A Good Feeling

Just to make sure that December's mistake did not recur, I called two different people to confirm that I would get the key to the walk-in refrigerator.

And so it was that there were no hiccups in distributing the sandwiches for Sandwiches on Sunday at the community center in Redwood City.

Though sometimes only 50 people show up at noon, we always make more food because the crowd can number 90 as it did today. I made two trays of baked chicken, which were consumed along with five other trays and six large bowls of salad by 12:45.

The manager at the Foster City Lucky Supermarkets gave us loaves of bread, cakes, croissants, and cookies to hand out along with the sandwiches.

Driving home with no leftovers and an empty trunk is a good feeling at the end of Sandwiches on Sunday.

Explains my Attraction to Smart Women

More evidence of women's biological advantages: [bold added]

Glucose metabolism is impaired
in Alzheimer's (researchgate)

Women tend to live longer than men. This is one of the most robust findings in biological science, and the evidence isn’t hard to find. In the U.S., women outlive men by almost five years, on average, while the gap is as wide as 10 years in Latvia and Vietnam. Now there is fresh evidence that women not only have a longevity advantage; their brains seem to be more youthful throughout adulthood, too.

We ought to be spending more research dollars on why men die earlier and why men are more susceptible to neural degeneration. Sure, this "unfairness" in allocating university research dollars is potentially a violation of Title IX, but the important scientific question is: do zombies prefer women's brains?

A Hoary Debate

April, 2018 rent control demonstration (Chron photo)

Rent control is back on the table in the legislature after Proposition 10, which would have allowed municipalities to impose rent control, was defeated last November.

The real estate boom, which in the Bay Area has more than doubled house prices in the past 10 years, has passed through to rents. Stories abound about the poor and elderly being forced to leave their apartments so that landlords can charge higher rents or convert their buildings to salable condos. It's hard not to feel sorry for these tenants.

As a matter of public policy, though, rent control is a bad idea. It's been around for nearly a hundred years, so we can observe its effects on the supply of housing and who actually gets the benefits of below-market rents.

Even the San Francisco Chronicle is opposed to rent control: [bold added]

Perhaps the voters understood that despite its populist appeal, rent control is the wrong answer to the state’s housing crisis. The policy benefits only those tenants who occupy controlled units, who are not necessarily the most vulnerable, at the expense not only of landlords but also of other renters.

Moreover, rent control diminishes the supply and maintenance of rental housing, exacerbating the shortages that drive up rents. That’s why economists broadly reject the approach. (Sample response to a poll of economists asking whether rent control improves the quality and quantity of rental housing: “Next question: Does the sun revolve around the Earth?”) A Stanford study of San Francisco’s 1994 expansion of rent control to smaller multifamily buildings found that it saved affected renters nearly $3 billion through 2012 — and cost the city’s other tenants about as much. Meanwhile, landlords took rental units off the market en masse, reducing the supply by 15 percent.

The people, as well as the experts, are in agreement. Eventually the bill will be defeated, especially since the impetus is toward encouraging investment in more housing supply. (Rent control is anathema to potential investors.)

The only group that stands to win from this hoary debate are the legislators who will receive "contributions" from both sides to rule in their favor. Why is that not surprising?

Hankering for Ramen

Hankering for a hot and hearty soup on a cold day, we stopped for ramen noodles at Serramonte Center in Daly City.

The rest of the country may favor creamy chowders, beans, and bacon, but here in California ramen can be stocked with vegetables, pork, and eggs to make a filling meal.

This ramen is different from the dried, MSG-laden product that we heated on the hot plate in our dorm. At $12 it's 50x the cost of the 1970's packaged version, but we’re happy to pay the price. It’s cold outside.

The Choice is Easy

Nov. 2018: Lt. Gov. Newsom, Gov. Brown, Paradise mayor Jody Jones, Pres. Trump, FEMA Adm. Long (AP)

The Wall Street Journal editorial page takes the side of California Governor Gavin Newsom:

The Governor on Friday declared a statewide emergency to expedite 35 wildfire-prevention projects including prescribed burns and tree-thinning around 200 cities over the next year. The emergency finding will let the state waive certain bureaucratic obstacles to tree-clearing. This could prevent a reprise of the last two horrific wildfire seasons in which 1.7 million acres burned. The Camp Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills last fall razed 14,000 homes and killed 85 people. [snip]

Yet Mr. Newsom is drawing fire from his friends on the left for waiving regulations such as the California Environmental Quality Act that produce mounds of paperwork and allow locales to veto sensible fuel-reduction projects for reasons unrelated to environmental protection. “The governor should reject this doomed, destructive approach” of thinning forests, the Center for Biological Diversity declared.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very Trumpian approach,” said Douglas Bevington, forest director of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

Doomed, destructive, Trumpian--adjectives that inflame the leftist base. The WSJ doesn't often agree with a liberal governor, but when it's a choice between liberalism and environmental extremism that endangers people, the choice is easy.

Today's Fishwrap

...or birdcage liner.

I suppose all these old-newspaper references are lost to today's readership, because who reads newspapers anymore?

As for magazines, I use them to sop up the leaks from green "bio" bags that I store in the refrigerator while awaiting the weekly compost pickup. Case in point—-Time's cover story in the impending impeachment of Donald Trump: [bold added]

But Pelosi is actually playing a deeper game. Her aides note that she’s never ruled impeachment out. All she’s done, they say, is set a standard: increased popular support and some degree of GOP backing...

But there are already signs Pelosi’s standard could be met...Large majorities say they would favor Trump’s impeachment and removal from office if Mueller finds he authorized coordination with Russia or obstructed justice.

Now that the Mueller report has found no Russian collusion or obstruction of justice, I suppose the raison d'être for impeachment, using Nancy Pelosi's standard, has gone away.

Fortunately, I have lots of bio bags this week, so it’s not a total waste of Time.

One Narrative Finally Wins

Two years ago I wrote about the two narratives that preoccupied the nation then and concluded:

the current or the past President is a "bad (or sick) guy!" (or maybe both are).

Now that the special counsel's report has been submitted, we have an answer. But back to the March, 2017 post, which does hold up remarkably and pathetically:

Who's the good guy and who's the bad guy? (WSJ photo)

Narrative One: Trump Stole the Election
President Trump and his campaign colluded with the Russians to hack communications between Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and other Democrats. The release of this information harmed the Clinton campaign, enough to swing the election. Transcripts confirm that meetings and phone calls occurred between key Trump staff and Russian officials. In exchange for help from the Russians, President Trump will make concessions to Russia on a range of issues; he and his staff also will personally profit from their cooperation. The communications continue to this day.

Narrative Two: Obama is Worse than Nixon
After the Obama Administration unsuccessfully applied for a law-enforcement warrant in June, 2016, the FISA Court approved a surveillance warrant in October. The court made its decision because of false or exaggerated evidence, and the eventual scope of the surveillance over Trump personnel was far wider than the warrant allowed. Since October information on Donald Trump and his staff has been feloniously leaked to the media by Obama appointees, some of whom remain in government. The purpose is to derail President Trump's timetable and question the legitimacy of his election. President Obama used the power of his office to damage the candidate of the opposition party much more than Richard Nixon ever did.

There are many details and nuances that the above summaries don't include. However, unless there are other major explanations, the current or the past President is a "bad (or sick) guy!" (or maybe both are).

Because the narratives are so different, and their respective premises are alarming, it behooves us to get to the truth as soon as possible. Per the WSJ ("Washington Goes Nuts"):

Political collusion with a foreign power and the abuse of intelligence collection to smear an opponent threaten the integrity of democratic institutions. Let’s hope the intelligence committees rise above their putative party leaders and tell America what really happened.

On this Sunday, a very old declaration:

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

2019: unfortunately, we now know that "the intelligence committees [did not] rise above their putative party leaders and [did not] tell America what really happened." America is more divided than ever, people have stopped listening to each other, and arguments are impervious to facts (both sides say that about the other).

Wake me when it's 2021.

The Light Eternal

20th-century choral music is not among my favorite genres, but works by Morten Lauridsen, 76, resonate. Meditative music speaks to our inner selves, and in the autumn of my life there's more receptiveness to that message.

Morten Lauridsen composed his modern requiem, Aux Aeterna, while his mother was dying.

Mr. Lauridsen said that “it was a great comfort to me in the two years it took me to write the ‘Lux Aeterna’ to go to those texts each day….I simply tried to write something very, very beautiful; a meditation, a quiet meditation about illumination.”...apart from the engaging beauty of his melodic gift and the diaphanous purity of his choral writing, his musical invention seems fired by his ability to tap his intimate knowledge of historical musical forms and techniques—from medieval chant and Renaissance polyphony onward.

Music can break through the listener's wall of rationality and release powerful emotions. Whether they are tied to spirituality or buried memories or something else, Morten Lauridsen appears to have found the key.

Spam: Long-Term Investment

Like clockwork it was time for the equinoctial (March and September) Spam sale at Costco. Though we already had 16 cans in the pantry I bought eight more.

The cans' expiration dates are 2021-2023, giving us plenty of time to consume the inventory.

Besides, one can never have enough emergency supplies in earthquake country, and even when opened spam takes days to spoil. It's not just food, it's a long-term investment.

The Full Flintstone

(Chronicle photos)

We've admired Hillsborough's "Flintstone House" for decades. From three years ago (scroll to bottom for update):

For nearly 40 years Peninsula motorists have been driving by a white, mushroom-shaped structure off Highway 280. When it was re-painted in 2007, the 2,730-square-foot orange-and-purple home was nicknamed the Flintstone House.

The unique Hillsborough property is listed at $4.2 million. If you can afford to cut a check for such a whimsical purchase, you're entitled to shout Yabba-Dabba-Doo.

The interior's special, too.

The metal dinosaurs are new (Mercury News photo)

2019: Hillsborough sues to declare Flintstone House a ‘public nuisance’

Calling it a “highly visible eyesore” and “out of keeping with community standards,” Hillsborough planning and building officials are asking a judge to officially declare the iconic Flintstone House a “public nuisance,” and they want a recently-erected metal menagerie of prehistoric animals, along with other features, removed.

Media mogul Florence Fang purchased the property in 2017 and quickly got to work remaking the backyard with a herd of 15-foot dinosaurs, plus a giraffe, mastadon, and brightly-colored mushrooms.

You've gotta admire owner Florence Fang for her commitment. If you're gonna go Flintstone, go full Flintstone.

Justice League

(Image from cdn.collider.com)

The Netflix DVD queue finally worked down to Justice League, the DC Universe's superhero team-up movie released in 2017. The disc had been sitting on the blu-ray player for over a month, and I half-heartedly popped it in. Expectations were low because the reviews had been mediocre.

Having low expectations about a movie--in fact, everything--is a useful policy in life to prevent disappointment and its partner, anger. A secondary benefit is that occasionally one is surprised on the upside. So I'm happy to report that I liked the movie. Its opening action sequences were great; the blend of CGI and live actors was seamless, and a few seconds on each character were sufficient background to allow the audience to move on to the story.

Justice League of America was one of my favorite comic books in the 60's. For 10 cents one could get a story with seven heroes (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter) instead of buying the separate books. Given the changes to the DC Universe, it was remarkable that the Justice League was largely intact a half-century after the original comic; for the movie Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter were subtracted and Cyborg was added.

Ben Affleck's Batman is the glue that holds the team together. He persuades the other recruits to join forces against the planet-destroying Steppenwolf. To these eyes the weakness of the film was the plot-obviousness of the MacGuffin: the three separated Mother Boxes that, if united, would destroy the world.

One of the film's pluses was the late introduction of Superman, whose presence usually shifts the balance of power to the good guys. (Superman is always a problem for comics writers because he's too mighty; they either have to get him out of the picture with some personal problem or weaken him with Kryptonite, which used to be exceedingly rare but now shows up in nearly every story.) Encouraged by Justice League, I'll put the DC Universe back on the follow list.

Netflix's blu-ray service levels.

Because I watch most videos on Netflix streaming and its rivals, I've been thinking about canceling the $9.99 per month Netflix DVD-rental service. However, the large majority of movies, for instance Justice League, are only available on disc. If I manage to view at least one a month this year, I'll keep the subscription.

Drought Gone, Nagging Down Ever So Slightly

After four straight years of normal-to-wet winters the State of California has finally been declared to be drought-free.

Getting the red (extreme drought) out (Chronicle graphic)

California has fully emerged from drought conditions for the first time since December 2011, and just 7 percent of the state remains abnormally dry, scientists said Thursday.

Rain and snowstorms that slammed the state this winter helped rebuild the snowpack, filled reservoirs and improved soil moisture, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Moderate spring temperatures are helping the snowpack stay intact and avoid early melting.

The main benefit of four years of wet weather, of course, is that there will be plenty of water this summer for everyone, including the farmers. But another benefit is that the nagging might abate slightly from cacophonic caterwauling to continuous clamoring (though you wouldn't know it from last week's demonstrations--see below), as we will gain a reprieve from global-warming-is-why-reservoirs-are-empty scoldings.

Anthropogenic global warming is still to blame for wildfires, floods, and declining fish and wildlife populations, but at least the volume will be turned down ever so slightly

They're Carefully Taught

On Friday they got to skip school and yell and scream. It was a good day to be a kid. (Chronicle photo)

Friday, March 15: [bold added]

Thousands of Bay Area students walked out of schools Friday to protest climate change and many of them marched down Market Street in a noisy, energetic show of youth frustration and determination....Similar protests took place across the U.S. and in more than 100 countries.

In San Francisco, about 2,000 students — many with their teachers’ blessing — and their parents gathered first in front of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office at 7th and Mission streets, then marched to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office at Market and Post streets before heading for a rally at Union Square.

This girl's photo was in the Chronicle print
edition and is strangely missing on the web

The kids received a valuable education on Friday. At a tender age they felt the adrenaline of anger and the rush of self-righteousness. In a crowd of the like-minded it was intoxicating.

Later, perhaps, in a moment of self-awareness they will understand how a Cultural Revolution can occur in late-60's China or why students like themselves burned books across Germany in 1933.

However, your humble blogger will not fall into the trap of pronouncing judgment on a person's character--especially a young person's--on the basis of one photograph, much like sophisticated adults blasted 17-year-old Nicholas Sandmann based on a single facial expression.

The lyrics from a musical that I heard as a child keep running through my head (with apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein for italicized changes to the second verse):

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people who say climate's not man-made
And people whom progressives can't persuade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught.

Energy Efficiency: Let the Market Work

(LED's. NY Mag photo)

Lately we've been buying LED's (light-emitting diodes) to replace our compact fluorescents (CFL's) and incandescents. We're installing LED's independent of any government incentives or penalties.

The price-performance relationship of LED's for us beats the other products, and we've come to that conclusion on our own....which is why your humble blogger finds the following headline irritating:

Trump administration could hamper shift to more efficient light bulbs

Energy efficiency is good, goes the thinking, so the Trump Administration should force the adoption of LED's by increasing the cost of incandescents or even outlawing them. Haven't we learned the lesson from the last energy-mandate fiasco? [bold added]

Congress established the first national light bulb efficiency standards in 2007, which were signed into law by President George W. Bush. Starting in 2012, the law required new light bulbs to use 28 percent less power than existing incandescent lights — essentially ending the sale of the older, inefficient bulbs.

(Photo from snopes)

Back in 2012 light-emitting diodes were costly, so most people installed CFL's. But the latter's mercury content made clean-up and disposal extremely expensive. Below are the EPA's recommendations for cleaning up a broken CFL bulb:

Before Cleanup

Have people and pets leave the room.

Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.

Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.

--Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:
--stiff paper or cardboard;
--sticky tape;
--damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
--a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During Cleanup

DO NOT VACUUM. Vacuuming is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. Vacuuming could spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor.

Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder. Scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag. See the detailed cleanup instructions for more information, and for differences in cleaning up hard surfaces versus carpeting or rugs.

Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After Cleanup

Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.

Next, check with your local government about disposal requirements in your area, because some localities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center. If there is no such requirement in your area, you can dispose of the materials with your household trash.

If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

We've always followed grandma's admonition to turn out the lights when leaving the room, so maybe we've saved a hundred bucks in electricity over the last seven years for switching to CFL's but sacrificed 10-20 man-hours for CFL cleanup and disposal, not to mention spending more time worrying about mercury poisoning.

So, Chronicle headline writer, leave alone the person who wants to replace an incandescent bulb with another incandescent; perhaps she will turn it on once a week in a storage locker, or maybe she likes its warm glow, or maybe she wants to heat up the lava lamp. Don't make her a criminal, and (sigh) stop making every story about the dastardliness of Donald Trump.

Foster City Village

On Sunday the Village came to town.

The nice people at Foster City Village gave a short presentation to our congregation, which fits right in with the Village's desired demographic:

Foster City Village is not a real estate development or another retirement community.

Our mission is to enable older adults to continue living in their homes and communities as they age by providing mobility, practical assistance, easy access to services, social connections and educational opportunities.

We are a non-profit, membership-based organization comprised of neighbors helping neighbors for an improved quality of life – enabling healthier aging for our members and peace of mind for their families.

Foster City Village, whose staff, volunteers, and members number 170 in our city of 30,000, is part of a 200+ network of "villages" that have sprung up across the country to cater to the needs of local senior populations. The presenters did describe the services--primarily transportation--that most members used, but the social and educational activities were especially emphasized.

My grandparents and parents spent their entire lives near where they were born, with many friends and relatives close by. That world is long gone, and many seniors live lives of quiet separation, far from their home towns. Organizations like the Village help to combat the epidemic of loneliness in the aged. Right now I have plenty of volunteering, family, and professional activities to keep my calendar full, so I won't be signing up, but some day....