ContraCostaTimes.com | 02/14/2007 | Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free

Bravo Kaiser. I quit smoking 25 years ago and have developed a severe dislike of smoke odors in the meantime. Since I visit Kaiser Vallejo a couple times a week, this action is most welcome.




ContraCostaTimes.com 02/14/2007 Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free: "Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free
By Andrea Wolf
MEDIANEWS CORRESPONDENT
Butts are no longer welcome anywhere at Vallejo's Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.
Smokers will have to light up somewhere else as the entire Kaiser campus is now smoke free.
The two smoking areas, or 'butt huts,' were removed Tuesday to the delight of on-looking doctors and health officials.
To help members and employees who want to quit, Kaiser is offering a battalion of resources to make the difficult process a little easier."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Teraflop chip hints at the future

Imagine what the world will be like when our desktops can have such a chip? Not in my lifetime I suspect.


BBC NEWS Technology Teraflop chip hints at the future: "Teraflop chip hints at the future
A chip with 80 processing cores and capable of more than a trillion calculations per second (teraflop) has been unveiled by Intel.
The Teraflop chip is not a commercial release but could point the way to more powerful processors, said the firm.
The chip achieves performance on a piece of silicon no bigger than a fingernail that 11 years ago required a machine with 10,000 chips inside it.
The challenge is to find a way to program the many cores simultaneously. "

AP Wire | 02/09/2007 | Report says Pentagon manipulated intel

Read it and weep!

Kids and Family History

As we prepare for the Reunion next summer, this article has good suggestions.

24-7 Family History Circle » Tips from the Pros: Stir a Child’s Interest, from Maureen Taylor
Getting kids interested in family history can be easy or hard depending on the child and their interests. There are a couple of simple things you can do to grab their attention.

Jury Duty

On Wednesday, January 24, I reported for jury duty at Superior Court in Martinez. Getting through the door into the court building did not start out well. I had to go through the metal detector three times - each time remembering something else like my cell phone. There were about 120 of us in the jury assembly room where we had to line up to obtain forms to fill out. Sometime around eleven o'clock they read 80 names, mine included, to be in the first court. The rest of the folks went home. We were taken to Department 4 on the second floor, seated and waited for the judge. She, Judge O'Malley, gave us a rundown on what the process would be to select the jury. She sent us to lunch. At 1:30 we all entered the courtroom after the first 12 folks were selected to sit in the jury box with an additional 9 seated in number seats in the first row. The the process of questioning began. This continued through the rest of the day and through the following day. Since the Judge had other things scheduled for Friday, we came back today (Monday). By eleven the jury and the alternates were seated and the rest of us (six people) were excused.

I felt let down that I wasn't selected - sort of like not being chosen to be on the baseball team in grammar school.

The Carquinez

On good days this is the view from the hill.

Crockett Weather BRRRRRRRRR!

For the past week our temperatures at night have dropped below freezing resulting in heavily frosted windshields. Much more of this and we may have to install headbolt heaters! But I note the below zero temperatures in Grand Forks and Minot and Atchison and am grateful to be here where we can't walk across rivers and lakes.

$1 million for a Condo!!!!!!

Only a few years ago, Walnut Creek was in the country and a haven for those seeking to reduce housing costs. But Now....

Walnut Creek feels like a millionBy Theresa HarringtonCONTRA COSTA TIMES
When Tiffany and Co. opened in downtown Walnut Creek in 2003, the city attained star status as an up-and-coming urban community beginning to rival San Francisco with its shopping and dining choices.
Now, Walnut Creek is upping the ante with luxury condominiums for people who want an urban atmosphere in a suburban area, priced as high as $1.3 million.
"Who'd have thought that you'd be paying $1 million for a condo in downtown Walnut Creek?" Mayor Sue Rainey said with a laugh. "I think that is a stunning surprise."
Although the housing market is considered to be slumping, the Mercer luxury condo project under construction on North California Boulevard is defying the odds by selling 17 of its 23 three-bedroom units, costing $1.1 million to $1.3 million, before they're even built. The project expects to open in the fall.
"The pricing is consistent with the demand for this type of living experience," said developer Jon Moss, senior vice president of Prometheus Real Estate. "It's a very unique environment. The retail in Walnut Creek is second to none in the East Bay."
Similar San Francisco condos cost about twice as much per square foot as the Mercer, Moss said.

Wild Pigs Beware

Wild pigs hunted in defense of natureBy Denis CuffCONTRA COSTA TIMES

SUISUN MARSH - Save the flowers. Save the birds. Kill the pigs.

This was Ted Champagne's mission deep in a maze of tule-covered islands and twisting sloughs where he steered his shallow hunting boat and waited for his Catahoula hounds to catch a whiff of wild pigs. The dogs, Butch and Porter, held their bodies taut and sniffed furiously.
Champagne kept his 12-gauge shotgun close.

He kept his 10-inch-long knife closer, strapped to his side and ready for use in case he found a pig in thick grass and reeds where it could be hard to tell if he was shooting a pig or his dogs.
"Once the dogs smell something and jump out of the boat, things move fast," Champagne said. "You want to get in and finish it fast."
Champagne is no ordinary hunter in this big marsh, but rather a guardian of endangered flowers and plants.
He hunts to protect nature.
Champagne volunteers his hunting services for a conservation group, the Solano Land Trust, one of a growing number of California public and nonprofit landowners who kill wild pigs to prevent them from damaging or killing native plants and wildlife.

Medical Jolt

My Kaiser MD informed me this am that I have a problem with Atrial Fibrilation. He prescribed Cumadin and bunches of other actions. I am a bit anxious about all of this. However, for the moment it is not life threatening. Hail Mary, pray for me.

More on Time

Time

What is time? Time to live.Time to think.Time to dream.Time is a measure of our existance.Time never stands still.Time moves on.Time never retraces its steps.Time is continuous.Time can never stop.Time can heal wounds.Time can bring death.You can kill time.You can take time out.You can keep time. you can be behind time.Time marks the progression of growth and decay.Time governs every single act we are capable of.I had better fill in that tax return.Do'nt want to DO time. sid john gardner

The Puzzel of Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To every thing there is a season,and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate;A time of war, and a time of peace. Anonymous

A Day To Remember

Sixty-five years have passed since December 7, 1941. The memory of the events of that day is still vivid. We had returned to our farm after services at Zion Congregational Church in Manvel, North Dakota at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I was doing something in the barn when my father called me to come to the house where I found everyone clustered around our radio listening to the reports of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I knew our lives had changed and would never be the same. I remember thinking about the coming Christmas and wondering if we would celebrate as usual. I remember wondering about my cousin Jack who had gone to Canada to join the Canadian army and about my close friend Warren, our hired-man, who enlisted in the Navy a few months earlier and was stationed at Pearl Harbor. Christmas came but was different, Eventually V-E and V-J Day came. Jack came home and so did Warren. For me December 7 remains a day to remember.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each of you from all of us at the Crockett Museum and Historical Society

Moving On

We again celebrated Veteran's Day at the Museum with food, drinks, music (Aaron Cargo on the accordian) and lots of visiting. It was somewhat lighter than usual partly because of rain in the morning and because WWII vets are getting older. John Swett lost it's final game to St. Pat's. The Benedictine Ravens won.

I Like This Pope

Vatican City, Nov. 06, 2006 (CNA) - Meeting today with members of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences, Pope Benedict XVI said that, “Christianity does not posit an inevitable conflict between supernatural faith and scientific progress,” and assured the scientists that the Church supports their scientific research so long as it is a sincere search for the truth.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

Multiple ceremonies to honor Korean veterans
TRI-VALLEY: One event's organizers say they want to recognize the war's troops before it's too late
By Meera Pal
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The Korean War is referred to as the "Forgotten War," as it is often overshadowed in history by World War II and the Vietnam War.
"It was the first war in which American veterans came home without receiving the welcoming accolades and recognition from the American people," said retired Maj. Gen. Dan Helix, a Korean War veteran.

Preserve Our Past

Every day, all over our country, there is mounting evidence that we lack a sense of our past.

1867 Mormon Tabernacle Pews Are Casualties of a Face-Lift
By MARTIN STOLZ
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 25 — When the historic Tabernacle, the egg-shaped building that is home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, reopens next year after a lengthy face-lift and seismic retrofit, visitors will find something new: the pews.
The loss of the original, and uncomfortable, pine pews, handmade in 1867 and meticulously etched and painted to look like oak, angers many Mormons, whose religion is strongly defined by its history and its forebears’ hardships.
Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, released a two-sentence statement saying some original pews — Ms. Farah would not say how many — would be returned and that others would be replaced with oak copies “to maintain historicity.” “No determination has been made on what will happen to the unused original benches,” the statement said.
Church officials would not give an explanation for the change, Ms. Farah said in an interview.
“The church is circumspect about the pews, because it is a work in progress,” she said of the Tabernacle renovations, including the pews.

SAD and Discouraged I May Root for the 49ers

Winless Raiders are in a league of their own: "Oakland, at 0-5, is now the only team without a victory this season
By Steve Corkran
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

DENVER - And then there was one. One, as in only one NFL team remains without a victory this season. One, as in, can the Raiders just win one, baby?
Four teams entered play Sunday without a victory. Only the Raiders awake today without anything to show for their efforts through the first six weeks of the NFL season."

Prisoners transferred to new jail

Prisoners transferred to new jail: "Prisoners transferred to new jail

And just in time for winter! Who would have thought there were as many as 120 criminals in Grand Forks county!!

GRAND FORKS (AP) - Prisoners have been moved from the old downtown Grand
Forks County jail to a new $16 million correctional center on the county
fairgrounds.

The 120 prisoners were transferred by bus Friday night and
early Saturday morning, said Gary Gardner, jail administrator.

'The
inmates are settled in,' he said. 'It went pretty smoothly.'"

Call for ‘herring war’

Call for ‘herring war’

I wonder if this has anything to do with lutefisk. It could be disasterous!