Family Portrait
Posted 3 July, 2008 by Graham in usa
Hi. How’s y’all doing? We are in fact still alive, as the photo proves. Doing really rather well actually.
This photo was taken at Jill (Janette’s Mom)’s retirement party, two weeks ago. She retired after something like 20 years as teacher and principal of a local elementary school.
Miss you all.
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Hang ten, world dudes!
Posted 22 May, 2008 by Graham in Santa Monica, usa
We got the Santa Monica College course list today in the post. Page 76:
KIN PE 51A, Beginning Surfing (1 unit)
This class is designed to cover the fundamentals and technique of surfing.
KIN PE 51B, Intermediate Surfing (1 unit)
This class is designed to cover various intermediate techniques for surfing.
Note that for Intermediate Surfing you’re expected to bring your own wetsuit and surfboard. Class meets every Wednesday, 7am - 10am, in classroom code BEACH, by lifeguard tower #26.
Locals can get a grant to study this, and those units count towards your university degree. If you’re not a local, like me (and before you ask no I’m not signing up), it costs $195.
Now, if you divide the cost of the Iraq war ($1.2 trillion) by the population of the world (6.6 billion), you get $182. Assuming Santa Monica College is making a profit on the foreign student fees (which they are), then instead of the Iraq war we could have taught every human being on the planet to surf! Off the wall, Bro!
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Santa Monica
Posted 29 April, 2008 by Graham in Santa Monica, usa
We’ve moved to the beach, to Ocean Park, in Santa Monica.
As you may know, Santa Monica is the historic home of bodybuilding, skateboarding and Baywatch.
On the corner of our street is Euphoria Vegan Raw-volution, a massage studio and a yoga center. The local cafe has more tea than India, and advertises Ecstatic Ritual classes. Our landlord is an actor (a real one who actually acts). Neighbors cycle and walk (and skateboard and surf).
I love it.
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The future patter of little feet
Posted 26 April, 2008 by Graham in junior
We’re having a baby! Janette is four months along, and we found out today it’s a boy. On this ultrasound you can see the aforementioned little feet.
The mother reports the baby is big and wiggly. The doctor says he has all the parts a baby needs.
Now we just have to decide whether the birth should be in a hospital or a birthing center, a bed or in water, Lamaz or Bradley method, with a doctor or a midwife, assisted by a doola or a hypnotist, or like, totally hopped up on the best drugs private medical insurance can buy. At all life’s stages, the consumer is king.
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Exercising my Second Amendment right
Posted 12 February, 2008 by Graham in usa
One of the great pleasures of travel is the perspective it provides.
In France children get sent home from school for wearing religious symbols, such as an Islamic headscarf. Religion is dangerous.
In England, only special units of the police are allowed firearms. Guns are dangerous.
Here in America it is illegal to import unpasteurized soft cheese. Cheese with flavor is dangerous. Guns, however are not. Oh no.
To celebrate Jeff’s birthday, we went to the San Gabriel Valley’s biggest indoor firing range, and got us some firearms. The vetting procedure is stringent - you need to bring a friend (the no-suicide rule), and you need to be over 12.
Once through that process, the fun begins. You select your gun, your target, and get shooting.
Our friends picked a Glock 9mm, a light. modern handgun popular with law enforcement. Jeff picked the Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum, the largest and most powerful gun he could legally rent, which can only be described as a six shooter version of the gun Rambo pulls off the side of a helicopter in Rambo 2. I selected a Colt .45 with a rifle conversion kit and laser scope, featured on the left.
We also selected the most human shaped targets they had (and I can’t really justify that part). On the range you hang your target from a hook, use the powered winch to send it down to the other end, and blast away.
The laser scope and rifle kit made our gun very accurate, and almost took the fun out of it. We swapped with friends, and I got to fire the .44 Magnum. WOW! Despite the warnings, nothing could of prepared me for the noise, the recoil, and the flame that briefly seems to engulf the weapon when you fire. I can see why Dirty Harry liked it.
Afterwords we went to dinner, and chatted happily about what, in the United Kingdom, would of gotten us at least five years in jail. Vive le difference!
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