Personal
I read the news today, oh boy
I read the NY Times with sadness today. First, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has died. I remember reading his books in high school, most notably The First Circle, but also Cancer Ward and of course “A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.” I even selected one of his books, the first book in the Gulag trilogy, […]
August 2nd, 2008 by alephnaught
Sawtelle and Little Tokyo
So today Nathan and I ventured to the Sawtelle area, which once was a Japanese area and still has a number of Japanese stores within a three or so block area. On the way there we stopped at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, which is located in the back of Lazer Blazer, a DVD […]
August 1st, 2008 by alephnaught
Hollywood and West Hollywood
Today Nathan and I went shopping at a few cool stores in Hollywood and West Hollywood. First though, we stopped at Kit Kraft, where we bought a few neat miniature kits. Then, we drove through the hills on Laurel Canyon to West Hollywood. We stopped first at Amoeba Records, which is a huge warehouse/store for […]
July 31st, 2008 by alephnaught
Venice Beach and Santa Monica
Nathan arrived last night, and today I figured we’d do a touristy, California kind of thing – the Venice Beach boardwalk. And it was pretty fun. The sun was bright and the weather was good, and the people were out in force. At one point we were stopped by nurses trying to sell us medical […]
July 29th, 2008 by alephnaught
Earthquake!
We had our inaugural earthquake today; it was centered under Chino Hills and measured 5.4. You can read about the quake on the USGS web site. I was talking with my boss on the phone when the quake started. I noticed the vertical blinds swaying, and the floor started to move. I told my boss […]
July 28th, 2008 by alephnaught
Yet another hobby shop (this time nearby)
At lunch I went to Scale Model Stuff; this is a little hobby shop that carries a bunch of neat stuff, especially tools and Italian wood kits. I bought some modeling putty for my Rat Fink kit, some sand paper, and a wood Roman Catapult model kit (I’m lusting after the Tamiya motorized tramway car).
July 28th, 2008 by alephnaught
We are subsidizing the increased price of oil
This one should be obvious – governments subsidize the price of goods or add tariffs to imports as a way to stimulate the local economy. The problem is, you can’t just turn it off; when you do, people feel real pain as jobs are lost, capacity is lost, and the general economy depresses. After reading […]
July 28th, 2008 by alephnaught
Only loan money to people that can pay it back
I found this quote in the article, “Worried Banks Sharply Reduce Business Loans,” from the NY Times today: “Mr. Epstein, forced to limit his production to what he can finance with his existing cash flow supplemented by his own money, has been tightening credit himself: He has been turning down orders from companies with any […]
July 25th, 2008 by alephnaught
Tamiya motorized forklift kit
I won a Revell Rat Fink model kit on eBay, and needed glue and primer to assemble it. So, after picking up a couple paintings Aviva did to apply to a local co-op gallery, I went to Kit Kraft, a neat hobby shop on Ventura Place in Studio City. They carry many of the Tamiya […]
July 20th, 2008 by alephnaught
Tolerance
This morning I read a short article in the NY Times that got me thinking again about tolerance, “At the Intersection of Synagogue and Boardwalk, a Feud.” The author writes about the last Synagogue on Venice Beach, which is next to a store that sells tee shirts, string bikinis and undergarments; apparently there have been […]
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+Bob Hays
- I'm a father and husband, have two schipperkes, like to read, compose music, travel. And I manage a couple software development teams at DIRECTV.
English
August 4th, 2008 by alephnaught