July 27, 2008

  • 21 things

    1. The
      best things in life are given freely. 
      The converse isn’t true, though. 
      Not everything that’s free is good.
    2. (I
      forgot.)
    3. Honesty
      is still the best policy, with limited exceptions.
    4. Not
      all questions get answered, or can be answered.  Don’t ask, “Are we there yet?”  You’ll know when you’ve arrived
    5. There
      are some things you know at 12 that have slipped your mind by the time you
      turn 21.  That’s OK, it’s called “growing
      up.”
    6. It’s
      worthwhile to take care of your body. 
      For example: putting on sunblock daily

    Not everything
    fits neatly into categories.

    1. That
      said, make use of mental heuristics—it saves lives.
    2. Things
      aren’t as bad as they first seem.
    3. When
      you most want to shut yourself away from the world is when you need to
      reach out to someone.
    4. The
      past won’t change even if you worry over it.
    5. Love
      is more importantly something you do, not something you feel.
    6. Happiness
      is a choice.
    7. Loneliness
      doesn’t have to be a lasting feeling. 
      If you put yourself in the company of others, you might make another
      person’s day.
    8. You
      can’t change another person’s beliefs but you may have yours.
    9. People
      don’t pay as much attention to you as you may think.
    10. Always
      look at the big picture.  See No. 8
    11. A
      smile is your best accessory.
    12. Sometimes…
      if you don’t feel like doing work at the moment, do it later.
    13. The
      best cure for a nosebleed is to raise your arms and wait for it
      to pass (really).
    14. Being
      slow to speak and quick to listen can get you farther than the other way.
    15. It’s
      worthwhile to take responsibility for who you are and what you do.

    Have a great day!

July 20, 2008

    • Mulan is still my favorite Disney® movie, but Ratatouille comes a close second:

    • I never understood the appeal of beaches until coming to California.  Now I love them!


                                                                                                                     Taken 2/9/2007
    I would love to go boogie boarding...

    All you need is a board, fins, and some good waves !!

July 13, 2008

  • What steps can average people take to live a "greener" life? Do you have any tips to share?

    Waha!  I just skimmed through 54 answers: 1. Use reusable grocery bags instead of using plastic bags; 2. Recycle (I heard styrofoam is now recyclable??  Anyone know?); 3. Take military style showers (rinse with water, turn off water, scrub, then turn water back on to rinse off); 4. Turn off lights when not in use; 5. Use fluorescent lightbulbs, the swirly ones; 6. Use mass transit/Walk (woot!); 7. Unplug appliances when not in use (from phone chargers to printers to fans)

    Some other ideas that may be worthwhile: compost waste; buy a hybrid car (and importantly, try to keep it going on "electric" as long as you can); don't open the refrigerator (just) to look inside it; adjust the A/C according to outside temperature rather than keeping it the same every day; dry your clothes on a clothesline; use cloth diapers; consume less meat.

    Oh, and perfect time to plug this: http://www.edf.org/documents/1980_pocket_seafood_selector.pdf
    It tells you what are the best, OK, and worst choices to make when buying seafood.
    Example: consuming Alaskan or wild but not Atlantic salmon

    Addendum: Bring Tupperware instead of using restaurants' take-out boxes.
       

    I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

July 10, 2008

  • I watched the beginning of jury selection today.  It was very interesting, but it's also a very sad case.  The charge is vehicular manslaughter... Dept 1 was packed... Ben and I stood in the back as we listened to Judge Frank Ochoa make statements regarding what's expected of the jurors should they be selected for jury service.  The clerk named twelve individuals at random who then took seats in the jury box.  The period of questioning (voir dire?) painted cursory glimpses of who the people were... Owning a wine and liquor store or having a spouse who used to work in the Sheriff's Department were grounds for excusing two potential jurors from service after they admitted these facts may cause them to be biased..

July 8, 2008

  • It looks like I won't be getting a summer job after all.  With about three weeks left before I leave SB, I can understand why people would be reluctant to hire me.

    We're still having power outages.  We had one this morning for half an hour.  I'm getting used to them

July 6, 2008

  • The Gap fire has been burning since Tuesday night.  On Wednesday I stepped off the bus to what looked like snow -- but it was dry.  Air quality has deteriorated because of the ash floating outside.

    This is what the view outside my window was (to the left):

    I took these pictures on Thursday.

    This was the view from my window (to the right):

    --
    My parents are going to Taiwan (mission trip, and other) on Sunday late at night/Monday morning.  They'll be gone until late July.

July 2, 2008

  • How To Knit

    Double Cast-On aka Long-Tail Cast-On aka Continental Cast-On
    Slipknot... Loop around left thumb and left forefinger, pull yarn through hole away from self.
    Tail end of yarn should be toward you.  Insert (left) needle into slipknot.  Tighten.
    Make a triangle with the yarn with the thumb, forefinger, and (left) needle.
    Go under thumb, over forefinger, and loop out under thumb.  Tighten.
    Repeat for as many stitches the pattern calls for.

    Knit Stitch - American method aka English method aka "Throw" method (produces Garter Stitch)
    Hold left needle with the cast-on in your left hand.
    Insert right needle under the front leg of the first stitch of the left needle (from left to right, make sure you're not going over and under, but under and out); right needle goes behind left needle.
    Loop yarn counterclockwise around right needle.
    Right needle goes under the first stitch of the left needle.
    Slip old stitch off left needle.  Tighten.
    Repeat for the rest of the row.

    Knit Stitch - Continental method (produces Garter Stitch)
    is using the left hand to control the flow and tension of the yarn.
    After cast on, hold yarn and left needle in left hand.  Insert right needle under the front leg of the first stitch of the left needle (from left to right, make sure you're not going over and under, but under and out); right needle goes behind left needle.
    Wrap the yarn (in your left hand) away from you around the right needle.
    Right needles goes under the first stitch of the left needle.
    Slip old stitch off left needle.  Tighten.
    Repeat for the rest of the row.

    Knit Stitch - Combined Knitting and Purling
    is when the leading edge is the back leg.

    Purl Stitch - American method aka English method aka "Throw" method
    provides you with the same resulting stitch as the knit stitch, if you were to look at the knit stitch on the reverse side.  You are ready to purl after having done the knit stitch; if you turn the left needle facing right, purl knobs should be facing you.  The yarn should dangle off both ends of your work: one is the tail end, one leads to the ball of yarn.
    Place left needle with work in left hand (like usual).  The difference is, you insert right needle down and under the first stitch on the left needle (the usual place, but different approach); right needle should be above left needle.
    Loop yarn counterclockwise around right needle toward you.
    Right needle goes under and up through the first stitch on the left needle.
    Slip old stitch off left needle.  Tighten.
    Repeat for the rest of the row.

    Purl Stitch - Continental method
    After cast on, hold yarn and left needle in left hand.  Insert right
    needle under the front leg of the first stitch of the left needle (from right to left, make sure you're going over and under, not under and
    out); right needle goes in front of left needle.
    Wrap the yarn (in your left hand) toward you (counterclockwise) around the right needle.
    Right needles goes under the first stitch of the left needle.
    Slip old stitch off left needle.  Tighten.
    Repeat for the rest of the row.

    Stockinette Stitch
    Do a knit stitch row, then purl back one row.

    Binding off
    Approach the first two stitches like a knit stitch.  Make sure your stitches are loose.
    Take your left needle and go under (from left to right) the first stitch (stitch closer to you).  As you slide the stitch off the right needle, have the right needle go over the second stitch and end up under the first stitch.  Slide the stitch off the left needle.
    Knit the next stitch.  Repeat sequence with the left needle.  Each repeat results in another bounded off stitch.
    Repeat for the rest of the row.

June 30, 2008

June 29, 2008

  • I made curtains for my room!  They're a dark shade of green, but turn lighter when the SUN is streaming through!  It was a whole-afternoon project.  They didn't take that long to make.  Ahh, so much fun, arts and crafts.

    Amberly and I went out exploring yesterday.  We found some wetlands... and facilities management and... the back of the San Clemente housing heheh.. I wonder if someone could make a profit opening a lemonade stand next to the baseball games... $2 a cup!  hahha...

    Having trouble deciding where to eat for lunch?  Try the Wheel of Lunch!

June 25, 2008

  • So some people are considering a home closer to cities rather than having an exurban commute, because of rising gas prices.  I would like it simply because I support the public transportation system...  A mom says that still, she's not moving because she likes that she can open the door and her kids can play.  For some others, I'm guessing the city's reputation for crime, pollution, and traffic is a deterrance...

    Today I served subpoenas to two witnesses in a criminal case.  The other guy did the talking.  I felt a little like we were investigators on one of those prime time crime shows..

    I sat in on court afterwards and watched a preliminary hearing with a victim, Mr. Gomez, at the stand... The questioning wasn't hard to understand, but it was tedious because every detail had to be clarified.  The wording of things was very important.  Things were said "for the record," so that someone reading the transcript later would know the visual details that are not obvious to someone who wasn't there.