Oh right, the third thing: My love for Oakland notwithstanding, the imminent Mehserle verdict + 4th of July = Armed and dangerous. We'll be getting out of Dodge.

Today was the last day of "freedom" for casual carpool. Starting tomorrow they're charging $2.50 for carpoolers (and $6 for everyone else during peak hours) on the Bay Bridge. I'd made my opinions known about the skewed logic in charging carpoolers when one of the cited reasons by the Bay Area Toll Authority is to make up for lost revenue due to decreased ridership (original post here). But now that the inevitable is happening tomorrow, how do we move forward? It will likely be awkward at best, I sincerely hope the BATA move doesn't kill casual carpool. Judging by the lively debate, it is a good possibility that there won't be consensus on this, at least at first.

My path forward is this: As a driver, I do not plan on out right asking for a buck, but will accept if riders offer. As a rider, I'll offer a buck, but not $1.25. If the driver makes a stink, I'll wait for the next car.

Thanks to a last minute offer, I'm going to see the Giants beat L.A. today. And I've decided to whip out the old Giants cap. For those of you who know me, when I decided to come back to baseball in earnest in 2002, I decided I would be an A's fan because I love Oakland and the Green/Gold colors as a long time Packer fan. The Brewers had left the AL so all the old rivalries I knew as a kid were gone anyway, and baseball lost me after the 1994 strike. But in 2000, none of this had been decided. However, I was working at Dennis McQuaid's law firm at the time and they had an extra ticket for the initial walk through of Pac Bell Park before it opened for the season in earnest that year. It was cool to tour the stadium and have a beer (or two). So I bought a Giants cap. I only bring it out for special occasions. In this case it's because they're playing L.A. and I will not remain neutral in that contest. There is another reason I keep this cap, and let this be a warning to Lew Wolff: I will bolt if you move to San Jose. Keep the A's in Oakland! Maybe my threat is counter-intuitive, but it's my threat and I can do what I want. Or maybe I'll be a fair-weather Brew Crew fan. Still love listening to Ueck calling the games, but my heart is in Oakland now.

What was the third thing I was going to talk about? Ah, I forget.

Downloaded "High Violet" by the National and "Veckatimest" by Grizzly Bear this past week. These are the biggest of the indies I can think of at the moment. One proggy, the other somewhat anthemic and 4ADish, almost gothlike. I'll leave you to guess which one is which.

K's dad and stepmom arrive today after a cross country drive, so the house will be packed for the next week and a half or so. I have 3/5ths of next week off and the remaining two days in the home office. I hope the bike tire patch I put onto the Aerobed holds (for us). Things will be a little crowded in the household.

Prop 16 went down last night, thankfully. How can this state allow for 1/3rds of registered voters, essentially, to pass a law requiring a 2/3rds majority in a municipality to decide if they want to break up PG&E's monopoly? Thankfully, it didn't work out for them. I've said it once and I'll say it again: We need to kick the proposition system to the curb, kill term limits and supermajority requirements in this state or we'll be having the same conversation about how dysfunctional its government is election after election for years and years to come.

Walking into the office after lunch I was attacked by a bird Hitchcock style. And once inside all I heard is crickets. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Just say no to rednecks. I'm reminded of that in the whole Arizona brouhaha. I love it how some people from my home town (and some in my family) get all aroused over "illegals" in this country. You know, the ones who take all the good jobs like picking lettuce in the hot sun all day for sub-minimum wage. And some have relocated to places like, oh, Mesa, Arizona, talking about how people who don't live near the border can have a truckload of "illegals" sent to their neighborhood and see how they like it. Because, you know, they require YOU to speak Spanish etc. blah blah blah. Mesa, Arizona...nice English word, eh?

Christ.

Thanks to facebook sometimes you get exposed to the realities of who people you once knew as a child really are. And some of them seem to embrace their ignorance, as if it were a badge.

All right, let's go back in time to, oh, California in 1848. As anyone who can fucking google "California," at that time California was part of Mexico. Do you think all of those hillbilly motherfuckers looking for a quick buck who started squatting and making claims to land that wasn't theirs obeyed and respected the law of the land at that time? Oh, right, Polk just started a war to solve that one.

Point is, like those who get on their high horse about "family values" and heaven and hell but have cheated on their wives or worse, chances are the people who bark the loudest about illegal immigration are the same motherfuckers who get pissed off about having to pay too much for a fucking head of lettuce.

Trouble in Dumbfuckistan? Seriously, I read TPM daily and have been watching the Haley story unfold with some bemusement. I rather agree with Eric Kleefeld's post last week. It seems she does have the makings of a national politician. There's only one problem: her party is infested with racist, middle-aged teabaggers.

Meanwhile, some may wonder why I'm not doing much music these days? In addition to having two kids (1 2 yr. old, 1 5 mo. old) I have a running list of things to do this summer for the household. In no particular order, they are:

1. Build shelves for pantry in kitchen
2. Go under house, assess debris cleanup and what we're up against for seizmic retrofit, block whatever entrance our cat found to get under there and start clawing at our heating ducts (meaning: what other critters could get there)
3. Roll insulation in attic, put plywood down, mark where new electrical lines are, then use for storage, put in attic fan to vent and cool house
4. Post holes for shade tarp in back yard, put up shade tarp when it arrives
5. WTF to do with that craggy-assed strip of bad debris/crabgrass in backyard to make it more like a yard without having to waste water on it every day?
6. Bring down ugly siding on front facade of house to the chimney on the W. side.
7. Replace rotted wood in window for bedroom so it no longer leaks next year (and I don't have to say "fuckt it," throw up my hands, and put up plastic sheeting for another rainy season. Then address two more for back addition.
8. Patch ceiling hole in Livie's room (put in to feed new electrical lines for ceiling fan).
9. More weeding in back yard, put down wood chips for flower/plant area on W. Side by Pedro's garage.
10. Replace ugly brass strip where old brass/mirror closet sliding door used to be in Livie's room
11. Plug box where backyard light was removed to prevent further water entry (overcome fear of heights beyond step 9 on ladder, esp with adjusters for slope, or go to roof and peek over side to see if I can reach from above?)
12. Trim back avocado tree on Pedro's side of house

That ought to cover, oh, the rest of the year and beyond at my pace!