San Diego County Fires - KPBS NewsMajor wildfires are burning throughout San Diego County. We'll update this map as information comes in. Burn and evacuation areas are estimated. For more information visit www.kpbs.org.
Reverse 911®
Emergency Notification SystemThe Emergency Notification System allows the City to rapidly send telephone notifications to all residents and businesses in an affected area in the event of an emergency. An operator using the system can identify the affected neighborhood or region of the city and record a message that describes the situation. The system will automatically call listed and unlisted telephone numbers (including TTY/TDD) within the affected area and deliver the recorded message. If phone lines are busy, the system will attempt to redial those telephone numbers to make contact. If an answering machine picks up the call, the emergency message will be left on the machine.
Just wanted to let everyone know that my home in Oceanside is not part of any of the evacuation zones that have been declared in San Diego County. My apartment is northwest of the intersection of I-5 and HWY 78, so while I'm not that far from the "Advisory Evacuation Area," I am a good distance from the "Mandatory Evacuation Area." I'm actually hosting friends who had to evacuate their home.
Finally, a book club that I can get enthusiastic about! Stone Brewing, makers of a variety of fine beverages including Arrogant Bastard and several fine IPAs, has begun a "Book & a Beer Club," beginning with a discussion of Michael Pollen's Omnivore's Dilemma last night. This first meeting was a proof-of-concept to see if they could get a decent turnout, and based on the 60-70 people that showed up I'm sure that they'll be following up with additional meetings (as far as I can tell, they still haven't put up a web page for the book club yet - I found out about it from an article in the paper last week.)
The sample chapter on Pollen's website gives you a pretty good idea what the book is about. The discussion in the bistro's gardens mostly concerned ways to opt out of the industrialized food system. One resource that seems worth sharing is LocalHarvest.org, which acts as a resource for finding local farmer's markets, CSAs, restaurants serving locally grown produce, etc.
BTW, the restaurant attached to the brewery, the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Garden, is worth a visit even if you don't drink beer -the menu, which focuses on "Slow Food," is fabulous. Even if you're not concerned with the philosophy behind the menu, the food is just damn tasty :-)
Just a quick update since I haven't posted anything in a while. The unpacking process continues - I'm making good progress, but it's going to be a while before the extra bedroom stops resembling the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Still, I've had a working and reasonably well-organized kitchen for about a week, and the living room, dining room, and master bedroom are about 90% done (with the exception of the new couch I still need to buy).
My decision to live near the train station has been a good one. The walk down in the morning is a nice way to wake myself up and get a little bit of exercise, and depending on the day I get different things from the time on the train. Sometimes I just enjoy the view of the Pacific as we head southward down the coast, sometimes I use the time to catch up on email and clean out the trivial stuff that has built up in my inbox from the day before. When I get to my desk, the only things left in my inbox are the things that actually require action on my part. This may seem like a small thing, but it has boosted my productivity and reduced my stress considerably.
The best thing about taking the train is when I take the time to take the long way home. Walking home along the beach adds 10 or 15 minutes to my walk home, but I hope I make it a habit.
The stairs down to the beach from Carlsbad Village
The view to the north.
The view to the south.
Sunset