Some people are movin' on up to the east side.
Others like me are movin' on down to the west side.

I just discovered the Bay Area Rescue Mission got some coverage in the NY Times last week.

Just a reminder that non-profit organizations still need help to help others.

Someone who I had not seen in a few months told me yesterday that it looked like I lost some weight. This might be true. I used to weigh 220 pounds. I attributed the weight loss to 2 things.

1. The Iron Gym. Most guys I have talked to recently either have one or want one. It's about $30 anywhere you go, but you can't put a price on having awesome muscles.

2. I'm poor. I'm supposed to be saving money toward a wedding, so I'm cutting back on my costs. Instead of 3 items from the Taco Bell, I only get 2. The calories from that third volcano taco really add up.

The Lakers featuring Kobe Bryant win the NBA title and the city of Los Angeles celebrates by rioting. I never understood this. Shouldn't the fans in Orlando be the ones who are upset and committing acts of vandalism? Maybe that's why the Warriors can't win a title. NBA commish David Stern probably has some deal with local authorities in place that forbids teams from Oakland and Detroit from being champions because the ensuing post-game championship rioting would be a public danger to society.

If my church softball team wins the C league title, you can bet we're going to tear up the city.

I went with the 8th grade students to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (or as I still call it, Marine World) today. For all the tough guy talk from the kids, lots of them were too chicken to ride Medusa, the only roller coaster worth waiting in line for.

We had some time to kill, so I went with the other teachers to watch the Shouka show, featuring Shouka the killer whale and a bunch of dolphins. I guess it is easy to be impressed by the dolphins and whale doing flips and splashing the crowd on cue, but I know they only do it because they get a fish (or in Shouka's case, a bucket of fish) after every single trick they do. Imagine getting a cookie every time you sent a work related email. The trainers were not pleased when I yelled 'Free Willy!' during the performance.

After the show, I was inspired again to train a goldfish to jump through a hoop of fire. A goldfish might not be 5000 pounds of muscle like Shouka, but it also doesn't have to jump as high either. If it fails, I guess I can always have fish for dinner. I hear goldfish tempura is quite tasty.

I know it's been a while, but Mad Cal is still alive and kicking. (And kicking well. I just punted a little poodle a good 18 feet.) The site is going through some renovations, so please be patient with us as we strive to make your blog-surfing experience even better than before.

I choose not to drink. I'm not lactose intolerant. (My body tolerates all kinds of sugar.) I just like drinking beverages like Pepsi more than milk.

However, in my continued quest to improve my health by cutting out soda, I have started drinking more milk. (It's either milk or beer. Can't have a Bud Light at 9 in the morning.) Today I drank mocha flavored milk. Last week I drank strawberry milk. At home, I just finished off a half gallon of chocolate milk. I only drink white milk with a bowl of Lucky Charms and it must be at least 2%. I can't stand the nonfat or 1% stuff.

I guess I really like the artificial colors and flavors. Allison got me a healthy version of Lucky Charms called Marshmallow Oaties, where the package says 'no phony flavors or colors' and it's not quite the same. I like it when the milk changes color because of the phony colors and flavors in the marshmallows. I should convince some company to add more artificial colors and flavors to milk. Green mint or blueberry flavored/colored milk would be cool.

I'll still offer $50 to anyone who can drink and keep down a gallon of at least 2% milk within an hour. If they make the blue milk, I might do this myself some day.

Just about everyone knows I never cry. Not if I got stabbed in the leg. Not while chopping onions. Not even if I got hit by a bus. (By the way, I determined I could get hit by a bus at 15 mph and just get up and walk away. It hasn't been tested of course, but I'm more than 95% certain a 7 ton vehicle at a mere 15 mph wouldn't keep me down. If it gets up over 20 mph, it might do some damage.)

Last week, I was talking to some folks about how some movies can get guys to tear up a bit and almost cry. Even tough guys like me. I can think of three such movies.

A war movie where Tom Hanks and friends die to save Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan), a overly dramatic space movie where Ben Affleck almost dies but saves the world as Bruce Willis dies (Armageddon), and a movie where Sean Astin gets to play football (Rudy). Even though I have all three of these on dvd, if I catch a scene of any of these movies playing on tv, I usually watch it to the end.

I also have to add that these movies have not actually made me cry at any time. It's still just almost. I might crack if we bring back the 3 tv setups and had all three movies on simultaneously. Or if someone ever made a dramatic film featuring athletes in spaceships involved in a war that was not called Starship Troopers.