jPod (D. Coupland)

jPod is the kind of book that makes me feel very ambivalent: lots of promise, but a lot of annoyance going along with it. In this, it reminds me of {moscontentlink:Eggers}: an ambitious novel, some excellent writing, but a lot of stuff that is completely unrelated to the main thread. In other words: it could have been a great book, but its shortcomings make it just enjoyable.
The story line follows a bunch of game developers whose last names start with the letter J – they are all placed in neighboring cubicles in a forced cohabitation from which they cannot escape. The jPodders are very different from each other, and their families play active roles in the novel.

More Mice, One Man

After having to deal with the mice in my San Francisco house (a thing of the past, as you know now), I got to the house in Hawaii only to find that mice had bitten their way through all available screens. I mean, they could have just bitten their way through one screen and used that to get into the house. No, since they are not the brightest, they bit a little mouse-size hole into each screen that was available to them. Mental note: stupidity causes lots of damage.

Of Mice and Men

A while back, I started thinking I was becoming crazy. I mean really crazy, seeing things that don’t exist flitting around. Black things, to be precise. And then I got really surprised when it turned out I wasn’t crazy. I had a mouse in the house.

This little home is a haven for mice: the construction is a bit shoddy, and there are lots of crevices and hole through which a mouse can get into the foundation and from there easily to the main floor. I tend to be somewhat liberal with anal retentiveness (read: I am a slob ) and this probably made for a perfect match. I had a mouse.

Whistler vs. Northstar

{moszoomimglink:Whistler mountain from Glacier hut}Amazing how much difference there is this year! British Columbia has seen record snowfall this season (almost 30 feet), while Tahoe is stuck in a pattern of rain and warming. Too bad for those that have to stay here! I will be in Whister again in February, and can’t wait!

Back from Whistler

{moszoomimglink:Whistler mountain}If Heavenly thinks it’s heavenly, it really should never visit Whistler. I stayed all of one week, with the best snow I could imagine, the best mountain(s), the best lifts, the best lodges, and frankly the best people.

Let’s start with the snow: the snowfall total is rapidly approaching 30 feet, and you saw it everywhere. The snow is deep, fluffy, amazing. We had a snowstorm on Christmas day (which is when we flew in) and we spent the first day (Boxing Day in Canada) driving our boards mad in the fresh powder. There was one bowl in particular where we loved zipping down, afraid we would catch something and be forced to walk for an hour, only to realize it was almost impossible to fall.

Breaking (Snowboard) News

Finally, the first day of snowboarding. I went with J and G, two colleagues and friends of mine – we had been planning for weeks, and we couldn’t wait any longer.

We met at the Berkeley Marina and boarded my truck around 5:45 on Sunday, eager to leave and beat the traffic. In Sacramento, we tossed a coin for the resort and ignored the result; we were then on I 80, intending to go to Northstar.

Fun In Whistler

Christmas will see me invited to a friend’s place in Whistler – for the first time! I’ll pack passport, green card, snowboard and gear, and we’ll get to check out the Canadian Rockies!

Ta-Dah [Scissor Sisters] (CD)

It’s been a while now that I have been paying attention to the Scissor Sisters. My first encounter with them was at the gym: their second big hit, Laura, was a hit with the Gold’s Entertainment Channel, and I would listen to it while running on the treadmill.

My first impression was not favorable: I hated the song’s hammering rhythm, and found the video silly. Additionally, I didn’t get the Scissors part of the equation and found the frequent references to haircutting silly and thought the whole thing was a one “hit” wonder.

Snow, snow, snow

Well, it’s been a long wait, but at last a few of the Tahoe resorts opened. The most boastful, of course, is Heavenly, which managed to open a few artificial runs on the Nevada side. The claim is that the coverage is top to bottom, and that seven runs/lifts are available. Should we check it out?

Drought in Ninole

I didn’t think it was possible, but we are experiencing drought conditions in Ninole! I mean, all is relative, and a drought here is wetter than a winter in San Francisco, but it’s a nice change from the usual page. I do not have to wake up in the middle of the night because the rain is rapping on the metal roof, and I can open and close the gate without getting drenched.