Categories
Baby You Can Drive My Car

LA Auto Show 2012: What I Didn’t Say

 

I had two very specific LA Auto Show assignments at AskPatty: (1) a post about green cars on display and (2) a post about cars moms love. The latter is live now.

But there was so much more to see than that.

 

LA Auto Show Nostalgia

Vintage Lincolns at LA Auto Show
Vintage Lincolns on display for the media at the LA Auto Show

There were these gorgeous classic Lincolns on the first of the two press days I attended.

This included the 1956 Continental Mark II that belonged to Elizabeth Taylor in the 1950s, and was said to be custom-matched to the color of her eyes.

I am skeptical over this, as this car was blue and Taylor’s were famous for their violet color. But that could have been an exaggeration, like everything else in Hollywood. Still, I recall reading about the amethyst necklace Richard Burton gave her for her birthday (to match her eyes). And one of her signature perfumes was called Violet Eyes. So perhaps the makers of the Mark II simply did not get the memo?

At any rate, Liz’s car was a work of art, all tailfin and chrome, with nice fat whitewall tires. This was a nice contrast to all the sleek modernity of the rest of the Auto Show. Alas, by Day 2 the old vehicles had been removed and replaced by 2013 model Lincolns. The new cars are beautiful – but not as memorable.

Volkswagen debuted the convertible version of the Beetle they launched last year, and they also paid tribute to their heritage with three special editions that are meant to invoke the model’s glory days: The 50’s (black), the 60’s (baby blue) and the 70’s (brown, which really was a huge color in that earth-toned decade). On the second, quieter media day, there was some nostalgic filming going on at the VW booth. I posted a picture of it yesterday – but also caught a teeny bit of it on tape:

Dream Cars

Jeremy Scott's wild smartcar fortwo on display at the LA Auto Show
smartcar concept by Jeremy Scott

People attend auto shows for a variety of reasons. Some are practical (if you are planning to buy a new car, this is the ideal place to begin shopping as just about every automaker on the planet is represented). But it’s also aspirational. I will likely never own a Bentley or Aston Martin – but I can admire them at close range at the show. There were dream cars aplenty, including this unusual artist’s concept smartcar by designer Jeremy Scott.

I took a lot of photos of the usual suspects: futuristic concept cars. Lots and lots of crossovers and SUVs and EVs and hybrids (for the AskPatty post) — most of which did not end up in the finished product, but can be seen in my Flickr photostream. And of course, a lot of cars that are out of my price range: Audis, BMWs, Jaguars, Infinitis, Lexuses (Lexii?) the Range Rover Evoque, a Fisker Karma (which has gotten my attention at every LA Auto Show for the last several years — but has anyone seen one on the road yet?)

I spent a lot of time at the Ford and GM exhibits, but barely mentioned them in my posts, because I’ve been doing a lot with them outside the show. That is too bad, because I really, really like a lot of what they have on hand: I could see myself a happy owner of a CMAX or Fusion or Cruze or (if I could get the price down!) a Volt.

Interior of Volvo C70 at LA Auto Show

 

But every year at the Auto Show, I always find myself gazing at the higher-end, convertible version of the car I already drive. Volvo’s C70 convertible may just be my dream car – if only because I covet these creamy white leather seats. This is the reason I ended up buying my current 2006 Volvo S6: the seats are really comfortable.

Apres Show at LA Live

Thanks to my carpool buddy and the fact that my daughter no longer requires me to be home with her 24/7, I stayed through to some of the social events that followed the first day’s full schedule of press conferences. I had been told there would be an opportunity to interview some of Nissan’s executives at their reception, but could not find anyone at busy Katsuya to ask!

I actually did write about this on the live blog I kept the first day of the show (which was not kept up on Day 2, thanks to the stomach bug my daughter developed that morning, which prompted an unexpected and overwhelming wave of mommy guilt).

But I neglected to post any pictures of how pretty LA Live looks right now, all done up for the holidays – nor did I share the photo of the costumed performer on stilts who greeted guests at the Hyundai party held at the Figueroa Hotel. I am rectifying that oversight now.

By the way: When I checked into the party on Foursquare, I was informed that this hotel is home to one of the best bars downtown. The Moroccan decor of the lobby and pool area were definitely inviting, and I probably would have checked out that bar if I had not been anxious to get home to my family.

Which goes to show you that you can take the mom out of the house, but you can’t take the house out of the mom for very long. I guess that mommy guilt came over me earlier than I’d thought.

 

 

Categories
Baby You Can Drive My Car Mom Life

LA Auto Show Day 2: Coffee, Cars and Guilt

 

I wrote this post over the course of a couple of hours on Day 2 of the LA Auto Show on Thursday, posted it and deleted it. I have since decided what the hell and have put it back up (with a few edits).

Volkswagen Go-Go Dancers
A musical homage to the 1960s at Volkswagen on Day 2 of the LA Auto Show.

Day two of the LA Auto Show. I arrived late, but thought I did OK, considering Thursday is my day to drive carpool AND it was raining lightly. I was craving caffeine when I got to the Los Angeles Convention Center around 8:45, just after the scheduled breakfast was about to end. I headed straight for the coffee setup, only to discover that there was none left. Not. A. Drop.

That’s not a problem on Day One of the Auto Show, which is so packed with automotive press conferences in both exhibit halls that many of the manufacturers serve a breakfast of their own, complete with baristas and cappuccino servers. So I poked into the South Hall, where the first press conference of the day was being held, and searched for a little caffeine.

But the hall looks very different on the second day of the Auto Show. The chairs setup for press are gone and the exhibits are rearranged into the form they will take tomorrow, when the show officially opens to the public. I moseyed over to the auto makers most likely to provide goodies for their customers: the luxury brands, like Lexus and Mercedes. Nada. I finally found breakfast being served at BMW, but that was only for invited guests.

There wasn’t much else to do but head over to Mazda, whose conference was my reason to be here on Day Two at this time in the first place. And I’m glad I did; they were the sole automaker to bring their barista to the floor a second day.

As the conference began, it was apparent that they were not going to be unveiling anything that fit easily into my assigned topics of cars moms would love and green vehicles. So I wandered around the hall again, taking photos of models that I might actually write about – as well as cars I just loved.

And that’s when I felt my phone vibrate in my bag. It was my husband.

“Oh, THERE you are,” he said accusingly. “I’ve been trying to reach you. And so was the school. Megan’s feeling sick and I’m leaving work to get her.”

And so begins the guilt.

I explained that I am wearing women’s business clothes (instead of my usual jeans) and they have NO POCKETS so the phone is in my bag and unless I’ve got it pressed right to me, I don’t feel it vibrate. I compensate by holding I on my lap every time I am seated, but I was busy taking photos on the floor.

Perhaps this is the best reason to finally upgrade my old Blackberry for a modern smartphone that takes decent photos?

Anyway. I told him I would leave earlier than I had planned to be with her. He said no, he could work from home today. He noted that she does, after all, have two parents.

I reminded him that for 16 years, I have always been quick to answer a call from the school. “Except when you don’t,” he said.

I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t like to talk when I’m driving, even with a Bluetooth device – I find it too distracting. So not answering when I’m in the car is NOT a bad thing.

And I don’t answer right away when I’m talking to someone else. That is just common courtesy. Nor do I always remember to take my phone with me when I run into the kitchen for something.

I remember a time when people did not expect you to be available 24/7 (I am not talking about family now, but in a broader sense: employers, clients, others who send an email and want an answer right away). There are times I wish I did not have this wonderful mobile technology which has enabled me to do amazing things no matter where I am (like write this from the floor of the LA Auto Show) but are kind of a double-edged tether.

ADDENDUM: Our poor daughter made it as far as first period at school that day before wisely going to the school nurse. It took my husband an hour to get from his office to the school to bring her home, and once he had her, he had to stop the car to allow her to be sick. Yes, she has two parents. But for most of her life, when she’s been ill, I’m the one who has taken care of her. And this did not feel right.

I had one more press conference to attend that morning. I thought about leaving, but decided to stay. It turned out to be the one event of Day 2 that generated some actual news that was relevant to the green car assignment: an announcement by Mitsubishi that they were partnering with USC’s School of Engineering to build a working smart grid infrastructure. As such, the automaker is donating 12 i-MiEV electric mini-cars and charging stations that will be placed around the campus. The conference also had some of the best visuals, as a unit of the USC Marching Band and a couple of cheerleaders paraded around a little i-MiEV.

I should have gotten some great photos, but I was too upset to focus. Even though my husband assured me he was home and our kid was taken care of, I left the press conference while the band was playing “Tusk” and hurried home, because that’s where I felt I needed to be.

Does motherhood necessarily mean always feeling guilty when something goes awry? For me, I guess it does.

 

Categories
Baby You Can Drive My Car Blather

The Los Angeles Auto Show

Waiting for Toyota at LA Auto Show

Semi-Live Blog
6:15 pm

I found the Nissan party easily at Katsuya, at LA Live. Some sprinkles but no real rain yet, and not so cold that I regretted not stopping at the car for my jacket.

But a quick walk around the private party area confirmed the shy person’s nightmare: no one that I knew. I saw a lone Asian man sitting by himself, so I joined him, hoping he was a Nissan employee who I could make contact with for future car review opportunities. But while he was from Japan, he was merely another freelancer. No problem – we spent the next hour chatting away, which made it easier to relax and enjoy the excellent food.

I also enjoyed an excellent hot sake, which arrived in a larger carafe than I expected. So after about an hour, we said our goodbyes and I made my way to the Figueroa Hotel for the Hyundai party, where I was greeted by a man and woman on stilts.

The party is in the pool area, which has a plexiglass overlay allowing people to seemingly walk on water. We were promised surprise entertainment; the people on stilts lead me to believe we’ll be seeing some performers from Cirque du Soleil. But you know something? I am tired and want to go home. And am not looking forward to another drive down here tomorrow for day #2 of the Auto Show. So I will sit here and accept the tray passed hors d’ouvres until I feel it’s safe to drive home.

4:45 pm

Subaru was my last press conference of the day. There were others following it (Audi comes to mind), but luxury cars were not part of my assignment this year, and as much as I love me an A6, I have had a splitting headache for most of the day.

I was also just plain tired. I am supposed to attend a reception the Nissan folks are giving, and have half a mind to be a no-show. But I kind of like the idea of waiting a while for traffic to die down. So I am still here.

I ended up wandering up to the media room, and since it is no longer lunchtime (with no free food buffet), there are now plenty of places to sit. I finagled some Tylenol from the staff’s first aid kit, grabbed some hot decaf and enjoyed the wi-fi (none on the auto show floor, just in these media spaces).

Am happy that I caught up with my friend Sarah before she left. A number of local bloggy moms were invited to the show as guests of Toyota, so I saw their tweets – but we were all in different areas of the show today.

Have caught up on email and Facebook and starting to feel like a little bit like myself again. And look! It’s nearly time for the Nissan event, which is at a nearby restaurant. Guess I’ll mosey along.

2:35 pm

As many times as I’ve covered the Auto Show I don’t think I’ve ever figured out the right way to do it.

12:30 PM

One nice thing about media days at the Auto Show is that there is plenty of free food and coffee. So many of the auto companies have employed baristas here that I wonder why the line at the Convention Center’s Starbucks is so long.

The one problem I do have is finding a place to sit – especially in the huge press room located a story above the exhibit hall concourse. Fortunately, I discovered a Media Lounge near the entrance to the West Hall, where I was able to grab a couple of sandwiches and a comfy white leather chair. Not to mention access to wi-fi. Not too shabby.

This year, I am not the only writer attending from AskPatty, so I’ve been able to narrow my coverage just to my immediate assignments (instead of trying to cover the entire show). So I’ve picked the press conferences I’m attending accordingly. I skipped Mercedes Benz so I could be seated at Volkswagen, which was promising to reveal a new version of an iconic vehicle. Since they debuted a new Beetle last year, I was hoping there might be a new VW bus in our future. But alas, when the moment came, we were treated to a new Beetle convertible. That’s not a bad thing; just disappointing because it’s not within my purview of mom cars and energy efficient vehicles. So I moved on.

I skipped Fiat (too small) and Ford, because they’ve been really good about including me on all their new product launches, so I feel particularly well informed about what they are doing. In fact, I feel I’ve been so close to them that when I visited their exhibit, I got a hug from one of their PR people… Who also showed me these lovely OPI nail polishes to match the colors of the new Fiesta debuting today. Again, that’s not a car that lines up with my assignment…so I moved along.

8:30 AM

I did not have to drive carpool today, so for the first time since I started covering this annual event, I managed to arrive at the Los Angeles Convention right at the start of the LA Auto Show.

That is not to say that I got here without drama. Living the freelance life means never being able to say “no” to an income-producing assignment. And this month, I’ve had more of those than I am comfortable with. This, of course, is a good (and rare!) problem to have. But I have never been a good multi-tasker and keeping all the different jobs and tasks associated with the, straight in my head is more difficult than I expected…and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m forgetting something.

Actually, yesterday, I did discover that I had made a major mistake on a job that I was counting upon to turn into something more permanent. And this morning, I discovered a myriad of small mistakes that needed to be addressed before I hit the road to the Auto Show. So I got here early…but I keep wondering if more erroneous shoes will be dropping on the other gigs while I am here pretending to be a productive member of society.

Fortunately, getting here as early as I did gives me the luxury of settling into a nice seat near the front at the first automotive press conference of the day: Toyota. And so I was able to check my email, take care of some more business and hammer out this little post.

I may add some fun photos and observations to this as the day progresses. In the meantime, you will be able to read my reports when they go live next month at AskPatty.com.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Categories
Getting Old Sucks Something Unselfish for a Change

Give a Care for the Caregivers


Welcome to the blog carnival featuring some of the blogosphere’s most eloquent writers. We’ll be highlighting the work of 8 women who write about what it feels like to be a primary caregiver to someone who depends on you — whether you’re on vacation, it’s a holiday, it’s an emergency at three in the morning, or through all the highs and lows of sickness and health.

We’re continuing to bring attention to the important work that caregivers willingly do. So let’s give thanks to the caregivers in our lives for unpaid work that weaves so many lives together, yet can often leave the caregiver herself or himself frayed and unraveled.

Thank a caregiver today! Tell them how much you appreciate their efforts.

We spent Saturday afternoon visiting some local attractions with my friends Nancy and Niles. But first, Nancy had to make sure her 92-year-old mother was comfortable. She was just getting down to breakfast when we arrived.

“You may want to take a shower while we’re gone,” Nancy suggested to her mom. She sighed to me. “She’ll probably still be sitting there when we get home.”

The three of them  have been living in Nancy’s childhood home for several years now, ever since Nancy realized her mom was no longer able to care for herself. Her friends (including me) thought this was a terrible idea, and we told her so. But without resources for full-time care and no siblings willing to help, what was Nancy to do?

Since then, Nancy has had problems of her own. She’s been treated for cancer — TWICE. And a couple of years ago, she was dealt the cruelest blow of all: Her 54-year-old husband Niles was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

Nancy supports them all. She works from her home office a few days per week, but cannot be home all the time. Leaving the house often means hiring someone who can watch over her mother. And after Niles’ recent chicken-in-the-microwave mishap (which caught on fire), she worries that he can’t be left home without supervision, either.

According to the AARP, Nancy is one of 34 million Americans who care for an adult family member with an illness or disability. An additional 13 million people care for children with special needs. Two thirds of these unpaid family caregivers are women. They may be caring for elderly parents, disabled partners, or children with special needs. Many lose hours at work or have to quit their jobs in order to give the care their family members need. This affects their future income, as well, causing them to retire with lower Social Security benefits.

AARP estimates that the worth of all the unpaid care in the United States totals $450 billion annually.

Niles has been a part of our extended family for over 30 years. He was a special guest at our small wedding (only 35 people attended), and he met Nancy the following year when we celebrated our first anniversary. We were witnesses when they got married on Valentine’s Day 11 years ago. They were both regular guests at all our holiday celebrations: Thanksgiving, Passover, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year.  But once they moved back in with Nancy’s mom, getting out for an evening or a weekend was no longer easy — even when mom was included, Nancy’s attention was on her: seeing that she had a comfortable place to sit, helping her with her meal, helping her to the restroom, and leaving early. And now Niles needs her for most of those activities, too.

We hope to get together with them for a nice dinner before Christmas – but much will depend on whether or not Nancy can find someone to watch her mom so she and Niles can go out. I would love to give Nancy the gift of time for herself. I think she needs it.

This holiday season, show the family members and friends who are doing so much to help others that you care. Visit GiveACare.org to personalize a video greeting for  the caregivers in your life.

 DISCLOSURE:  I have been contracted – along with some of the other MOMocrats – by the Give A Care campaign to raise their profile through social media. If you have a caregiver story to share for our blogger carnival, please leave me a comment below. This post has been revised since its first appearance at Thanksgiving.

Categories
Education

Kids, Not Cuts for Public Schools

My daughter has all of Thanksgiving week off this year. She’s delighted that we got to start our holiday a few days early, but the extra school vacation days are not really a gift. They’re the result of the continuing barrage of budget cuts that we’ve had to endure since she started kindergarten.

That’s right: Year, after year, after year — for more than a DECADE — we’ve had to adjust for more and more and more cuts to the public school budget.

It has manifested in both visible losses, like teachers and teachers’ aides, and less visible ones, like shortened school years. But the cumulative effect has been devastating. Larger class sizes, fewer electives, and a huge reduction to essential services (i.e., school nurses, janitorial staff and security).

My daughter shares a counselor with 800 other students at her high school. She comes home from school busting to use the bathroom because she tells me only one is kept unlocked. If she has the misfortune to miss a day of school because of illness, it takes the attendance office several weeks to log her excuse because last year, most of the staff was laid off. Parents are asked to contribute everything from books to pens to bathroom tissue, because the District no longer has the money for sufficient supplies.

But the November elections brought beleaguered California parents some good news: We voted in a temporary tax increase which is going to stop the cuts and even bring some services BACK to the schools. This week’s extra vacation days are going to be added BACK to the end of the school year and there is hope that some laid-off personnel will be rehired.

But you know what they say: as one door closes, another opens. Or in the case of public education, it’s the other way around. That’s because with the election behind us, the President and Congress are grappling with the so-called “fiscal cliff” — and budget hawks who would rather cut vital services than raise taxes on the nation’s wealthiest 1%.

The threat of across-the-board Federal cuts threatens Title I funding for schools across the nation, to the tune of $6 billion.

This would mean vastly reduced funding for schools serving low-income students, English learners, special education and programs like Head Start. It would mean that just as California school administrators are thinking ahead to the vital business of educating our kids, they have to go back to the drawing board and make more cuts. And since for many of these programs, this would result in a Federal mandate with insufficient funding, school districts like LAUSD would have to make up the difference somehow… like maybe NOT give us back those instruction days, or rehire those desperately needed teachers and counselors.

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing NEA Vice President Lily Eskelson for a special MOMocrats MOMochat podcast on Kids, Not Cuts. And I signed the organization’s pledge to “speak up for America’s kids by urging Congress to make the right choices to support public education and working families.”

Fiscal conservatives are always pointing out that the budget deficit is a terrible legacy to leave our children. I agree. The deficit needs to be tackled — but not at the expense of those same children. We need to increase our investment in their education for their future and the future of our nation. Please sign the pledge and let your representative know you believe in Kids, Not Cuts.

DISCLOSURE:  My company, Engender Media Group, is working with the NEA on the #KidsNotCuts social media campaign.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Holiday Season Begins

Happy Holidays at the tire store

Happy Holidays at the tire storeI’m listening to “Santa Baby” at our local tire store. “Jingle Bell Rock” just finished playing. I’ve been here for half an hour, long enough to start tiring of the relentless holiday music.

It’s November 17. How am I going to feel by December?

I don’t really think I’m a Scrooge. I love the winter holidays: the color, the lights, the wonderful food – and yes, Christmas carols. But why can’t it wait until AFTER Thanksgiving?

Of course, I know the answer to that. It’s the economy – or rather, the retail sector that depends on Christmas sales more than any other time of year. It’s no wonder they try to make the season last longer and longer each year, to the point that in 2012, chains like Target will be opening up Black Friday sales while my family is still enjoying our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

I’m not sure why America’s Tires is pushing the season. I suppose there are people who come in here to replace a flat and buy a set of wheels on a whim?

I have a lot of friends who have already thrown themselves into the holiday spirit. They are shopping, baking, crafting and sending out their Christmas cards. I am in awe of their Martha Stewart-ness. Because I can only handle one event at a time, and yesterday it was wishing my niece a Happy Birthday because I saw the reminder on Facebook. And trying to figure out what to get my husband for his at the end of the month, which coincides with the LA Auto Show, which I must also prepare for.

Christmas and Chanukah shopping and wrapping and cooking and cleaning will just have to wait until December 1.

But I haven’t forgotten Thanksgiving: I’m here to get my tires rotated and properly inflated before I drive up to my sister’s place in Sacramento, where I will eat too much, imbibe too much champagne… and that’s when I will start to watch Christmas movies on video. And I’ll enjoy it all the more for being at the right time.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Categories
Blather

New Beginnings

Downtown Los Angeles, from the Hollywood Hills
Went back to the photo I used to create my SoCal Mom banner.

Welcome to the new home of SoCal Mom!

I did not plan to put up a new site today. But a funny thing happened when I fired up my email this morning: I saw my annual renewal notice from Network Solutions and balked.

I’ve had this domain with NS since — well, almost since they were the only registrar in town. There are less expensive ones I could use  – and in fact, I do with other sites.

But when I began this blog (in 2003!), I was feeling burnt out on all things webmaster-y, like FTP’ing and installing scripts and playing with HTML. Typepad made it easy to put my blog up while offering me other goodies I could not get for free — and NS was the only registrar that seemed to play nicely with their “domain mapping” feature. And if you have ever tried moving a domain from one registrar to another, you will understand why I stay with them.

But I don’t need the extra features. At least, I wouldn’t if I were self-hosted.

Typepad has not kept up with the times. I really am tired of being unable to add features to SoCal Mom that are easy to add on my WordPress sites, and have been threatening to make a move for a couple of years.

So when I got the renewal notice today, I only renewed the domain part of it — and ordered a cheap hosting package from another provider.

And so, voila! Here I am.

It took me over a month earlier this year to transfer the original MOMocrats site from its berth on Typepad. I don’t know if I can handle doing the same with SoCal Mom. So the original site will remain there until I find the time (and the courage!) to make the move. And here is where you’ll find my new stuff.

If you’ve been accessing this site by typing in the domain, there’s no change. As for RSS – I still haven’t done anything since the demise of Feedburner. I guess that’s my next step.

 

Categories
Blather

A Good Week

I took the Obama-Biden magnet off my car on Wednesday morning. The election was over, I was happy, and there was no need to show my support via vehicle advertising any longer. Besides, there are a lot of Republicans in my neighborhood and I have no desire to rub their face in the election’s results. I know how I felt during the Bush Administration, whenever I saw a car plastered with Bush-Cheney stickers YEARS after they won their second term.

The campaign is over. Keeping that stuff around is like having Christmas lights on your house on Easter.

The morning after the election, the MOMocrats and I conducted our usual morning podcast, but without the usual preparation. It was more of a happy, relaxed, audio high-five with one another; a phone call with girlfriends who have spent the last year working in the trenches from across the country.

Then, I updated the Run, Mama Run interactive map I’d created last spring, illustrating over 100 pro-choice female candidates who were running for office up and down the ticket. I removed all the women who did not win their races and was surprised that I was still left with more than SIXTY new and re-elected Senators, House Representatives, state and local legislators and officials — and one Governor.

(And I was delighted to note that THREE of those women had been guests on our podcast! New California Assembly member-elect Sharon Quirk-Silva, Representative-elect Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii — and New Hampshire’s next Governor, Maggie Hassan.)

Yesterday, Cynematic and I rewarded ourselves for our hard work with a spa treatment, which we planned to do a couple of months ago when we were in the heat of the campaign. We had originally planned to spend half a day pampering ourselves, but decided to cut that short because just as the Presidential campaign was ending, Cyn landed us two NEW public interest campaigns for our little social media company: and we’ve got targets to meet on BOTH campaigns RIGHT NOW.

So right now: I’m feeling pretty good. And now — I have to get back to work.

Categories
MOMocrats

Six More Days

By this time next week, I’ll either be exulting — or depressed. Either way, the election will be over.

Every Wednesday, I get to talk politics with some of my favorite people, and we record the conversations for posterity. Today, we talked about Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, FEMA, and Mitt Romney’s botched disaster relief rally yesterday.

We had 38 live listens — which is something of a record for us. Most people download the podcast, catch us on Stitcher or listen to an archived copy in the browser. We’re averaging a couple of thousand listens per week right now, which is no doubt due to the impending election. We also did a California only show about the ballot propositions, which you can catchhere.

We may do another special podcast before Election Day – or even a Google hangout (er, video!).

And of course, next Wednesday, we’ll be talking about the results.

And on Thursday? My MOMocrats colleague Cynematic and I are going to give ourselves a spa day — which I hope marks our re-entry back into the real world where I don’t feel I need to obsess over the news of the day.

Categories
Blather

Clocking In

Have you noticed how many clocks and devices with clocks you’ve got in your house? Just in my kitchen there are digital clocks on the oven, microwave, coffeemaker… and an analog wall clock way up high above my sink.

And we won’t even talk about the digital clock in my car, which needs to be reset by a few minutes every few months. This is OK if it’s running slow, because then I only have to push it forward a minute or two. But it’s dreadful it it’s going fast, because then I have to run through an entire 58 or 59 minutes to get it right. I usually just let it run fast.

Of course, there’s the annual time change when we gain an hour, which I generally love. But I really hate having to go around the house calibrating all those clocks.

Thank goodness for the devices that are ALWAYS accurate: our cable boxes, computers, iPads and cellphones. I am old enough to remember having to call a phone number to get the correct time. It’s nice to have something to refer to without making a phone call.

it often takes me a while to update the clock in the car. You’d be surprised at how long I can put it off by just reminding myself that it’s really 1:00 instead of 2. It usually doesn’t get fixed until I get into the car, think I’m horribly late for something and rush to my appointment — only to kick my heels for 30 minutes because I arrive too early.

And I’ve given up on doing anything to the coffeemaker. It’s nice to wake up to a freshly made pot, but setting that thing is such a pain in the ass, I eventually came to the conclusion that making it’s really no big deal to make it myself.

Several years ago, I purchased a clock radio from Brookstone that promised to make my life easier twice a year, by automatically updating itself overnight when the time changes.

Then Congress decided to change the dates for Daylight Savings Time.

The dates on that clock were hardwired in. So the time continues to change on the old dates — which means we have to change the thing FOUR times a year instead of twice. And sometimes we forget — as we did this morning, when the alarm did not go off at 5:30, because the clock said it was 4:30.

Fortunately, we only overslept a little bit, thanks to our Circadian rhythms, If only we could rely on them and not have to use a clock at all.

But I’m still tired. Guess I’d better make that pot of coffee.