Erratica Reduex

This week I have been in a mood. Practically a state. Today not even a long whirl on the stationary cycle improved things, so I did something I don't do nearly often enough; I went for a walk.

Today the destination was a local park that while practically in walking distance I haven't been to before, because they charge for parking, and truthfully it didn't look very interesting. So I parked on a side street, walked through the parking lot, and entered. To my surprise, it was much larger than it appeared on the inside, with paths leading down to a hollow surrounded by young redwoods. The noise of traffic was muffled there, and it was shady, wet and cool. I explored for a while, seeing the small amphitheater, the children's museum, and the old miniature railroad tracks that were disused now, covered with dirt tree litter. And then I went through a gate, and there was the Japanese Friendship Garden. There was a series of large shallow pools, small islands, and a waterfall tumbling down a small cliff of artfully placed boulders. Going up some nearby steps, I found another large lake, an island, a Japanese-style bridge going nowhere...and cherry trees. The trees were in early blossom, so I wandered in and around them. The trees were surrounded by bees, intent on the first thing to bloom near them.

And so I took some pictures. Here are a couple of the better ones (The rest will end up on my DA account):


( A picture of the upper pond. )


( Some not-so-good pictures of the trees. )


( I do like this close-up. )

All of this put me in a much better state of mind, ready to face my evening's client. It's interesting how quickly I forget in this highly urbanized area how much a walk outside in quiet nature heals my moods. I think I'll remember that from now on. And I also think I'll learn to use that nice camera I was given.

Over on the Extraordinary Observations blog, Rob Pitingolo comments on the fact that bicycling seems to be mainly a practice of people from the middle to upper income brackets. He speculates that the primary reason low-income people fail to use the new bike paths is due to culture. In my time in low-income neighborhoods, I've also observed a low usage of bicycles among the citizenry. I agree that culture may be considered, bnut that  an overbroad explanation for behavior that may have some practical roots. There's a couple of factors in bicycle use that could preclude it from being a common transportation mode in low-income areas, ones that well-to-do bikers might not consider.

First of all road infrastructure should be mentioned- not only in terms of repair, but the function of the roads. Bicyclists tend to come from areas that have roads with relatively low traffic, that are designed to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians as well as cars. Many low-income residents on the other hand tend to live in mixed-use areas, with heavy commuter, freight and other traffic, making bicycling actively dangerous. For an example, my residential neighborhood is separated from San Jose proper by an industrial section, and several very busy streets that cross the freeway and that include on and off-ramps. Between the trucks, service vehicles, students going to the university, and harried commuters, crossing into downtown is moderately hazardous for cars and pedestrians. It would be dangerous to commute to the city proper on a bike. However, outside of taking a several mile detour, there is no direct bike-accessible route between South San Jose and the downtown. It's likely that even if a bike route across the freeway was established, the surrounding area would be considered dangerous enough

Secondly, there is the capital outlay that needs to be considered. Bicycles are nearly always secondary for the wealthy, however, low income people can generally only afford only one vehicle- and the price for a decent bike and a car that can be "made runnable" isn't as different as it may seem. Given a choice between a vehicle that has limited cargo and passenger capacity and foul-weather use, a car is a more practical choice.

Bicycles require a degree of mechanical knowledge to keep in good shape, mechanical knowledge that generally isn't as available in low-income communities. While nearly everyone knows someone who has mechanical knowledge, and who can teach the basics of keeping a car maintained, unless there's a pre-established culture of bicyclists in a community, learning how to maintain a bicycle may be difficult.

Finally, there is the problem in establishing a bicycling culture in the first place; generally before bicycles are thought of as commuter vehicles, they are thought of as toys for children.; In low-income families, a bicycle for a child may be considered a major expense. Combined with neighborhoods that are perceived as not generally considered safe for bicyclists, then a culture of seeing a bicycle as a practical vehicle will have difficulty in arising. In my time in low-income neighborhoods, I've rarely seen children riding bicycles anywhere except in the safety of parking lots, under the watchful eyes of parents.

This isn't to say that these are the only, or even primary reasons that bicycle use isn't common in low income areas. I've done no formal survey; these are merely my impressions from living in low-income areas.

...and now I must sleep on a tree branch for a week.

I'm actually not used to eating a lot, especially fatty foods. As part of our weight management program, we've been eating smaller portions, with less meat, and even in parties I generally just nibble.

But today, with going out to watch the Sharks game with some friends at a restaurant- an affair that turned into a restaurant and a pub, I ate, and ate and ate. And I ate bad stuff: tortilla chips; cheese fries; a couple slices of pan pizza; a pulled pork sandwich. We're talking a massive carb and protein load, so when Sandy and I got home, we both immediately crashed and took naps, the same way we might after a night of drinking.

I have places to go, and people to give rides to tonight. And four hours later I still feel bloated and a little woozy. And of course, the Sharks lost. Thus the wages of sin.

Reading Metafilter today, I found this quote and reply that pretty much explains How Things Work.

Also, when Representative Gwen Moore was asked  to sum up what was going through her mind in the hours before the vote for health care reform, she broke out into a dance, pumped her arms in the air and sang the Michael Jackson song "Thriller."

Man, who could ever get bored with American politics?

My Gastro-Intestinal system has let me know that it wants to have an all-day sit-down meeting with me ASAP, regarding my recent performance. I don't think I'm going to be let go, but I've obviously been way too lax in my recent intake evaluations, which has caused trouble for all concerned. We're just going to have to see what can be done to avoid this sort of problem happening again.

Woke up this morning, with a cat standing on my chest, staring right down at me, inches from my my face.
"Hello Dorothy."
*stare* "Achoo!"
"Yaack!"
Nothing like getting sneezed at right in one's eyes to put the coming weekend in perspective.

On the other hand, I have packed my Trousers of Wonder, and as many other costumes as I can manage into a bag.  I am working on cookies, survival scones, and beef jerky.  Now we just need to see what, if any games I get into this year.  Assuming I don't have a cat-transmitted cold by Saturday.

A reason that is, besides using it to bang on the ceiling when the squirrels get annoying.

Helpful information from Science Digest: Didgeridoo Playing Improves Your Sleep!

This is going to be useful for both RxM and myself. Now all I have to do is learn how to play the damn thing. That and pick the ceiling bits out of the mouthpiece.

But now I go to work and I feel all warm and comfortable.

Unfortunately, it's got nothing to do with my actually work or relationship with my boss, and EVERYTHING to do with the cheap space heater I bought yesterday and installed under my desk. Hey, work sucks, but at least my feet are toasty warm and notice cold for the first time in weeks.

And maybe, just maybe, the really cheap heater will set something on fire under the desk. There's that to look forward to foor this holiday season.

The party last night brought to the fore an odd little element of my learning disability that fairly few people know about; while I have good hearing in general, my perception for speech is aweful, especially when there's competing noises. Too many competing noises andconversation becomes noise to me.

This actually came up a in a discussion about earworms at the party, when I was asked what earworm I currently had going through my head. This became a problematic question, because the way my hearing perception works, when I first hear a song, I normally hear singing as another instrument, without getting actually understanding most of the words. Normally it takes several repeated listenings for me to get most of the lyrics of a song. So last night, I couldn't remember any of the lyrics to the mindworm buzzing through my head, and responded with a vague approximation of the melody...which nobody could understand because I included both the instrumentals and the vocals into one tune.

This is, incidentally why I prefer smaller parties to large nois ones; it takes effort in a large party for me to hear anything someone is saying. It's also why when i'm concentrating on something, I won't understand a thing someone says to me.

Anyway, the song turned out to be the chorus from Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold:



Repeat ad infinitum, because I can't remember enough of the lyrics to do what I usuallly do with earworms, which is change the lyrics so they're a song about my cats.

Also, here's the music video for the song. I think it's pretty funny. It's good decade for music videos it seems...even if I can't remember the words.

Well, actually I'm still somewhat sick.  What I thought was an allergy-based migraine on Sunday turned out to be a nasty cold thaty kept me flat on my back for the last two days- not even any posting on LJ, for an indication of how bad it was.

But I'm back, now, sort of.  I'm on a bronchitus watch right now, since at this stage once the cold migrates downt ot my chest I have a 50% chance of developing bronchitus.  It's a sign of how old I am, that I can assign probabilities of where my illnesses will go.

So for those wondering, I'll take it easy for now.  Maybe a few links to interesting articles, some pics, and...oh yeah.  Lots of hot liquids, and going home if I get overtired.  And if I end up not going to thinktank or the parties this weekend, I hope people will understand.