Mas y menos

The Mas: Lovely hiking around Mt. Tamalpais with Transmoocow and Woof (today). An unbelievably cool surprise engagement party last weekend (everyone I know but especially Transmoocow, Nancy and See-Yin. Thank you so much). Awesome West coast weather i.e. middle of February, 75 degrees F (the last few days). Jameson whiskey, even though my current fave is Clontarf (now). Making friends in grad school (ongoing).

The Menos: Network TV, particularly Lost and Heroes. I mean, would it kill them to actually patch the plot holes? Sure it may sound a bit whiney but I love comics and high-concept fantasy and Lost and Heroes do their very utmost to make them as STUPID AS POSSIBLE. There is no reason that sci-fi needs to be dumb, as Heinlein, Farmer, Bradbury, Le Guin, Card and so many others have proven. And I have ultimate respect for pioneers like Stan Lee who make their artistic vision and passion a reality. But let's be honest and admit that Stan Lee imitators like the aforementioned shows are not homages to his spirit; they are committee-led facsimilies of the poorest quality. People sense stupidity, and even if you're a network bigwig computing "present-value" returns on your latest schlock you can probably do the math and realize that making a hit show that lasts more than a few seasons would be a golden ticket. Why does sci-fi have to be synonymous with awful writing when produced for general audiences? I admit that I doubt the sensibilities of "mainstream America" particularly after electing Bush. Twice. But Jesus F. Christ, I know the writers who make these shows are intelligent, and someone who holds power at the networks should in theory have some brains, so it boggles my mind that they could therefore be so damn cynical that they would produce such crap as I witnessed tonight. I guess they know that people will still watch, and their advertisers will still get "impressions" and stupid people are more susceptible to spending money on advertised goods/services so they keep dumbing their product down to maximize their revenue.

On another note, business school is going great.

Pt. Reyes 'n Fog

Over the weekend Transmoocow, Woof and I drove up to Pt. Reyes National Seashore to do a little hiking. We found a fairly short but interesting hike to the top of Mt. Wittenberg, promising "panoramic views". We found the top easily due to the USGS marker embedded in a stone, but the views had been obtructed by overgrowth of young conifers. Judging from their size and counting rings on a fallen one, they were probably planted back in the 1960s as an earnest but poorly planned re-forestation effort. The trees were so densely packed together there was no undergrowth and they presented a fire hazard from uncleared deadfall. The hike was great nonetheless and I got to really break in my new Merrell hiking boots (yay Transmoocow's folks!).

We followed up by eating in a restaurant at Pt. Reyes Station, the local tourist trap town. We belatedly noticed the high frequency of old people in the place and it took us 2 hours to get sandwiches and oyster stew. Next time we will plan better and hit the oyster shops along Hwy. 1 which looked like perfect places to picnic with a large group of friends and plenty of beer.
While studying yesterday I looked outside to see fog flowing by so thickly it resembled smoke, enough so I went out to see if my neighbors had decided to "cash out" their home insurance policy. No such luck.