On Christmas Eve, we decided to take Coda out to see the decorations on Christmas Tree Lane, which is on Fulton here in Palo Alto. We knew it would be her last Christmas, so we wanted her to see the spectacle just one last time.
The Light Fantastic
Slope of Hope Blog Posts
Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.
Precious Christmas Memories
As we approach J.C.’s birthday, I thought I would share with you some cherished childhood memories from my youth in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Perhaps it’ll remind you of a few of your own.
Christmas Specials Anticipation
The earliest, best sign that Christmas was nigh was when my mom would start to scotch-tape clippings from the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate onto the television set featuring Christmas specials. There would be the crucial ones such as Charlie Brown and the Grinch, and the lame-ass ones like Little Drummer Boy. In those days, of course, it was your ONLY chance all year long to see any of these, so it was terribly exciting to anticipate each one of them and relish every marvelous second.
The Long Goodbye
Over the course of my adult life, I have had seven dogs. Four are no longer with us, but three of them still are. One of them is a bubble-headed purebred cotons, one is a wily trickster we found hiding under a truck in the Mojave desert, and the big black one……..well, she’s my favorite.
Her name is Coda, and those of you who have watched my tastylive program have probably heard her snoring loudly in the background. She’s a love, and a very good girl.
Torrential Tesla
For those not acquainted with my TSLA bona fides, I have been writing in the most glowing terms about Elon Musk and his creations for over a decade. Here is just one example from almost a dozen years ago (a post so old, the graphics don’t even exist on the server anymore!) in which I wrote:
Within days, I’m picking up a Model S (long-since reserved; there’s a one-year wait). I have a deep fondness for Tesla; their founder, Elon Musk, is an incredible entrepreneur; the attention to detail to the product line is Steve Jobsian, and the chart looks poised to break out. I’m going old school and buying a bunch of stock for my kids, getting it in certificate form, and shoving it into a safe deposit box. I think this company has a very bright future ahead.
I’d say I nailed that prediction, wouldn’t you?
(more…)Our Era’s Bernie Goetz
Back on August 31st, a professional football player named Ricky Pearsall was shot in Union Square (a high-end shopping district in San Francisco) by a 17-year-old kid who wanted to steal his Rolex watch.
Pearsall was on his way to an autograph signing event, and even though he was shot in the chest he was badass enough to actually leave the hospital the next day. The fine young lad who shot him is incarcerated and awaiting trial, facing the prospect of being tried as an adult instead of the doe-eyed, well-meaning yet confused young scamp we all know he must be.
