trees as it rains a little. Actually a lot. Also a lot less expensive than Southern California and a lot less sunny, I will try it out for work. We shall see.

Of course, I have to get there yet.

I left LA on route 101 staying the first night in San Louis Obisbo. Very close to Paso Robles where the earthquake hit last December. I felt it in LA. Neat little town. I then ran up to San Francisco. I love that city. So pretty. I stayed there once on a boat looking out at Alcatraz. Or did I stay in Alcatraz looking out at a boat?

Got lost in the city. Truck made it up and down those wicked steep hills and on over the Golden Gate bridge. Picked up route 1 and was bowled over. Having already run up the lower part of this road last year from Los Angeles to San Francisco I knew how beautiful it could be but I believe north of San Francisco is even better.

Tuesday night found me in a great little resort style place in Jenna, CA. Individual suite with a fireplace and sliders to a deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Great sunset, as can be seen.

Dinner was in a truely dreadful restaurant. Initially ignored, I was eventually handed a menu.

Once the waitress returned she asked "What can I get you?".
"A wine menu" I quipped.
As she turned to find a menu I added "And while your looking for that, a vodka, chilled, no ice. Thank you".

The mussels were pretty good. At least the ones that opened. I have never had a plate of mussels that had so many that could not be eaten. The special was New York strip with Bernaise source. Insipid source, tasteless steak. And for wine country a really mediocre Cabernet. The waitress did appear to understand by the end of the meal that I was not happy and apparently knew more about food and wine that she originally thought.

After listening to some of the conversations around the room and watching couples interplay or more often not, with each other, it is amazing how how many dysfunctional people there are out there. It made me feel pretty good!

After my dreadful meal with deplorable service and sad, fellow diners I jumped into the truck and headed back to the hotel in Jenner. Now, 2 vodkas and a glass of admittedly, insipid wine, winding yet thrilling roads in an old pickup truck do not necessarily go together. Fun, but potentially dangerous. The other outcome of such thrills is missing the hotel and speeding into the night. The starlit night. Stopped in my tracks. Gazed in awe at the milky way spread like sequined butter across the black iris sky to the accompaniment of crashing surf.




Morning found me zigging and zagging north up to Point Arena. The highlight according the previous nights inn keeper was the lighthouse and the possibility of seeing whales migrating north. No wales but the lighthouse was an interesting stop.

They are in the process of restoring the lamp mechanicals and the main light has not been used since 1973. The original lighthouse was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. When rebuilt, according to the troll giving the tour, it was the very first structure built to withstand earthquakes. This needs to be verified.

As I left the lighthouse I passed a couple of raccoons. They must have been young as daylight viewing of these undeniably cute critters is often associated with rabies. These guys did not appear rabid and one performed flawlessly slowly rising with paws raised when he saw the camera come out.
Now I get it!


The next stop was Manchester Beach. Protected home of the Snowy Plover and vast, empty sands beside the crashing Pacific. The picture shows a seagull not a snowy plover.

The next night was spent in Fort Bragg. Nothing to Brag about. In fact the reason to stay there was the so-called skunk railway. Why Skunk? The original diesel powered locomotives stunk like a skunk. Supposed to be a scenic 40 mile trip to Willits. Supposed. It closed August 2003 and although slated to reopen April 2004 looked pretty lifeless. Shame.

As route 1 veers away from the ocean there is an area called Sinkyone. I am not sure how it is pronounced. Use your own judgement. It is a wilderness with a series of 'unimproved' roads traversing it. I wanted to traverse it. Finding the track shown on the map proved difficult.

Before I found the track I found Laggert at the end of route 1.

Home of the Chandelier tree.

A giant redwood that had a tunnel cut into it so cars could pass through.

Sacrilidge for a 2400 year old tree, but interesting anyway. The truck needs 7 foot 6 inches (height) to get trhough so the 6' 9" clearance of this tree was not enough.

Eventually, I located the dirt road into Sinkyone. Warnings about lack of winter maintenance, lack of suitablility for trailers and a pretty steep windy, single track road only increased my desire to follow it.

It wends its way through land owned by private hunting clubs, with many warnings and postings. Climbing steeply it reveals views of the ocean not many people have seen. Heavy rain was forecast for the area and as I climbed, clouds wafted past obliterating the view.


Spectacular.
Scary.
Uninhabited.
Desolate.
High.
Rugged.
Engineered.


Engineered?

Yes. A wooden bridge across a small creek. Similar to the bridge over the river Qui. Except that is a railway. Ask, it takes too long to explain here.

I came across a trailhead that had three cars parked. beyond a clearing and more signs warning of poor driving conditions. I continued after ensuring I was headed in the right direction. Half a mile or so later I decided to stop. Deep rutted grooves cut by run-off barred my way. It may have been possible to pass this obstacle but what lay ahead? And, if I had to turn back further on would I be able to traverse the obstacles possibly while reversing as the track was so narrow? Okay, I am a coward. Bears and possible lack of AAA assistance was a concern.

Hence Redcrest. At least I slept well. Total trip time into Sinkyone and back? Two and half hours.

February 29th 2004
Well it has been awhile so....

An extra day of the year.
Oscar night in Los Angeles.
But not for me.
Kinda stuck, not sure what direction to go in.
As in North, East, West or South. Now that's what I call news!

Competition for jobs is pretty high. I spoke to an HR manager the other day. The job was a good match for my skills. In 2 days there were 156 applicants. We shall see.

Then there is the rain. 'tis the rainy season tho'.
Buckets of rain.
Went to bed with the sound of rain.
Was woken by the sound of water plip plop plopping on the inside. Many streams of water falling from the ceiling.
The hot tub overflow overflows into my room. Well known problem apparently. Ceiling drys.
Ceiling crashes down.
'orrible black creeping mold embeds itself in the pale blue grey rug.
The sofa makes a comfy bed.
Not much to tell in fact.

January 26th 2004
Well it has been awhile so....

Christine, my younger sister celebrated her ?? birthday (hey, there were only 2 ??) on the 23rd. As she said, she is the only one of the immediate family who has not visited the US of A. This is a HINT!!


This an old photo, not sure how old but I think Lucy is 23 this year.

A recent visitor was Katie. She went to visit with friends in Florida for New Year or Thanksgiving. Whatever.

Lucy just returned from India. Loved it by all accounts. It is pretty neat. Mind you, she lives in Manor Park, London, a well known asian melting pot of Seiks, Hindus and Muslims.

She lives in a house that has been in the Fowler family since the early '60's. Much of my formative years were spent there (both as an adolescent and later with Sandy who became my first wife). One day in 1968 I left that house for work and returned to the new house in Epping where my mother still lives.

David? Our brother. The youngest, a restaurateur. Lancaster's in Bishops Stortford.

Boy, so much bio.

Anyway enough of them. What about me? Actually, it's all about me.

I had an LAPD cop call me an "ASSHOLE!" today (the caps emphasis the volume but do not get close to the emotion he put into it). What about you?

OK, OK! I'll tell. I took a ride out to Palmdale. Those of you that may know the area probably wonder; why? So do I. Anyway, Route 405 North at 4:30pm sucks. Crawling. Six lanes of traffic, one lane moving slow. Dark. Cops with flashing yellow lights. Lots of cops, lots of cop cars. I thought they wanted to get home fast. I plodded along. Then I realized I was pretty much the only vehicle on the road moving. Me? Surely they don't want me?

A spotlight sears into the truck. GOOD GRIEF! THEY DO WANT ME! What have I done. Then I thought of some of the things that could have precipitated this.....

That's when I noticed two or three helicopters overhead with searchlights. That's when an unidentified LAPD officer opined the aformentioned comment.

It was almost as bad as Lakeville, MA. When, one night a police helicoptor or two and many cops and customs officers surrounded a local house due to a drug tip-off.

Anyway, the usual; young 'ethnic' guys in a car pulled over, spreadeagled agains a wall and I swear, an entire six lane highway stopped for 10 minutes during rush hour.

I still don't understand the reason why I should have stopped for flashing AMBER lights. I feel abused. They should have been red.

Rodney King, I understand.



This is my California license.

No job yet so I may have to make myself feel better and buy a Porsche. A real one.



...or maybe not?

January 15th 2004
Well, as you can see I have added the Weather Channel to show conditions in LA. Another wild winter ride is in store for New England tonight so to my friends there, keep you toes warm and to my favorite dog "Make sure your mistress keeps you indoors!"

Not too much to report. I spoke to a recruiter today who wanted to know if my move to California was because of the 'industry'. I guess Hollywood still lures many people here looking to make their mark on the silver screen or whatever it is these days.

Not me! I just want to grow palm trees.

Actually, there is an update on the mountain lion attack. The story may have fallen off the radar screen outside of SoCal (hip, huh?). The man that was found dead had been attacked the same day. He had been fixing the chain on his bike, probably crouching down, a no-no in mountain lion country.

The other interesting point is that the woman was probably attacked as the cougar was defending the earlier kill from other predators.

Keep warm!

January 11th 2004
For those of you in New England and Old England I have to say the weather here in California is stunning. It reached 80 today, even Californians were moved to comment. It is pretty unusual in January to be like this but it certainly isn't minus 2 degrees F as in Lakeville, MA the other night!

People were actually throwing themselves in the water (other than the diehard surfers who are always in the water but usually wear wet/dry suits. The beaches were really busy in places. But, I was off to the hills.

Mulholland Drive may be familiar to you. Runs East West from Griffith Park through the Santa Monica Mountains turns into Mulholland Highway after Topanga Canyon Blvd. and picks up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) near Leo Carrillo State Beach.

Part of the road is unpaved and I wanted to check that out with my new Pirelli Scorpion A/T tires (which are worth more than the truck). It was also another opportunity to expand my lungs by hike or bike. Mulholland also traverses the Topanga State Park where I had recently hiked.

Being a hyper-connected-wireless-twentyfirstcentury-geek I che..(OK, a Gen-P(rostate)-hyper-connected-wireless-twentyfirstcentury-geek) I checked out google to see what I could find out about the unpaved section of road.

Of course, my attention was immediately taken by the Mulholland Raceway site. I had heard about canyon runs and had even powered through with the truck a few times. But these guys are really into it!

Apparently, if you impress them with your canyon driving skills they will leave a card on your car with a registration number and invite you to join them in their escapades. Even my lawless driving baulks at the premise of their goal. Not that I claim to be as skilled as they think they are.

However, it did grab my attention so I took a trip out along PCH to Mulholland Highway. Stopping after about a mile I looked out at the Pacific Ocean 5-600 feet below. Several motorcycles were making the most of the road.

Continuing on, the road reveals itself as a very tight winding, hilly, narrow piece of blacktop that truly engages the senses. Oh, for that Porsche! Even on a Sunday there were several motorcycles and the occasional car enjoying this ribbon of tarmac. A lookout point was full of motorcycles and riders checking out the road below where many bikes were screaming up the road then showing off by doing wheelies or front wheel stands past the crowd at the lookout.

I eventually found the unpaved section and walked fast for awhile but the day was getting late.

Mulholland drive has been featured in many movies (usually runaway cars without brakes) and is actually the name of a movie. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is a good example. Lynch's movie Mulholland Drive is one of his most understandable and gives a good feel of Los Angeles moviedom (sic). Lynch was responsible for Twin Peaks, a serial on TV, The Straight Story, Blue Velvet, Dune, Elephant Man, and his first, Erazerhead among others. For a complete listing click here.

Mind you , not everyone feels that he is the movie messiah, check out I HATE DAVID LYNCH!

When I first arrived in LA I was a little disappointed with the public radio selections. However, this has changed as I listen more and find more. I am now (1/11/04 20:40 PST. NOTE: in England it would be 11/1/04. Confused?) listening to 89.9 Weekend Becomes Eclectic, an extremely varied selection of music (actually, I am listening to Open Road featuring rap and more urban themes but the selections reveal a wealth of talent, rap included). I am hooked.

Yesterday, I joined the LA Public Library system. Neat, modern building on Overland not far from me. One of the books I took was American Tabloid by James Ellroy. Wow. I have avoided him as he falls into the crime thriller category, not a theme I am really into but his style and breadth are amazing.

Raw language permeates a vividly constructed world that meshes fact, myth and imagination. I could barely put it down last night and I want to get back into the pre-assassination (JFK's) world so I will end here. Hasta la vista from me and Good bye from Arnie.

January 8th 2004

I have just returned from a great hike in the Topanga Canyon State Park. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains and actually falls within Los Angeles county. The park has over 11,000 very hilly acres with great views of the thick band of yellowy pollution that layers the valleys.

Warnings about not hiking alone because of mountain lions were summarily ignored and I proceeded to drag my poor body up to Eagle Point. I am a lot more out of condition than I thought. For those of you in cooler climates, today was a perfect 75 degrees, even at 2000 feet.

Mountain lions. Big cats, rarely seen by humans but there are usually instructions to not hike alone, keep your eye on children, don't bend down if you do see one and if you are attacked FIGHT BACK!

Anyway, on the news tonight two women were attacked (one badly bitten) and the body of a man was found after his bike was discovered at the side of a trail. He had been dead for several days. This happened in Orange county south of LA and it is believed the same lion is responsible for both attacks. Once they get a taste of human blood.....


When I left the park I drove south to the Pacific and then north on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) up through Malibu to find a stretch of beach to watch the sun go down. It was quite spectacular. As I was standing there watching the gentle surf I caught sight of three dolphins making their way toward the setting sun. Magic.

January 3rd 2004
LA is pretty interesting. Today I went to look at an area known as Baldwin Hills not far from my current apartment that actually has houses I can afford although I thought it would probably be very 'ethnic' and have gang related issues.

Note:
Further research has shown that Baldwin Hills does in fact have some gang activity (Crips), in fact the gang areas are defined as south of the Santa Monica Freeway (Route 10). On the bright side, most of the murder victims are also gang members.

Baldwin Hills is close to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. I had read something about this park. Slap bang in the middle of LA and an active oil field within its borders. You know, those nodding head pumps.

Any way I was not prepared for how spectacular it was. Kenneth Hahn was an LA Supervisor that noticed this area back in the 50's (I think) and won a political fight to have the area turned into a park as the oil wells fell dry. It has grown from 50 to 350 acres and they expect it to reach 1000 acres. It also housed athletes during the 1930(2?) Olympics.

Very steep trails present quite a challenge but are very welcome as I have done nothing very energetic for a couple of months. In fact some of the trails are quite precipitous, narrow and worn away by water run-off. Incredible views or LA, especially downtown with snow capped peaks in the distance. Unfortunately I did not have the camera. I shall return!

January 2nd 2004
Great News!
My truck passed California emissions! Can hardly believe it. I am really surprised. Pleased but surprised. I got it California insured on Wednesday just need to get it registered then all I need is a license! I'll be legal.

January 1st 2004
Happy New Year!!
Good news! LA is now the third most violent city in the US. Surpassed by Chicago (#1) and New York (#2).

The police chief requested that when 12 o'clock midnight arrives bringing in the New Year we all refrain from firing our truck stopping weaponry into the night sky. Apparently 44 people have died since 1986 though this method. But, as the chief pointed out many more die by the more usual method. So, REJOICE!!!

At last I have found food price stability. There is a grocery store called "Whole Foods Market" that I had tried to get into on Christmas eve. Yeah, right. Did I tell you what parking is like in LA? I seriously believe 350,000 vehicles HAVE to be in motion at any one time as there are not enough parking spaces. Anyway, I gave up and went home. Today I returned to find ample parking and a great place for groceries.

A bit like Bread and Circus (this rings a bell, did they buy out B&C?) and wonder of wonders I picked up Kashi Good Friends cereal for $1.99 as opposed to $4.15 at any of the other big 3. This is nuts as Whole Foods is a high quality, organic, holistic market with fun stuff. On Monday they have a "Healthy Mind Healthy Body" hypnosis workshop. Well, what do you expect? This is Los Angeles.

They have a great selection of fresh vegetables and fruit as well.

Job search is going pretty well. At least there are jobs I can feel pretty good about applying for. Of course, no responses yet.

I bought a great new printer the other day. A Canon i860. $149.99 and stunning photo prints even from my 1.3 meg Olympus.

I am know using PBASE to display photographs. Check them out!

As before, click on the Photo Albums menu item on the left or click here to view the photographs.

No more logging in to view.

I am STILL using a low resolution camera so most of these images will print best as 6x4 or 5x7.

I have been looking at the Olympus C-750, Canon G3/5 etc.

Follow the links on the menu bar or the on-page navigation.

If anyone has any thoughts please feel free to email me at jef@lunadance.com on cameras, travel or this site (in fact anything) please let me know. There is only so much time to carry on blindly going where no one else wants to (t)read.

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To get an idea of the area around Portland put in my ZIP; 97239, or your own area.


For several years I have been a paying supporter of a really cool add on to Internet Explorer known as NetCaptor by Stilesoft. Netcaptor goes where Microsoft IE can only dream of going. The biggest change is the use of a tabbed browser window. This allows multiple windows to be open and easily accessible by clicking on the required tab. Captor groups allow you to group like sites together including a start-up group.

Easy to use blocking of pop-ups and other websites remove lots of frustration.

Check it out. No, I don't get paid for this!