|
Posted by deneb7 on September 12, 2009
Did anyone else see/hear lightning/thunder (at around 3am)? At first I heard some rain that I thought might be sprinklers. Then I swear I heard thunder.. Turned the lights off and sure enough saw a flash of light before another roaring boom…!
The weather is certainly not boring this week.. 
(Yes I’m up late.. this is fairly normal for me lately.)
Posted in Events, Politics/News | Tagged: weather, thunder, lightning, contra costa, lamorinda | Leave a Comment »
Posted by deneb7 on August 26, 2009
I’m sure everyone knows about this already but in case you’re like me and don’t pay attention… here’s the latest from the official website.
I assumed it would be closed only for 3 days because it was supposed to be “over labor day weekend”, but it’s actually going to be closed from Thursday, Sept 3 to Tuesday, Sept 8, almost 5 days.
Judging from last time, I’d assume that to be an overestimate and for them to be done before the 8th.
(Ironically, I can’t remember what “last time” is, but I remember them finishing way earlier than the estimate)
Posted in Events, Politics/News, Travel/Tourism | Tagged: bay area, bay bridge, closure, labor day, traffic | Leave a Comment »
Posted by deneb7 on February 28, 2009
February 28, 1947 was the catalyst for uprisings against the corrupt Chinese government in Taiwan. Uprisings which were later suppressed brutally and which began decades of martial law and the period known as the “White Terror”.
For more on the history, please visit this site.
In the interest of completeness, I looked up a few articles on the events this year:
1. report from India – only “foreign” report I could find, added for perspective’s sake.
2. sit-in rally – group of people made the words “do not forget 228″ in Liberty Square.
Posted in Asia, Events, History, Politics/News, Taiwan | Tagged: 228, History, massacre, Taiwan, white terror | Leave a Comment »
Posted by deneb7 on August 11, 2008
The opening ceremony was as impressive as expected, but I think I’d be more impressed if I had watched it on a bigger screen and with better sound (my tv is smaller than 17″ and I watched at an angle from across the room).
The choreography is by far the most impressive aspect.. I was intrigued by the huge LCD screen/scroll, but since that’s just a display of money spent, it didn’t impress me that much. :p
The amount of practice the performers must have gone through to be totally in sync — now that I can appreciate. That and the artistic vision of the choreographer, of course.
Some slightly less censored thoughts:
Posted in Asia, China, Events, Politics/News | Tagged: China, Olympics, opening ceremony | 2 Comments »
Posted by deneb7 on June 26, 2008
I haven’t been keeping up with news on the fires because I felt like I was being paranoid about them.. but the smog from the fires have become so thick that I can’t see any part of the blue sky anymore…
So here’s the latest article, and a quick quote:
Air quality regulators today warned Bay Area residents – particularly the elderly, children and those with heart or lung disease – to limit outdoor activities after measuring unhealthy levels of particulate matter from the fires in portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Elevated levels of pollutants are also expected today in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
The pictures were taken on 6/21/08, driving westbound on I-80 between Davis and I-680, and the first is from I-680 southbound, around sunset. Resolution’s horrible as they were taken with my cameraphone. I had to straighten and crop them, of course… I basically pointed and pressed the button without looking.
The article has a map if you want to know where the fires are. There have been 1,032 fires so far in Northern California.
The smog has gotten progressively worse since the pictures were taken.. It was actually relatively clear on that day, aside from that patch along the freeway. I believe today’s the worst so far. If you can, stay indoors if you’re in the aforementioned areas.
Posted in Events, Health, Pictures/Videos, Politics/News | Tagged: fire, bay area, northern california, pollutants, air, smoke | Leave a Comment »
Posted by deneb7 on April 24, 2008
Tuesday was Earth Day, making this whole week Earth Week.
For people in southern California, Sprinkles cupcake is donating proceeds of their vanilla cupcakes to local tree planting and environmental organizations. See here for details.
Additionally, I found out UC Berkeley also has a whole week of events. It’s not too late to check out the Transportation and Energy Faire or the Creativity and Community Celebration! 
I’m sure there’s plenty of other stuff going on — these are just the couple I managed to come across.
Remember, reduce, reuse, and recycle. =p
Posted in Blogs/Introductions, Events | Tagged: community, Earth, environment, recycle, reduce, reuse, week | 1 Comment »
