Comments on: The Man Who Loved China: by Simon Winchester (1996)

This is a a biography of a very interesting guy.  Read this one, James.

Joseph Needham wrote an 18 volume history of Chinese inventions from roughly 1950-1995.  The basic theme is, whatever the West invented, China invented first. 

Who was Mr. Needham?  He was an English Communist scientist, a China lover, an avowed nudist, folk dancer, who had an English wife and Chinese girlfriend (on friendly terms) for decades.  He is a metaphorical bridge builder who studied bridges.

You'll learn something of the times and about one eccentric character from reading this.

how'd I get so lucky?

Oftentimes I cannot believe my good fortune.  I spent years trying to get a house without any success. I made several bids, and was always outbid.  Now I have this one that I got cheap and could swing the financing on a contingency sale-- I can't buy yours unless someone buys mine-- and got it quickly, withing a few months of putting mine up for sale. 

My house was cheap, I got a good loan, it's a fixer but does not require any fixes to be habitable, the neighborhood is safe, the neighbors are nice and have been here a long time, there are plenty of nice kids around, and it's close to school.

And last but not least I have a view of the mountains which seem to glow in the fall.

Morning after first rain

We are in a drought.

Last night was the first memorable rain since we moved in.  This is what it looks like now...

We got the rain gutters and barrels installed just a couple weeks ago.  4 of 5 are full.

The big rain in the
middle of a drought turned the
dead stump bright orange.

the big rain in the
drought turned the middle of the
dead stump bright orange.

St. Paul thislast week

I went to St. Paul 10/27-10-30 for training a work with attorneys from across the country and one from Canada. 

I learned the following things that were not on the curriculum:

1. Although we only had one in this class, back east lawyers are bone crushers;
2. Litigation in the cities is a war.  Cities are liberal.  In the outlying areas litigation is much more tame and it's more conservative.  This is true from east to west.

sign on our door

NO SOLICITORS:
we buy nothing,
we already gave,
and........
we already have God

Letter to Bob about today

Hey Bobman....

For some reason people used to grow lawns in Altadena.  Like this.....

I have news for you. I live at the base of a desert mountain.  Geographers consider this area a semi-arid region.

To blend in with nature, I chopped down the tree and let the grass die.  I painted the house off white, the color of the rocks around here, and will pain the trim brown, the color of the pine tree next to the house.  Then I took pieces of the tree and mixed with the dead grass and other green trash and sprinkled on the south side of the yard.

It is a work in progress, but today this is the house....

We have other projects in the pipeline. We hope you can visit us.  We have an extra room.  Perhaps you can get back in touch with your inner gardener.

Philosophy of Wife Haiku

Chop your own wood.  Chop
your neighbors' wood if they need
help.  Pick a great spouse.