Fiat Lux – Page 71 – It's Latin for 'Let There Be Light'

As If That Wasn’t Enough

As if the high gas prices weren’t bad enough, there’s more for Bay Area residents to worry about: the spectre of water shortages to come:

Frank Gehrke and Dave Hart of the state Department of Water Resources didn’t even bother to take their measuring devices out of their vehicle before they hiked out into a barren field near Highway 50 at Phillips Station, a roadside stop established in 1859 at the 6,800-foot level.

Patches of white lingered on the hills around them, and the Sierra peaks were snowcapped in the distance. But all the surveyors spotted on the ground at Phillips Station were lodgepole pine cones and a few scattered dog droppings.

The meadow was under 67.4 inches of snow on the same date last year, double the historic average.

“This is definitely a dry year, no doubt about that,” Hart said.

[snip]

[Nearly all] reservoirs in the system will be filled to start the dry season, PUC spokesman Tony Winnicker said, because of the excess water in previous years. But there won’t be enough runoff to refill the reservoirs as the year progresses. That sets up a potential water shortage in 2008, unless next winter turns out to be wetter than average and recharges the system.

Officials will assess usage and storage trends in July. Contingency plans for mandatory cutbacks already are being drafted just in case. The system serves customers in San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara counties.

I’m Sensing a Theme For This Week

A right rear tire blowout on Highway 280 while on one’s way to work does not generally bode well for the rest of the day. I’m Ok, but as you can see, the tire is complete toast. Great.

Being a gal who doesn’t know much about cars, I call the “car guy” brother-in-law while I wait for AAA to show up, and check with him what I should expect to pay for a new tire. He tells me. So far so good.

I get nervous when the AAA tow truck driver tells me, “I know just the place where you can get that fixed.” I’m thinking to myself, “Yeah right. How much does this place pay you to steer business their way?”

In short, I’m expecting to be massively ripped off. Instead, I get taken to a little home in the wall place on a side street off Stevens Creek in Cupertino.

Imperial Automotive isn’t much to look at. Two bays, two mechanics, lots of stuff lying around, the owner up front, and a bunch of old imports waiting to be worked on. But looks are not everything. The guys there rotated the best of the remaining tires onto my back wheels and set me up with a new set of front tires with no wait time, and for $40 less than the brother-in-law said I’d probably have to pay for the work. They also, and for no charge, reattached a plastic guard thingie on the underside of my car that had gotten knocked loose by the tow truck guy.

While they were at it, they checked my brake pads and suggested that the next time I get an oil change I might want to have the pads replaced. I was so surprised that they weren’t trying to push me into having the work done right then and there, I almost forgot to thank them.

I got to work a few hours late, and a little worn out from the stress, but all in all it turned out to be an OK morning.

Something Changed Today

This was the scene in San Mateo this morning, on my way to work. $3.45 a gallon for regular gas.

I could drive a mile or two out of my way and save about a nickel a gallon, but for where I live, this is an average-priced station, neither top nor bottom of the pack.

In short, it’s now costing me $7 a day in gas alone, just to drive to work.

I think I might have hit my change point when it comes to gas prices.

UPDATE 5/2 It’s gone up a couple of cents more since I posted this.

I’ve researched mass transit options, but CalTrain + biking the 3 miles from the CalTrain San Jose station would be $11.50 a day and roughly double my current commute time. Plus there’s no shower in the office, so if I broke a sweat on the ride to work I’d be gross and yukky all day.

*sigh* This stinks.

One bit of good news is that my boss seems to be open to the idea of me working from home at least part of the time.

Speaking of Commuting

I bow in humble thanks before the Goddess of Commuting that my commute doesn’t go anwhere near the utter mess that’s been made of the East Bay / Bay Bridge. And it didn’t even take an earthquake, just one fool in a tanker truck.

[Highway] 580 at Interstate 80, located near Emeryville [looks] to be completely destroyed. The tanker explosion caused the upper deck of a connector ramp to collapse onto the lower deck, according to a California Highway Patrol dispatcher.

Interstate 580 is closed approaching the Bay Bridge, according to the dispatcher.

The dispatcher said eastbound Interstate 80 to eastbound Interstate Highway 580 collapsed after heat from the tanker explosion on the westbound Interstate 580 at Interstate 80 rose and melted the upper roadway.

The East Bay in general has sucktastic traffic; this isn’t going to help any.

Small Annual Rituals

One of the rituals of spring, when I was growing up, was putting all the outdoor furniture back out onto the terrace at my grandparents’ summer home. In a time when central air was much less common than it is today, being able to relax outdoors, shaded by trees and a cool afternoon breeze, was an important part of keeping cool.

Forget Memorial Day — the day we hauled the glass-topped table and its matching (and uncomfortable) metal chairs, the more comfortable blue plastic chairs and recliners, and the little side tables for holding drinks and snacks out from the basement, around the yard, and up onto the terrace, then cleaned it all off and arranged it into the familiar pattern, was the day the “season” really began.

I live in an apartment now, a long way from that Connecticut house which now belongs to my parents. But some things don’t change. Today I took a sponge and some Windex and cleaned off my terrace furniture in preparation for the warmer months to come.

Tonight, I’ll sit outdoors and drink a glass of wine. Life’s good when the days are long.

Friday Cat Blogging

Tommy guards Scott’s knapsack, and his stack of unread copies of PC Magazine.

Now that the dust from grad school has settled, I’ve realized I miss learning new stuff. So, I’m going to look around for a digital photography class. I took one short class on SLR photography some years ago, but have pretty much given up on using my SLR ccamera. I’d like to learn how to use my digicam better.