Beautiful sights en route to/from Bakersfield

Really, there isn't too much to be excited about here in Bakersfield. The FOX theatre and some other old architecture - circa 50's - isn't too bad (take the old 7-up sign on the old bottling company). Other than that, this is a brown town.

And this gem is in Fresno over an old coffee roaster.

Well that's a stretch

Chronicle article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/09/EDGRJN7ATQ1.DTL&hw=jennifer+nelson&sn=001&sc=1000

The author, Jennifer Nelson, makes a stretch of reality in some of her arguments. Her premise is the government is trying to regulate everyday life but cannot fix the big stuff that we should expect them to fix. Generally, I'd agree with this statement.

It is a stretch that only pure bred dogs can be bred (SB1634), but I agree that government ought to stay out of this issue. The train is on the track, as I would say, and I don't think there will be many riders, yet... it is there. Point goes to Stupid Law.

She makes a point about lightbulbs in our homes (and elsewhere I would assume). Incandescent out by 2012, replaced by more expensive fluorescent bulbs. I hate fluorescent light. It is unpleasant and doesn't produce enough light to do anything by. But the market ought to win out not a law. Point goes to Stupid Law.

I totally disagree with Ms. Nelson on the trans-fat legislation issue. She says let us pay attention to our diet and pick and choose foods from restaurants that would be good for us. Well, how much lying has happened to us in the past? Alot. How many labels that say "trans-fat free" are like the "organic" labeling? Hey, the industry needs only meet a certain percentage of organic to be labeled "organic." Can you see the future with the trans-fat labeling thing? So, point goes to Good Law (being one that has the greater good as its focus).

Vaccinating girls for human papilloma virus (HPV) before they enter junior high school isn't reasonable. There isn't enough known about the vaccine yet. One day, perhaps. Vaccines can affect people in bad ways that sometimes are not warranted for a "shot-gun" approach. For instance, the over abundance of autistic kids after we began mandatory immunizations. I think tackling the issues around the dangers of vaccinations before mandating them for everyone should be first. Make the vaccine available and allow parents to decide to vaccinate or not. Point goes to Stupid Law (being a big brother, slippery slope kinda of thing here).

Ms. Nelson made comment on SB7, which outlaws smoking in your car with your child in the car. Duh! But people are going to do it. I don't want cops to have to be tasked with enforcing this. It makes there job more dangerous - it is true that people get quite upset when other people, in this case a cop, acts like a parent or interferes with there parental decisions. Stay out of the car, as we should stay out of homes. After all, there is no law that says you can't smoke in your home when a child is present (yet). I can see another issue here blooming: when would health care providers start making illnesses from second hand smoke your, or your parents, fault? Point goes to Stupid Law.

Ms. Nelson makes a great point - the California legislature is too cowardly to take on big issues; that is left up to citizens, or actually in these days, special interest groups, to do that with the initiatives that we see. Poorly written, the initiatives are cumbersome and make bad law. They make bad law mostly because the initiatives are knee-jerk emotional reactions to things that our legislature was too cowardly to tackle. What a circle (jerk).

Bakersfield Bound

January 29, 2007 - Arriving in Bakersfield. It is two days before I have to be here, but I wanted to get moved into my office and check out housing. I'm to be here for a minimum of a year.

I learned before I got here that the China Palace has all you can possibly eat and unlimited champagne on Sundays. I am happy to say, I will be missing tht fun and going home to Sacramento on weekends.

I moved all the things from my old office into my new office, but I haven't unpacked it as yet. I have tried to find a public radio station to maintain my sanity. The local station here offering NPR is 89.1, KVOR. When not 'talking' it is all classical. Something I never heard before is "The Thomas Jefferson Hour." It is interesting, it is two guys having conversation and one of them is the third president, talking about his daily habits, then they talk about the modern politics.

I learned to day not to have a Reisling with a sweet dish like butternut squash ravioli. Too much sweet tastes.

I brought swim trunks with me, hoping to take advantage of any hot tub that might be here. Yes, they have one, but I have no long bathrobe or sandals. Without sandals I have to either walk back barefoot or put on my shoes again. The problem with wearing my shoes is my shorts just drip into them and I end up with wet shoes. So I dodged the snails and walked on the cold walkway back to my room. Without a robe, I can't take off the shorts. They soon became very cold, and the cloth was cold upon my legs, and dripping cold water on my lower legs. I got to my room with a cold lower half. Darn.

Tomorrow, I will get to find out more about this town and search the places I had looked up for living arrangements; keeping in mind, I already have a plan.