A Heart Attack on Broadway

Today's strangeness was stumbling across an elderly woman apparently having a heart attack. Jasper and I were taking our morning walk. We came across her sitting awkwardly on the curb at Broadway and 25th. "Help me," she pleaded. She was weak, her breath was short, and she seemed to be in discomfort. I called 911, and kept her company. I couldn't tell if she was homeless or otherwise at loose ends. The 911 operator pressed for details, and even asked me to measure her pulse on her neck, but perhaps through error, I couldn't detect a pulse. 

The woman had a defeated air. "I called out for help but no one seemed to notice. No one from around here seems to care," she said. She explained she was originally from Dallas - maybe where people care more. "I'll get my brother to come out and take me home," she said. The paramedics arrived and took her away in an ambulance.

I Wonder How Accurate These Methane Surveys Are?

Cool if it works, but does it work?:

SANTA FE – A pollution survey using sensors on small airplanes to detect methane emissions across a major U.S. oil and natural gas production zone points to greater releases of the potent climate-warming gas than previously estimated by other methods, according to results published Wednesday. 

Underwritten by philanthropists and the fossil fuel industry, the study examined emissions from October 2018 through January 2020 across New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest sources of oil and natural gas that extends into West Texas. 

The study estimated that methane emissions are equivalent to roughly 9% of the overall gas production in the surveyed area. That’s more than double the rate in several previous studies of the Permian Basin and national estimates by the U.S. government of natural gas lost to leaks and releases. 

“The bad news is that emissions in this time and this region were as high as they are,” said Evan Sherwin, co-author of the study and a research fellow at Stanford University’s department of energy resource engineering. “The good news is it was only about 1,000 sites out of 26,000 active wells. … It’s just a few percent that were emitting during this extensive study.” 

...Climate scientists have warned that without immediate and steep reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, the world will miss its chance to avert the most destructive and deadliest effects of climate change.

Josh Hawley Projects, and Projects Some More

Josh Hawley badgered Judge Jackson on sex-crime sentencing, but no one in Missouri has a weaker record on sex-crime prosecution than he does.

“One prosecution Hawley did handle as attorney general was a 2018 sexual abuse and domestic assault case against former Knox County Sheriff Robert Becker. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's probable cause statement, Becker was charged with violent sexual encounters against his former partner, who alleged he "choked" her with a shirt in one instance.

“Instead of bringing the case to trial, Hawley agreed to a plea deal in which Becker served no jail time and instead received two years of probation and resigned his office.”

...“In November 2020 a judge ruled that Becker had failed to complete the mandatory sexual offender counseling required under the plea bargain and sentenced him to 20 days of "shock incarceration" — jail time intended to "shock" an offender into avoiding future crimes.” 

Hawley’s shortcomings on sex crimes were not confined to the ones detailed in the report. Soon after taking office in 2018, Hawley attempted to brush aside explosive allegations of sexual abuse by priests. He tried to pass the responsibility to local prosecutors saying he lacked jurisdiction, the Kansas City Star reported at the time.

Some Pictures of Rachel in Sutter Street Theatre's "Godspell" - Wednesday Rehearsal, March 23, 2022

Furry Friday

Before and after taking Jasper to Anthony Gonzales' dog-grooming salon (Fulton and Fair Oaks).

"Godspell" Premieres at Sutter Street Theatre, in Folsom

Jasper's Secret Place

Jasper can scan the entire yard from his secret place.

Aimed at Kids at Target

When I go to Target, I’m always surprised at toys and other items aimed at children these days. Inspired, and weird.

The Couch in the Alley

The landlord of the apartments next door (locally famous for having his picture placed on Safeway shopping-cart plastic flaps a few years ago) had a couch placed in the alley next to the DMV parking lot behind my house. Certain items, like couches, shouldn't be placed in the alley, because of the danger someone will use them rather than cart them away. But there it was. 

So, one of the local derelicts found the couch and sat down on it. This fellow is harmless, known mostly for walking the neighborhood while drinking a beer, and sobbing for hours. On Thanksgiving 2020, he climbed into a burlap sack, sat down, sobbed, and rolled around the empty DMV parking lot all day long. His beard is vaguely Muslim in style, and I wondered if he might be from overseas. 

This fellow was sitting asleep on the couch on Friday morning. Fourteen hours later, he was still asleep, in exactly the same position. 

OK, I wondered, did this fellow die? We are all our brother's keepers, after all, and no one should die alone. But is he asleep, or is he dead? I remembered years ago in Tucson finding a similarly-sleeping derelict. I called the cops and they responded by sending an ambulance with a screaming siren. Awkward if he was just sleeping. I never learned what happened there. And I didn't know about this guy. 

So, I went to bed. Next morning, the fellow was gone. So, apparently he was just sleeping. And I'll see him soon enough around the neighborhood.

Interesting Documentary on Chronic Drought in NM

From KOAT-TV.

Catastrophically Normal

The 0.27 inches of rain that fell at Sacramento Executive Airport on Tuesday ended a 69-day rainless streak, made insufferable by occurring during the climatically-rainiest part of the rainy season. This has been the weirdest, most-uneven rainy season EVER! If it wasn't for October 24, 2021, the rainiest day ever recorded in Sacramento's history (5.4 inches), this rainy season would be catastrophically-bad. As it stands, we now stand exactly normal - 100% of average - and done in the most disturbing, abnormal way conceivable.

Random Philosophical Street Encounter of the Day

I was stepping out of “Taste of Thai” restaurant on Broadway in Sacramento about noon when a street person collared me at door with a burning question. He was sweating profusely, as if he had just been laboring intensely. “Tell me,” he asked, “should a woman have access to money?” I said, “She should, but it’s a question of whether she can…” He stopped me abruptly. “That’s right,” he muttered, as he moved on down the sidewalk. “That’s right!”

My Favorite Scene From "Eraserhead"

Klepto Cat

Stoned For a Few Days

Thursday a week ago, my cardiologist decided to experiment on my heart's erratic rhythms.  How would I  tolerate a drug called Multaq (aka dronedarone)? At first, the drug seemed good - it slowed my heartbeat - but apparently it was slowing my heart rate into dangerous territory without yielding a healthy sinus rhythm. I got an EKG on Monday, and by Tuesday the doctors had ordered me to stop taking the drug. 

Still, for a few days, I seemed to have a new outlook on the world. I noticed that concrete seemed really hard; hard in an altogether new way. For the last decade, or so, concrete seemed almost fluffy - like tofu, or burnt marshmallow. The drug gave me a new insight on reality. 

Or so it seemed. Face it, I must have been stoned.

Dental Fan

My friend Gabe sometimes pokes fun at me for sticking with my dentist, Amy M. Woo, DDS. I started going to her in 1990, shortly after she started her dental practice in Sacramento (and not that long after she was named Miss San Francisco Chinatown 1986). Her practice was close to where I worked. In the years since, she has assembled a high-end dental practice, featuring only women dentists. I stick with her mostly out of inertia and a fuzzy kind of loyalty. She paid me the compliment of being the kind of patient they all like to see: "compliant." It is pricey, though. If cost was my only guide I would have left long ago. 

In 2018, I attended Sacramento's Turn Verein Oktoberfest, where I fell into conversation with a father, and his daughter, a biology student and sorority sister at UC Davis (and aspiring dentist). When I mentioned I go to Amy M. Woo, DDS, the daughter nodded in recognition. Dr. Woo's practice has become a beacon for young, aspiring female dentists in California. The student had carefully studied Dr. Woo's website, and asked about Dr. Kelly Brewer, whom I had just seen. "She is so smart! Did you see how young she was when she studied organic chemistry?" (Dr. Brewer had knocked off that memory-breaking college-level course while in high school). 

I was amazed that Dr. Brewer had a fan, and wanted to tell her the story, but it wasn't until today, four years later, that I was finally able to do so. Dr. Brewer was pleased. She said, "Dentistry is a wonderful career. I feel sad for the people who get into it only for the money, and realize later how miserable they are." 

I also learned something new. Dr. Brewer is an answer on California Dental Board exams. She was the youngest Registered Dental Assistant in California history, at age 13. (She had missed a written question on the test when she was 12, and had to have a do-over - probably good to get that certification when your hands are still so small.) 

So, I stick with Dr. Woo's dental practice. It's pricey, but it's also feel-good.

Representative Josh Harder is Watching Out For His Constituents Decimated by PG&E's Price Hikes

Whay aren't more representatives jumping on this?:

In a letter to California’s director of energy infrastructure safety, Harder said the decision is driving up electric bills, with January being the first time in the state’s history that customers paid an average of more than $200 a month.

The letter read, in part: 

"Your decision will also impact countless Central Valley families, including low-income households, who will see their utility bills go up by double digits. These families are being forced to choose between freezing in the winter months or barely affording their electric bills. It is inconceivable to imagine the board would make this decision at a time when our state is grappling with soaring inflation prices, driving up the costs of food and energy.

Bob Mackie's Barbie Collection

The costumer for the Carol Burnett Show loves Barbies.

Surprised The Sacramento Kings Have an Angle on This

WTF?:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has yet to find the formula for success in the NBA, but maybe he will find his footing in the English Premier League. Ranadive reportedly wants to purchase Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who announced last week he plans to sell the club. Sources told Sportico that Ranadive is "putting the final touches" on a bid for the London-based soccer team.

Sacramento's Pocket Area