LMSAL on Reuters

Actually no mention of LMSAL (Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, where I work), but this video spot from Reuters highlights some of the data coming back from one of the instruments that a lot of my coworkers have worked on over the past few years, which just launched about a month ago. Some of the images are really spectacular. Anyways, if you're curious to see the video, click on the image below.

Knowledge tidbit for the day

I was reading this article in the NY Times today at lunch about a couple in a town SW of Denver who inadvertently created a stir in their town and now their nation by hanging this wreath shaped like a peace sign. Apparently their HOA board tried to fine them $25/day for displaying what they thought was either a "politically divisive" symbol, or a "sign of the devil," which was one misguided HOA board member's interpretation. Wow.

As it turns out, the peace sign is not a secret Beelzebub calling card, but in fact the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a self-explanatorily titled group started in the '60s. The symbol is derived from the semaphore (a communication method using visual signals from hand-held flags or towers with rotating blades, scroll down for the symbol legend) characters for "N" and "D" inscribed in a circle.



So, here's to peace this holiday season, and hopefully you learned something as I did about a symbol you probably have seen thousands of times before, maybe not knowing its origins. And yes, I'm aware that self-explanatorily isn't a word.

Grape Ave. here we come!

Well, we haven't signed the lease yet, but we have found a new place to live down in Sunnyvale! The main reason for our move is either a) to be closer to our jobs in Palo Alto and San Jose or b) to allow us to have a dog, depending on who you ask. Actually, we're both pretty excited about both reasons. Anyways, the new place is in a beautiful tree-lined neighborhood on the Mountain View-Sunnyvale border, which is perfectly between our two jobs, closer to our friends, and near downtown Mountain View, which has a little more to offer in the entertainment department than, say, "downtown" Foster City. We actually have been very happy with living here, but I think it will be a nice change. Things we will be giving up: vaulted ceilings, larger kitchen, dishwasher, hot tub/pool, nearby Baylands trail on the water, proximity to Half Moon Bay and SF, our friendly neighbors, and being 10 steps away from our polling place every 2 years. Things we will be getting: larger, 2BR duplex, attached and usable garage space, questionably usable mini-dishwasher on wheels, nice little back and side yard (for dog?), school with huge field right across the street, friendly landlady, room to setup a separate office area, proximity to friends, shorter commutes, a clothesline, a pink bathroom(!), and being steps (well, several blocks, I guess) from an Arby's (whose special brand of fast food I got to experience first hand for the first time today... mmm). Depending on how quickly they can get new carpet, paint, and dishwasher situation sorted out we will likely move in around the middle of December. Hopefully it'll be later than that, so we don't have to deal with it before Christmas travel. Here are a few pictures of the new place:

My dog Carmel ~ 1990-2006

My parents had to put our golden retriever Carmel to sleep this week. She was 16 1/2, and was the oldest retriever our neighborhood vet had ever personally treated.

My parents got her for me when I was ten - I had been lobbying for a big dog that I could play with in the yard. They relented on the condition that I would faithfully pick up after her once a week - an easy promise for a ten-year-old. We bought her from a breeder nearby, and when eight-week-old Carmel picked up a huge stick and stumbled across the yard to give it to me, I was in love. She was a good puppy, endlessly enthusiastic. I remember her jumping up at the kitchen table to give me a kiss one night and spilling a boiling bowl of soup onto my lap.

Pippi, our somewhat older Bichon Frise, was clearly put out when Carmel first arrived, and would growl when the impudent puppy approached the food dish or sleeping pad. Pippi wisely changed her mind when Carmel grew to five times her size, and they became the best of friends. Their favorite pastime was devising Houdini-like escapes from the side yard, and roaming around the neighborhood together. They were clearly a team - both sets of paws were invariably muddy from digging, and they would always return home together, somewhat sheepish, but looking exhilarated. Pippi and Carmel slept every night curled up together, and Pippi always had a clean, wet spot on her neck that Carmel would lick while they were cuddled up.

My parents let me take Carmel through training class and we eventually got her to understand "sit" and "down", but "stay" was just not in her nature. Wherever we were was where she wanted to be, and doggone it if she wasn't going to try to get to us. She was a voracious licker, and she absolutely reveled in having her belly rubbed. She was a good athletic dog, too, which probably contributed to her longevity. I used to set up obstacle courses with some other girls in our neighborhood and we would have dog races - Carmel always won. She would chase a ball, or a Frisbee, or anything else you would throw for her. Once we caught her pushing balls off the front deck and then racing down to the yard to retrieve them herself.

Carmel was every bit the exuberant puppy for about 14 of her 16 years, when she finally decided it was time to mellow into a quiet, middle-aged lady. She had arthritis by this time, but was endlessly tolerant of all of my nieces and nephews petting and combing her, and taking her on walks. When someone poked a little too hard or pulled a tail, she would look at them balefully, but she was mostly just content to be on the receiving end of their love and attention.

She was a wonderful dog, and she will be missed by the whole Ebel family this holiday season.

Mandolin update

One week of toodling on the mandolin has resulted in the following:

• My middle three fingertips on my left hand are noticeably numb as I develop calluses.
• One semi-spontaneous ebay purchase of an electronic tuner.
• I can somewhat play G, C, A, D, E and versions of their minor chords, which basically involves contorting your fingers into one position and moving that position around the frets.
• My repetoire consists of awkward, jerky versions of the following - Yankee Doodle, Oh Suzanna, Wildwood Flower, Cripple Creek, Simple Gifts, Jesu, and a tiny bit of Here Comes the Sun.

More updates as events warrant.

Sunset Over Crystal Springs

On our way back from an afternoon of biking in Arastradero Preserve, we stopped at the scenic overlook on Hwy 280 to catch the sunset. Had to share this picture of a perfect end to our Saturday!

A Day at the Beach

So it's a month and a half AFTER our October 1 wedding, and we're still getting beautiful days of sunshine and 75 degree weather... well, I can't complain the drizzle on our wedding day because everything else worked out so well. But to take advantage of the lovely day today Kate and I went to the beach! The beach for us usually means heading West over to Half Moon Bay, then South along Hwy. 1 until we find a beach that suits our liking. We got up early, well - 8am early - and packed up some snacks and things and took off. Probably mostly due to the fact that Car Talk was on NPR at the time, we drove a little further than we usually do, eventually stopping at Gazos Creek State Beach. This was a nice find - after a mile or so walking along the beach without another soul in sight (only one set of footprints preceeded us) we came to a rocky outcrop with a nice bench to watch the high-tide waves come smashing into the shore. We think we saw some sort of aquatic dinosaur that has yet to be documented, but it may have been a seal. The wind was good and strong, so we flew my kite for a while before heading to Pescadero in search of lunch.

A while back, my Dad sent me this article from the NY Times about a writer driving from LA to SF searching for the best taco along the way. The long and short of it was that she found it in podunk Pescadero, a little farming community which is about even with Saratoga or San Jose on the coast. I even recommended it to our wedding guest San as a place to stop on his scenic drive, but apparently the "secret" gas station location eluded him. Anyways, here's the relevant excerpt:

"Halfway between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, we turn off into the rolling green hills of Pescadero, a tiny little blip of a town with a handful of general stores, a single bar and one gas station. I have been tipped off that there is a taqueria holed up somewhere in town, and that the ingredients are straight off the farm. I ask around. “There is no sign in the window,” a local offers, “but there is a taqueria in the gas station.”

Inside the gas station, it’s lunchtime and bustling at Taqueria y Mercado de Amigos. Mexican workers squeeze into booths, sipping hibiscus sodas and chatting over the sizzle of the grill and the rhythmic cha-ching of the register. Two cooks work quickly — grilling the shrimp just till the edges blacken, searing the al pastor and drizzling it with hot sauce.

Outside, the quiet of Pescadero is breathtaking. We head up Stage Road to the old cemetery and take the dirt road to the top of the hill. Sitting on the trunk of the car, tacos warming our laps, we find the most beautiful spot yet — the Kelly green pastures rolling and folding straight into the Western sky, the sun beaming down on all that open land. And just when it couldn’t get any better, we realize something else — we’re holding two of the best tacos this side of Mexico."

Yes, I realize it doesn't look like a place you might want to count on for a memorable lunch, but the three tacos we had - carne asada, pollo asada, and al pastor - definitely lived up to their billing. With our bellies full and faces windswept we went home and finished off with a dip in the hot tub. Now it's time to go root for the Broncos - uh oh, it looks like LT just scored a TD for SD. That's bad, I think.

Annual Pilgrimage

Last weekend I went to the Denver Broncos / Oakland Raiders game in Oakland with Maggie, a friend of mine from high school. We're both die-hard Broncos fans. Maggie's family had season tickets in the nosebleed section when she was growing up, and despite the frequent sleet and snow, they all used to fight over who got the two seats for each game. My parents are fans, too, but I trace my devotion to the years in elementary school when I collected football cards and decided Sammy Winder (tailback for the Broncos) was the cutest player in the NFL. Anyone remember him? At any rate, Maggie is the perfect accomplice for this annual tradition because a) she's witty and can talk smack with the best of them and b) she's a girl and therefore we are less likely to get beaten up.

Oakland is notorious as the NFL stadium with the craziest (and by this I mean seriously deranged) fans. This is the third year in a row that Maggie and I have gone to the game and we never cease to be surprised at what we see there. Year one highlights include narrowly escaping having beer tossed on us, running into some Raider fanettes who wanted to fight us despite Maggie having a cast on her leg, and venturing into the famed "black hole" (in disguise). Year two started off even dicier as I accidentally cut off an enormous line of Raider fans waiting for the porta-potty and barely escaped being tipped over inside it.

We were braced for the worst this year but are glad to report we had very little trouble. Maggie was disappointed - people were actually polite to her! One fan said "excuse me" when he bumped into her! We suspect this is because they are an absolutely dismal team this year - there isn't any trash to talk when it is a forgone conclusion that your team is going to lose. Still, it is kind of sad to see how broken they are. We were at the stadium early enough to see Al Davis (the Raiders' owner) getting out of his limo and going into the stadium. He looked awfully old - he was using a walker and didn't have any of his trademark "bling" on. He barely responded to the fans all around him. That was kind of an interesting experience as a Broncos fan - he has been the guy we love to hate and the epitome of a Raider as far back as I can remember, but our rivalry will lose a lot of its vibrancy when he steps down. Our seats happened to be next to the father of the Raiders middle linebacker, Kirk Morrison. His dad was a very well-spoken guy who managed to take Maggie's exuberance in stride. It was cool to hear about one of the lesser known players (although apparantly he was defensive Rookie of the Year last year) and what he was like growing up. His dad was equally proud of his other two kids - a teacher and a social worker, which was cool to hear.

Anyway, the Broncos are 3-0 since Maggie and I have been going to the games so we owe it to them to keep up the tradition. Go Broncs!

Year 28 starts now

November 13 - today is my 27th birthday! Hooray, I'm officially in my "late twenties," which officially makes me start to feel old. I think it's also officially the time when you start to wish people would think you were younger, as opposed to when you're 15 and wished people would think you were 19, or when you are 23 and happy with people thinking you're 23. Also, were I a major league baseball player, this would statistically be my most productive year. Watch out, Foster City Rec Dept. softball leagues!

Anyways, over the weekend we:

• Checked out a new house/duplex in Mountain View that would be great if we got - but we are sort of doubtful due to the hoardes of people that were also at the open house.
• Had lunch while watching Stanford vs. Santa Clara rugby! This was fun, despite my not really knowing all the rugby rules. I did gather that were I to play this sport I would break rather quickly and ignominiously. Fun to watch though.
• Went for a short hike at Arastradero preserve
• Kate took me to Gryphon Music where, for my birthday present, we got a mandolin! For now, it's just a rental, but I'm excited to try to learn, mostly just to be able to play an instrument. I think it's a hobby I'd like to have and could keep up. We'll see how it goes.
  
• Met Bailey and his friend in Palo Alto for dinner and gelato
• Saw "Little Miss Sunshine" with Cram. This movie was great, we all liked it better than Borat. It's hilarious, the acting is great, and it also has a really nice message to it as well. Very well done.
• Kate went to the Raiders/Broncos game with Maggie on Sunday
• and we made lasagnas. Nice to have the chest freezer.

So now it's back to work - hopefully we'll have productive weeks and get our Friday off.

Grand Opening!

So, Kate and I were thinking the other day, many of our friends and family have started blogs, and we really enjoy being able to stay somewhat up-to-date on their lives, so why not start one of our own? Well, eager reader, the wait is over! Here's the blog of Tom and Kate, known to some of our friends out here in the Bay Area as "Commentate". In typical blogstyle, I expect we'll use this space to post about what we're up to, what adventures we may have, exciting things that may happen to us, or anything else that may cross our minds and warrant sharing with the rest of you out there. Anyways, here we are, and may our posting be frequent and worthy of a spot on your evening stroll around the internet. -T&K