From Under My Rock

( And it's still Saturday! )

After the show, we traveled to Oakland where a friend of Kiri's had offered us a place to sleep for the night, so we wouldn't have to drive all the way home and have her have to come back to SF the next day. This nice lady had very friendly dogs. I was pleased.

( Welcome to the ORG. Be one with the ORG )

So far, a great weekend, and now I'm resting.

Is July fourth.

That day, the San Jose Giants play the Stockton Ports at Memorial Stadium in San Jose. I want a birthday extravaganza at the ballpark, people!

If we can get fifteen people, we get a group rate. I want everyone who might be interested to look at the Group options and let me know what works for you if you'd like to attend. I think the Baseball with BBQ ($27/adult, $15/child) is a great option because it includes food and drinks. But I'd be willing to go with the General group prices ($10/person).

Right now we have 10-12 people we're pretty sure can make it. But join the party!

Yesterday we went out with two main goals: pick up my meds and get me a trekking pole at REI. The cane I had been using was too short and heavy. The therapists suggest a lighter trekking pole and had me work with with one. Much better feel. At REI, a very helpful young lady showed us the options and I ended up with a Leki Wanderfreund AS.



Made in the Czech Republic. Cool!

What made this fun was the guy checking us out used to work at Lord & Sons as a machinist. There was a line, so we didn't really have a chance to chat, but I'd love to learn why he left a good position at a skilled trade to work retail.

The plan was to hit Pizza My Heart so Kiri could have lunch. Alas, it was still a while before they opened and I could feel myself fading, so we went to RiteAid, got my pills, and headed home. The only other big thing was making a big order from Safeway and clearing out all the things in the fridge that had died in the past month.

After a night that led to us calling to cops on our normally quiet-if-not-gone neighbor, I felt the need to do something. I took out some garbage, straightened up around my desk and the back of the futon, vacuumed, cleaned out Vera the Vacuum, did some dishes, and was then order by Kirsten to stop now so I wouldn't burn out.

I obey those kind of orders now.

Just waiting for the Safeway order to arrive, and then the Niners' game tonight. Tomorrow I have OT.

Next weekend we're going to try to make the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival for as long as I can hold out. Any locals who want to meet up there, just let us know!

San Francisco Giants: 4
Detroit Tigers: 3 (10)

It had to end this way, right? A see-saw game, extra-innings, torture, and Marco Scutaro bringing in the winning run with yet another clutch hit. Of course you needed things to be finished off by a wacky bearded closer (Sergio Romo this time) facing the AL Triple Crown winner and probable MVP, Miguel Cabrera.

Struck him out looking. Giants take the World Series in four straight games. Second World Series title in three years. That's the best thing about this win; it shows that 2010 wasn't a fluke. The Giants are a team that will find a way to win, and will never give up. A different hero every day. Stellar pitching. Incredible defense. Hits when we needed them, and scratching out every run.

Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval was the easy choice for Series MVP. He only hit .500 in four games, along with tying Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols by hitting three home runs in Game 1. He is the only player ever to get those three homers in first three at-bats in the Series.

The parade is Wednesday. We're so going to be there. Anyone else up for meeting along Market Street somewhere? I'll be the guy in the Giants hat. :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2012 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!!!!!

Edit: Almost forgot. I called my mom last night after we had finished yelling and dancing here, and learned I was the second person to call about the game. The Emergency Back-Up Niece had called right after the final out to exclaim "They won!" Then she asked if this meant they were the best.

Yes, Kylie, that's exactly what it means.

Well, technically. We were actually out on Treasure Island to enjoy Fleet Week's Parade of Ships and the air show. How we came to be there requires something of an explanation. We're on the mailing lists of several wineries and wine distributors. I got an offer for VIP tickets from one of the distributors through the SFGate. A bit too pricey, and kshandra had plans for today with murphymom. A few days later, those plans were canceled, and Kiri grabbed us regular tickets. Still very cheap.

Fleet Week is one of those events that overwhelms San Francisco. The traffic jams and lack of parking, especially down on the Marina Green and Crissy Field are legendary. I expected the same problem on T.I., so we got an early start. Upon arriving, we were shocked to find almost no one there. I think the incredibly tricky nature of getting on and off the island might scare people away. (One lane exit from the bay bridge that immediate goes into a tight turn then a blind merge, getting back on the bridge means coming to a complete stop then trying to get right into a freeway traffic lane. Not for the faint of heart.) We stop to admire Bliss Dance, an amazing statue that was first shown at Burning Man last year, then went in search of our party.

Their building is in the middle of the island. No line of sight to where the events were happening. Evidently, they advertised that the planes fly right over their building. Yes, when they pull out from performance runs, but that's not what we came to see! I cam to see ships, and Blue Angels zipping along at 300knts 15 feet above the bay, inverted, with the pilot playing the violin. Filed with despair and disgust, we went back to the seawall and waited. The parade of ships did not disappoint. Seeing a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier appear out of the fog was impressive as hell. Sadly I hadn't printed the list of ships so I was stuck on identifying them. But still, seeing the USS Carl Vinson bearing down on you is not something anyone would soon forget.

After about two hours up there on the rocks, I was starting to react badly to the weather. It had been predicted to be much warmer with less winds, so I had dressed accordingly. When I started getting chill cramps in my legs, I knew I was done. Walked back to the car (where Kiri had wisely retreated to long before) and we decided to at least get a glass of wine before leaving. Drove back to Treasure Island Wines got in, got a glass of a really nice white. While at one of the standing tables I got in a great conversation with a fellow disabled guy who worked for a company Lord&Sons has heavy business with, and he was shocked to learn that Benicia branch had closed. Kiri wanted a grilled cheese from her new church and I needed to sit down. Here's the first suck. There were about 40-50 plastic chairs, all of them reserved for "VIP" ticket holders. I sat down because I really had to at that point, and immediately got scolded. I told this officious woman I was disabled. No budging. So I told her that telling a disabled man that he can't sit on an empty chair when over half the chairs were empty made it almost certain I wouldn't be giving them my business any time soon. I saw a lot of that, people coming in, drinking a glass, getting told off, and leaving. The second suck was you could not see anything. A B-2 Spirit did a low, slow, pass over the island and we had to run around the corner to get any sort of look at all. When they said "wine-tasting and viewing" I expected what other groups were doing, setting up on the island's west side so people could see!

But we did get some pictures.

My attempt to create a local gamers filter was a crashing failure. Again, if you are local to Santa Clara, and would like to take part in a monthly game, contact me. I may set up a mailing list on Google to make things easier. Feel free to let anyone who might be interested know.

I think one problem is my intense dislike of the most popular gaming systems. I loathe the current versions of D&D, and the "old school" revolution has little appeal. Here are the game systems I really like. Feel free to give your opinions or ask questions.

• Ars Magica


• Dark Heresy


• FUDGE


• GURPS


• Harnmaster


• Hero System

I really want to get back into a regular game.

I am creating a Local Gamer filter. I now live only five minutes from a great game store with oodles of tables for play. No charge, you just need to schedule a time. So I am now going to start doing a series of polls to determine what people want, and how they want to do this.

In the past, such polls have always attracted several well-meaning people who are local only in that they live on the same planet. I understand wanting to contribute, but it gets frustrating.

So, let me know if you want to be on this filter. "Local" in this context means being able to make it to Santa Clara (specifically to Game Kastle) once or twice a month to spend a day gaming, probably with food after. "Gamer" means you are interested in playing a paper and pencil role-playing game with me as the GM (although I'd love to get a group going with other people taking the chair from time to time. I love having players who take an active role in building the game.

Everyone can comment, but please use the phrase Please add me to the filter in your reply if you meet the criteria. If you're not local, and want on just to see what I'm planning, go ahead, but please do not take part in any planning polls. I'm really kind of desperate to get a social life going again.

After not thinking she was going this year, a few texts and tweets later she's in the parade with the Bay Area Bisexual Network (like most other queer sites this week, the server has said "Fuck this, I'm going home." Try again later in the week.)

Despite the best efforts of man and sunblock, she always get sunburned. The question is where is it going to be this time?

[Poll #1584565]