Fix Pacifica: Beware of coyotes if walking your dog at Mussel Rock Park:
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Life takes us in many strange directions and wonderful discoveries. It never turns out the way we thought it would.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
JacksMars: Sex On Mars
JacksMars: Sex On Mars: to undisclosed recipients The year is 2222 and Jack and Elena land on Mars after accumulating enough Frequent Flyer...
JacksMars: Lake Vida Bacteria: Antarctic Lake Untouched For 2...
JacksMars: Lake Vida Bacteria: Antarctic Lake Untouched For 2...: Lake Vida Bacteria: Antarctic Lake Untouched For 2,800 Years May Aid Search For Alien Life
Our Dear Dog Copernicus Grieved All Day Long
Poor Copernicus is deeply traumatized over the loss of Cassi. He escaped in the rain this morning. Then when I was getting ready to drive Luah to the BART station, he escaped again and got right behind the car. Luah warned me and held Copernicus. I put him in the back of the car and we all rode through the rain to the BART station. He stayed with me when I went to buy the final Christmas cards. We came home and he wanted to be by me every minute. Animals understand death and and love deeply. This has been such a sad time. Imagine how much more painful it is to be a parent who loses a child in a war like Afghanistan or Syria; or in a car crash.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
JacksMars: Mars Dust Storm May Affect NASA Rovers Opportunity...
JacksMars: Mars Dust Storm May Affect NASA Rovers Opportunity...: Mars Dust Storm May Affect NASA Rovers Opportunity, Curiosity
Jack's South America: Swallowing Rain Forest, Brazilian Cities Surge in ...
Jack's South America: Swallowing Rain Forest, Brazilian Cities Surge in ...: Swallowing Rain Forest, Brazilian Cities Surge in Amazon - NYTimes.com : 'via Blog this'
JacksMars: Mars Rover Major Discovery - Business Insider
JacksMars: Mars Rover Major Discovery - Business Insider: Mars Rover Major Discovery - Business Insider : 'via Blog this'
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Our Dear Dog Cassi Was Eaten By 4 Coyotes
We just had a horrible tragedy. Elena took Copernicus and Cassi for a walk in an area that we nick named "Land's End." We have been walking dogs there for years with no incident. Today something horrible happened. Both dogs were off leash. Elena tried to get them back on leash. Copernicus came to her but Cassi refused to return. She was captured by 4 coyotes and eaten.The four coyotes then menaced Elena and Copernicus. Copernicus barked but was too smart to go and attack them. Elena started to scream and throw rocks at the coyotes. They left. Those four animals could have easily killed Elena also. This is a sad day for all of us.
Christmas Shopping On An Incredible Saturday
It's such a beautiful day that it feels like a late spring day in South Africa or Australia. Elena and I went out shopping. She got a new dress fr the company Christmas party. We also found some incredible chocolate mints at Macy's. Our next stop was Brookstone. Elena bought me a massage pad for the back of my desk chair.) I have it installed now and it's doing wonderful things for my back!) We then went to Gymboree and got some baby clothes for a baby shower. We had a healthy and low-calorie lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We then made the drive home. We are awaiting the delivery of Luah's new mattress and enjoying an incredible and unforgettable day!
Friday, November 23, 2012
A Personal Letter From President Obama
Elena was opening mail this evening and found a big surprise for both of us. It was a letter from President Obama. Enclosed was an inscribed picture of he and Michelle. Also included was a personal letter thanking me for all my help. I was so touched. As the old saying goes: "It made my day!1"
Thursday, November 22, 2012
A Dear Friend Comes Over For Thanksgiving Dinner
Elena, Luah and I were just most privileged to have Monty Heying share our Thanksgiving dinner. It has been my honor to know Monty for almost 40 years. Monty started with the sad problem of growing up in an orphanage. Despite this bad start he got a college degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. He passed the very tough examination for Certified Public Accountant. He volunteered for service during the Vietnam War in the US Marine Corps. He could have used his education and qualifications to get a soft office job. Instead he trained to be a combat infantry man. After completing his enlistment in the Marines, Monty went on to have a distinguished career in corporate finance. He raised two wonderful daughters and is now a grand father. His new adventure in life is his career as a writer. His goal is to share with others the hard experience of being an orphan. Elena, Luah and I realized how lucky we were to have parents who loved us and tried to give us a good start in life.
Jack's Africa: Naspers boss among Africa's 40 richest | Fin24
Jack's Africa: Naspers boss among Africa's 40 richest | Fin24: Naspers boss among Africa's 40 richest | Fin24 : 'via Blog this'
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
A Handwritten Christmas Card From A Sprint Employee
Yesterday I opened the mail. There was a small card from Overland Park, Kansas. It was handwritten by a Sprint/Nextel employee. He thanked Elena and I for being good customers of Sprint for so many years. It wished us a happy holiday. I was really touched that a big company like that took that time and effort to recognize humble customers like Elena and I.
Monday, November 19, 2012
The Movie The Wizard Of Oz 20 Years Ago
My friends I always tell you that what one remembers most is the little kind things that people do for you in life when you are "down on your luck," Elena and I had a wonderful time at Dr. Kelvin Choi's bowling party at the Sea Breeze Bowling Alley in Pacifica. After bowling quite a while and working up a sweat, Elena and I went to the bar in the bowling alley. She had a margarita and I had a diet coke.
We looked at the television. They were showing the Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz on Turner Classic Movies. It brought back a memory from 20 years ago and I shared quite a story with Elena. I was living in Cape Town all of those years ago. Times were tough in South Africa. I lived in a barren studio apartment and was virtually destitute. I did not even have a television. I was alone and without a relationship. I only had one thing going for me at that time. I had a very rich Cape Town business man who was a dear friend of mine(. I am not goin
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We looked at the television. They were showing the Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz on Turner Classic Movies. It brought back a memory from 20 years ago and I shared quite a story with Elena. I was living in Cape Town all of those years ago. Times were tough in South Africa. I lived in a barren studio apartment and was virtually destitute. I did not even have a television. I was alone and without a relationship. I only had one thing going for me at that time. I had a very rich Cape Town business man who was a dear friend of mine(. I am not goin
g to embarrass him and mention his name.) Now most rich people are very tight with money and rarely have friends outside of their social class. Alli was an exception. He was a genuinely nice and generous man who was always helping others and doing acts of kindness for those less fortunate.
He was a gracious friend to me. He often invited me to his mansion where his chef cooked gourmet meals for us. He would take me to his study and show first run movies often only available in movie theaters. His staff took me shopping with them to various malls. I never asked Alli for money or a job with any of his companies. I just appreciated his friendship and wonderful company.
I remember the time around Thanksgiving and Christmas. One night I was sitting in my barren studio apartment. I was expecting another lonely and empty night. I was surprised t hear a knock at the door. I looked through the peep hole. Two of Alli's employees were thee. I opened the door and let them in. They were holding a portable television. One said to me: "You're an American. That great American film The Wizard of Oz is on television tonight. The boss wanted you to be able to enjoy it." They handed me a portable television. I thanked them several times and was so touched.
He was a gracious friend to me. He often invited me to his mansion where his chef cooked gourmet meals for us. He would take me to his study and show first run movies often only available in movie theaters. His staff took me shopping with them to various malls. I never asked Alli for money or a job with any of his companies. I just appreciated his friendship and wonderful company.
I remember the time around Thanksgiving and Christmas. One night I was sitting in my barren studio apartment. I was expecting another lonely and empty night. I was surprised t hear a knock at the door. I looked through the peep hole. Two of Alli's employees were thee. I opened the door and let them in. They were holding a portable television. One said to me: "You're an American. That great American film The Wizard of Oz is on television tonight. The boss wanted you to be able to enjoy it." They handed me a portable television. I thanked them several times and was so touched.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The Movie Lincoln
My dad always loved and admired Abraham Lincoln.He felt that Lincoln was the personification of the great promise of the American system. A man or a woman could come from humble circumstances and rise to great office and success.He also kept the paper back three volume Carl Sandburg’s Lincoln right on his dresser. It now sits on the fireplace in our bedroom. I went to see the movie Lincoln yesterday. It’s a brilliant master piece without equal. It’s worth the price of a theater ticket and the hassles of going to the movies.
The movie shows that Lincoln was both a brilliant politician and a wonderful human being with great depth. His intelligence and political instincts kept the border states with the Union when the American Civil War broke out in 1861. By 1865 many of the politicians in the Union knew the civil war was won. They also were tired of the massive blood shed. They were prepared to offer the Confederates a deal where they could keep slavery if they surrendered and came back into the Union.
Abraham Lincoln used all of his intellect and considerable political skills to get the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution passed by a slim 2 vote margin. This amendment abolished slavery for all time. It was later ratified by some southern states after the civil war ended.
When Lincoln is called one of our greatest presidents, he earned the accolade. His brilliant intellect, political skills, and compassion held this country together.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Helping Others On A Rainy Day
It was a rainy and cool day. I did small things to help others. I bought some food at Safeway and contributed it to the food bank. I went over to see Ed at Pacifica Computer Pros and got a wireless Bluetooth mouse for Elena's new laptop so that she could work more easily on her laptop. I also ent to Kent Cleaners and got Elena's new slacks out of alteration. My final good act was to give my daughter in law the money to take an English test that she needed for a major scholarship application. It's wonderful to help others!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
JacksMars: SpaceX - Launch Manifest
JacksMars: SpaceX - Launch Manifest: SpaceX - Launch Manifest : 'via Blog this'
To Those Of You Thinking Of Retirement-Think Twice!!!!!
Yesterday was a beautiful day. I had Franmore Electric come out and do some electrical work on the house. They installed a light in the study and had to innovate when the light did not come with a switch. They had to fix a major problem with no electrical outlet of our auxiliary freezer. They installed a new sensor on a garage door light. They did an excellent and professional job. I then went to the post office and took care of mailing some Christmas cards. It was a long line and a lot of hassles. Now my back is out after all of the lifting I had to do yesterday to begin the process of defrosting the small freezer. This is not what I thought retirement would be. It is a lot of hard work and little appreciation.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Jack's Africa: The Fractured Rainbow
Jack's Africa: The Fractured Rainbow: Fractured Rainbow By Sibusiso Tshabalala Monday, November 12, 2012 Share on A while ago we saw the rainbow dance above ...
Monday, November 12, 2012
Veteran;s Day 2012
Yesterday was the official 94th anniversary of the ending of World War I. It was described as "the war to end all wars." Official statistics indicate that 16 million men and women died and another 20 million were wounded. The madness of the final few hours was that the combatants kept fighting right up to 11:00 AM on 11 November, 1918. The last soldier killed was a 40 year old British coal miner. If I had been there I would have sat down when I got up on the 11th of November and" let the clock run out." All of the poor survivors felt good about making it through this awful war. Little did they know that an epidemic of Spanish influenza was about to follow. It killed another 20 million people worldwide. Sadly this was nothing compared to the 56 million official war deaths in World War II and another 40 million who died in the Soviet Union due to purges, famines, etc. War still goes on today. At least the casualties are not what they were in these awful conflicts in the last century.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The Movie Flight
Most of you active movie goers went to see the new James Bond film Skyfall. I hear that it's a great film. I decided to "buck the trend" and went to see Flight. Denzil Washington is an incredible actor. He plays a pilot cursed by an addiction to alcohol and cocaine. He checks in to fly a passenger plane with 102 passengers from Orlando to Atlanta. He is drunk on duty and things go wrong from the start of the flight as he has to fight very heavy turbulence. Later in the flight as they are approaching Atlanta International airport, the rear tail assembly fails. It is like what happened to an Alaska Airlines flight in the 1990's going between Cancun and San Francisco. In the actual case and in the movie the plane goes into a power dive. In the move Denzil Washington pulls some brilliant airmanship and inverts the plane and glides it in 96 of the 102 people on board survive. The people on the real Alaska Airlines flight were not so lucky and everyone died. The rest of the film is Denzil's struggle with substance abuse and the investigation. I will not give away the ending but it's a powerful film.
California's Finest Public Servant Gets A Promotion!
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=vffyaadab&v=0012Q4V8GYbFiQw7HYsJpmKjs1WJ1pX9-X2bimvBMfpRcdIarNua9HETFdypCEpXKkM4fTGG5zx1WikuUQzehvWyVj7OiKEaqY8kkPT_kq69r0wh75hToIqM8FLrp-4E0pNBkRcaTRrKY0t2xvreW82Jyu9e9m7R4f267Y_gaadIv2D9ioKMJncXj2UVzLrZEZjrf4TMlgtKu3UlfnO8NShgwoOJ14JljQBJ6xv3_nf4VU%3D
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Life Returns To Normal After The Long Election Drama
Now life comes back to normal after all of the drama of the election. I was at home solving routine and mundane problems. Our two dogs have incredible ingenuity. They always find new ways to escape from our large back yard where they should be happy. They found a new way and we were coming up with all sorts off ideas on how to close off the new hole that they dug. I first went to the local Ace Hardware and got a big plank. That worked so so but there was space open where our smaller dog Cassi could sneak through. I decided to go to Lowe's Home Improvement. I found some heavy cinder blocks that one would normally use in their garden. I sent $16.00 for five of them. I hauled them home and hauled them up to the back yard. I put them in place. Lo and behold the dogs are now again confined to the back yard!!!!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
My Election Prediction Came True
Now the shock is over and I realize that,for real Obama will be our president for the next 4 years. I predicted an Obama victory in the electoral college and a high probability of Romney winning the popular vote. I then put a caveat in that I thought that Hispanic voters were being under counted. If these voters turned out in force, I predicted that Obama would win both the popular and the electoral vote. Much to my surprise 4 million new Hispanic voters came on the rolls from 2008 to now. In my opinion they swung the election for Obama.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Politics Is The Dirtiest Business There Is!
My late father was first sent to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. After recovering from a bout with malaria he was sent to General Patton's Third Army and fought in France, Germany, and all the way to what was then Czechoslovakia where his unit linked up with Soviet troops. My dad saw many people die and even toured a German death camp with General Patton. He gave me the following pearl of wisdom: "Son war is not the dirtiest business there is; politics is the dirtiest business there is." He was right!!!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Jack's South America: Hola From Puerto Iguazu
Jack's South America: Hola From Puerto Iguazu: Puerto Iguazu, Argentina November 5, 2012 We finally arrived in Puerto Iguazu home to Iguazu Falls one of the natural wonders of th...
Sunday, November 4, 2012
A Beautiful Sunday In Pacifica
What a beautiful day! Elena took the dogs for a long walk. We ate good meals,caught up on reading, and just relaxed. We gave up on watching things about the election .Now we are watching a Japanese animated feature from 1997. Please observe a moment of silence for the 108 American service people who died in Afghanistan between June and September, 2012.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
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