On Hiatus

Ill health has forced me to take a break from blogging. There are some matters to take care of, and I hope I will be back soon.

Birthday Boy

(nightcafe image)

I sat in my highchair next to the dining table. In front of me was a birthday cake and a candle. Everyone sang the birthday song, and indeed I was very happy. People found it hard to believe that I remember anything of my first birthday; even less believable was what I did on my second, so I stopped telling these stories when I was a teenager.

On my second birthday there were cake, ice cream, and presents, and again I was very happy. The next day, however, I felt keenly the passage of time. The joy of my babyhood wouldn't last; my mother would give birth in a couple of months, and I would have to leave my crib for a bed in another bedroom. In a few years I would go to school and grow up.

I stood in the crib and committed the surroundings to memory. The floor was polished dark hardwood, and the walls were painted turquoise. My crib was next to the far wall by the window facing the street. Looking from the crib, straight ahead was the door to the hallway. The black rotary-dial telephone was mounted on the wall just outside the door.

Inside the bedroom on the left was a full length mirror. To the right of the door was a chest of drawers where my clothes were stored. Further to the right was a small closet and a wall where family pictures had been hung.

My grandparents' home was torn down decades ago, and the image of my bedroom exists only in memory. Yes, it was an ordinary sight, but it's special to me, as was my second birthday and birthdays I am now fortunate to enjoy.

A Nail-Biting Classic

The Dodgers celebrate (LA Times photo)

The Most Valuable Player of the 2025 World Series was a pitcher who was born and raised in Japan, but he wasn't Shohei Ohtani. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the complete game winner of game two, was the starter and winner of game six, and was the closer and winner of game seven.

The seventh game of the World Series, often a letdown, was a nail-biting classic decided in the 11th inning, but it didn't start auspiciously.

When Bo Bichette hit a three-run home run off of Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the third, it looked like Toronto was well on its way to a World championship; the Dodgers' anemic bats throughout the Series made a comeback a heavy lift. However, their relief pitching held the rest of the way as the visitors clawed their way back. The Dodgers were trailing 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning when their number-9 hitter became an unlikely hero.

Miguel Rojas became the first player to hit a tying home run in the ninth inning of a Game 7...Toronto was two outs from its first championship since 1993 when Rojas, inserted into the slumping Dodgers lineup in Game 6 to provide some energy, homered on a full-count slider from Jeff Hoffman and stunned the Rogers Centre crowd of 44,713.

“I’ve cost everybody in here a World Series ring," Hoffman said.

Rojas hadn't homered since Sept. 19.

The Dodgers finally prevailed in the 11th:

In the 11th, they finally won it, taking their first lead of the game on a Will Smith home run with two outs in the top half of the inning, then watching Yoshinobu Yamamoto — in his third inning of work, a night after throwing 96 pitches in a Game 6 win — close it all out on a double-play grounder to shortstop Mookie Betts.

The fans and even some players are talking about the Dodgers repeating as champions for the third year in a row. Los Angeles is not as dominant as the record indicates--just in the World Series there were a half-dozen plays where Toronto could have won the whole thing. Just appreciate what we just saw in Games 6 and 7 and let next year take care of itself.

It's Game 7, Baby

Your humble blogger is a front-running homer, that is, I usually follow baseball only when the hometown Giants are contending, but I have to admit that this year's postseason run by the Dodgers is must-see TV. Los Angeles' Shohei Ohtani has not only broken records, he has given us moments that Major League Baseball in its 149-year history has never seen before. Ohtani had nothing to do, though, with what happened in Game 6 of the 9th inning last night.

The ball hit the seam on the fly and became wedged

With the Dodgers nursing a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th, the Blue Jays leadoff hitter, Alejandro Kirk, was hit by a pitch and replaced by pinch-runner Myles Straw. Then a freak play happened. [bold added]

[Addison] Barger hammered a [Roki] Sasaki fastball over Hernandez's head in left field with a drive that left the bat at 106 mph as Straw rounded the bases. The ball headed for the padding on the outfield wall then became wedged just beneath it, stopping on a dime between the padding and the warning track.

Confusion was everywhere. Dodgers center fielder Justin Dean raced over and threw up his hands, calling attention to the trapped ball. Hernandez, who initially also had his hands up, ran over and started yelling at Dean to grab the ball and throw it into the infield because Barger was circling the bases.

"I was just screaming at him to get the ball and throw it in because that's the umpire's discretion," Hernandez said. "The fact that the ball stuck there doesn't mean that they're actually going to call ground-rule double. So I was screaming at him. That's kind of why I've lost my voice a little bit."

Left-field umpire John Tumpane called time as soon as he saw the ball trapped under the padding. Taking nothing for granted, Barger rounded third and crossed the plate. The fans thundered, certain they had seen the Blue Jays tie the score on a two-run, inside-the-park homer.

"Been here a long time," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "I haven't seen a ball get lodged ever. Just caught a tough break there."

The play was ruled a ground-rule double, sending Barger back to second and Straw to third. They advanced no farther after the wild play was confirmed on replay.

The Dodgers had caught a huge break. Still, there was a man on second and third with no one out and the potential winning run was coming to the plate. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Sasaki and installed potential Game 7 starter Tyler Glasnow in relief. Desperate times....

The ball arrives at 2nd a split second before Addison Barger

Glasnow got Ernie Clement to pop out to first base on the first pitch. The next batter, shortstop Andres Gimenez, hit a line drive that would normally have been a single and brought in the runners from second and third.

However, the Dodgers Enrique Hernandez was playing in shallow left field, caught the line drive and alertly threw to second baseman Miguel Rojas before Barger could get back to the bag. (Barger represented the tying run and had aggressively wandered too far from second base in case the ball fell for a single.) It was the first 7 to 4 game-ending double play in World Series history. (Position 7 is left field, and position 4 is second base.)

Bring on Game 7, baby!

Apple: Keep the Faith

NASDAQ is up 23% year-to-date, while AAPL has gained 8%. Still, it's 101 points higher than April.

As an Apple investor and fan of its products, I've been rushed (panicked?) into doing things too soon. Last April, worried about tariffs and a trade war with China, I mothballed my 6½-year-old XS Max and bought an iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Halfway through the product year I would have normally waited to order the new iPhone models in September.) Two months ago, pleased that the stock had recovered from the April tariff scare when it had hit a low of $169.21, I sold some AAPL at $241.50.

Tim Cook (Morris/Bloomberg/WSJ)

I should have had faith that the new iPhone 17 would be a hit, the problems with China would lessen, the stock would rise even more, and that CEO Tim Cook knew what he was doing.

It took two quarters for Tim Cook to save Apple from what was almost a disastrous year.

President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs risked massively increasing the company’s costs. A pending court ruling imperiled Apple’s lucrative Google contract. Plus, the company was seen as lagging on artificial intelligence.

Facing so much uncertainty, Apple tumbled to a market capitalization of $2.6 trillion in April and lost its title as the world’s most valuable company.

Six months later, Cook pushed Apple’s market value above $4 trillion for the first time. That’s more than 10 times what the company was worth when Cook took over as chief executive from Steve Jobs 14 years ago.

I am pleased with the iPhone 16 purchase and that I took some profits in the stock. However, if I had not let emotions cloud my judgment, it would have been even better.

Robert Louis Stevenson Monument

Robert Louis Stevenson monument

Portsmouth Square Park in San Francisco predates the 1848 Gold Rush, and its monument to poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson is 128 years old. Portsmouth Square is undergoing a $71 million renovation, and Chinese-American organizations want the monument to be removed, apparently because "Stevenson 'had nothing to do with Chinatown.'” Writer Ron Lee, whose grandfather was a friend of Stevenson's, says removal would be a mistake.

Before marrying and leaving San Francisco in 1880, Stevenson lived in Chinatown. While in the city, he made daily jaunts to Portsmouth Square, where he sat for hours on end, watching the comings and goings of residents.

He also became friends with a loquacious Chinese teenager named Chow Chong, who later in his life became my grandfather. Chong’s family lived in a building facing the square on what is now Walter U Lum Place, and he took Stevenson on tours of Chinatown.

My grandfather belonged to a family of seafarers who routinely sailed their ocean-going junk on trade expeditions back and forth to Kwong Hoy, China. They were in the funeral trade and members of the clan in their home village manufactured teakwood coffins to be sold in San Francisco. They also embarked on monthly trips to Monterey Bay, and Stevenson described his newly found Chinese friends as “vagabonds of the seas.”

R L Stevenson (Brittanica)

Stevenson was invited on two occasions to join my grandfather’s family on a voyage to the Chinese fishing village at Point Alones in Monterey Bay. Along the way, they anchored at China Beach on the northern tip of San Francisco, and Stevenson watched while Chong and his uncles climbed a hill and started digging up boxes. Stevenson, who would go on to write the classic novel “Treasure Island,” imagined his new friends must be uncovering their own hidden riches. Instead, he learned that boxes contained human remains of Chinese nationals that had been earmarked for repatriation to villages across the Pacific.

The practice known in Cantonese as “jub gwut,” meaning “pick up bones,” was a sacred tradition to Chinese “sojourners” who had come to “Gum San” (Gold Mountain) with hopes of earning a fortune and then returning home. If one should unfortunately perish along the way, their remains were considered by their descendants to be more valuable than gold, and a burial back in an ancestral village was a sacred vow.

The voyages, plus Chong’s tales of avoiding pirates and British gunboats in the seas around China, deeply influenced Stevenson. In 1880, he published stories in a magazine called Frasier’s that were similar to those that had been told to him by my grandfather’s family, only with a treasure-hunting theme. It’s speculated that those stories eventually led him to write “Treasure Island,” and I often wonder whether the novel’s protagonist, Jim Hawkins, was partly inspired by a Chinese teenager.

Stevenson also wrote disapprovingly of rabble rousers such as Denis Kearney, whose racist rants went a long way in the eventual passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred most immigration from China.

Despite the fact that Robert Louis Stevenson was not Chinese, or that his monument may have been funded by a man who was an anti-Chinese racist, it seems like a good idea to retain the cenotaph in the renovated square. Stevenson did nothing objectionable and had a historical connection to Chinatown. Besides, haven't we had enough attempts to erase history? I hope this is one monument that won't be torn down.

Costco's Iconic Hot Dog

Around lunch time there are customers who come into Costco just for the hot dog. The hot dog and soda combination costs $1.50, the same price when it was first introduced in 1984. While the direct cost of the material ingredients could possibly be less than $1.50, Costco undoubtedly experiences a loss once one includes Food Court labor, utilities, and the capital cost of the equipment and space.

Instead of a cost-based approach, the Chronicle estimates what the price would be if it had merely kept up with inflation:

What’s still a $1.50 hot dog and soda would be setting you back well over twice as much: $3.96.

..The $1.50 hot dog deal is more about marketing than money-making, said Martha Gimbel, the executive director of the Yale Budget Lab.

“There’s so much that is changing right now in our world. Everything feels very uncertain. It sounds kind of silly, but you can rely on the fact that Costco has a hot dog for $1.50,” she said...

It’s still a soda and a hot dog, but the dog is now made by Kirkland Signature instead of Hebrew National. They were first sold at carts, then in an area dubbed “Cafe 150” (named for the price), though it’s now just known as “the Costco food court.”

At one point, the food court sodas at Costco came in cans from vending machines, but Costco switched to fountain soda to save money....And this summer, the retailer shifted from Pepsi back to Coke in yet another cost-saving move.

Even at $3.96 I would still buy the combo, but the $1.50 hot dog and $4.99 rotisserie chicken have become iconic. They're also a lifeline to those on a shoestring budget, so kudos to Costco for holding fast.

Sam Wo Lives (Again)

The late, great Edsel Ford Fung (left), the "world's
rudest waiter," in a gallery photo from the website.

When we first posted on Sam Wo Restaurant 22 years ago, the signs of its demise were unmistakable: the menu was dated, the dishes didn't provide good value, and the decor was on the verge of going to seed. ("If Sam Wo is here 20 years from now, I'll be very surprised.")

Since then Sam Wo went out of business twice--the second time was this January--and its chapter in San Francisco's history appeared closed. To my pleasant surprise, Sam Wo is back:

The century-old establishment, almost certainly the most famous restaurant in Chinatown, reopened its doors in early September under new ownership. There are updates to the menu — more dim sum, including sections for steamed and fried “tapas.” Also, instead of potent Hong Kong-style lemon tea and milk tea, there’s a list of oolongs and pu-erhs from Vital Tea Leaf, available by the pot. Not to fear, the barbecue pork rice noodle roll ($) is still on the menu.

I'll be sure to pick up a T-shirt the next time I go.

Harmful Beauty

Mute swan (Fish and Wildlife photo)

For thousands of years (see Greek mythology) swans have been regarded as creatures of beauty. It therefore seems incongruous that California Fish and Wildlife has declared open season on mute swans. [bold added]

Individuals with a California hunting license will now be able to “take,” or kill, invasive mute swans starting Jan. 1, a Monday news release from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says. According to officials, the S-shaped bird, famously used as a symbol of beauty, elegance and grace, is an aggressive species capable of critically injuring children and pets, and must be reined in.

...Mute swans are kind of like “aquatic feral pigs,” CDFW spokesperson Melanie Weaver told SFGATE over the phone Wednesday. Despite their striking physical appearance, the birds pose a serious threat to Northern California’s marine ecosystem, and homeowners now have the authority to shoot them if they’re on their property, regardless of whether they have a license, Weaver said.

That’s because mute swans unapologetically consume up to 8 pounds of aquatic vegetation per day, destroying crucial food and habitat for native species.

In California there are restrictions against shooting wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. For property owners to be given carte blanche to kill an animal must mean that mute swans cause harm, have no constituency, and are truly valueless.

Of Humility, Exaltation, and Mercy

(Image from patrickcomerford)

The specific details of the Pharisee-tax collector passage from Luke aren't as well-remembered as the more famous parables, but the theme is very familiar: [bold added]

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."----Luke 18:10-14

When we plead our case before earthly tribunals, we are allowed to make the case for ourselves. Just like the Pharisee touted his good deeds, we can cite ours, how we have never run afoul before, etc. But it is all for nought with the implacable Judge, whose Law is immutable and who has perfect knowledge of both our deeds and what is in our hearts.

If we are lucky enough to be granted time to ready ourselves for the next world, we must forsake what makes us virtuous in the eyes of our fellow man and ask for God's mercy.

Bay Area Stand Down

Demonstrators at Coast Guard Island, Alameda (Wittpenn/Chron)

President Trump said on Thursday that he would not order the National Guard into San Francisco. Yesterday Federal officials confirmed that immigration enforcement actions, including sending the National Guard, were suspended in the entire Bay Area.

The Rev. Deborah Lee, co-executive director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, a coalition of 300 faith groups across California, was happy to hear the “welcome news” of the Bay Area-wide stand-down, but also wanted to “to make sure that there’s not a false sense of security. … We also want to make sure people don’t let their guard down too much because we’re still in an overall difficult reality.”

In front of Coast Guard Island Bridge shortly after noon Friday, protesters were cautiously optimistic after Lee’s announcement.

“It’s not over yet, but that they’re out of Oakland for now is a huge win for us,” said protester JP Hayes.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said protester Ryan Hasty. “Trump could change his mind tomorrow. We need to let them know that even into the future, we don’t want to see it.”

The anti-ICE protestors should take the win and be happy, but your humble blogger senses a tinge of disappointment in some of them that there won't be a confrontation. Eh, it's probably just my imagination.

"A Young Bear Finding Its Way in the World"

(Sequoia Park Zoo/Chronicle)

A bear broke into a Northern California zoo seeking companionship from the captive bears:

The visitor, a black bear, “was observed interacting” with the Eureka zoo’s three black bears through the fencing on their habitat, the zoo said...

The Sequoia Park Zoo backs into wooded area where wild animals, including bears, are common, said Jim Campbell-Spickler, the zoo’s director. But it was the first time he’s heard of a bear coming in.

“He was able to get in by climbing a tree but was not able to get out” until staff let him out through a service gate back into the woods, Campbell-Spickler said. He said the bear was likely 1½ years old, around 150 pounds and dark brown in color (black bears can also be cinnamon brown and blond). “Not an aggressive bear in any way. He was just a curious guy.”

...Campbell-Spickler said the bear didn’t enter any animal habitats or break any fences, though it did explore some “enrichment items,” or mentally stimulating toys that the zoo provides to its animals...

Campbell-Spickler thought the bear could smell the other bears and that enticed it to check them out.

“It was a young bear finding its way in the world,” he said.

It's difficult enough deciding between freedom and security, but when you add food and companionship to the mix the latter is very compelling. Don't be surprised if the bear returns.

Trump Backs Off

Donald Trump and Jensen Huang in April (Chron)

President Trump threatened to send National Guard troops into San Francisco, but today he called off the move.

Under pressure from two of Silicon Valley’s most prominent executives, President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly abandoned plans to deploy federal agents to “clean up” San Francisco — an idea the administration had floated since Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff suggested ahead of the Dreamforce conference earlier this month that the National Guard might be needed to address the city’s safety problems.

Now, after weeks of criticism from residents, colleagues and civic leaders, Benioff — alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — may have helped spare San Francisco from a federal invasion.

“Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”

Mayor Daniel Lurie, in a statement Thursday, confirmed the president “told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco.”

“Friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress,” Trump wrote.

The mayor said he touted the city’s momentum during the call.

“San Francisco is on the rise,” he said. “Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office” — and warned that “having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”

It always helps to have the CEO's of some of the nation's most prominent companies ask President Trump to do or not do something. They can be very persuasive. Pity poor Portland, which lacks anyone with such clout.

Admissions AI: Not Fully Thought Through

(Linkedin image)

Stacey Brook, "creator of CollegeEssAI, an ethical AI tool for college essay writing," believes that there is an ethical way to use artificial intelligence (AI) in admissions essays. [bold added]

If, for instance, a student tells an AI platform they want to write a personal essay about their love of crafting intricate Halloween costumes, requesting prompts to help them explore this topic, AI might ask things like: What is a Halloween costume you created that you are especially proud of, and what was the inspiration? What does the process of creating a costume look like for you? Where else does this creative instinct manifest itself in your life?

Those questions are comparable to those posed by writing tutors, and, better still, they come free of charge to anyone with access to technology. They also represent potential pathways for more directed storytelling and reflection than a student would likely generate independently. Most students don’t have experience writing personal narratives before they are asked to do so for a college admissions essay.

While students applying to college should check a school’s specific policies on using AI on an application, using it as an assistive, self-teaching tool instead of as a ghost writer can lead to essays that are complex, contemplative and more authentic than something ChatGPT simply spits out. AI can actually help applicants hone creativity and strategic thinking, but only when used properly.

Using Ai as a spell- and grammar-checker is ok, IMHO, since those capabilities were included in word-processing software before AI. What Stacey Brooke suggests is reasonable but goes against the strict prohibitions demanded by college admissions offices.

Better--and it does involve more work by colleges--would be for candidates to attach all communications with AI that they used in composing their essays. As we are all feeling our way at the dawn of a new age, disclosure is the way to go, not imposing rules that haven't been fully thought through.

A Rare Sighting

(Raifman/Chronicle)

A white fawn has been spotted in an East Bay park.

The odds of spotting a white deer might be slightly better than that: Around one in 30,000 deer are born with albinism, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Krysten Kellum. She identified [photographer Matthew] Raifman’s sighting as a black-tailed deer, which number around 500,000 in California — meaning roughly a dozen are albino.

Wildlife biologist Ellie Bolas hopes that the fawn and its mother and siblings stick close to East Bay populated areas, where there are fewer mountain lions. Good advice for us all.