My Journal

Thinking of shutting this blog down... who reads it?

2011-09-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

I am strongly inclined towards shutting this blog down in favor of Google+. Does anyone object?

Tenth anniversary of 9/11

2011-09-11T01:43:00.000-07:00

I'm in a majority Muslim country for 9/11, savoring Pakistani and Arabic food yesterday and today. I'm surrounded by Arabic and Iranian tourists (who come to Malaysia for the shopping & beer, I am told). Many of the Arab women are completely veiled... this creeps the hell out of me. This is the most improbable of places to be on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, yet here I am.

The other day, I took out my U.S. Passport and looked at the quotations contained within that the have for decoration, you know, the ideals that will still don't always live up to, those quotations... and I was seized by a desire to be home.

Friday in Brunei

2011-09-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

We had a good day in the office; lunch at the oil company club; a little coffeebreak Hara Raya celebration. Afterwards, I met some lesbian rabbits (truly), referred to by their owners as "bitches, sluts, slappers"*. Those little slappers just loved to dig tunnels in the dirt and then try to hump each other, even though all were female. Then we went to a birthday part for a man with a very public phallus obsession, and we drank black market beer & wine (Brunei is dry).

Expats living in tropical Third World countries are truly a breed apart. That's about all I can say about that.

The campus was interesting. Oil production, pumpjacks, pipelines, hydrocarbon spilled on the ground right there mixed together with schools, offices, playgrounds, houses.

Kuala Belait was very calm and quiet, which I appreciated after KL, but the hotel was miserable! Nothing wrong with it physically, and it was in a nice location, but the service was just so poor! It was dirty! It was demoralizing. I was the only guest!

The border between Brunei and Malaysia is so strange; it doesn't seem like a border cross. It's like two deserted shopping malls that back up to each other, connected by an alley or driveway. Weird. Doesn't feel like a border crossing at all.

I am back in KL tonight. I ate at Paradise Pakistani Restaurant, it was delicious, and a big plate of buffet dinner cost $4.

* slapper: n slut. Person on the prowl for anything they can get. Anything. The word is applied more often to females, arguably because it is a built-in function of blokes and doesn’t deserve a separate word. Slappers wander around the dance floor looking for the drunkest blokes and then, when they’ve found them, woo them by dancing backwards into them “accidentally.” They are invariably spotted at the end of an evening telling the bouncer how lonely they are and trying to sit on his knee.

Busy week, now in Brunei

2011-09-08T03:17:00.000-07:00

I had a very busy week at the office in KL. I've made my by air over to Brunei for meetings tomorrow, then back to KL on Saturday. I'll be working in the hotel over the weekend, but I'm going to get out Sunday for some shopping; I want to get a Malaysian men's shirt.

Little Penang Kafe

2011-09-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

I had dinner at Little Penang Kafe on the 4th floor of the KLCC Shopping Center. Curry noodles with prawn and fish balls, and more fish ball soup. Not low in purines! It was delicious for about $5.

Houston to KL - what a bruising journey

2011-09-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

I flew from Houston non-stop to Amsterdam on the Big Blue Boy, a 747-400. It was nice in business class, the only weird thing was this dessert which I swear was a chocolate & flour hockey puck. Ugh. What were they thinking?

Again, like my Emirates to Dubai flight earlier in 2011, it was extremely bumpy transiting the Atlantic at the high latitudes. So I had the exact same dreams I had at that time... dreams of flying really fast at ground level or tree top level, flying under bridges, that sort of weird stuff.

I opened my eyes as were were flying over England in the early morning light.

I can't stand this having to go to a transfer desk to get your next boarding pass thing. That's so analog. I expect to see typewriters, carbon paper, and mimeograph machines.

The flight to KL was an hour late out of Schipol, due to air traffic control problems. The waiting area was completely inadequate for the Malaysian 747-400. Right, what's all this nonsense about flying more Airbus A-380s, when you can't handle a 747? The Malaysian business class service was stellar. Aircraft was a bit threadbare... scuff marks, fingerprints, and damaged carpets.

I wrote a good portion of my manuscript long-hand on a notepad. This is going to be a short little book.

I am so jet-lagged right now, it's not funny. I am going down to get some noodles, it's 11:30 AM in KL on Sunday. I left home Friday noon, and got here Sunday morning. My whole Saturday evaporated. I guess I get it back when I travel back to my side of the date line.

Encryption

2011-08-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

I am now running encfs encryption on a key folder on my Ubuntu box; all of our personal & financial data. When I think of how wide open I was before, it's rather frightening.

Furnace Houston

2011-08-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

We flew non-stop Seattle-Houston. It was 104 degrees F when we landed. What a disincentive to return! 146 more months, 146 more months, 146 more months.

Last day

2011-08-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

The girls went skating, I went blackberry picking with my Mom in Magnuson Park. It was lots of fun.

Mt. St. Helens Tuesday

2011-08-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice walk on the northern edge of Coldwater Lake. Lovely wildflowers. Lots of trout jumping in the lake. Cloudless weather.

Mt. St. Helens Monday

2011-08-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Drove down I-5 to 505 to MSH. Stunning, dramatic views of the crater. We took a long walk from the David Johnston Observatory. Lots of wildflowers. No snow at the level of the Observatory, but plenty up on the mountain. Stayed at Mt. St. Helens Motel again, had pizza at Pete's in Castle Rock. Raw tomato slices on the pizza?

Big family picnic

2011-08-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Big family picnic at Magnuson today. Lots of yummy food. Gorgeous weather. Leslie and I picked blackberries.

Pike Place Market

2011-08-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Picked P. and K. up from Talaris Convention Center, and we went to Pike Place Market, ate at the Crab Pot, saw the Aquarium, and generally hung around.

Mt. Rainier

2011-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

The four of us drove up to Rainier today, it was great except Leslie broke through some soft, rotten snow which was bridging over a culvert and got a bruise. Very scary. There was lots of snow up at Paradise, and no flowers of any kind, sort of like 2009.

Crab boats

2011-08-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

The girls went skating, I went with my sister to walk her dog at the Magnuson dog park. Nice property!

We went to see the crab boats at the Port of Seattle Fisherman's Terminal, but we did not see any boats from "Deadliest Catch". We did see Captain Phil Harris' name on a memorial plaque, however.

Houston to Portland to Seattle

2011-08-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

We flew a jetliner from Houston to Portland, then took an Embraer twin turboprop from Portland to Seattle. We got a great view of Estes Park, CO and Mt. St. Helens, WA. I pretty much know exactly where I am in the Western US just based on the geomorphology. Taking a 3.5 hour plane ride for me is like taking a 3.5 hour bike ride through the country, I just love watching it all move slowly by.

The coming default crisis

2011-07-16T15:49:00.001-07:00

I think I'm ready for the default crisis, as ready as is humanly possible. I moved chunks o' money over to ETFs which track the Canadian and Australian stock indices (EWC & EWA). I moved part of my daughter's college cash into the Canadian dollar. I'm not moving into any Euros, though. My plan is, if the shit hits the fan, to watch everyone panic, then over a several month period gradually rebalance the portfolio at what is hopefully the panic bottom, while watching the VIX carefully. If nothing happens, then I'll just gradually rebalance to normal configuration over several months...

MFAH trip

2011-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Carlos Cruz-Diez: Color in Space and Time - VERY COOL

Charles Ledray: workworkworkworkwork - loved the 2,000 miniglazed ceramic pieces and the mini hats!

Picturing the Senses in European Art - Lots of hunted hares, the bourgeoisie were not allowed to hunt (it was a royal preserve), but they could own the art!

Titian - (ugh)

Black Lab after the museum. Trifle, bread pudding, chocolate brownie, and tea

Ethanol nonsense

2011-06-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Congressman Culberson,

It's incredible to me that EPA would approve E15 ethanol fuel, which is nothing but a stocking-stuffer for the corn lobby. E15 will harm my pre-2001 car. It will give me poorer fuel economy, corn ethanol raises food prices, it wastes topsoil and fresh water, and it doesn't even make the USA energy independent. Ethanol is at the energy break-even point. It's completely pointless. Can't we just stop the ethanol nonsense? Thank you,

Peter Wang

Corpus Christi trip

2011-06-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 6/26/11: Drove from Houston to Hampton Inn on N. Padre Island. Always fun going over the Aransas Pass ferry. Late afternoon on the beach. Dinner at Doc's by the Intracoastal Waterway. It was a very long wait for food. It was mediocre, and that's being generous.

Monday, 6/27/11: Alex was snoring so loudly the paint was flaking off the walls, so I left the room at 3 AM to go fishing. I caught three Skipjacks, these little fish put up one heck of a fight! Two more got away, one might have been something bigger than a Skipjack, it was pretty hefty and it bit through the line. Later that day, I brought the family, and Audrey caught a Sand Sea Trout and a Pinfish. I caught a couple Atlantic Spadefish. We watched the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field, which was fine until the 8th inning when they imploded and got creamed by the Frisco Rough Riders after having been up 2-0. The final was 3-6, I think. We didn't stay until the end, it was too depressing. Nice small-town feel to the ballpark, though. A real slice of Americana. Everyone should go to a Minor League Ballgame!

Tuesday, 6/28/11: Texas State Aquarium, lunch at Water Street Seafood Company. Beach afternoon. Dinner was veggie pizza (good) from local place across from hotel and leftover from Water Street. 10 PM went out for fishing but I was SO TIRED and it was windy and nothing was biting. Went to hotel midnight.

Wednesday, 6/29/11: Short morning beach trip. Fantastic lunch at Green Papaya, Corpus. Superb pan-asian restaurant. Then the long drive home.

Great little vacation.

Febuxostat

2011-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Took 40 mg Febuxostat yesterday, 6/20/11, at dinner time. Next day, didn't feel so good. Tongue felt swollen, hard to swallow, mouth felt dry. Called doctor's office asking for guidance. Discontinued it and took some Loratadine.

Wednesday in Vienna

2011-05-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Very tiring day at EAGE. Feet are just about dead. Extremely busy; lots of inquiries from clients. Hey, that is what we wanted, right?

No social events today. I took a quiet dinner at Wienerwald, which is kind of like the Austrian equivalent of Denny's. Then I took a stroll by St. Stephan's cathedral, which was really spectacular. They are in the midst of renovating it, and what they've renovated to date looks spectacular and clean. It's more like they've been remanufacturing it, rather than just cleaning it.

Tuesday in Vienna: Palace-hopping and Sachertorte

2011-05-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was HOT in Vienna. Really hot and sweaty. It wasn't really fun dressed in wool clothing, especially strap-hanging on the underground on the afternoon commute. But, I survived.

The fun was in the evening. The company rented out the entire Albertina Museum, which was a beautiful Hapsburg palace very close to the Staatsoper. It was just a stunning venue; it really took my breath away to be in there, to be sitting in the rooms where the Hapsburgs used to hang out, dropping crumbs on their rugs, etc. We had a private tour of "Monet to Picasso: The Batliner collection", which was great. We had beautiful food and wine. The sparkling wine was good, a bit sweet.

Afterwards, I went to the Sacher Hotel, and tried the Sacher Torte, but I didn't like it. I figured out why as I read the history of the cake recipe. It's from 1832; that's the clue. Those were pre-refrigeration days. That is why it was dry and overly sweet to my modern palate. Just like Christmas fruitcakes and rumcakes and Yorkshire puddings that are traditional but nobody really thinks they are haute cuisine, I think Sacher Totre had to be strong enough to survive trans-shipment by carriage, and later by train, which took a long time. It had to be physically strong, and overly sweet in order to be self-cured (sugar cured). So for someone in the 21st Century, it's an anachronism. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I was feeling like not only eating central European food, so earlier in the day I found a Chinese buffet near Schwedenrplatz. The Wien Messe food lines were ridiculous, so I abandoned that place and jumped on the U-bahn.

Day one of EAGE was fine, it was busy and a long day to be on one's feet. OMV hired ~20 year old feamle models dressed in coveralls (but only the trousers, mind you) and tight tank tops to hang around their booth, and I didn't actually expect it from a major European corporation, it was not at all PC for the year 2011; maybe for the year 1975. Petrobras or PEMEX, yes, I would expect it from them. A bit distracting, but not in a bad way. This actor who was working for them reciting their little corporate speech was intoning it all day long, it must have been so boring. Poor guy, I thought, he must be a drama student, and this is how he has to pay the bills. I wonder if he speaks English, or whether he is reciting English phonetically, like ABBA used to sing.

Monday in Vienna

2011-05-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

Had breakfast at the hotel, nice European breakfast. Took the U-bahn, registered for the convention at Messe Wien. Set up my part of the booth. Went for lunch with Jon & Mrs. Miller, Matt at Cafe Raimund across from the Volkstheater. I had 0.500L of wheat beer, a fantastic Goulash soup, and potato dumplings filled with I kid you not, bacon bits, served on a bed of tender sauerkraut.

The Messe Wien hall was really warm. The AC was not keeping up, I was sweating even with my jacket off. We had a good cocktail reception. After coming come on the metro, I lingered for a while at Stadtpark, watching the sun go down.

The Viennese police were questioning some guys in the park. One of them was in the cop car, he was swearing. The other one they let go. Yes, they do carry pistols, unlike the British cops.

First day in Vienna

2011-05-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun today in Vienna. I took a bus & the U-bahn (underground) to the hotel from the airport, getting in mid-morning - they had a room for me immediately!

I had a look at the small Wien Museum. Some nice things there... I liked the suits of armor. I went and found lunch at a cafe kitty-corner from the Staatsoper (State opera house). I had the obligatory Wiener Schnitzel. This fueled me up for the three hour bike tour, pictures here.

It was a really nice day, very sunny and warm (about 80F). It was a lot of fun.

Then for dinner I found a wurst stand and had a spicy smoked sausage, a Kaiser roll, and a Coke on a park bench Stadtpark for 5.90 Euros. Really nice sausage... really nice mustard... really nice roll. Mmmmmm...

My only slightly negative was that Austrian Airlines' planes are old & beat up (well-worn 767 with tiny overhead luggage compartments), and their Toronto ground team sucked! But the cabin service was fine. We didn't become fish food for North Atlantic cod.

Emirates Airlines business class

2011-03-03T04:08:00.000-08:00

Hot hand towels, champagne offered upon boarding. Huge chairs that fully recline to beds. So much leg room you could not kick the seat in front of you. I had a lobster appetizer, my pasta main course didn't turn out too well, though (dried out). Nice wine list. Fromage plate for dessert, with port. Amazing media & entertainment center. Pretty & helpful flight attendants (not being sexist here - the guys were handsome, too). I hear they fire them after age 35 or if they get too fat. I guess they don't have a union!!!

Reflections on Saudi Arabia

2011-03-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

From my position as a male foreign business traveler, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia is a fine place. You can walk around at night, and not get robbed and assaulted. You can drink the water from the tap (it's from the desalination plant). The food is great; how can you say no to hummus, lamb, olive oil, garlic, and pita bread? The hotels are clean and comfortable. It's nice to walk the seaside pathway / park next to the Arabian Gulf, which lined with palm trees. The weather in late February is excellent; sunny, and not too hot. We actually had a few raindrops.

But it's sad and depressing at the same time, because you go into a nice restaurant, and there are no couples having dinner. You see guys. Guys, guys, and guys. Women and children go through a separate "family" entrance. Families do not sit together in the same place as men who are there without their families. The office is all guys. The whole setup is just psychologically screwed-up. What can I say? And it must be boring over an extended period of time, sort of like living in Oklahoma City.

The security procedures taken at work are considerable and intimidating. Barriers and screening to prevent car bombs. Mandatory blast radii. Armored safe rooms. But, people get killed in Houston all the time at the hands of some punk. How many non-military foreigners have actually died at the hands of terrorists in Saudi Arabia? None? A few? I don't know, but it must be a very small number. I wasn't worried about Al-Qaeda. I wasn't worrying about much of anything. It was pretty carefree.

Our driver said that traffic deaths in Saudi were excessive. The drivers didn't seem much worse than Houston, which means they are awful, but not like Delhi, where you pray to Shiva before you get in the car. Most dangerous is the tendency to make left turns from the right lane, and thereby cut off people going straight, or other people turning left who don't have ESP to know that they need a tighter turn radius. Actually, there are so many Indo-Pak workers and truck drivers here, the locals say that most of the bad driving is imported from the subcontinent. I believe that assertion. Maybe in addition to the mandatory HIV test required for a work visa, they should require a reckless driving screening test.

After the king dies, there is going to be change in Saudi Arabia. Let's hope so. Women being able to drive, dress as in other Arab lands, and work outside the home, vote, and own property would be great steps forward. They don't have to legalize alcohol, porno, etc., just femininity. Oh yes, religious freedom would be good, too. The king appeared on TV. He didn't look good. He looked weak after medical treatments and three months of recovery in the US and Morocco. It won't be long. If they make those changes, then I think Saudi Arabia would be much better place to live for expat workers. Even so, I rate present-day Dhahran above other places I've been to recently - Luanda, Rio, Mumbai, Delhi, and Jakarta - because of crime, malaria, and air and water pollution.

And the women will probably end up being better drivers than the men, as usual.

Tenth anniversary at Schlumberger

2011-02-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a banquet honoring my promotion and 10th Schlumberger anniversary, and also other people's promotions and anniversaries. The company took employees and spouses to Smith & Wollensky. Leslie and I both had filet mignon. I received a 10 year pin, and a crystal plaque with my Principal rank on it, and they gave Leslie a bouquet of beautiful fresh flowers. Our human resources manager was over from the UK, and she was just gushing about how happy she was to see all of us accomplish our career milestones.

One guy was celebrating 35 years with the company, he said he was overjoyed that Schlumberger bought the company several years ago, because "finally it's in the hands of an outfit that knows how to make money" (previous owners lost money and ran it into the ground). Amen to that!

Another who just joined but was receiving a special award said that in his previous companies he felt intellectually isolated, but now he feels like he's surrounded by employees of such incredible depth that "the sky's the limit".

The guests were male, female, from America, France, England, Colombia, Egypt. Schlumberger really wins by taking advantage of diversity, and it wins big.

What a great place to work. Moving to Schlumberger (and staying) were the best career decisions I've ever made.

My 24 hours at the World Buddhist Centre

2011-01-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

Getting there was the hard part! The hotel taxi (expensive) was piloted by a young kid who got himself quite lost in the area of the WBC. He was on the phone with his supervisor, trying to get directions on-the-fly, almost crashing a few times. He asked a half-dozen locals for directions, some of which were conflicting. He eschewed my offer to call the WBC for talk-in help.

This taxi experience was an example of the frustrating side of moving around India. For one thing, English proficiency is a lot more limited outside of the educated classes than Americans appreciate. For me, it was worse than going to Latin America, because at least I speak Spanish. Beyond language, there are other communications problems. If Indians don't understand you, or don't know the answer to your question, they automatically answer "yes", in order to avoid conflict, even if that falsified result sets the stage for more client dissatisfaction, and more conflict. At some point you have to pretty firm in order to get what you require, or else they will politely smile, ignore you, and do whatever comes easiest by default, which might royally suck.

But, thankfully, we did arrive, after a while, at about 11:00 am on Saturday, 15 January 2011.

The abbot, lamaji Tashi, kindly greeted me. From his voice, I knew we'd spoken over the phone. He is from a large monastery in Ladakh, and supervised the construction of WBC in 1994; it opened in 1995. I had a large double room all to myself, also a semi-private large bathroom. It was a huge change coming from a heavily-guarded five star hotel to budget third world accommodations. Note to self - next time I need to bring my own sheets, pillowcases, quick-dry towel, shower slippers, and warm slipper socks for the temple.

I spend the day doing Zen sitting and walking by myself in the Buddha hall, which was lovely. Here are some pictures. I listened to some of Zen Master Dae Gak's Dharma talks on my MP3 player. The traffic din ("horn OK please") was considerable and distracting. The Buddha hall was cold and musty. So zazen was quite a challenge (but then, isn't it always?).

Meals were a treat. Monks, a nun (the only Westerner who lives on His Holiness Dalai Lama's compound), and laypeople came from all over India and Asia representing Theravadan, Tibetan, and Zen traditions, and the WBC itself was sort-of Nichiren. The interactions were very warm and mutually informative. The WBC is truly an international meeting point.

A couple of the stories told by the guests were downright amazing. For example, the Tibetan nun reports that her teacher died, then resurrected himself, drank a cup of blood soup, and taught for two additional years before dying "for keeps" with an admonition that he was going off to the Tushita Heaven, and would not be available for future gigs with humankind. Another account; there is a 21 year old in the Nepalese forest who has been meditating for six years with food, drink, or shelter. Not even a sip of blood soup for this intrepid lad.

I mean really, how do you top those? "Well, I got a really great rate when I refinanced my mortgage?" And what do you say in reply? "Oooh, I gotta try resurrecting myself as soon as possible?" (hint - I am not superstitious at all. I don't believe in magic).

Something new for me - NA MU MYO HO REN GE KYO chanting with a gigantic Taiko drum being struck two meters from my head was both sublime and deafening. Note to self - study Cliff's Notes for the Lotus Sutra. NA MU MYO HO REN GE KYO seem to me to be a very powerful and engaging mantra. I keep hearing it as I go about my daily routine; it's like it is one of the interior sounds of the world. Most special.

I walked around the "East of Kailash" zone 'hood in back of WBC. Fairly upscale place, modern apartments, three-flats, and townhomes. Nice and tidy (by Delhi standards), convenient. You could walk five minutes and buy a knish... that is, a dosa. Yeah, it felt like some Asian neighborhoods in London.

Before noon on Sunday, 16 January, a nice taxi driver picked me up in an impossible tiny car with a 1.0 liter V2 diesel engine, and drove me back to Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airport is gorgeous; see a photo and read a story about the giant mudra hands in the international arrivals hall. Turns out he did not have a taxi permit, so I had to deputize him on-the-spot as a company driver so he would not be fined if caught by police. At least he didn't get lost like the clueless smiling kid.

Question for McDonalds - why does your restaurant at Indira Gandhi not accept credit cards? I was unable to sample the supposedly delicious McVeg with Cheese, which was highly disappointing.

Good times with trees at 2:15 AM!

2011-01-08T01:01:00.001-08:00

About 2:15 AM today, the sirens woke up the dead, including me. I flipped on the scanner, and heard the FD mention "extricating and transporting victims", then "a 23 y.o. combative male", and "Life Flight's ETA in 15 minutes", and that the incident was somewhere on Longenbaugh east of Baker-Cypress and west of Queenston.

I couldn't stay in bed for all that! I threw on a jacket, my helmet, hopped on my bike and tore off through the empty streets.

I heard the "thud thud" of the big Life Flight chopper, I looked up and over my shoulder, it was flying low and searching for the landing zone (LZ). It hovered for a moment, was looking for the LZ, found it, then diverted over the where the LZ really was (I think the pilot had coordinates for the nearest major intersection, B-C). I followed the bird in as he landed.

Well, some drunk / high / tired young person had wrapped his big Dodge Ram truck around a tree, south side of Longenbaugh, 300 yards east of West Copper Lake Drive. Guess what, the tree always wins. In a few minutes, Life Flight took off again; the rotor wash was chilly (51 degrees F air temp).

I rolled back home. Now I am writing this. Back to bed, flying to Dubai tomorrow.

Let's build the Patterson / Eldridge Shared Use Trail!

2010-12-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

This project will directly and greatly benefit bicyclists in the Cy-Fair area. There is going to be a lot of competition for TIP funding. Many bicycle projects have been submitted, and most will not be funded.

Please send your letters of support to publiccomments@h-gac.com

Subject: TIP projects, Patterson / Eldridge Shared-Use Trail

In your own words, please describe why you think this is a good project, how you and your neighbors will benefit from it, and why you think it should be funded instead of the many other bicycle & pedestrian projects being considered for funding.

Personally, I think it's an extremely important project to fund because there is now essentially zero north-south bicycle connectivity from the Cy-Fair residential areas into the Energy Corridor District. So even if someone lives reasonably close-by to work, commuting a short distance down Eldridge Parkway in their car, there is currently no safe way for them to mode-switch to a bicycle commute, given an average level of bicycling skills. This trail will allow them to do that.

The areas north of the Energy Corridor District, and north of I-10, were designed in recent decades using the "suburban sprawl" model. They feature very poor bicycle connectivity. This trail will be an important piece of infrastructure which will improve the quality of life in these subdivisions.

This facility will relieve congestion along the horribly congested Eldridge Parkway, reduce air pollution, improve access to recreational facilities, increase property values near the trail, and most importantly, will improve human health.

Official Description of the Project:

This shared-use trail is proposed to extend the City of Houston Cullen Park Trail beginning at Patterson Road and SH-6 approximately 1.9 miles north of IH-10. The trail will follow the north side of Patterson Road eastward 1.8 miles to N. Eldridge Parkway. The trail will continue southward approximately 1.7 miles to the Addicks Dam along the east side of the City’s N. Eldridge Parkway roadway easement along an earthen berm separated from the roadway. A boardwalk and Eldridge Parkway underpass diverts the trail to follow switch back maintenance roads on both sides of Eldridge Parkway over the dam. There is a western connection to the Terry Hershey Park Trail and beyond to the Addicks Park and Ride Lot and an eastern connection to the Addicks Dam Trail behind ConocoPhillips and Shell Oil to Chatterton.

Here's the link to the West Houston Trails page. There is an interactive proposed trails map there:

http://www.energycorridor.org/west-houston-trails/

This letter-writing campaign is a private project of Peter Wang LCI, and is not financially supported by the Energy Corridor District or any other entity in any way.

Weather problems, but I profited... then dinner

2010-11-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to fly O'Hare to Warsaw, then Warsaw to Krakow.

The snow was so bad over Warsaw that we circled for 1.75 hours over Warsaw... then made a run for Krakow! Good thing Krakow and not Gdansk (the pilot discussed the possibility of Gdansk).

It took them an hour to pull luggage from the plane for all of us who disembarked, but I was happy to be there nonetheless.

An unscheduled, direct non-stop from Chicago to Krakow... what a deal!

They had also closed down the Frankfurt Airport, and were diverting traffic to Frankfurt to Krakow. Lots of unhappiness across Europe's airports today!

Hotel Classic is fine. Old Town Krakow looks like a fairy tale coated in fine sugary snow. Mr. Leszek took me out to dinner a few paces away from the hotel, I had a CLEAR beet soup, then two meatloaf patties topped with a creamy dill sauce, then mashed beets, and boiled potatoes covered with dill and butter. Then coffee. Very nice food. Such a contrast to the airline.

Really bad LOT flight to Warsaw

2010-11-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

My seat cushion was completely broken down. My a** was sitting on steel tubing. They had no way to fix it in Chicago, I had to change seats after everyone had boarded and the empty seats were then fair game.

The reading lights were out for the entire aircraft. We ate in the dark, and tried to read using ambient cabin lighting. Very romantic.

The food was the worst ever. I had a poached chicken breast with no sauce, nothing on it, on top of boiled white rice, and some cooked to death broccoli. Thank goodness I got a salt and pepper packet for free. Alcohol you had to pay extra for, I did not opt to pay, because I was afraid it might not be drinkable. My Diet Coke I received with no ice. I guess ice is expensive these days. Oh, and I also got two pieces of stale bread. I FELT LIKE I WAS EATING PRISON FOOD.

They had purchased this particular 1990s vintage Boeing 767 second-hand from VARIG Brazilian Airlines? How did I know this? Well, the signage in the bathrooms was in Portuguese. And the boot-up menu for the in-flight real-time GPS map map had a VARIG badge! They didn't bother to even change the branding on this aircraft! Good thing it wasn't Aeroflot, or I'd really be thinking I was back in Soviet days! And this GPS map was rolling and flickering... a lot!

Why on earth is LOT in the Star Alliance? And why did my company pay twice as much for my airfare as the guy sitting next to me? (He, $750 RT Chicago-Krakow. Me, $1500 houston-Krakow. WHY?)

Ham radio update

2010-10-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've ordered a Small Wonder Labs SW30 kit for 30 meter QRP CW. Not sure what kind of enclosure I'm going to put it into. Funky or functional?

For VHF/UHF, I dusted off the Alinco DR-605 dual-band rig, and the Yaesu VX-2R. The Alinco is fine. The VX-2R sync software doesn't work on Windows 7. No software for Linux. The radio doesn't have enough output power (1 watt on battery power). The battery state is ??? And I don't have a cigarette lighter plug. My goal is to run the HT from the home QTH in order to conserve power during an emergency, and to hit the NW Harris County ARES repeaters. I don't think the VX-2R is going to cut it. I've put it out on eBay, and have ordered a Yaesu FT-60R from Texas Towers, and Windows 7 compatible sync kit.

Because of distracted driving concerns, I don't plan to operate amateur radio in the car, though I will get the KF5ND license plates again. I never did take it out on the bike (added weight, and distracting).

I am going to take advantage of CEPT / USA license reciprocity and operate the VHF/UHF radio while in Krakow, Poland.

The flight to Calgary

2010-10-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

We flew over The Pink Dallas (Alex's baby-talk word for a certain hotel near DFW Airport), flew in front of Rocky Mountain National Park (Loveland), then I could see Yellowstone National Park about 100 miles off in the distance to the west... like a giant, looming fortress in the skies. Rockies in the background west of Calgary. Man, I love the West.

The Air Canada CRJ-705s are set up with lots of legroom. Very nice. It was a nice ride, really.

Had chicken curry for dinner at this hole-in-the-wall place. Was OK.

The currency exchange at YYC... Jesus, what a rip-off.

31 hours to get home

2010-09-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Lunched at the company guest house next door to the Hotel Continental, after I checked-out of the Hotel at noon. Worked my laptop most of the afternoon. Spent a few moments poolside
The driver picked me and Joel up. We had to cram into the back of a small, beat-up white pickup truck. At least it had the required seatbelts. In the fetal position, we barely fit. The driver and his friend were in the front, playing U2 and singing along loudly with Bono. What a strange scene
At the airport, as I was changing money back from Kwanza to Dollars, I was chatting with our onsite concierge guy and some locals about the local holiday, Heroes' Day. They were thrilled to find out that I knew who the first President of Angola was (Dr. Agostinho Neto). One drunk by-stander proudly proclaimed that whe was the second Angola President. I said, "felicitações" and shook his hand
Mosquitoes in the airport. I killed too and inspected them; they were not Anopheles. This entire process made Joel quite nervous
I paid US$ 35 for some really crappy food at the Luanda Airport
The mosquitoes joined us on the Lufthansa flight. A woman let out little yelps as the bugs swarmed onto her bare ankles and sandal-shod feet. I loaned her some of my 35% DEET lotion. I wrote a complaint to Lufthansa; they need to take better measures
The Frankfurt/Main airport polizei were there to greet a swarthy looking dude as we got off the plane
From Frankfurt to Houston, something happened. The flight attendants were reading the riot act to three swarthy dudes. They were pointing fingers in the passengers faces, and pointing fingers at their own eyes ("Look at me when I'm talking to you!") The big male German flight attendant wearing rubber gloves seperated them, taking one of them away to another part of the aircraft (are they allowed to handcuff passengers?). I was standing up for much of the flight, and I was giving them the total Asian Stare Evil Eye and they looked really sheepish, so I think they just maybe were drunk and overstepped (tried to pinch pretty blonde female German flight attendant? Who knows) and were living to regret it. Yep Dudes, you're going to Federal jail in Downtown Houston, former home of Enron executive Jeff Skilling. Or else you're going back to your home country of (fill-in-the-blank)
At Houston, two Customs & Border Protection officers boarded the plane as we were exiting. Moral - don't be an asshole to a flight attendant
A CBP beagle zeroed in on a lady's purse at baggage claim. She had an illegal undeclared piece of fruit. The officer lavishly praised his dog, and fed to two (presumably bacon) snacks. Bacon - the great motivator of dogs & men

Lisbon & Luanda

2010-09-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Lisbon airport was dingy in parts, OK in others. Not much food choice in Terminal Two near Gate 44. There was a really rude drunk Portuguese girl, who was cussing and yelling at people, including me. She drank beer after beer after beer. But finally, justice! They refused to let her board the plane to Luanda. What the hell was her deal?

I don't like the Continental Portuguese accent. It's too much like mumbling. I prefer the Brazilian accent, though honestly I like the Continental Spanish or Colombian accent better than any Portuguese.

Luanda's airport was nicer that Lisbon's. Our company drivers were nice. Lunch at the company's guest house in town was hearty and a great deal ($10).

My room at the Hotel Continental had windows open when I arrived, no window screens, and the bathroom window was jammed open. They fixed the window. The AC came on, and fortunately I didn't see any mosquitoes. I erected my mosquito bedscreen; the picture hanging above the bed had a nail I could use. The AC turned the room cold, which is just what I needed to suppress mosquitoes and the falciparum parasite.

At dinner, I was brought a little starter of tuna salad, with live ants in it! Ant salad! They brought me a new one, but it was warm. No thanks. The soup was good. The grilled grouper was excellent. Next night's dinner was excellent brochette of prawn & fish. They gave me two huge "appetizer" crepes. They were a dinner by themselves. The "Cuca" local lager beer is good.

Luanda is traffic hell because the traffic lights mostly don't work, but they are trying to fix them. It's pretty dangerous to drive or walk here.

It's cool to see women carrying large loads on their heads without using their hands at all, and dressed in colorful African clothes. That's neat. They were selling fruit on the sidewalks, but at exorbitant prices. $3 for a bunch of 6 or 7 bananas? This place really is expensive.

A high-quality Western-style condo rents for $15,000 per month. Per month. Who can pay for that?

There are lots of pretty buildings by the seashore, some of which are quaintly run-down, and some of which are outright slums, and some are brand-new office oil company towers, so I imagine that Havana looks like this place (Havana minus the oil company office towers).

Crawley, West Sussex, UK

2010-09-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Crawley is fine. A sleepy, unfancy middle-class town, but fine. Easy to get here by bus from Gatwick, a few nice pubs, easy to walk around. Sitting next to locals here in the White Hart pub, every other word begins with letter "F". Yep, a pint of Strongbow will adjust your attitude.

Jakarta

2010-08-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Jakarta was OK. Typical Third World shit hole. Better than Mumbai, however. Ungodly traffic, suicidal motorbikers. Good food. Terrorism threat (Jeemah Islamiyah) a constant concern, as every few years (2003, 2008, 2009) they have bombed Western hotels, including where we used to stay in the past. Our current hotel was run-down, smelly, the bed was worn-out, but it was cheap. The company accountants like that. Maybe it's not prestigious enough for Jeemah Islamiyah to go after.

Looking forward to Singapore Airport and also Perth!

Sunday in KL

2010-08-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

This morning (Sunday, 22 Aug 2010) I went to St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral for 7:00 am Eucharist. I took the monorail and light rail to get there and back, costing me about $3.60 round-trip. I was back in the hotel by 9:00 am. I have to check out at noon, then I need to hang around prior to going to the airport at 5:30 pm for a night flight to Jakarta, Indonesia, which is hope isn't like "The Year of Living Dangerously". If I see Linda Hunt while I'm there, then I'm going to freak out.

Collapse

2010-08-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

I've been working like a madman. I spent all Saturday morning working. Took a walk around KLCC Park, it was OK, but it was hot, and it wasn't really that interesting. Came back to the hotel, had a sandwich, and just collapsed into bed with fatigue and a headache. I guess it was cumulative exhaustion over the past week. So soon I'm going to start packing, then Eucharist tomorrow at the local Anglican church, then off to Jakarta. I have to check out at Noon, but cab picks me up at 5:30 pm. Fortunately, I had some books to read, and the hotel lobby is very comfortable.

Kuala Lumpur

2010-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

KL is clean and well-organized, people are polite. Airport spectacular like Dubai. Downtown reminds me of Honolulu. Crowne Plaza is a lovely hotel. Lots of restaurants in the hotel itself and nearby. Right next to Petronas Twin Towers. Last night went to Q Thai restaurant next door, it was good. Not terribly hot, but flavorful.

Most incredible breakfast bar ever at hotel this morning. Malay, Indian, Chinese, European, British/American foods. You could spend all day eating that one meal. I settled down with rice congee, 1000 year egg, and char shar bao. And bleu cheese. And smoked fish.

Had lunch today at a Ramen resaurant. It was OK. Then, bored of exciting food, I just went out to grab a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's down Jalan Sultan Ismail a ways.

Mumbai

2010-08-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Horrible poverty, congestion, traffic. It's heart-rending. You can't make this stuff up. "So many dirty things... you couldn't even believe". First shock; a homeless man unconscious in the airport parking lot, flies in his pus-filled sores. Shacks made of garbage built all the way to the runway. Naked children running through shack cities. This must be a Hindu karma-related belief, that allows the toleration of all this... that it's all in the natural order of things, or whatever. And for me, it was damn dangerous to cross the street. Everyone drives on the left, but they seem to come at you from all directions. My raingear and shoes are now monsoon baptized, though a poncho does let the legs get wet. What can you do? Tunga Hotel vegetarian restaurant was good; I had Spring Dosa and Ultimate Veg Pizza. I probably could've managed with just the Dosa. Tried a couple of Kingfisher beers at the Four Points bar; barhop was a nice fellow. Good thing I wasn't flying Kingfisher Airlines (also Indian), they tend to crash.

The traffic was ungodly to the airport, then the taxi got a flat, and his spare was flat. So he had to hand me off to a colleague who works for the same company-approved transportation contractor. Total time... 2.5 hours to get to airport. Security line was awful; line to change money was awful. But got on the plane on time.

India? I'm never going there for vacation, that's for sure. And I never want to live there.

And every lorry has painted on the back... "Horn OK Please". To me, that means, "Please use your horn". But it really means, "Don't honk at me".

Dubai Airport

2010-08-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing all-night luxury shopping mall. Not that I want to buy perfume, 24k gold, booze, or smokes, but it's fun to watch. Everyone from China to Europe is here. Took pictures of a Porsche for my girl. Had a snack at Cadiz tapas bar; was fair... kind of weird creamy gazpacho? Spicy papas good. Cod fritters very greasy. Sangria good. 102 degrees F at midnight outside. Thank Allah for AC. Watched Japanese get murdered by Lebanon (basketball) on Al-Jazeera Sports. Japanese not made for B-Ball.

Monday in Cairo

2010-08-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Had a good day at our Cairo office. People paid attention, despite fasting. Cairo airport a zoo, filled with pilgrims going to Mecca. Wet guys wrapped in towels after doing ablutions in the public toilets, leaving 1 cm standing water on the floor. No one eating or drinking, except infidels. Confusion about departure gate. Emirates Airlines is very nice. Their Asian veg meal was very good, in contrast to Continental. Definitely proof of the decline of America. Arabs not good at following crewmember instructions. No one obeys the rules.

The music

2010-08-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

I ate dinner in the hotel pizza bar overlooking the pool, which was a nice spot. In the hotel, a musician played the oud.

The musical scale they use really gets into a different part of your brain than the Western scale. It gets into the emotional centers. It sings to us in the same way in the same way that Spanish gitano music and dance speaks to us, because of the emotional content, and for the same reasons. I really felt the joie de vivre of this place, even just being in the hotel, listening to one man play the oud, observing families and friends celebrating iftar, and watching the Arabic pop music videos on TV. Said videos, by the way, feature some stunning young female beauties that we don't even see in the West. They look like Latin beauties.

Egypt feels like coastal Spain to me. It has a relaxed, enjoyable Mediterranean vibe to it. It's way more fun and easier to travel here than I thought it would be. And the food has flavor! And the weather is not worse than Houston, except it's 100 degrees and dry.

The trip to Cairo

2010-08-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

I flew Continental flight 34 from Houston to Heathrow on Saturday afternoon, 14 August 2010. I think it was a mistake to choose the Continental Airlines Hindu veg meal option. It wasn't very good. I was pining away for the regular pasta entree. Anyway, I nullified any benefit with a full English breakfast on Sunday morning at The Tin Goose, Heathrow; bacon, eggs, sausage, tomato, beans, mushroom, toast, coffee. I ate hugely because I wasn't sure when my next meal was going to be, nor how much, given Ramadan and everything. I don't like eating out in public when everyone else is fasting. I think it's inconsiderate, even if I am not a Muslim. Bought 2 L bottled water at WH Smith, which might last me into Tuesday. It was really confusing to get from LHR Terminal 4 to Terminal 1. Lots of bends and turns. The signs were good, but it was a hike. Heathrow is so huge, like Atlanta.

There was a Tesla electric sports car in display in the Heathrow lobby. I took a picture of it. That technology is going to change things.

I just slept all the way across Europe, waking up just as we were crossing over Athens and going out over the Aegean Sea. Saw some pyramids while flying in towards Cairo, three big ones, two minors ones. Someone told me that was Giza, it looked pretty small from the air. No scale reference points out in the desert plain.

The Cairo airport is nice and new; I'm staying in Heliopolis (~Galleria Area of Cairo), it's pretty nice here. Palm trees. People pretty laid back, friendly, helpful. But they honk their horns all the time, and they drive around at night with no lights on. What's that all about?

Reagan's Budget Director, David Stockman, says Bush tax cuts will bankrupt U.S.

2010-08-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

"Mr. STOCKMAN: Utterly disingenuous. I find it unconscionable that the Republican leadership faced with a 1.5 trillion deficit could possibly believe that good public policy is to maintain tax cuts for the top 2 percent of the population who, after all, have benefited enormously from this phony boom we've had over the last 10 years as a result of the casino on Wall Street."

Listen to the story here, or read the transcript.

Yellowstone

2010-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 24, 2010

This was a hard travel day. We had to evacuate the plane in Salt Lake City due to smoke in the cabin. Some people were being slow-pokes and I screamed at them, "Leave your stuff, GO!!!" Then everyone started screaming at them. Jesus. Then, it was hard to locate our cabin in the dead of night. But we found it. It was beautiful.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

We went up some scary (narrow, steep, rough, gravel) National Forest roads looking for a trailhead but we never seemed to find it. Trees all burnt up by fire and pine bark beetle. We came back down and found the Point of Rocks on the Yellowstone River, it was fun to hang out there. It hurt to walk across the riverbed though in bare feet.

Monday, July 26, 2010

We went to Yellowstone, and save Mammoth Hot Springs, and walked around the beautiful pasture near Swan Lake. It was really wonderful. I loved the hydrothermal features. Back to Bozeman to get Alex. We were so glad to see him.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Took family picture at historic North Gate of Yellowstone NP. Showed Alex around Mammoth Hot Springs, the cool stuff again. Went around the loop road, to the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, to Artist's Point, which was spectacular. Walked in a clockwise loop, past Grand Lake, and west on the Wapiti trail back to the road. Amazing hydrothermal features. I took a taste of a lake being fed by hydrothermal vents; it was very mineralish tasting. The high meadow was cool and breezy. It seemed like paradise to me. There was a bison sitting there placidly. Bourne Identity.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

We did the whole geyser thing, including Old Faithful. Hot and crowded, not quite our scene, but still very amazing hydrothermal features. This is an active volcanic system! Bourne Supremacy.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Rest day! Point of Rocks! Lunch and shopping in Gardiner. Rest and laziness at cabin. Bourne Ultimatum.

Friday, July 30, 2010

We hiked on the trail on the east side of the road from Grizzly Lake, but were too freaked out by the bear claws and scat, so we came back to the car. Then we went back to the same meadow, and saw the bison again. It was hotter, but still wonderful.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Trip back was OK except I had terrible diarrhea early AM until I got 8 mg of loperamide in my gut. Then I was OK. Plane out of Denver was an hour or more late. We got home alright.

Buenos Aires

2010-07-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I was really happy to leave Rio. I mean, when you can't drink the water in a $165 a night hotel, there is crime everywhere, and taxis don't take credit cards because they don't trust you, and when you get stuck for hours in traffic, who cares how fast their GDP is growing? The quality of life stinks.

Varig GOL airlines was good. Nice new terminal at Ezeiza, well, new since 1996. Had a huge, I mean excessively huge beef dinner at La Estancia on the Lavalle pedestrian mall. I ordered a t-bone with bone-in, so half of the mass was bone, fat, and gristle, but it was still about a pound of fillet. Grass fed, not feedlot. I ate about 12 ounces, then gave the rest to a homeless man later who was sleeping next to my hotel. No more beef for me for about a month. I also had a wonderful Argentine Malbec, but I though I was getting a glass, and they brought a bottle. Well, it was still wonderful, even though I only drank through a small fraction of the bottle.

The office was across the 19th July Boulevard from the venerable Hotel Colon, which was only $70 per night, not $170 per night as in Rio, and you could drink the tap water. Work was really good on Wednesday, I took my colleagues to lunch at a local Italian restaurant next to the office. Argentines like their pasta soft, "fully cooked" so they say. Chef Boyardee?

Back to Ezeiza in the evening. Got on AA 900 to Miami, then back to Houston. There were about 100 screaming, screeching Uruguayan junior high girls at our gate, exactly Audrey's age, taking a school trip to the USA. I was really afraid they were going to be on AA 900, and that the entire flight would be a teenaged girl slumber party, but thankfully they boarded AA 956 to New York. Whew!

I bought a box of Alfajores home. They're OK, but Belgian chocolates are far better.

On to Argentina

2010-06-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived today. My taxi did not show at 7:15 am. At 7:30 am I snagged a radio taxi from the hotel. Had a great day at the office, but they shut down totally at 2:00 pm to send everyone home for Copa Mundial. I watched the game with a group most of whom were Brasileiros, some of whom were Chilenos (LAN Chile airline crew). 3-0, it was not pretty. Brasil outhandled the ball from the start to the end. Had soup, salad, and a beer at the hotel. When you are staying next to favela Rocinha, you don't go out at night!

God made a beautiful place when he made Rio...

2010-06-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

.... then men took those raw ingredients made it into a cruel, unequal, crime-ridden place. I can't think of a single place the Portuguese colonized that actually turned out alright in the end. As for me, the Hotel Intercontinental at Sao Conrado is fine. No way to locate it better, right on the beach. They made a nice Sunday brunch, which was very welcome after being on the plane all night from Miami. Work tomorrow in Downtown Rio.

American Airlines time warp

2010-06-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

I hadn't flown AA since 1996? Yesterday I flew them again for the first time since. Seems to me that nothing has changed since then. Everything is still the same; cabins are outdated, not enough on-demand entertainment. Website, come to think of it, reeks of the early 1990s. I think they took a strategic gamble on the emergence of Latin America... and lost. Their on-board magazine looks like an ad from the Colombia Chamber of Commerce. Not that there is anything wrong with Colombia, but the Euro Zone, Russian, China and India just knock the stuffings out of Latin America, in terms of economic growth, and hence passenger bookings. But who would've predicted all of that in 1990?

I saw the Deepwater Horizon site, and the oil, with my own eyes

2010-06-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

I was on American Airlines 1344 from Houston to Miami yesterday, on my way to Rio de Janeiro. We flew right over the Horizon site.

Imagine you are flying over the site of a great naval battle; The Battle of Midway, for example. That's what it felt like. There were large and small ships moored in a disorderly fashion around the two FPSOs, which were emitting huge, hellish flames, representing the oil & gas being burnt off. A chaotic, churning, grey column of smoke. I'd felt like I'd just wandered into a crime scene, and I was looking at blood, and corpses, things I wasn't meant to see.

From hundreds of miles prior to that, I could see brown-red ribbons of oil on the water of the Gulf of Mexico, seemingly not very soon after crossing from the Texas Gulf to the Louisiana Gulf, and also sheen and discoloration of the water's surface.

The US290 Corridor Tollway: essential for mobility

2010-06-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

(letter published in The Houston Chronicle, 6/25/2010)

Harris County is having a great deal of difficulty convincing itself that it is capable of affording the Hempstead Managed Lanes out to the northwest within the US290 Corridor. Commisioners Court decided not to spend anything on Hempstead at their capital budget meeting on June 22. Toll viability is the issue.

If these lanes were built, vanpool, carpool, and transit service to the northwest would take on an entirely new dimension. These lanes would be bi-directional, and open on a 24/7 basis. There would be room to go around crashes and breakdowns. Speeds would be higher than the current skinny HOV lane. The current HOV lane could be dismantled to create a new travel lane in each direction on the US290.

Harris County needs to build these lanes, but METRO needs to help pay for them, too. Bus riders like me would gladly pay a few pennies per ride to cover a $3 (for 3 axles) toll, which could be spread over all of the riders in the packed, standing-room-only northwest commuter buses.

US290 commuters are withering away in the most horrific traffic in Texas. Our elected officials simply cannot continue to kick the 290 can into the future. Harris County needs to act with all deliberate haste to build the Hempstead Managed Lanes.

Peter Wang
Board Member, Citizens' Transportation Coalition

Barcelona Journal

2010-06-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

6/12/2010 I hate the fact that Continental Airlines charged me $6 for wine with dinner and that they fly 757s to Europe. It’s just about as roomy to ride in a hollowed-out matchstick. Also, the bathrooms in Newark hub are nasty, even more nasty than those in IAH Terminal C. However, zolpidem 10 mg at bedtime and the JVC noise-cancelling headphones really made for a more restful transoceanic crossing. I am ever so thankful for them. Note to self – ask the doctor for a zolpidem refill before my big ‘round the world trip in August.

6/13/2010 First impressions upon landing in Madrid; it’s high plains chaparral kind of country, no wonder the Spanish fell in love with California. But Barajas airport is not signed adequately. If I hadn’t remembered what terminal my connecting flight was leaving out of (four), there would have been no way for me to know which terminal to go to. It was a little bit hard to see the signs for the inter-terminal buses. Also, they did not post the boarding gate number until minutes before boarding; and they did not board by row numbers, but everyone boarded in a rush. Like Catholics going for Communion vs. Episcopalians. Very Latin, I suppose.

What was very interesting was lip-locked couples in the airport; one lover was in the security queue, and the other lover was attempting to say “goodbye”. Nope, haven’t seen that in America or England. Maybe we could expect that in Miami International.

I had a Serrano ham baguette in Madrid; nice ham, but pricey. Then I saw they had regular sandwiches on sale for much less. Oh well, company expense account, only a few extra Euro anyway.

Barcelona reinforced my California impressions, it thoroughly felt like San Diego to me. The cab driver understood me, but I could not understand him. Very thick local accent, and he mumbled. I had no problems with any other service personnel. It was just great to not worry about communications.

I bought a two-day transit pass, in addition to my two-day Barcelona Bus Turistic pass. As it turned out, it was great to have both. I got to the Sagrada Familia by tram and walking, and then took a spin through NW Barcelona on the Barcelona Bus Turistic, then got off and came home on the tram, transferring to a bus partway there (the tram ended). God smiled on the spot where the tram ended, placing some fast-food places there; probably more than a coincidence, it’s probably a good business plan. I had a kebab on baguette sandwich, con papas fritas, then got on the #7 Avinguda Diagonal bus. Barcelona has buses, trams (at-grade light rail like Houston), and underground Metro. Today I could not figure out how all three components integrated (but I did couple of days later, after studying the map carefully). Maybe my jet-lagged brain just wasn’t working well enough. The integrated transit pass functioned well, however.

I wondered why the Avinguda Diagonal tram ended where it did, at Plaza de Fracesc Maciá. They probably ran out of right-of-way. Or maybe money. Or both. Or maybe it’s in the plans, but it hasn’t been done yet? The tram has been operating since 2004? It would make great sense to make it go all along Avinguda Diagonal. Notice, though, in the absence of space required to put a tram, then still made a huge bike/ped zone. So they put bike/ped needs at the very top of the food chain (even though they segregated the bicyclists, more on that below), and they divided up the rest between the tram and cars. There are still a ton of cars in Barcelona.

Unlike Central London, where cars and bicycles are together on the streets, in Barcelona they bikes and pedestrians duke it out for space in the pedestrian realm. Fortunately, there’s tons of pedestrian realm. Unfortunately, bikes are fairly reckless, and I saw some near-misses between bike and pedestrians, including a really bad one between a baby carriage and a bike, it would’ve been the bicyclist fault, but I screamed out “¡Bici!” when I saw the collision developing, and the mother yanked the carriage back. Que carajo. I saw hundreds of bicyclists, and not a single helmet (it must be not mandatory). Houston, Stavanger, and London have Barcelona beat on that score by a long shot. Lots of cyclists were riding the city’s “Bicing” rental bikes. At least the Bicing bikes had front and rear lights going whenever the pedals were turning; that one has to be a lifesaver at night. Few people in Houston use proper lighting at night (yes, it is mandatory).

One irritant about Barcelona motor traffic is that there are so many people on motorbikes, and some of them are really reckless. I saw a bunch of people going double the speed limit down a 50 kph boulevard. Off to the races! When you hear those bike engines rev up past 10,000 RPM like angry hornets, you quickly look left to make sure he or she doesn’t have a bead on you. Yes, he or she, as there are lots of female motorbikers. I saw lots of potential and near-miss conflicts with right-turning motorbikes and pedestrians & bicyclists. For example, I saw a pod of girlfriend motorbikers riding fast together and taking many chances; like swarming around a car from both sides at a red light. Sheesh. They all have helmets (it must be mandatory), but no common sense, and no other recommended protective gear. Sandals, shorts, etc. There must be lots of injuries they way they ride. It must be Mediterranean cultural thing; a clearly a fashionable thing to be a fast motorbiker (think “Trinity” from The Matrix, or my sister-in-law Ione in her younger days), but no one thinks how uncool it is to leave lumps of your flesh on the pavement to wash into the Mediterranean with the next rainstorm. That’s not how youth in general, and youthful Latins in particular, operate. There are a ton of university students in Barcelona, by the way, so the risk-taking is rather self-reinforcing. Imagine the motorbiking scene at UT Austin, for example.

Again, like London, I did not really see much bike accommodation on transit. Some tram cars had bike stickers on the doors, indicating OK to bring bikes on board. I did see a bike on the underground once. No bike racks on buses. It appears to me that the Barcelona transit system, like London’s, is so mature that it is essentially gapless on a 24/7 basis, therefore to accommodate bikes in the vehicles doesn’t add transportation utility value, because walking + transit takes care of it all. However, lots of bicycle parking everywhere. And, Houston’s transit system is immature (not three-layered like Barcelona), has huge gaps in it, and generally low ridership except in a very few places at certain hours, so bike accommodations for us are a nice way to build ridership and extend utility. When we have a mature transit system in Houston someday which is gapless 24/7, maybe we can talk about decreasing accommodations for bikes on transit, but I don’t expect to live long enough to see that day.

I went to the Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes, again, wow, lots of people deep-kissing in public. I’m surprised they stopped where they did, and that we didn’t see them do it out in the open. Well, I suppose this right across the street from the university, so there probably is no romantic place in the dorms.

6/14/2010 The breakfast bar here at the Hilton is great. I had a mixed salad for breakfast, the highlight of which was hard tofu with incorporated herbs. A thin slice each of Jamón, turkey, and smoked salmon. Also had some grilled mushroom, half a grilled tomato, one chicken sausage. Whole grain artisanal bread and also white bread. Really good coffee. Great, wonderful tour day. Went to the fascinating Parc Guell, then took the tour bus all around. Everything is in the pictures. Too much to say with words. See it for yourself.

6/15/2010 A long hard day at the convention. Business went well, and followed up by a cocktail at the Casa Battlò, a Gaudí-designed house. Got there via the underground METRO, which was awesome; fast, clean and new, inexpensive. Beats the London Underground by a long shot. The Casa Battlò was a very cool place, but must’ve been a very strange place to live! Lots of pictures from my cellphone. Had a paella at the tapas place across from the hotel, but it was pretty poor. Leslie’s paella is much, much better!

6/16/2010 Another long work day at the convention. Went about 10 pm to the SIS Party at the Club Reial Maritime next to the Aquarium, met with some colleagues, had a glass of wine and a little bit of paella (also not very good). Walking on the way back to the Barceloneta Metro station, at 11:30 pm, grabbed a hot dog from a vendor, it was pretty good.

6/17/2010 Last day of the convention. Afterwards, took a tour bus to the Cordorniu Vineyards (right next to Freixenet Vineyards) and sampled their cava (champagne, though EU rules forbid them from using that word). The event was hosted by Schlumberger, Microsoft, and NetApp. We had a tour (30 km of tunnels, 100,000,000 bottles of cava onsite). Tasted four different types, but I only liked the Pinot Noir cava. Then dinner, with two types of wine, and whiskey, coffee, dessert. The beef was cheap beef, boiled to death (gummy = connective tissue cooked down). The quasi-flamenco show was nice; the setting was gorgeous. Pictures in Photobucket album.

6/18/2010 Two hour nap after getting back from Cordoniu, then to airport, fly to Amsterdam, run through airport, grab kilo of Neuhaus Belgian chocolates, get on plane to Houston, 9.75 hour flight, screaming toddler all the way home. Now I am back.

'Round the world in August 2010

2010-06-12T07:05:00.001-07:00

Houston to London Heathrow
Sunday in London (yay!)
Business meeting
London Heathrow to Cairo
Business meeting
Cairo to Dubai / Dubai to Mumbai
Business meeting
Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur
Business meeting
Weekend in KL
Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta
Business meeting
Jakarta to Singapore / Singapore to Perth
Business meeting
Perth to Sydney / Sydney to Los Angeles / Los Angeles to Houston

Krauthammer dead wrong on why oil industry went to deep water

2010-05-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Charles Krauthammer is dead wrong in his assertion that environmentalists drove the oil industry into deep water. The industry went to deep water because there were few good prospects left on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf. Deep water is where prolific "turbidite" deposits are found. Deep water turbidites are also found in deep water offshore Egypt, Brazil and West Africa. The migration to complex, dangerous, and costly locations to drill is a manifestation of "Peak Oil", which posits that we have now depleted the easy first half of the world's total oil supply. We will never physically run out of oil; however, we will find ourselves unable to pay the increasing financial and environmental costs to lift and buy what remains, so in practical sense we are going to have less oil available in the future to use the way we use it today.

Peter Wang
Texas Registered Professional Geoscientist license no. # 3248
Houston, Texas

Pub last night

2010-05-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

We went out to a pub Tuesday night, Ye Olde Six Bells in Horley, which is right next to St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church, which has headstones in the churchyard and everything. Nice building (the pub), terrible service. Waited an hour for food? Man, the British serve chips with everything, they are almost as fat as the Americans these days. Sitting in the cool damp evening did not help my developing chest cold, which now (Wednesday) is full-blown. I just want to do my workshop, get on the plane, and go home.

My day at Westminster Abbey

2010-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am in the London for business meetings, so I took advantage of an early Sunday arrival to take a look a Central London, which I somehow managed to miss my whole entire life. PICTURES.

I took the EasyBus from Gatwick to East Brompton, kind of a typical very diverse metropolitan neighborhood. Then the Underground to Westminster Station.

Coming up from the confusion and hustle and bustle of the underground into a scene where 80% of your vision is dominated by the sheer enormity and grace of a medieval cathedral was an amazing experience. The edifice seemed rimmed with light; it shimmered with an other worldliness, but even though it was "other wordly" it was so solidly and undeniably in this world; hewn of stone and immense, and ancient.

I arrived just in time for the 11:15 Sung Eucharist. My heart turned to wax in my bosom, I think, with the first notes sung by the Abbey's men & boys choir. Later, the choir took Communion; some of the little ones look like they were about 8 years old! Such adorable little guys, all different ethnicities. It was very cool to take Communion exactly at the same altar where kings and queens have been crowned in the past, and will be again in future.

The altar collection is being devoted in part to Anti-Slavery International, which is working to end slavery and slavery-like practices.

After Eucharist, I walked in front of Parliament, then off across the bridge to the other wide of the Thames; I wanted to check out Waterloo Station, scene of the "Bourne Ultimatum". I found one locale which I'm pretty sure was used in the movie, but had trouble finding others. No surprise, really, they mix and match locations while editing. Tons of graffiti all around. I had a hoisin duck baguette which was really quite good.

Back to the Westminster side of the Thames, and I walked through the Churchill War Rooms beneath Horseguards. Interesting. The British really suffered during WW-II. The Blitz and all. All of Europe across the Channel fallen under Hitler's hand, and he getting ready to charge across it. Interestingly, as we flew into Gatwick under dazzling springtime weather (which converted to rain), I view the tidy hedgerows and imaging Spitfires and Messerschmidts battling it out a treetop level.

I made it back to The Abbey for Evensong, and that was even more impressive musically. Same men and boys choir. I loved precessing out of the cathedral, past the ornate gilt wood benches & booths where the choir sits, and also any attending dignitaries and bishops of other Anglican churches. The Daily Offices of the Church have been sung every day at Westminster for 1,000 years without ceasing. That boggles the mind.

I walked over the sites where Charles Lyell (father of geology), Charles Darwin (geologist, naturalist, and father of evolution), and Sir Isaac Newton (father of calculus and physics) are buried. OMG, my entire professional life has its underpinnings in their collective genius.

So then, I was pretty tired, chilly, and damp. Time to get back Underground, and back to West Brompton, back to EasyBus and the Courtyard Marriott Gatwick Airport (meetings across the street at Schlumberger House). While in West Brompton, I stopped at this shish-kebob place, and they also served fish & chips, so I had some. They were fine. My fat quota for the week. Hope it was polyunsaturated or monosaturated.

Other observations; tons of bikes everywhere. Bicyclists navigating dense and difficult traffic, including many women, maybe 50% - 50% male- female. Bike lanes narrow and crappy, just like Houston. Cars more considerate, but still a very challenging environment. Well, for me especially, what with driving on the left side of the road and all.

It seemed like all of Europe,America, Australia and New Zealand was touring Central London at the same time. Very crowded sidewalks. I really like how diverse it is. I know people think it's a weakness, given their home-grown British Al-Qaeda and all, but I think it's just a great place. It shares that diversity with Houston. I really prefer sushi and falafel to mystery meat, potato, and two veg. So do most modern people.

I had a grand day out in Central London. I shall treasure it forever. Maybe this week some evening I will make it out to The White Hart pub in Crawley, West Sussex, just down the road from where I am staying. "Creepy Crawly".

Cinco de Mayo is something to be proud of?

2010-05-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

"In 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez stopped making interest payments to countries that Mexico owed money to. In response, France attacked Mexico to force payment of this debt. France decided that it would try to take over and occupy Mexico. France was successful at first in its invasion; however, on May 5, 1862, at the city of Puebla, Mexican forces were able to defeat an attack by the larger French army. In the Battle of Puebla, the Mexicans were led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Although the Mexican army was victorious over the French at Puebla, the victory only delayed the French advance on Mexico City. A year later, the French occupied Mexico. The French occupying forces placed Emperor Maximilian I on the throne of Mexico in 1864." (Wikipedia)

Mechanical day

2010-05-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Preventative maintenance on 3 cars, yes, 3
Fix black bike flat tire, true front wheel, clean and lube drivetrain, wash bike, pump up tires, charge headlight batteries
Adjust folding bike seat, lube pedals, pump up tires

Where's my paycheck for all of this work?

Engine cleaner really cleans off a bike gear cassette, but it's really foul smelling.

Training ride

2010-04-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

I took a 20 mile training ride today. The amount of riding I've done thus far in 2010 has been pathetically low. My road shoes fell apart; the sole fell off of my right shoe. My road bike chain was frozen with rust; I guess I didn't clean it after the Diabetes Tour de Cure in 2009. So I took a training ride on my commuter bike, wearing commuter shoes. Oh well, could've been worse... the folding bike, for example.

Pretty brisk breeze from the NW. Towards the end my knee was hurting (IT band). My right wrist still is sore from the wreck two weeks ago.

Just before dinner, I put a nice new clean chain on my road bike. There, better. And I lubed up the chain on my commuter. It needs to be washed next weekend.

Let's go to the Moon, but in a different way

2010-02-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

I am 100% in support of canceling the manned moon missions, even though I've grown up with those, and have been a big fan and supporter in the past.

The truth is we get much more science per dollar by sending robotic missions, at no risk to life & limb. Humans are very fragile, not to mention heavy, and a huge amount of the cost of a manned flight goes to making sure "the eggs come back uncracked".

People often ask, "Well, what if Columbus hadn't sailed to America?" Well, when North America was discovered, it had six feet of topsoil, wild game, unbelievably abundant fresh water (The Great Lakes, the Mississippi), and oil, gas, and mineral resources out the wazoo. It was a real prize.

The moon, even though it does has some water, which was discovered by one of my university professors, Dr. Carle Pieters of Brown University, is a place that makes the most awful desert on earth look like a paradise, plus its incredible costly to get there.

Remind me: why we want to spend money we don't have in order to put a human there again? Put it on our kid's credit card? Not!

The Apollo Program did an incredible feat during its time, but our time is all about robots, artificial intelligence, drones, avatars and virtual presence.

Let's go back to the Moon, but using 2000s technology, not 1960s technology.

Copenhagen

2009-12-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

The failure which was the Copenhagen climate summit has cast a chill over my thoughts about moving on to a career focused on climate change. It now seems that the world and our country ("Chimerica") is very far from wanting to price carbon. If we as a country never put a price on carbon pollution, then there will never be any investment in carbon mitigation like carbon capture and storage (CCS) AKA carbon or CO2 sequestration. If I make the wrong choice, I could end up in a real career dead-end (or worse... what if the research programs get canceled?), and have to leave Washington Tri-Cities and go back to the Oil Patch. I'd rather not make the round-trip. I'd rather just go and never come back. I don't think slinking back with my tail between my legs is a winning formula, to say nothing of the transaction costs (financial and psychological).

Cooking up a storm

2009-12-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Today I began the 24 hour marinade cycle for three ducklings who will make an appearance on Christmas Day. It's a dry marinade of salt, five spice powder, scallion, and ginger. The ducklings will be prepared as Cantonese Roast Duck(lings).

Using the neck and gizzard, I made rice congee for lunch today.

I also started marinading some quail for dinner tonight; I know, it's a lot of bird to have in two days. I stuffed each tiny bird with a piece of Chinese dry sausage. The marinade is a bottled teriyaki-pineapplish stuff. I think I'm going to cook the quail over hot coals in the backyard, and serve on a bed of rice pilaf.

Scenarios

2009-12-16T03:12:00.000-08:00

MOVE TO WASHINGTON IF

1. The lab job is way more interesting than current job
2. The lab pay is OK; can fund kids' colleges & retirement adequately
3. We get a good offer for the house
4. Alex decides on Whitman or Reed

STAY PUT IF

1. The current job gets significantly better in 2010
2. We don't get a good offer on the house
3. Alex decides on a Texas college or university

If Alex goes to Chicago, Lawrence, or Earlham... it wouldn't so much matter where the rest of us live, although flying from Lawrence or Earlham to Pasco will be arduous and expensive. Chicago would be better. It wouldn't be bad flying to Pasco if he went to Austin College (via DFW) or Rice (via IAH).

The risks of staying put

2009-12-14T19:13:00.001-08:00

Oil below $70, supply overhang, weak demand. Natural gas prices very low. Layoffs taking place right now - ConocoPhillips, Shell. SLB stock price trending lower since last quarter's earnings report. It will get better; but when? It looks like an "L-shaped" recession. Do not assume that the oil industry is safer than the alternative just because it is familiar.

My thesis advisor died

2009-11-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

My thesis advisor died...Gerald H.F. Gardner; geophysicist, mathematician, and feminist.

Suggestion to Benton-Franklin County Transit

2009-10-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Please forward on to your management and Board:

I found something very interesting in Seattle, which is the ORCA transit fare card. I just ordered one prior to a trip to Seattle, where I will be using transit instead of renting a car.

I mention this to you because ORCA is a multi-agency card. "ORCA is a collaborative regional fare system involving seven Western Washington public transportation agencies – Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries", from www.orcacard.com

In my opinion, it would be extremely cool if BFT were to also start using the ORCA card. Sure, BFT's territory is not contiguous with the Seattle area, but it would really help area residents to be able to travel to Western Washington and just take out the very same card they use at home and swipe it, and not have to fumble with exact change and transfers. I imagine lots of people in Tri-Cities have many reasons to travel to Western Washington from time-to-time. This would be a great convenience to them.

To say nothing of the local improvement to BFT by using a fare card. I starting using the Houston, Texas Q-Card (also a smart card), and I love it. I recharge it over the Internet. I don't have to mess with paper transfers, I automatically get transferred. The smart card technology is very popular over here. It makes transit use easier overall, and the easier you make it, the more will ride. Also, there is a theft or loss protection feature, if you register the card.

Also, with the ORCA card, the cards, the bus-mounted equipment, and the back-office treasury functions are already developed, tested, taken care of by the provider. BFT would just be one more agency joining.

Just so you know, I have nothing to do with ORCA, and neither do my friends or family, but I just love this kind of collaborative Internet technology.

Sincerely,
Peter Wang
Board Member, Citizens' Transportation Coalition
Houston, TX
www.ctchouston.org

Bike fatality stats: Texas, Washington, USA (2006)

2009-10-16T04:54:00.000-07:00

USA: 2.59 per million population
Texas: 2.08 per million
Washington: 1.09 per million

Crash!

2009-10-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Two cars slammed into each other at FM529 & Barker-Cypress, then one slid into my car. Other cars totaled. Mine not damaged. Others injured, not me. Auto crashes are a plague. I hate careless drivers. Later, I was safe on METRO bus. No one pwns the bus.

American Diabetes Tour de Cure 2009, Katy TX

2009-09-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

The first Houston American Diabetes tour de Cure was re-routed when the organizers realized that the Garrett Rd. bridge was out of service, so my 64 mile ride got shortened to 58 miles, but it was still a good ride. The weather was reasonably cool until noon.

I really started to feel it after 50 miles, however, as I have not be riding long distances. As usual, I went out too fast in the morning, and my legs and core experiences some strain. By the finish line I really hurt. They had a good charbroiled hamburger at the end of the ride for us. Yup, that'll help us avoid diabetes.

Labor Day Bike Ride

2009-09-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

From home in 77095, I rode south on State Highway 6, east on Memorial, south on Eldridge, south on Enclave Parkway, east on Briarforest, south on Tanglewilde, east on Westheimer.

Stopped for Jamba Juice.

Then north on Post Oak Blvd., north alongside I-610, north on Post Oak Lane, west om Memorial, north on Antoine, west on Westview, north on Blalock, west on Clay, north on Eldridge, west on FM529 to home.

Fifty miles for a Jamba Juice. That was alot of work. It was very hot and humid on the way home.

It was cool to go over the SH6 overpass at I-10. Oh my, the scored pavement on Westheimer was really hard to ride on! The vibrations just about killed my butt.

More thoughts about risk

2009-08-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

BUSINESS RISK

Move to TriCities, WA - Massive Federal budget deficit leads to deep US DOE funding cuts. The entire town falls over at once, like it did during detente with the Soviet Union in the 1970s and after the Cold War ended in the 1990s. I would have to leave to find work (probably in the oil industry again), selling the house into a very down market. And/or the Nation can't come up with the political will to do CO2 sequestration, as it may turn out to be too costly. Few utility companies choose to do it, but it would always get held out there as a political / public relations token. Research funding gets cut, and me along with it.

Stay in Houston - There is a chance I might get canned before the economy recovers, then I would have to scramble to find work. I would be subjected to repeated sawtooth waves in the price of oil, as we have seen over the last 30 years, although the price trend will definitely be up, and the prospects for geophysicists will likely improve over time, possibly dramatically, in the middle 2010s.

PERSONAL FINANCIAL RISKS

Mortgage debt service increases by $90,000 if we move. Having to sell a TriCities home in a down market (see above) in a more highly leveraged state increases chances of losing most or all home equity.

NATURAL, FAMILY, SOCIAL RISKS

The kids probably won't settle in TriCities; it's a one-horse town, dependent on the US DOE. They would head for Seattle or Portland, where there is an increasing risk for a catastrophic earthquake due to the Cascadia subduction zone. Due 2100 - 2500 AD, but could easily come early; tomorrow, for example. This type of earthquake would result in massive destruction of a metropolitan area. The risk of losing everything is high, and there is a serious risk of injury or loss of life.

For example... over the next 50 years, there is a 10% change of a peak ground motion of a strong as 0.35G in Seattle. But in LA, it could be as bad as 0.77G lateral acceleration. The 2% 50 year exceedance peak ground motions are 0.59G and 1.00G respectively. So we expect Cascadia earthquakes to be less damaging.

If they don't settle in Seattle or Portland... then the next megaregions over are Northern California, Front Range Rocky Mountains, all quite distant from TriCities. Hard for elderly parents (us) to visit them in an energy-constrained future. The family gets pulled apart.

Texas electrical grid highly dependent on coal, which may peak in the 2020s. TriCities, however, is hydro/nuke/wind. This is a factor in TriCities' favor. Both areas are vulnerable to Peak Oil. Everywhere in the USA is. It's a systemic problem.

We expect another hurricane to hit Houston over the next 20-30 years. In a worst case, we could lose the house, but not our lives. But coastal flooding will get much worse in Houston over time because of climate change. Our house could become "disposable", but at least we won't owe any money on it by 2016.

Wildfires are a risk in TriCities, if you live close to the shrub/steppe.

Mt. St. Helens and other Cascade volcano risks low for TriCities; light ashfall, nothing more. Risk of nuclear poisoning due to Hanford proximity low; it's a highly watched-over site. Houston tornadic windstorm risk low.

Violent crime risk higher in Houston. Risk of traffic crash death & injury higher in Houston. These are pretty big damn risks, actually. Bigger than probably all of the above!

Negative what ifs???

2009-07-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

What if...

Anti-relocation

CO2 sequestration becomes the next ethanol-from-food-grains fiasco, and research gets shut down because it turns out to be a dumb thing to try to do?
Oil goes back above $100 per barrel and I miss some great career moves in Houston?
I just don't like it at the new workplace?
What if we find we can't make it on the salary provided?
Pasco is a barrio?
The Federal Government runs into extreme budgetary problems, and massively slashes DOE research?
Real estate in TriCities takes a 25% tumble, we go underwater on the mortgage, and we suddenly have to sell?
Son does not go to school in the Pacific NW?

Pro-relocation

I keep getting pigeon-holed in my current corporation, and never get my chance to shine (publish and present original work)
I die before I have a chance to live in a place that is better than Houston?
We get too old to make a change, and get stuck in Houston forever? (like my Dad got stuck in Indiana)
I turn down the relocation offer, and get laid-0ff in Houston anyway?
Cy-Fair ISD has continuing and severe budget problems? Will Langham Creek High School significantly decline in quality? Will that drag the neighborhood home values down?
Oil goes back above $100 per barrel, and there are shortages, and no one can get around in the suburbs, which have no transit?
Oil goes back above $100 per barrel, stalls the economy again, goes back to $50, and I get laid off anyway?
We get smacked by another major hurricane in the next 20 years? Even if insurance covers the losses (doubtful), do we want to risk going through that?
Son goes to school in the Pacific Northwest?
What happens to my soul if I convince myself that I don't want to live in a place with a blue sky, where a river runs through it, where I can ride my bicycle, and where there are mountains relatively nearby?

Flew home to Houston

2009-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Flew Continental home from cool Seattle to hot Houston today.

Kennewick to Seattle

2009-06-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Drove to Flat Top, got Grand Marquis rental car stuck in the soft sand, friendly construction workers helped us out. Definitely not an off-road vehicle. Frantic search for Pizza Hut near Yakima; finally found it near Target. GPS really helped. Dinner with Mom and sister's family at Chiangs.

Kennewick, S. Richland, W. Richland

2009-06-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Met with a skating family in the morning to talk about the local skating scene, ate lunch at Sterling's on George Washington Way, then looked at more houses in S. Richland and W. Richland. We don't like the latter. We like New Traditions Homes. Looks like you get a great value if you build one yourself. We can do it for under $248,000.

Kennewick & Richland

2009-06-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning at Columbia Park, skipping stones into the Columbia. Lunch at Taverna Tagaris. Looked at houses in Kennewick and S. Richland with Korrie Schubert. Exhausting. Dinner at Emerald of Siam with Dr. C.S. and wine at her house afterwards.

Kennewick to Walla Walla

2009-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

We drove by the lab, then walked around WSU TriCities. We drove to Walulla Gap, then to Walla Walla. Ate lunch at a deli in a 100 year old refurb building. Alex had a Whitman interview, then we went on a campus tour, and it is a lovely campus. Alex likes it, along with Earlham. We had dinner at Toeshi Teriyaki on Grandridge in Kennewick (Korean family business). There were 30 - 40 MPH North winds whipping up dust in the evening. We went shopping at Albertsons, Gage @ Leslie.

It was cool to see all of the wind turbines on the hills. We love the cool mornings, dry weather, sweeping vistas, silver-grey clouds, blue sky, no smog, bike lanes, sidewalks, cleanliness, flowers, friendly people, cooling breezes, sunshine, the rivers, and the grapes.

Mt. Rainier to Kennewick

2009-06-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Drove up to Paradise, then walked on the snowfields. Saw fox, marmot. Very breathtaking ride along Skate Creek. The trees ended suddenly and we were in the Columbia Basin. Reminded me of the descent from Rocky Mountain National Park. The Hilton Garden Inn is comfy. Leslie really likes the TriCities.

Seattle to Mt. Rainier

2009-06-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Alex really liked UW. It was the perfect summer day to showcase the campus. It is a lovely campus. We visited the Honors Program.

We drove to Mt. Rainier, and went on the Rampart Ridge hike, very tiring! Very cool up on the ridge. After the hike we saw Rainier come out from the clouds like True Self, it was awe-inspiring. Dinner at National Park Inn was OK but way overpriced.

Houston to Seattle

2009-06-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Had a disconcerting close approach at 01:38 PM MDST over the Rockies; an AA flight was coming in the opposite direction 500 ft above us, so clearly I could see the markings and contrail. Must follow up with FAA on that one.

Got to Mom's house without further incident. We had a wonderful buffet dinner on her back patio with my sister and her family, and all of the kids.

Career imperatives

2009-06-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have to re-brand myself. I am branded as a geophysicist who is tied to the geophysical software side of the business. I don't have much hope of ever getting out of this track and getting into a mode where I am making independent judgments and being creative as a geoscientist whose focus is the earth, not just the software.

I could move over to the consulting arm operated by my current employer, and I will have to pursue that if my bid to join the lab in Washington falls through.

But succeeding at the lab and becoming a published scientist, not someone hidden from view in a secretive corporation would really, really raise the level of my stock. OMG.

Then let's say in five year I wanted to or had to come back to the hydrocarbon industry as a geophysicist, I could do it at a higher level than where I operate now. One of those cases where you exit and come back in at a higher level.

Moving to TriCities would be a positive NPV decision

2009-06-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

Even though we would need a new 30-year mortgage, instead of the 7.5 year remaining on our current mortgage, moving to TriCities Washington from Houston would represent a Net Present Value addition of $32,700 to our household wealth. It is wealth-creating decision to leave and pursue equivalent employment.

Why? Because we would save on Houston's ridiculously high property taxes, hazard insurance, auto insurance, and toll road charges. Those savings get plowed straight back into the more expensive property that we would be buying.

At the end of the 30-year mortgage, you own the property. You are never done with property taxes or insurance premia! You end up leasing your property from the County and from Allstate!

Going to see Tri-Cities

2009-05-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

We are going to see Tri-Cities (Richland Kennewick Pasco) next month to see how it might be to live there. Will stop by and see Mom, sister, also Mt. Rainier National Park, and make a quick stop at University of Washington and Whitman College.

Bad numbers

2009-05-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

190 pounds!
BMI 26!
Body fat 22%!

I gained 6 pounds in the last year. Probably all of it since Hurricane Ike. That's what stress will do to me.

Round Two of layoffs headed this way

2009-04-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

As Round Two of layoffs heads this way, I find myself in a strange emotional position, where I would actually welcome being laid-off and receiving the severance package (20 weeks of pay), and I would enjoy taking up a position at the lab in Richland, WA.

Upsides - no traffic, quiet community, less crime, not working for a cyclical industry, a small city surrounded essentially by agriculture and wilderness (nice)
Downsides - change is disruptive (esp. for kids), what if I don't like the work or don't do well there. Cold weather, short days / long nights in winter being far north. Kids would probably not settle there, and it's difficult and expensive to get there, so we would not see them. Breaks the model of the family staying somewhat proximate
Neutral - finances. Severance package would pay for more expensive real estate

But, you know, it's not really up to me. I just have to hold on, and hope that I make it through undamaged, one way or another.

Enroute to SLC from Houston

2009-02-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Over Colorado. The last time I flew this route, over the mountains the West Coast to Houston was January 2001, when I flew from Anaheim to Houston, connecting in Las Vegas. I was employed by DMD at the time. I wanted so badly to be hired by SLB and get back into geophysics. And I was hired, and it all worked out fine. Now there is more uncertainty abounding, so I am on this flight plan again with career worries on my mind, almost exactly eight years later.

2009 goals

2009-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

STAY EMPLOYED

We're maybe having layoffs this month. I don't think I'm in danger, but unfortunately I can guess who is. I've already updated my resume, had lunch yesterday with my headhunter. She used to work with me as a Senior Geoscientist, so she knows exactly what I do and what I'm looking for. But, she hasn't placed anyone in our industry in any position since before Hurricane Ike (Sept. 11), which is very worrisome.

I have a strong lead at one of the national laboratories, someone I did some research with is trying to pull me in, but it would require relocating to a semi-rural area in a far-away Northwestern state, in a far colder climate, which would be emotionally devastating to my family... but we would be a four-hour drive away from Grandma Liu.

The worst of it is... if I got fired this month, and was made an offer by this lab, I would have to start more or less immediately, and I'd be living apart from my family until summer, which is pretty close to being an unbearable thought. But they way things are, if you're offered suitable work these days, you take it. If you're unemployed, you really don't have the luxury of waiting for something better.

STAY HEALTHY

LOVE PEOPLE

RIDE MY BICYCLES

The first day of 2009

2009-01-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ate a ton of black-eyed peas
Picked some fresh ripe tomatoes off of the vine in the backyard garden
Gave some work to a black family looking for work; they weeded out our flower and vegetable beds. They were from Hempstead in Waller County, a rather historic African-American locale, famous for its watermelons (they are good)
Downloaded and organized thousands of emails into my Outlook Express; fixed an SSL problem with the help of an online support person (in the Caribbean?). I never read emails in Outlook Express, I just use it for archiving on my system, in case Google and Yahoo go bankrupt someday and lose all of my information
Tried to think of some 2009 goals

The end of 2008

2009-01-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

We sat out and built a fire in our backyard firepit using wood harvested from trees damaged by hurricane Ike. It was pretty warm, around 50 degrees F. I enjoyed a rare bowl of pipe tobacco (first time in five years?), some cognac, and of course champagne. Leslie made herself comfortable in a portable (frame mounted) hammock, wrapped up in blankets. The neighbors were going nuts setting off fireworks. Having gotten up a 5 am on December 31 to go to work, I did not make it to midnight. I had a long telephone talk with my step-brother who was visiting my father in NW Indiana. Leslie fell asleep outside, and woke up after midnight and came indoors.

Earlier on December 31, I saw a white egret by Buffalo Bayou as I rode my bike home from work.

Developers want bailout: what a crock of shit

2008-12-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

U.S. developers look for a bailout from government

By Barbara Kollmeyer
Dec. 22, 2008

Some of the nation's biggest property developers are asking the government for assistance as a record amount of commercial real-estate debt comes due, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. The industry is reportedly asking to be included in a new $200 billion loan program initially created by the government to assist the market for student loans, car loans and credit-card debt. The industry is warning that thousands of office complexes, hotels, shopping centers and other commercial buildings are headed for defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies, owing to some $530 million of commercial mortgages that will be coming due for refinancing in the next three years. They say that this poses another major threat to the global financial system, already severely weakened. In a recent letter to Henry Paulson, signed by a dozen real-estate trade groups, the scenario was described as grim. "Right now, we believe there is insufficient systemic capacity to refinance expiring, performing commercial real-estate loans. For many borrowers, [credit] simply is not available."

GM, Ford, Chrysler bailout?

2008-11-14T05:59:00.001-08:00

I am generally opposed to a domestic automaker bailout, unless it would be accompanied by a cancellation of the UAW contract. The unions are killing those companies. Also, if they receive a bailot, the car companies would have to adhere to "CAFE +" fuel standards, so they don't do it to themselves again, by which I mean the following: They never learned after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, or the 1980s Iranian-caused oil crisis, or the 2005-2008 oil spike. They kept building "Big Iron" that suddenly no one wanted, and poor quality at that. We already bailed out Chrysler, remember Lee Iacocca? They don't get a second bailout. Once is enough.

Moderates to blame for GOP losses, conservative leader says

2008-11-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

What extreme arrogance!

If the GOP goes diving off to the right, their losses will magnify. Can't they see that McCain lost because he dove off to the right, in conflict with who he really is? And he picked Palin to pander to the base, but the base is too small to elect anyone any longer?

(CNN) -- A conservative leader Friday laid the Republican Party's poor showing at the polls at the feet of moderates who, he argues, led the party away from its core principles. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says the GOP must return to conservative principles.

Cultural DNA of the GOP is all wrong

2008-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

The reflex or instinct of those who hold call the GOP home is to resist change, keep using old ideas that maybe worked in the past (regardless of how well they may work in the present or future). Also, members tend to be fear-based, suspicious, overly concerned about the membership status of people they interact with, and they also paint people and situations as all good or all bad ("are you one of us? are with us or are you against us?").

They also lump things together that don't necessarily go together. For example, if you're a proponent of light rail public transit or bicycling in Houston, conservatives will label you as European-loving, Socialist / Communist, and wanting to tear down traditional American ways of life (big pickup trucks). And they call you Gay for wearing spandex cycling clothes as they speed by in their big pickup trucks, and sometimes they throw things at you and try to run you off the road.

These emotional traits lead to a political organization that is domineering, controlling, but actually quite fragile - it is strong like ice, exceedingly brittle. It will hold until the maximum stress or melting temperature is reached, then it collapses, as it did yesterday.

The physical DNA of the GOP is all wrong, too. It has become The American White People's Party. George W. Bush, to his credit, tried to recruit minorities into the GOP in 2000. W. had a bit of an instinct for inclusion. They don't bother trying any longer, they don't even pretend. It is emotionally fatiguing to be the only person of color attending GOP meetings, which I why I don't go any longer. You always feel like you have to explain or justify yourself. Therefore, why would I, a minority person, bother to spend my precious free time go sit with a group of people that is much less diverse even than my team at work? (a big Fortune 500 corporation). There are more varied and interesting people to spend time with. Socializing is a big part of politics, and the GOP just doesn't meet my needs any longer.

The GOP

2008-11-05T05:59:00.001-08:00

If the GOP persists in being The Party of White People Only, it is doomed.

Those wide-angle camera shots of McCain supporters, who all look like they belong to just one genetic tribe, seem very out of place, archaic, and wrong in 21st century America.

If you see JiJang Bosal...

2008-11-02T13:17:00.001-08:00

.... you've just had a REALLY BAD DAY. In fact, you're dead!

Some people are getting really snarky lately

2008-10-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, wonder why?