Solar, Wind Power, and Knives!

Labels: green team, vids

posted by Rain at 2:50 PM

Where where you when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record?

I was there.

It’s tough to look back on last night without feeling a sense of surreal pride, knowing I witnessed a bit of history in the making that wasn’t related to a traumatic catastrophe, natural disaster, or act of war.

It was freezing, windy, and oh—did I mention FREEZING in the center field bleachers? I was in seat 3 of row 32 in section 142, right next to the score board of AT&T park – home of the San Francisco Giants. The audience was positively electric with excitement, and every time Barry Bonds got up to bat, the crowd stood up and went wild, shouting…BAR-RY! BAR-RY! BAR-RY!. I captured video of the single he hit…and marveled at how all the camera flashes that sparked like little fireflies or a complete poof of Drag Queen Glitter lit up as Barry took his swings. Later, I was filming again…when Barry broke Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs by hitting number 756.

Fireworks went off. Silver streamers glittered to the field. The crowd went wild. Some nutbar hopped over the guard rail, a teenage kid by the looks of it, and ran onto the field towards Bonds. Security quickly caught him and slammed him to the ground, then walked him off the green. Hank Aaron came on the score board (which we could not see, but I got audio on) to congratulate Barry and pass the torch. Willy Mays was in the audience. It was a surge of glee and audience pride unlike anything I’ve been a part of.

And then…suddenly…it vanished. After the fanfare died down, the coach took Bonds out of the game to give him the rest of the night in the dugout to reflect on his emotional win, despite the Giants loosing by two to the Nationals in the end (the score was 8 to 6). After several announcements of paraphernalia available – fans began scrambling towards gift shops and booths trying to buy programs or anything stamped with the date that said, “I was there!” in the way of pre-made shirts in the event of Barry letting loose during the game.

Where before the stadium was a giant belly-bowl full of enormous ogre-ghostlike buzzing energy…suddenly it was empty, and that absence of energy was so strongly felt it was astonishing. The fans were leaving. The game wasn’t over and the fans were leaving…a strong message to the Giants two-fold: 1) there was little to no support for anyone other than Bonds, and 2) the team would cease to make money without him, and probably be forced to charge what A’s tickets and concessions cost just to bring in the fans. It had to be disheartening for the other team players still in the game. It had to be distracting to look up and see a mass of dark green, empty chairs.

Still, I am in awe of the experience. You can check out two videos of the melee here (though I had two more which wouldn’t upload of the fireworks and fanfare):



Today it was back to business.

I sold the 7’6 board, and plan on using that money to put towards a cheapie new Blue mini-longboard of a slightly larger variety. Wise is having a sale through the end of august on 7’10 to 8’6 minis, starting at $315. Can’t really beat that price. I have to wait until I get paid though, to make up the other half.

DebG and I are going to Cobb’s tomorrow night to get some laughs off Dat Phan, staring with dinner at her place.

We are formulating a plan to visit Amacker now that she’s back from the hospital, and bring her treats.

Oh, and GODS I just love this video of this 7 year old kid chasing off a convenience store robber...she's my new hero. Mostly for her bravery, and wonderful use of "Po-Po," "feller," and especially for, "He should be strung up by the gills..."

Labels: Giants, surfing, vids

posted by Rain at 4:10 PM

Exorcist or Earthquake?

The trouble with going through an earthquake while you are sleeping, is that the bed moves. It feels a little like you are on rolling waves, and it shakes a bit. The scene in the Exorcist comes to mind, where little Regan is in a bed that shakes suddenly and violently, and then she levitates up.

In the wee hours of this morning, I was sleeping soundly with the cats earmuffed on either side of my head, when they shot straight up in the air (ala levitating Regan) and then hauled ass out of the room like tiny, furry, concord bullets. Being still mostly asleep, my first thought was…Intruder! Intruder! But the fog cleared when the bed started shaking, and the rolling wave motion continued for what seemed far too long—maybe 20 full seconds. It’s pretty hard to budge a solid dark cherry wood queen size sleigh bed. “Oh,” I thought. “It was just an earthquake.” Then went back to sleep.

It turned out to be East Bay based, at a 4.2 magnitude. Apparently it knocked the power out for about 5,000 people, but that's all.

These little jobbies don't bother me. What bothers me is knowing that if it were a big one, I wouldn't have the time to get to a safe place, nor the quick reflex to snap awake in the event there-of. That...and the promise of how a lot of little 4.0's in quicker succession might mean a 6 or a 7 is on the way...with aftershocks that could cause the most damage.

Thoughts to ponder.

Would I rather want demonic possession instead of a giant earthquake? Hmmmm. Dunno. I think I'd take my chances with the quake.

And on that note: Borggrrl sends me this gem:



"1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Phillipines do the Thriller dance."

Oh, and that "girl" is a guy.

I heart zombies.

Labels: earthquakes, vids

posted by Rain at 9:54 AM