On my way to work this morning I saw that repair work has begun on the Joyce Ellington branch library building in the Northside. The building was damaged on Sept. 7 or 8 when a police chase ended with the fugitive crashing into the southeast corner.

Given the need (I hope) for a competitive bid process to hire the repair workers, and the likely state of city finances, I’m impressed that they’ve gotten started working on this just a month after the damage happened.

The National Hockey League season is under way. Tonight the Anaheim Ducks of Southern California near Los Angeles visit the Tank for the home opener against the Sharks of San Jose.

The Sharks will begin their quest to make it past the second round of the playoffs. Last season everyone and their puppy said the Sharks would be Stanley Cup champions. That assumption, I believe, was based on the outcome of a video game. This season the so-called experts have them dueling it out in the Pacific with Anaheim and Dallas.

But wait, do not despair. The Sharks have added three new defensemen to help improve on last season’s suspect defense. Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich, and Rob Blake are the new additions. You remember the L.A. Kings’ Rob Blake; he is the guy you booed every time he stepped out on the ice.

If Marleau plays as he did last season after the trade deadline, Cheechoo finally gets off to an early start scoring, and Joe is, well Joe, then there is an excellent chance to see some exciting hockey. No, I was not going to say they would make it to the finals. I no longer hold my breath in anticipation.

Jeremy Roenick is back! Kyle McLaren is gone.

We will once again be mesmerized by the outstanding saves by Evgeni Nabokov.

We will cheer for Ron Wilson and Vesa Toskala in Toronto.

With the current economic situation, some of you may need to watch the pocket book and stay home. At least you can listen to Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda (TV) and Dan Rusanowsky (radio).

For the real story about the Sharks visit the Sharks’ website, Broadcaster Blog, and our friends at Sharkspage.

So, Sunday morning, my husband and I are going over what to do with our day. On any given Sunday our plan is to take the children and dog to a local walking trail and get some sunshine and exercise. But on the 5th of October, he wanted to do something new and different. While looking up stuff on the web, I looked over my shoulder at my husband, who had both children climbing on him like a mountain, and it reminded me and the huge pyramid of pumpkins at Uesugi Farms.

Poor Claire had to stay home, the farm doesn’t allow pets. She looked so forlorn. We filled her bowl with fresh water, gave her a hug and a Greenie, and told her to be good. She normally is, Good girl dog.

So, I quickly assembled a lunch for us (note: they ask that people not bring in their own food, but won’t kick you out if you open up a lunch box. The food is pretty expensive there, liken to a baseball stadium).. packed up the kids, and headed out to Morgan Hill around 10:am. I had taken my kids there last year in October, and was surprised my oldest remembered. She kept saying “chugga, chugga chugga! Choo-Choo!!” definitely her favorite part is the train, and then talked incessantly about the “great huge” Pumpkin pyramid. I was thrilled that she was excited. My husband was happy too, he rarely gets to be a part of this kind of outing. I stay at home, so, I’m the one out and about with the girls. It a was great start to this plan.

When we arrived I was pleased to see the parking lot fairly empty, knowing that the place can get very busy with families and different groups. I don’t know if it was because it was early in the season, or just early in the day, but we got close to the entrance which minimized walking distance and a chance of excited bolting from the kids. I haven’t decided if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, that the first thing you are greeted with is public toilet stalls. My daughter and I did have to use one almost immediately after the drive, but it’s not really a pretty site. But that’s just a small thing, I suppose they had to put those stalls somewhere, once you are inside, you basically forget about them, well, until you need it again..

Inside you are met with friendly faces of workers, everyone is so happy you are there. Pumpkin movers in bright orange shirts, and guides who are willing to tell you anything you could need to know. And then there’s the Mariachi Band touring around the farm. I loved that band, they actually played, “A few of my Favorite Things” Mariachi style, that was very cool indeed! There is a Pumpkin Lady walking around greeting the people. She’s OK, a tad bit scary, my kids were taken back a little, and I was too at first. But she is G rated, and won’t walk up to children if they seem afraid (one little chap cried and ran the opposite direction, I didn’t know who to feel more sorry for). There is a great amount of things to see and do, the Giant Pumpkin stands out completely, and then there are the corn rows and mazes, a genuine haunted barn, and two trains to enjoy. There is a field of pumpkins and flowers to walk around, and take some fabulous pictures among. The scenery is gorgeous, and it’s great to see all the smiles and happy children running and looking at the different pumpkins.

Of course you can choose your own pumpkin to buy, there are numerous sizes to choose from, from the hand held variety, to the kind you need a wheelbarrow (which are readily available and free for your use). We ended up with 4 total, two the kids were able to hoist into the wheelbarrow themselves and two handpicked by my husband and I.

So, we were out of there by 1:pm, and ready to go. The kids were cheery by exhausted, my husband and I were glad we made a day out of this farm. It’s a really nice place for families, I totally recommend it!

On October 16, 1968, SJSU students Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a silent gesture on top of the Olympic podium that shook the world and put San Jose on the map. Forty years later, the university will relive that spirit of activism by hosting Legacy Week from Oct. 13-16, according to the Spartan Daily (Read their excellent special section here).

Events include a keynote from activist rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy, public screenings of a documentary, a “Speed City” exhibition at the Cesar Chavez Community Action Center, and information on what SJSU has done — and continues to do — to encourage activism.

A Great Big Thank You to Joann Landers, who asked if I wanted to write a blog here on Metblogs. What a huge honor in my humble opinion!  

I am your average 40-something woman, living in West San Jose,  married, two small kids and dog.  We like our world, it flows with the tide of life, with a whole lot of interesting things to see and do.

 

 

Joann asked if I would write about my observations, that is, with two kids and a dog in tow. Which I am happy to oblige. I’ll do my best to bring a little of my life into yours!

See you around, 

mrskarenf

Togo’s must feel your pain…

Flash Back to the 70s when students of San Jose State would pay out a whopping $1.99 for a 6″ Togo’s classic sandwich.

Did you know that in 1968, the very first Togo’s opened on East William Street near 7th St in downtown San Jose?

To cheer us up, Togo’s on Wednesdays anyway, will return us to those thrilling days of yesteryear and once again ask for that same 70s price.

This thoughtfulness started on Wednesday October 1st and will run for seven more weeks (including today).

What a deal details.

No, not another post about politics.

We are talking about a cool new Gmail feature from Gmail Labs called Mail Goggles.

Late at night when you are a bit too sleepy or maybe had one too many adult beverages Mail Goggles steps in to make sure you really want to send that email, the one that next morning you may very much regret having sent.

How does Mail Goggles check that you are coherent? It gives you a math quiz! Yikes!

Good news is that you can set the level of difficulty to those math problems. Even if I were to set the difficulty level to remedial, my email probably never would be sent.

Enable Mail Goggles under Labs under Settings when logged into Gmail.

By default, Mail Goggles is only active late night on the weekend; however, you can adjust days and times in the General settings.

A few other features under Labs include Custom keyboard shortcuts; Mark as Read Button; and one that I definitely need, Forgotten Attachment Detector.

Bottom line, your email will not be sent if you had too much to drink or you are inept at math.

While out making the political rounds, I found myself at the Vote No On Prop 8 HQ here in San Jose.

I am one conservative who urges a No Vote On Prop 8.

Same-sex couples should not be treated differently under the law.

Yes Rosanne, now you are famous! Thanks for holding up the sign.

The Vote No On 8 site.

At 43 East Gish I found volunteers manning the front desk of the new Obama HQ. - (408) 453-4021

Event Watch Party - Oct. 7th
5:00pm
Debate: 6:00pm
RSVP: (408) 453-2135
(You may want to call first)

OBAMA

I stopped by the San Jose Republican Headquarters at 522 Monroe Street - Near Valley Fair Mall‎.

Kimberlee invites Metblog readers to visit the Party site for information.

Event: Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley
Date: October 7, 2008
Time: 7PM
Location: The American Legion Hall, 958 Homestead Road, Santa Clara, CA 95050

Gary’s excellent post reminded all of you to register before Oct. 20. Go do that. Now. You should also be informed about what you’re voting for, so here’s where to go for information. (If this list is too overwhelming, I would stick with smartvoter.org, easyvoter.org and politifact.com.)

LOCAL

Smart Voter
Enter your address and see everything that will be on the ballot in your neighborhood — every person running for your district, every measure that applies to your area. If you did not already get your voters’ guide in the mail, this is the perfect place to start.

County election offices
Since this blog covers much of the South Bay, you may be located in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo or Alameda counties. Here is where you can register to vote, check if you’re registered and download information on local elections.

San Jose Mercury News Elections section
You can make an argument about bias one way or the other, but never mind that — it does have good information that could help you decide on local issues.

STATE

California Voter Information Guide
The official voter guide from the Secretary of State. This is the online version of what you should have received in your snail-mail box.

Easy Voter
A plain-English site that spells out nicely who is running, what the California propositions mean, and who is opposed to what and why.

Secretary of State elections
This site outlines how to get ON the ballot, whether as a candidate or introducing an initiative. It’s too late for this election, naturally, but a good resource nonetheless.

NATIONAL

Politifact
If you’re tired of trying to figure out which national candidate to believe, this is a great resource to see quickly who just lied about what.

Factcheck
Another great fact-checking resource From the Annenberg Public Policy Center. This goes more in-depth than Politifact.

Open Secrets
Follow the money: see who is donating to candidates and elected officials.

EDITED TO ADD:

Project Vote Smart
Look up your candidates and current office-holders by zip code, then easily find their voting record, public statements, speeches and videos. This site excels with the lesser-known local and state representatives. An invaluable resource.

Glassbooth
Still not sure who you’re voting for in the presidential race? This site will quiz you on your core values and match you with a candidate.

This morning I stopped by my local Safeway to pick up a container of raspberries. Near the front of the store I noticed a display for a free DVD. All I would have to do was to buy $40 in home care products in a single transaction then Iron Man would be mine. They were specific products like Bounty paper towels, Duracell, Kleenex Reynolds foil and others. Pushing the cart down each aisle I saw that the products for the promotion had special price tags indicating that they were participating items. I carefully selected the products worth $40, and then some, the raspberries, other groceries, and the DVD.

The man at the checkout told me that my plastic bags of stuff did not qualify for a free movie. Why not? I had followed all of the rules and surely I had well over the specified $40. He could only direct me to the customer service desk.

Resolving the problem with Tiffany, at the desk, should have been easy. She asked me which of the items would get me the movie. Shouldn’t she have known this? I told her that it would be all that was non-eatable. Using an oh-so bothered tone of voice she asked me to follow her back to a checkout.

Picking off of master list, she would call out the products not found on it. This is where it got ugly. When I told her that she was wrong because I had noted the special price tag for each item purchased, she said that she would attempt to explain it to me. Attempt!!! I let Tiffany know that I did not appreciate her inferring that I was too stupid to shop at Safeway. I followed with, “I might be better off getting a refund”. She was all ready for that, but I wasn’t about to let her win the war! I stood my ground until she marched off to the manager’s office. She returned asking a co-worker to put the stuff back into the cart, for she was letting me have it all. I asked if that meant that the things I bought were actually correct. Not admitting to the mistake she said that she had customers waiting, mumbling something about getting me out of the store. I wasn’t a customer? She obviously found out that some of the products had not been entered into the store computer correctly. No apology for me, and I had to remind her that she still owed me the almost $20 for the so-called free DVD.

File under: Customer Service From Hell.

There are a couple of guys wandering around the country offering magic potions, each magic potion having its own ingredients to cure all of your grievances. They want to be your best friend. Well, they want to be your friend at least until early November.

If you are planning to vote in the November 4 Presidential General Election and you have never registered before or you need to re-register you must do so by October 20.

You will need to re-register if you have moved, changed your name or wish to change the political party from your previous registration.

You can download and print a form from the Registrar of Voters Website here. Look for the Register to Vote link on the left.

You can also pick up the registration forms at post offices, libraries, and most local government offices and at the registrar’s office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose.

Mailed registration forms that are postmarked no later than October 20 will be accepted. Voters may also return the forms to the registrar’s office no later than October 20.

If you are uncertain that you are registered to vote, check here.

More voter information on the Secretary of State Website here.

Registrar of Voter’s Office: 408-299-8683

You haven’t heard from me lately because I’ve been out of town for a couple of weeks. When I got back, probably the best thing waiting for me in the stack of accumulated mail (alongside the pile of bills) was the latest newsletter from PAC*SJ, the Preservation Action Council of San Jose.

The Fall 2008 newsletter (PDF) is exactly the kind of thing I joined PAC*SJ for. It has an update on the organization’s efforts to work with the SJ redevelopment agency to make a survey of the city’s mid-century buildings as they begin to achieve historic status, notes from a meeting on the fate of Mountain View’s historic Hangar 1 blimp hangar, a list of endangered historic buildings, and articles on the former San Jose Martin Luther King Library and on Brutalist and Googie style buildings in the San Jose area.

Most importantly, the city of San Jose is planning to demolish the 1970 Martin Luther King, Jr., library building. Although many people would currently think of this building as merely dated and not historical, in fact there’s several reasons to think we’ll regret it if we demolish the building. It was the largest public building constructed by the city when it opened, and is an example of the brutalist style that was prevalent during a period of major growth for the city. For a more detailed argument for saving this building, see the newsletter.

If you’re interested in preserving San Jose’s (and the South Bay’s) architectural history, you should consider supporting PAC*SJ by taking an affordable membership, or at least check out their newsletter.

This Wednesday physicist Leonard Susskind of Stanford University will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on The Black Hole Wars: My Battle with Stephen Hawking. No background in science will be required for this talk or having seen Disney’s The Black Hole.

For two decades, physicist Susskind battled cosmologist Stephen Hawking over the behavior of black holes.

Hawking’s theory is that when information falls into a black hole it is permanently lost to the outside; also, that black holes evaporate. It happens very slowly but the black hole does emit particles, and eventually disappears.

Susskind’s theory is that the horizon of a black hole (a two dimensional surface like a film) somehow stores all the information that ever fell into the hole. He also theorizes the photons and other particles carry away every bit of information during evaporation of the black hole.

Stephen Hawking now agrees that the information is not lost when a black hole evaporates.

This is a non-technical talk but how can you not be excited about particle physics, event horizons, quantum mechanics, and holographic principles?

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Arrive early to locate parking.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the Smithwick theatre.

Smithwick Theater, Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills

Wednesday, October 1
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Admission: Free
Parking: $2.00

650-949-7888